Chapter 44 – Not the Usual Trade

A young woman stood alone on a stage. All was quiet. There was a microphone before her. She took a step closer to the mic stand and the soft notes of her favorite song played. Tentatively, she hummed along. After the first verse, she grabbed the mic and sang. The lights turned on and she found herself in a huge stadium with thousands of people applauding her. It was her dream come true.

Then her fans turned into ravenous reanimated corpses that climbed the stage, mauled her and devoured her.

Her mother found her the following morning, lifeless in bed, a mortified look fixed on her face.

A middle aged man found himself in paradise. After twenty-odd years of corporate slavery, he was finally on vacation in a luxury cruise ship. He was geared to go scuba diving. He jumped into the water and was enthralled by the beauty of the ocean. For decades, his life revolved around black and white contracts and grey buildings. Today, he was surrounded by colorful marine life. A great white shark passed him by but ignored him and he sighed with relief.

But then a tentacle shot out of the murky depths, wrapped around his ankle and dragged him to the bottom of the ocean.

His wife woke up and found him thrashing beside her. She cried his name and shook him hard, but despite her efforts, he would not wake.

Countless people in different continents died in their sleep within the first hours. The medical authorities called it sudden arrhythmic death syndrome. Sudden adult death syndrome. Sudden unexpected or unexplained death syndrome. Sudden unexpected nocturnal death syndrome.

Except that there was nothing sudden about this. Acteon had planned this genocide of mortals for centuries.

Somewhere in Nicosia, an exhausted mother exhaled in relief when she finally got her colicky child to sleep. It had been a trying first month and she was grateful for every minute that her first born wasn't crying bloody murder.

The child slept peacefully in his cradle, a hint of a smile on his face. Till the shadows slithered down the walls and crept toward the cot.

"Stay away from the infant," Morpheus barked at the shadows.

The babe in the bassinet vanished from the dream realm. The gloom retreated then coalesced to form Acteon. Morpheus glowered when he saw his brother's sinewy wings on the deceiver.

"Eager to end your dreams, Morpheus?"

Morpheus didn't bother answering. Instead, he lunged at Acteon, intent to rip the wings off his back.

"Get off me, you psycho!" Acteon seized Morpheus' left arm, flipped him high into the air before dropping him roughly on the ground, the dream god's black wings crushed beneath him. Acteon drew one of the giant tusks on his shoulders and thrust it through Morpheus' right shoulder, also piercing through the wing.

Morpheus screamed in agony.

Before the dream god could recover, Acteon stood and waved his hand, calling forth a stampede of all the women Morpheus had craved, crossed or corrupted the past millennia. Most of the women were scantily clad. That was not new. All of the women had bloodshed eyes, razor-sharp incisors, claws, hooves, horns and forked tongues and tails.

"Damn it. I sometimes find goth appealing, but this is absurd," Morpheus grumbled as he unsteadily got to his feet, reached for Acteon, planning to use him as a shield while he thought of a way out of the nightmare.

Acteon twisted around and flew away from Morpheus' grasp. He beat his wings and realized that someone else had stepped into the dream world. "As much as I'd like to watch these beautiful women slaughter you, I promised your brother I'll play with his pixies. Ooh... I have something fun planned."

Acteon swooped through a tunnel he formed, sealing it right after he passed it, and Morpheus was left to face the pandemonium. Yvonne's and Persephone's grotesque doppelgangers were in the forefront.

"Neither of you are real," Morpheus muttered before the women trampled him.

Acteon entered Phantasos' realm and found the young god busy gathering his pixies and other surreal beasts.

"To sanctuary," the fair-haired deity cried, leading his conceptions.

Acteon dropped forcefully right before Phantasos, surprising the god of fantasies. The deceiver grinned when he saw the apprehension in the fledgling's eyes.

"You don't think you could protect them," Acteon stated haughtily.

Phantasos moved so quickly, Acteon had not expected it. The youngest dream god was not as tall or broad as his brothers, but his wings spanned the widest among the siblings. They were also the brightest and when Phantasos abruptly unfolded his wings, the intense brilliance momentarily blinded Acteon, making him stumble a few steps back.

It only took one beat of his extensive wings and all creatures from the far reaches of his domain appeared. Dragons, griffins and the furies. Centaurs and Cyclopes. A blessing of unicorns with Pegasus leading the way.

"Not by myself, but I have lots of friends," Phantasos retorted, standing before his allies.

Acteon gritted his teeth and retaliated by summoning the Chimera, the Empusa, the Hydra and the Charybdis and Scylla. He also beckoned a hundred gorgons and harpies to contend with the furies.

Acteon was about to tackle Phantasos and sever his infuriatingly pristine wings when he felt a change in the air. Icelus had entered one of the tunnels.

"How is this possible?" Acteon wondered then a wide grin formed on his face when he realized an opportunity. "Icelus is now mortal. I can finish him. Oh, the irony. His death in his mortal sleep."

The deceiver found Icelus groping the walls of the burrow, fumbling for a way out. Icelus knew he was now vulnerable in the dream sphere, but he didn't give up. He would readily die to find Selene.

"This is too easy," Acteon sniggered as he headed for the tunnel.

**

Erebus and Nyx quietly watched from their dwelling. By some foolish treaty they had signed when they'd conceived their first brood, they now could not directly interfere in their sons' affairs. They should've expected Apate and her spawn to be this vicious.

Nyx left her husband's side and headed to another realm.

The exterior of Thanatos' house fit faultlessly in the underworld. It was cold and dark and the walls were high, grey and windowless. There were no doors as well. Guests could only enter if they were sent for by Thanatos. Not that anyone wished for the god of death's invitation.

But Nyx had a standing invite.

Nyx rolled the pearl between her fingers and found herself inside Thanatos' home. His abode was an immense library of sorts. It had a richly adorned interior with floating crystal chandeliers and gold and marble pillars. There were an infinite number of levels linked with intricately designed spiral stairs. Not unlike a famous structure in Austria, the residence held four massive sculptures that portrayed death, heaven, hell and the last judgment.

Unlike most earthly libraries, none of the hardbound books held fabricated literature or inspired fiction. The myriad of tomes were biographies of his guests. Thanatos had once told Icelus that true stories were the most forbidding—particularly because they were real.

In truth, his latest visitors had the most disturbing demise. The recent events were unsettling even for him.

"I am sure you have seen," Nyx said, watching the personification of death from a safe distance.

"Yes. I've been quite busy the past hours," Thanatos replied.

Nyx held out her hand and showed the pearl she'd shed in Icelus' glade. "I am here to bargain."

"For Icelus' immortality again?" Thanatos inquired.

"No. Hers." Nyx walked toward Thanatos and offered the pearl, impatient to close the arrangement. They were wasting too much time. Her children were in danger.

Thanatos watched the daughter of Chaos, perturbed. "You know the risks. Do you want every mortal to find out they are all descendants of gods?"

"You were not this concerned when I traded for Icelus' life," Nyx rejoined waspishly.

"It was different with Icelus because you kept him in a prison you called your home. And Erebus is his direct father. Selene's case is more complicated. You know the hazards of her lineage. I ask you again—are you willing to face the consequences of trusting her? With immortality, no less."

Of course Nyx knew, but this was the path she chose to tread. However, she had not expected to be interrogated.

"My son trusts her. And she already sees even now."

Thanatos smirked. "This is new. You had never considered Icelus your son."

Nyx scowled and threw the pearl at the god of death. Thanatos caught and raised the pearl, examining it between his thumb and forefinger. Upon inspection, he carefully cradled the gemstone between his palms.

Thanatos narrowed his eyes at Nyx and told her, "This pearl is full of remorse and sadness. So ungodly."

"Then you know it costs more than what I ask. Expect to be summoned again before this ordeal is over," Nyx countered brusquely before she turned around and left.

Thanatos followed the queen of the night with his eyes. He was impressed.