When we returned the next morning, it was to a buzz of activity. People were moving and lifting things and packing up anything of value. We'd come a long way from the ragtag few that set out from Eastern Washington. Between our Roman friends and Artemis' resistance fighters, our numbers had swelled far past what they started as.
I brought these people together. In the past that thought would've scared me but… I was a god now. Somehow, deep inside, I felt it was only natural for things to be this way. I wasn't sure if I was happy with that change, but it was definitely there.
"Ah, the man of the hour. Congratulations."
Calypso and Artemis had already slipped away, each of them moving to martial their own groups of mortals. That left me standing alone… until Prometheus appeared, lifting a heavy box. When I peeked at the contents, it mostly looked to be food.
"Congratulations on what?" I asked.
Prometheus looked over his shoulder, back toward where Artemis was taking command of her group. There was an extra bounce in her step that hadn't been there the day before. He looked back at me, smiling softly.
Alright, fine. I guess it was kind of obvious.
"Thanks," I said. "But what is all this? It wasn't this busy the last few times we left a place."
"Walk with me Percy," Prometheus said.
I followed him as he carried the box of food toward a growing pile. Nearby, chariots like the ones that brought us here were waiting— except instead of two, there were five, and they weren't floating anymore.
"Calypso is a very resourceful woman, but even her powers have their limits," Prometheus said. "The air spirits she used to bring us here were already working very hard. To add more chariots, there's no other choice but to slow down. It will take us… oh probably a week to reach our next destination. To manage that long, we need food and other supplies. A growing force is always a double-sided blade. For all the added faith that trickles back to you, we must also take care of the ones providing it."
"I'm not cruel," I said. "You don't have to convince me to help these people stay happy."
He chuckled. "Of course. I don't mean that you'd begrudge us decencies. But it's something you must think about now! The more people shelter behind you, the costlier even small mistakes become."
"I'll keep it in mind."
"That's all that I ask," Prometheus said. Suddenly, he paused, letting out a great yawn. "Oh dear. I'm suddenly losing strength… so quickly…"
I jumped as the box dropped from his hands with a sizable crash. Cans scattered, rolling across the ground. One in particular rolled further than the rest. It got underneath the bottom of a sandaled foot, sending the owner flopping onto their back.
I blinked, only now noticing the man that had been creeping away. Lelantos hadn't been invisible. I'd just been looking straight past him without meaning to. Some kind of magical camouflage?
"Who—?" Lelantos demanded.
When his eyes landed on us, his expression immediately changed to one of trepidation.
"Going somewhere?" Prometheus asked.
"Who? Me? Of course not!" Lelantos said. "I'd never dream of it! Coincidentally, though, what would it matter if I disappeared?"
"What would it matter? It would mean everything!" Prometheus said. "You're our trusty huntsman, after all. Who else can move so delicately, or trod unseen with so much skill?"
"Her!" Lelantos exclaimed.
He pointed across the camp at Artemis. When we looked back, Lelantos was on his feet, attempting to tiptoe away again. Prometheus laid a hand on his shoulder.
"My dear Lelantos. Are you having confidence issues?" he asked.
"You replaced me!" Lelantos said. "First you brought me to this awful dead wasteland, then you found a newer model. I ventured into Menoetius' seat of power for you!"
"Because you were forced," I said.
"I protected you from Kronos' notice!"
"Again, because you had to. And he still noticed us."
"Now, I bet you'll throw me away as bait as soon as we get into trouble!"
I wondered if we were going to have to start tying him up again. Fortunately, Prometheus was on the job.
"Let's be reasonable here." Prometheus rubbed Lelantos' back soothingly. "You're the greatest hunter! How could we use you for bait? Our enemies would be unable to find you if you were right in front of them. You needn't worry about Artemis. You've been with us longer. When we emerge victorious, we'll honor you first, before any later additions. All you need do is continue offering your help to make that future a reality."
Lelantos nodded, his eyes wide as he imagined the glory he would gain. Prometheus steered him back toward the others and sent him off with a soft push.
"Do you really plan on honoring him after the war?" I asked once Lelantos was out of earshot.
"Percy, we need all the allies that we can get at the moment," Prometheus said. "If he makes it that far… perhaps what he hopes for will be awaiting him."
So not even Prometheus knew if he was lying or not. He'd decide later. But the fact remained that he'd read Lelantos like a book and gotten the Titan to do exactly what he wanted. In his own way, the diplomatic Titan was as scary as the rest of his family. What he lacked as far as being able to overpower you, he made up for by twisting you to his own ends.
"Who's our next target?" I asked.
"We'll be returning to the South," Prometheus said. "The North is the most secure of all the regions. If there's anywhere Kronos would never expect to see fall, it's that."
I scratched my head. "Then shouldn't we attack there next? So far, we've been doing everything we can to be unexpected."
It wouldn't take long for the other Titans to realize Hyperion had fallen. They were going to dig in fortifying the regions they had left. Surely they would guess that the South would be next, and by the time we got there, be ready for us.
"That would be a decent strategy if we had any chance in the North," Prometheus said. "If we march there, we will— No, I will lose. And the rest of you will lose along with me."
Prometheus had never shown any kind of doubt in his abilities as a strategist… until now. "What's up there?" I asked.
"A certain uncle of mine," Prometheus said. "Who just so happens to be my weakness."
O-O-O
One week later.
Jonesboro Arkansas was once a town with a population of eighty-thousand. After the rise of the Titans, it became a border town between Hyperion's domain in the east and Krios' domain in the south. The land itself in the region had been changed, becoming sandy and sunbaked like southern Texas. Yet the buildings had mostly been spared, proving that this truly wasn't a place under Hyperion's rule. Even stranger, the houses seemed to still be in use. As a trio walked down main street, humans peered at them from windows, each with a thick metal collar around their necks.
"Feels like home!" said Leo, grinning and strutting down the road. "The sand! The sweat-through-your-underwear heat! Did I mention the sand?"
"I don't enjoy the way they're looking at us," Calypso said. "They're terrified."
I glanced at one of the nearby houses. Three kids no older than twelve quickly ducked down out of a window. Each of them had a collar so heavy that they could barely hold their heads up.
"You! Who are you!"
The voice sounded human, but when we looked up it was coming from a kind of two-legged dog. There was a pack of them, maybe fifteen in total, wielding spears and wearing leather armor. They were called Cynocephali, a kind of barbaric monster typically associated with the Roman pantheon. As soon as the Cynocephali appeared, all the mortals who'd been watching us stepped away from their windows as fast as possible.
"They aren't collared," said one of the Cynocephali. "Did they get theirs off?"
"Impossible," said the leader. "Mistress Hecate's magic can't be undone by mortals. They must have come from the East."
Another Cynocephali snickered. "Stupid unlucky mortals."
A door opened. In the frame I saw two of the children who had been looking out one of the windows— the kids with collars so big they could hardly keep their heads up. The third kid scrambled out of the door, but it was hard for them to run, seeing as their wrists were chained together. The little girl ran up to me, grabbed my fingers, and pulled with all her might, trying to lead me away from the Cynocephali.
"That one's acting up," said one of the Cynocephali. "Shouldn't the collar—"
The little girl dropped to her knees, grinding her teeth. An electric hum had started underneath the metal, stinging her skin. I scowled.
"There it is!" snickered the Cynocephali.
"Did you do this?" I asked.
"That's awfully accusing," the leader said, his tone showing he was having fun. "We're just the bosses. It's not our fault the spell works this way. If a slave does something we're displeased with, it just activates! You'll learn all about it soon enough when you've got a collar of your own."
"So it works based on your displeasure. That's all I needed to know."
I turned to the little girl, dropping onto one knee. At the same time, I raised my palm toward the Cynocephali. Brushing her collar with the back of my hand, I pulled the pain onto myself, sucking it away from her so that I was bearing all of of it. The Cynocephali dropped to the ground, howling.
I accepted the collar's pain in the slave's place, and in return, I dumped it on the Cynocephali causing it. They writhed and screamed and scratched their fur with clawed fingers until they were bleeding. Eventually, their bodies gave out, disintegrating. The pain disappeared. I stood up, extending my hand, and pulled the little girl to her feet. She looked confused. People were slowly emerging from the buildings around us, the children stepping out before anyone else.
"Hey there, everyone," I said. "How would you like to be free?"
Before they could react, Mist appeared around Calypso's hands. She lifted her arms, taking deep and measured breaths. Sweat broke out on her skin. Yet when she brought her hands down like a conductor, every single collar shattered, falling away.
"Now you are," I said.
O-O-O
We were supposed to have reached the heart of Krios' domain by now, but after seven days we just kept moving slower. Our group was growing exponentially.
There were so many slaves in the south. Bound by collars, they were forced to work all kinds of jobs, the only similarity between them being how inhumanly hard the workers were pushed. Mortals did everything monsters could want or need here. They cleaned, they brought (and sometimes became) their food, and they even gave them entertainment. It was too much to leave these people, but the larger our group grew, the more difficult it became to move.
I sighed, rubbing my face with exhaustion. In a way, the South was even more brutal than the East had been. Where Hyperion created a graveyard, Krios ran a civilization that thrived off of suffering.
At least after a long day of work, there were ways to unwind. I allowed myself to focus on the slurping between my legs. Katie was naked, laying on her stomach with cum still dripping slowly from her pussy. Despite have been filled up, she insisted on serving me with her mouth afterward, despite her obvious exhaustion. She bobbed her head relentlessly until I let out a white torrent inside her mouth. She pulled back, her eyes fluttering as she swallowed my seed, before her body finally gave out. She passed out with a smile, and I moved her so that her head was on a pillow. When I was done, I turned to the entrance of my personal tent.
"You can come in," I said.
The shadow waiting there hesitated, then pulled back the flap and stepped inside. Aubrey looked at Katie, taking in her state quickly, then looked back at me. She was wearing a white bathrobe for some reason, one that made her black hair stand out.
"Aubrey," I said with a smile. "Can I help you with something?"
Maybe I should have gotten dressed, but Katie and I hadn't been keeping quiet and Aubrey entered anyway, so she must have known what to expect. When she pulled her eyes away from Katie, they first moved to my dick, then forced their way up to my eyes.
"I'd like to serve you, My Lord," she said.
She shed her robe. There was nothing underneath except for her stunning body. By mortal standards, Aubrey was pretty much perfect. She had an hourglass figure, thick thighs, large perky breasts, and a curvy ass on top of everything. She sauntered forward, leaving her robes by the door.
I was pretty used to visits like this at this point. It was pretty much unheard of for me to spend a night alone. I'd never been with Aubrey, though, so I was honestly a little surprised.
As soon as she got close Aubrey pressed her breasts into my chest, encircling my dick with her fingers. It was still wet from Katie's spit, so she found it easy enough to stroke me from base to tip. My eyes widened, and I hissed with pleasure. She was incredibly good at that.
"Do you like my fingers, My Lord?" she whispered in my ear. "My fingers are yours, just like the rest of my body. You can have them any time."
I just got done having sex, so foreplay like this wasn't really what I was after. I grabbed Aubrey's curvy butt and picked her up, just to drop her on the bed. I placed myself above her, one thrust away from initiating missionary. But I stopped.
"Are you ready?" I asked.
Aubrey bit her lip, then nodded. I stretched her pussy, my hips colliding with her body.
My thrusts shook the bed, although I held back compared to when I was with a goddess or even a demigod. Aubrey was completely mortal, as beautiful as she was, so I couldn't lose control. I was worried it would still be too much.
Instead, she handled it shockingly well. Her legs wrapped around me, pulling me down as I thrusted into her, and she moaned loudly. Soon, she was cumming.
"My Lord!" she gasped. "I'm actually… from the South!"
"I remember," I said.
It was why she snuck into the Telekhine forge in the volcano, kicking off the conflict with Pompona. She had been a slave, like the people we'd been freeing in the towns we passed.
"I know how treacherous this place can be," she said. "It's an atrocity for it to exist. You must end it!"
I tilted my head. "I would have done that anyway. You didn't need to come here offering your body for that."
To my surprise, Aubrey just kissed me. Her tongue was as skilled as her fingers had been, enough to actually leave me seeing stars from a single brief makeout session.
"I know," she said, smiling warmly. "This is a sign of faith, not an attempt to bribe you. I want to be yours because you're worth it. I suspected it for a long time… But you're amazing, Percy. You can fix this!"
Her legs tightened on my back, showing that there was only one place for my load when it came. I recalled the woman I first met, who had been so hollow and hopeless in Washington. The idea of her smiling like this seemed almost crazy. Yet I had done it. Slowly, for at least some people, I was creating change.
Aubrey howled, cumming again and burying her face against my shoulder. I thrusted down, letting loose and pouring my mark on her womb. She shuddered, then relaxed. When she peeled her face away from my body, she was still smiling.
"Immortals have excellent stamina," she said. "I hope you're not done yet."
I smiled, rolling her over onto her knees and beginning to fuck her from behind. As her ass shook and her moans started up again, I lost myself in the pleasure, determined to give Aubrey the best night of her life.
O-O-O
Hundreds of miles away, in a darkened room, a figure appeared. They were wearing all black, blending in with the shadows they emerged from. After pausing and listening, catching only distant heavy footsteps, they turned to what was in front of them.
It looked like a humongous drinks dispenser, filled with viscous murky liquid. The figure reached out, prodding the place where the contents were meant to escape. The celestial bronze had been bent and twisted to the point of being inoperable.
"He's back!" the figure said.
Their voice echoed through the depths of the palace. Heavy footsteps began growing closer. The figure shook his head. Security was still tight here, even now when it had relaxed enough for him to sneak on. Stepping back, he disappeared into another shadow, being swallowed up.
East, that was where he would find him. And he had to find him. There was a reason he had never given up hope.
If the hero had really died, he would've known.
"C'mon Percy," Nico whispered. "You've got to be out there."