The Weight of the World Read online

  Olympia Heights:

  Book 2

  The Weight of the World

  by Amy Leigh Strickland

  Copyright © 2012 by Amy Leigh Strickland

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in cases of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  For information address Matter Deep Publishing

  http://matterdeeppublishing.com

  To my family, born and acquired. I love you all.

  “The young have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things—and that means having exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning.... All their mistakes are in the direction of doing things excessively and vehemently. They overdo everything; they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else.”

  -Aristotle

  THE PANTHEON

  Zach Jacobs (Zeus)

  June Herald (Hera)

  Nick Morrisey (Poseidon)

  Valerie Hess (Hestia)

  Dr. Celene Davis (Demeter)

  Frank Guerrero (Ares)

  Peter Hadley (Hades)

  Devon Valentine (Aphrodite)

  Miranda “Minnie” Rutherford (Athena)

  Evan Fuller (Hephaestus)

  Teddy Wexler Jr. (Dionysus)

  Penelope Davis (Persephone)

  Astin Hill (Apollo)

  Diana Hill (Artemis)

  Lewis Mercer (Hermes)

  Dr. Jason Livingstone (Mortal)

  “We are twice armed if we fight with faith.”

  -Plato

  i.

  The stranger awoke as the moon took its place

  and stole her hosts' infant from his bassinet.

  She took off her cloak, rested it by the fire,

  and then set to work.

  She fed the infant three drops of ambrosia.

  She stripped off the swaddling cloth around him.

  And then, to cure him of his mortality,

  she held him in fire.

  The baby cooed and giggled as he was cured,

  but when a curious servant rose from bed

  she saw the stranger cooking the child and screamed,

  waking the whole house.

  The mother ran in and snatched the child away,

  but in her haste the boy fell upon the ground.

  So Demeter cast off her mortal disguise

  and stood before them.

  “I would have given your son immortal life

  and made him a hero as strong as Ares,

  but your faith was cut short by a servant's screams.

  He will stay mortal.”

  And, thus, Demeter left from the mortal's home

  and went out into the cold, blue moonlit night.

  She continued her search for her own daughter,

  the one Hades took.

  “How easily some light report is set about, but how difficult to bear.”

  -Hesiod

  I.

  Dr. Celene Davis’ seventh period junior chemistry class had one minute left to stress over their finals before freedom was theirs. Summer was about to start in the Miami suburb.

  Since their showdown with the brothers, Epimetheus and Prometheus, a lot had changed for Celene. A lot had changed for everyone. Celene and Penny got a hefty insurance check from the fire and had purchased anew all of the physical things in their lives. Celene's friends from grad school had even started a Facebook event to collect prints of old photos-- specifically her wedding photos. Other heirlooms and mementos could never be replaced. Still, Celene knew that quilts and photo albums and old sweaters were only things. The memories were still with her. Celene and Penny were able to appreciate what they were left with-- each other-- and move on. They were now renting a small home a few blocks away from their old apartment. It was too far for Penny to walk to school anymore.

  There were new challenges for the reborn gods. They all had secrets to keep. Meetings happened once a week under the guise of a support group for the victims of the “Alvarez Brothers”. The Pantheon had become a close-knit social group that worked together to test the limits of their powers and share their more vivid memories. Friends and rivals, they flipped between cracking jokes and arguing from one moment to the next. Celene had the responsibility of acting as the mother of the group.

  This burden was eased by the tone of things around her. The world, in general, seemed brighter than before. The Pantheon had come to the conclusion that Hope had been let out of Pandora's pithos when Zach had broken it and freed his comrades. The news media had come to the consensus that the upturn of good will and positive mental health was linked to signs of recovery for the American economy.

  Magic or money, Celene didn't question it. The school board had voted a week ago to lift freezes on teacher salaries. Celene was due for a raise and a fair amount of retro-pay. The last few weeks of class had been relatively peaceful. Celene had gotten her room ready for break by making anyone who chatted during the review sort and scrub the chemical cabinets. She was excited to begin her summer vacation. She was certain that she wasn't alone in this sentiment.

  Celene put down her magazine, finishing an article about last week's quake in Morocco that cracked the top of Mount Toubkal. It was far less depressing than reading nihilistic predictions about the economy. She watched the minute hand as it slid to the four.

  Celene heard a steady thumping, like the tattoo of a drum, deep within her head. It was soft and distant and faster than a heartbeat. At first she had thought the noise was coming from somewhere in the room, but when she pressed her middle fingers against her ears, she still heard it. Maybe a migraine was coming on.

  “Bell rings in sixty seconds,” she warned. “Put your blue books in the pile on the left. Exams go to your right.”

  Chairs frantically scraped as students rushed to ditch their exams at the front and flee the room. Zach Jacobs was already talking about summer football camp with Frank Guerrero as they left the class. Devon Valentine’s bracelets jangled as she casually tossed her test on the desk.

  Celene reached out and touched her hand. Something seemed different. The drum beat was louder. It was coming from Devon, and the teenage girl looked different, like her skin was subtly glowing.

  “Miss Valentine,” she said, “can I talk to you after class?”

  The bell rang. Devon stared back at Celene for a moment before nodding. Private conversations these days usually meant Pantheon secrets. Minnie Rutherford and June Herald looked back at Devon and Celene, expectantly, but Celene waved for them to go on.

  Celene fixed her eyes on the teenage girl, wondering. She knew something that she had no way of knowing; she felt certain of it.

  Devon stared back with sea-foam green eyes. She knew nothing.

  “You’re seventeen, Devon?”

  She nodded, “Eighteen next February,” she added. Kids were ever rushing to grow up.

  “Fourteenth?” Celene took a wild guess.

  “Thirteenth.”

  “And Frank?”

  “He was eighteen in March.”

  “And what was the date for the start of your last period?”

  Devon blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “Your period.” Celene kept her tone soft and maternal.

  “Um...” Devon paused to think about it. It was hard to worry about things like menstrual cycles when you were a teenage reincarnation of Aphrodite. Budding superpowers and lucid dreams had taken priorit
y in her thoughts. She tried to think of the last time she had been inconvenienced by Eve’s curse. Her stomach twisted. Easter. “Six weeks.”

  “You’re pregnant,” Celene was sure of it.

  They stared at each other for a long minute. Devon kept praying that her teacher and fellow goddess would suddenly laugh and scream “gotcha!” but she knew that wasn’t Dr. Davis’ style. She was serious and Devon knew she was right.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Celene asked.

  “How would you even know that?”

  Celene pondered this. She just knew. “I don’t know. Is it that strange, considering...?”

  “I have to go,” Devon blurted in a voice that was high and oddly tight. She was out the door in a flash. She strolled down the hall, overcome with a sudden numbness. The excited chatter in the halls muffled to an inaudible murmur in her mind.

  What would her parents say?

  She would have liked to blame her next reaction on hormones, but that was only part of it. She coolly walked into the bathroom, locked the stall door behind her, and pressed her forehead to the vandalized wall.

  “Fuck!” she shouted, bursting into a fit of sobs. She was seventeen, minutes away from being a senior. She was passing her classes. She was popular. Her mother was running for Mayor. Everything was ruined. The worst had happened, and now Devon Valentine was going to be fat.

  Celene Davis didn’t follow Devon to the bathroom. She knew the girl needed space. Devon knew who to call when she was ready to talk.

  Celene threw her keys and her bottled water into her over-sized purse. She didn’t stop to bid a summer farewell to anyone else in the science corridor. When her feet rested, Celene was at the nurse’s office, at the desk of Dr. Jason Livingstone.

  “Celene,” Jason said, surprised to see her at his door. Dr. Davis and Dr. Livingstone had avoided any public conversation since the Titan attack in February. Lewis Mercer had spun the plausible tale of an affair as a cover-up for The Pantheon connection. It was a necessary lie, but neither adult wanted to further perpetuate the rumor by being seen together.

  Celene was surprised to find Penny sitting in the chair across from the desk.

  “I was just recruiting Penny to babysit this summer, so I can get out once in a while-- have some sanity. Is that okay with you if I pay her?”

  “Penny’s old enough to have a little income and a little responsibility,” she said. Normally she might have been a bit more enthusiastic about the idea of her fifteen-year-old having her own income. She wouldn’t need an allowance anymore.

  “Okay,” Penny said. “I promised Peter I’d see him before I left.”

  “Wait for me in the car,” Celene said.

  Penny slipped out of the room like a shadow.

  “Everything okay?” Jason asked.

  Celene closed the office door. “Devon’s pregnant.”

  Jason took a moment to speak. “Frank?” It was an easy enough assumption. The pair had been practically joined at the hip since February.

  She nodded, “And a good thing or we’d have to worry about protecting some poor, stupid boy.”

  “This isn’t good,” he said.

  “She’s just a teenager.”

  “That’s the least of our problems. She’s not just a teenager.”

  Celene nodded, “I know, but she’s a teenager first.”

  “No. I mean-- yes, it’s terrible. She’s very young. She’s scared, but Celene, we don’t know if this baby will even be human.”

  Celene hadn’t thought of that.

  “If she goes to see an obstetrician, you could all be outed. And what if it has Frank’s strength? Could she even carry it to full term? This is a disaster.”

  “Well, it’s fortunate The Pantheon has its own M.D.,” she said.

  “Retired.”

  “You still have your license.”

  Jason picked up his now-cold black coffee and went to the sink to dump it. He took his time rinsing his hand-painted World’s Best Dad mug before answering.

  “I’ll email her. We’ll have to be smart, though. She’ll need to use out-of-town pharmacies or they’ll ask why the school nurse is prescribing prenatal vitamins.”

  “Thanks, Jason.” Celene turned to leave but stopped. “Oh, uh, by the way. It might be worth noting that Devon didn’t tell me.”

  “You mean she doesn’t know you know?”

  “No. Like... I think she was glowing, but only I could see it. And I heard a heartbeat. A small, fast one.”

  Jason cocked his head, “Like a baby's heartbeat?”

  Celene nodded.

  “Keep me updated on that,” he said.

  “Will do.”

  Penny was standing under the covered walkway in front of the school. Peter Hadley was leaning against the pillar, dressed in far too much black for a summer day and sharing a box of candy with her. He was sporting one of his usual bruises-- this one on his chin-- even so, he was looking more cheerful than usual.

  Celene ignored a sharp glare from Candice Matthews as she passed the front office. The other teacher had been cold toward Celene since Lewis’ rumor had struck in February. She pushed open the green glass door to the lobby and spotted Penny chatting enthusiastically to her sullen friend.

  “Hello, Peter,” Celene said. She didn’t like the boy, but she wasn’t rude. He was a Pantheon member, after all, even if he had stolen her daughter in a past life. “Excited for summer?”

  He shrugged.

  “Mom, Peter has a job.”

  “Oh, something fun?”

  “Retail,” he grumbled.

  “Good. Everyone needs to work in retail or fast food once in their life.”

  Peter didn’t look so sure of that.

  “Well,” Celene said, eager to eat and to get Penny away from Peter. If they both had jobs, maybe they wouldn’t have so much time to spend together. “Lunch!”

  “Right. Bye Peter!” Penny hugged him. He looked unsure of what to do with his hands.

  Penny practically skipped to her mother’s car. She rolled down her window to cool off the interior when Celene started the car. “What did you talk to Doc Livingstone about?” she asked.

  “I’ll tell you in a minute when we pull out of the parking lot,” Celene answered. At least, she thought, Devon wasn’t her daughter.

  “Love is a serious mental disease.”

  -Plato

  ii.

  The god of war, blood-stained and sweaty, strutted

  brandishing his spear as he approached Eros.

  He scoffed at the weapon that Eros wielded

  and bragged of his own.

  The winged god would not be outdone by Ares

  and formed a plot to weaken the warrior.

  He wagered, “Mine is heavier,” to the god,

  who had to test it.

  Ares took the javelin in his two hands

  and was surprised at the weight of the weapon.

  Aphrodite was amused by his defeat

  and laughed quietly.

  'Take it back,” Ares said, holding out the spear,

  But clever Eros just smiled and waved his hand

  and thus bound Ares to the Goddess in love.

  “You keep it,” he said.

  “No man loves the bearer of bad tidings.”

  -Sophocles

  II.

  Devon’s cell phone slowly spun on the glossy end table as its wake-up alarm vibrated. It was four in the afternoon. Her father would be home soon and she needed to make sure that all signs of her boyfriend were gone from the room. The first thing to hide was, in fact, her boyfriend.

  She rolled over in Frank’s large arms and kissed his chin. “Hey,” she whispered. He was already awake and alert from the warning alarm. His phone was set for fifteen minutes later with an obnoxiously loud, emergency back-up beep.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “I think it’s time for you to put some clothes on,” Devon cooed.

  Frank grunted. D
evon slipped out of his arms and set about finding their clothes. She had to make sure that not so much as a sock was left under the bed. Frank propped himself up on his elbow and watched her work. He liked watching her get dressed, though it was more fun in reverse. Devon didn’t put on a show for him today. Usually there was an element of play in this kind of thing and now that it was summer and they had even more unsupervised time, he thought she should seem more relaxed. Devon was actually focused on the task at hand, though.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  Devon paused in the middle of buttoning her jeans. She watched him for a moment, unsure if she should go sit on the bed with him or just stay where she was. Frank saw this debate in her eyes and sat up.

  “I’m pregnant,” she said.

  “What?”

  “We’re pregnant,” Devon clarified. She knew that most of the school assumed that she slept around, but the truth of it was that it had only been Frank for almost six months now.

  Frank was a guy who could take a punch, but this, more than anything, made him look like there were stars in his pitch-black eyes. “You’re sure?”