Gods Save the Princess (Grace of Gods Book 2) (3 page)

Atlas nodded his head and left then, excusing himself and leaving me alone. I looked around the empty apartment before going to the door and putting the locks on, all four of them. I felt safer now, that strange man couldn’t come back.

I lingered by the door for a moment before turning and moving into the kitchen. My stomach was aching I was so hungry, my confusion and bewilderment momentarily excusing the aches but now that I was alone again it was all I could think about.

When I opened the fridge there was no food inside, hadn’t he just said he had provided me with everything I needed? What was the point if there was no food? I closed the door again before checking the freezer, still nothing. I checked the cupboards next but they were as bare as they day they had been hung. I’d kill for crackers and cheese if only there was even that.

Reopening the fridge, checking for juice on the door or something I gasped suddenly, staring in horror at the box of crackers and platter of cheese right next to it staring back at me.

That had definitely not been there 30 seconds ago.

I closed the fridge again, trying to figure out how I had missed that. I had only just been thinking, specifically, about crackers and cheese. One part of my mind tried to convince me it was magic but I shook my head, refusing to accept it.

Magic wasn’t real; magic was satanic.

I couldn’t help but test the theory, if only to debunk it as I thought about strawberry milk and reopened the fridge. Sure enough, next to the other things, was a carton of strawberry milk.

“Impossible. It’s not real.” I muttered to myself, leaning in to grab the box of crackers. I expected it to be an illusion but when my hand curled around the physical box I nearly dropped it in further surprise.

“I’m hallucinating.” I closed the door again quickly, thinking about anything and everything I could. Raspberries, hamburgers, eggs, butter, lettuce, carrots, jam, chocolate, sausages, peppers, radishes... And when I opened the door again it was overflowing with all these things. My breathing grew laboured as I struggled to cope with what was happening. Even if I was starving I was too afraid of this food to eat it.

What if there was something wrong with it because it wasn’t real? What if it made me sick?

I set the box down on the counter and backed away, looking around the room again. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was I was looking for but I didn’t find it.

I ended up on the couch, curled into a ball and staring at the wall. It was too much to wrap my head around; I didn’t even know where to start. Magic, Gods, this place... I still wanted to go home, but I didn’t even think that was possible anymore. I had to be quite far from home to be in a place where magic existed. I was scared. I couldn’t trust anything and I didn’t know what was real or what was an illusion anymore.

I sat there for some time; resisting everything about this place until the pains in my stomach became so bad I caved and got the box of crackers again. Unwrapping the first tower of saltines I examined them carefully with all of my senses before slowly bringing one up to my lips for a taste. I was expecting something other than what they were. But it was real. It was all real...

Giving in completely to the hunger, I got some of the strawberry milk from the fridge along with the crackers. I could nearly believe it. But if the food was real though, my mind reasoned, perhaps Atlas wasn’t all that crazy after all.

I found myself sitting on the couch and staring at the book that Atlas had left behind as I made my way through the entire packet of saltines. He had been gone for close to an hour, he wouldn’t be hovering any longer to see if I did open it – if he’d even done that in the first place – and there was nothing wrong with taking an academic stand point with all this, was there?

No, I resolved, there wasn’t. It didn’t hurt to learn more about my situation, knowledge came from understanding. So I reached out, replacing the crackers in my hand for the heavy tome Atlas had left behind. It looked ancient, the weathered cover faded in places from use and the pages themselves were yellowed and ink stained. Wherever Atlas had gotten this from it looked real that much was certain.

Tentative and unsure I opened the book and started to read through. It taught about the history of these so-called Gods and the stories that surrounded them. There was nothing factual about them in the book; it was simply a collection of legends that I felt Atlas was putting way too much stock into. But then how did I explain the fridge?

When I finished reading a few hours later I wasn’t any more convinced than I had been when I started. If my skepticism had been reduced, it was only by a fraction. I needed more proof from somewhere that wasn’t directly from Atlas. Maybe if I could find something else to back up what he was saying...

I replaced the half empty box of crackers and refilled my drink before crossing through the apartment back to my bedroom. I set the book down on the desk in there and paused for a moment, staring at the brand new laptop that was sitting there. I’d never had one before, but my older brother had let me use his sometimes for schoolwork. I looked around, stupidly, as if checking to see if there was someone else around who could be the owner of the laptop before pulling the chair out and sitting down. With the help of the Internet I might be able to do a quick search to back up Atlas’ story.

The more I searched the more my stomach knotted at the idea that this was actually all real. He was telling the truth, the book was telling the truth. How was that possible though? My entire life I had been told there was only one God, one singular celestial Father who had the power to create the world and destroy it. A Father who had given his only son for our sins...

I felt light-headed as my thoughts spun around, trying to gather momentum despite still feeling the resistance of a lifetime of learning. I still wanted to cling to all those beliefs I’d known for my entire life. How was I supposed to uproot everything I’d ever believed in just because one man told me I was a God? If I was a God I’d be able to do Godly things, right?

I closed the laptop, frowning to myself. I didn’t want to admit it but I had to go and find Atlas, I had a few more questions I needed to ask him before I got too confused about everything.

First and foremost I needed to know who my so-called God was if I was actually what he said I was.

Chapter Three

I was worried about leaving the apartment and not being able to find my way back. But just as Atlas had promised I left the apartment and as soon as I was out in the hallway, thinking hard about finding him, a door appeared in front of me. I stared at it, somewhat in horror, surprised by its sudden appearance before carefully reaching out and grabbing it. My body was tense, expecting something to happen as I took the handle and turned it but instead it opened up into an office.

It reminded me of the Prime Minister’s office in a way, very regal and old-fashioned. Atlas was sitting at his desk, a massive scroll unrolled in front of him and he was staring intently at the contents. He didn’t even look up at me, or give any indication he knew I’d entered the room, leaving me a bit more time to take in my surroundings.

He had more of those tomes he’d given me, piled on the bookshelves around the room. He had a collection of things that looked otherworldly.

And in the middle of the room there was a massive golden globe.

It was almost bigger than me and each continent was intricately carved into it with gilded calligraphy written over each one. I expected to see the names of the countries but the writing was in a language I didn’t know and there were symbols all over it that reminded me of satanic practices.

Coming around the globe I looked down at Atlas’ scroll, he was watching a blue dot on a map. It was moving slowly before his eyes flicked to a second moving dot, this time black, and poised over where England would’ve been on a regular map. He touched it and the dot expanded into a black circle that took up most of the scroll. It slowly faded out and an image appeared in its stead.

A young man was standing on a street corner, he looked dirty and tired, sick even, as he smoked a cigarette with almost an obsession. His eyes were full of pain, I felt sad for him. A woman came into view and he stepped forward toward her. I thought maybe she was his girlfriend but then, by her reaction I could tell, she had no idea who he was.

Atlas looked up at me, appearing almost surprised to see me before he closed the screen with a flick of his wrist and quickly rolled the scroll up.

“What was that?”

“A map; I’m tracking the others.”

“There are more Gods?”

“Of course, there is an entire pantheon. There are dozens of other Gods.”

“Why aren’t they here then?”

“It’s not their time to come yet. They still have things they need to do in their mortal lives before I can bring them here.”

“Why?”

Atlas smiled and I worried he could sense that I was coming around to all of this – albeit slowly. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.

“Because part of being a specific God is having a shared history with their God, so some people still need to experience things as mortals in order for the celestial union to occur. It’s their destiny.”

Now destiny was a concept I, finally, understood.

“Was... My uncle my destiny?”

Atlas looked up at me and frowned, torn between giving me the truth and protecting me. It was a look my father had familiarised me with. “Have you read the book then?”

He changed the subject, leaving me unsure if I should be angry or grateful for that.

“I did, and I did some research on the computer. I have a few questions.”

He nodded and stood up, “I’ll be happy to answer them so long as I can. Let’s go somewhere more comfortable though.” He waved his hand and suddenly the room around us changed completely. No longer were we in an office, but a comfy waiting room. The seat I had been about to sit on turned into a couch I was more than happy to flop onto while Atlas’ desk disappeared and he was sitting in a lounge chair.

“So, ask away.” He smiled at me in a friendly enough way that momentarily I didn’t feel embarrassed for my belief or disbelief. I wasn’t sure which one made me more uncomfortable.

“I read about the Greek Gods... And say I believe you, about me being one – which am I supposed to be?”

“That, unfortunately, I can’t tell you. Part of the experience, part of experiencing things that are important to your Goddess, is that you learn at your own pace who you are. It allows for a strong connection to be made between yourself and your Goddess while also giving you a chance to slowly come to terms with what is happening around you. Some people will develop their awareness, everything seemingly coming at once, while others will take their time and come into their own at a moderate pace.”

“Oh, okay.” I said with a small frown. It seemed like a convenient answer that he didn’t actually
know
who my Goddess was. “Well, what is this place then?”

“This is Mount Olympus, restored... Modernised, mostly. I wanted to pay tribute to the great beauty it once was but I also wanted to make it easy for your modern vessels to accommodate to coming here. If it were to be completely as it once was you might find it... archaic.”

“Yes, I think so too...” I agreed thoughtfully before looking over at him. “You must be old as well then if you’ve been around since... Well, since the first time there were Greek Gods.” He nodded with a small chuckle, unfazed by being called old.

“Yes. I am a few millennia old. I have seen many things in my lifetime.”

“Will you ever die – will I ever die?”

Atlas nodded his head slowly, “it is possible for me to die but it is very difficult and if someone were to do it they would have to be very committed to killing me. But it is still possible, no one is entirely immortal.”

I nodded and then arched an eyebrow, silently probing for the answer to my second question.

“You can still die as well, as you could when you were mortal. Since you haven’t united with your Goddess yet, for all intensive purposes, you are still mortal. You will be mortal until the whole process is complete I’m afraid. There will be changes you’ll find, such as the ability to heal. That being said though: you can’t chop off your hand and expect it to grow back. But if you were to get, say, a paper cut, it would heal itself faster than the average human. You will also not get sick anymore. But if someone used magic to hurt you, you would not heal. You can be shot, stabbed, electrocuted, drowned, hung, and killed in every other way you can imagine and this would be effective until you have completed your change into your immortal body.”

“How will I know the change has happened?”

“That is something you will feel, I cannot explain it to you – of course – because I have never experienced it. But the spell Zeus cast before going to sleep ensured that the process of uniting would be smooth and the vessel would know what was happening.”

I frowned more and nodded, all of this was so much to process. I still didn’t even really know if I believed it all or if I was just humouring Atlas for answers.

“So then, what do I do here?”

“Live. Whatever you desire. You’re free to do as you please. This is not a hostile kidnapping; I hope you understand that. I took you from your Uncle’s and brought you not to a new captivity, but to a new home. You’re welcome to do whatever you’d like, all you need is the ability to imagine it.”