God of War

TEN

ATHENA STARED DOWN into the broad scrying pool below the throne of Zeus. A few ripples crossed it, but these came from the gusts swirling through Olympus. With a gesture, Athena stilled the waters so that they became clear as the sky. She bent forward to get a better view as Kratos unleashed Medusa’s Gaze.

“Your mortal fights well.”

Athena looked up. Her father had willed himself once more onto his throne, where he now leaned forward, peering intently into the pool. Could it be that Zeus showed the faintest hint of satisfaction?

Even Athena could not read the face of the Lord of Olympus for certain, but she dared hope.

She moved to one side, the better to keep one eye on the pool while she tried to fully decipher his expression. “I did not realize you were following the battle.”

“Slaughter,” Zeus said, “is mightily diverting. It has been many years since we’ve had such fine wanton destruction.”

“Ares brings it to my beloved city,” Athena said, a catch in her voice. “But Kratos’s savagery comes from Ares. He is what my brother has made of him.”

“He may be a bit more than that,” the Lord of Olympus murmured. “You know, the sack of Athens is shaping up to be an epic poem-you should ask Apollo to compose an ode, perhaps. Commemorate the occasion. Doesn’t have to be anything so elaborate as Homer’s tale of Troy-after all, Troy stood against all of Greece for ten years. Athens hasn’t lasted ten days. Nonetheless, many of your soldiers are managing to die heroically. And then there’s your Kratos.”

The Skyfather pointed to the scrying pool, which reflected Kratos’s battle against a flight of harpies. “His furious quest for vengeance-one tiny mortal against the God of War? Very nice. Really. I couldn’t have done it better myself.”

“High praise, my lord father-perhaps the highest I have ever received.” She didn’t let it go to her head, because Zeus, premier among the other Olympians, was a deep planner. Athena wondered at his interest now and if he worked his own subtle plans.

Whatever the machinations, her Kratos played a prominent role.

“I am gratified you are taking such an interest in the struggle, Father. Would it be too bold for me to ask if your interest arises from the struggle itself?”

“My dear daughter, this is not about you. It had better not be. This is only your mortal against Ares’s mob of horrors raked from the dregs of Hades. That Kratos has survived so far makes this a bit more interesting than certain gods had been expecting.”

“Do you favor Kratos?”

Zeus turned pensive, running fingers through the wisps of his cloud beard. Athena tried to read the thoughts behind his eyes and could not. She caught her breath when her father spoke, his words slow and obviously carefully chosen.

“My son shows increasing disrespect, and that distresses me. He kills your worshippers in Athens, but that is to be expected.”

Athena started to point out that Ares also singled out Zeus’s worshippers, destroying the Skyfather’s temples and corrupting sacrifices to win his favor, but she saw that he already understood this.

“Ares’s hubris grows with every victory. Do what you can to support Kratos if your mortal can bring about a greater humility by thwarting Ares.”

“My brother cannot be stopped in this fashion,” Athena said, immediately regretting her words. Her passion betrayed her true intentions. “Not directly. Everyone on Olympus knows my support for the valiant when they face impossible odds. Seldom do they win-poor old Leonidas at Thermopylae, betrayed at the last-but when they triumph… Well, even the Lord of Olympus knows how to honor a hero.

“So, would you see Kratos win? What are you suggesting?”

“I suggest nothing,” Athena said. “I suggest nothing more than that Kratos can use divine help in his struggle.”

“I will not openly oppose Ares, no matter how impudent he has become.” Zeus stroked his beard more fiercely now, lightning bolts dancing through the clouds and leaping from finger to finger. Athena tried to read her father’s mood and could not. But she hoped when he spoke next.

“It has always been worrisome to me that the oracles know what I, Lord of Olympus, cannot see with all my powers.”

“Perhaps it is for the best,” Athena said.

“Best for whom, dear daughter, best for whom?” Zeus turned his attention back to the scrying pool and the vast destruction Ares delivered to the city and people of Athens. The Skyfather leaned still farther forward. “We’re just getting to the good part.”

Athena caught her breath as Ares appeared on the battlefield and began to crush Athenians under his sandal. Zeus gestured, and the view dissolved to a vision of Kratos sprinting up the long roadway toward the top of the Acropolis, just as a mortal woman failed to save her infant from a harpy-and another harpy snatched up the woman and savaged her with its talons.

“That woman is one of your worshippers!” Athena pointed at the bleeding woman. “Do you see?”

Zeus frowned. “Indeed. In fact, she’s a priestess-that little building of hers is an inn, consecrated to me in my Zeus Philoxenos role.”

“He thinks to destroy my worshippers,” she said. “Are you certain this priestess of yours was an accident? Perhaps he has aspirations for a higher throne.”

“Please, dear child.” Zeus thrust out his finger and touched the woman just as the harpy ripped out her spine. The ruler of the gods sighed and drew back his finger, now dotted with a single drop of water from the viewing pool. He turned and flicked the water droplet high into the air. It caught a ray of sunlight, turned into a rainbow, then vanished.

“There,” he said, looking satisfied. “She will be well judged by Aeacus at the gates of the underworld.”

“Why do you intercede in this way for a simple mortal worshipper, when you won’t allow me to intercede for my thousands?”

Zeus’s eyes flashed. “Because I can.”

He held her gaze until she had to look away. Then he became once more caught up by the vision reflected in the pool. “Look-there, do you see him? He’s killed the harpy, but now a whole company has him cornered! Perfect!”

“It is?”

“Tell me, how many monsters has Kratos destroyed today?”

Athena frowned. “Almost four hundred. Why?”

“Only four hundred?” Zeus looked exasperated. “What is his problem? He will never reach your oracle this way.”

She had faith in Kratos’s prowess. She would have even more if Zeus did not actively oppose him.