As if in trance I rose, my fingers reaching shyly but I never found the courage to actually touch the statue. What if she suddenly woke up? I wouldn’t have put it past her and if there had been a living, beating heart within her, filling her pristine silhouette with warmth, I probably wouldn’t have been able to leave. Ever. I would have stared at her… at me until the end of days and I’d have been content. With a jerk I stumbled back, coiling my fingers into fists.

  She… I… that thing was dangerous. Beautiful and dangerous. With an Herculean effort I closed my eyes and bit my lip until I drew blood. “Calm yourself, four shallow breaths, hold your breath to the count of five, six deep breaths, hold your breath to the count of seven. Repeat.” After the third iteration I felt better, well, at least capable of not looking at the effigy once I was going to open my eyes. Doors. Right. There had been two more doors. And a bloody murder! Fairies had killed Katie’s boyfriend. Now, that got me back on track in an instant. Swooning was better left for less perilous times. Besides, if I was ever going to tell anyone the truth, I’d hardly be able to admit that I had gotten lost in my own likeness when I had just witnessed a kid being sacrificed.

  With a grunt I blindly took a couple of steps, luckily without running into anything, and opened my eyes, the statue already behind me. Two simple, wooden doors, made from applewood I thought, had skilfully been cut into the back wall with barely a hair's width of a seam. The words treasury and bedroom appeared in my mind and with a decisive shove I pushed the handle on my left. Without a sound the door swung open. A rosy glare blinded me and I had to blink away the tears before I could even guess what laid before me.

  Mountains of silver, hills of gold, heaps of crystals were haphazardly strewn throughout the cave like chamber, each precious coin, each crystal sparkling with a divine, inner light. Weapons, mostly thin, graceful swords, made from gold, silver, steel or sometimes even gems, leaned against the dark, natural granite walls, while Greek, Roman, German and Chinese medieval armours stood side by side with old rifles, chain vests and uniforms. A high tech computer station, that looked like my dad’s geekiest dream, took up most of the back wall while the wall on my left was hidden behind a massive bookshelf, filled with tomes, scrolls and even parchments.

  The acidic smell of black powder and the ancient, dusty taste of old books tickled my nose as I stood there marvelling, eyes wide in wonder. “Aphrodite,” I breathed as I suddenly realised how far up shit creek I actually was. Never mind the paddle, I didn’t even have a canoe. It was real, I knew it, just as much as I knew my own name… alright, never mind, bad example, but still it was. And if it was real, I was… I had to find out what I was. And why I had to apparently keep away from my alleged husband, why I had had to die to somehow… awaken and what, by Tartarus, I was supposed to do now. Argh. There we went again. By Tartarus? Vlacas. Damn it!

  “That was quick,” I heard her voice… my voice, but for the sake of my sanity let’s stick with hers, “I expected you to have a nice little breakdown. Oh, I see. You’ve… we’ve never been a crybaby, have we? That’s good. Alright, I imagine your first question is going to be what the hell, am I right? It’s not as convoluted as you might think. You’ve always been… you but you had to die, otherwise your powers would have burned you. Let’s try a metaphor. When the cage of your existence yielded to set you free you could finally grow and become yourself. More technically: when your mortal body was on the brink of death your divinity could flourish without harming it. Best case scenario would have been if it had happened 80 years from now with a full life of experiences under your belt. But it didn’t.” I couldn’t see her but it felt like I was frowning, the strangest sensation considering I was actually starring blank eyed into nothingness, stunned into silence.

  “Next, who are you? Now, this is a bit more complicated. You’re a primordial goddess. Let’s go bit by bit. Primordial because the principles you embody aren’t tied to a single culture or faith. Beauty, love, desire… every living being - even animals - has some form of concept when it comes to your domain, which means you aren’t tied to the ups and downs of civilisation. Goddess means exactly that, you embody your domain. If you flourish, so does it, if you died, it’d wither. Consequentially it allows you to control what you stand for as easily as your body but you can also channel your power into all sorts of magic. Yes, there’s magic in your world. More on that later. Lastly, before I’m going to stop guessing what’s gotten you tongue tied, who am I? A spell. A spell you cast on yourself about a hundred years ago. You’ve devoured those trashy fantasy novels, haven’t you? Think of me as… a system, fuelled by your own strength. No fancy rewards, only knowledge and explanations. Also, you’ve left me with a few details of your past which I’m allowed to share when they become relevant. For now that’s mostly whom you can trust among the deities. Your husband, if you can still call him that, Hephaistos or Tyr, depending on his mood, Artemis and Ares or Shiva. The latter simply doesn’t care and would only try to capture you out of principle, so I still wouldn’t recommend going near him. So far so good. If you’re going to faint again, please do it now. Time runs differently in here and you wouldn’t get us into another mess.”

  “I… I actually feel quite calm,” I stammered in surprise, my earlier anxiety slowly draining away. In fact, I could almost think and prioritise rationally again. Aside from the inherent, absurd craziness of everything she had said. “Why? How? That’s definitely not normal.”

  “You’re a deity. You were born… about thirty five thousand years ago and became cognisant with the rise of the ancient Egyptians. You went by Hathor back then. I don’t want to sound cruel but a single death… a single sacrifice… do you know how many people have been cruelly tortured and brutally killed in your name? You watched it all. Which is also why you’re standing here, now. Your wish has always been to start anew, to find your hope again and your husband found a way. There’s more to that story but I’m not allowed to tell. You aren’t supposed to interact with anyone, aside from Hephaistos and Artemis, yet.” My next question rolled over my tongue before I had even thought about it, as if I had already accepted the boatload of bullshit: “Are we in love?”

  “Hephaistos and you? He definitely loves you. Almost every deity does, but between the two of you it was different. I think you did love him. You don’t anymore, though. You’ve risen anew and he knows. I think it’s been his most heroic act to still go through with it, or rather, you thought so.”

  “Why did you warn me of him, then? Better yet, why did I think to warn myself?”

  “Because you’re weak right now. Aphrodite… Evee, you’re the very embodiment of the term trophy wife, not to mention that your powers are… vast. To subjugate you would be a dream come true for anyone. Hephaistos… he’d lock you up and beat you black and blue until you could stand on your own. He loves you. He’d never let you leave until you became strong enough to force him and face the world. Which would take… even with my help it’d take years. Probably decades. Do you want that? He’d turn you right back into what you fled from.”

  “And Artemis?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Is different. You should call her, one of these days... in the mortal word.” Strange how she had phrased that. “Probably when your sister is around. She’ll love Victoria. Two peas in a pot. You’ll also need her help to remain unnoticed, at least for now. Don’t go back to school without seeing her.” I pondered for a moment, my gaze roaming over a collection of art in a cornet my parents wouldn’t have been able to afford. Rembrandt, Picasso, Herve, Van Gogh, Pythagoras, Dali…

  “Why? Who’s there?” She sighed and I felt a tinge of sadness that wasn’t really my own. Or maybe it was.

  “Katie. She’s a halfbreed. She doesn’t know yet, but her Father isn’t really her Father. Her mother’s storytelling, it attracted the wrong kind of attention. It’s that good. She’s… a very distant cousin to you, of sorts.” She sighed again. “You’re not related, not really, that’s not the point, but the closer the two of you get, the deeper you’re going to pull each other into the arcane quagmire. Her father. He’s powerful. Not as powerful as you but still…” My anxiety returned full force.

  “Who is he,” I croaked.

  “Don’t know. But I… you recognised her smell, you simply couldn’t understand it. If you… get to know her, her bloodline will surely awaken. I’m surprised it didn’t when she kissed you. When that happens… her father will know and he’ll come for you, whoever he is. Which sort of leaves you with the three choices you predicted. One. Stay here for as long as you like, as long as it takes until you can open those doors without fear. I’ve already mentioned that time flows differently in here. You could spent a hundred years, a thousand… it wouldn’t matter, only if you wanted it to. Two, call for help. Let Hephaistos and Artemis worry and grow up a protected goddess on Olympus. It’s what you did last time. I’ve already mentioned how it’d most likely go. Three. Hide and live your life. Grow in secrecy until you can unveil your true identity. If you want that… you’ll have to either cut ties with Katie or you’ll need Artemis’ help to seal your spark when you get close to her. You’re the goddess of love. If you fall for her, it’ll have consequences. Usually great ones for her but as it stands…” The grey nothingness her voice faded into was the emotional equivalent of an apologetic shrug. Another question immediately came to mind. Call it hormones.

  “What about sex,” I blabbered. “With or without love?”

  “Major thing. Especially the first time. Your own advice: if it’s still on the table, don’t. At least until you can weather the most likely fall out which is recognition. Let me be very clear, if you chose a human, you would elevate him to the status of a lower deity. With a halfbreed it’ll be even worse.” Surprisingly I didn’t even feel embarrassed. On second thought, considering I was practically talking to myself it wasn’t that much of a surprise. I did feel… miffed, though.

  “At least now it’s not shyness anymore but actually makes sense,” I sighed. My brain was slowly resuming its normal functions and I added: “when is Artemis going to arrive?”

  “Finally, a spark of intelligence,” my voice rumbled. “She was notified when you woke up. I guess she’s giving you a few moments to adjust. Knowing her… a handful of minutes, tops.”

  “Anything else I organised beforehand?”

  “Me? This entire temple on Mount Olympus?”

  “To be specific, any more encounters?”

  “Fine. Your handmaiden. He’s waiting in your bedroom.”

  “He? I always thought the three Graces…” she chuckled dryly.

  “Only in public. Being the goddess of beauty doesn’t sit well with most women, especially the vain ones, and those three… let’s just say they aren’t friends. No, he’s of Titan blood, a young dragon you took in.” With a smile in her voice she added: “you christened him Sparkles. In his true form he’s pitch black with three slobbering heads, a body the length and size of a train and wings made from actual nightmares but usually he looks like the epitome of a gang member. Tattoos and all. I can’t wait to find out how you’re going to introduce him to your family for he’ll surely want to move in with you. Hello, this is my evil cousin, twice removed. You never met him but he’s going to stay for a while and his name is Sparkles.”

  “Move in… wait a second. How can he even be here? Has he waited for a hundred years?”

  “Yes and no. A hundred years for the world, a day in here. You set the rules, remember? Which is also why we haven’t been interrupted by Artemis, yet. Outside the doors not even a minute has passed. I assume you still have questioned you want me to answer before she arrives?”

  “Yes… wait, about the handmaiden… no. If Hephaistos knows… has no one ever gone looking for me?”

  “Sure they have. For about fifty years. Day and night. Still are, in a round about way. But you were dead, gone. The only reason why they haven’t given up is that your domain hasn’t crumbled. They know you’re somehow still around and as soon as there’s as much as a whisper the gates of all heavens are going to open.” I felt worse with every word she uttered. “All heavens?”

  “There are a few. There were even more. With the rise and fall of religion, if enough people believe, their deities will become more than a dream. If they surpass the threshold, they’ll become real, strong enough to endure throughout the ages, even if their worshippers perish. Those are the true gods. Not many have reached that level, though. The Greek pantheon. The Roman, even though they’re more or less the same. The Hindu gods… Asatru. And you’re connected to all of them. Love is, unfortunately, universal.” If I was to accept this lunacy I had to know the rules.

  “What about the monotheistic religions?” Her voice became much more hesitant.

  “Think about God all you like but don’t expect an answer. Nobody knows if there’s an all mighty, all knowing creator. Because the rituals of the Jews and Christians are centred around the creator, there’s no power there to spark the existence of a deity the likes of you. I still wouldn’t recommend gutting a priest in a church, though. I don’t know if anything would happen but I still wouldn’t put it to the test.” Fair enough. I didn’t plan on gutting anyone anyways.

  “If I’m that old… that means many projections scientists have come up with are correct. About thirty five thousand years ago the first larger settlements formed, right? What about the world view of my… faith? The Titan Wars? Prometheus’ creation of mankind?”

  “Legends come to life. The primordial deities, like yourself but there are a few more, Poseidon, for example, anchor their… you can think of it, in the sense of the whole lore of Ancient Greece, as a bubble on a string. Even the minor gods and monsters can still exist, even though they’ve long been forgotten, because they’re still connected to the real world through the primordial gods of their pantheon. In other words, only the pantheons that have incorporated a primordial god are still around.” I took a moment to digest her words before I asked:

  “And how many are there? Primordial gods, I mean.”

  “Seven, all in all. You, your former husband, as the embodiment of fire, craftsmanship and endurance, Poseidon, or rather the deep, dark ocean with its uncounted secrets, the embodiment of the rule of law, of the heavens and structure, Zeus, Jupiter, Odin… he’s had many names. Then there’s war and conflict, known to you as Ares, Mars, Shiva and so on. Arguably the oldest is Gaia, the mother spirit, the earth mother and bringer of life herself. And lastly there’s Death.”

  “I… do I have to fear them?” She chuckled again, but this time it sounded sad.

  “Yes and no. They’d never touch you against your will. They love you. That’s who you are, but they’d want to posses you. Before you face any of them you’ll have to become strong enough to convince them of the futility of the effort. Otherwise it’d be a golden cage without the chance to learn enough to break free. Well. You have me, so maybe we could in due time, but I’d rather not.”

  “How long would I have to spend here to get to that point,” I immediately wanted to know.

  “That wholly depends on your ability to absorb knowledge. Judging from your recollections it’d take somewhere between two to five centuries. Then you’d be able to hide and run properly. To fight them off? One or two might be possible when you won’t need me anymore but other than that… there were many reasons why you agreed to marry Hephaistos, dallied with Ares and called Zeus father, even though you’re older than all three of them. I don’t know who is the oldest, though. The Earthmother, Death and you were all born around the very beginnings of civilisation.”