Welcome to the Party Chapter 9

Welcome to the Party
Chapter 9


Quinn could only look at her husband, Ephus as if he were crazy. "Have you lost your damn mind!" She shouted, even causing Anhur to back away slightly.

Ephus sighed, started to explain, and remained quiet for a few moments. "I realize that you are scared, Quinn. I am nothing like I was when I first met you." Looking at his young-appearing wife, he stated, "As well you aren't either, you young thing."

Quinn blushed a moment, then started to smile. Just as suddenly, the smile was gone from her face.

"Damn it, Ephus! Don't you dare think you can charm out of this?" Here, she was shaking a finger in his face. A finger that he softly grabbed, slowly sucking it into his mouth. Snatching her finger and hand back, she slightly growled. "Stop that!"

A little defeated, Ephus nodded his head. "I know that you are worried, dear. I am, too, with the specter of war looming over us all." He glanced back at an equally nodding Anhur. "The thing is, they asked for help. Since I helped the Egyptian Realm, I can't refuse to help the others."

As she released a huge sigh, Quinn slowly nodded. "Ephus, I know all this; I have since it all started. Damn it! I understand; that still doesn't mean I must be happy!"

Ephus could only stand there as her tirade played out. He had to agree with her entirely, and like her, he wasn't all that happy either.

Ephus shook his head as he thought of the damn near idiots that the Greek gods appeared to be. He swore he wasn't sure what to do if they didn't listen to him this time. A slight growl issued from him as he thought, 'It damn sure wouldn't be pretty, that was for sure.'

The thing was, now that Ares had, had his ass handed to him twice by Ephus; he was probably mad as hell. A slight smirk played across Ephus's lips; no, Ares was by far more than mad or pissed.

Quinn had gotten quiet, and she quickly learned that Ephus was lost in thought when He looked that far away. Suddenly, turning back toward her, he nodded.

"Sorry, hon. I was thinking that now that I have hurt Ares twice, HE isn't going to give up. So it looks like I am in the thick of it again. Yes, I know. I will be as careful as I can. Why do you think I have had Anhur teaching me every moment I had? Ares loves weapons," Ephus told Quinn.

"Yes, brother has learned far faster than anyone I have ever seen." Anhur momentarily reached into the thin air, withdrawing a sleek, green-colored metal double-edged sword. "I would be proud if you took this special weapon. It was made many centuries ago. I call it the Eternal Nile Serpent; it will protect you even if your superb skills fail you."

Ephus started to reach for the sword, then drew his hand back. What he felt was almost like a heavy hand slap across his arm.

"So, it doesn't seem to like me," Ephus stated, causing Anhur's eyes to open wider.

"My apologies, brother. It does have a temper." Turning away, Anhur walked to the other side of the room, talking soothingly to the sword. Almost half an hour later, Anhur returned with a slight look of anger on his face. "It does not believe that you are who you are. It says that you have no power. Might I suggest that you take it, prove it wrong?"

Ephus narrowed his eyes as he stared at the sword. Powering halfway, he reached for the sword again, only to have his hand slapped back. At least this time, it didn't hurt nearly as bad.

Ephus hadn't noticed that Anhur was no longer holding the sword; it was floating still in the air. Growling, He powered up as high as he could, reaching out to grasp the handle.

A shrill wailing filled the air, almost causing Ephus to release the handle. Looking at the sword, he had to do a double-take before he saw a tall, long, dark-haired woman of what appeared to be Egyptian lineage.

As he shook his head, Ephus saw that he had his hand around the woman's wrist.

She snarled, then lashed out at him. "Let me go, you vile piece of filth. I will not yield to you nor any other!"

"Yield?" Ephus stated, shocked. "Why would I want you to yield to me? Are you not the living aspect of the sword?"

"Bah! You are an idiot and a fool; I am not an aspect as you call it. I AM the sword. Though you have the power, godling, I cannot accept you."

For some strange reason, Ephus thought better than to release the sword, as he thought a moment longer.

"I see. I do not wish to make you do something you may be afraid of. You are correct; I should draw upon a better sword without fear.

Perhaps..." Ephus started.

"A BETTER SWORD!" The female roared. "I should gut you now before you further insult us."

"I don't see how, as afraid as you are. No, you're right; I should get another sword that isn't afraid to be my partner for the battle; I feel that is coming." Ephus said.

A small smile crossed Ephus' lips as he saw the female's face growing redder. Tsking, Ephus released his grip on the handle, not surprised when it wouldn't leave his hand.

"You bastard! You dare insult us, then attempt to cast us away like a used fruit. No godling, you will not be rid of us that easily." The female shouted and disappeared, the sword flowing from Ephus's hand into an intricate scabbard that appeared on Ephus's belt.

Ephus blew out the breath he'd been partly holding. Looking over to Anhur, he saw the male with a broad smile.

"That was truly wonderful, brother; you are now the master of..." Anhur started.

"NO!" Ephus almost shouted. "She is my partner, that is all; I will not abuse her like that."

Anhur had a strange look on his face as he backed from Ephus. "It will be as you say, brother."

Ephus looked at Quinn and Anhur, kissed Quinn, and then vanished.

A few moments later, Ephus appeared in front of the building he had been to before. Taking a deep breath, Ephus pointed at the building, ok, here we go again.

Ares had been swinging the black sword, laughing with glee at the shrieking it was making. Deimos and Phobos had appeared moments ago, their mouths hanging open.

That was until a minute later, all three males turned toward what appeared to be a considerable power.

"What was that?" Ares asked, stopping in mid-swing.

"I believe it was the godling powering up," Phobos stated, still feeling weak after his last encounter with Ephus.

"Ha! I do not believe that he has that much power. However, it won't matter after I take all his power. This sword will give me all the advantage I need." Ares laughed as he swung the sword again.

Deimos was also reaching out, his face shocked. "Father, I can also feel his power. It is far beyond what I felt earlier. I don't see how a sword can hope to defeat the godling."

"Ah! Then you have never heard of the Caspian God Killer." Ares sneered as he continued to practice with the sword.

Both Ares' sons gasped at the mention of the sword. "Yes, father, we have. Please be careful; it is rumored that it sometimes kills its wielder," Deimos said.

"Of that, I am not afraid. With the added power, I am far stronger than I was. Nothing, I mean nothing, will stop me this time. Especially some weak half-human godling. No, after I use this on him, I can kill him as slowly as I want." Ares stated that an evil laugh was issued from his lips.

Both Phobos and Deimos could only stare at each other. They remembered a story about the sword, driving its user mad. Looking at their father, they hoped he didn't suffer the same fate.

Ephus was about to step up the stairs in front of the building when he felt four powers approaching him.

Shit, he thought; this time, he'd hoped they would ignore him. A moment later, there were four whooshes. Then, behind him, he saw Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, and Hera appear.

Ephus looked closer, seeing that Artemis had what appeared to be a furious expression on her face.

Shit, he thought, I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to be with her. Damn it! I made her a promise also.

"We are here to let you know that we support you, Ephus. Zeus is in for a big surprise if he thinks we all will step back and do nothing." Hera stated, speaking for the four of them.

Ephus nodded and then called Artemis over. There, he tried to explain all that was going on. Though it didn't wholly appease her, it did lessen her anger.

"So what do you have planned? It is obvious that you still haven't talked to Zeus," Hera said.

"No, not yet. I hope all the advice I have received lately helps out with this. It's not that I don't want to help; I do. I can't do much more without Zeus being on board. Then again, after the last time with his reactions, I don't hold out much hope," Ephus told the four female goddesses, shaking his head.

"You're quite right." A loud voice came behind the five of them. "I am afraid that we, as the humans say, got off on the wrong foot."

Ephus turned to see not only Zeus but the other four males. She instead pissed off Hermes, A slightly afraid Apollo, and Dionysus. Then, the tall, proud, smiling Hephaestus.

As he thumped his chest with his fist, Hephaestus stepped forward slightly, bowing to Ephus. "Godling Ephus, it was an honor to trade blows with you. I have not had such a rousing round in a long time." Again, Hephaestus bowed. "I would also be honored to call you friend."

After a moment of shock, Ephus slightly bowed to Hephaestus. "It was an honor to meet you. You care greatly for your family. Therefore, I cannot fault you for your actions. I would also like to call you a friend."

All four females with Ephus, plus Hephaestus's brothers, had their mouths hanging open. They were in complete shock at the exchange they had just witnessed.

Zeus, of course, nodded as he had expected. Ephus had shown no malice towards him or the realm. That's when he noticed Ephus's face slowly sliding into more of an angry look.

As he turned toward Hermes, Ephus started his tirade. "YOU, I am still deciding whether to help or not. The useless piece of space, the godling you said that you would end once I increased you." Here, Ephus raised his hand, drawing Hermes to him 'til the male was almost nose to nose with Ephus. Through clenched teeth, Ephus stated, "You're lucky I even consider talking to you!"

Then, Ephus turned his anger upon Apollo and Dionysus. "You two! I can understand the actions of your two brothers. I might disagree with them, though I understand them. You two, I might never help! You offered no help for either of them, not a word or action. I know the realm needs all of you, though; I have to ask, why would it truly?"

Zeus and Hephaestus both tried to hide their broad smiles. Ephus could see that all the females were doing their best not to burst out laughing. However, Hera's shock seemed far more genuine than the rest's.

"The jury is still out on whether I should power either of you very much. As with Hermes, you are even luckier that I speak to you, let alone acknowledge your existence." Ephus continued his tirade. Waving his hand, Ephus made several comfortable chairs, a large table laden with food, and a covering over the top.

Hera and the other females sighed at the scene and took a seat. Ephus watched as Zeus took a seat and shook his head at the brothers.

Just before he sat in one of the last two chairs, Ephus put his hand to his head for a moment. Turning, he waited a bit longer as Eris appeared. Seating her, he turned toward the four males, watching them vanish. Nodding as he felt around, he then sat.

Taking a breath, Ephus hoped this conversation went better than the last time he talked to Zeus. "I hope I can get all five of you in agreement on this. As of now, Zeus, you are the only one that is resisting me. After all I did for the Egyptian realm, one would think that you would be more than happy to have my help."

"Yes, I know. You have to understand Ephus. Hera and I have held this realm for a very long time. There have been more than a few attempts to wrest it from us or me."

Here, Zeus turned toward his sister, Hera. "Yes, I have since decided to forgive almost all your transgressions. I have found that the longer I harbored these resentments, the longer it took to do anything. Besides," she looked at Ephus. "I have found that your habit of dallying with the humans has much merit."

Ephus sat there, slowly drumming his fingers. If they started with a war of words, he might say the hell with it and leave.

Both Hera and Zeus suddenly stopped, turning to look at Ephus. All the others were already watching him, seeing the tension starting to appear on his face.

Zeus and Hera nodded to each other, "Pardon Ephus, old habits; some things are still painful. So now that we are here, please outline what you propose." Zeus said.

A small smile appeared on the four daughters' faces. This was the quickest they ever remembered, the two stopping an argument. Also, a rare thing, as they, more often than not, didn't stop; just let it stew.

Ephus nodded, and a small smile appeared on his lips. "I wish to empower all of you. As you know, I have already brought all five of you to half-power," he said to all the females. "I have also done the same for your brothers and sisters."

Both Zeus and Hera could only stare at Ephus. "When? I have felt nothing from them or their areas of concern." Hera said with a happy smile.

"It was before I came here. I am afraid, though, that I have almost exhausted what power I had." Here, Ephus looked at Aphrodite. Taking her hand, he kissed it, "Thank you. They were a lift for me, though I may need a few more. I am recovering far faster now."

Ephus could almost swear that Aphrodite was blushing. It looked adorable on her, too.

"It was a definite pleasure to help you, Ephus. I owe you a great debt I don't think I can ever repay. Besides restoring what was wrong here by powering Father, you saved me when I fell from the rift. Though I am sure that you guided me out," Aphrodite said, then turned her face and head downward.

Ephus again did a double take when he thought that, again, it looked like Aphrodite was blushing.

"I felt that someone was in trouble. It might be an old-fashioned human thing, but I felt I had to help," Ephus said, causing everyone at the table to nod. "So to continue, I have powered all to half except for Aphrodite and Zeus. Zeus, I brought to three-fourths his power, Aphrodite, to a little more than half."

Hera nodded as she spoke, "I noticed you didn't feel as strong as before. Your power has already doubled in the short time you have been sitting here. Far beyond all of us, even, I dare say, with Zeus, and still growing."

Ephus nodded, then was silent for a moment before he decided to say what he had to. "I hope that all you know that I can take all away that I empowered. I still think greatly like a human; I don't take betrayal well."

"If you are thinking like a human, you wouldn't decide to take our power away to say, let the Egyptian realm take over?" A more worried Zeus asked.

"No, I understand the rules that all the realms live by. I am not here to take over or to destroy what is here. I don't want any realms or to live here all the time, like all the gods try to. I am only here to help; I had many gods help me when I felt I was at the end of my life. I am here to repay that, no more." Ephus stated, drawing several startled gasps from all there.

"You were close to passing to the ultimate realm?" Aphrodite asked, a look of horror on her face.

Ephus turned to look at Aphrodite and then noticed that the other four females also had a look of horror on their faces.

"I am afraid I was; I used to have a visitor every year. It was for the last six or seven years before I came into my power." Here, Ephus removed his shirt to reveal the many marks of the Egyptian gods on him. "I have been marked and claimed, you might say. So you might also say, THEY wouldn't take well to me being betrayed either."

All the females could only stare at the marks that started on the far right side of his chest: the marks of Maat and Tefnut near the right center and Serket near the left center. On the far left was the mark of Hathor, and on his left inner thigh was the mark of Bast. Then they noticed Sekhmet's mark on his stomach. However, the one that got the most notice was the mark of ISIS on his neck.

All the females were staring with their mouths open. "By all the realms," Hera whispered. "The mark of seven goddesses; it's no wonder you are as strong as you are."

All four of them were reaching out to touch the marks gingerly. They all quickly snatched their hands back as if they were shocked.

Hera rubbed her hand, then nodded, "They are very protective," here she looked at his crotch, seeing the slight bulge. "I can see why."

Ephus nodded as he touched Hera's hand, making her snap her head up. All there could do was stare as Hera's skin started to glow briefly. A moment later, it returned to normal.

Hera could only look at her hand momentarily, then felt her power increasing inside her. "I thought that if you were almost as high as Zeus, you could help more with what I feel is coming."

"What is coming?" Hera asked, all of them staring at Ephus.

"Yes, as I explained to your brothers and sister. Now that I have hurt and stopped Ares twice, I am sure that he has changed his plans to come after me. With you and Zeus as high as you are, you stand a better chance against him," Ephus explained.

Zeus and Hera seemed to be in deep thought for a moment. Finally, they both looked up at Ephus. "It will most certainly aid in keeping him at bay." At that moment, Zeus noticed the scabbard on Ephus' belt. Then he gasped when he recognized it. "By all the realms!" he stated in an almost whisper as he pointed to the sword in the scabbard. "How did you gain the sister sword to the Caspian God Killer?"

Ephus snapped his head up to stare at Zeus. "This was a gift from Anhur. He felt that I might need it if I met Ares. Ares, it seems, has a propensity for weapons. For him, the deadlier, the better."

Zeus nodded, as did Hera. Although they might not have seen Ares in hundreds of years, they still knew him.

"No matter how you gained it, you might have just saved yours and our existence," Zeus stated.

"I don't know how you can say that, Father," a familiar voice said behind all of them.

Ephus smirked and then turned, not surprised to see Ares with a black-colored metal sword.

"So, finally tired of hiding like an insect, Ares? I would have thought better of the dunce of war." Ephus stated, a small smile coming to his lips; he thought Ares was mad.


To be continued