Hermes Penitence by Juneta Key
Blurb
Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed and put on your winged sandals…
Hermes has a lot of areas of influence as a God. He is a messenger to Olympus. He guides the dead to Hades. He even moonlights as the God of thieves for Circe’s sake! But there are certain…three-headed problems that even a god with his unique abilities has difficulty with.
Juneta Key Hermes’ Penitence Grumpy Old Gods V.2
The Grumpy Old Gods are back in this second installment of mythical fun. Join us for 13 new tales of deities that are retired, reborn, waning, or AWOL from their assigned posts as they hilariously navigate life, death, and everything in between.
A Flash Fiction Story for you to enjoy. It’s not about a god, but it is about a stalker that no one can escape.
THE BOON
Death stalked me.
It had been a year since Ava, my twin had died and I had taken up the quest to find The Boon a fabled artifact that granted a return to life without consequence.
The Boon had been Ava’s passion. She died to recover the ancient scroll that told the story along with a map with the warning that whosoever possessed the artifact drew Death to them.
Eleven months and thousands and thousands of miles had led me to this moment but not without incident.
I had escaped Death three times not because I faced him, but in my grief and anger, I became reckless in relentless pursuit of my mission.
The scroll said the artifact was buried with an Egyptian oracle of Anubis in a place long forgotten.
I slipped out of base camp once all had settled for the night and made the final track by myself. I guarded the scrolls changing my hiding place often never sharing them. Ava’s passion consumed me grief fueling my determination.
The wild trail twisted and turned until I arrived at the mountainside. I spent an hour hacking at overgrowth to uncover the crack angled in such a way to make it almost invisible to the naked eye.
Just inside the entrance a few feet, I encountered a sandstone stairway leading almost straight down. I gripped my light tighter.
Down, down and down.
I looked up. I could no longer see any hint of light above me. I kept going. I had to take several breaks, pressing against the wall to fight the feeling that if I leaned forward too far, I would continue to fall forever.
I arrived at the bottom chamber. A sarcophagus sat in its center in a circle of light. Not what I expected. I dropped my backpack.
Two hours later I had managed to move the lid enough to peer inside. A single object lay within. I stretch managing to pick it up.
A deep voice spoke behind me the expanding vibration shaking me to the core. “Do not touch that.”
My breath stuttered as I gripped my chest and vision wavered. A dark silhouette stood just on the edge of the light.
“You scared me to death. I didn’t hear you come down.” He stepped forward. I could see his frown and the concern that laced his face. Eyes so deep and full of emotion for a moment I felt the pain as if my heart had shattered forever.
“It is not your time.”
This he said as we both looked down at my still lifeless body holding a heart-shaped stone box next to the crypt.
According to the scrolls, the gods ripped Death’s heart from his body placing the immortal organ in a special container in compassion for the task they had given him, so he would be better able to bear the sorrow of the world.
I knelt by my body. I still could not reconcile that I lived, and Ava had died. “So, it was Ava’s time?”
“No Jazz, it was your time. Ava made the choice.”
Grief gripped me. I found the artifact. In spirit,I touch the hearts crib. “I choose Ava.” Silence.
“Nooooo.” I sat up holding the artifact. “I chose Ava.”
I screamed for death until I was hoarse, but The Boon was already spent. I lived.
Juneta Key Hermes’ Penitence Grumpy Old Gods V.2
Follow the link to read an INTERVIEW WITH JUNETA KEY on The Cynical Sailor’s Blog
About Juneta
Juneta writes SPECULATIVE FICTION, and loves fantasy and all its subgenres, the paranormal, mythological and space opera. In 2019, she entered into a partnership with another Indie author as co-owner of Stormdance Publications, to create fun, quality themed anthologies, especially about grumpy old gods. She’s one of seven founders of the Storytime Quarterly Blog Hop founded in 2015.
Juneta is Texas born and raised, living in Central Florida–hanging out with pirates and playing with the dolphins.
Find her on :
Website Writer’s Gambit
Facebook
Twitter
Medium Storytime
Stormdance Publications
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