Rising (Part 5 of Kore)

March 20, 2013 / WriterlySam / 6 Comments

Hermes enlists the help of Aphrodite to resurrect Kore.

Aphrodite entered the apartment at Vanderbilt’s School of Medicine in the dead of night.
“I just left the social event of the year to placate your ego Hermes. Someone better be dying!” Aphrodite snaps.
“Someone already has,” Hermes whispers, stepping aside to reveal the ravaged remains of Kore. “Aides sent Cerberus to hunt her down for betraying their arrangement. I believe you know Asclepius.”
“Why haven’t you brought her back?” Aphrodite accuses, horrified.
“The damage is beyond even my healing ability. Kore needs regeneration,” Asclepius replies, defeated. “If you don’t save her, Aphrodite, she’ll be a prisoner of Aides’ underworld forever. He’ll own her soul.”
“Why the concern for Kore’s spirit?” Aphrodite asks, suspicious.
“She left Aides to be with me…I intended to save her. Now, she’s beyond my reach,” Asclepius cries.
“I love her, Aphrodite. Isn’t that enough?” Asclepius pleads.
“You can ask her that yourself, when she rises.”

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Harbinger (Part 4 of Kore)

March 15, 2013 / WriterlySam / 1 Comment

Zeus sends Hermes to call off Cerberus’ attack on Kore before it’s too late.

Hermes was not looking forward to calling off this particular dog.

Aides’ tri-headed mutt, Cerberus, was stubborn at best, a glutton at worst.

He tracked the hungry beast to Vanderbilt’s School of Medicine in Nashville. A hellhound set loose in the middle of campus was a logistics nightmare, not to mention the tricky business of finding its intended prey in time.

Then he heard it.

An unearthly growl.

Hermes tore down the sidewalk, praying to Zeus he was not too late.

But his sister, Kore, was already torn between three sets of razor-edged teeth, covered in crimson gore.

Hermes shouted a furious command, banishing the monster back to its lair.

Kore’s injured lover cradled her broken form to his blood-stained chest, his wrenching sobs pierced with agony.

Hermes recognized him as the God of Medicine, Asclepius – ancient enemy of Aides for stealing his souls from the brink of death.

Asclepius can raise the dead.

There’s still hope.

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Elixir of the Gods (Part 3 of Kore)

March 14, 2013December 5, 2013 / WriterlySam / 3 Comments

Zeus reluctantly agrees to intervene in Aides’ quest for vengeance.

Figment’s The Goddess Inheritance Flash-Fiction Contest WINNER selected by Figment and author Aimée Carter!

“The tension in this piece leaps off the page, and the conflict feels so real and modern. Love Demeter’s strength and their back-and-forth!” –Aimée Carter

Zeus walks into the cafe, the air thick with fried bacon and coffee. He scans the crowd, shaking his head at the meals drowning in meaningless chatter. He spots Demeter near the window, her head bent over a stack of worn books, her hand stirring the contents of a steaming cup.

Zeus slides into the empty seat across from her. “Why do you waste your time reading that drivel?” he sighs.

Without so much as a glance, Demeter casually folds the pages on either side of the book inward, forming the shape of a heart. “I’m fond of Greek tragedies, they amuse me. This one’s about us, dear.”

“Skip the theatrics Demeter, why am I here?” Zeus asks, pinning an unsuspecting waiter with a disapproving glare.

“It’s the best coffee house in Nashville,” Demeter banters, “You’ll need a clear head if you’re to meet my demands before your precious mortals slowly starve to death.”

“If you’re referring to my brother’s recent domestic dispute with your conniving daughter, I can’t say it’s any of my business.” Zeus rises from his chair.

Demeter seizes his wrist. “OUR daughter is being hunted by your barbaric brother’s wretched beast!” she cries. “Kore could be killed by Aides’ pride and you’re just going to sit back and do nothing?”

If he intervened, Zeus would incur Aides wrath. If he sat idly by, Demeter would make good on her threat and destroy mankind’s prime sustenance.

Zeus concedes with a sharp nod, inwardly cursing Aides.

“Good,” Demeter grins, “You’re buying me coffee.”

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Cerberus (Part 2 of Kore)

March 14, 2013 / WriterlySam / 1 Comment

Cover by Popcorn Pictures

A wrathful Aides sends his loyal hellhound to fetch the defiant Kore and drag her back to his realm.

“Kore has defied me for the last time!” Aides spits angrily.

Winter has seized the dying earth in its icy grasp, and yet, Kore has not returned.

In over a millennia, she has never failed to take her place by his side in the underworld.

Now, he stands in a desolate parking lot in Nashville watching Kore escape through the glacial tempest with her lover. The irony of her fleeing past Athena’s temple only feeds the hungry beast of jealousy ripping its way through his core.

For thousands of years he has loved her, agonized over her, fought for her.

But he never found a way to win her love in return.

Her growing hatred has left no room for forgiveness.

And he will not forgive her transgression.

”Bring me Cerberus!” Aides orders his minion, “Kore’s consort should satisfy my hellhound’s appetite for live meat.”

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Kore

March 13, 2013 / WriterlySam / 3 Comments

Cover Art: no_regrets_Exper Giovanni Rubaltelli

Winter beckons Kore to return to the underworld, but she has other plans.

The biting wind tore through her, pushing and pulling, like a living thing. Kore knew Hades himself had sent it from the depths of hell to fetch her.
The sudden drop in temperature was a warning.
If she failed to return, all hell would break loose.
But this time, Kore had a reason to defy the possessive, thieving tyrant.

And what a handsome reason he was, the charming youth who stole her heart without resorting to brute force.

She was meeting him in Nashville, near the Parthenon entrance. The massive replica of her past towered over his slender form. He was pacing between the illuminated columns, anxiously waiting for her.

For the first time in a millennia, she felt true happiness.

And Kore was willing to fight whatever hell unleashed to keep it.

Flakes of snow began to drift between them, dusting the empty parking lot.

Time to run.

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