The Cult of Kronos by Amy Leigh Strickland

over it.
Even Nick was crying at your funeral.”
    “ What was I gonna come back
to? A dad who only stopped beating me because he was afraid of me? A
minimum wage job?”
    “ Friends. Penny missed you.”
    “ It's not like that with
Penny. She's never going to—”
    “ She's still your friend.”
    Peter put the donuts down and
pushed the box away. “I guess I figured everyone would be kind of
relieved when I died.”
    “ Relieved? Peter, it's been
five months. Five months since you jumped off that damned schoolhouse
and devastated everyone in The Pantheon. I still have nightmares
about it at least once a week, showing up in time to see the Titan
tumble off that roof, to see you appear on the ground, broken. That
wasn't supposed to be you and Frank and Lewis up on that roof. That
was supposed to be me.”
    “ Yeah, well, good thing it
was me,” Peter said. “Lewis and Frank couldn't just walk out of
the underworld without me. And you…you're not even one of us.”
    “ I've been one of you since
Celene and I called that meeting two years ago. Maybe I'm not a god,
and maybe I can't shoot lightning or turn invisible, but this is my
responsibility too.”
    “ I sacrificed myself for you
guys,” Peter said, standing up and walking to the sink. “I
thought you'd be grateful.”
    “ We are,” Jason said. “We
are, Peter. You just…you didn't have to throw your life away. It's
worth something. If you did it for your friends, that's honorable. If
you did it because you had a death wish, that's…”
    “ What?” Peter turned his
head to look back at Jason.
    “ Tragic.”
    Peter chewed on his lip. Jason
looked him over, now noticing that something was different. Given the
chance to conjure clothing from his imagination, Peter had set aside
the baggy thrift-store clothes of his life. Instead, he was wearing a
fitted black shirt with black leather on the shoulders and down the
sleeves. His trousers, too, were well-fitted, and Jason was sure it
was the first time he had seen Peter in pants without worn-out knees.
    “ I see you're taking some
liberties with fashion,” Jason said. Peter looked healthier and
more confident in clothes that fit him well.
    “ Yeah. I uh… no more
hand-me-downs.”
    “ It looks good,” Jason
said with a nod. “Listen,” he got up and went to pour a cup of
coffee. “I'm sorry about getting on your case. You stopped a Titan.
That’s something to be proud of.”
    “ It's alright,” Peter
said. “I guess I wasn't thinking that people might miss me.”
    “ Well, I'm glad we have you
back. Most people don't get second chances.”
    “ Second chances,” Peter
repeated, “Like you and Dr. Davis?”
    Jason laughed. “I'm not
sharing details with you. You're still a kid to me, oh great Lord
Hades, King of the Underworld.”
    “ Have it your way,” Peter
said. He grabbed a clean mug and poured himself a cup of coffee
before sipping it, black.

“ No one loves the man whom
he fears.”
    -Aristotle

    viii.

    Queen Hera was seated at
his right hand side,
    and Prometheus took a seat
at his left,
    while Lord Zeus drank
heavily of wine and sang
    at his weekly feast.

    Zeus was already sloppy
with too much drink
    and boasting loudly of his
latest exploits.
    Prometheus lectured him
under his breath;
    his words went unheard.

    As Zeus continued to ignore
his cousin,
    who still remembered his
long imprisonment—
    the vultures picking at his
liver in hell—
    the Titan grew mad.

    At last Prometheus rose and
slammed his fist,
    shaking the entire table
with his strength.
    The feast grew quiet as
everyone listened
    to his loud tirade.

    And when Lord Zeus had
recovered from his shock
    of being chastised in front
of the others,
    he began to shout back with
a reddened face.
    Spit flew from his lips.

    Prometheus did not wait for
Zeus to bark
    the order to eject him from
the chamber.
    He stormed off into the
night to find his kin
    to punish great Zeus.

“ Union gives