The Gift of the Lethe

A Line is Crossed

There is a crackle of thunder overhead and Pallas looks up, reaching for her bracelet. The huntress sitting beside her leans over to touch her arm, brown hair spilling over her shoulder to brush against Pallas' skin.

"Pallas? Are you okay? It's just a storm."

Pallas flashes her a reassuring smile, though it feels plastered onto her face in falsity. "Oh, no. I'm alright. Just . . . jumpy, I suppose."

"Do you not like storms? I used to hate them, I would be shaking all night until they stopped as a kid."

Pallas murmurs distractedly, still staring up at the dark sky. "No, no I actually like storms."

She stands, drifting closer to where the trees don't hover above her, granting a clear view of the sky. Lightning flashes, illuminating the sky, closely followed by a rumble. Pallas moves to turn back, towards the huntress, but she feels a prickle from the hair on her arms. Instinctively, she summons her spear and stabs it into the dirt so it stands on end.

As she buries the staff in the dirt, she cries out to the hunter. "Judith, move away and crouch! Lightning incoming!"

Then she launches away from the spear, crouching several feet away.  She touches her heels together just as lightning flashes down to blind her. Thankfully, she doesn't need her precautions as the lightning fails to hit her, striking her spear instead. Still, she has to blink back the spots in her vision from the bright flash of light. She pulls her sleeve over her hand and pulls the spear from the dirt, using the cloth to protect herself from any lingering electricity. Shrinking it back into the charm, she turns toward the huntress.

"Judith? Are you alright?"

The girl rises from her crouch, reaching up to touch the tiny twin buns that crown the top of her head. She grimaces at the feeling of the static crackling in her hair.

"Awww, I'm going to have to redo this."

Pallas laughs. "Go on, we can talk afterward."

Judith darts off and Pallas sinks back down into her seat. She jumps up again a heartbeat late at a sound from behind her. She turns and immediately reaches for her spear at the sight of Zeus. It expands into her hand in a blink. Zeus smiles at her, but it isn't a kind smile. Nowhere near it.

"I see you know why I'm here."

"I was warned, yes."

Zeus nods and then raises his hand towards her, a bolt of lightning shooting out to span the distance between them. Instinctively, Pallas raises her hand before her, pulling moisture from the air to form a shield. The bolt hits the water and the energy ripples out, heating the air and water to make it steaming.

He attacks again, and again, sending one bold of lightning at her after another. He's relying on pure power to get through to her, and Pallas can't say it won't work. With each bolt, more and more of her shield steams away. There's only so much water she can pull from the air, even taking it from the steam.

That means there is only so long she can last and he is much, much stronger than she is. The fact that he keeps hitting the same spot on her shield certainly doesn't help either. He hits her shield again, and a pinprick of a hole appears before closing quickly. He seems to notice it, as the pace at which he launches lightning at her picks up.

The hole grows bigger, widening faster than she can close it. Another bolt shoots toward her and Pallas desperately tries to close the hole, managing it just enough that the bolt glances of the edge. Another bolt follows, too fast for her to block. It hits her in the gut, blinding her with both the pain of the strike and the white light that surrounds her.

All she can hear is crackling and the silence that follows. When Pallas' sense of the world returns, she finds herself to be lying flat on the ground, unable to move a muscle. She can barely even breath, as shallow as her breaths are. Frustrated screaming echoes in the background. She can't make out the words, but she can hear the anger in Zeus' cry.

She doesn't know why, at least she doesn't until she opens her eyes. Gold light shimmers above her, a barrier between Pallas and the world beyond. There is another shout from behind her and someone approaches, crying out in shock. Footsteps bound across the ground and someone stops at Pallas' head, snarling over her at Zeus.

"Leave."

His response is brimming with rage. "Not until she is dead, daughter."

"Athena told you, multiple times, to leave her alone. So go!" Thunder rumbles again before Artemis sinks down, laying her hand on the barrier of golden air. "Pallas. Pallas, he's gone. You can lower the aegis' protection field now."

Pallas just stares upward at the tail of Artemis' auburn braid. She can't lower it. She wants to tell the goddess, but she's paralyzed. She can't open her mouth to say anything. Artemis curses and sends out a flash of silvery light that darts over Pallas' prone form, splitting into two above her head and shooting off in two directions.

It doesn't take more than a minute before feathers brush painfully against Pallas' raw skin. There is a thud and Athena sinks down beside her, kneeling over Pallas. Her eyes are bright with fear as she touches the barrier with both hands, flattening her palms against it, but her voice is carefully calm.

"You're safe, Pallas. You can lower it." In the silence that follows, as Pallas tries to wordlessly tell her, Athena's eyes widen in understanding. "Oh, you can't."

Athena presses down on the barrier and it collapses, vanishing. She reaches down to pull Pallas into her arms, wincing at the static that jumps off of Pallas' skin.

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Who predicted Zeus finding her? Did you think it would take a bit longer? Do you think Pallas will be okay? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out