The Return
by Setcheti
July
Challenge by Enola: I
would like to see stories where a physical change of some kind happens to one
or more of the Seven, how he and the others react to it. Any change you want,
as long as it's physical -- some kind of disability, sense removal, becoming
another gender or another age -- anything! All I ask is, please, no death
stories. If it's temporary or permanent, that's up to you. Any
universe. Have fun!!
It was a hot afternoon in
The deep voice was thick with an accent that brought a delighted smile
to the gambler’s face, and he rose from his seat with a respectful nod. “It serves to dispel ennui, sir. However if you would care to join me…”
“Don’t mind if I do.” The man
made himself comfortable in a chair across from the gambler and signaled the
barmaid for a drink. “I, too, find it
too hot today to exert myself overmuch, but you appeared to me a man who might
be as apt with conversation as he was with cards and that would be a pleasant
way to spend my time as I wait for the next stage.” He held out a hand. “I am Zeke Tatopolous.”
Ezra returned the firm handshake with one of his own. “Ezra…Stanislaus,
although my mother changed it to Standish early in my life and that is the name
I go by today.”
Tatopolous smiled and shrugged.
“Greek is Greek, such things are unimportant. You live here, son?”
“Why, yes.” Ezra was startled and
showed it; most people expected gamblers to be somewhat nomadic and he could
never before recall being asked if he lived somewhere while dressed in the
colorful clothing that announced his trade.
“I…am one of the town peacekeepers, among other things.”
“A man of many talents, then.”
Zeke raised his glass. “Here’s to
the vagaries of the Fates.”
The gambler raised his own glass in response, smiling in spite of his
surprise. “To the Fates, then; may their
shears not cut us from life’s tapestry prematurely.” Taking a drink, he studied the man across from
him, his own sharp eyes taking in every detail.
“And to what does this dusty backwater owe the honor of your presence,
Mr. Tatopolous?”
“It’s just Zeke. And I’m
actually on a what you might call a voyage of
discovery, Mr. Stanislaus.”
“Ezra.” He cocked a
questioning eyebrow. “Perhaps I could be
of some assistance to you in your quest?”
“Hmm, you might at that.” Zeke pulled
out a small carved box and placed it in the center of the table. “I have been trying to find a man who can
open this without breaking it, it is an old family treasure and the contents
would doubtless be of great use to me but I can’t destroy such an heirloom to get
at them.”
Ezra nodded and, with a quick glance for permission, picked up the box
and carefully turned it over in his hands.
“This is acacia wood,” he said, running his fingers almost reverently
over the raised carvings and time-dulled inlays of metal and stone. “And this lock…an
amazing piece of craftsmanship, no wonder you’ve had no success.”
Zeke looked hopeful. “You know
something about such things, then?”
Ezra nodded again; had he been watching the older man instead of the
lock, he would have seen an almost triumphant expression flicker over the lined
face. “I dare say I may even be able to
open it for you, if age has not sealed the box completely.” He put the box down and reached into his coat
to pull out a small leather wallet filled with delicate tools, then went to
work while Zeke watched in fascination.
After ten minutes work on the lock he inserted a small, flat pry between
the two halves and applied gentle pressure until he felt a slight give…and then
he handed the box back to its owner. “I
believe the honor of opening it by rights belongs to you, sir.”
Zeke carefully finished prying up the lid…and then he beamed and began
to root through the contents. After a
few moments’ clinking and jingling search he extracted a heavy ring and held it
out to the wide-eyed gambler, who took it gingerly. Exquisitely worked wings of gold inlaid with
silver wrapped partway around the gold band, and in the center was set what
looked like a crystal of some sort whose center filled with a shifting grayish-silver
liquid. “My…my God, I’ve never seen
anything like it!”
The old man smiled broadly.
“These things are over a thousand years old, I shouldn’t think you
had.” He himself had pulled out another
heavy gold band, this one crowned with a broad silver thunderbolt inlaid with
diamonds. As he slid it on his finger a
sudden flash of light made Ezra blink, but when his vision cleared seconds
later he could see no source for the sudden blinding flash and Zeke was simply
sitting there beaming at him. “Go on, try
on yours, Ezra.”
The gambler hesitated, this time having caught the flash of something
else in the old man’s eyes…but another look at the ring in his hand dispelled
his misgivings and he slid the cool metal onto his left index finger.
The crystal glowed with a bright silver light and a line of cold fire shot up from
his finger to race painfully through his body.
Ezra held back a scream…and then it was over and he looked across the
table to see Zeke watching him carefully.
“All right, son?”
The gambler nodded and swallowed, then reached out a shaking hand for
his whiskey; the hand stopped halfway to its goal when he noticed something
different about the wrist and arm attached to it. And it wasn’t just his arm…
Zeke’s deep voice soothed him before he had a chance to panic. “I’m making sure no one can see what’s going
on over here, Ezra; just change back to your normal appearance, a thought
should do it.”
Alarmed green eyes met deep, wise blue, and Ezra swallowed again. I want to be back in my
own clothes… And he was; a
quick pat to his red sleeve even showed his derringer rig to be back in
place. This time he got hold of the
whiskey and downed half the glass in one swallow. “Oh Lord, I must be goin’
insane…”
“No, you aren’t.” Zeke leaned
forward over the table and lowered his voice so that only the gambler could
hear. “You’re just remembering who you
are…Hermes.”
Ezra started violently – not at the name, but because he recognized it
as his own and hearing it brought up a host of memories that were also
his. “I…I don’t understand.” He looked again at the ring on his own
finger, then at the ring on Zeke’s. “Z-zeus?”
“Yes, son.” The older man
sighed. “I thought it was you, but I
wasn’t entirely certain until you opened the box – we designed it so that you
would be the only one capable of opening the lock.”
“I…remember.” Ezra put a shaking
hand up to his head, which was aching slightly.
“And the box itself can only be opened by you,
we had to keep everyone’s godhood safe.”
“Another genius of an idea, triggering the return by
having each of us put on our ring.” His tone was
approving, even proud; this next to youngest son of his had been the brains
behind the tripled security that had kept the gods from returning before their
time – and kept anyone else from using their power for other purposes. He smiled; he’d missed his family, especially
his headstrong, mischievous children. “Just
relax, son, and don’t try to process it all right now; everything will settle back
into place in its own time. And in the
meantime,” his eyes twinkled happily, “why don’t you shuffle those cards and
let’s see if the old man remembers what you taught him, hmm?”
Ezra’s eyebrows went up…and then he threw back his head and laughed.
Nathan came in some time later and saw the old man laughing while he
played cards with the gambler, and a scowl crossed his dark face. Stalking over to the bar he got a drink and
watched the game with a jaundiced eye. “Damn
gambler will just cheat anyone out of their money,” he muttered.
“That would be inaccurate as we are not playing for any,” Ezra drawled
smoothly, not looking up from his cards; he still smiled when Nathan flinched,
though. “You are welcome to join us if
you like, Mr. Jackson. Mr. Tatopolous and I are simply trying to wile away the time
until his stage arrives.”
The healer snorted but ambled over to the table. Seeing no money or anything else on the table
save cards he frowned in puzzlement. “Hey,
you’re really just playin’ for fun?”
“And sharing conversation,” the old man said, glancing up from his
hand. He smiled when Nathan’s eyes
widened at his accent. “Mr. Stanislaus and I found we have family in common, a pleasant
discovery for both of us.”
Nathan’s face started to darken again.
“That ain’t his name…”
“I beg to differ, it happens to be the one I was born with,” Ezra
corrected with a slight smile. “Mother ‘Americanized’
it, so to speak, after she broke with my father’s family.” He winked at Zeke. “But Greek is Greek, no matter what the name. A very wise man told me so.”
Zeke laughed and tossed a card into the center of the table. “And a man with a silver tongue repeated it. You have three nines and a trey, should I
press my luck?”
“Not with that pair of queens,” Ezra smirked at him. “I suggest you fold now and keep your six on the
next hand.”
The healer froze. “You admit you’re
cheatin’?”
“Not cheating per se, merely counting cards – and we both are.” Ezra winked at Zeke. “It is rare I encounter someone as skilled as
Mr. Tatopolous here.”
“My son taught me well.” Zeke returned the wink and Ezra chuckled. “I’d have to say he is the absolute master of
the cards, they hold no secrets from him.”
Nathan was growing more and more confused; he would have expected the
gambler to respond with indignation to that statement, but instead the man was…blushing? And he got the distinct impression the two
men were laughing at him but he had no clue what was so funny. Maybe Tatopolous
was some sort of criminal come here to hatch a scheme
with Ezra, that might explain it. The
healer considered planting himself at the table to try to forestall whatever
plan it was the two of them were cooking up, but he discovered that he really didn’t
want to hang around the saloon any longer and almost before he realized what he
was doing he had drained his glass and was preparing to leave. “Well, I…it was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tatopolous.”
“Mr. Jackson,” the old man returned with a polite nod. “I expect we’ll see each other again the next
time I come to
“Ah yes, I remember,” Ezra chimed in.
“If you locate him, Zeke, you must certainly persuade him to stop in for
a visit so he might meet Mr. Jackson.”
Nathan couldn’t help but smile at the thought; it still seemed like
they were laughing at him, but he could tell that they were serious about the doctor
in the family being happy to meet him and it made him feel good to know that
Ezra thought that highly of his skill as a healer – and had obviously shared
his feelings with Zeke. “Well, I’ll
leave you two to your little reunion, then.
See you at supper tonight, Ez.”
“Until then, Mr. Jackson.”
Ezra and Zeke waited until the healer was clear of the saloon before
they let even the faintest breath of laughter escape. “Oh dear,” Ezra said, swiping at his
eyes. “That was masterful. Did you ‘encourage’ him to vacate the premises? Because I saw definite signs
of him wanting to settle in for the duration to keep an eye on us.”
“I just nudged a little,” Zeke said with a shrug, but there was a
twinkle in his eye. “You and I still
have things to discuss and only limited time to do it in before my stage
arrives. Nice job camouflaging your
ring, by the way.”
“It seemed a good idea; the design is unusual enough to catch the eye
and the materials rich enough to cause suspicion – something Mr. Jackson has
plenty of already without my helping him add to it in any way.” He frowned critically at the ruby ring that
now graced his index finger, easily seeing through the illusion that covered
the symbol of his newly-revealed identity.
“I occasionally wear a ring like this one, I
knew he would notice nothing amiss.”
“Quick thinking, that was,” Zeke approved, and winked again. “But of course, from you I’d expect no less.” He tossed his remaining cards to the center
of the table. “Care to take a walk with
me, son? I know it’s hot, but I could
stand to stretch my legs some before taking another long sit in that infernal
stage.”
Ezra gathered up the cards and tucked them away in his pocket, then
stood up and straightened his clothing. “I
could do with a bit of exercise as well, despite the heat. And a short excursion would doubtless provide
us with more privacy to discuss…family matters than we can
have in an open saloon.”
The two of them exited the saloon and strolled in companionable silence
down the street and past the hotel to a place behind the livery and well out of
sound or sight of any potential eavesdroppers.
Zeke dropped his illusion and the plain traveling clothes were replaced
by gracefully draped white robes trimmed with gold; after a second’s hesitation
Ezra allowed himself to switch back to the attire he’d briefly found himself
wearing in the saloon after putting on his ring. “This would certainly cause a stir if we were
seen,” he chuckled; the initial shock now past, the outfit fit him like a
second skin and was surprisingly comfortable.
“My compatriots would doubtless be thoroughly scandalized, although I
believe Mr. Tanner would appreciate the fine leatherwork.”
Zeke laughed. “If he didn’t
faint from shock; you rather glow now, remember, and no one has seen we gods in
the flesh in generations.”
“True…Father.” Ezra offered the
appellation hesitantly, but it felt as natural as his new clothing and a part
of him he hadn’t realized was cold warmed when he read the appreciation and
acceptance of the title in the older man’s eyes. “Do you need me to come with you, to find the
others?”
“You’re a lawman, you’re needed here,” Zeus told him understandingly. “And anyway, if I have need of you it’s not
like distance would be a factor,” he added, gesturing at the gold-winged
sandals adorning the younger god’s feet.
“For now, though, just stay put and go on as
normal. I’ll keep searching out the rest
of our family, and some of them may even come to find you themselves once they
know where you are. We always were a
close-knit bunch and you’ve always been rather the favorite, if you remember.”
“I do,” Ezra replied, a faraway look in his eyes, the green now shaded
with silver. Then he shook his
head. “But…you
will be back to visit, correct?”
Zeus smiled and pulled him into a hug.
“Of course, young Hermes; I’ll return as often as I can, never fear.” He chuckled gently. “I’d tell you to stay out of trouble but it
wouldn’t work, I know. So just stay safe
and keep your eyes open.”
Ezra held on to the hug until he heard the rattle of the arriving
stage, then he reluctantly broke away and shifted back to the guise of a
brightly-attired gambler. “If you need
me…”
“I’ll send for you, you know I will – you needn’t worry about being
replaced as the herald of
“Hopefully it won’t be too long,” Ezra replied, and then waved as the
vehicle pulled away in a cloud of dust.
He began to walk absently back in the direction of the saloon’s cool
shadows, smiling a little to himself. “Family, what a novel experience that
should be…among other things.”