SIXTEEN
Sebastian, Russell, and Aspen arrived at the Chicago Temple an hour before dusk. One of the Guardians came to take the car back to the rental agency while Sebastian and Russell showed Aspen to one of the medical rooms on the first floor. She was able to walk now, though she looked pretty out of it. Russell left to get ready for the funeral as Sebastian stayed to watch Garrett and his nurse get Aspen situated. Garrett inspected the IV needle in Aspen’s arm. “Good work. I take it the blood worked?”
Sebastian nodded. “Seems to. She was conscious about two hours after the initial dosage. I gave her another unit on the way back, as you instructed.”
Garrett nodded. “And you feel you are improving?” he asked Aspen. She nodded. Garrett continued to ask questions for a few more minutes, inspecting Aspen’s healing wounds and checking her vitals. He left a short while later.
Sebastian sat in the chair next to Aspen’s bed. “It looks like you’re on the road to recovery. I’d better head out and get ready for Alex’s funeral. I need to check on Glen and see Mom too.”
“I’d like to go to the funeral. Do you think I can?”
Sebastian thought about it. “I’ll talk to Garrett. Maybe we can figure something out.”
Aspen sighed. “Everything’s so crazy right now.”
“I was just thinking that yesterday. How nothing is the same anymore. Our world seems to be changing at break-neck speeds.” He reached for Aspen’s hand, holding it. “You probably want to talk to Mars too.” Aspen nodded. “I plan to talk to Mom about that.”
He stood, placing Aspen’s hand back on the bed and brushing the dark hair from her brow. “If you don’t make it to the funeral, I’ll come to see you after, okay?”
Aspen nodded, her eyes heavy. Sebastian backed away from the bed, turned to the door, and let himself into the hall. He made sure to find Garrett right away and informed him of Aspen’s wishes. Then he went to get ready.
Since the second demon encounter, Sebastian hadn’t washed much but his face and hands. Ten minutes under the scalding spray of the shower in his room made all the difference in the world. His bags had been placed back in his room. Sebastian checked the contents and emptied the clothing before locking them up in his wardrobe. He dressed in the formal attire of a Golden Arrow: black suit with a black tie and shirt, the golden insignia pinned to his lapel. He towel dried his springy dark hair, giving it a cursory glance before running out of the room to find someone that could give him news.
He saw Russell on the stairs. Catching up to him, Sebastian called, “Hey, wait up.”
Russell paused, looking over his shoulder. “Back among the land of the living, I see.”
“You’re looking a lot better yourself.”
Russell was also in uniform, his long, dark hair pulled into a damp pony tail. “Are you heading in to see mom?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yeah, you?”
“I feel like I haven’t seen her in forever. First all that time with Alex and Glen…” Russell paused before continuing. “…and then running off with you to play hero.”
“I know. I need to get in touch with Hans too, see if he heard from those Guardians that accompanied us on the rescue.”
They both reached the landing and headed toward Psyche’s office. The Guardians at the door nodded at Sebastian as he knocked twice. After he heard prompting from within, he opened the door, and they stepped inside. Psyche stood at the window looking out at the approaching sunset. She turned at their approach. “Ah, my boys return.” She advanced on them and gave them hugs, right before she shook them both by the arm. “What were you thinking, running off on a rescue mission without telling your mother?”
Russell looked sheepishly at his feet. Sebastian cleared his throat. “We didn’t mean to worry you. We knew if we showed up with a whole bunch of Golden Arrows, it could be a real mess. If it had been too much to handle, we would have called.”
Psyche only pursed her lips. Russell glanced up from the floor. “We told Hans.”
Psyche rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes. Hans tells me, but my own sons don’t.”
Sebastian rubbed her arm. “We really didn’t mean to worry you. What should we have done differently?”
“You are such boys. I just want to be told. You did everything as I would have, of course, because you are good boys.” She faced them again, the hint of a smile at her lips. “Just tell your mother.”
Russell glanced at Sebastian and grinned. Psyche sighed. “How is Aspen?”
“I just left her room. She’s doing well. She wants to come to the funeral,” Sebastian replied.
“What was the situation?”
Russell cleared his throat. “It was like Jeremy. She was being drained.”
“Demons were involved?”
Russell and Sebastian nodded. “And…” Sebastian started, and then stopped.
Psyche raised her eyebrows. “Yes?”
“There was a large wind.”
Psyche frowned. “Auster.”
Sebastian nodded. “We were forced to leave two Guardians there to take care of the demons while we helped Aspen make her escape. She was unconscious at the time. I still need to check in with Hans to see what the situation with those Guardians turned out to be. Aspen recovered well.” Sebastian sighed, his own guilt pressing him. “She went there to investigate, clear Mars’s name.”
“She’s a very dedicated one, he tells me.”
Sebastian raised his eyes, quizzically. “You’ve been speaking with him?”
Psyche tilted her head. “Of course. When I found out what happened to Aspen, I needed to tell Mars, naturally.”
Russell fiddled with his sleeve. “Is he still under Hans’s supervision?”
Psyche nodded. “For the time being. We have a meeting about all of this tomorrow morning at first light. Tonight is for Alex. Did Hans tell you about Alex?”
Sebastian shook his head. “No, Garrett did when I called him yesterday about Aspen’s condition.”
“Such a terrible waste. It really doesn’t make any sense. She was getting better, and then she just crashed.”
“How is Glen?” Russell asked.
“Beside himself with grief. He’s been spending some time in the combat room with Victoria and Evans, working off his anger.”
Russell nodded. “He’s a decent fighter.”
Sebastian glanced at his mother. “Will he be staying on? Here at Temple?”
“For the time being. I’ll not turn out Alex’s brother right after this tragedy. We’ll see what he’s thinking, by-and-by.”
Russell glanced at his watch. “We’d better go, Sebastian, if we want to find Glen before the funeral.”
Psyche walked them to the door. “He and Evans were just in here. They said they were going to go ahead and head over to chapel.”
Sebastian hugged Psyche. Russell followed suit, and the duo went back out to the hall toward the chapel in the back of the building, just beyond a courtyard. The summer heat was dimmer now with the setting of the sun. The dusky light was warm and colorful, filtering through the leaves of the gardens along the walkway. Sebastian and Russell didn’t speak on the way there, each lost in their own warring thoughts about the situation at hand.
When they arrived at the chapel, they saw Glen standing with Evans at the back of the room. Sebastian and Russell approached silently. Evans smiled. “Hey, boys.” She gave each a warm hug. “It must have gone well?”
Russell considered. “We got her. We brought her back.”
At that moment, Sebastian saw Hans enter the building. “Excuse me a moment,” he said and went to go speak with Hans.
Evans followed him with her eyes. “Is Aspen okay?”
Russell nodded. “She was being held captive. There were demons involved again. Things got a bit sticky, and we were forced to leave two Guardians there to hold off the demons while we smuggled Aspen out. We got out just in the knick of time too. Several dozen demons were descending on the roof while we were leaving.”
Evans closed her eyes, shaking her head. Glen’s eyes turned hard. “More of those things that attacked my sister?” Russell nodded. “Where are they coming from?”
Russell shrugged. “No one knows for sure, but we think another god has been flying them in, using them to do his dirty work.”
Glen’s eyes raised. “Flying them?”
“He’s a god of wind.”
“Well, that’s handy.”
Russell looked at Evans. “It was just like Jeremy, Evans. He was draining her.”
Evans gasped. “But she’s still alive?”
“Yes. Sebastian gave her a lot of his blood. She regenerated off of that.”
Evans blinked in surprise. “Really? Well, that’s interesting!”
“It came as a bit of a shock to me too.”
Glen just looked between the two of them. “Why?”
Russell turned to him. “Do you remember…the bad reaction that happened to your sister? Because of the mixing of bloods?” Glen, nodded, somberly. “We were afraid that mixing the immortals’ blood when they have two different powers would cause complications, but they don’t seem to. Only when the blood touches mortals. I guess it makes sense. We can’t affect each other with our power.”
Glen glanced at Evans, who bit her lips and looked at the floor. Russell looked between the two of them as Sebastian rejoined the group. “Good news. The Guardians made it out. They’re a little worse for the wear, and they had to burn down the Temple entirely to get out, but they did it.”
Russell exhaled heavily. “Wow. Okay. So much for ‘slipping in and slipping out’.”
“Didn’t work exactly like we planned, but we made it out.”
A bell tolled above their heads, and Russell looked around, realizing it was time. The chapel had filled while they had been talking. He noticed two new faces near the front of the room wearing Lead Arrow insignias. “Are those the Lead Arrow representatives?”
The others turned to see where he gazed. Evans nodded. “Yes. That’s Elaine and Stephan. They arrived this morning.”
Russell grimaced. “Well, they certainly fit the stereotype.”
Sebastian nodded. They both had horribly sour expressions on their faces and stood very stiffly. Sebastian turned to look at Glen. “I suppose Evans can take you to your seat of honor, Glen.” Sebastian extended his hand. “I am so incredibly sorry. None of this was supposed to have happened this way.”
Glen nodded, taking Sebastian’s hand. “I know.” His voice quivered a little, so he took a deep breath to still it. “Parties on both sides were hurt. Too bad your immortality wasn’t contagious. That would have come in handy.”
“I wish it was.”
Evans took Glen’s arm and led him to the front of the room, gracefully escorting him to his seat. Sebastian and Russell stood in the back of the room, watching quietly as everyone was seated with the last toll of the bell. The room fell silent as the setting sun in the western windows began to kiss the horizon. Psyche sat at the front of the room, Hans on one side and Glen on her other. Evans sat on Glen’s other side. The casket at the front of the room glowed with the light of the falling sun, its bright yellow glare making Sebastian blink rapidly to clear his vision.
A monk made his way to the front of the room, and Sebastian was hit with a wave of déjà vu. He had been to more funerals this week than in the past three hundred years combined. The thought made his brow furrow again, discontented with the rate of change in his world.
The monk, whose name was Nathan, spoke in his smooth, low voice. The room was as quiet as a tomb. “Thank you all for coming here today. We are here to celebrate the short life of Alex Milligan. It is rare in our Temple that a mortal be given such an honor as to be laid down with the other bodies here, but Alex had the heart and courage of a hero, and we recognize her for it.”
Glen’s head lowered at that, and Evans slipped her hand into his. Nathan continued. “We are all sad to see Alex go. In her short, mortal life, she was a professional singer and actor.”
Sebastian looked at Russell in surprise. “I didn’t realize that,” he whispered.
Russell nodded. “I guess she was quite good. Glen says she had billing in New York before she moved here six months ago to start at the Piccolo.”
Sebastian raised his eyes and nodded. “She had the figure of a dancer.”
Russell frowned, growling at Sebastian. “You’re talking about a dead woman, show some respect, for Jupiter’s sake.”
Sebastian glanced over in surprise, but said nothing else. He hadn’t meant anything by it, of course. He noticed, though, Russell had grown soft where Alex was concerned. Sebastian tuned into the eulogy again.
“…Having only her brother by her side, they traveled the country, using their arts as their trade in the streets,” Nathan continued. “Honing her skills, Alex auditioned again and again in the theatre, waitressing at nights to save enough money for acting classes. Her brother, Glen, helped her save for her dream by selling his art, mainly in the form of sculptures.
“As the years passed, Alex’s skills ramped up, and she spent more time acting for pay than waitressing. Glen moved to Scotland to continue to work on his sculpting technique. He has only recently returned and is now a guest of our Temple.”
Glen looked at his hands, a tear landing on his wrist. Evans covered it with her own hand, looking at his pained face. Her heart broke for him.
Nathan continued. “Alex Milligan may have lived a short life, but it was a full life. She saw more on the streets of her country than most mortals. She identified with the rougher side of life, which is something that every Arrow here can appreciate.”
There were nods around the room as all of the Golden Arrows considered this. The Lead Arrow counselors remained motionless.
Nathan gave the signal for pallbearers. “All rise.” Glen and several Guardians rose. Sebastian and Russell rushed forward to tap two of them on the shoulder, taking their places. They approached the coffin with Glen, whose tears were streaming down his face, unchecked.
As a unit, the entire congregation of Chicago’s Golden Arrows stood, facing the casket somberly, every one of them touched by the horrible fate that had taken one of the very mortals they served every day.
Glen took his place at the front of the casket. Russell stood behind him, and Sebastian stood on the other side. In unison, the eight pallbearers lifted the casket, moved to the glass doors along the western windows of the Temple, and carried Alex’s body out into the balmy air and setting sun. Russell felt a tear slip out of his eye and rested his cheek against the casket as he followed Glen’s footsteps. Once out the doors, Russell saw Victoria standing with Hans, watching the procession. Her face was creased with worry and sadness.
Glen and the Arrows gently lowered the casket above the gravesite that had been prepared in Alex’s honor. The tombstone was beautiful. In rose-colored marble, it read:
ALEX MILLIGAN
March 25th, 1986 – August 13th, 2011
Whose heart is pure,
Whose spirit is immortal.
We honor you.
Stepping back, the pallbearers all faded into the crowd that had followed the procession outside, with the exception of Sebastian and Russell. Victoria and Evans came to join them. Sebastian was tapped on the shoulder and turned to see Aspen at his side in a wheelchair held by one of the nurses. He knelt to be beside her, taking her hand as they faced the grave. Psyche stood at the casket on her own, her hand radiating a light on the casket as she closed her eyes and asked Jupiter to admit her soul into the Afterworld. At length she stood back to take a place next to Glen. All the Arrows watched as shovelful after shovelful of dirt was poured over the grave. No one moved or spoke as the last sliver of the sun winked out of the night sky, leaving the moon to her realm. The gentle summer night’s breeze flitted through Aspen’s hair, tickling her cheek on which a single tear rested.
After the last scoop of dirt was laid over the casket, Psyche placed a hand on Glen’s shoulder, briefly, and then turned to go inside. All of the Arrows turned to go back to the chapel and then back to Temple. Sebastian, Russell, Victoria, Evans, Glen, and Aspen remained, quietly. The laborers that covered the gravesite turned to go inside. Glen exhaled heavily, his tears drying on his face as he looked at the gravesite of his baby sister. There were so many things they had been through. They survived all the odds until the odds finally outweighed them both. He cleared his throat, “She was honored by gods.” He turned to Evans. “She was honored by gods in her death.” He smiled, sadly. “I guess I couldn’t ask for better.”
Evans slipped her hand into his, quietly. Russell, who was on Glen’s other side, placed a hand on his shoulder. Glen shook his head and looked at the ground, his short red hair standing up at all angles against the sky. Victoria stood there a moment more before she quietly faded away. Sebastian looked down at Aspen, whose eyes were barely open. She was here out of duty and guilt, but Sebastian could see she needed rest. He looked over at Glen, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to take Aspen in, Glen.” Glen nodded, glancing behind him before he turned his attention back to Alex’s grave. Sebastian took the handles of Aspen’s wheelchair and turned back to the Temple, the nurse who had accompanied her falling in behind them as they left.
Glen breathed deeply and then moved to sit at a concrete bench that was a few feet away, positioned under a weeping willow tree. He faced Alex’s grave. Russell and Evans sat beside him. They were silent for a long time. Evans picked at her handkerchief. Russell listened to the birds in the trees. He turned to look at Glen. “What would you like to do now, Glen?”
Glen shook his head, looking at his feet below his arms, which rested on his knees. “I don’t know.” He lowered his forehead to his hands, running them through his hair. “I’ve realized since I came back here I’ve only ever lived for myself, my art, and Alex for years now. I don’t know what else to do.”
Russell exchanged glances with Evans over Glen’s back. Russell said, “Psyche has confirmed you are welcome to stay at Temple with us.”
Glen snorted. “To do what? Make sculptures? Draw pictures? What use is any of that now?”
Evans sighed, but Russell chuckled. Evans threw a disapproving look at Russell, who just shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I think of what the Muses would say to that.”
Glen glanced up. “The Muses are real too?”
“I kind of think of them as distant aunts. They’re very funny…and fickle.”
Glen shook his head. “This is all so screwed up. I can’t keep my head on straight. In a matter of days, I’ve lost my sister to a creature that isn’t supposed to exist, befriended people that don’t die and make a living out of making people fall in love, and seen warfare that simply scares the crap out of me.” He turned to look at Russell. “Is it even safe to stay here? I know there’s a lot going on in your Temple right now.”
Russell sighed. “Things aren’t as stable here as they’ve always been, but all of the Golden Arrows were called here because it is the safest place to be right now. Mom and the Guardians are here to protect us.”
“And she’s a goddess, right?” Russell nodded. Glen looked back at his hands. “Is there anything useful for a mortal to do at your Temple?”
Russell considered. “I think mom thinks there is. She’s…interested in you. She believes you would be a great ally to us in communicating with other mortals. Sebastian has been working on some research to make our work better. To make our jobs more…” he considered for a moment. “…tolerable for both us and the mortals we serve. Having a mortal’s input could be extremely useful.”
Glen snorted. “Meaning I’d be a lab rat.”
Russell shrugged. “Not what I was thinking, but that might be helpful too.” Evans reached over Glen to slap Russell in the back of the head. Russell began laughing, and Glen joined in.
“I’d be your resident schizophrenic if you guys started testing hate and love juice on me.” That just made the two of them laugh harder. Evans rolled her eyes before standing. “Glen, I’m going to go check on your room and talk to mom, okay?”
Glen nodded, pulling his hand from hers. Evans smiled and walked toward Temple as both men watched her go. Russell turned and caught Glen’s eye as he watched Evans walk away. “Got it bad, huh?”
Glen sighed, heavily. “I know. I know. I’m a fool. Evans has explained to me you’re all engineered to be perfect. You’re all beautiful and strong and all that. But she’s more than just a pretty face, you know?” Russell nodded. Glen blinked and looked at Russell, blushing a little. “Of course, you probably don’t want to hear me talk about your little sister like that, right? God knows I’d pound in your face if I heard you talking about Alex like that.”
Russell tried not to look guilty as he replied. “Evans isn’t a sister to me like you and your sister. We didn’t grow up together. We didn’t have Christmases as children and watch each other’s heartbreaks happen and stuff. We’re simply two people who were induced into a brotherhood together.”
Glen thought about this for a moment. “Do you Golden Arrows ever…hook up together?”
Russell shook his head. “There’s too much grief in our world. It’s too confusing. And…,” he considered for a moment, “…we don’t really feel that way about each other. It’s more of an affection, you know? We don’t feel attracted to each other.”
Glen grunted. “Sounds lonely. I’ve said that to Evans too.”
Russell nodded. “It is a lot of times. But this is a life of service, not entertainment. We’re not here for our own means. We serve the gods, and gods need mortals on their side to survive.”
“Love and war must be crackerjack industries in the god-world.”
“They are that.”
Glen looked over. “So you’ve never been in love?”
“Oh, several times.”
“With mortals?” Russell nodded. “But they can’t stay with you, right?”
“No. They move on, and they fall in love and are happy.”
Glen shook his head. “You’ve never been in a real relationship?”
“Not since I joined the Arrows.”
“And when was that?”
Russell grinned. “Oh, about 2,300 years ago.”
Glen shook his head. “Unbelievable.”
Russell laughed. “You’re telling me. I swear I just woke up yesterday and it was the 1800’s.”
Glen blinked. “I’m a lost cause aren’t I? With Evans?”
Russell sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of it before, but the bulk of what I’ve never heard of seems to be happening all around me lately. With Sebastian’s research, anything could be possible.”
Glen nodded, and yawned. He shook his head, sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t really sleep last night.”
“I can assume that just by looking at you. Why don’t you go in and get some sleep? We can talk more about what you plan to do after you’ve had some rest.”
Glen stood slowly. He turned to Russell, hesitating. “Do you want me to stay here? At Temple?”
Russell smiled. “Of course! I’ve never had a mortal friend before.”
Glen rolled his eyes. “Geez, I’m just a giant guinea pig aren’t I?”
Russell chuckled, patting his back. “Don’t feel too bad. Something tells me you wouldn’t mind being Evans’s guinea pig.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “She ought to have your bed all made up for you by now.”
Glen groaned. “God, are you trying to kill me? I’m never gonna get sleep thinking of that!”
Russell stood, laughing as Glen headed back into Temple. Russell stayed by the weeping willow tree, looking at Alex’s grave, thinking of all the things he had wanted to say and hadn’t. He felt horribly guilty now for keeping so much from her while she was alive. He sighed, shaking his head. He was an expert in life not being fair, but it never got any easier to swallow over the years.
Russell moved over to the gravesite, crouching in freshly turned dirt to place his hand on the tombstone. He lowered his head, exhaling as he tried to conjure up his parting words to Alex.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to be dishonest with you. I never meant to fail in my duty to you. I was supposed to set you free to fall in love in your world, where you would be happy in the arms of another. I failed. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for it.
“We’re going to take care of your brother. I promise you that. He may think he’s got options, but I promise he’ll stay with us, or at least where we can keep an eye on him for the rest of his days, which are few, like all mortals.
“I pray Jupiter will throw open the gates of the Afterworld to you. I know he will.”
Russell lifted his head. “It is time to say goodbye. All servants of the gods eventually return home, and I’ll be able to visit you when I do. Time is endless for you now, as it is for me. We will meet again.”
Standing, Russell brushed his hands together and moved a couple steps back from the dirt on the ground. “Good bye,” he whispered as he turned away.
He had only taken a few steps when the ground began to shudder. Startled, Russell reached into his holster for his gun, turning all around, looking for the demon that had somehow gotten inside the safe holds of Temple. Only clear night sky surrounded him. Russell turned to shout at the Temple. The ground shook more violently, and he heard yells from inside. Could it be an earthquake? In Chicago? He doubted it. Of course, add it to the list of impossibilities he’d seen lately, as far as he was concerned. It was a week for rarity.
Russell felt something like sand hit his face, and he wiped at his cheek. He looked at his fingers to see a streak of brown. Looking at the ground, he saw that dirt was flying up from Alex’s grave in a thin spray, right from the center. He backed away slowly, his gun held in front of him. He heard the thuds of running feet, and turned to see Hans and three Guardians join him, as well as Glen.
“What’s going on?” yelled Glen.
“I haven’t got a clue,” Russell shouted back. “You’d better get inside Temple in case it’s another demon attack.”
Glen backed slowly away, his eyes wide. Then all of the men were thrown to the ground as Alex’s grave burst open, dirt splattering everywhere. A fallout of dirt rained on them like the rubble from an explosion. Russell protected his eyes from the spray of pummeling earth and rocks. After it had stopped, Russell raised his head and gun. His eyes bugged out of his sockets as he saw a hand come out of the grave. “Oh, Jupiter.”
Glen stammered as a grunting sound came from within the grave, the hand grasping at the edge of the dirt cavern. “Alex?”
A shaky voice issued from within the grave. “Glen? Is that you?”
Glen jumped up to run to the grave, but Hans and another Guardian jumped forward to stop him. Russell rose to his feet and cautiously approached the open grave, gun ready.
Alex, dirt masking her face, shivered and looked up at Russell from the bottom of the six-foot hole, still standing in the inside of the coffin. It was the most morbid thing he’d ever seen. “Russell?”
Russell blinked, shocked beyond words for a moment. Swallowing, he said, “Alex?”
Alex nodded, tears washing muddy tracks down her face. Russell knelt at the side of the tomb and lowered a hand to Alex, who grasped it. Russell stood, grunting as he pulled Alex’s slim frame from the hole. She was clothed in what she had worn at her funeral, less than an hour before. The black slacks and turtleneck camouflaged her form as well as the dirt that covered every inch of her. Russell carefully lowered her to the ground, where she stood, shakily looking at all the guns pointed in her direction. Everyone stood there, speechless, especially Glen, whose eyes bugged out of his head.
Alex’s chin trembled as he looked at Russell, pleading with her eyes for him to say something.
Russell licked his lips, nervously. His gun lowered, but his finger remained on the trigger. The other men kept their guns pointed on target. “Alex,” Russell whispered. “What happened? How did you do that?”
She looked at all the guns pointed in her direction before she turned back to Russell. “Are they going to shoot me?”
Russell looked behind him and indicated with his hand for them to lower their weapons, which they did, slowly. Hans and the other Guardian who had Glen in their grasp did not loosen their hold, waiting to see what would happen. Russell looked back at Alex. “They’re not going to shoot you, Alex. How did you do that?”
Alex lifted her hand, palm up, and pointed her index finger of her other hand at it. The soil collected in her palm shivered and then floated in the air, inches away from her hand. There was a unified gasp as the men saw, in the light of the full moon, Alex’s new talent. Her eyes swam with tears as she looked up at Russell, who simply stared back at her in shock. “Russell, what did they do to me?”
Hans’s voice came from the back of the crowd, and everyone turned to look at him as he said, “Jupiter, indulgeo nos. We’ve created a demigod.”