“There you go.” Hermes spread his arms. “That wasn't so hard, was it?”
“Bring the criminals forward,” Athena said with a stern tone as she cast an annoyed look at Hermes.
The gods who were restraining Nyx and Aion shoved them forward. Erebus held Macaria as she wept, and Nyx lashed out at them with horrible curses that would no doubt haunt them. I wasn't looking forward to rethinking my opinion of Macaria, but I knew it needed to be done. She'd redeemed herself in a way that most people didn't have had the spine for, and I had to respect that. So did Hades; he went to his daughter and hugged her tightly before he firmly turned her away from her mother.
“Erebus,” Hades said as he laid a grateful hand on the god's shoulder, “don't let her watch this. Please, take her out of here.”
Erebus nodded and stumbled from the room with Macaria. As soon as they were gone, Hades accepted an ax from Hephaestus. Nyx was pushed to her knees as Hades went to stand at her side.
“I only wish that I could claim your soul so I could torture you forever,” Hades snarled at her. “But this will have to do. For Persephone!” He shouted as he brought the ax down.
Hades' shout echoed in my mind; laid over the memory of the battle cry of hundreds of other gods. I shivered as the blade sliced through Nyx's neck as well as the tops of her wings. Her head fell in a rain of feathers, and then her body crumpled. Aion was whimpering, but the rest of the gods watched silently as Nyx's body became a dark mist and then dispersed into the air. Hades took a deep breath and then hung his head respectfully.
Then Aion was brought forward.
I went to stand to the left of the bawling god, and as I did, my men came forward to stand behind me. I wished that Arach was there to share this with me; he would have appreciated this the most. No; that's not true. Arach would have pressed for a hunt and would have been unsatisfied with this civilized execution.
I stared down at Aion and felt as if this were an unending cycle; Greek gods coming after me for killing someone they loved. And could I really fault them for wanting to avenge their family members? No; I couldn't. But despite the issues this may cause me, or the understanding I had for Aion's actions, I knew it had to be done.
Hades offered me the ax, but I shook my head.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I prefer to do this my way.”
If I couldn't have a hunt, I could at least have the kill. I lifted a hand as I shifted my fingers into dragon claws. Aion glanced up at me and went calm. He lifted his head, met my gaze steadily, and exhaled as he closed his eyes. But then I hesitated; another memory surfaced.
“Vervain?” Odin asked.
“I can't betray his magic again,” I whispered.
Aion opened his eyes and frowned at me in confusion.
“I understand,” Chronos said kindly as he laid a hand on my shoulder. “I will gladly give Cyclical Time a home if you will do me the honor of transferring it to me, Godhunter.”
I lowered my hand and shifted the claws back to fingers.
“No!” Aion screamed as he lurched away from me. “Kill me, but not like that.”
“Restrain him,” Athena commanded.
The guards came forward and took hold of Aion again.
“Can't you even do this one honorable thing?” I asked him. “Your magic has a chance to live, but you'd prefer to let it die with you? Can't you see how selfish that is? Your magic has been tainted by your fury, but Chronos could heal it and give it a home.”
“But it hurts so much,” Aion cried.
“Only if you resist,” I said softly.
Part of me wanted to make Aion suffer, but I owed it to his magic to make this transfer as painless as possible. It had trusted me, and I had sacrificed it. I had to make things right.
“So be it,” Aion whispered.
I closed my eyes and reached out for Aion's magic. I would have said that it was fortunate that I'd worn my emerald to the meeting, but I had a feeling that it was my subconscious at work. And that made me even more certain that I was doing the right thing. I found the time magic easily, and it came to me as trusting as it had been before. Magic didn't hold a grudge. It rushed into me, and I directed it into the thick band of gold around my emerald pendant. As the energy drained from Aion, I heard him sigh, and then came the soft sound of his body falling back; lifeless.
I opened my eyes and looked at Chronos. “Are you ready?”
Chronos nodded as he opened his arms. I called the time magic out of the gold and sent it through me once more; into Chronos. I felt its happiness as it surged into its new home, and I hoped that Chronos would treat it better than Aion had. From what I'd seen of the god so far, I had faith that he would.
When the time magic was completely in its new host, I let go of it and opened my eyes. Chronos was staring at me with a glowing blue stare and a brilliant smile. His wings unfurled as he leaned forward and embraced me.
