The Zeal of Eros

Dr. Walter had been taken care of dad, getting most of the debris out of his respiratory system. Dr. Hecate watched over Coop to make sure that he got better around the same time that dad did. His chest wasn't getting better as the gapping hole in his chest seemed to grow faster. He tried not to let it bother him, but I knew it was truly troubling. My dad would be able to go home in a couple of days.

Hecate had told me time and time again that there really wasn't much she could do. And that she would be recalled to Olympus. Since Cupid wasn't a god anymore, they didn't need to have a god stationed here. I had tried to convince her to stay. If she left, Coop wouldn't be taken care of.

"Cupid is not the God of Love anymore, Psyche. I cannot stay unless he got his powers back. And even then, I won't be able to help his situation." It had already sounded like she doubted that he would get his powers back.

I had started to argue, but she quickly dismissed me. Why was it so hard for people to believe. You are talking from a hypocritical perspective.

I sighed softly as I paced outside my dad's room. No... Zephyr. Had he been my real father or just brought down to make sure that I was safe for Coop's sake? Maybe I was being paranoid. It was hard not to be. After the Empousai, the chimera (Hecate had mentioned its name while she was bandaging up Coop) and Thanatos, being paranoid was becoming a norm. People pretty much wanted Coop and myself dead. Good reason to be paranoid.

Dr. Walter had come out of my father's room and I had finally stopped pacing.

"How is he?" I knew that Dr. Walter had said that it would be a couple of days before he would be released, but anything could happen. Dr. Walter looked back at my dad and sighed softly.

"We've cleared out everything. He just needs a few days to rest." I gulped and nodded. "Your father is strong and tough, Aria. He'll be alright. We'll keep him under observation for a day and let him out the day after."

I nodded again. I was worried. Maybe it was because he had been in the rubble for hours while I was lost in my own thoughts. I should have gotten home sooner. Might have actually been able to stop my mother.

No... you wouldn't have been able to stop her. Hated the fact that I was actually able to see that I couldn't actually have done anything. I would have gotten hurt just as dad had. I sighed softly and looked at Dr. Walter.

"Thank you." Dr. Walter nodded and headed toward her office, probably to write her report on my father.

I knew that sooner or later, the world of myth was going to collide with my own, normal world.

It already has. I knew that. With Psyche in me, the world would be falling into mythological chaos. And very few people would know what was going on. I went toward Coop's room, thinking he might have an idea of what to do. They couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

I headed down the hallway and came to Coop's room. He had a huge wrap around his chest, probably to conceal the damage that Psyche had caused when she died. He had a book in his hands when I went in. I chewed on my lip and knocked on the door.

He stopped, looking at me with that sad look in his eyes. My throat started to close up more with guilt. No... This was also my fault. I wouldn't put all the blame on Psyche. I also had a part to play in it. He raised an eyebrow as I stood there, trying to regain some of my composure.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your book." I stayed nearer to the door. Maybe it was just Psyche reminding me that I was just a host. Nothing more and nothing less.

"No, no... It's fine." He put a bookmark in the book, setting it down before gesturing for me to come over. He sat up on the bed, looking me over. But, immediately, I felt more and more guilty when I saw the bandages. I bit my lip as I came over to the bed. "How is your dad?"

"Dr. Walter is taking good care of him." Coop nodded as he patted the bed at his legs. I slowly sat down and looked at my hands. He gently reached over and tilted my head up.

"Aria... I know that look too well. What are you thinking about?" I sighed softly, gently taking his hand off my chin. I looked at it and shook my head.

"Nothing at all. Just... I guess I'm worried." It was half the truth, but I was worried. what was going to happen now that Coop didn't have his powers? The world must have been in chaos. As if it weren't already without gods existing.

Coop touched my hand to bring me back to reality again. "Aria, you shouldn't worry. everything will work out in it's own way."

"Yet, it was my fault that you lost your powers in the first place. I twas my fault that Thanatos had even gotten to you. It was my fault..."

He kissed me to cut me off. "They were meant to happen. You couldn't control it. Neither could I."

He brushed the hair out of my face, to look in his eyes. They weren't their violet color anymore, but still that unnatural blue.

"It wasn't your fault. It was out of both of our control."

"But the world is in peril because of it." He put a finger to my lips to stop me.

"Everything will work out."

How can he be so calm about it all? He eyes regarded me calmly. And even that made me more unnerved by the minute. Though, I started to notice the way he was saying things, like he was trying to get me to believe too. I shook my head as I got up.

"I'm sorry Coop. But I am not sure what to believe either."

I turned away before he could say anymore about it. I knew that the world was going to fall. Right to when everyone hated one another. Was this a plan of some other god? To keep the love god incapacitated and have chaos reign? It sounded like something another go would want. But who? Other than Thanatos?

I stepped into the hallway and headed toward the exit. Dr. Walter would probably say that nobody would be leaving tonight. Coop would say that he didn't want to leave me unguarded. Though, a god who was fighting to stay alive would not be the best guard. And with the situation that just happened, I needed some breathing room.

Should have known that my luck would run out. Though, maybe I should have known that when one of the arguing couples had crushed into my back. I tried not to get mad. They couldn't help it. I had tripped right past the automatic doors.

I cursed slightly and picked myself up. There was a tsking sound somewhere ahead of me.

"Poor, poor Psyche." the voice was like a click and a hiss at the same time.

That was the first thing to catch my attention. I looked into the darkness and was more surprised to see something staring back. Four pairs to be precise. I backed up to the door, but it wasn't opened or seemed to be opening.

"Cupid's soul..." The voice was female and still scratchy with the clicks and hissing.

The four pairs of eyes started to come towards me and thuds of more than two pairs of legs. It sounded like an army was coming toward the hospital.

"Do you want to save Cupid? Give me back his soul? Do my bidding and he'll be saved." I gulped as she came into the light.

Her face was probably the most horrifying part. It wasn't that her face wasn't beautiful, it was just that she had chelicerae, fangs that looked like side pincers in her mouth and eight eyes just above her nose. Her dark hair flowed back to her body which was of a giant spider. On the bottom of her body was a red-hour glass like a black widow. Her legs were barbed and her two arms of her human body had long talons at the tips of her fingers.

"Who are you?" The barbs started to stand on end. My own hairs started to do the same.

"Psyche doesn't know, or is it just the host? My name is Arachne." Every fiber of me wanted to run. Arachne... As in spider.

The spider woman got immediately closer. I had my back pressed firmly against the wall. It was hard to tell if she was smiling or not. The pincers were kind of misleading.

"Why are you here?" I tried to keep my voice as relaxed as I could. Every part of me wanted to run. But I did my best not to show my fear.

"As I said, I can help Cupid. But you are needed for that."

I clutched a hand to my chest. I knew that I would do anything to try and help Cupid, but I had that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. There was something about this that didn't feel right. But most everything didn't feel right. After Coop lost his powers... i shook my head and looked at Arachne.

"What would I have to do?" There was a hungry look in her eyes. Maybe that should have been my first thought to have alerts go off. Coop couldn't protect me, he was still recovering and had no powers.

"First, I need you to get something for me, then, I will tell you exactly what you need to do to save him. I will mend the skin and keep him alive until you get what I need." I chewed on my lip as I looked over to the doors.

Coop... "Alright. what do I need to get for you?"

Arachne licked her lips. Maybe she knew as much as I did that I didn't have much choice. And I had nothing to lose.

"I need you to get my loom back to me so I may continue my... Usual job. I will say this now, it will be treacherous and filled with monsters that would love ot destroy you." I blinked slightly.

Well, I shouldn't be acting surprised, After all the nightmares and being chased by not one, but several mythical beasts had already gone after me. My life was never going to be easy or without monsters.

"Where is this loom?" She backed off and started to pace slightly.

"Hmm... Very tough to pinpoint. It was lost some time ago. But I can teleport you there to where it should be." She started unravel something behind her and I realized it was coming from one of her spinnerets. "I will give you a bit fo r when you come back with the loom."

She pulled out this silly looking string that was more like rope. She grouped a lot into one hand and then a bit more in the other, biting off the string to separate them and the string out of her spinnerets. She offered me a bit of string for my trip back.

"When you have the loom, wrap the webbing around you and it , then call my name. You'll be transported back to me." I bit my lip and nodded.

"OK."

She put webbing around me like a lasso and I gripped my bit before she said, "Kolophon."

The name was unfamiliar, and nothing was happening. "Where is..."

That's when the silk started to glow and I felt that my body was being crushed and squeezed into nothing. The world went dark until all I saw was ruins.