In Pursuit of Power: Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Haven

“Peeeeeercy! It’s really you Peeeeeeercy!”

“Grover?” I said.

“Yeah?”

“I get that it’s exciting. But can we move past the poking?”

“Sorry.” He stood up straight. He looked more like how I remembered him now, just an older version that stood about six feet in height. “It didn’t start feeling real until I saw you looking like that.”

After our fight, we moved fast. Grover was obviously worried, and he knew more about this place than I did, so I wasn’t about to stick around and wait for whatever was coming when he didn’t want to.

We gathered up my followers, first the ones in the arena then those waiting outside of town. Artemis had looked shocked. Thalia hugged Grover on sight. We made sure not to linger, getting out before what was on the horizon could get too close.

Even if they were slower than they used to be, our chariots were as fast as slow cars. Grover rode with me on the one in front. Every few seconds, for the last thirty minutes, he would prod my arm and bleat my name, over the moon about our reunion.

Not that I wasn’t just as excited. But my arm was getting sore.

“This place we’re going,” I said to distract him, “what is it?”

“It’s my home!” he said.

“But what’s it like?”

“Hmmmm.” Grover stroked his chin. “It’s… While it’s kind of… Or it’s very…” His eyes got bright. “Oh, just see for yourself!”

A blur suddenly passed by our chariot from behind.

When I squinted, the outline of Artemis crystallized. My immortal lover was running. I could only see her back… and what she was rushing toward. Ahead of us, sprawling over the desert, was a forest. 

Back in the East, I took Artemis to a natural forest and watched how happy it made her. I could tell right away that this was different. Even from this distance I could hear and sense that animals were alive inside. It was Wild, with a capital W.

“Home,” Grover said proudly, and I didn’t blame him.

My eyes darted around the desert landscape, then toward the forest stretching away as far as the eye could see. “Don’t you think it stands out a little too much?”

“It’s not easy to find,” Grover promised. “I used my powers. Unless you know the way, you’ll keep getting lost. Now can’t this thing go faster? I can’t wait to be back!”

In addition to my followers, we’d also picked up a good amount of slaves from the arena we raided. Grover had been there to do the same thing we were, which was how we ended up fighting, both thinking the other one must be with the Titans. And that wasn’t the first arena Grover raided.

He told me his whole story in bits and pieces as we walked through the forest. The undergrowth was too thick for our chariots, forcing us to leave them behind when we reached the tree line. Stepping over roots and ducking vines, I listened to Grover telling his story.

“I landed in the South,” he said. “It wasn’t pretty. I hit the ground so hard that I broke through it, getting stuck in a crater. I couldn’t even move! Everything was broken. Luckily, my blood had gotten spread around. From it, trees started growing. They shielded me, letting me recover. That’s how I first figured it out. That I was a god now.”

“I think it was still a year before I was up and moving around. Once I could travel, I went looking for other people. I found them in chains.”

As he told his story, Grover’s face got dark. I couldn’t imagine ever being scared of Grover, but right now, he looked a little intimidating.

“I hate chains,” he said. “I don’t like anything about them. They make people into slaves, holding them down. It’s the opposite of being free. It couldn’t be more different from the Wild.”

Just as he got angry, three songbirds fluttered down, landing in his curly hair and plucking playfully at it. His face got brighter, and he reached up to stroke one’s head with a finger. The birds twittered there for the next couple of minutes, then flew off. Next a fox came up to say hi. After that, it was a badger and a bobcat, side by side.

Grover greeted all the animals while the mortals behind us watched in wonder. The forest was big. We’d been walking for at least a mile at this point, and I could just sense that we were nowhere near the end of it. 

Eventually, the animals coming by to pay their respects changed. There were otters and beavers and birds like ospreys that hunted in the water. I heard burbling rapids. There was a break in the trees as we stepped out onto a sandy beach beside a fast-running river. A boat was waiting for us.

It wasn’t a full-on ship, just a raft of parallel tree trunks bound with resin. It easily stayed afloat on the river, so wide that it nearly reached the opposite bank and as long as a bus. An old man stood at the back beside a crude rutter. 

His spine was bent forward, deep wrinkles cut into his skin. He stared in disbelief at how many people were walking out onto the beach. He looked from my followers in all their numbers over to Grover, then back to the followers, then back again.

“Gonna need more boats,” he said crabbily.

“Sorry, Roger.” I could see affection clearly on Grover’s face, and sense it in his voice. “I ran into some friends out there. Can you take multiple trips?”

“No need,” Calypso said.

She wielded her magic, and copies of the boat appeared on either side of it— four in total, just enough to fit everyone. Spirit servants like the ones that pulled our chariots took Roger’s job as the helmsmen. People boarded the boats carefully, doing their best not to fall into the rushing waters underneath. They really didn’t need to bother. Naiads were waiting just underneath the boats, eager to help anyone up that fell off.

Grover and I rode on the original boat with the old man. He looked at me and sniffed deeply.

“You’re a god,” he said.

“Do gods have a smell?” I asked, sniffing my own arm curiously.

“They all have a different one!” Roger declared. “But it’s always strong.”

His aged hands cranked the rutter, setting off. He had deceptive strength for a guy that age. 

I heard giggling. Turning, I noticed that one of the Naiads was following us closely. When she caught me looking, she pulled her shirt forward, letting me see down it to the bright blue nubs tipping her perky breasts. I shooed her away… just for now. There’s a time and a place for everything.

Turning away, I watched the forest around us. Whenever we went past — specifically Grover — the scene changed, all kinds of animals coming to the edge of the forest just to lay eyes on him. There were plenty that shouldn’t even exist on this continent, and definitely shouldn’t be able to live in an environment like this one. A herd of elephants sucked in water and sprayed it over the rafts like rain, making many of the children with us laugh uproariously. Prides of lions had jaguars and bobcats mixed in. There was even a dodo bird running around.

Eventually, the river widened into a big lake. A dock extended out onto the water, and I saw people moving around. There was a town behind them, or maybe I should call it a city. All the buildings were stone and wood; natural materials. People walked and played and laughed. A strange feeling broke out in my heart. I hadn’t seen anything like it since the fall of civilization.

“Nice, right?” Grover said proudly.

“Yeah,” I said, trying not to show how close I was to crying.

It took a long time to get all my people off of the boats, and it would take a lot longer to actually integrate them into this place. Luckily, there were lots of extra beds around— many more than there were people living here. This was a haven. Everyone who’d been brought here had once been in chains, and they lived with the constant hope of bringing home the others who toiled the way they once did.

Calypso, Prometheus, Artemis, Thalia and I would be staying next to Grover’s temple. He seemed a little bashful that it existed. The building was an adobe with a glass roof. It was the only building where I’d seen glass, and its altars were made with an untold value of gemstones.

The place we would be sleeping was a wooden building like the other houses, just bigger and nicer and right beside the temple. It wasn’t like we had many things with us. It took us mere minutes to drop off what we did have, then we went to explore the city. 

Mortals walked the street with rhinos and bears and other fierce predators, all completely peaceful. Inside the city borders, the law of the jungle was on pause. Once I had enough of an idea of the layout not to get lost, I went to check on my people.

I found them happy. Grace and Annie helped organize things as locals handed out fresh new clothes made from soft fabrics. There was food and drink and laughter. Many people made new friends, Mikey included.

The little tyke showed up at my side in a rush, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I figured he’d found something cool, and I guess in his mind, that was exactly right. I just didn’t expect that something to be a someone.

“This is Penny!” Mikey said. “Hey, Penny, say hi!”

“Hello,” said Penny.

I forgot to breathe— which, luckily, wasn’t that big of a deal anymore. Still, those gray eyes froze me in place for a few seconds.

“Hey, Penny,” I finally managed to say.

She looked to be Mikey’s age. She had straight blond hair and pale features, although her arms were tanned from playing in the sun. Most importantly, she had gray eyes that were identical to hers.

“You recognize me,” Penny said. She spoke like she had the brain of someone twice her age.

“No, we’ve never met,” I said, recovering my bearings. “I just knew someone you look a lot like.”

“Another daughter of Athena?” Penny asked.

“You know your mom?”

“I lived with her,” Penny said. “She told me that my real name is Penelope… but I still use Penny for short.”

“My name’s actually Michael,” Mikey admitted. “I’m saving it for when I grow up, though. I think it’ll sound better then.”

I ruffled his hair, because that was just too cute not to. He scowled, trying and failing to push my hand off.

“Are you two making friends,” I asked.

“Penny showed me the best spots around here,” Michael said. “She knows all kinds of shortcuts and secret paths. There’s even tunnels!”

“They’re for the animals,” Penny said, “but kids like us can fit through them.”

“Well don’t get stuck, and don’t end up in a lion’s belly,” I told them.

When I left, Penny was leading Mikey away to show him a chute that led to the first floor. I was smiling from their antics, but slowly, that faded. I kept walking, excusing myself from the group and walking toward the edge of town. 

Grover was alive. He inherited power just like I did, transforming him into a god. That was incredible! But there had been someone else in the room with us that day.

It couldn’t be, right? I was trying to hold back. False hope was way more painful than no hope at all.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn’t realize I’d left town… Not until something tugged on my hand.

The touch was delicate, accompanied by a giggle. I’d wandered into a peaceful glade where the lake’s waters ran up to a small meadow. I was close enough to the water that blue arms had reached out, snagging my hand. When I looked over, I found the same naiad from earlier looking at me with imploring eyes.

She started to pull me toward the water, but that was no longer my place. Instead, I hauled her out onto land. She gasped, giggled, and ‘accidentally’ stumbled against my body. Compared to when she flashed me earlier, she’d gotten more extreme in her tactics. This time, she arrived completely naked from the start.

I pulled off my shirt, and sensing the way things were going, she pulled down my pants. As soon as my dick was out she shoved her lips down me, deepthroating it with a sound like a fresh spring burbling out of the earth. She had the lithe body of a fit teen, even though she was probably thousands of years old. I groaned, grabbing her head. Her hair felt wet like seaweed, but I didn’t care as I plunged her down me, using her head for my pleasure. She was naturally slippery inside, making it easy to plunge my tip into her throat. She grumbled, her eyes fluttering as I ejaculated, feeding her my cum.

She pulled back, looking up at me and sucking on one of her fingers, relishing my taste. I pushed her down on her back and mounted her right there. I knew the stories. Nature spirits like this weren’t shy; they didn’t have mortal sensibilities. If they wanted you, they wanted fuck, no matter the place.

My fierce pounding thrusts made the ground itself shake slightly. The naiad screamed and howled with pleasure. I’d say I made her wet, but I think she was that way from the start. 

I pounded her relentlessly, cumming when I felt like it without stopping. Her throaty moans got quieter as she ran out of energy, moaning and cumming more quietly. 

After I’d initially had my fill, I pulled up off of her, leaving her laying there with her legs spread. I’d been so focused that I didn’t realize we attracted an audience. Around us, at least fifteen nature spirits, both nymphs and naiads, had peeled out of trees and emerged from the water to watch. When I pulled out of the original naiad, their eyes landed on my cock, semen still dripping from its tip. Dresses and shirts and pants were pulled off in a frenzy as they all rushed to strip. I couldn’t help smiling.

Grover really had created a lovely place, hadn’t he?