It didn’t feel terrifying. It felt seriously good.
“As for Lord Eros, I know first-hand how important his presence is in my life. I’m a teenager. We think about love, like, a lot.” A few people chuckled in the audience, giving me a last-minute confidence boost. “Eros has been there for me when I needed it the most. As someone without a mum, this means the world to me. He’s much more than just a matchmaker. I feel like he expresses love in all forms.”
“Lord Zeus, my dad, has lived on earth for years as a professor. He doesn’t let his status as head of the gods interfere with his disguise. He’s rational, humble and if I’m being honest, a bit dull.” A few brave people chuckled in the audience. Even the judge looked like she was suppressing a smile.
“What I mean is, you’d never in a million years think that this man was a god. He’s perfected his mortal disguise and has close contact with students on a daily basis. They never suspect a thing. They have no idea how lucky they are.”
My eyes flickered up to steal a glance at the Council members. It was so hard to tell if I was getting anywhere with them. Their poker faces didn’t betray any emotion.
“It’s clear, to me at least, that the mortal world would be worse off without the gods. I know that it would destroy mine.” My voice cracked with emotion. I’d made it this far without crying. I couldn’t break down now.
I took a deep breath and continued. “My life would be deprived of love if my family were banished to Mount Olympus. Or, worse yet, stripped of their powers. I’d lose the love of siblings, cousins and a parent. My only living parent, for that matter. To be robbed of that, the closest link to my immortal heritage, seems so unfair.”
Tears filled my eyes. I hated the thought of crying in public. But maybe it would work in my favour? The audience were here for a show, after all. I let tears trickle down my face.
“The last few months have been such a challenge. My mum passed away when I was ten. She was my world. I’ve been trying to find a new family ever since. I hope the Council will see how important the gods are to me. They are my family now. Please, don’t take them away from me.”
Murmurs filled the room, followed by sombre applause. I even saw a few people in the audience wipe their eyes. If I’d won them over, was there a chance I’d convinced the Council?
I turned and began walking towards my seat in the gods’ box.
“Just one second, Lady Helen.” The familiar oily voice stopped me in my tracks. I turned around to see a Council member in a grey robe standing up.
It was Cranus.
“Touching as that was, I’m afraid I have a few … niggling doubts. Doubts that your testimony failed to lay to rest.”
I wanted to wipe the smug smirk off of his face.
“May I have the floor, Judge Themis?” Cranus asked.
The judge nodded and he descended from the Council benches. We were now face-to-face.
“Lady Helen. You insist that the gods improve the world. That they make it a brighter place for mortals. Is that correct?” he said.
I nodded.
“Speak up, Lady Helen,” said the judge.
“I mean, yes. That’s what I think, anyway,” I added.
“And apart from Lord Eros’s love spell, the gods have never used their powers to interfere with mortals? To your knowledge?”
“Not to my knowledge, no,” I stammered. I longed to be off the stage and away from this horrible man.
Cranus’s smirk stretched into a cruel smile. He relished every minute of my discomfort.
“Well, I beg to differ. We have it on good authority that the gods did use their powers in the presence of mortals,” he said. “Perhaps this will jog your memory.”
The giant hologram flickered into life again, and a moving clip came into focus. I could hear music and chatter, and see people crowded into a small room.
My living room. It was the New Year’s Eve party. The party I’d managed to hide from Dad.
Until now.
My stomach lurched but I managed to keep my face smooth and expressionless. I couldn’t let Cranus have the satisfaction of seeing me scared. Not again.
The video clip showed Apollo turning off the music pumping from the stereo, picking up his guitar and diving straight into a song. The effect on the crowd was instant. They went from yelling at Apollo to swaying gently or sitting cross-legged on the carpet.
How on earth did the Council get hold of that? They must have had spies parked outside the house at all times. Wasn’t this against our human rights or something?
“Where did you get that?” I demanded. The rest of the courtroom seemed to disappear. It was just me and Cranus.
“Unimportant,” he said. “This is clear evidence that Lord Apollo enchanted a room full of mortals. No musician, no matter how skilled, could have that effect on so many people. They’re like putty in his hands.”
“But that’s not the whole story! A fight was about to start, and Apollo calmed them all down. He stopped them getting hurt!”
Cranus’s eyes flashed bright. “So you admit it?” he shouted. “You admit that Lord Apollo did enchant an entire room full of mortals?”
My heart pounded. My mouth was dry. Cranus knew he had me in a corner.
“H-h-he did. But if it wasn’t for Lord Apollo, someone would have been seriously hurt.”
“I will concede that Lord Apollo acted with noble intentions. This time. But we all know our history. We know that the gods haven’t always been quite so high-minded.”
I couldn’t argue with that point. If the myths were anything to go by, they had acted terribly in the past.
“It was my fault, anyway!” I blurted out. “It was my party. Lord Apollo didn’t even know about it.”
Cranus raised both eyebrows. “It was your party, eh? And can you tell me where this party was?”
“My house,” I said, wary of his questions.
“Is this the same house you share with Lord Zeus, Lady Aphrodite and Lord Eros?”
“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You had several dozen mortals gallivanting around a house of the gods?” Cranus shook his head. “I don’t like the sound of this. It’s reckless behaviour, through and through.”
“But Dad, I mean Lord Zeus, didn’t know! It was my party, and I made the other gods promise to keep it secret,” I yelled. “It was my fault, not theirs.” My eyes filled with tears. I hated that I was practically pleading. But I couldn’t let Cranus win this and destroy my family.
“I know just how much your family means to you, Lady Helen,” Cranus said in his smooth, oily voice. “However, the evidence speaks for itself.” He paced around me like a tiger circling its prey. “It is pure selfishness that compelled you to testify here today. That much is clear.”
His brown eyes bored a hole in mine. “I have nothing else to add, Judge Themis,” Cranus said.
“Thank you, Cranus,” said Judge Themis. “Between Lady Helen’s testimony and this startling new evidence, the Council have much to think about. Lady Helen’s trial will continue tomorrow.”
I could have collapsed with relief. After Cranus’s gruelling questions, I was in no state to defend myself.