Companion Pieces: The Mortal Half-Brother

Comfort and Joy

By Amorette

He's sleeping, on his back, one arm out flung, his lips parted, his hair scattered across the pillow. I hesitate for a moment, wanting to slide back into bed beside him, curl up against his warmth, rest my head next to his. Then I shake my head, knowing I shouldn't have stayed this long. I never should have gotten into bed with him in the first place.

It was just we were both so lonely. I know, better than most, that life isn't fair but it still infuriates me that there is so much suffering in the world when there doesn't have to be.

I received the first message even before the ship docked. A man in a small, fast boat sailed out to meet us, with word of the incredible things that had happened in Corinth while I was away. I read the scroll, written in Jason's hand, so much shakier than the last time I had read something written by him, disbelieving what I read there.

"Is this true?" I asked the messenger, incredulous. Even for my brother, whose life had been marked from the instant of his conception, this story was incredible. The messenger had nodded, adding his personal view of the events. He had known my brother's friend before his death, recognized Iolaus when Iolaus returned from Sumeria, had even listened to the message Iolaus preached, unwilling to believe it himself. Or so he claimed. From what I read, there had been very few who hadn't listened.

I could imagine Iolaus, who had always drawn people to him like moths to a flame, caught in the bright shining glow of his personality and person, given the powers that Jason described in his letter, so attractive he could not be resisted. Beautiful Iolaus, made even more glorious in death. And Hercules, whose heart had been broken by the loss of Iolaus in a distant land, having to kill him again at home.

All these things had happened while I was away. As always. I was away when Rena breathed her last. I missed bidding my mother good-bye by mere hours. And now, my kingdom had been torn apart while I was gone. It made me wonder if perhaps I should lock myself in my throne room and never leave it again.

Jason met my ship. His face, so tragic in the best of times, looked as if he had gazed into the darkest pits of Tartarus. From what he had told me of the fight between Hercules and the demon possessing Iolaus, he had. He told me of the strange women who joined in the battle; of Ares, God of War, nearly defeated by the creature he had allied himself with; of the other gods, vanishing somewhere, afraid of the demon.

He told me of the stone Hercules placed to mark the spot where my brother had buried his best friend. Dead nearly a year, dead barely a day, buried under the green grass on a hill I knew so well. Jason wept as he told me of the sacrifice, of the pain Hercules suffered twice over.

Could I have done it? I thought as he finished the tale. Would I have had the strength to kill the body of someone I loved as deeply as Hercules had loved Iolaus? Or would I have been selfish and greedy and kept the body alive, even if the soul were in torment. Not for the first time, I was glad that my father had been a mere mortal. Oh, in the past, I had made a fool of myself with envy of my younger brother's gifts. Now, finally, I had come to see that those gifts carried too high a price.

I gave a few brisk orders as I walked through the castle. I had to see Hercules before I dealt with anything else. Fortunately, my court understood. Jason understood. He gave me the crown but, for a few hours, I handed it back.

He's in your bedchamber, someone told me. He's been there since he came back from burying Iolaus. He isn't eating much, I'm told, or doing much or saying much, he just sits on the edge of his big brother's bed and waits for you to come home.

I swallowed against the twist in my belly. I'm it for him now. No one else to turn to so he's forced to turn to me. I'd have been angry if I weren't so worried.

I took a deep breath as I opened the door to my bedchamber. I hadn't seen him in over a year. All the tales of what happened to him in Sumeria, what he did after Iolaus died, I heard second and third hand. The details varied but the gist was the same. Iolaus died and Hercules lost his mind.

For a mad man, he looked deceptively calm, sitting on the bench by the unlit hearth. His feet were set apart and his hands were held tightly clasped between his knees. He looked up as I come in, his expression vacant.

""Hercules?"

Something flared in his eyes and I saw the swimming tears. He sat up and for one, brief instant, I saw the child he once was, confused at being mistreated, his soft heart hurting because someone hurt him and he didn't understand why. For a long time, I hated Hercules for that innocence but now, I envied him. I don't think I ever had it. I always expected the world to hate me.

"Iphicles." His voice was a tight hiccup.

Without thinking, I was beside him on the bench, my arms around his shoulders, letting him rest his head against me. I tried to remember the last time I had comforted him like that. He must have been five, upset because he killed a kitten by squeezing too hard, not understanding his unnatural strength. Mother had been horrified, frightened, even, but I surprised myself for feeling sorry for Hercules. He might have been strong but he was also fragile. I comforted him then, by kissing the top of his head and running my hands down his back and I did the same thing now.

"Thank you," he murmured, after we had sat there long enough that I noticed the shadow from the sun had moved across the tiles on the floor.

"For what?"

He sat up but stayed beside me. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot. He needed a shave and a bath. Unconsciously, I put my hand on his knee, not wanting to lose contact. He wasn't the only one with no one else to turn to for comfort.

"For not asking me how I feel."

"Well, I've been through that often enough. People saying, 'how do you feel, Iphicles?' How should I feel? I have the urge to say, well, in the last six months, the only people I ever really loved and who loved me, all died. I lost my child, my wife and my mother in less than half a year. I feel great! How about you?"

Hercules snorted in surprised laughter at my wide-eyed sarcasm but his amusement didn't last.

"I love you," he said, softly."

"I know." I brushed his hair back off his face. "And I love you but . . ."

He ducked his head . "But we were never there for each other."

There is so much between us but none of it was our fault. Zeus destroyed my family with a passing lust and left my mother to deal with the consequences.

"How about," I said, pulling him into my arms again, "we start over from here."

"Mother was afraid of me," he said, letting himself relax a little into my embrace. "And I always knew you were the son she loved and I was the son she regretted."

"What?" I pushed him away and looked at him. He shrugged, embarrassed.

"It's true. You were the child of the man she loved. I was the child who was forced on her by deception. I was the child she exposed, until Athena forced her to take me back."

I blinked. I had never thought of it that way. "I always thought you were her favorite, her golden boy, the flawless hero."

He shook his head. "Hardly flawless."

"I guess not. It appears you're as much an idiot as I am. Why would you think I was her favorite?"

"She looked at you and saw Amphitryon. She looked at me and saw her rapist."

I had never thought of it that way. Poor mother. It's a wonder she didn't expose both of us on a hillside and be done with it.

"Maybe in the beginning," I said, my voice soft, my hand cupping his stubbled chin, "but in the end, she loved you."

"Her last words were to tell me she had no regrets. Why tell me that unless I thought she had regrets?"

"She told you that because she had no regrets." I shook him, angry at his reminding me that I hadn't been there for any last words of comfort. Something must have shown in my face because Hercules got up and walked over to the table in the corner. There was food there, some olives and cheese and bread, and an amphora of wine. He poked at the food but didn't take any.

Sighing, I followed. I was hungry but nothing appealed to my appetite. I picked up an olive and popped it in my mouth.

"Sometimes," I said, following the olive with a swig of wine straight from the amphora, "I want to tell people exactly how I feel. I feel like shit, I feel as if someone ripped my heart out and tore it to pieces, I feel like dying and being condemned to Tartarus would be an improvement. But I can't say that because it wouldn't do any good so I just say, fine, I'm fine." I took another long swallow. The wine wasn't watered as much as usual. My courtiers knew how to handle a miserable king. "Fine."

Hercules had picked up an olive and was holding it, turning it over in his fingers. I knew what he was thinking. If Iolaus were here, the plate would contain nothing but crumbs by now.

"I can't even say that." He put the olive back, replacing it exactly to its original position. "All I can say is I don't feel anything."

I chewed another olive slowly, waiting. The last year, I had focused my attention on my kingdom because I had nothing else to distract me. I was slowly becoming the sort of king I admired. One thing I had learned was to let other people have their say before me.

"Nothing," he said. "Empty. All the grief, the rage, the guilt, the shame, all of them are gone, burned away. I feel. . ." His hands groped the air as if he could pull the words out of the aether. "Hollow. Like a reed with the pith pulled out." My brother looked at me, his face stark in its tragedy.

"Understandable. I loved my wife but I only knew her for a short time. Iolaus was. . ." Now we were getting in territory I didn't want to explore. "He was your heart. He loved you and you loved him more than any other two people I have ever seen."

I pressed a cup of wine into his hand as we sat back on the bench.

"I know what people thought about him." Hercules took long drink, staring at the dark wine as it swirled in the cup. "That he was my catamite. That I kept him around just for that."

I shook my head. "Only people who didn't know Iolaus. All you had to do was watch him fight for five minutes and know he earned his place at your side."

"He was amazing, wasn't he?" Hercules looked at me as he said it, needing my agreement to make it real.

"Yeah, he was. In more ways than one."

Hercules' lips twitched, as if he wanted to smile but had lost the ability. "He did. . .spread it around. . .but it was just his way. . .spreading around his love for living."

I smiled weakly. "Mother said something like that once. That anyone else she would condemn for their behavior but with Iolaus, it was just his way of making people happy. Making them feel good. A little joy in an otherwise mundane life."

Hercules took a drink, muttering into the cup as he said, "He told me about you."

I shrugged. "So. He knew about us, didn't he? Wasn't any different. Just some oversexed adolescents with hard cocks and no brains."

"There were times. . ." Hercules did manage a faint smile in return. "I did wear him out a few times, when we were kids, but it took a lot of effort."

"Iolaus had so much energy it made me crazy. I suppose that's why he could keep up with you."

We sat there, side by side, our legs just touching, not looking at each other. The sun was low, throwing long shadows across the floor. Outside, I could hear a quiet exchange at my door, probably the guards reporting to someone that there hadn't been any shouting or crashing of furniture. Sometimes, Hercules and I didn't get on very well and we had been known to have a heated exchange, with the odd bit of pottery breakage for good measure.

When Hercules finally broke the silence, it was in a voice so soft I could barely hear him.

"I loved him because he was the only person who saw me as me. Not the son of Zeus. Just me. No one else, not mother, not you, not even Jason, saw me as even having the possibility of being ordinary but to Iolaus. . .I was. Deianara was that way, to some extent, she hated me before she knew who my father was, but Iolaus always knew and never cared. Ever."

I watched the tears slipping out of his eyes. His voice caught for a moment, then he continued.

"The first thing I did when he was dead was betray that faith in me. That my humanity was my better half. Every time he died, I did it. Called on Zeus or Hades or someone to fix it, to give him back. Took advantage of what I was. I always said I wanted to be judged the same as any other man but I cheated. I used my influence to cheat death and when death wouldn't cooperate, I went after it.

"I killed a god. . ."

At the pain in his voice, I stopped him, my hand on his arm. "Jason told me about that. That Sumerian god was already dead. You just forced him to accept it."

Hercules' turned his eyes to mine. I saw something in them I had never seen before, the implacable power that lurked behind my brother's kindly facade. His voice echoed with the power as well.

"I would have slaughtered every god in Sumeria to get Iolaus back. I claim I want to just be mortal but I want my friend to be immortal. And I was willing to assert that claim at any cost. I demanded the gods give him back, with the arrogance of a god myself."

I wiped away a tear that had trickled down his chin, rubbing my thumb along the rough edge of his jaw. "Do you think you're alone in that? When Rena first got sick, I went to Hera's temple and prayed for Rena's life. Hera! The goddess who stuck two poisonous serpents in my bed when I was a child in an effort to kill you. She didn't give the other child in that bed a second thought. But when Rena fell ill, I was in Hera's temple, demanding Rena's recovery. I was a king!" I had to stop, catch my own breath, as I remembered that day. "I was descended from Zeus myself, albeit a little more removed than you. I deserved special consideration and if that didn't work, I offered her ridiculous things. . I'd raise my daughters to live only for her service if she would grant my wife's life so we could have those daughters.

"What's really pitiful is I thought I succeeded. Rena seemed better the next day, so I left. Left her bedside convinced I had bullied the gods themselves." I shook my head at the memory, wiping away a tear of my own. "Your demanding Iolaus back is the most human thing you've ever done. Gods don't care when mortals die. Only mortals care. Humans care."

"How do I go on?"

Hercules stared at me, the younger brother, needing his older brother's help, his older brother's support. He had looked at me like that many times before, his eyes filled with tears, desperately needing my love and my help and too many times, I had failed him. I wouldn't fail him now. I pulled his head down against my shoulder again, setting the wine cup aside so I could embrace him.

"You just do. You go to bed at night, exhausted, and lie staring at the ceiling, too tired to think and too tired to stop thinking. Sometime, just before dawn, you drift off for a few hours, and then you wake up and remember. Remember that there are people depending on you." Hercules' arms slid around me and pulled me tightly against him, almost too tightly. "People who would suffer even more than you're suffering, if you let them down. If I were to abandon my throne, there'd be civil war, maybe the Attic alliance or the Myceneans would take advantage and invade. Hundreds would die, maybe thousands. So I drag myself out of bed and spend another day, trying to pay so much attention to my kingdom that I forget myself."

We held each other, sobbing. I missed my mother and my wife, and the child that lived so briefly I barely had a chance to love him, but most of all, I missed the feeling that someone cared whether I lived or died, for me, not just because of what I was. As Hercules and I wept, I realized that Hercules did care. And I cared about Hercules as well.

We rocked together, clinging to each other. It had been so long since I held someone warm in my arms, so long since I had heard someone else's breathing, that I was grateful just for the contact.

I don't know how long we sat there, holding each other, but when I could see the stars out the window, I pulled away and went to light the lamp by my bed. I could hear Hercules, snuffling a little, as I struck a spark. I only lit one wick, just enough to see the shadowed bulk of my brother as he wiped his face. Suddenly, my knees couldn't hold me and I sat down on the foot of my bed.

"I used to wonder at what I had done to offend the gods and the fates but now I think it's just the total indifference of the universe. No one cares. No one."

Hercules came and sat beside me, putting his arm around my waist, comforting me. The pain of the last few years spilled out as I sagged against him, my hands clutching at his shirt.

"We're all decent people, you, me, Iolaus, Jason. We don't deserve the lousy things that have happened to us. We should all be sitting around the fire, with our wives and children beside us. We shouldn't be sitting in the dark, alone and miserable."

"No." Hercules' voice was soft as he, in turn, stroked my hair. "Sometimes I would think about those lost families, about all the hope for the future we once had, and when I did, Iolaus would say, at least we had them for awhile and could hold them in our hearts, that some people never know what it is to love and be loved at all."

My voice was bitter. "Did that platitude help?"

"Yes. A little. When he was there."

And now he wasn't. But I was. And I needed to feel the warmth of another body next to mine, the comfort that came from contact. I sat up and saw the same need in Hercules. He made a soft sound that expressed that need as I kissed him.

We lay back on the bed, hands caressing and arousing rather than comforting, using our mouths for something besides useless conversation.

Hercules and I had fooled around together when we were young, jerking each other off, humping each other's thighs, but kissing had never been a priority in those days. We both were mindless in our need for orgasm then but now, we both needed comfort and contact more than climax. And we had both had twenty years practice in kissing.

I pushed his shirts open and traced a path down his chest with my tongue, biting gently at his nipples, leaving a mark on his collarbone. Then he pulled me over him and returned the favor, tossing my tunic aside as he sucked at the skin on the base of my throat. I'd have to wear a high collar in the morning. We tugged and pushed at each other's clothing until we were naked, hot skin against hot skin, hard cocks pressed together as I reared over him, then dropped back down for another kiss.

Strangely, even though it had been months since I had been with anyone, when I had company besides my own hand, I wasn't in a rush. I wanted to go slowly, to take advantage of having Hercules in my bed. He seemed to feel the same way, as we tasted and touched each other.

I had no doubt that Iolaus had taught Hercules a few tricks over the years. Iolaus was as imaginative as he was energetic when it came to sex. I'd picked up a couple of interesting skills as well but this wasn't the time for sexual acrobatics. Now was the time for closeness and for love.

Because, we did love each other. Maybe not the way we felt about the lovers we had each had. Maybe not the way brothers should love each other but blame that on our strange families and our desperate loneliness. Maybe it was imperfect, flawed and even a mistake but it was love.

We kissed for a long time, our fingers wrapped in each other's hair. I had thought about cutting mine. Rena liked it long but she was dead. I hadn't, lacking the ambition to make the decision. Now, as my brother's fingers tightened against my scalp, I was glad of the length. I held him as tightly, knowing nothing I could do would hurt him. Finally, I became aware of the way I was pushing my hips against him, the sounds Hercules was making, deep and desperate.

Fucking seemed like too much effort. Sucking each other off would require twisting around and was awkward, no matter how much our techniques had improved. So, I took the prerogative and sat up, turning my head to ease his grip on my hair. He made a soft, lost sound.

"Shhh," I whispered, shifting so that our cocks were pressed together. "I'm not going anywhere."

I wrapped one hand around our twinned cocks. Hercules followed my lead and did the same. Then we looked at each other and smiled as I set the pace. Slow sweeps of our joined hands felt good, as I rocked into the rhythm. I braced myself against the mattress with my free hand but Hercules put his hand against my face, rubbing gently, his fingers still working in my hair.

He moaned as he started to move our hands faster. His eyes closed as he arched his back, pressing his head into my pillow, both his hands on us now. I let him pick up the pace, tightening our mutual grip. I had jerked off that morning, before the ship docked. I had the feeling Hercules hadn't had any release in a long time.

His head thrashed back and forth as his hips thrust up from the bed, lifting me. I leaned forward, pushing into our hands, dipping down for a quick kiss on his forehead. His eyes opened briefly, full of need and anguish, and then closed again, quickly. I knew he was picturing Iolaus over him at that moment but I didn't mind. Not any more. The envy I had felt over the closeness between my brother and his partner was burned away by the pain I saw in my brother's eyes.

Hercules was whimpering, his hand tightening painfully on mine. I felt a wave of pity wash over me as I felt his cock pulse and his seed spurt hot over my hand. I was used to being alone. My brother was not.

Stop thinking, I commanded myself, and gave myself over to those hands still working our cocks, lubricated now by my brother's orgasm. I bit my lower lip, thinking of how that made Rena laugh. We had discovered I had a great deal of difficulty coming unless I could do that. She found that control over my body very useful. I shuddered and came, leaning down against Hercules as I did.

He was crying again as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I relaxed into that embrace, enjoying the warmth between us in more ways than one. Poor Hercules. I had never expected to feel sorry for my brother, with the blood of gods in his veins, but now I did.

I rather expected Hercules to keep going. That divine blood of his, son of the most oversexed of the gods, meant he needed two or three orgasms to one of any one else. I remembered that from our earlier encounters, and from a sly remark or two from Iolaus, but tonight, grief and exhaustion won out over Zeus' legacy.

Still sniffling, Hercules curled into my arms, his head on my shoulder. They must have been a pair, I thought as I found a comfortable position, little Iolaus and gigantic Hercules. Probably looked like a rat terrier fucking a wolfhound but size hadn't mattered when it came to heart. I had no doubt, as I stroked my brother's head, which of the two had been the stronger.

I comforted him, with gentle hands and gentle words, until I felt him relax against me.

"I shouldn't have run away," he said softly.

"No," I agreed. "One thing I finally learned over the years was running away doesn't help."

"I was afraid." His voice sounded like a child's.

"Of what?"

"Of hurting someone. I was so angry, I was afraid if I came back to Greece, I'd lose my temper and hurt someone. You don't know, Iph, how dangerous I can be. I can kill people with one blow. With Iolaus gone, I'd lost my self-control and I was afraid if someone pushed me, I'd hurt them. Kill them."

Kill me, I thought. He was afraid the sight of his living blood brother when the man he really loved was gone, would be too much for him. Nasty thought. I kept my breathing slow and my hands gentle, even as that fear thrilled through me.

"If I hadn't run away, if I had come back to Greece, I would have heard about what was happening in Sumeria sooner, I would have been able to help. . .sooner."

"Jason said you helped some people in the north. If you had come back here, they would have suffered."

Hercules made a rude noise. "Destiny, you mean. It was my destiny to go save other gods. I'd rather have stayed here and saved Iolaus."

"Past is past, Hercules." I sighed. "Iolaus is saved, and you know as well as I do, that even if he is gone, his soul is still with you."

Hercules made the noise again. "Some comfort on lonely nights."

I tugged at his hair so he raised his head and looked at me. "I know, I'm an expert on lonely nights. But Iolaus was right. He was a smart little. . ."

At my brother's glare, I grinned. "He was a smart guy. And he was right. The good memories do help some nights. They don't make me feel less lonely but they help."

Hercules settled against me again, his big hand on my chest, twisting idly through the hair on my chest.

"Do you remember," I said, my voice going soft and sleepy, "when you and mother came to visit right after Rena found out she was going to have a baby. Mother and Rena had gone to bed and you, Jason, Iolaus and I were sitting around finishing that jug of Egyptian beer."

I could feel Hercules' shoulders move as he laughed at the memory.

"You decided you had to teach me how to change diapers. Jason and I kept telling you that kings don't change diapers but you wouldn't hear of it. You grabbed that loaf of bread and those napkins and started demonstrating different diapering techniques." I laughed at the memory of my slightly drunken brother wrapping up a loaf of bread, explaining the advantage of daughters over sons when it came to diaper changing. "Then you started showing me how to burp a baby. I swear, I will remember that as long as I live, you all serious, with that loaf of bread on your shoulder and Iolaus laughing so hard he was crying and couldn't stand up."

"He'd do that, laugh so hard he couldn't breathe."

I held my breath, afraid I had upset Hercules, but he continued.

"Sometimes at the most. . .inopportune moments."

I chuckled at the sudden mental imagine of my brother, naked and aroused, and a naked Iolaus rolling on the floor laughing at something

"Well," I said, trying and failing to put the image out of my mind. I could picture Hercules' indignant expression perfectly. "Sex is pretty funny sometimes."

"Still, he could laugh afterwards." Hercules rolled away from me, propping himself on one arm so he could talk. "He'd get the giggles at the oddest times."

That reminded me of something. I tucked my hands under my head, remembering. "I was teasing Rena once, not long after we were married, about these. . .sounds she made. I told her they weren't dignified. Didn't fit a queen. She kicked me in the shins, only she didn't realize I had squatted down to tie my boot lace."

"Ow," said Hercules, wincing sympathetically.

"No, it was more like. . ." I forced my voice into a falsetto squeak. "Ow."

Now we both laughed, warm relaxed laughter. Hercules reached out and touched my cheek. I turned and saw the soft, sad smile on his face and it made me smile in return.

"We'll get through this," I said.

He nodded, and yawned. I pulled him into my arms again and we slept.

Now I was sitting on the bench, watching him sleep, wondering what would happen now. Hercules, without Iolaus, was a different man. I remembered what I had seen in his eyes last night, the rage and power he normally kept concealed. My brother could kill with so little effort, it was frightening. Could I, with our strained relationship, even begin to replace the anchor he lost?

"Iph?" Hercules sounded embarrassed as he sat up in my bed. I had pulled on a robe because the room was chilly. The sight of him, warm and tousled, stirred my cock. I was glad it wasn't immediately visible. My brother could be shy.

"Morning. Sleep all right?"

Not well. I never slept well, soundly and peacefully, and I had the feeling Hercules wouldn't again, either.

He shrugged, looking around for his clothes. I realized I didn't want his embarrassment to ruin the intimacy we had finally found last night. I went and sat beside him, reaching over for a hesitant kiss.

"This," he said, pulling the sheet close to himself like a new bride, "wasn't. . ."

I shrugged, resting back against the footboard. The board was elaborately carved, with the story of Leda and the swan but I had discovered a spot by the uplifted wing that I could lean against without getting stabbed by some piece of wooden erotica. "Wasn't the best idea we ever had but it sure wasn't the worst. So, we committed a little incest." Hercules winced at the word. "Considering our family, it's nothing to get worked up about."

"My family, you mean."

"No, our family. Think about it, my parents were first cousins. Rena was surprised to realize that when she had someone draw up a genealogy for the baby. She knew all about Zeus and Mother but didn't realize Mother and Father were so closely related." I grinned at Hercules. Iolaus' sense of humor had served him well over the years and I was going to try the same tack. "You and I are half brothers and second cousins. For that matter, I'm my own second cousin."

A smile quirked my brother's lips. I could see him relax. "I tried to map out my genealogy once, when I was in school. My father is my great grandfather, my mother is my cousin several times removed and don't even get me started on my other siblings."

I touched his knee through the sheet. "So that's the real reason you like me better than Ares and the others."

"Yeah, our relationship is less confusing in a lot of ways."

We both leaned forward, our lips touching. Hercules and I look nothing alike but we are, I was well aware, both considered handsome men. Hercules looked like mother and I looked like, well someone else. Confusing, maybe, but this was simple.

We were a little more rushed this morning than we had been last night, and not much more imaginative. One of these days, I resolved, as we jerked each other off, I am going to fuck or be fucked by my brother properly. Not this morning, though. I had to piss and get back to being a king. And my brother had to be a hero, whether he wanted to or not.

The servants had left hot water and breakfast in the outer room. We talked a little as we got dressed, inconsequential things, about the weather in Norseland and the construction of a new temple to Dionysus that had gotten interrupted by Dahak, although we did not speak that name.

When we were both dressed and respectable, I looked over, happy to see Hercules was tucking into breakfast with some enthusiasm. Being king was often a pain but the food was good.

"I'm glad you're home." I was surprised at how deeply I felt that simple sentiment. "I feel. . .safer. And a little less lonely."

Hercules blinked at the tears my words had brought to his eyes and smiled. "I'm glad to be home."

I sighed. "I have to get to work. Probably a million things to do." To pick up after the demon possessing my brother's best friend had torn my kingdom apart.

"So do I. Probably some monster somewhere causing trouble."

We hugged each other, tightly. "Don't stay away too long," I murmured into my brother's strong neck.

"I won't," he promised as he let me go. And he was Hercules, a hero who kept his promises.

With a last wave, I left my brother in my antechamber, eating some figs, and I went to find my crown.

November 2001