Medea
“ARE YOU SURE YOU want to do this?” I asked when Jason’s pacing threatened to leave a hole in the floor of our living room.
“No,” he grumbled. “But Elise is right. If I don’t at least try to reason with the gods, one day we’re going to look back and wonder if all our losses could have been averted. If we’re still around to look back.”
He had a paradise here, completely hidden from the gods. I’d wondered more than once why he’d bothered to create weapons and go on the offensive, even with Jason explaining every step of the way. Most people didn’t have the benefit of asking him every time they had a doubt. “Okay. Let me make sure I’ve got this right. Orpheus is the neutral party—”
“I wouldn’t call him neutral,” Jason said with a snort. He reached the bookshelves lining our wall, then turned and paced to the other wall.
“Okay . . .” I gritted my teeth in frustration. “Whatever. The point is, he’ll be there acting as a neutral party. You and me will be one side, Persephone and Poseidon on the other.”
He gave a curt nod. “I’d feel better if Poseidon wasn’t there, but since his realm is involved . . .”
“Stop pretending you had a choice.”
Jason stopped pacing. He took a deep breath and nodded. “Orpheus seems to think Persephone will keep Poseidon on a leash.”
“I thought she was a brand-new goddess.”
Jason shrugged and settled on the couch as far from me as he could possibly manage to get while still being on the same piece of furniture. It wasn’t far enough to be comfortable for either one of us. “I’m not familiar with the inner workings of the Pantheon. The whole thing is being streamed to everyone on the island. So if something happens to us . . .”
“They’ll know.” I didn’t think to ask if the gods would be taking the same precaution.
THE NEXT MORNING, I teleported Jason and myself to the meeting place, the burnt-out shell of Mom’s old stronghold. The island also perfectly bordered the place between realms. Not quite small enough for Poseidon’s, not quite large enough for Demeter’s. But the demigods couldn’t claim it either. Not after what I’d done to it.
There wasn’t a thing left alive on this desolate rock. Every plant, every living creature, had been teleported off the island in one fell swoop. I hadn’t even meant to do it. And I still wasn’t entirely sure where they went. I just remembered that feeling of desperation when I realized that they were never going to stop looking for me.
Orpheus was already there, waiting at one of the few remaining tables in the dining hall. “You must be Jason,” he said, standing to shake Jason’s hand. “Good to meet you in the flesh. I’m really glad you came around, man. You haven’t made a mistake in meeting with her.”
The way he said “her,” the full range of worship behind that single word made me nervous. She’s incredible, I remembered Adonis saying when I questioned him about Aphrodite. What if the gods had some way of inspiring loyalty we’d never considered? If charm was a demigod power, what divine ability had birthed it? I didn’t want to leave Jason and the demigods just to end up a divine pawn.
Curling his lip in disgust, Jason turned away from Orpheus’s hand.
Orpheus ignored the snub and led us to a group of slightly burnt metal tables he’d pushed together. “You can go ahead and have a seat. The webcam is set up right here . . .” He motioned to a small camera. “And it’s broadcasting to the channel you requested. It was not easy to set up here, so you may want to confirm it’s working.”
Jason looked at the camera and said three random words. “Argos, fleece, Cretheus.”
Seconds later, his phone buzzed. I glanced over his shoulder to confirm the words matched. The camera was live and streaming.
The hair prickled on the back of my neck as two figures materialized in the room, just in front of the blackened tables. The man, Poseidon, cut a figure that demanded my full attention: tall, broad-shouldered, with spiky blond hair, and eyes like the sea. Next to him stood a very small and very young girl. She didn’t look much older than me. Wavy blond hair framed a face set with the most piercing green eyes I’d ever seen.
My stomach churned. I felt . . . strange around them. As if my hair was standing on end. Power, I realized. I could sense their power and they had so much. Particularly the girl. How can she hold so much? The power coursing through her should have ripped her to shreds.
As she glanced around the room with unabashed curiosity, I realized the answer. Because she was a god and I was not. We’d deceived ourselves into thinking we wielded this great power, but in the face of them, we were nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I glanced at Jason, thinking surely he’d see now how futile his war with these creatures was, but he just stared at them, a look of such blatant disgust on his face, it was a wonder they didn’t smite him on the spot.
Orpheus cleared his throat. “Well, now that everyone’s here, shall we begin?”
Chapter XXXVII
Aphrodite
ON THE DAY OF the meeting, Ares and I crowded around a screen in the dining hall with everyone else on the island to watch the meeting unfold.
“We should be there,” I murmured to Ares, careful to keep my voice low.
He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
Persephone could do this. She didn’t have the same ego as the other gods, so a bunch of teenagers making impetuous demands and threats wouldn’t rattle her composure. But as the other relevant realm ruler, Poseidon was also attending the meeting. Him, I didn’t trust. He’d lose it. I was sure of it.
A large screen had been hung from the rafters in preparation for the meeting and a projector had been set up somewhere above me. On-screen, we saw Orpheus greet Jason and Medea.
“Hey.” Ares tapped my shoulder and pointed toward the front of the room. “Is that who I think it is?”
Narcissus leaned against the wall, looking bored.
“How did he get here?” The gods were shadowing his every move.
“You must be Jason,” Orpheus said on screen, interrupting my thoughts.
“Doesn’t matter now, I guess,” Ares said, narrowing his eyes at Narcissus.
“Hopefully not.”
Moments later, Jason looked at the camera and said three random words. “Argos, fleece, Cretheus.”
Near the front of the dining hall, Narcissus pulled a phone out of his pocket, his fingers moving across the screen as he texted. Seconds later, Jason’s phone buzzed, confirming the camera was live and streaming.
I held back a grin when two familiar figures materialized in the room. The mood in the dining hall was tense. No one was quite sure what to make of the idea of a peace talk. Jason had spent so much time whipping them into a terrified frenzy that just watching him and Medea sitting across the table from two gods had to feel wrong.
For the thousandth time, I thanked my lucky stars for Persephone. Not only was she likely the only goddess whose default was treating lesser beings as her equals, but she radiated warmth and innocence and good fluffy feelings. No one could look at her and be afraid.
The room filled with the hushed murmurings of the demigods and the very unhelpful shushing from those in the crowd who wanted them silent.
“She’s a kid,” someone muttered.
“Not older than any of us.”
“. . . glamours?”
“No, remember that tabloid found photos of her in all those yearbooks?” someone said a few tables to my left. “They can’t fake aging like that.”
On-screen, Medea shifted uncomfortably, her eyes wide as she took Persephone in. She didn’t look surprised by her childlike appearance. She looked terrified.
She can sense power, I bet. I tried to exchange a look with Ares, but his eyes were riveted on the screen, his shoulders tense as he watched th
e meeting unfold.
Orpheus cleared his throat. “Well, now that everyone’s here, shall we begin?”
“Yes, let’s,” Persephone said with a smile. “I’m assuming you’re Jason?” She flashed the demigod a disarming smile and turned her attention to Medea. “And you are?”
Medea’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. Was she nervous? She managed to murmur her name, but she spoke so softly, the camera barely caught it. I leaned forward, not noticing the subconscious motion until the table pushed into my stomach.
“I’m Persephone.” Her green eyes sparkled as she motioned to Poseidon. “And this is Poseidon.”
When Poseidon crossed his arms and glowered across the table, Ares and I exchanged nervous glances. Light from the projector played on Ares’s face, illuminating the tension of his set jaw. I squeezed his hand and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile before looking back at the screen.
“Thank you for meeting with us today.” Persephone’s voice was all sincerity. “I think it’s long past time we talked. You have someone who belongs to me and, in return for him and some other assurances, the entire Pantheon is willing to negotiate with you.” She flashed him a grin. “It’s a unprecedented opportunity.”
That didn’t sound like Persephone. The tone was hers, but the words were Athena’s. She must have been coached on what to say. Probably a good thing. Persephone was new at equivocation. It would suck for her to lock the Pantheon in a promise it wasn’t willing to keep.
As Jason and Persephone went through negotiations, my shoulders relaxed. Poseidon and Medea occasionally stepped in to clarify points, but Persephone was careful not to make any promises. She and Jason soon fell into a pattern.
Jason would demand something ridiculous like, “No more glamours.”
And Persephone would temper it with something reasonable like, “We’re willing to consider restricting the purposes in which glamours can be used. For instance, not allowing gods to impersonate another person, living or dead, for the purposes of seduction.”
She gave nothing. Everything she so much as mentioned were terms almost all of us had already agreed to in monthly meetings, in exchange for being allowed to live in her realm. Most of the examples she was giving hadn’t been done since the ancient days. Even monsters were capable of evolving.
The atmosphere in the room eased as Persephone and Jason ironed out the concessions from the Pantheon’s side. But then the conversation moved to the demigods.
“Any gods among you must be returned to us,” Persephone stipulated.
“Define god,” Jason countered. “There are a few of us who almost qualify.”
“Good catch,” one of the demigods a few tables closer to the screen said under his breath.
The others hushed him in a flurry of “Shh’s” and shifting chairs.
“No we don’t,” Medea said, her voice hoarse. She stared at Persephone, pale with horror. “We’re nowhere near them.”
“Medea,” Jason said in a harsh whisper.
“What is she doing?” one of the demigods nearby demanded. Around me, voices surged in distress.
“You can’t feel it?” Medea demanded. “That power? We’re nothing, Jason. Not compared to her. If she wants us gone, she could break this earth and build a new one.” She sounded terrified. “Why are you bargaining with us? You could crush us.”
“I don’t want to crush anyone.” Persephone laughed. “Look, the things that have been done to you and yours are inexcusable. But we were every bit as much Zeus’s victims. With him gone, we’re a new Pantheon. And we’re not interested in interfering with your lives any more than they’ve already been tampered with. But we must all agree on a few key terms first. Any gods in your custody need to be returned to us alive and unharmed. Let’s define god as anyone with divine abilities not born to a bloodline that can be traced back to a human or a partial human. Sound good?”
“Okay,” Jason agreed. “What else?”
“You have to destroy your weapons.”
That was met with a surge of outrage from the demigods in the room. I swallowed hard and glanced at Ares. We both knew this was a sticking point. If the demigods didn’t agree to this, the negotiations would end.
“No way,” Jason objected. “If you guys go back on your word—”
“Our word is unbreakable.” Poseidon’s voice left no room for argument.
“They’ll find a way around it,” Otrera shouted at the screen from her seat beside me.
A roomful of demigods howled in agreement, the surge of noise drowning out Jason’s response. But I could tell from the look on his face that he hadn’t budged.
“Shut up,” Neleus shouted.
The crowd quieted just in time to hear Jason ask, “And if I refuse?”
“Then I stop allowing you to die,” Persephone said.
I sucked in a surprised breath, the shadow-filled room spinning around me. No, she wouldn’t do that. Persephone couldn’t. She wouldn’t subject anyone to that kind of torture.
“That doesn’t mean your bodies would continue to function or stop feeling pain,” she explained. “Demigods would remain sentient as their bodies rotted around them. Passage to the Underworld is a luxury I will not grant without my terms met.” Persephone’s green eyes narrowed. “We are willing to negotiate with you. To discuss terms, and agree to safeties and precautions. But we will not accept any negotiation that doesn’t include the return of any gods you may be experimenting on or holding captive. Nor will we allow the continued existence of weapons that can be used against us. We created the ground you stand on and, as your astute friend here pointed out, we can unmake it. You’ve done a lot that we’re willing to overlook in the name of peace. Don’t squander this opportunity. You won’t get another.”
The room went stock-still as people realized the ramifications of her threats.
“I thought . . . ,” someone said finally, “. . . they were supposed to be weak. They live off worship. We don’t. I thought . . .”
“She’s bluffing,” someone else said.
“They can’t lie,” Ares reminded them, pitching his voice loud enough to be heard throughout the room. “If she says they can do something or they won’t do something, that’s the truth. It has to be.”
“This is sounding more and more like an ultimatum,” Jason said through clenched teeth.
Poseidon gave him a dark look. “It’s more ground than any mortal has gained before.”
“Jason . . . ,” Medea said, her voice cautious. I knew what she was thinking. Jason needed to take the deal.
I honestly think that if Medea had not looked so rattled, the entire dining hall would have been shouting for Jason to decline. But her fear created a very different atmosphere in the room.
“We’d like time to think about this,” Jason said stiffly. “You understand. I speak for a collective and unlike you, I didn’t have the benefit of knowing your terms prior to our engagement.”
Persephone smiled at him. “Of course. But we require something of a security deposit. To ensure you have a reason to return to the table.”
My stomach clenched as I realized what she was about to demand.
“You can smite us with a thought. Isn’t that enough?” Jason asked, his eyes narrowing in aggravation.
“No.” Persephone said with a shrug. “You have at least one of our people. I’d like some of yours. She’ll do.” Persephone nodded toward Medea. “And at least one other demigod and demigoddess of your choice.”
That could work. My mind raced and I found myself leaning forward again. If Ares and I could get ourselves chosen, if we could volunteer, then we’d be out of here with no one the wiser.
Jason’s voice went hard as steel. “Out of the question.”
Persephone gave him a cold smile she’d picked
up from Hades. “One demigod and one demigoddess then. That’s my final offer, if you want to leave the table. Otherwise, you’ll have to decide here and now if you’d like to meet our terms. Listen.” She leaned forward, smile softening. “This is a good deal. The best you can expect to be offered since, despite what you may think, you don’t have the upper hand here.”
I could feel the anger radiating off the demigods in the room. They wanted to tear her apart.
Jason crossed his arms looking smug. “I think you wouldn’t be sitting at this table if that was the case.”
Poseidon laughed. “Oh, trust me, son. The only reason your pathetic little island isn’t twenty leagues under water is because she lacks a thirst for bloodshed. There is literally nothing stopping us from destroying every last one of you, except for her request that we try another way.”
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. Shut up, Poseidon. But I could barely hear my own thoughts over the demigods’ muffled cursing.
“So why are you letting her speak for you?” Jason demanded.
“Power,” Medea said at the same time Poseidon said, “Boredom.”
“You think you’re the first group to go against the gods?” Poseidon asked. “You stand on the bones of civilizations so lost, your archeologists will never uncover them. We’ve been there. Done that. It gets boring after a while. We’d like to see what happens if we let you live.” Poseidon gave him a nasty smile. “Could be interesting.”
Beside me, Ares swore under his breath. Poseidon was trying to be intimidating, but his callous attitude wasn’t going to do anyone any favors.
“You can have Adonis,” Jason decided. “He already knows you. Anyone else I send would be terrified. I won’t put the others through that. Go ahead and summon him,” he said to Medea,
Summon? I wondered, glancing at Ares in puzzlement. In the darkened room, I could just make out his shoulders rising in a shrug. He was apparently as clueless as I was.
“Summon?” Persephone demanded, echoing my thought. “What do you mean, summon?”
“Something’s off,” Medea murmured. Her eyes closed and sweat beaded on her forehead. “It feels different. Hang on. This’ll just take a minute.”
Love & War Page 25
