Just when I was ready to rip out my own hair in frustration, Zeus finally spoke. “We can use his feelings for the witch to get Hades to help us!”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “That’s a brilliant plan.” Naturally, it was a brilliant plan; I was the one who’d come up with it. I even had something special in mind, a way to make Hades believe we were his allies.
“First, we should give Hades a chance to join us,” Zeus said as he tugged at his beard.
Zeus was an even bigger moron than I’d thought if he believed Hades would help simply because Zeus asked. Hades hated us, but we could change that with my plan. “I have an idea that will get him on our side.” Before I could explain my idea, Zeus interrupted me.
“We won’t need to trick or pressure Hades into joining us. If he hears that I want him with me, he’ll jump at the opportunity. Hades has always wanted to be around me. Not only are we brothers, Hades also respects my strength. My older brother looks up to me.”
Placating Zeus made me want to kill someone. “Just hear me out.”
“What is it?” he asked impatiently.
“If Hades believes we’ve protected his little witch from danger, he’ll help us,” I told him. “All we need to do is set up a situation where I can pretend to rescue her. I’m sure I could make it look like Lucifer failed to keep the witch safe. His queen, Beatrice, is very close to Persephone. From what my informants tell me, Persephone goes to the demon realm on a regular basis to visit Beatrice. Trust me. I’ve always been good at planning battles. In this case, we can avoid a fight with Hades by using this weakness against him.”
Zeus snorted. He actually snorted at me. “I think you forget who you’re talking to. I’m your father and the ruler of Olympus. We’ll give Hades a chance to join us. If it looks like he’s going to refuse, you can hint that we know about his witch.”
Zeus just had to pick that fucking moment to remember he had balls. I cursed his sudden desire to plan.
“Fine,” I replied with a tight smile. “We’ll talk to Hades about joining us first.”
“I’ve always liked redheads,” he murmured as he looked toward the building the witch had entered. Naturally, the randy old goat was thinking about sex. His libido had always been his biggest weakness. With any luck, he’d forget his stupid idea to talk to Hades before we returned to Olympus and had a chance to share it with the others.
“You can’t seduce her,” I reminded him.
Zeus’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you to tell me who I can and cannot seduce?”
“If you seduce her, Hades will hate you more than he already does,” I reminded him. “If that happens, he won’t help us.”
“I suppose,” he said with a pout. Zeus continued to talk about his fondness for redheads.
I tuned him out, instead focus on my future. It was time to reclaim my rightful place. For too long, I’d been stuck in the crumbling halls of Olympus, but not for much longer. I would rule over Hell and be worshipped by humans again. I wouldn’t allow anything to get in my way.
Chapter 4
Hades
A day working in the prisons would keep my mind off Persephone. I needed to stop thinking about her. After almost kissing her, I’d tried jerking off for the first time in at least four centuries. The result had been exactly what I’d expected—a chafed cock and no relief. I wanted her more than I could remember wanting any woman.
Each night, I was plagued with dreams of her. Those dreams often led to me flying near her apartment, longing to knock on her door. Some nights, I imagined breaking down her door and carrying her off to my home. I wanted her with everything in me, yet I never acted on my impulses.
Persephone confused me, and I don’t like being confused. Before meeting her, I’d never pondered my actions or worried about making a mistake that could hurt someone else. It was time to make a decision. I couldn’t keep stalking her. Either I needed to find out if she really was the one to break my curse or I needed to stop going near her. It was time to stop acting like a pussy.
“There you are!” Ares called out from behind me.
“Fuck my life,” I muttered before turning to find Ares, Athena, and Artemis.
The asshole convention had come to town.
“Aren’t you happy to see us, Uncle?” Artemis asked with a sly smile, looking much saner than most from Olympus. Her long brown hair was secured in a thick braid, and her amber eyes were locked on me as she waited for my reaction. I’d once gotten along fairly well with Artemis. We’d even hunted together a few times when she’d wanted to piss off the others on Olympus. There’d always been something almost childlike about her, an innocence that went beyond her virginity. Like the others on Olympus, she could still be spiteful and cruel when she didn’t get her way.
Athena, once a skilled warrior, looked lost and confused. Her short black hair was covered with an old helmet. Her armor was tarnished with age. In her younger years, Athena had been brilliant but impulsive. She’d also been a jealous bitch who’d constantly bickered with the others.
Ares had skipped the armor in favor of old jeans and a black tank top with a section cut out for his wings. While most on Olympus stayed out of trouble since the fall of our pantheon, Ares had tried starting more than few wars. He still hadn’t gotten far enough with his attempts to end up in prison, but it was only a matter of time, in my opinion.
“You only call me Uncle when you want something,” I muttered, tempted to walk away. I had work to do, and I honestly didn’t give a fuck what my brother’s offspring had to say.
“Zeus wants to see you,” Athena announced, sounding more coherent than I’d expected considering her glassy-eyed expression.
“How nice for him,” I replied as I began walking away. Sadly, they followed me into the main detention area. It was one of the nicer prisons, so there was no putrid smell of rotting flesh and no screams for help. I wouldn’t be at that prison long. If they continued to follow me, the next prison would send Ares, Athena, and Artemis running.
“Why do you do Lucifer’s bidding?” Artemis asked with a sneer. “You’re one of us.”
“One of you?” I asked with a bark of laughter. “Sure, we hung out a few times, and others have come to me for favors, but I’ve never been one of you. Lucifer is more than my cousin, he’s my friend. Let’s not forget, he’s also king here.”
“You used to rule the underworld,” Ares spat out. “Don’t tell me you’re satisfied being an underling now.”
Ares was an idiot if he thought I wanted to rule Hell. Lucifer taking over my job had been the best thing to happen to me. I didn’t want to deal with the bureaucratic bullshit or visits with Azrael, the asshole angel of death. There wasn’t one thing I missed about ruling the underworld.
“Let me guess,” I began in a bored tone. “You have all decided to start some kind of rebellion in Hell. Are you hoping to take over? Kill Lucifer? Is that why you’re coming to me? Do you think I’ll stab my cousin in the back in the hopes that we can all be friends? Look around.” I gestured to the prison. There was a demon being dragged off by one of the guards as she cursed and spit acidic venom at the guard. Several other demons were sitting outside makeshift huts, trying to appear invisible. They were all dirty and thin. “This is one of the nicer prisons. You won’t end up in a nice prison if you fuck with Lucifer. His patience with you will wear out, eventually.”
“Zeus can’t stop talking about Persephone,” Artemis taunted. “He seems quite taken with your little redhead.”
I tensed at her words, fighting to keep my emotions under control. I wanted to pull Artemis’s intestines out through her nostrils for daring to even speak Persephone’s name. It might sound impossible, but I was willing to try.
“And?” I asked in a bored tone.
“No one wants to see her hurt,” Ares replied with a smirk.
“It would be very foolish to threaten me.” My words sounded casual and unconcerned as I continued walking. “Even without your threats, I’m tempted
to hurt you. I want to hurt you. The reason I work in the detention areas is that I enjoy causing others pain. You three.” I stopped to point a finger at each of them for emphasis. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about any of you.”
Ares decided to make a last appeal to me, one that would have worked centuries ago when I’d still longed to be accepted by my siblings and their children. “No one wants to hurt her. You have every reason to hate us. In the past, we wronged you by forcing you to live alone. We messed up, Uncle. Come, live with us on Olympus. Fuck being God of the Underworld. We’ll redefine the pantheon.”
“Humans will worship and adore you,” Artemis crooned from close by. “You can even bring your little witch to rule by your side. She’ll have everything.”
“You can pretend all you want, but we know you care for her,” Athena added as she moved closer. “We’re offering you everything you’ve ever wanted and the chance to make your witch happy.”
The fools couldn’t imagine anyone wouldn’t crave the adoration of humanity. I’d been feared by nearly everyone for most of my existence. While I might have craved adoration many lifetimes ago, I’d long since moved past that desire.
“No one wants to see your witch hurt.” Ares’s words definitely sounded like a threat.
“I’m not about to play your game, Ares,” was all I said before I stormed off to deal with a fight that had just broken out between two demons. Normally, I’d let them work it out, but I needed to beat the crap out of someone before I went to Lucifer to tell him about the potential trouble brewing on Olympus. I was tempted to beat the hell out of Ares, but I knew him well enough to realize it would only encourage him.
Chapter 5
Persephone
Hades was avoiding me, and it was beginning to make me very angry. Technically, he’d been avoiding me for months, but I’d at least caught him watching me every once in a while. It had been days since I’d last seen him lurking around my apartment complex. It was sad that I’d started to look forward to being stalked by Hades. I often wondered if the real reason I didn’t think Hades was as insane as he claimed to be was that I was also crazy. There were definitely people who would say I was crazy.
“You do realize you’re muttering to yourself, right?” Gryph asked as he walked by my desk.
Gryph was a werewolf—the first one I’d ever met. He was taller and even broader than Hades. I’d been a little intimidated when I’d first met him, not that I’d let it show. Mostly, I’d been curious. Gryph wasn’t always the most patient werewolf, but he’d answered my myriad of questions about werewolves. Before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, I’d met very few members of the preternatural community. My life had definitely changed. I’d met witches, demons, werewolves, swinger vampires, and fallen angels. I even got to have dinner at Lucifer’s home. How many people get to dine with the devil?
“Sorry about the muttering,” I told Gryph. “Be thankful I haven’t used any ugly words. More than a few have passed through my mind without making their way past my lips.”
Gryph’s lips twitched. “Which ugly words were you considering using?”
“I won’t say them, but one rhymes with ham and the other with duck,” I replied.
When Gryph’s mouth dropped open, I had to bite back a grin. I hadn’t really considered using the word that rhymes with duck, but Gryph’s reaction was all I’d hoped it would be. He looked like he wasn’t sure if he should gasp or laugh. After his initial shock passed, his eyes narrowed. “Do I need to kill someone for you, Persephone?” He wasn’t joking.
“No,” I assured him. “I’m frustrated with a certain fallen angel.”
Before Gryph could respond, the elevator opened and out stepped my best friend, Beatrice, and her husband, Lucifer. I loved saying my best friend was the devil’s wife.
“Bea!” I squealed as I raced around my desk to hug her. We’d been roommates for a few months before she became the queen of Hell. I liked saying that, too. Thankfully, Lucifer was subsidizing my rent so I wouldn’t need to get a new roommate yet. He’d also been able to get me into one of the more exclusive witch apartment complexes. It was nice having powerful friends. I didn’t mind humans. I’d grown up around humans, so I didn’t have the same prejudice against them most witches did. Still, I had more restrictions living among humans. The Council of Witches frowned upon the use of spells in human areas. There were also no protection spells on the human apartment complexes, making witch communities safer.
As expected, Bea tensed when I hugged her. My friend didn’t like hugs, but she loved me, so she put up with them.
“This is a wonderful surprise,” I continued when I released Beatrice. “What brings you out this way?”
“I’m not sure how to put this,” Beatrice began before looking to Lucifer for help.
“Hades wants you to stay with me,” Lucifer stated. “He thinks you may be in danger.”
“There are more subtle ways to put it,” Beatrice complained.
Lucifer simply raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never cared much for subtlety.”
“Hades thinks I’m in danger?” I asked. When Beatrice nodded, I continued. “Why does he think I’m in danger? People like me. It’s not like I have any enemies.”
“Some of the assholes from Olympus want Hades to help them with a rebellion,” Beatrice replied. “He refused, so they made vague threats against you. They didn’t technically threaten you, but they made it known that they are aware of your existence. Hades took that as a threat.”
“Why can’t you go there and kick their fannies?” I asked Lucifer.
“Fannies?” he asked with a bark of laughter.
“Sorry,” I began with a sheepish smile. “I’m not normally a violent person.” I certainly could be when the situation called for it, but violence was never my first solution to any problem.
“Having heard how well you fight, I find that hard to believe,” Lucifer replied with a grin.
“A witch has to defend herself,” Beatrice argued.
“I wasn’t insulting Persephone for her ability to defend herself,” Lucifer insisted. “As for your question about me dealing with the problem, it’s complicated. There’s always some plot in the works on Olympus. Their schemes rarely require any intervention on my part. Even when I have to get involved, they’re more of a nuisance than anything else.”
“They’re like a bunch of old witches sitting around and talking about the good old days,” Beatrice explained. “There is virtually no chance of them actually following through with any plans they make.”
“Have there been problems?” I asked.
“Loki tried killing an archangel to get his flaming sword about two-hundred years ago,” Lucifer began thoughtfully. “Poseidon planned to unleash a Kraken. Had either of them actually succeeded, I’d have been forced to lock them away in one of the prisons. I was tempted with Loki. Poseidon’s threat was less of a concern.”
My eyes widened. “A Kraken?” I’d never seen a Kraken. “A Kraken would be a huge threat.”
“Krakens aren’t immortal, and Poseidon forgot to feed them,” Lucifer explained. “There’ve been a few other issues, but most have been minor and easy to deal with. This only concerns us because you were threatened.”
“Are you certain I was threatened?” I asked.
Lucifer nodded. “They wanted Hades to know they’ve seen you. That is a threat.”
“I see where Persephone is going with this,” Beatrice began thoughtfully. “They could have been bluffing since Hades only goes after women named Persephone.”
“It’s possible, but I think it’s more likely they know who you are,” Lucifer replied. “Personally, I don’t think anyone from Olympus will follow through with their threat, but it would be foolish to ignore the possibility. This is also a huge concern for Hades. What could it hurt for you to stay with me for a short time?”
“You’re right,” I relented. “I just hate leaving my home.”
“You loved
the tub in your room at Lucifer’s,” Beatrice reminded me.
“It was almost perfect,” I agreed.
“Almost perfect?” Lucifer asked.
“It needs water jets,” I replied absently. The tub in Lucifer’s home wasn’t enough to keep me from wondering, “Why isn’t Hades here warning me about the danger?”
Gryph had been pretending to check the security feed on a nearby computer, but he was listening, so I wasn’t surprised when he replied. “Hades isn’t allowed in the building.”
“Why not?” I demanded. “Hades is my friend. He’s been here before and never caused a problem.”
“We had Lucifer’s assurances Hades wouldn’t kidnap you before,” Gryph explained.
“He promised to behave until after Beatrice was safe,” Lucifer added. “I’d rather not be forced to torture my cousin. I like him, but I’d have to hurt him if he showed up at Bliss and abducted you.”
It seemed like a bad idea to mention all the times I’d found Hades watching me from the balcony of the apartment across from mine. I didn’t want Lucifer to tell Hades to stay away from me. I wanted to be closer to Hades. An idea came to me, and I smiled. “I should stay with Hades.”
My statement was met with silence.
“It’s a good idea,” I insisted. “Hades will protect me.”
“No,” was Lucifer’s flat reply.
“His home isn’t set up for guests.” Beatrice gave that explanation.
“You’ve been to his home?” I asked.
“No, but he doesn’t entertain,” Beatrice replied. “Can I have some time alone with Persephone? I think we need to discuss this without the two of you around.”
“You can use a conference room in the back,” Gryph offered. “Allie and Julia are both out on client meetings, so all the rooms are open.”
Lucifer let out an irritated sigh. He was obviously annoyed that I hadn’t simply agreed to do what he asked. His reaction made sense. It wasn’t often Lucifer had to compromise.
“Fine. I’ll wait out here with the werewolf,” he agreed.
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