“Azrael has no one,” I reminded her.
“Much like you,” Hera replied with a smug grin. “No consort. No friends. You aren’t even that close to your own family. The reasons are different, of course. Azrael is just creepy, while you’ve alienated everyone by believing you’re so much better and smarter than the rest of us. It’s why you need me. No one will follow you.”
My eyes narrowed. “Did you come here just to act like a bitch?”
“How am I acting like a bitch?” she asked. Not giving me time to respond, she continued. “If Azrael doesn’t care about the witch, then what are we supposed to do? It’s obvious your plan to gain Hades’s assistance won’t work. He hates us.”
“Can you blame him?” I asked.
“Yes,” Hera stupidly responded. “We’re his family.”
I snorted. “That’s nothing to brag about.”
“You’re really in a mood today, aren’t you?” Hera asked with a huff.
I was in a mood—a killing mood, but I couldn’t kill Hera yet.
“There’s a demon here to see you,” Hermes called out from just outside my temple.
“Send him in,” I told him.
“I’m not your errand boy,” Hermes grumbled.
“Just send him in, Hermes,” Hera shouted.
“Fine,” Hermes snapped.
The demon was covered from head to toe with a drab brown cloak. He was a low-ranking demon who worked security near the detention area. I was paying him to pass on any information about Persephone. I needed to know when she left the demon realm, where she went, and who went with her.
“You have news?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “Hades is taking Persephone to a witch club in the human realm tomorrow night. It’s called The Cauldron.”
“You must be mistaken,” I argued.
“I’m not mistaken,” he insisted. “One of the prison guards told me he overheard Lucifer and Hades talking about it. They’ll be out of the demon realm. Lucifer seems to think the club is safe.”
“This could definitely be useful,” I murmured. “Did you get any more information?”
“No,” he replied nervously. “I need to hurry back. If Lucifer finds out I came here, he’ll kill me. You need to get a phone.”
“How can you trust this demon?” Hera demanded of me. “What if he’s caught and turns on us?”
I smiled, my eyes moving to the demon. “You aren’t going to tell anyone about our little agreement, are you? It would be a shame if your whole family had to pay for your mistakes.”
“No,” he replied quickly. “I won’t tell anyone what you’re up to.”
I laughed and turned to Hera. “This little demon rat has been helping his sister smuggle contraband into the prisons. Either he helps me, or I make sure Lucifer finds out. While Lucifer is torturing confessions from him and his sister, I’ll kill the rest of his family.” A thought occurred to me. “I have a job for your sister.”
“Just leave my sister out of this,” he growled.
“You don’t give the orders,” I snarled. “Tell your sister, I need her to find someone inside the prisons, someone with connections to Hades who’s not afraid to get their hands dirty.”
“Fine,” the demon snapped before he spun and stormed out of my temple.
“Why do we need people inside the prisons?” Hera asked. “Those places are filthy.”
“They’re also filled with people who hate Lucifer and Hades,” I reminded her. “When the war starts, we’re going to need brutal fighters on our side. I don’t care where they come from as long as they’re willing to fight for us.”
“I don’t want to spend time with dirty prisoners,” she grumbled.
“Where do you suggest we get fighters?” I asked her.
As expected, she shrugged. “You’re supposed to be the brilliant strategist.” There was no missing the condescension in her voice. “Shouldn’t you be able to find fighters that don’t make me want to retch?”
I needed to get rid of Hera before I lost my temper and killed her. “I saw Zeus about an hour ago. He said something about heading to the human realm to seduce a cheerleader.”
“Over my dead body!” Hera roared as she stormed off to find Zeus.
Once Hera was gone, I headed off to scout out the area around The Cauldron. It was unlikely I’d be able to get anywhere near Persephone with both Hades and Lucifer accompanying her, but I’d check it out, anyway. If my demon informant was wrong about Persephone being there, I’d stop by his place to kill him and his entire family.
Chapter 35
Persephone
I’d tried to talk my mom into going to The Cauldron, but she’d insisted she needed to head back home to help a local woman who was giving birth to twins soon. The town I’d grown up in relied heavily on my mom’s healing and midwifery skills. If we’d gone the night I’d originally suggested, she could have joined us. I’d been tempted to insist we go then, even without Lucifer’s okay. In the end, I’d decided to be reasonable. I was staying in his home, and Beatrice had explained that he was dealing with issues in the detention areas.
My mom’s decision to leave did more to prove to me that I wasn’t in any kind of danger. If she thought there was some plot that threatened my safety, she would have stayed in Hell longer. She’d, surprisingly, warmed up to Hades.
“This is a horrible idea,” Hades grumbled from his seat beside me in Lucifer’s SUV.
“It will be fun,” I argued. “When was the last time you went out dancing?”
Hades paused before responding. “Artemis convinced me to attend a festival in Sparta. There was dancing at the festival.”
“You haven’t been dancing for more than two millennia?” I asked.
“I didn’t dance at the festival,” he admitted. “My presence terrified people, so most avoided me.”
I reached over to pat his hand. “Poor Hades. You’ve been excluded too much.”
He regarded me curiously. “It seems you’ve been excluded more than I have. Your parents kept you away from everything.”
I shook my head. “That’s more isolated than excluded. I never felt isolated growing up. My parents didn’t keep me away from everything. It must seem that way because I lived separate from the preternatural community, but I had human friends. Even though I was homeschooled, I was still allowed to hang out with friends. It was difficult, at times, knowing there was a lot I couldn’t tell them, but I never felt like I didn’t belong.”
Hades looked at me as if I was some strange creature he couldn’t quite figure out, probably because to him, I was some strange creature he couldn’t figure out. “You never see the ugliness in the world, yet it’s all I see.”
“There’s no need to be so melodramatic,” Lucifer told him. “You are a grouchy bastard, but I’m sure Persephone can be moody at times.”
“No,” Beatrice said with a laugh and a shake of her head.
“I was cross with you a time or two when we were roommates,” I reminded her.
“Cross?” Hades asked with a bark of laughter. “I’m not sure I’ve heard anyone use that term in decades.”
“I was short with her,” I told him. “Does that term work for you?”
“You were not,” Beatrice argued.
“What about the time I lost it over you leaving your shoes out for me to trip over?” I asked.
Beatrice laughed, just as she had at the time.
“Why is this so funny?” Hades asked.
“I could have sworn Persephone called me a messy bitch that day,” Beatrice explained.
“Witch,” I corrected her, yet again. “I said you are a messy witch. Of course, I apologized. Generally, you aren’t messy. It had been a rough day.”
Hades leaned in closer and whispered, “Did you call her a bitch?”
His warm breath caressing my cheek felt so good, I almost moaned. Somehow, I managed to control myself and even respond without sounding like I was considering be
gging him to kiss me. “Yes, I did.”
“That is hot as fuck,” he uttered.
I cleared my throat and said, “The doors are already open. We should head in.”
Chapter 36
Hades
The Cauldron was loud, dark, and overcrowded.
“It’s a light crowd tonight.” Persephone made that observation on our way into the club.
We clearly had a different definition of what constituted a light crowd. As we entered the club, I sensed the effects of the dampening spells. Many couldn’t feel them, but for me, it was as if my power was being drained from my body. I could still feel it close by, but I couldn’t access it. The sensation was disturbing, and I was tempted to grab Persephone and race back out of the club. I didn’t like being without my magic. It’s not that I was incapable of defending myself without it so much as it was a part of me.
Once I recovered from the jarring sensation caused by the dampening spell, I found that Persephone had a hand on my arm as she murmured nonsense words meant to soothe me.
“I’m fine,” I assured her with a slight smile.
“It was strange for me the first time I walked in here,” she told me. “This was the strongest dampening spell I’d ever experienced, and I felt like there was a part of me missing.”
Her description brought a smile to my face. It was comforting to know I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. “I’ll bet you recovered as soon as you got distracted by all the new things in here.”
“I did,” she agreed happily before looking out at the club. “We seem to have attracted an audience.”
Sure enough, the club seemed much quieter, and the patrons were gawking at us. It wasn’t often I was considered more interesting than Lucifer, but he’d been to the club before, whereas I was seldom seen outside the demon realm.
“I need a drink,” was all I could think to say as I led Persephone to the bar with a hand on her lower back. I was glad they had a decent whiskey selection. Persephone ordered some pink drink that looked like it had glitter in it.
“How can you keep drinking those things?” Beatrice asked her.
“You drink them, too,” Persephone pointed out as she gestured to Beatrice’s drink.
“You ordered it for me,” was Beatrice’s argument.
Persephone wasn’t about to take the blame. “I don’t force you to drink them. You already know that, if you don’t drink it, I will. You could always go and order your own drink.”
“Good point,” Lucifer agreed. “I’ve only seen you with glittery drinks when we come here.”
Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Fine. I like the stupid frilly drinks. They’re delicious. I just wish they didn’t look like this.”
Persephone looked around and frowned. “We’ll have to wait for a table with four seats to open up.”
I grinned and shook my head. “I’ll take care of this. There are times when being a scary bastard is useful.”
I walked across to a table where two men were seated. They were talking and scanning the room, probably checking out the single women. Based on the horns on one, I assumed they were both demons of some sort, which was good since it meant they’d immediately recognize me. I said nothing as I took a seat between them. All conversation stopped. It didn’t take long for the guys sitting at the table to decide they wanted to sit at the bar.
When I turned to grin at Persephone, I found her scowling at me with her arms crossed in front of her chest. I crooked a finger, still grinning. It wasn’t that I was so arrogant I thought Persephone should come to me when I beckoned. I was hoping to get a rise out of her because I wanted to see if I could push my witch to use profanity again.
She stomped toward me, looking thoroughly pissed. “There is a difference between being a bully and being a badass,” was all she said before waiting for a response.
I let out a sigh. “Aren’t you going to call me an asshole?”
“What?” she asked, shaking her head in confusion.
“I think he’s trying to push you into using profanity,” Beatrice suggested as she joined us.
“That’s insane,” Persephone replied.
“Let’s dance,” Lucifer told Beatrice. When she nodded, he placed a hand on her lower back and led her to the dancefloor.
I ignored them and focused on Persephone. “I’m insane,” I reminded her. “So, are you going to yell at me because I was acting like a bully?”
She shook her head and took a seat at the table. “I have no intention of rewarding this behavior.” She took a sip of her drink and smiled.
Leaning in, I whispered close to her ear, “I’ll bet I could make you say some very dirty words.”
Rather than blushing or insisting I was wrong, Persephone shocked me by saying, “I’m sure you could, but I can guarantee it won’t be because I’m angry.”
My eyes darkened when I asked, “What would it take to make you curse at me?”
“I didn’t say I’d curse at you,” she pointed out. “I said I’d use dirty words under the right circumstances. We’d both be wearing substantially less clothing—probably nothing at all.”
“Fuck me,” I uttered. “Maybe we should talk about something else.”
“For now,” she agreed.
Chapter 37
The Strategist
I stood in the shadows of the alley across from the club. I’d watched Hades and Persephone enter. The club had powerful spells on it, making it impossible to get too close without being noticed. With an irritated huff, I realized I was probably wasting my time. I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near Persephone.
“Why did you leave without me?” Hera demanded from my side.
Looking over, I sighed at her sudden appearance. I’d dressed to avoid notice in jeans and a sweatshirt. No one would pay me any attention. Hera, on the other hand, was dressed in a long red gown with her wings out. She was also wearing a fucking tiara.
I should have been enraged at her appearance, but I felt oddly numb. It seemed I was getting used to her dumb bitch moves. “Why are you here?”
“For the same reason you are,” she replied with a huff. “We are still trying to get our hands on Azrael’s great-granddaughter, right?”
“Yes,” I replied with an irritated sigh.
“I also came up with a better plan,” she told me.
“What’s that?” I asked with a forced smile.
“We should just go after Persephone’s mother. She’s Azrael’s granddaughter, so he’ll help us keep her safe, too. It will be easier since Hades is less inclined to guard the mother. Your informant came back after you left to tell us that the mother left the demon realm, so we should just go after her.”
“There are many reasons we aren’t going after the witch’s mother,” I ground out.
“Name one.” Hera’s expression was taunting as she issued her challenge. “Or better yet, name all those many reasons.”
“Fine!” I snapped. “There aren’t many reasons, but there is one very good reason. I haven’t been able to find out where Persephone’s mother lives. With Persephone, we have spies in the demon realm who can tell us when she leaves. There is also a chance we can still use Persephone to get Hades to help us.”
“That’s two reasons but not many reasons. Why did you say you had many reasons?” Hera demanded.
Since she was acting like a bitch, I decided to piss her off. “I heard Zeus was trying to seduce a water sprite.”
Hera’s skin mottled with rage, and her eyes darkened. “That foolish old bastard,” she hissed. “Once we’ve taken over the demon realm, I’ll deal with him. There will be no more making a fool of me.”
Hera didn’t need Zeus to make a fool of her. She did a good job of it on her own, in my opinion.
“Why do you put up with him?” I asked. I’d never been in love. There had been some brief infatuations, but never love. I couldn’t imagine someone who’d once been as beautiful and powerful as Hera putting up with Zeus, especially
now that he was weak and feeble-minded.
“He’s my soulmate,” was her simple reply. “We’ve each had our affairs, but in the end, we’re both so in love that we’re willing to kill the other’s lovers. Is there any love purer than that?”
“You are one sick bitch,” I mumbled.
Hera glared at me. “You had better watch your tongue. I am your queen.”
“Hey! I know you,” the warlock who’d interrupted us foolishly approached. “What are you doing here? I saw Hades inside. Three ex-gods in one place. This is awesome.” He pulled out his phone. “I gotta get a picture of this to post online. People won’t believe I saw you.”
I drew my sword of red flames and decapitated the irritating warlock. Hera jumped back to avoid the blood, but some still spattered onto her dress.
“Look what you’ve done!” Hera shouted, gesturing to her dress. “It’s ruined! I love this dress.”
I rolled my eyes. “If you hadn’t shown up here dressed like that, I wouldn’t have needed to kill the warlock. Now, we need to dispose of the body before someone sees us.”
“Why should I help?” Hera asked. “Besides, what did it matter that he saw us here?”
“You really can’t see why it would have been bad for Hades to discover we’re following him?”
“I suppose you might have a point,” she reluctantly agreed. “Still, I don’t want to get any more blood on me.”
“Just get a fucking tarp,” I told her.
“Fine,” she grumbled before taking flight.
“Hera is such a stupid cunt.” Though I was pissed at her for her stupidity, it had felt good to kill someone. It really helped take the edge off. I smiled as I imagined the battle to come. With any luck, Hera would survive so I could kill her myself.
Chapter 38
Persephone
We’d been making polite conversation for the last twenty minutes. Hades was doing his best to fit in, but it was obvious he felt out of place. I honestly didn’t blame him for feeling somewhat ill-at-ease at The Cauldron. We seemed to be the main attraction at the club. Even without his magic, Hades was recognized by many in the preternatural community, and he was rarely seen out of the demon realm. He’d also made a spectacle of himself when he’d cleared out a table for us.
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