by S. E. Babin
Wasn’t it?
The next morning came a little too quickly for me. I blinked my eyes open, squinted at the bright sunlight pouring through my curtains and jerked as I realized someone was in my room.
I pulled the covers up and slung an arm over my eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
I sighed in relief. Hades. Instead of saying anything, I made an opening in the covers, patted the sheets and flopped back down ready for another few hours of sleep.
Hades slid in beside me, apologizing again. I put a finger over his lips and snuggled into his arms. “I’m sorry, too.”
His deep sigh told me that was what he needed to hear.
The next time we woke up, it was to the sound of shouting.
I stumbled downstairs in my old pink pajamas pants with a handful of gathered magic and dread in my stomach at what I would find.
Typhon stood in my living room staring at Atlas like he was about to flambé his ribs. Atlas wasn’t looking at Typhon very friendly either.
“Who the hell are you?” Typhon boomed.
Atlas’ brows flew together. “Who the hell are you?” he shouted back.
I stared at both of them, trying to control the twitch of my lips. “Typhon!”
His green gaze swung to me and narrowed even further as he saw who followed me downstairs.
“Is this a harem now?” He waved his hand at Typhon and then at Hades. “The hell, Abby?”
I couldn’t help it. Laughter bubbled forth. I adjusted my t-shirt and tried to smooth my unruly hair down. “Typhon, meet Atlas.”
His gaze flickered over to the big blond man. “Atlas as in Zeus’ slave?”
Anger flashed in Atlas’ eyes. “Past tense,” he said, his voice clipped. “I belong to Abby now.”
Hades snorted in amusement. He knew the story. Typhon did not. So it sounded like I was running a male harem.
Typhon’s mouth opened and shut, and finally he blew out a short breath. “Explain,” he gritted out.
But before I could, Hades stepped forward. “Abby has no need to explain anything to you.”
I glanced over at him and saw his eyes flash quicksilver.
“After all,” he said as he ran a hand through his thick, dark hair, “you have not won her yet.”
I watched as realization hit Typhon like a Mack truck. He knew Hades and I had taken a further step with each other.
Hurt briefly flickered over his face before it settled into a blank mask. “Of course.” He bowed. “Aphrodite, I need to speak with you. I have the competitor manifest.”
“Already?” I asked in confusion.
Amusement tilted his lips. “The organizers were forced to shut down early due to ah…” his eyes flickered over me, “the sheer amount of people interested.”
Hades muttered an unflattering curse, but I snorted with amusement. “Huh. I wonder if they’re competing for my hand or my head.”
“Quite possibly an even mix, my dear,” Typhon said.
I held my hand out and waggled my fingers. “Gimme.”
With a smirk, Typhon produced a scroll and placed it into my waiting fingers. I broke the seal, unfolded the parchment and…
“Shit,” I whispered as I read over the list of names who would be competing.
Typhon snorted with amusement. “Trust me, Abby. Had I known I would be competing with half of Olympus, maybe I would have rethought this whole thing.”
I sank down onto the couch as my eyes pored over the document.
Ares, Apollo, Perseus, Typhon, Adonis, Hermes…
This list went on and on. And on. Basically I got the alphabet stew of Greek gods trying for my hand. I wasn't vain enough to believe they were dying to marry me, though. They were marrying me so I could die. Two totally different things. I'd made quite a few enemies recently while working for Zeus. So far with Hades it hadn't been too bad. He was always someone who stayed out of most of the fights. Not to say he didn't have his vindictive side. I'd encountered it in one of my very first cases. But what could I do? I had some stories about me too. I liked to think we'd all grown and changed a little bit.
"Wow," I murmured to myself before I offered a shaky grin to the three men standing in my living room. "Well, I guess I need to get on the ball about this, right?" But even I couldn't stop my smile from trembling, then slipping.
I dropped the parchment on the couch and blinked out of the room.
Asheville was a beautiful town. Snow capped mountains loomed in the background of the picturesque place. In the center of it, quirky shops and eateries dotted the place. There was never a time when I couldn't go out and find something to satisfy a craving I had. But this time it wasn't a food craving. It was a friend craving.
I popped into a side street and stood outside Artie's shop.
The sign was super cute and attractive. Little puppy paws dotted the name of the shop, "The Goddess Claws." I grinned to myself. Artie and her puns. I wonder if she had to sign a clause to allow her to work here. She wasn't under anyone's thumb that I knew of, but you never knew with her. Plus with all of her weird behavior lately, maybe something had happened she wasn't fessing up about.
I'd just seen her a little while ago and was still shaken by her foray into mortality, but she was still my best friend in the entire world.
I took a breath and opened the door to her shop.
A petite redheaded woman wearing a headset with a mic blinked at my entrance. Granted, I hadn't changed out of my jammies which was really unlike me, but I didn't care right now. I wanted to see Artie and I wanted to see her now.
I waved and made my way to the back.
"Umm, ma'am?" the lady said.
I waved a hand in the air as I breezed down the hallway. "I'll make myself at home. She won't mind!"
The lady choked and started to say something else but rounding the corner muted the sound.
I'd only been here once, but I hadn't forgotten where her office was. I pushed open her door and stepped inside only to see a man staring curiously at my friend.
A really, super handsome man.
"There's something different about you," he said.
Artie didn't look at him so friendly. She had her arms crossed over her chest and even with the mortality happening, I could still see the look of mutiny with her stuck out chin. "I'm taking pilates," she answered.
At my snort, she blinked and stared at me. Her expression cleared even though her eyes were still curious. "Abs!" She stood and ushered me over to the seats in front of her desk. I sat and she walked back over to the office door and held it open.
"Sorry, Blake. I have to take this one. She's a new client." Artie gave Blake a fake smile and waited for him to exit.
He stared at both of us a long moment, stuck his cowboy hat on top of his head and strode out of the office like he owned the place.
When she shut the door, I had to say it.
"He had a cowboy hat." I made a circle around my head. "And a really nice ass."
Artie huffed with amusement. "He may have a nice ass, but he is a complete and total real life ass. He makes my life extremely difficult."
I cleared my throat. "Maybe he just likes hanging around."
She rolled her eyes and sank down into the roller chair behind her desk. "No, he smells something weird and keeps sniffing around here trying to find out my secrets. It's unnerving."
"It sounds just like Marshall." I let that sink in. Marshall inadvertently became swept up in one of my cases when he stumbled upon us searching Morpheus' house. We found our friend dead, right on time for the police to show up. Then, instead of playing it cool, we used magic right in front of him. Instead of running away like he should have, he instead hung around.
And almost got himself killed more than once in the process.
I'd broken up with him because it was the right thing to do. I tried not to think about it too much anymore, but when I did I realized the ache in my heart over it never fully went away. There was both guilt and remorse because I
had loved him. But once again it proved why mortals and gods didn't belong together.
Plus, now there was Hades. He was someone who filled all the voids I had in my life. Even if I had the chance to, I wouldn't reverse it. Or us. It was part of what made me who I was today.
Artie sighed. "It isn't the same. Blake is someone who has a nose for the weird things. He's seen my success and heard some of the stories surrounding it and he wants to know how I'm doing it. He's had several cases where people are missing animals, and he's never solved a single one. So now people are coming to me."
I blinked. "People call the police for missing pets?"
Artie grinned. "It's a small town, and my pain in the ass officer here appears to have a soft heart when it comes to animals. He can't seem to say no."
I thought that made him a pretty good person, but I bit my tongue instead of saying anything to her. Obviously there was a major annoyance factor between those two. "Well, hopefully you can keep your powers hidden and keep him off your tail," was all I said.
She nodded, but her thoughts looked far away.
"So," I drawled, "does this Blake character have anything to do with your sudden interest in mortality?"
Her reddened cheeks told me the tale even as she bristled in denial. "No!" she answered. "This was something I did for myself!"
"Uh-huh," was all I said. I wondered how Triptolemus was going to take this if he heard. Not very well, I was sure. Last time I saw him, he was very interested in picking up where they'd left off.
Artie changed the subject. "What's up? I figured I wouldn't see you for a few days."
I realized I'd forgotten the parchment on the couch. "Got the manifest for the games," I told her. "It's...large."
Artie laughed then clapped her hands over her mouth. "Were you expecting something else?" she asked, amusement lingering in her tone.
"It's like every god on Mount Olympus!"
"You can win," she assured me.
I sat back in her chair staring at her like she'd lost her mind. "Not even I'm that powerful."
Artie shrugged. "I've seen you being not powerful. I'd say you have this pretty well in hand."
"There's no way I wouldn't get tired! I couldn't send a champion in to deal with that. It's asking way too much." The plan I'd made earlier popped back in my thoughts. It was a crazy idea. But if anyone could win, it would be him. I didn't want to owe anyone, but if I worked my cards just right, maybe I wouldn’t have to.
Her gaze narrowed as if she read my thoughts. "So who's your champion?" she asked me.
I leaned in and whispered it to her.
Artie's brows rose to her forehead as she stared at me in disbelief. "Are you insane?" she hissed. "Why don't we just go to Tyche?"
"Because I don't have anything Tyche wants. I know I have something he wants. I just have to figure out how to leverage it."
"Hades is going to be furious."
I pinched my brow. "When is anyone not furious with me?" I muttered.
"I'd speak to him about it first."
I shook my head. "No way. I live firmly under the rule that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."
Artie sighed. "I'm sure Hermes knows that."
Hurt exploded in my chest. Major burn. "Harsh, Artie," I whispered.
"True, Abby. My advice to you is to talk to him first. Don't do this unless he knows about it."
I stood and walked out of the room. Today was seriously not going my way.
Typhon was waiting for me when I popped into my favorite hole in the wall restaurant. I really disliked that he knew me so well. It was like having a super sexy annoying brother.
Okay...that sounded too creepy. Maybe a super sexy friend you knew forever. That sounded better.
I'd found the place a few weeks ago when I was meandering down the street and not paying much attention to where I was going. It was a small bistro tucked into an alley. The scent coming from the place was heavenly. My first meal there had been a French onion soup with a gruyere crisp, and I was hooked like a crack addict. I'd been coming twice a week ever since then. Thank the gods I couldn't gain weight.
Anyhow, Typhon followed me one day when he was looking for me. And now he sat at my usual table by the window nursing a glass of wine. The parchment with the list of names was sitting beside his plate.
I sighed and headed in. There was no way I could avoid him.
He pushed his wine glass over to me. "I haven't sipped it yet."
I took the glass. "Doesn't matter. Wine is wine is wine."
He smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Abby." His expression said he really meant it.
"Call it off." I went for the jugular.
Typhon snorted with genuine amusement. "Have you met my father? It's way too late."
I took a long slug of wine knowing I would horrify the wine snobs if they saw me. "Do you even want to marry me?" I asked.
His eyes glittered emerald. "You know the answer to that," he said and offered nothing else.
"I'm exhausted, Typhon. I don't know how much longer I can play these games." Once the words were out, I knew them to be true. I was exhausted. Of everything. The fighting, the lying, the discoveries, the having to constantly learn new magic. I just wanted to curl up for a few weeks wearing nothing but my pajamas and doing nothing but watching bad tv.
His eyes crinkled at the corners. "Obviously. You're taking the town by storm in your pretty pink pj pants."
I looked down and groaned.
With a waggle of his fingers, the air shimmered around me and I was perfectly respectable in a pair of ankle-length jeans and a white blouse.
"Thanks," I murmured.
He rubbed his fingers against his shirt. "Well, I can't be seen with just anyone, Abby. Especially not a ratty urchin in dirty pajamas."
"You're an ass," I growled, but there was no heat in it.
"Yes, so everyone tells me." He waved the waiter over.
I picked up my menu and scanned, but Typhon pushed it down. "I don't know why you pretend you haven't already memorized it." He looked up at the waiter. "She'll have the mushroom ravioli with a side of garlic bread."
My lips twisted to the side at his gall. But...he was right. That's exactly what I would have ordered anyway.
"And I'll have the eggplant parmigiana," he said before snapping his menu shut.
The waiter gave a slight bow and left us.
"Eggplant is disgusting," I offered.
He shrugged a powerful shoulder. "Everyone should eat their veggies."
"Yes, because we have to worry about our metabolism."
"The sarcasm is strong with you today," he said mildly.
I took another sip of my wine. "I'm annoyed."
"No," he gasped. "I couldn't tell." He plucked the parchment from the table.
"Please don't show me that again."
He ignored it and opened it anyway. "Listen, I think I can help you."
"Why would you want to help me?"
Typhon sighed, the sound long and aggrieved. "I'm forced just the same as you are. I'd much rather pursue you the old fashioned way instead of with all this pageantry. But you know dear ole dad. He sure does love the mayhem." He reached over and took my hand. "Look, we can help each other if we really wanted to. I can narrow the competition down for you and you can help me make sure I'm the one who wins."
I blinked in surprise. "You're going to cut some people from the list?" I asked stupidly.
He nodded. "Yes. There are numerous people in here who don't meet the requirements."
I stared at him. "What requirements?" Basically the only thing I knew about the rules of the games was there weren't really any rules. If you were supposed to duel to the death, a rare occurrence but not totally unheard of, you dueled to the death. Trickery and chicanery were super common. The games were total shenanigans, and those kinds of going ons were both expected and commonplace.
"This is why you have me, Abs. There are always rules." He grinned showi
ng me his perfect pearly whites. "It just so happens I'm the only one who reads them."
I leaned in eagerly. "What are the rules?"
He waggled his index finger at me. "Nope. I'll share the rules that apply here. The others you'll have to find."
I stared at him mulishly and crossed my arms over my chest. I'd have to find those rules and hope it wasn't a damned quest to get them.
He lifted his brows. "An entrant into the games must not have engaged in intercourse within the last two months."
I swallowed hard as I thought back to what I'd been doing a little less than 24 hours ago. "Errrm," I added.
Typhon snorted. "You aren't an entrant. You're sort of like a defendant. You have to be there."
Damn it. I thought I had him on that one.
Wait.
I gave him a curious look. "How exactly do you know if someone has been getting their rocks off?"
He didn't answer.
"Typhon?"
"Sometimes you don't want to know the answers to the questions you ask, darling."
"Gross," I whispered under my breath. "So who does that knock out?"
He gave me another brilliant grin. "90% of them."
"That's a whole lot of sex," I answered dumbly. And it was.
"Just think in a few days, that could be you and me."
I threw my napkin at him. "Gross."
"You wound me," he said even as he winked at me. "Seriously though. You still have to deal with Ares, Atlas, and Hermes."
Crap. "Hermes?" I echoed.
"Yup."
Double crap.
"Well, too bad none of them got knocked out."
"That would have made it way too easy, and we know how life likes to throw some curveballs at you."
"I haven't seen Ares in a long time," I said mostly to myself. The last time was when he delivered Zeus' note and his spell to my door. I knew he'd helped me escape the dungeons with Artie, and while I appreciated it, I still thought he was a little bit shady. Even if he had saved our lives.
"I'd be more worried about Hermes," Typhon said.
The waiter arrived with our dishes before I could question him on that. The aroma of creamy sauce and mushrooms hit my nose and I immediately dug in.
I would worry about Hermes later.
