Though excited, emos stumbled over each other to get out of Dionysus' way as he and another immortal with spiky pink hair sauntered through them. TwinkleWink pushed through the crowd holding a round tray with two nectar wines over his head. He stopped in front of Dionysus and balanced the tray on the tips of his little horns. Dionysus didn't acknowledge the satyr as he lifted one of the glasses from the tray and kept it moving. The pink emo man snatched up the other glass and then kicked one of TwinkleWink's furry little legs with his boot. The satyr stumbled a bit, then after a glare and an insulting gesture, he turned and scampered back off into the crowd.
The demented maenads were beside themselves with excitement at the appearance of Dionysus. Stacia jumped right onto him and held herself up by wrapping her legs around his waist and throwing her arms around his neck. They started kissing like maniacs even though Dionysus was still walking and holding a glass of wine. Strafford looked about as disgusted as Chloe did. The other maenads were trying to get Dionysus' attention by forcing as many body parts through the spaces of their cages as they could manage. Some seemed to be trying to tear the bars from their very hinges. Stacia eventually hopped down and Dionysus jumped up onto the closest caged platform and started making out between the bars with an orange-haired maenad wearing a black leotard and snakeskin tights.
Chloe watched on with a mixture of disgust and blatant fascination as Dionysus made out with two more maenads trapped in their cages before swaggering the rest of the way up to where he found Chloe and Strafford sitting side-by-side.
Dionysus approached and Strafford started to stand, but Dionysus waved him back down and took a seat himself. His emo friend remained standing and posted himself behind the couch Dionysus had sat down on, folding his arms against his chest and looking like a hard ass. Chloe thought at first that this must be Dionysus' bodyguard, but did gods need bodyguards? It was highly unlikely.
Chloe continued to gape over at the god, who had green eyes and three piercings in his right eyebrow. He smiled handsomely at her as he settled back stretching his wine-free arm over the back of the couch. She blushed and averted her eyes, but that lasted like a second. He took a drink of his nectar wine, waved his hand, and the music somehow became muted, though the thump of it could still be heard as the rest of the club partied on.
"Why am I not surprised to see you, Strafford Law?" Dionysus asked, his voice very much like Tom's––slow and unexaggerated, but still deep and thrilling. As he waited for an answer, he examined the contents of his wine glass. Strafford opened his mouth to speak, but Dionysus held up his ringed hand to stop him. He turned to the pink man and said, "Ajax, get TwinkleWink." The man, Ajax, bowed his head once, then turned, and disappeared down the stairs to locate the satyr.
Dionysus turned back, catching Chloe's eye for a moment before looking away to Strafford. "Go on. I really can't wait to hear why you're in my city." He set his wine glass down on the blue marble table sitting between them.
"Yes, my lord," Strafford began with a nod, but Dionysus cut him short once more.
"Dude, spare me the stupid formalities. Just because the pretty Oracle is here, doesn't mean you have to get all divine on me. It's Dio, dude. As it's always been. Dee-O. Save that 'my lord' business for Zeus."
Strafford seemed to relax and he even smiled. "I'm on mission. Why else would I be here?"
"Ah, a mission. I knew that you would start missing this life soon enough," Dio said, "But you still haven't answered my question. Tell me why you're here, in my club, because I know that this isn't your scene. I hope you're not involved in any of Tom's illegal activities that he, like the idiot he is, believes I don't know anything about."
"I'm not," Strafford replied, "Our mission led us to Los Atlas. Nightclubs aren' my thing, but even I need to unwind sometimes." Chloe saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye. It was a signal to uphold the lie if questioned. She just hoped she was never questioned.
"Ah," Dio said with a nod, also glancing over at Chloe, "I'm disappointed. I had this ridiculous idea that you had come to see me. That you had changed your mind and had decided to accept my offer. It's why I stayed in town instead of accepting my father's dinner invitation. Well, besides it being payday."
Strafford frowned. "You've been trackin' us, too."
"Like a GPS."
She felt the dark cloud form over Strafford as he said, "Like I've told you before, the Uni is not for someone like me."
"Yeah, yeah. You've told me. But like I keep telling you, how do you know if you've never been? Think about it. I would give you a full sponsorship, since I know you won't accept one from your father. Even my own children can't get that out of me! You would live in the best dormitories in Bacchus House, my sponsored dormitory or my villa, your choice. And let's not forget all the demigoddesses enrolled there. I have a few pretty daughters that live in Bacchus House. Take your pick."
Dio smirked at her like he could feel the jealousy coursing through her. "And if you're worried about abandoning your post as Quad leader, we can arrange it so you can take the Oracle with you." Chloe couldn't help but feel like he was making fun of her somehow.
Strafford laughed as though he got the joke. "Zeus wouldn' ever allow it. And have you forgotten tha’ every demigod in Myth, besides a select few siblings and fools like Tom, hates me?”
“Not every demigod hates you. Just most.” Dio winked.
“Sponsor somebody else, Dio. Why not Tom, or one of your other kids?"
"Tom? Ha! That’s a laugh," Dio said, "and I partially sponsor many of my children. Now I want to put my drachmas behind a real hero. Besides, I believe you have some lost honor to reclaim, yeah? I’m telling you, the Uni is the way."
As Strafford's jaw clenched with tension, Tom came bustling into the section of couches holding a large duffle bag, looking disgruntled and suddenly, very sober.
"Uh, 'sup Dad," He said, hesitating before dropping the bag at Dio's feet. Dio didn't acknowledge his son's greeting, but looked down pointedly at the stuffed sack.
"That doesn't look like all of it," Dio said. Tom looked confusedly between his father and the duffle bag.
"What do you mean?" He said, holding out his hand towards the sack, "Thirty percent, just like I give you every eclipse."
Dio grinned. "That thirty percent is repayment for my investment in the Verdict, but you forgot about the extra twenty percent you can now add to that to buy my silence regarding the illegal Empusa blood bar that you operate downstairs."
Tom's mouth fell open. "How did you––" He glared at Strafford and Chloe like he just knew they were the traitors.
"Dude. Never put your trust in maenads," Dio smirked, "Especially when those maenads are loyal to me. And for future reference, all maenads are loyal to me."
Tom dropped down on the couch beside his father and propped his feet up on the table. "I can't believe this!" He said, angrily, "Those...demon spawn…They're all fired!"
"No, they're not," Dio said simply. "And don't call my ladies demon spawn, boy."
Just then, Ajax arrived with TwinkleWink in tow. TwinkleWink bowed his head to Dio as Ajax shoved him forward, then the satyr stood waiting, nervously wringing his little hands together.
"What can I do for you, Dio?" He asked after Dio had only stared at him for several long seconds.
Dio pointed at his glass of nectar wine. "What's wrong with this wine?" He didn't even wait for the satyr to answer. "No ambrosia, TwinkleWink! You know I never drink my wine without ambrosia, and I swear to you that there is no ambrosia in this wine!" Dio casually tucked his long hair behind his left ear revealing to Chloe six studded piercings along the edge of his lobe.
TwinkleWink bowed what seemed like a dozen times. "I apologize, Dio!" He bleated, "Forgive me, forgive me! I will fix it right away! Yes, yes, right away!"
Dio barked out a few more orders and TwinkleWink trotted away. Within minutes, he and another satyr named Scuttlenut, were back. They set up wine, ambrosia (which l
ooked like grape jelly), and glasses, and then bowed themselves silly before fleeing, tripping over their own hooves as they ran. Dio did the honors himself and poured them each a glass of his self-brewed nectar wine but only topped off his with ambrosia, then stowed the tiny bottle away in one of the many pockets of his jeans.
She pretended to forget about Strafford's warning not to drink…and her age. He wanted to protest, she could tell, but chose to keep silent. Who knew why. She wasn’t concerned. It was her first glass of wine, it was delicious and she wanted to enjoy it. It had a pungent sweetness and tasted like a mixture of sugary nectarines and strawberries. It was simply delectable. Before Chloe knew it, she had had three glasses and was feeling cheerfully disoriented. Ha! She was drunk! Her mother would’ve been so pissed to know this.
"So, will you all be in my city for long, Strafford?" Dio asked as he nursed his seventh glass of wine and ambrosia. Chloe listened hard for the answer while trying not to fall off of the couch.
Strafford put down his half-empty glass and looked over at Dio as if it pained him to answer. "No, not too long." He threw Chloe a concerned look. She swayed a bit and wiggled her fingers at him. He only frowned.
Dio shrugged as if it was their loss they would be leaving Los Atlas so soon. "That's too bad. I was going to invite you to my winery, then out for a little gambling at one of Tyche's casinos. Oh well. Next time then." Then after a long sip, he asked, "So where to next, demigod?"
Strafford pressed his lips together and swept his fingers through his hair. "Home." He answered confidently.
"We're going back to the Chateau?" Chloe asked, too tipsy to remember to cover her mouth as she hiccuped. "But what about––*hiccup*––the proph––?"
"Never mind tha', Red." Strafford cut his eyes at her. Dio only smirked.
"Fill me up, Dad," Tom said holding out his wine glass to Dio, seeming oblivious to any conversation going on around him. Dio simply looked at the glass and nectar wine filled to the brim. "Thanks," Tom muttered, and brought his glass to his lips. "I hate those maenads…." He mumbled, still reeling.
"Hey!" Chloe boozed, "Why didn't you just do that little trick at the beginning instead of making the little goat man run and get all of this stuff?" She woozily gestured towards Tom's fresh glass of wine and the mess of bottles on the table.
Dio seemed entertained by her lack of sobriety. "It's that satyr's job to do as I command," He said with a smirk, "And what's the fun in having servants if you can't make them do things that you could very well do yourself?" He smiled handsomely and she blushed. She held out her empty glass to break his gaze, and with a glance from Dio, it filled up with wine. He winked at her and blushing, she raised her glass in cheers and started drinking.
"You should really slow down," Strafford said, wearily looking over at her. "You’re gonna get blit––."
"Let the girl drink," Dio snapped. As he said it, Chloe downed the rest of her glass.
It was as she swallowed the last sip, that she knew she had made a terrible mistake. Suddenly, she felt out of control of herself, like she was under someone else's authority. Nothing she did in that moment was of her own free will. She tried to escape it, thinking it was her own mind mixed with the numerous spirits she'd consumed, that was making her feel so trapped. But her attempts were useless.
You're mine now, Pythia, a slow voice said in her head.
She looked up at Dio. He was smiling at her. Then he winked.
She knew then that she had just gotten herself into massive trouble.
*****
XXXII. Hector
He hadn't seen them coming.
He and Theseus were attacked from all sides.
He swung and defended himself the best he could against the whirlwind of fists and boots––were they wearing cowboy boots?––but he was ineffective against so many.
Where had they all come from so fast?
They had moved so quietly through the dark and bulldozed them right out of the tree they had been sitting in watching the Clever house, before they had even known what was happening.
They were keeping him and his brother subdued as though they had been told not to kill, but restrain them. They were very strong––too strong.
They had to be demigods. Had Varney and her black-blooded siblings finally shown up for their rematch? Oh, Varney was gonna so owe him a date after this.
They kept him restrained by tying his hands behind his back; his feet were bound together with chains. Then he was gagged.
He was being captured.
They were already dragging Theseus off into the darkness. He caught a glimpse of his brother's captors in the pale moonlight.
They were definitely female. Every last one of them.
He heard one of them curse as she tripped over a tree branch. The one who had gagged him.
He now had a voice. He would remember the sound of it so that later he wouldn't make a mistake and off the wrong girl.
He was being dragged away now.
He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. In a window of the Clever house.
Someone was there, watching everything. He knew who it was.
He tried to turn but one of them pulled his hair. He tried to kick her and she punched him.
Varney's tab grew. She owed him a kiss with lots of tongue for that.
But to his benefit, they had stopped dragging him by his feet, and now had his arms hooked between two of them.
He had a full view of the house now.
He found the window.
To his complete and utter astonishment, they were still there, standing, watching.
Not Benjy, but Beth, Chloe's mother.
*****
XXXIII. Chloe
"Yup. She’s blitzed."
Chloe heard Strafford let out a low curse.
She opened her eyes, a facial function that had not been under her control, and found Dio sitting on the other side of her. How had he moved so fast? She wanted to run away, but her legs weren't having it. Her arms were like lead at her side. She wasn't going anywhere.
"Now, Pythia," Dio began, "Tell me the truth. What are you and Strafford really doing here?"
"We came to see Tom," was her automatic answer. She heard Tom groan and wished she could take it back. But her mouth felt like a separate feature from her face and even her own speech was out of her control right now. Had he made her drink some kind of truth serum?
No, he’d lowered her inhibitions.
Crap.
"What did you ask Tom to do for you?"
"Help us with a prophecy."
"I am so dead," Tom groaned.
"Dude, shut up and drink," Dio snapped, filling up his son's glass with a wave of his hand. "Now, Pythia, what prophecy are you talking about?"
The answer spilled out of her mouth. "The one we needed solved to discover the Most Beautiful."
The god of Wine and Merriment raised an eyebrow. "The Most Beautiful, huh?"
"Yes. The prophecy of the Most Beautiful. I named it that myself." Strafford exhaled. It sounded like relief.
Dio chuckled. "Is that all? Why didn't you just say that to begin with? Pretty cool name, too." He kissed her cheek and she felt herself regain control of her senses. It was like the puppeteer cutting her puppet strings. Her muscles flopped loose and she sobered right up.
"What did you just do to me?!" She exclaimed, trying to shake off the weird sensation that her bones were made of rubber.
He stood, completely ignoring her. "Get up and come with me." Strafford helped her to her feet, looking at her like he had no idea who she was. "Dude, not you," Dio snapped at Tom, who had jumped up at his father's command. "You stay right here. Ajax, make sure he doesn't leave."
Tom gulped and sank back into the couch. After throwing Chloe a lethal glance, he buried his face in his hands, while Ajax laughed and made a slicing motion across his neck.
Dio led them down the winding staircase and the music stayed muted around them. The
flashy emos of the second level gave them wide berth as Dio directed her over to the banister to look out over the unruly crowd below.
"Stand by me, Pythia," He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her to him. Strafford stood next to them, looking like he wanted to snap off Dio’s arm. Dio feigned ignorance and pointed to the far back corner of the club. "Do you see that pathetic boy over there sitting at the bar?"
She followed the direction of his finger until her eyes landed on a solemn-looking young man planted on a bar stool. He had a drink in front of him, but it was still full, and he kept looking around him like he was waiting on somebody to join him. Chloe got the feeling that he had been waiting a long time.
"Who is he?"
"A very regular patron of the Verdict, the maenads tell me." Dio sipped his wine. "Every night, he sits at the bar, orders a nymph water that he doesn't drink, and waits."
"What is he waiting for?"
Dio grinned. "I believe he's been waiting on you."
"What?" Who in the world would be waiting for her in a Los Atlas nightclub? Why would they be waiting for her in a Los Atlas nightclub? How did they even know that she would come here?
How did Dio know? That was the real question.
"Go to him," He said, "You'll figure out what to do."
"I'm comin' with you, Red," Strafford said.
"She doesn't need a babysitter, Law," said Dio. "Stay with me and chick watch. There's a lot of hot ladies in here tonight."
Chloe pretended she didn't hear that. "I'll be fine, Strafford. But keep a look out for me anyway? Just in case I'm wrong?" She saw Dio roll his eyes but she ignored him.
"You know I will, Red," Strafford replied. The corners of his mouth turned up for her, making her smile in return. With that, she made her way down to the main level.
The iceys made a path for her. With the eyes of Dio watching them, who would dare stand in her way? She got a few ugly looks, mostly from maenads, but even those didn't carry the harshness they could have had he not been watching.
Prophecy of the Most Beautiful Page 32
