by S. E. Babin
The smirk grew into a full on grin. “But you aren’t,” he said with glee. “Your little stunt with Hades got you tossed out on your ass.”
I stood up straight and studied him warily. I remained silent.
“You no longer have the circle of Olympians to help you.”
It didn’t matter. I still had Hades. This was bad news, but it didn’t affect my power. Or anything really.
Cupid leaned back against his disgusting couch and I couldn’t help but picture little bugs making themselves at home in his immaculately groomed hair. A gag started at the back of my throat.
“Ah,” he said as he scratched the side of his face. “I see you don’t quite understand the ramifications here. It may not bother you that Zeus has disowned you. But…” he paused dramatically.
I did the only thing a girl could do. I sent a power burst through my veins and picked the little worm up by this throat. “Spit it out or I’ll cut you and bleed you dry.”
Fear slithered behind his eyes, but it didn’t fully extinguish the smirk. He wiggled some, but his feet were off the ground so it ended in an ineffectual wobble. His eyes bulged as I cut off his airway. When I saw his mouth start to move like a fish gasping for water, I slightly adjusted my hold to let him breathe. A little.
“Artemis is included.”
I wasn’t following. “What?”
He rolled his eyes. “You ditz. Artemis is no longer included in the circle of Twelve. She’s banished. Kaput. Finito. Over and out.” He made a slashing motion across his throat.
I dropped him.
He rubbed his throat, an expression of glee all over his face. “So now you see. Artemis has no protection. No one to save her.”
Why in the world would Zeus tell me this if he had banished us both? And why didn’t either of us get the memo?
Ah. Yes. Because I’d unceremoniously screwed Hermes. Keto was gone and Clotho was out of touch with Zeus usually. Hermes had known all along. It was apparent we were officially dunzo. Still didn’t explain why Zeus told me, though. Had his heart warmed up some?
I blew out an annoyed breath and watched the grin spread across Cupid’s face as he mistakenly thought he’d won. Like I’d ever leave Artie to someone else’s devices. Especially since I was the one who screwed her over with my stupid whims and political ignorance. I leaned over and kicked the crap out of him.
“Untrue, slime ball. She has me.” I hauled him up by his stupid white gangster suit. “You have exactly ten seconds to tell me where she is before I start cutting.”
Twenty minutes later I’d changed back into myself, thank goodness. Wearing Artie was hard. We were somewhere in the Olympian forest. As it turned out, once Stupid Cupid realized I didn’t care about being banished, and I wasn’t going to dump a friend who had no protection, he folded like a cheap suit. The immortals needed some lessons in loyalty. While the majority of us may have left her to the whims of others, that wasn’t what friends did and I was no longer that person. I loved Artie. And I was pretty sure she loved me. At least for now.
It was quite possible she was going to hate me once she realized what had happened, but by the gods I was at least going to save her first.
Immense trees blocked out most of the starlight leaving me to rely on my night vision to both see where I was going and keep up with the bumbling Cupid. He knew if he took one step out of line I was going to shish kebab him. I still hadn’t been able to get out of him why he wanted her, but I’d worry about that more once I saw that Artie was okay.
As we made our way up to the door I wondered why he’d chosen this place. It was hidden, yes, but anyone flying over could sense this place. It was a strange spot for someone supposedly so sneaky.
Cupid opened the door without saying a word and there was my friend, handcuffed with magic dampening ties and very, very pissed off.
But even worse than that were the four other women sitting beside her. I spared a death glare for Cupid as I entered the cabin.
Artie’s nostrils flared. Violet eyes flashed. “It took you long enough!”
I grinned. “I was making cookies with Clotho.”
She opened her mouth to say something, gave me a quizzical look, then shut it.
“Seriously,” I said.
Artie snorted and held her hands up. “It had to be something like that. I passed most of the time wondering what weird ass excuse you were going to have.”
I pulled Cupid over by the shirt collar. “Cut the cuffs.”
He cringed and shrank away. “She’s going to kill me.”
Artie stared at him like a hunter looks at delicious prey.
I shrugged. “I’d say you deserved it. Free her before I kill you myself.”
Cupid undid the magical lock and braced himself. Artie stood to her full height, rubbed her wrists and took a couple of steps toward the poor guy. She seemed no worse for the wear. Still didn’t explain why he wanted her in the first place.
She pulled him by the ear. “You got what you wanted. Free them. Now.”
I blinked. How did he get what he wanted? Once again, I was lost.
“She hasn’t helped me yet!”
Artie still hadn’t let go of his ear. “Have you asked her nicely?”
“Excuse me,” I interjected. “Asked who what?”
“He wants a wife,” Artie said.
I stared at Cupid, then looked over to the cuffed and blindfolded women. All of them except one appeared to be mortal. Anger, full and immense, blossomed within me. Artie had been a ruse to get me here. “Why should I help you?” I asked between clenched teeth.
One of the women whimpered. I kneeled down beside her and stroked her hair. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
The woman’s dirty hands reached for my own. Blood and cuts covered them and I swallowed down bile as my gaze lifted and met Cupid’s.
He didn’t seem sorry at all.
But I was going to make him that way.
Terrible magic filled my body. Wind flew through the cabin, lifting my hair with violent bursts of energy. Cupid raised one hand up to cover his eyes from the light flashing through my body. Dual-colored magic whirled from my fingertips. I’d gladly go to trial if it meant protecting the world from creeps like him.
A cage slammed down from above and hurled me to the ground. My magic went out with a poof. Artie’s startled shout rang out and all I saw before passing out was a huge burst of violent, emerald green nature magic coming toward the bars of my prison.
I came to sore, stiff, and unnerved. I sat up and cautiously looked around. A glass of ambrosia and a helping of crackers sat close to me. I ignored it and waited to see who had done it. Cupid had thoroughly tricked me, it seemed. I was annoyed at myself for falling victim to his petulant act. He better hope he’d managed to get away from Artie before she got a hold of him. There was a sadistic streak running through my friend’s veins. Nature versus nurture. Artie had never known a calm or normal childhood with parents like she had. She was more apt to stomp heads first, ask questions later. And sometimes...like right now, I really appreciated that about her.
Dike appeared in my field of vision and I groaned.
How had I not seen this coming?
“Nice to see you awake,” she gloated.
She’d changed out of the Medusa costume and was wearing something surprisingly human. A pair of jeans, sneakers, and an old Nike shirt. In other circumstances, her punny humor would have made me snort. Now I just wanted to punch her in her stupid, gorgeous face.
“Gosh, I hadn’t expected to take a nap, either. Must have been those enormous giant bars slamming me into the ground. I would have rather had a glass of warm milk, you know, but I guess I’ll forgive your slight this time.”
She made a tsking noise. “Your humor. So dry and sarcastic. There’s a time and a place for it, I’m sure. But it isn’t here.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m assuming I’m here because of Hermes. I’ve never
pissed you off. Never stepped on your toes. I’ve never even really concerned myself with you.”
Well...I had totally ditched her as a work partner, but Hades couldn’t have expected anything different. Plus, she didn’t want to work with me either so the feeling was definitely mutual. In my defense, there hadn’t been anything to work on together.
“Call off your challenge,” she said.
I stared at her closely and saw the strain around her mouth and eyes. I leaned back against the bars of my cage and let the laughter at the absurdity of this situation out. Deep bursts of hysterical laughter rang from my mouth, so loud and high I couldn’t control it.
“Enough,” Dike snapped.
“It’s not the first time I’ve ever been caged!” I hooted with laughter and held my sore sides.
“I’m warning you!”
But I couldn’t stop my laughter. Months of frustration and almost dying burst from me noisily. Tears ran down my face and still I laughed.
Electricity jolted me. I lost control of my muscles and fell over sideways.
All I could do was blink and even that hurt.
“Told you,” she said viciously.
“Gnnggggg,” I mumbled, unable to form the words I wanted to say.
“Ah, excuse me?” she said in a cheery voice.
I’m going to kill you, I thought.
“I’ll just leave you here for awhile and let you ponder your options.” The light flicked off, plunging me into absolute darkness.
Minutes passed, and then hours, and the electricity finally seeped from my body allowing me to sit up. I scooted away from the bars of the cage and into the middle.
Obviously, Dike had made a terrible mistake and fallen in love with Hermes.
I sighed. Although I had no love for her, I knew the lengths someone would go in order to steal the affections of someone they loved. So she wanted me to call off the challenge.
I would. If I could. But my word wasn’t to Hermes, it was to Typhon. In the world of the immortals, you didn’t walk away from something like that. We may be the sneaky sort and apt to cheat and lie our way out of things, but I couldn’t drop this without losing face with everyone. Plus, Typhon was my friend.
All she had to do was wait for Hermes to fail to show up. He hadn’t been involved in the initial deal and I’d arrogantly volunteered him. Even if I couldn’t call it off, Hermes not showing up would effectively kill it. I’d be stuck with Typhon in a probably loveless marriage, but I liked the guy.
It could be worse.
I could get stuck with Hephaestus again.
I shuddered in distaste.
Dike could go smell her sneakers for all I cared. I wasn’t going to help her. If I could figure out a way from a dungeon, I could figure out how to get out of this cage even if I had to Shawshank the crap out of it.
Fortunately, Luck was smiling upon me today.
Literally.
The soft whisper of wings caught my attention and I looked up only to see a tiny woman floating above me. Sparkles poured from her wings.
“I see you’re in another pickle,” the tiny voice proclaimed.
“Fortuna,” I acknowledged and tried not to sound too grateful. I wasn’t sure what she wanted but you didn’t last long in this world by expecting things for nothing.
“Aphrodite.”
I didn’t ask why she was in the guise of a fairy. Wasn’t sure I wanted to know, really. All I was concerned with was getting out of here. I didn’t think Dike was going to kill me, but I did think she’d keep me here until I agreed to her terms.
Which meant I’d be here until I withered into a husk because that bitch could go choke herself.
I said nothing further and waited for her to tell me why she was here. A small flame of hope began low in my belly. The Goddess of Luck never showed up to gloat. She was here for a reason and one that might be in my favor.
She flew down from her perch above me and alighted on my dirty knee. “You are a very fortunate woman. This is the second time in only a few months you’ve been caged by someone who hates you.”
“What can I say?” I muttered. “I’m a popular gal.”
One teeny little perfect brow arched. “I wouldn’t go that far, dear.” Sparkles of magic piled on my knee into a tiny pile and if I blew it, Fortuna would be covered in glitter. And that would amuse me. Because I was stuck in a cage.
Seeing my look, she snapped a tiny finger and made it disappear.
I couldn’t help my look of dismay. Why was it everyone took away my entertainment options when I was trapped in a cage?
Fortuna rolled her eyes. “A friend of yours has paid my fee. When I leave here, your cage will be opened and your powers restored. Do not squander this opportunity.”
Dread filled me. “Who paid your price?”
She shrugged. “It is not for me to say.” She burst into flight and hovered at eye level. “Do not kill Dike, no matter how much you wish to. She plays a pivotal part later.”
I sighed. “Stupid prophecies.”
But Fortuna didn’t say I couldn’t hurt her. She winked at me and disappeared from my site.
And she knew it. I grinned at my sudden good fortune. I’d try to find out later who had hooked this girl up, but right now, I had to get out of here and jack up a brunette.
A lock I didn’t know existed snicked open and the door creaked loudly. I cursed under my breath and stepped out, immediately feeling the magic roaring back in my veins. I cloaked myself under a shield and quietly opened the door to the room I was in.
I snickered silently to myself as I stepped out. How dumb was Dike to have brought me to her house? Or I assumed it was her house. Piles of paper and legal books spilled out onto the kitchen table. This had to be her home.
Even though I was invisible, I could still make noise so I tried to tiptoe quietly through the house. I was going to find her if it killed me.
I perked up at the sound of voices. Dike was talking to someone. I stepped closer to a closed door and leaned in to listen.
“I don’t know why you won’t ask her,” she whined. “She’d do it if you asked her.”
“She won’t. We’ve already spoken about it. This is not your concern.”
I froze. Hermes was here.
“It is my concern. You’re mine now. I don’t want another woman getting between us.”
Hermes snorted in derision and I cringed for her. “I am no ones. You are a distraction. A beddable, pliable woman. Nothing more.”
Oh. Snap. Hermes sure could be a prick when he wanted to be. His tone hurt my heart. I had done that to him, I knew. She was merely a victim.
But even if you’re a victim you don’t force someone into a magic dampening cage.
That’s just wrong.
I slammed open the door with a burst of power and lassoed Dike in a coil of magic. I directed the other half of my concentration at Hermes to keep him in place. I didn’t think he would hurt me, but I wasn’t taking any chances with either one.
“What the hell? Abby?” He tried to step forward and when he couldn’t he speared me with one of the glares I’d so gotten used to.
“Sorry,” I murmured. “Let me deal with this and I’ll let you go.”
One golden eyebrow rose in curiosity before he gave me a short nod. He crossed his arms and waited.
Dike bucked against my magic.
“Stop,” I told her.
She didn’t.
I zapped her with more magic. Nothing. She screeched and bucked and squirmed, making it harder for me to hold on to her. But as she did, I noticed something.
Something that made me very, very relieved. I had liked Dike before all this, but love can make you stupid. Her fascination with Hermes had been fast and quick which didn’t seem at all like the bright-eyed sassy girl who had visited me just a few short months ago.
But you know what else besides love made you stupid? Well...stupider, I guess.
A love spell.
Stupid Cupid had hoodwinked us all. And I knew the dark-haired jackass behind it all.
Zeus.
I pursed my lips and thought furiously. She wasn’t going to stop until I found and destroyed the spell.
“Hermes.”
One eyebrow rose. He was staring at me like I was a bug he smashed under his shoe.
I rolled my eyes. “I need your help and I need you to not ask questions.”
I relinquished a little bit of my hold on him and he immediately threw his arms up in annoyance. “Oh no you don’t, you little minx. Don’t get me involved in your crazy issues!”
I snorted, half in amusement and half because I was pissed off. Dike was over here bucking like a rodeo bronco and screeching like a harpy and he was refusing to do something that could only help him.
“Hermes!” I snapped. “Dike is the goddess of justice and morality. Didn’t you think it was a little bit strange she was so wrapped up in you? Do you think it’s in her nature to hook up with people, willy-nilly?”
His arms fell as he considered. Hurt flickered over his face at my words but his expression slowly settled into one of stunned realization. “Release me,” he snapped after a moment.
“With your word you will not hurt me.”
Hermes glared at me. “If I wanted to hurt you, you’d be dead a hundred times over. Release. Me.”
I let go of the magic holding him and focused the rest on Dike.
“What in the Hades happened?” he asked me as he called forth his Caduceus.
“Payback, I think,” I said.
“From whom?” He wrapped Dike in his magic allowing me to release her.
“Thanks.” I wasn’t going to answer his question.
“Abby.” His tone was short. Hermes was irritated with me. Which was the usual state of things. Normally it was an exasperated but fond sort of irritation. Today it was sheer, aggravated annoyance. Hermes was done with my shenanigans and I couldn’t say I blamed him.
I shut my eyes, focused on my magic and tried to hone in on the bright red spot placed smack in the middle of Dike’s chest. A powerful love spell from the looks of it. In the exact shape of an arrow head. Cupid’s mark. I owed that guy a visit once this was all done.
