"Oh, that's sad," I said, pointing to the jewel. "He can't even be bothered to get you jewelry himself, he gets humans to do it for him. 'I've got this thing leftover from one of the tasks, I suppose I might as well give it to the old ball and chain - that'll keep her mouth shut for a bit'. You're bought and paid for, Hera. I'm about to die and even I feel sorry for you."
The rage in Hera emanated from her now like heat. Maybe making her angrier wasn't the best idea but she was going to kill me no matter what, and at least this way I gave the guys time to regroup. They all attacked her at once this time, careless of the beating they had already taken. For a moment, the strength of all three of them seemed to be enough to hold her, but in the next moment, a bright flash of light burst from Hera's body, sending all three of them flying. This time, they would not be getting up in a hurry.
"Nice try." She actually sounded a little impressed. Which changed nothing. "Any last words?"
I thought about it for a second. Did I have anything profound to say? Anything emotionally satisfying? Or did I prefer to die as I had lived; as a wise-ass?
I smiled at Hera. "You can kill me, but I still won. That's gotta suck."
Hera snarled. "I'll admit it hurts, but not as much as this is going to."
She raised her hands above me, but as she did so, a flash of lightning rent the sky behind her, followed by a peal of thunder louder than any I had ever heard. Through the bright split that had opened up in the heavens, I saw two silhouettes of chariots, galloping down from the sky towards us. The cavalry had arrived, but I had no idea whose side they were going to be on.
Zeus and Poseidon landed and stepped out of their chariots. I could see the anger on their faces and wondered if it was directed at Hera or me. I soon found out.
"How dare you interfere in my game?" growled Zeus at his wife.
Game? I was dying over here and he was calling it a game? Even though Zeus had apparently saved me, I was still pretty pissed.
"You interfere with mortals all the time," Hera countered.
"Interfering with mortals is one thing," said Zeus. "We're gods, it's what we do. But you interfered with my affairs, and that is something else entirely."
"It was Dolos who interfered first," Hera argued back again. "I was just stopping him from affecting the outcome of your game. Your brother will back me up."
I looked at Poseidon. When I had visited Olympus, he had been the one with the most animosity towards me – frankly, I had thought him the most likely candidate for the god who was trying to kill me. If my fate now rested with him, then I was as good as dead already.
But, to my surprise, the god of the sea shook his sea weedy head firmly. "No. Dolos did interfere but only to counter the interference of Hera, to redress the balance as she tried to kill the girl, Cat."
Even through pain and the gradual seeping away of my life, that made me sit up and take notice. Dolos, my father, had been helping me. The truck that had saved me after the fire escape came crashing down, the dog catcher who had mysteriously appeared and disappeared - those had been him. Perhaps I should have been less surprised - the god of tricksters was bound to appear in disguise - but my opinion of him had been so set on hatred that I had never really considered the possibility that he might help me in any capacity.
"Is this true?" asked Zeus.
I wasn't sure who he was talking to at first, but then I saw a bird - a crow, I think, but I'm no ornithologist - perched on one of the walls. As I watched, the bird grew and changed shape. Its feathers retreated to be replaced by clothes until there, seated casually on the wall, was a man - a god - and one that I recognized, as his portrait hung in his apartment back in New York. That was the first time I saw my father in the flesh.
"It's true, mighty Zeus," said Dolos. "I helped my daughter, but only to level the playing field after Hera's meddling."
Zeus looked back at his wife. "Go back to Olympus and wait for me. I shall decide how best to punish you for your actions."
Hera looked crestfallen as she vanished, and for a brief moment, I felt sorry for her - being married to Zeus probably wasn't easy, and Olympus struck me as a pretty sexist place. On the other hand, she had tried to destroy the human race and kill me.
"Women," muttered Zeus, after his wife was gone, reinforcing my opinion about Olympus and its inhabitants. "Now, Cat, I... Are you alright down there?"
"She has been injured, mighty Zeus," said Alexei, only just managing to get back to his feet after Hera's last assault.
"Oh," said Zeus, quite surprised. "She should have said something."
He waved a hand and my pain vanished. I looked at my side as I sat up and found the wound gone.
"How did that happen?" asked Zeus.
"The Minotaur," I replied.
"Oh, yes, almost forgot." Zeus's arm stretched out across the sky and dipped down to ground before retracting, holding the Minotaur between finger and thumb. "Home you go." He pushed the Minotaur towards the basement of the palace and it vanished.
"The maze burned," I volunteered.
"Another will appear," replied Zeus. "Labyrinth's grow to suit the Minotaur. He brings his home with him. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. You won."
Although I had known that the tasks were completed, I was still waiting for some other trick, some small thing I had done wrong, some technicality on which I might have failed. To hear Zeus say that I had won was a moment of pure elation.
"Earth may have another hundred years," Zeus continued. "For the sake of humanity, I hope another hero like you can be found then."
"Is there nothing we can do in the meantime to prevent another set of tasks?" I asked.
Zeus looked surprised. "Well, I suppose if you started taking better care of the world then, maybe, I might consider it. It would be nice if you all went back to sacrificing to your gods but I suppose that's too much to hope. But do you seriously think you can change people's attitude to the world they live in?"
"If anyone can, she can." To my surprise, it was Poseidon who spoke. He turned to me. "I saw you with the orca. I felt your love for it. If a human can feel that way then perhaps there is hope for you yet."
Zeus nodded his head solemnly. "Well, then. Cat, you are by birth a demi-god, you will now be recognized as such. It is a status that comes with great responsibility. You must earn it by your actions. You have the power to make the world a better place, use it wisely." He glanced at Alexei, Christoph and Nico, who stood nearby. "I also give you these human effigies as your companions, to do with as you please and help you in your quest. You have taken on a task far larger than those which I imposed upon you, I hope you will rise to it. Come, brother."
Zeus and Poseidon started back towards their chariots.
"Wait!" I yelled. The gods turned back. "I need a favor."
Zeus's eyebrows raised. "I have saved your life, granted humanity a respite and made you a demi-god, and you're asking for more?"
"Yes, please," I said. "My mother was driven insane by the actions of Dolos..."
"Then Dolos can fix it."
Dolos got down from his wall to speak. "I would if I could. But my powers do not extend that far."
Zeus shrugged. "It sounds as if your argument is with your father. It is not the first time his arrogance and ego have gotten him into trouble and I doubt it will be the last. I am not a coin-operated wish machine, here to put right the mistakes of Dolos."
"But... please..." I begged, but Zeus simply shook his head.
"Mighty Zeus," as I was giving up all hope I saw my father drop to his knees. Zeus looked almost shocked at the action. "I know my actions have angered you over the years. I have not shown you the respect due to your exulted station. Now, I will. I prostrate myself before you." He dropped to his belly. "I have been selfish and stupid, I have put my own pleasures before the dignity of Olympus and before my duty to you, my King. But please, I beg of you, do not let my actions stop you from helping one who asks so little. A human only gets one mother. And
with a father like me, she needs hers all the more."
Zeus stared at the prostrate Dolos awhile, then looked back to me. He then gave a little movement of his head, barely even a nod, and said, "There. Her mind is her own again."
With that, and without another word, he and Poseidon rode off into the sky, leaving me with the guys and with my father.
Alexei read my face accurately. "We'll wait by the car."
I turned to face Dolos. Then, I slapped him, as hard as I could.
Chapter 19
Dolos rubbed his cheek. "I guess I had that coming."
"Thank you. For..." I couldn't even form the words, I had so many emotions warring inside me. But gratitude had somehow displaced anger all of a sudden.
Dolos nodded. "I did it for her as much as for you. And for myself, as well. As you may have gathered, I do most things for myself." He shrugged. "It's in my nature. Gods have very little say in who they are."
"Are you looking for sympathy?"
"I'm not saying there aren't upsides - eternal life, immense power - but if you're the god of tricksters then you are a bit of bastard whether you like it or not." He shook his head. "Anyway, you shouldn't be thanking me. If I could have helped your mom, I would have done so years ago. It wasn't my contrition that changed Zeus's mind, it was you."
"Me?"
"He likes humans, especially strong ones. Especially strong women. Come to think of it," he pulled a face, "I know I'm a little late to pull the whole 'Dad' thing, but try not to be seduced by any swans or bulls or shafts of light; it's probably Zeus."
I couldn't help smiling.
"I really would have helped her before if I could," he murmured. "She's a remarkable woman, your mother. An extraordinary capacity to love."
"Then why did you leave her?"
Dolos stared at the ground. "Because I have no capacity to love. God of bastards, right here. When women become attached, I move on. But your mom... You can believe me or not, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, but with her it was harder. I kept track of her, kept looking back. I saw the two of you together and knew what I had thrown away. That's not something I often do. It doesn't make it better. And certainly doesn't excuse what happened next."
"Why her?" I asked; why had he used my mom when he needed to contact someone to save mankind.
He shrugged. "She was ideal. She was strong, and she cared more deeply than anyone I had ever known." He shook his head. "If I had known the effect it would have on her mind, then of course we would never have done it. Never. But..." He paused a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I see now, that although I never meant to do her harm, I didn't try hard enough to prevent it. I never considered what might happen, and once it had happened, I never tried to help you. I cheated myself out of getting to know an extraordinary girl. It's hard to believe that you're my daughter."
"Not so hard," I admitted.
We sat in silence awhile before I spoke.
"I don't think I can forgive you."
"Good. That's how it should be. Gods shouldn't be forgiven their mistakes."
"I won't forget, either," I added. "You didn't have to help me in the trials. You didn't have to help my mom today. I won't forget and," I drew a deep breath. "I am glad you're my father."
The look of happiness on my dad's face was something to behold. "Really? Like, really?"
"Honestly? I don't know. I am who I am because of you. Oftentimes, I hate who I am, but it's who I am, you know?"
Dolos nodded. "I'll take that."
As we walked back towards the car, I felt Dolos nervously brush my hand, and I took it. The feeling of betrayal that would once have plagued me at even the notion of holding my father's hand was nowhere to be found, I had laid that ghost to rest.
"Sorry for taking your human effigies," I said. "Zeus just gave them to me."
"I'd have given them to you myself," Dolos replied. "On which subject; would you like the apartment?"
"Seriously?"
"Provided you keep my portrait," he said, adding, "it is, after all, stunning."
I laughed and Dolos went on.
"It's been my bachelor pad and... I'm not sure that's the life I want anymore. You'll put it to better use. And," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "seems like you'll need the space."
We could see the guys up ahead, waiting patiently for me by the car.
"They're not strictly human, you know."
I shrugged. "Nor am I, strictly.”
"You could do a lot worse."
"I don't think I could do any better."
"There's money in the bank, too," Dolos continued.
"You can't buy me, you know."
"I know, and that's the point," explained Dolos. "If you're going to change the world, then you'll need some cash to do it, as well as the guys' help. Changing the conscience of earth isn't an easy task. Zeus was right about that. I can't do it for you - anything I do turns bad because of my basic nature - but I can give you a good start."
"I won't let you down."
"Never mind me, don't let yourself down." He turned to face me and put a hand on my shoulder. "The world isn't full of bad people, but it is full of selfish ones, people who can't see the cost of their own pleasure, who don't get the harm they do by filling their pockets, who haven't the empathy to understand the misery of those they mistreat. I don't know if you can grift humanity out of its greed and selfishness, but if anyone can, then I daresay it's you."
"Will I see you again?"
"If you want. And in the meantime, I'll be watching."
He smiled at me, and for a moment I saw the truck driver who had saved my life, and the dog catcher who had saved my life, and the father I used to dream about when I was a little girl who would magically come back and make everything alright. Real life doesn't work like dreams, nothing is that simple, but as real life goes, this was pretty damn close to perfection.
Chapter 20
The voice of Remi from the other end of the phone almost deafened me with its enthusiasm.
"It happened last night. Or this morning. Or... I don't know. I don't know when, I don't know what but... She's talking, Cat, she's talking! And I know what you're thinking; she's talking nonsense, but she's not. She's lucid. She knows what's going on, where she is, what's been happening. She knows me, she knows you - she's asking for you. I've told her you're on vacation and you'll be back soon but get your ass back here now, Cat, like, right now. The doctors are calling this a miracle, like nothing they've ever seen. They don't know how long it's going to last but right now they can't find anything wrong with her. Can you hear me, Cat?"
"I can hear you," I replied, "I just couldn't get a word in."
"Your mom's okay. She's better."
For all the frantic ranting before, and for all that I knew this was happening and knew why, it was those few simple words that made the tears come, streaming down my face in an unstoppable torrent.
"Do you want to speak to her?"
Did I want to speak to her? I'd been wanting to have a proper conversation with my mom for the last fifteen years. I held my breath as the phone was brought to her bed - though she kept insisting she didn't need to be in bed anymore, the doctors still insisted for the time being.
"Hello? Cat?"
It would be impossible for me to put into words what the following conversation meant to me, even though I can't actually remember anything either of us said. I think there was a lot of crying, but I also think there was a lot of banality; how are you enjoying your vacation? What's the weather like out there? For a great part, those are the things you miss - the everyday nonsense, the meaningless stuff, the nothings. To be able to talk about nothing to my mom and have her respond with similar nothing was the greatest gift I had ever been given. We could never get back the years we had lost, but we had a lifetime in front of us, and it was going to be a fucking happy one.
We talked until my phone battery gave out and said goodbye with me swearing that I would see her soo
n. The journey back from Crete was an easy one but it took as long as it took - even we demi-gods are subject to the whims of travel.
I hung up the phone and cried for a while, happily to myself. When I was done, I looked out of the window. The world was still there, and no one else knew how close it had come to not being. And maybe, just maybe, I could ensure its safety for longer still. I had always known what I had to do with my life; I had to keep my mom safe and well, I had to pay for her treatment no matter the cost. That goal was now gone, but I already had a new one.
"It's official," announced Nico, coming into my hotel room, "we are no longer the servants of Dolos, we are servants of Cat. And very happy about it."
"You're my servants?" My life lately had been one long parade of weirdness.
"At your command," said Alexei, and Christoph nodded.
"Then I set you free."
"What?" gaped Nico. "Don't you want us around?"
I laughed. "Of course, I do. I want you around more than anything else in the world. But not because you have to be. I want to know that you're free to go at any time. So I give you your freedom. What you do with it and where you go is up to you."
I was very glad that what they chose to do with that freedom was come across the room to kiss me. I was surrounded by my gorgeous men, their hard muscular bodies pressed against me, their lips on mine, and my hands traversing their bodies in a self-indulgent journey of exploration. It occurred to me that saving the world was something that deserved a celebration, and we had not had one yet.
"Why aren't we celebrating?" I asked.
"No champagne?" suggested Alexei.
"We don't need champagne." I danced away from them and bounced onto the bed and all three followed me, Alexei getting there first. I tugged him down on top of me, squirming my tongue into his mouth and wrapping my legs around him to rub myself against his firm body. Then I pushed him away and darted up to kiss Nico, while eager hands began to strip my clothes from my body. Rolling away from him, I fastened my lips to Christoph's, kissing him hard and deep as I began to undo his pants. There was strangeness to the second time we had all been together. That time had felt like a goodbye, acknowledging the fact that it might be the last time. This? This felt like a new beginning, it felt like the first time.
Her Immortal Harem Book Two Page 14
