by Marie Medina
He imagined chasing her and catching her. He wouldn’t ask her what she wanted. He would just take her, make her scream for mercy…or for more. He didn’t have the power to bring anyone to the Underworld as Hades had brought Persephone. He’d met many mortal women who suited his tastes, but Persephone’s power and influence were what he truly needed. Her sweet body under him would be a bonus as well.
He walked back into the maze. He had a few plans, but they weren’t ready yet. Take her? Seduce her? Trick her in some way? Whatever he decided, he would soon have her in his arms, and nothing would make him let her go.
* * * *
Hera had had enough. She threw her gloves against the wall. “It’s bloody freezing out there!”
Zeus absently looked out the window. “It’s snowing.”
“Yes, it is. It’s sunny everywhere else, but Mount Olympus is covered in snow!”
Zeus laughed. “I think you’ll live. Go to the mortal world for a few days.”
Hera sighed. “Oh, I don’t care about the weather. I want to know what’s happening.”
“Then send Persephone a message! We went over this last night.”
“That’s too obvious.”
“Can’t help you then.”
She smiled and walked over to him. “Maybe you can take my mind off it.” She ran her hand down to his cock, and he responded immediately. She loved the power she had over him. No matter how many girls and goddesses and nymphs he had, his appetite for her was constant.
“Perhaps a quickie.” He reached up and grabbed her long, dark ponytail, yanking it back. He stood up and bent her over the desk.
She sighed. “Why a quickie? I could do this with you all day.”
He pulled her coat off, and then pulled her skirt up. He reached into her panties and rubbed her clit. “I’ll tell you when we’re done.”
Her pussy was already growing wet as he rubbed her. She reached back and pulled her panties down.
He laughed. “Need it that badly?”
She sighed as he rubbed his cock against her entrance. “Don’t tease me now. You haven’t fucked me for days.”
He slid into her slowly. “You know, you’re right.” He pushed all the way into her.
She moaned as he rode her. So many people were pissing her off and annoying her lately. She needed this. Her pussy was tight and only a little wet, but she liked the roughness of it. His cock felt bigger and hotter.
He groaned. “Mmmm. You feel so good.”
“Harder. Faster.”
He did as she asked, and she soon cried out as she came. A few more thrusts and he followed her. He rubbed her ass as they both trembled and sighed, and then moved away from her. She demurely pulled her panties up and smoothed her skirt before kissing him on the cheek.
“Thank you, baby.”
He laughed. “Oh, anytime. Now, your son is here.”
“What does Ares want? I saw him last night.”
“No. Hephaestus.”
Her heart leapt. He hadn’t come to see her in years. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He slapped her ass. “Because seeing you so agitated made me realize that, as you said, I haven’t fucked you for days.”
She laughed loudly. “Well, we both needed it then. Where is he?”
“In your sitting room.”
She turned on her heels. “I’ll let you know if it’s anything interesting.”
“Interesting and Hephaestus don’t really go together.”
She shot him a warning glance when she reached the door. “Maybe I won’t tell you then.” She stomped down the hall.
“I’ll live, I’m sure!” she heard him yell after her.
* * * *
Hera burst into her sitting room and saw no one.
“Hephaestus?” she called.
He emerged from behind the door. “Looking at your books.”
She pulled him into a tight hug. “It’s been too long, darling. You know I’d come see you if you’d leave the entrance to your mysterious lair unlocked more often,” she said jokingly.
“I like my privacy.”
For what, I’ll never know. She smiled lovingly at him.
“How are you?” she asked.
“I’m fine.”
She waited for him to elaborate. He wasn’t much of a talker in the first place so he often needed encouragement. “And?”
“It’s a little cold up here.”
Hera groaned as she sat on the couch and motioned him to sit by her. “Have you heard what’s happening?”
“Yes,” he replied as he sat down.
“And what do you think?”
“Hades knows what he wants, and he’s going after it. I see no problem with that.”
She gave him a quizzical look. “I think they’ll be good for each other, but I think he went about it all wrong.”
“He tricked her, didn’t he? She can’t leave?”
Hera nodded. “Yep. She’s at his mercy.”
“I’m sure she’s fine.”
“I’m more worried about him. If she’s pissed off, it’s going to be very cold down there as well.”
Hephaestus nodded.
“So what do you want? You must have some news.”
“More a request.”
“Yes?”
“What would you say if I told you I wanted to marry someone?”
Hera was very glad she was sitting down. She bit her lip hard to contain her reaction, something between laughter and an undignified gasp.
Her son raised his eyebrows.
“Um…well…don’t you need a girl first? I mean, are you saying you’re in love with someone?”
“Yes, I am.”
She closed her eyes and smiled. This time she let her loud reaction come out because it was a happy one. “Who is she?” she asked, her voice rising a few octaves. She beamed at him as she clasped her hands together.
“Here comes the request part.”
“What? Tell me who she is.”
“I want your permission to marry.”
“You don’t need my permission or anyone else’s.”
He smiled patiently. “I want your permission to marry,” he repeated, “someone you will not see until our wedding day.”
Her smile faded. “Why?” she asked flatly.
“Because if she won’t marry me, I don’t want anyone to know who she is.”
Hera felt very confused. “Is she mortal? Is she already married? Why does it matter?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Gods, you’re here to drive me crazy too! Ares is finally happy, and it’s wonderful. Now you tell me you’re in love and won’t tell me who? Why are you here?”
He looked at her for a few moments. “I suppose I wanted you to know. Will you be happy if I’m happy?”
“Yes, of course!”
“Then say you will come to our wedding, if it happens.”
“If? If she says no, you talk to Aphrodite. She owes you something for cheating on you. I’m glad you stood up to her. She needed to be dumped by a decent man. Ares never counted because they’d be back in each other’s bed within two days. Being dumped by him had very little impact.”
Hephaestus shrugged. “I’m at peace with all that. It was a long time ago.”
“I know. I’m just saying. She owes you.”
After a moment, he asked, “You wouldn’t go to her for me?”
Hera didn’t hesitate. “No. We aren’t on the best of terms right now.”
He nodded. “Because of Ares.”
“Yes. She could’ve killed him. She needs to stop using magic. Sex is the only thing she’s good at.”
“That’s a little unfair. Last I remember she was your closest friend.”
“Sorry, maybe so, but I still think it’s true.”
He remained silent.
“You thinking about your girl?”
He took a deep breath. “Yes. I haven’t talked to her for a while.”
“Ho
w long is that?”
“Only a few days, but it’s felt like longer.”
“Then go see her. I promise not to spy. I wouldn’t let Ares get away with this, but you wouldn’t do this if you didn’t have a good reason.”
He nodded and said nothing.
She couldn’t resist though. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me?”
He stood up. “I’ll come see you again soon.”
She resisted pouting. He hadn’t had to come tell her anything, but he’d taken the chance and told her at least part of what was going on. “All right.” She hugged him and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
He squeezed her hand. “I love you too.”
She squeezed back and then watched him walk away. She waited until his footsteps had faded and then dashed to the secret panel. She had to find Zeus and hoped he was still where she’d left him. She’d promised not to spy. She hadn’t promised not to tell.
Chapter Six
Demeter glared at Hades. They were standing in her kitchen, and she wore a plain blue dress under a plain white apron. Her dark auburn hair was in a bun at the nape of her neck. In her hand she held a barbeque fork. She didn’t look much like a goddess, but Hades couldn’t help being a bit afraid of her at the moment.
“I want her back!”
Hades held up his hands in surrender. “You have to wait eighty-five more days. I can’t change that.”
Demeter sank the fork into the table. “Zeus is going to pay for not punishing you!”
Hades looked at the ice on the window. “I’m sure he already is. So are lots of other people.”
“Best way to get people’s attention. Men who abduct naïve young girls should be made to answer for it.”
Hades tried to control his temper. “She’s been around for more than a few hundred years. She’s hardly a barely legal innocent.”
Demeter turned away and furiously stirred some vegetables.
“Demeter, she said she wanted to run away with me. She didn’t realize quite what she was asking for.”
“You can say that but deny she’s innocent and naïve?” She stopped stirring and slammed the spoon down on the stove. “You’re going to have to do better than this.”
“I am in love with her,” he said slowly. “She will be my queen. No goddess but Hera will be above her. She will gain some of my powers in addition to her own. What better match do you propose?”
Demeter didn’t answer.
“Eros is married. Hermes and Ares will be soon enough. Poseidon’s taken too. I’m sure you can’t mean to marry her to Apollo. He’s the god of the sun and loves nature, but see there’s this tree that might get in his way…”
Demeter shoved him.
He was taken aback. She hadn’t hit him, she’d just shoved him. It hadn’t even hurt. And she was crying.
Oh Zeus protect me. He was not good with anyone crying, especially a woman. “Demeter, please.”
She cried harder.
“Couldn’t you just throw knives at me?” He reached out to touch her shoulder, but then he stopped. He didn’t have sisters, and he hadn’t really had a mother. The Titan Rhea had watched over all of them in the days when mortals had first appeared, but Zeus’ rise to power had caused such a schism the Titans had abandoned them completely after many long battles, taking with them the secrets of how everything began. It wasn’t an upbringing that could have helped anyone relate to others. He had gone to the Underworld, and Poseidon had gone to the sea while Zeus ruled the land. It seemed very long ago, but it was constantly on his mind lately.
He realized Demeter was staring at him.
She wiped a few tears away. “You’re not exactly with me. You might want to work on that too.”
“Do you remember when you were born?” he asked.
She looked at him as if the question made no sense. “Most people don’t, you know.”
He gathered his thoughts. “Because they were babies. We were never babies. None of the six of us. I knew no one else besides all the Titans, Zeus and Poseidon. Then you, Hera, and Hestia were just…there. You just existed.”
Demeter folded her arms over her chest. “The supernatural tends to work that way. Has any priest figured out where his god came from?”
“You believe in god? Singular case and capital ‘G’?”
She rolled her eyes, and she reminded him of Persephone for a moment. “Have you ever left Earth? Been to another planet? Been to the moon? Since Artemis hasn’t, I doubt you have.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Do people believe in us?”
“Not really.”
“Then maybe there are things you aren’t meant to know just as there are things mortals aren’t meant to know. Do you remember being born?”
He shook his head.
“Then are we going to talk about cosmic mysteries or my daughter?”
“Your daughter. I’m sorry. Thoughts like that keep distracting me lately.”
“So my daughter is your…what? Mid-eternity crisis?”
Hades sat down at the giant kitchen table. “No. Why don’t you ask me the only question that matters?”
Demeter slowly turned the gas burners off, and then equally slowly moved the skillet and the pot on the front burners to the back burners. She wiped her hands on her apron, and then she took it off before sitting across from him. “Is my daughter still a virgin?”
“Yes.”
“Have you touched her at all?”
He knew better than to hesitate. “Yes.”
“Will she marry you?”
He couldn’t believe how calmly she asked. “Demeter, I don’t know. If I knew, I’d either have left her alone or already married her.”
Tears were forming in Demeter’s eyes again. “How can she be happy down there? She needs life. She can’t live in a dead world.”
“My world is a place for the dead, but it is far from dead. It’s a beautiful place, Demeter. Would you like to see it?”
He stood up without letting her answer. He filled a bowl with water and set it before her. He touched the rim, and Persephone appeared in the bowl. She was in the rose garden. She touched a pink rosebush, and the blossoms turned yellow. She stepped back and looked around. Then she picked up a spade and started digging in a flowerbed next to it. She wore jeans and a plain blue t-shirt and no shoes. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was humming.
Demeter leaned forward and stared. “How can all that exist down there? There’s no sun.”
“There is light. Each day is half light and half dark, just as it is here.”
Demeter watched her daughter for a few more moments. She sat back and crossed her arms again. “Take it away.”
He did so, and then waited for her to say something else.
She sighed and softly said, “Go away. I want to think.”
“When shall I return?”
“I’ll let you know. Get out.” She stood quickly and left the room.
Her few moments of softening obviously hadn’t been enough to outweigh her anger, but he hadn’t expected that to happen anyway. He looked down at the bowl and saw Persephone again. She had a smudge of dirt on her cheek, and he wanted to wipe it away. He touched the rim and the image rippled away. He poured the water out and headed outside.
A cold wind whipped across his face. The heart of the storm seemed to have spread out from over Mount Olympus. The snow was coming down more furiously than it had been when he arrived. He didn’t like what that implied.
* * * *
Hera pulled the book out of Zeus’ hands. “Guess what?”
He turned to her and smiled, his arm going around her waist. “What?” he asked as he leaned in to kiss her neck.
She let him, for a moment, but then she pulled away. “Later. I have news.”
“Indeed?”
“Hephaestus is in love!”
Zeus narrowed his eyes. “With whom?”
“No idea!”
“And y
ou let him leave without telling you? I find that hard to believe.”
“He wants to marry her!”
“It’s been contagious lately.”
Hera laughed. “Oh, they all see how happy we are every couple of decades.”
He laughed too and pulled his wife closer. “So, what did he want?”
“He wants our permission to marry someone without telling us who first. If she says yes, we just show up!”
“And you gave your permission?”
“Yes. If he wants to marry her, she’s a good choice. He’s not like Ares. He doesn’t need to be beat over the head to notice a good woman.”
“So why won’t he tell you? That sounds like trouble.”
“When has Hephaestus ever caused us trouble?”
“I agree, but for now I reserve the right to be smug if something goes awry.”
“Whatever. He says he’s afraid she’ll say no.”
“Why is he afraid of that? What makes him think she might?”
Hera thought for a moment. Maybe she should have questioned him more, but she’d been so bowled over by his news.
“Hera?”
“Well, I got the impression they might not be in a relationship yet.”
“What? Has he gone off and fallen for a mortal?”
“I don’t think so. Something’s odd though. He seems reluctant to tell her how he feels. I don’t know. He was very vague.”
“That’s not like him. He’s usually straightforward about everything.”
“I know.” Hera knew Hephaestus didn’t go among mortals much, so it had to be someone in their own world. But she wasn’t exactly sure of his type. He’d been with Aphrodite, but that had just been about sex. He’d dumped her easily and gotten over her in no time. His disdain and dismissal of the beautiful goddess told Hera that. Who else had he been with? There had been a dark-haired nymph, but that hadn’t lasted long either. She groaned. “I think I’d be able to figure out my son’s type better if he had even the tiniest bit of personality.”
Zeus laughed. “Ask Aphrodite. She’ll know.”
“Will she tell me though? If it’s a secret, or if the girl doesn’t know, she might keep it to herself to let the Fates do their work.”