Out of Sanity Aphrodite (The Goddess Chronicles Book 7)

by S. E. Babin

  Chapter 7

  Hades was gone when I finally made it home. Parchment in hand, I was down several major challengers and I wasn't worried about too much about the other ones. From everything I knew they were minor gods. There were just a lot of them. Ares or Hermes would wipe them off the map. I needed to speak to Atlas though. I wasn't too surprised to see his name on the list, but I needed to make sure he understood exactly what he was getting into. We didn't have to name our champions until the day of the games, so my secret was still safe. I was dying to know who his was, and whether his choice had been influenced by Zeus, but I didn't think he'd be dumb enough to tell me. He was sneaky like that.

  I needed to find those rules. And fast.

  But first, a bubble bath. Bubbles made everything better.

  The next morning I woke up to the smell of pancakes.

  After our little stint in baking, Clotho had found a whole new love for my kitchen. Sometimes I woke up to simple dishes like oatmeal or muffins, sometimes I woke up to grand feasts.

  I was hoping today was one of the grand ones.

  I padded downstairs to see my honey-haired friend expertly flipping massive pancakes and bacon with both hands.

  I clapped in appreciation. "Yay, bacon!" I said and headed straight to the coffee pot.

  "Bacon burns easily," she grunted.

  "That's because it's full of fat," I told her. "Delicious fat."

  "Maybe they need to put them on a diet," she said.

  I glared at her. "You're entirely missing the point of bacon," I growled as I poured the cream inside of my coffee.

  "With a name like 'pig' it should be obvious," she argued.

  I sighed and sank down onto the barstool. "Just serve me the meat of the royal beast once it's done, please."

  "In some cultures, pigs are seen as dirty filthy unclean animals," she retorted. "Perhaps we should just scrape this into the trash."

  "Shut your dirty, rotten mouth," I told her even as I held my plate out.

  Once we both inhaled our food, I pushed my plate away. "Clotho -" I began.

  She interrupted me with a long and loud sigh. "You're going to ask me something I can't tell you the answer to."

  "You caannn," I said sweetly.

  She glared at me. "I can," she corrected, "but I'll be in a whole lot of trouble if I do."

  "All these rules. What good are they if no one can even find anything out?"

  "Abby, you're killing me this week. You can't always rely on me as a crutch. I've helped you more than I ever had the right to."

  I stuck my tongue out at her even as I knew she was right.

  Clotho rolled her eyes and took my coffee mug from me. She poured me a new cup and put it in front of me. "I suggest you do the legwork this time and rely on only yourself. You cannot trust anyone, Abs."

  I was reaching for my mug but stopped short. "Not even you?"

  "I can't help you with this. I know what's coming, and I can't step in."

  "Bad stuff?" I probed.

  Clotho snorted and stood. "Find out for yourself and remember. Be prepared for anything."

  I watched her thin frame as she left me kitchen.

  "Thanks a lot for nothing," I grumbled.

  "You're welcome!" she shouted back to me.

  I sipped my coffee in silence, grumpy for reasons I didn't know. I figured it was a long shot for Clotho to help me, especially after everything she'd done to help me find my way to Hecate. Artie had her own stuff to deal with.

  When I really thought about it, I was pretty good at solving my own problems. Although I did have to give Clotho some credit. She'd helped me out of jams way too many times, and if it hadn't been for her and the other Fates, I would have been dead several times over.

  Once I finished my coffee, I knew what I had to do.

  After I got dressed, that was. I couldn't risk another day running around in my jammies.

  I stood in front of Zeus' place, now technically Hermes'. Zeus still hadn't taken back full control yet, but the battles were shaping up to be pretty epic. There was already evidence of a major power struggle within. I hadn't seen Hermes in quite awhile now. Word had gotten back his father was keeping him pretty busy with shenanigans. Granted, Zeus' exile was only temporary so Hermes hanging on to power was an act equivalent to treason, but some of the gods saw it as good business. Hermes didn't like games. He was a pretty straightforward guy even though he was Zeus' son. Many people had grown tired of Zeus' cruelty and his iron-fisted rule. I saw some of his rule as a necessity. He could be cruel when the world needed it, and he could be kind when it was necessary. But I also understood that the times, they were changing. With the change came the possible need for a new ruler.

  Hermes was everything his father wasn't.

  Time would only tell how it would all turn out.

  To my left, the construction of the sports center was coming along nicely. I thought it was a huge waste of money, especially for something that would only take a few days. Zeus saw it as a necessary expenditure, especially since he also planned to use it again for my wedding.

  Typhon had told me that a few weeks ago with a wide grin. I swallowed down my heated retorts and merely responded with a "gee, that's nice." But I really wanted to get my hands around Zeus' throat and strangle him until he squealed.

  He and I had a weird relationship. On one hand I couldn't stand the guy. On the other, I held a strong fondness for him. He could be a gentle ruler, and I'd seen that side of him before. He'd been kind to me at times when I hadn't deserved it. And...he'd given me a way out if I ever wanted it. The mortality spell still lay silent and unused in my office. I don't know that I would ever use it. But it was still there, and he'd been the one who'd given it to me. Whether the reasons were altruistic or nefarious, I still didn't know.

  We could have used magic to build the center, but Zeus wanted a permanent establishment. It appeared I was the hottest media circus since...I didn't know when. All I knew was that this was going to be a total train wreck, and I'd be the one standing on the tracks about to be made into pate.

  Good times.

  I averted my eyes from the place that could signal my doom and headed into the palace, hopefully to find Hermes. I wasn't sure he'd help me because he had signed up to compete. We'd been building a tenuous friendship again, especially after the chaos we endured together in Tennessee. Maybe he'd see fit to throw me a bone.

  I was stopped five feet into the doors by two burly men wearing full armor. I was amused at first until I realized they were legitimately there to block me.

  "I'm here to see Hermes," I said even as I eyed alternate methods around them.

  "He is not to be disturbed," said one of the guards, a tall beefy guy who looked like maybe he'd eaten too many hot dogs from a roadside stand.

  "Says who?" I demanded.

  "By me," a deep voice said from the left.

  My shoulders sagged even as I recognized the voice. I sighed and turned. "Hello, Zeus."

  Emerald eyes glittered in amusement as they studied me. I hadn't seen him for awhile, but he looked better. The last time we saw each other he was looking a little haggard. Neither one of us had spoken about it, but I could tell he'd done...something to restore himself. I wasn't going to ask what it was. Sometimes those questions brought up serious moral dilemmas. "You're looking well," I added.

  "I could say the same for you," Zeus said and waved his guards off. They lumbered back to their respective posts. I glared at them in annoyance.

  "Was that really necessary?" I asked Zeus.

  "No," he grinned. "But it sure was fun."

  "I need to see your son," I said, making sure my voice was strong and unwobbly.

  "I'm sure you do. He's busy, though." Zeus studied his fingernails with boredom.

  "Zeus -" I began.

  "I know why you're here," he interrupted. "Neither Hermes nor Typhon will be assisting you with the games. You're 100% on your own, Aphrodite. We are no longer in kin
dergarten recess, my dear. This time I'm playing for keeps."

  I backed up a few steps. "What do you mean you?"

  "You know exactly what I mean. You'll marry the person of my choosing. It might not be Typhon, but it will be someone I've narrowed down." He took a step closer. "How'd you like that manifest?" He grinned at me like a wolf does a cornered sheep.

  Even though my heart was pounding, from his shit-eating grin I could tell he didn't know his wide list had been narrowed way down. Even though I realized his top choices were probably still on the list, he didn't realize everyone else had been wiped off by a simple rule violation. "It was more names than I'd seen in awhile," I offered. "But I'm sure I won't have an issue with most of them."

  His eyes flickered then, uncertain. Zeus probably didn't know everything I'd been through over the last few months. I hadn't offered up my parental shocker, and hopefully Hermes hadn't either. One thing I knew about my friend was that he liked to keep his secrets to the vest. He wouldn't offer up something like that on me unless there was major potential for it to be beneficial in some way to him. Even then I knew he wouldn't offer up everything. So Zeus could think he was in the clear, but I was confident that Hermes wouldn't stab me in the back.

  Yet.

  "Well, I'm sure you have something up your sleeve. Just like you always do. But be forewarned, Goddess of Love. You will belong to Olympus. Hades will come crawling for your hand, but it will be too late." His smile returned full-force. "He has too much pride to participate in the games. I think you know this, too."

  With a wave, Zeus disappeared from sight and his two guards came back down off their post to escort me out of the castle.

  Getting kicked out was a first for me. I had to find a different way.

  I walked down the steps and into the courtyard. Dryads, minor gods, and goddesses and servants filtered around me going back and forth about their daily business. I didn't recognize a soul. I started down the path to the castle gardens, but I caught a glimpse of a hooded woman wearing a blood red robe.

  When I turned fully to glimpse her, she was gone.

  I wasn't one to ignore things like this anymore so I changed direction and started walking toward the area where I'd seen her. Once I made it there and much closer to the sports center, a flash of red came almost too quick for me to see it. I followed directly into the center. I struggled to pull open the stone door, but once I put some magic into it, the door came wide open with a loud screech and groan. Stone. Of course. Wood wasn't good enough for most of the gods.

  In front of me, workers milled all over the place. Carrying stone and wood for the seating, and sand for the field, there wasn't a single person not occupied with some task. I sighed and started down toward the field. The woman in red had disappeared, but I really wanted to believe she'd led me here for a reason.

  I headed up the stairs to the left of me where the seating had already been built and saw another woman. Dark-haired and slight of figure, she sat with a rigid spine and a staff with a crystal holding its own light. I cursed inwardly even as my feet kept moving toward her.

  Aletheia. The Goddess of Truth.

  She only appeared when shit was about to get very, very real.

  Aletheia didn't speak for a moment after I sat beside her. She gathered her mundane brown robes around her and adjusted her long hair over one shoulder. With ancient eyes she stared at the construction.

  "So. It comes to me you've been forced to take part in a tournament for your hand in marriage." Despite her position, her voice was light. But even so, power pulsed from her. After all, few power was truer and more cleansing than the truth.

  Since everyone in Olympus knew of it, I only nodded. No need to go into the details.

  "And you are prepared?" She turned her face to me, and I flinched even as I shook my head. Her gaze rivaled the Fates. Dark amber and tinged with gold, her eyes were pools of knowledge, both good and bad.

  "You speak the truth, Aphrodite. Do you do so all the time?"

  I snorted. "Does anyone?"

  It was her turn to laugh. "I do. Always. It is both a blessing and a curse."

  We sat in silence before she sighed.

  "Do you know who sent me?"

  I thought about it. There was only one woman I knew who favored the color blood red. We were in an uneasy truce right now, quite possibly the beginning of a friendship, but sometimes I couldn't tell because she scared the crap out of me. "Atropos?"

  Her nod made me groan. Nothing Atropos dished out was bound to be fun.

  "Sometimes in our lives, we come to a crossroads. Our fate diverges into two paths. One full of destruction and one full of beautiful promise. But to get there, we must face those things we don't want to. Our hopes, our dreams, our flaws, our sins, our mistakes. Our truth. We are all so very good at lying to ourselves that when the truth comes, and it will, it comes at a terrible price."

  I wanted to run away and never look back. Maybe I could use that mortality spell and become a vagrant. Or a waitress. Or something where no one could ever find me.

  "Are you prepared to pay the price?" Aletheia asked.

  I swallowed hard. Was I? I didn't think so, but this had to lead me somewhere. Atropos didn't do things to make me miserable. Well...she did, but they usually ended in a massive discovery.

  I nodded.

  Aletheia touched me on the forehead, a light touch, but stars exploded in my mind.

  Hermes.

  He was the first one my truth touched. Golden and shining, handsome and warm, the scenes played from his point of view and not mine. All the times I shunned him without meaning to. All the times I refused to listen to his council because I was too bull-headed to accept his knowledge or his wisdom. His deep love for me. My confusion and weakness at letting him in.

  "I'm sorry," I whispered, but whether it was to him or myself I didn't know.

  He was always there, lingering in my shadow when I didn't know, watching over me. Lending a helpful hand without me realizing or whispering the right word into someone's ear. All of the horrible things I'd done came to bear today. And the last of it was the agreement with Typhon, but what was worse...so much worse, was when Aletheia opened the timeline.

  She allowed me to see the future with Hermes. I was Queen and he was King, and we sat on our thrones, two golden gods and peace reigned over Olympus.

  But...there were no children.

  No legacy. No heirs.

  And we never aged, but we loved each other for an eternity.

  I fell to my knees, the pain inside clenching my heart like a vise.

  "Stop," I whispered. "Please."

  The vision cleared and I sat upon the wooden seat like nothing had ever happened. I rose, but Aletheia placed a hand on my shoulder. "Truth is never that easy, Aphrodite. We are not finished."

  I sat there for what felt like hours, the tears drying on my face even as new ones shone in my eyes. But as the last vision and my mistakes came to bear, I knew that my life would never, ever be the same.

  Hades stepped into my picture and through our equivalent betrayals and fumbling, we'd learned to love each other. Even as she took me through the timeline, I realized that all of our mistakes had done nothing but lead us to each other. But when Aletheia led me to the games, the timeline hitched and stalled.

  I gripped her arm. "What happened?" I whispered. "Why did you stop?"

  A sad smile touched her face. "Some truths are not yet realized, Goddess, therefore there is no future to be had."

  I stared at her forlorn even as she disappeared from my sight.

  Moments later Dolos appeared and I sobbed with both despair and amusement. This was like the Greek's version of A Christmas Carol. But I wasn't a rich old man. I was an ancient woman with a film reel of mistakes and tragedy.

  Dolos didn't greet me kindly, and I was glad for that. The spirit of trickery was never one to waste time. "I'm here to show you your possible paths."

  "If I use trickery to gain my fre
edom?" I asked.

  Dolos rolled his eyes. "Trickery is a tricky thing," he said, even as I wanted to chastise him for unnecessary alliteration.

  "The day can be won with trickery and cunning, but deception will result in tragedy."

  "Aren't they the same thing?"

  Dolos didn't seem to appreciate my confusion. "No, stupid girl. Trickery and cunning are wonderful and beautiful things when combined with a brilliant mind. They don't mean lies. They mean you are smarter than your opponent. Some of the greatest wars in history are won with cunning. But deception is a tricky slope."

  Dolos took my hand.

  I was holding the vial Hecate had given me. Typhon had his back to me, staring at the window as we discussed something. I watched as my hand tipped the vial into his drink. I cringed at my behavior.

  Typhon came back to the table, sipped his wine, and I watched as I turned into the person my mother probably always wanted me to be. By the time I was done, Typhon was agreeable to all of my suggestions, and the odds of me winning the games had just increased exponentially. The timeline slipped and I watched as Typhon fell, mortally wounded, to a hooded challenger. I gasped in horror.

  "Deception," Dolos whispered. "Not trickery. Evil magic."

  The timeline slipped again. And again. And again.

  And each time the result was the same. Any time I tried to deceive my way through the games, someone I cared about perished.

  When Dolos let go of my hand, I stared at him in surprise. "What about the trickery?"

  He tsked. "I cannot give you those answers so readily, Goddess. You must find your own way."

  I watched as he disappeared. Even though I was both annoyed and devastated, I had to appreciate that he'd shown me what not to do. Using my mother's potion was completely out of the question. I didn't want any deaths. I just wanted freedom.

  Seconds later, a few more individuals showed up. I stared at them even as my stomach filled with dread.

  The Pseudologoi. The spirits of lies and falsehoods.

  Boy was this going to be fun.

  They were even less of a conversationalist than Dolos.