Out of Patience Aphrodite

by S. E. Babin

  "Yes, it's ice cream," said Rafe and took an enormous bite.

  "MINE!" he screeched. His vocabulary had degraded. Ice cream would do that to a person.

  I nudged his plate closer. "We don't get any dessert until we finish our breakfast," I reminded him, cringing at the thought of cheesecake at 9 a.m. I wasn't sure if this was going to work or backfire spectacularly. Draco stared at it like it was a snake in the grass. A viper. Something he definitely didn't want to see. He shoved it away from him.

  "No."

  I took another bite of cake and made more yum yum noises. "Okay."

  "Cake!" he said, staring at me hopefully.

  "Did you see Mommy eat breakfast like a big girl?"

  He stared at me with those whirling silver eyes. Draco didn't answer me.

  "Ice cream!"

  "Only big boys who eat their breakfast get ice cream."

  Draco looked at me. Then he looked at the plate he pushed away from him. He looked back at me. My heart was pounding. It might be working! I'd look back on this day and laugh because of all the times my heart pounded in my life, I was usually about to be murdered, not convincing a toddler how delicious bacon was.

  Rafe scooped out a little more ice cream.

  Draco narrowed his little eyes and reached for his plate. I wanted to scream in triumph, but we weren't yet at the finish line.

  He pulled it over to him and stared at it. I continued slowly eating my cake and ice cream.

  "Cake?" he asked again, hopeful.

  "Sorry, kiddo," I said. "Only big boys and girls who eat breakfast get to have it."

  I could see those tiny wheels turning. He reached for the piece of bacon on his plate. He looked at me and I quickly replaced the look of wild hope with one of indifference. I tried to focus on the huge piece of cheesecake Rafe had cut me. I was going to be so sick after this, but if it got him to eat, I'd do it every day.

  Draco had the bacon in his hand. I heard Rafe's soft inhale of breath.

  We were almost there.

  Draco lifted the bacon to his mouth, bit down, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

  I, too, did this when I tasted bacon.

  He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, his eyes still closed. Twenty seconds later, Draco's mouth was full of bacon and he had mostly seemed to forget about the ice cream.

  Mostly.

  It wasn't long after, he demanded cake and ice cream. Rafe dutifully cut him a small sliver and gave him a small scoop of ice cream. Draco's eyes narrowed as he saw the offering Rafe set in front of him versus our plates.

  I stood abruptly, ruffled his dark hair and headed into the kitchen to scrape out my plate. I wanted to scream in triumph, but I was the new, calm, cool and collected Abby.

  But later that night, after Draco was down for the night, Rafe and I high-fived silently in the hallway.

  The fires might be gone, but Draco's magic wasn't completely stifled. Ever since the ice cream incident, Draco had taken to levitating.

  Specifically to the freezer where the ice cream was located. It got so bad I had to call Clotho back. She showed up with her weird ass tattoo guns and her even weirder sisters, but after a quick exam, she pronounced nothing wrong with Draco.

  "Uh, then why is he levitating?" I asked.

  "Because you obviously have something in the freezer he wants." She looked at us both. "I suggest you get a lock."

  Rafe and I exchanged glances. "I thought all of his magic was supposed to be dampened."

  Atropos snorted. "You gave birth to an angel and Olympian hybrid. We have no idea what he's capable of. If levitation is the worst you get out of this, I'd suggest you count yourself lucky."

  Rafe frowned at Atropos, but there was something in his gaze when he stared at her. A little too long if you asked me.

  "His power is unlike anything I've ever seen," Lachesis said, breaking in once the silence went on a little too long. "It's both familiar and unfamiliar. All you can do is watch him and make sure he isn't doing anything harmful. Other than that," her eyes sparkled, "I suggest you chalk this up to toddler mischief."

  My lips curved in annoyance. "What about weights?" I asked. "Like an anchor?"

  Rafe stared at me in horror.

  "What?" I asked. "I'm just thinking out loud. Brainstorming. You can't hold a brainstorming session against me."

  "Like a boat anchor?" Clotho asked, concern written on her face.

  I sighed. "Shut up. I know it's a bad idea."

  "Terrible idea, more like it," Atropos murmured.

  Rafe chuckled under his breath.

  "Maybe I should go get locks," I said.

  "I think that's better than the alternative," Lachesis said. "Maybe get a parenting book while you're at it."

  "Shut up," I grumbled.

  The Fates all patted Draco on the head, gave him Auntie kisses and disappeared in a flash of light.

  "An anchor?" Rafe repeated, shaking his head. "Where did I go wrong with you?"

  I picked up the towel next to me and chucked it at his head.

  7

  It was the same dream I'd had ever since Hades left, but where it usually stopped as soon as I saw his face, this one continued on. He was here with me. I could feel him. His presence. The one that filled the room and stole my breath. But he was in pain. So much pain. I opened my eyes and he was in front of me. Chained. Months of suffering had lined his face. When he opened his eyes and saw me, he gasped.

  "Abby." He tried to reach for me, but magic dampening manacles prevented him from reaching out. His eyes widened as he noticed my flat stomach. "The baby." His head bowed. "Please tell me the baby is okay."

  Tears filled my eyes. "He's okay. He's here," I told him. "He's beautiful." I drank in the sight of his face. "And into everything."

  Confusion clouded his face. "How long have I been here?"

  "Long enough," I told him with a broken laugh, "but Draco is different. He's aging...faster than he should be."

  "Abby," he whispered. "I need you -"

  I slid my feet off the bed and walked toward him, knowing I probably couldn’t touch him. "I know. I need you too."

  He shook his head. "I need you to stay away from here."

  My heart felt like it was being torn into shreds. "No. Never. You cannot ask this of me."

  "He wants you here too. If you come here, he will harvest your powers. He will rip our kingdoms away. The baby is not safe. You cannot come here. Promise me this."

  I slowly shook my head. "You know I cannot."

  Hades hung his head. "If I lose you and my child, too, then this is all for naught." He lifted his head, his gaze beseeching me. "You cannot endanger our child, Aphrodite. You know this."

  I was not going to get pissed off. I was not going to get pissed off.

  He smiled at me even through his pain. "You're angry at me. Would it help if I told you I was really, really in a lot of pain right now?"

  A broken sob escaped me. "I cannot do this without you, idiot."

  "You can. And you must. Our child will never be safe from my father if I leave here. Right now he's content with me. But if you come anywhere close or put yourself in his path. He will take you."

  "I don't know, Hades. I've tried to parley with him several times."

  He sighed. "You don't know him. He doesn't need to parley with you. He knows you well enough to know you'll eventually do something desperate. And when you do, he will have you right where he wants you."

  I was half offended, half annoyed that he knew me so well. And while I missed him, I was a little pissed off with his apparent lack of faith. I swallowed it down. Now was not the time to have an argument. "Hades, I need you. Our son needs you."

  "You must protect him, Abby. I will find my way back to you. You must trust me." He spoke in almost a monotone, and I knew his pain must have been ferocious. Everything inside of me hurt for him, but I would not sacrifice our life together.

  I slammed my hand down on my nightstand. "Trust you?" I
hissed. "He has erased you, Hades. You walk in the Underworld with Persephone."

  His eyes widened. "No."

  "Yes.” I huffed a frustrated breath. This was the first time I’d been able to interact with him and I hated that we were spending it like this. “Persephone is pregnant with your heir right now. How do you think I feel when I see him. When I know he's you?" My voice broke. "When he touches her hair and I remember how your fingers felt. Do you not see what torture this is for me? How can you throw this away? How can you throw us away?”

  He shook his head. Pain and regret flashed in his eyes. "You must not come for me. Abby." His throat worked. "I know you. I know how strong you are." His silvered eyes burned into mine. "You must be strong for all of us. Promise me."

  Never, I thought. We stared at each other until he began to fade.

  "Promise me," he whispered again.

  Never. "I will," I said.

  His eyes shut slowly and he grimaced as the manacles pulled on his wrists. "Thank you," he whispered, just before he faded away.

  It was only two words, but it was the biggest, most dangerous lie I had ever told my husband.

  I was unable to sleep for the rest of the night.

  The next morning I practically elbowed Rafe out of the way of the coffee pot. His alarmed shout and side step almost made me smile.

  Almost.

  "Everything okay?" he asked me, wariness in his tone.

  "We don't have much time," I said as I debated the wisdom of shoving my head underneath the nozzle of the pot. It couldn't burn too much, could it?

  Rafe set his mug down. He didn't like coffee as much as I did, but when you were living with a baby/toddler magical immortal hybrid you either learned to love it or you suffered. Rafe erred on the smart side.

  "You're speaking of your husband?"

  I nodded and promptly burned myself when I pulled my mug out of the machine too soon. But this meant I got my coffee 30 seconds earlier. Totally worth it.

  I snagged the creamer, poured in an obscene amount, and took a huge swig. My soul felt a little warmer as the liquid went down. I took another few large sips before I was able to speak again. Rafe, having lived with me for the last 6 months, said nothing and waited until I was ready to tell him what the heck I was talking about.

  When I was ready I told him exactly what happened. When I finished, he didn't seem surprised, more perplexed. But I rarely saw the guy shocked about anything.

  "Rafe?" I asked as I turned back to the pot and made a second cup of coffee. Draco was still sleeping, and I counted my lucky stars he started sleeping through the night pretty quickly. We technically didn't need sleep, but it sure was awesome to get.

  "What Hades did was impossible."

  One of my eyebrows rose. "Apparently not," I said lightly. "Because we were having a conversation last night."

  He shook his head. "Hades...even though he is different, he still possesses the qualities and limitations of an angel. He might be the most powerful of us, but God created us. God is the one who controls things. Unless he allowed Hades to communicate with you, or he had help somewhere else, there is no way he should have been able to get a message through."

  My mind spun with the possibilities and only one person kept coming back to me.

  Damn it.

  Zeus.

  I sighed and set my coffee mug down so I could rub my temples. "Would an immortal be able to circumvent God's system?"

  Rafe turned interested eyes to me. "An immortal? Which one?"

  When I hesitated to answer, he rolled his eyes. "As soon as I chose to come back with you, God stripped my access to Heaven. I am no longer keyed to any of the doors or entrances. If I come back, I am to be detained on site."

  "Detained?"

  His mouth pressed into a grim line. "Yes."

  "I'm sure your version of detained and mine is different."

  "Quite so," he agreed.

  I shook my head. He was right. Rafe couldn't go back to where he was. He couldn't really go anywhere but with us. Or me these days. "Zeus," I said after a moment.

  Rafe whistled low.

  "I saw him when I was in there last time."

  His face grew thoughtful. "It's possible. Did Zeus seem normal when you saw him?"

  I nodded. "More than normal. Just like the last time I saw him. Egotistical and amused."

  "Hmm. Then I'd say it's more than possible. God usually strips most powers. If Zeus managed to avoid this process, I would lean toward him being the culprit. But I guess the real question is why would he want to help?"

  I wondered the same thing. "He never does anything out of the goodness of his heart. He definitely wants something."

  The question was what did he want and could I afford it?

  Draco woke up shortly after that and after a big breakfast and a long conversation about why we couldn't always have cheesecake right after breakfast, I brought Rafe back to the subject of Hades.

  "Talk to me about the keys," I said. I knew certain angels could open the doors. Specifically Rafe, Uriel and Gabriel. Since neither one of them was responding to me, and Rafe was powerless to help, I wondered if there was another way.

  "Is there anyone else who could open the doors?"

  Rafe shook his head at first, but a strange look crossed over his face before he blinked and frowned.

  "What?" I asked.

  "Nothing."

  "Rafe. My husband and father of my son is trapped right now. If there is anything at all that can help me, I need you to tell me."

  Our gazes met and held. He gave a stiff nod. "Nephilims," he said.

  "A nephilim?" I drew out the word. I didn't know much about them, but I did know they were an angel human hybrid. "Where can I find one of those?"

  He stared at me like I was stupid. I was getting really, really tired of that look. "What?" I snapped.

  "Atlas," Rafe said very slowly.

  "What about him?" I was utterly confused.

  One golden eyebrow arched. "He's a nephilim," he said. "How could you not know that?"

  "Uhhh." Good point. How did I not know that? "We need to find him."

  Rafe and I looked at each other and laughed. Atlas was the kind of guy who was found only when he wanted to be found. "Clotho." I wondered aloud. "I bet she could find him."

  "Probably so," Rafe said slowly. "Do you sometimes wonder if they have an...odd relationship?"

  I had wondered that. I chalked it up to Clotho being an ancient weirdo, but maybe I needed to delve a little bit deeper into that aka stick my nose where it didn't belong.

  "Atlas is the product of a human angel, one of our lower realm beings, but don't mistake him for being less powerful. There's something about nephilims. Their power scale is off the charts. We've never been able to figure it out. That's the main reason God frowns on interspecies mating."

  I blinked at him, took a sip of my coffee and frowned. "Interspecies?" I said with a snort. "You make it sound like all the parts are different."

  He rose one eyebrow. "Aren't they?"

  I spluttered and choked on my coffee as I thought about my husband. Did he have weird parts and was he disguising them? And if he had, was I disgusted or intrigued?

  Rafe's bark of laughter jolted me out of my sex part revelry. "You are so easy," he chortled, and I had to laugh because Rafe didn't joke around too much.

  I grinned at him. "I'm glad you stayed," I told him. "Although I think we may be rubbing off on you too much.

  "Me too." He sobered. "Atlas was never meant to be in Olympus, Abby. I thought you knew this. He was sent from God to watch over the Olympians."

  A cold stone dropped in my stomach. "A spy?" I whispered. "But he was helping us!"

  "I don't want you to think he's evil, Aphrodite. But you should always remember God doesn't care about our loyalties our allegiances. He sees things on his terms. You are one of the few people to ever defy him."

  This explained a lot. SO. MUCH. I couldn't help but think this
explained Atlas' constant absences. If he wasn't here, he would have nothing to report back on. Why hadn't I confronted him about this earlier? I felt like a total heel. As soon as I saw him, I would make this up to him.

  "Can you find him?" I asked, because Rafe rarely volunteered magic unless I directly asked him.

  He gave me a small smile. "I can. We can always track each other."

  I was about to open my mouth and rage at him when he raised a hand. "Unless God is purposely cloaking him." His voice softened. "I've tried several times to pinpoint the exact location of your husband. I cannot."

  My lips pressed together and I rang my hands together. "Thank you." My voice was hoarse.

  With a short nod, he picked up his coffee cup.

  "You can always stay here with me, Rafe. You know that, right? Only if you want to, though."

  His shoulders dropped a few inches. He looked at me, suspicious wetness in his eyes. "Thank you," he said. "I just might."

  8

  I'd just spent the last couple of hours contacting everyone to check if they'd seen Atlas. Not a single person had seen him since we'd all been sitting around the tree watching the house burn. Also, every one knew where I was, but they decided to give me a little bit of time to myself. Hermes was the only one still concerned about Rafe, but when he heard from me, he decided to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I told them about Draco and his concerning new age and addiction to cheesecake, and while they were disturbed, they still wanted to meet him.

  Within an hour of me contacting everyone, they all showed up on the porch of the Tennessee farmhouse. Artie came in, wrapped her thin arms around me and I inhaled her warm, comforting scent. Hermes came in next, looked around the house, nodded as if pleased I was keeping it clean for him and wrapped me in his strong arms. He picked me up, hauled me against him, and squeezed me harder than necessary.

  "Are you okay?" he whispered in my ear, and I hoped against all hope he would find someone.

  Someone deserved this handsome, caring, big lug of hunky man.