by Dani Hoots
Also, he looked much older than her. She appeared to be in her teens and he had to of been late thirties, early forties. I mean, it probably didn’t mean anything to gods, but Peter, or Pothos, had said he was a titan. What exactly that meant, I had no idea. Maybe he really was a lot older?
“I missed you too, Melinoe. I was just about to call you. You know I’m in constant hiding, that if Zeus sees me he could easily lock me up again just for the heck of it. I had to cut all ties this time, just in case that did happen.”
Smooth one. I bet he was really just hiding from her. Because, let’s face it, she seemed psychotic. Then again, it did seem like a lot of people wanted to hide from Zeus.
Prometheus hugged her, then glanced up at the rest of us. “Pothos, what are you doing up here? And who are you lot?”
Melinoe nodded towards Chrys. “He was trying to sleep with this whore, what does it look like?”
Prometheus took a look at the three of us. He didn’t seem very impressed. As his eyes hovered over A.J., he squinted his eyes, as if trying to remember. “Agenor, son of Poseidon, is that you?”
A.J. nodded, looking a bit smug he was recognized for once. “It is, long time no see, eh Prometheus?”
He shook his head in disbelief. “How are you here? How are you alive? It isn’t possible—“
Pothos stood up, groaning. Chrys probably gave him that bloody nose. Good for her. “That girl is the real daughter of Hades and Persephone. She probably brought the two of them up from the Underworld.”
Seriously? He figured it out? And decided to tell this guy?
Prometheus looked as if he had seen a ghost. He stared at Chrys with fear. It was apparent that he had never met her before, probably hadn’t even heard of her, so I wasn’t quite sure why he was so afraid. Was it just because she was Hades’ daughter that she was so feared? Or was it something more?
“That’s not possible. Hades can’t conceive a child, it would mean—” Prometheus began. I didn’t know what it would mean and was hoping he would go on. Apparently there was something more to all this. As to what that was, I wasn’t sure.
Chrys didn’t say anything, but kept close to me. A.J. was the one who stepped forward. “It’s true. She is the daughter of Hades and Persephone. We came up here with the use of Persephone’s rings.”
Prometheus shook his head. “No, no, no. You need to go back before he sees you, before he comes and destroys all of us here.”
“Who comes?” I asked.
“Zeus. Now hurry, I will help you get to where you need to go. I presume you came by boat?”
All three of us nodded.
“Fine, then we should go there right away. Otherwise this could be the start of another great war.”
I wasn’t supposed to let anyone know I was on Earth, but now at least three gods knew. This wasn’t good. If any of them talked to my mother, I would be in deep trouble. I just wanted to go home, praying that Father would never find out.
This had been a mistake, and by the face Prometheus made, I knew that to be a fact. He looked shocked and afraid of what Zeus could do. I knew Prometheus’s story, all the gods did. He was a titan who sided with Zeus during the war against Cronus but got on Zeus’ bad side when he stole fire from the gods and gave it to the humans. As punishment, he nailed Prometheus to a cave, letting an eagle tear his insides out until Hercules came thousands of years later and killed the bird. Then a thousands of years after that, Zeus released him.
So yeah, he had a reason to be afraid of Zeus.
I couldn’t imagine what he would do when he found out Father had been hiding me all these years. On top of what he had done to Prometheus, I heard of other stories involving his wrath. There was the war with the giants, when Zeus practically fought them all; his battle with Typhon as he tried to defeat Zeus and take over Olympus; then there was Salmons and his brothers who imitated Zeus and were killed for that. So many stories involved with Zeus killing someone. Or sleeping with someone. Either one, really.
Not to mention he made my father stay in the Underworld all this time. Even though my father was the oldest, he still got the short end of the stick. Then there was Melinoe. I couldn’t believe that my mother had another child and I was just now hearing about it. Did Father know, or was this one her little secret? He probably did know and just didn’t want me to find out about it. Things got complicated when gods fraternized with one another. That was also why Father didn’t want me to leave the palace, there was just so much drama.
I still didn’t quite understand why it was much of a problem for me to exist. All the other gods had children, yet for some reason it was wrong for me to be alive. Father always said it had to do with the power I possess, but I wanted to hear it from someone on the outside, someone who wasn’t my father.
“Prometheus,” I began as we walked down the empty streets of London. “Why is it such a big problem that I exist? Why are you so afraid that Zeus will find me?”
He sighed, as if just thinking about Zeus exhausted him. “It’s got to do with a lot more than just you. As I said, your father shouldn’t have been able to have you, he is the God of Death and having a child is the opposite of death. Your mother is the daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of Harvest and Fertility, yes, but it should never have been possible.”
“But why would Zeus care? Why would he want to punish me for being alive?”
He stopped and turned to me. “What is your power? Hmm? The combination of those two, I can only imagine?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean, what can you do as a goddess?”
“I… I can make things move. When my emotions are out of control, I sort of black out. And Father is teaching me how to judge the dead, is that what you mean?”
Prometheus sighed. “Great, your powers have been suppressed. At least he won’t be able to detect you due to your power output. Then again, they could arise if provoked.” He shot a look at Pothos.
Pothos held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t realize she wasn’t supposed to be here. I thought she was like Melinoe or something.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Melinoe placed her arm around Prometheus. “Prometheus knows that there is only one of me, don’t you darling?”
He nodded, a little reluctantly might I add. “Yeah, there aren’t that many out there like you…”
“Thank Zeus,” Pothos coughed. Melinoe glared at him, her eyes turning black. Suddenly a black shadow surrounded Pothos. He held up his hand. “Stop! We need to focus on the situation at hand, Melinoe. You can haunt me later.”
I thought about the shadows that would appear when I was angry, how everything turns dark. I didn't know exactly what sort of power it was as it felt like raw power, nothing specific. It wasn’t like nightmares or love or water or fire. It was just… power.
The shadows disappeared and Melinoe sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”
Huntley put his hand into mine as we kept moving down the streets. I wished my father had explained it to me a bit better though maybe he had hidden the truth for a reason. He was overprotective, yes, but I was beginning to understand what his brothers were capable of, and he didn’t want them to take away the only thing he always wanted. A child. Me.
The boat was actually quite a distances away from where we had first appeared on this plane. It would take a good hour walking before we would reach it. I prayed that nothing would get in our way, not that I could imagine anything really getting in our way. What were the odds, right?
Well, apparently the odds were high because the moment we stepped around a corner, there was a man standing there, smiling as if he had hit the jackpot.. He had dark wavy hair, dark eyes, a scruffy face.
I didn’t know if he was human or god, as I didn’t know exactly what each god or goddess looked like and they changed fashion and hair throughout the years, but by the way he was looking at us, and the shock Prometheus had on his face, he had to have been a god.
“Dad,” A.J. was the first to speak. “What are you doing here?”
Did he just say dad?
We were up shit creek. If this was A.J.’s dad, that meant he was Poseidon, and Hades and Zeus’ bro. He didn’t hold a trident like he did in all the school history books I had destroyed over the years, but he did have quite the chiseled face that made me understand why A.J. was so good looking. Damn all these gods and goddesses for appearing so perfect in contrast to us mere mortals.
Poseidon stood there, examining us. No one moved, as if it would make a difference. Deer in the headlights instinct, I swore. He had caught us and since he was one of the big three, he probably would tell his brother Zeus about us.
But then again, he still didn’t know about Chrys yet. She could simply be someone he didn’t know—just a human or demigoddess, we knew there were a lot of those around, after all. I prayed that would be the case. Then again, his dead son was also standing here and he would probably want to know how that was possible.
“Agenor. How are you on Earth? How did you escape the Underworld?” he asked as he glanced at the rest of us. “And find yourself in the company of a titan?”
Damn these gods really didn’t like titans, did they?
“Excuse me, I helped defeat Cronus, didn’t I? Stop regarding me as something inferior to you Olympian gods. I was once more powerful than you could ever imagine,” Prometheus commented. It sounded as if he had to justify himself quite often. I could relate, as I was the only human here.
“How long exactly did Zeus have you hanging off that rock? A long time right? If you were so mighty, maybe you should have released yourself.”
Oh burn. The gods liked to hit someone while they were down. I guess when you had nothing else to do for centuries, you got better at your comebacks.
Prometheus didn’t say a word. I wasn’t quite sure what that was all about. I would ask Chrys after we got out of this safely. That was if we got out of this. I had never felt my heart beating so fast until this moment, not even when we couldn’t find Chrys earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised if I died of a heart attack.
“So, back to my question.” Poseidon turned to his son. “How are you here?”
A.J. was silent for a moment, as if debating telling the truth. I didn’t know what the consequences would be for lying to a god, nor did I know what I would do in his place.
Lie. Yup, that’s what I would do. That’s what I always do.
“I stole one of Persephone’s rings and made my great escape,” A.J. finally said. It was definitely not believable and I would need to teach him how to lie later.
He raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s interesting.” He stood there for a moment, thinking about this information. I knew that not many ever came back to Earth after, well, dying, so I could understand his surprise. “Then what about these two?”
Poseidon was looking at us. Shit.
“Others in the Underworld that wanted to escape. That’s all.”
He was quiet for a moment. Gee, I wonder where A.J. got his Ent-like characteristics from. “That would mean you had stayed in the palace and were never sent to one of the three afterlives.”
“That’s right,” A.J. said. “We all became servants to Hades. We couldn’t stand it any longer so we made an escape with Persephone’s rings. You know how she is, sneaking people in and out of the Underworld. She’s a first rate whore.”
Poseidon laughed. “Isn’t that a fact. And I think Melinoe can agree.”
She didn’t say anything but simply glared at Poseidon. It was apparent that she didn’t like him either, which made me even more concerned. She appeared as strong as Chrys and if she feared Poseidon, then we probably stood no chance.
I kept Chrys close, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tight. I didn’t want anything to happen to her and I would stop at nothing to keep her safe. Then again, she probably had a better chance against this guy than I did. But I still wanted to be there for her.
“However, I find it hard to believe that this girl here.” His attention turned straight to Chrys. “Is a human or demigod. Her scent.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Is too much like Persephone’s.”
He stepped up closer to her, but I kept myself between him and Chrys. He raised his eyebrow. “You, however, are just a mere human. Do you really think standing in my way would make any difference?”
“I won’t let you come near her, if that’s what you mean.”
He swatted me away like a pesky fly. There wasn’t even any effort put in it, just a flick of the wrist and I went crashing into the brick building next to me.
And I thought my shoulder hurt before this all happened.
“Huntley!” Chrys cried out. She looked as if she was going to run after me, but Poseidon grabbed her jaw.
“Let me look at you,” he said as he peered into her eyes. Like she had a choice with his hand clenching her jaw. It was kind of disgusting how he was looking at her, especially since he was her uncle, right? Chrys told me never to think about family relationships in the mortal sense within the family of the gods. That it would just make my head spin. I now understood what she meant by that. “You may look and smell like your mother but you definitely have your daddy’s eyes, don’t you, daughter of Hades?”
I could see the shock on Chrys’ face. She didn’t think it would be that obvious to people out of the Underworld. Hell, I didn’t think with all the people in the world, with all the gods that there were, that anyone could tell just by looking at her. Apparently we were wrong.
This was a big mistake.
I didn’t know what to do. If Hades was here, I knew he could stop this, he could save his daughter. But he wasn’t here, nor did he know we were on Earth, so we were all by ourselves, facing gods who have existed for millennia and we were nothing compared to them. I was just a human, why did I think I could protect her? Why did I think I could make a difference?
Slowly standing up, I knew that even if I was a human, that I probably could be easily squashed by anyone here, but I wouldn’t give up. I would do everything I could to protect Chrys.
“Let her go!” I demanded.
He ignored me, acted as if I wasn’t even there. Typical. “Where’s your daddy, daughter of Hades? He should be protecting such a priceless gem—“
“Father, let her go,” A.J. spoke up. It was about time. Here I was busting my ass and he just watched as his father was hurting our friend, the one we swore we would protect on Earth.
Poseidon turned to A.J. but didn’t let go of Chrys’ jaw. I could see her cringe from how hard he was squeezing her. “What? Is this your mistress? Is this why you were serving in Hades’ palace, because you fell in love with his daughter?”
A.J. didn’t say anything but the eye contact between Chrys and him spoke more than any words, especially since they weren’t denying it. Apparently, something had gone on between them before I came around. I felt a little shock go through my heart at this realization. I really thought they were just friends this entire time, but apparently there had been something going on between them, whether it was still going on was something I didn’t even want ponder at this time.
Poseidon smiled. “So I was right, you like her. Pathetic.”
Prometheus spoke up. “Probably just likes sleeping around like his father. Everyone thinks Zeus has had a lot of chicks, but really you are the slut of the family, aren’t you?”
I wasn’t sure why Prometheus was brave enough to make comments like that to Poseidon, yet terrified of Zeus. I guess after dealing with the gods so much, he just didn’t care anymore, Zeus being the only exception. That, or he was trying to distract him from Chrys. Melinoe was still silent, not sure as to what to say to him.
“Let her go, Father, none of this is your concern!”
He raised an eyebrow. “It isn’t? You are in my domain, are you not? The moment you stepped on Earth, I have control over you. You should know this, Agenor. Besides,” he turned to Chrys again. “I don�
��t think I can say no to this request.”
He pulled Chrys in and stole a kiss from her. At first she was surprised and then disgusted, trying to push him away but he was stronger.
I was just about to run to her, as if I could do anything about it, as was A.J. when we felt it in the air. the wind was beginning to pick up, the air becoming colder and darkening. I glanced over to Melinoe, hoping that maybe it was her. By the look on her face, along with Pothos and Prometheus, I could tell it was none of them.