“I don’t think the artist did me much justice. I look like I should be in an eighties hair band.”
I glanced at Hades as he gazed up at the painting.
“Mind you, it was different time then. I was different guy in the 1500s.” He chuckled. “And no matter what you’re thinking, I definitely didn’t pose for that. The artist took a lot of liberties. I haven’t breathed fire in a millennia.”
“Who’s the woman?”
“No one you know.”
The look on his face darkened, obviously not wanting to discuss it. So I stopped asking questions.
He slid his hand along the frame of the painting, and then he pulled it forward, like opening a door. Behind it, imbedded in the wall was a metal door. It looked like a safe, with a numbered knob and a metal door crank.
Hades spun the knob to the right, then to the left, then to the right again. He pulled on the lever, but the safe didn’t open. Frowning, he tried the combination again, but it still didn’t unlock.
He sighed, and then shouted, “Charon!”
Seconds later, the decrepit looking butler floated into the room. “Yes, My Lord.”
“What is the Gods damn combo? You didn’t change it on me, did you?”
“Of course not, My Lord.” Charon reached for the knob, flicked it quickly one way then the other. He cranked on the lever; there was a distinctive clicking sound, then he pulled the safe door open.
“Ah, thank you Charon.”
The butler tipped his skull-head, and then floated out of the room.
“Why didn’t you just snap your fingers and open it? What’s the point of being a God if you can’t just snap things into existence?”
He shrugged. “Where’s the fun in that? After a few thousand years, things like that get boring. Besides that, Hephaistos forged this for me with special metal to prevent something like that happening. No one can open this without the combo. Not even me, obviously.” He chuckled.
“But what if Charon hadn’t been here? What would you have done?”
“Charon is always here. Even death hasn’t stopped him.” Hades pulled the door wide open. Inside the safe sat a horned helmet made from the blackest of metals. The front face plate had openings for the eyes, and mouth, only had a nose guard. And it sported horns that were downturned similar to that of a big horned sheep. He reached in and drew it out. “It’s called the Helm of Darkness.” He set it on top of his head.
In an instant he vanished from sight.
I stared at the spot he’d been in then swung around looking for him, anxious that he popped up behind me and was going to scare me. I heard his distinctive chuckle next to me then I felt a slight brush of air on my cheek as he moved positions. Curious, I raised my hand to touch him, my fingers brushed up against the metal of the helm that covered his face.
Then he reappeared in front of me as he removed the helmet and set it under his arm. “Ta da. Pretty cool, right?”
I snickered. “Yeah, it’s cool.” I reached for it. “Can I try it on?”
He pulled it away from my grasp. “No.”
“Then why show it to me?” I shook my head as I turned to leave. “You’re frustrating, you know that?”
“I showed it to you so you know what it looks like when you make your own.”
“What do you mean when I make my own? I can’t make something like that.”
“Sure you can. You made your shield. One of the best ones from what Hephaistos says.”
Frowning, I studied him. “He said that?” I found that almost impossible to believe. Hephaistos didn’t do praise. He was the sternest, grumpiest man I’d ever met.
Hades nodded. “He likes you.”
I pulled a face. “Bullshit. Hephaistos doesn’t like anyone.”
“He didn’t smack you with a hammer, did he?”
“No?”
“And he worked with you after class, didn’t he?”
“I suppose.” I shrugged.
“Then he likes you.”
I still wasn’t so sure that meant he liked me. Tolerated was more like it. “He’s not going to let me come into his forge to make an invisibility helmet. I mean, where do I even start? Does he know how to make one? Who made that for you?”
“Brontes, a cyclops who was a good friend way back when. Brontes and his brothers taught Hephaistos how to forge, so I’m sure he has the knowledge.”
“And why would he even help me?”
“Because Hephaistos has a stake in this. I mean Aphrodite is his wife, and she’s been cheating on him for hundreds of years. And I know he detests Ares. I mean, who doesn’t, honestly?”
“Then why hasn’t he just divorced her?”
“Because divorce is the mortal way of doing things. We Gods…we get revenge instead.” He grinned and that fire inside his eyes ignited like a flare.
Chapter Fourteen
MELANY
Over the next couple days while I trained, I thought about what Hades wanted me to do. Sneak back into the academy and spy on the other Gods. But first I had to sneak into the forge and make myself an invisibility helmet. I didn’t know why I couldn’t just borrow his. I mean, it wasn’t like he was using it. When I brought it up the next evening at dinner, he refused to answer and just changed the subject, preferring to discuss how social media was making people stupid.
I considered just ignoring his request. It wasn’t like he could make me do it but he knew I would anyway. He knew I wanted to find out who was responsible for Sophie’s death and make them pay. Revenge was an exceptional motivator.
But it was also a distraction and I got hit in the shoulder by Allecto’s sword during training. The blade wasn’t blunted, but thankfully I was wearing light armor or else my arm probably would’ve been dangling uselessly from my side as I bled out all over the floor.
“Where’s your head, girl?”
I shook it, trying to clear it so next time I didn’t get a sword through the gut. “Sorry.”
“Sorry?” she sneered. “Sorry is for cowards and weaklings. Are you a coward or a weakling?”
“No.”
“Then quit acting like it.” She took a few steps back and raised her sword. “Let’s go again.”
I shook my head again, rolled my shoulders, then went into my defensive stance, my sword lifted and ready to parlay.
I trained with Allecto for another hour, and then did flying tactics with Tisiphone. After that, Megaera put me through my paces through the obstacle course over and over again until my legs were rubber and my abdominals quivered from exertion. Honestly, it felt like I’d been punched in the gut with an iron first repeatedly.
After eating, Hades was noticeably absent, I sat in my room and paced. I couldn’t relax despite training for eight hours. I had too many thoughts about the supposed earthquake that killed Sophie. What if what Hades said was true, and that Aphrodite and Ares were somehow responsible? What if they were planning something else? I had to do something.
Dressing in my best stealthy black clothes, I stood in my room and concentrated on the shadows lurking in every corner. I gathered them to me, pictured the door outside Hephaistos’s forge, and then dissolved into the darkness to make the trip.
It wasn’t as long or hard as my first trip to the dining hall, but it still had its problems. I’d almost gotten lost and ended up walking out into the crowded corridor near the dining hall. I’d heard Jasmine’s voice, so it was really difficult not to just walk out of the shadows instead. I wanted to explain to her about what had happened before, about the anger that seemed to be growing inside of me. But I wasn’t sure she’d understand. I didn’t fully understand.
When I materialized right outside the forge, I was thankfully alone. It was late, so I didn’t think anyone would be inside working. Not any of my fellow cadets anyway. I crept inside, the heat of the fires blowing over me. It never failed to literally take my breath away. It was as if all the oxygen in my lungs was being sucked out to feed the flames.
I found where Hephaistos stacked the clay molds for things. I found a mold for an ax blade and a mace, and then I found one for what looked like a war helmet. I took it and placed it on the forging table. I needed to pour molten metal into it.
I went to the storage units and found a hunk of black metal that looked similar to what Hades’ helm was made from. Now how the heck did I get it over to the mold? Thinking back to my time in the forge when we made our shields, I remembered how Hephaistos moved the giant blocks of metal around—with ropes and pulleys. I looked up to see a contraption hanging above the storage units.
I hooked it up to the hunk of metal, then using the ropes I raised it up and pulled it along the track on the ceiling to the table across the forge. As the block of metal hung over the mold, I realized I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I should’ve taken the metal to the tank to be melted then used the gutters to transport it to the mold. But I didn’t have that kind of time. I had to be innovative.
I lifted my hands and flicked my fingers back and forth until flames erupted. I focused on the fire until it was so hot, it turned blue-white. Hoping for the best, I set my hands onto the hunk of metal and coaxed the flames higher. It took a few minutes but eventually the metal began to melt and it dripped down into the mold. Although some of it didn’t quite make it into the mold. There were globs of metal all over the table and ground.
“What are you doing to my forge, girl!”
I swung around to see Hephaistos, huge hammer in his hand, glaring at me.
“Um, making a helmet.”
He limped over to the table to see what I was doing. His scowl got deeper. “You’re making a mess and destroying my work station.”
I really looked at what I’d done, and he was right. Sort of. I was most definitely making a mess but I didn’t think I’d destroyed the table. I might’ve burned some holes into it with my molten metal but I was sure it could be repaired.
He picked up the mold, and then glared at me. “Did Hades put you up to this? Did he tell you to come wreak some havoc in my forge?”
I shook my head vehemently. Hephaistos never really scared me in the past. I’d always thought of him as some old frail God past his prime, but I realized right there and then that he could’ve ended me if he wanted to. Despite his weathered and aged appearance, he was still a God with fire at his disposal in a blink of an eye.
“I’m trying to make a helmet for myself.”
His eyes narrowed. “What kind of helmet?”
“A helm of darkness, like the one Hades has.”
“Why in the blazes do you need a helmet like that?”
“To be invisible.” Then it all came pouring out. I told him about the earthquake and about seeing my adopted mother buried in the rubble and about what Hades told me about it not being natural, that someone had released a Titan to do the dirty work. I kept Aphrodite’s involvement out of it, for now. I had a feeling that despite her cheating ways, that he still loved her.
“You know you can’t believe everything Hades tells you. He can be manipulative and conniving. There’s a reason why he was banned from the academy until now.”
“Yeah? And why was that?”
He gave me a long look, and then dropped his gaze, busying himself with cleaning up the mess I’d made. “It’s complicated. He has a long and arduous relationship with his brothers. Especially Zeus.”
“I figured as much, but it doesn’t matter to me. All I care about is finding out who killed Sophie. If someone in this academy is responsible I want to find that out.”
“And if you find out, what are you going to do about it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know yet. But something has to be done.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as that.”
“We’re training here to be in an army to protect the people of the earth, aren’t we?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Then that’s what I’m trying to do. I want to protect those people from future situations. What if what Hades says is true? And that earthquake was just a test for something bigger, something nastier.”
He sighed, and shook his head. “I’ll make the helmet for you. It won’t be as fancy as Hades’ but it will work the same.”
I perked up. “You will? Why?”
“Because I sense you want to do the right thing. That’s a rare quality, especially in someone so young.”
I resisted the urge to embrace him, knowing he’d hate it and would probably shove me away. “Thank you.” I hung my head. “You might be the only one that thinks that about me right now.”
“But be careful, girl. There is a lot going on in this place that you have no clue about. Not everything is as it seems, and that is including Hades. I don’t think he means you any harm, but he’s not your friend. You are a means to an end for him despite what he tells you or tries to make you believe.”
I didn’t want to believe that. I felt something spark between me and Hades. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Friendship? Probably not. Attraction? For me, most definitely, although I’d been trying to fight it. And for him? He did look at me differently lately. Sometimes I’d catch him watching me, when he thought I didn’t notice. But I did. His gaze was potent, and would sometimes make me shiver. More nights than I cared to admit, I had dreams about him.
I pushed the thoughts away as I concentrated on what Hephaistos asked me to do. Together, we cleaned up the mess I made and started the process over again. This time the right way. By the time I travelled the shadows back to my room in Hades Hall, I was exhausted.
I stripped out of my clothes, as they stunk of fire and burned metal, put on my sleeping clothes and climbed into bed. But before I could close my eyes, the alarm bell started to clang. It was time for me to get up, and get ready for another long day of training.
Sighing, I rolled over onto my side and crammed a pillow over my head. I wasn’t moving. Hades was going to have to come in here and yank me out of this bed by my leg. I wouldn’t put it past him to do just that. But until then, I shut my eyes in protest. I was going to get some damn sleep even if it killed me.
Chapter Fifteen
MELANY
After Hades found out I’d gone to the forge to make my own invisibility helmet, he loosened the chains binding me to the hall and allowed me to return to the academy to do some more group training. I was equal parts excited and nervous. What if my friends didn’t want to see me again after what I’d done? What if Lucian didn’t feel the same way about me anymore? I couldn’t just pop back into their lives like last time, I needed to ease my way in gradually. So instead of appearing in the middle of the dining hall like a rock star, I opted to humble walk back in through the front doors.
But first I decided on a little detour to get my mind right.
I emerged from the shadows into the center of the giant hedge maze. I took in a deep greedy breath of fresh cool air. Being underground all the time was hard on the lungs. I raised my face to the light shining down. I didn’t realize how much I missed sunlight until now. When I got back to the hall, I was going to ask Hades for one of those light therapy lamps so I didn’t get depressed.
When I stepped out of the gazebo I thought I was alone, so I was surprised when I spied a lone figure sitting on one of the stone benches next to one of the stone statues of a male soldier brandishing a spear and holding a shield. I was stunned to see it was Medusa leaning back, her long legs stretched out in front of her, with her arms spread out along the back of the bench, her face raised to the sun. She didn’t wear sunglasses a
nd had her white eyes wide open.
I suspected I was intruding on a private moment, so I quickly turned to jump back into the shadows, but my foot came down on a small twig. The cracking sound was like a bullhorn in the relative silence of the maze.
“Trying to sneak away?”
I stopped and turned back. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Too late.” She blinked at me with those stark white eyes, and then slid on her dark sunglasses. “Hades let you out, I see.”
I didn’t know how to answer that, so I just nodded.
“I heard what you did to Enyo the other day.” She smirked.
“It was an accident,” I heard myself say, knowing full well that was bullshit.
She shrugged. “I’m the last person who’s going to judge you. Everyone makes mistakes. Some mistakes are just more severe than others.” Her gaze flicked up to the stone statue beside the bench.
Her sympathy surprised me. “Thanks.”
She got to her feet. She towered over me by a foot at least. “Oh don’t mistake me, we’re not friends. And if you ever did to me what you did to Enyo, you wouldn’t be breathing. You’d be as solid as this guy next to me.” She turned to leave, her snake hair lifted up to hiss at me, one of the little vipers even snapped it’s jaws, then she disappeared into the maze.
Despite her threat at the last, I felt buoyed by what Medusa said. People made mistakes. I’d made one. Surely, my friends would forgive me for it. I left the maze and went into the academy through the main doors.
The hallways were buzzing with activity. Heads turned and conversations stopped when I was spotted. I didn’t let it get to me. Instead, I streamed along with them, looking for a friendly face. I spotted Georgina up ahead. I jogged to catch up to her.
“Gina.”
She spun around, her eyes wide. “Mel?!” She jumped-hugged me. “Oh my Gods, we all thought we wouldn’t see you again.”
Demigods Academy - Year Two Page 10