The underworld saga, p.171
The Underworld Saga, page 171
“I’m so happy you’re with us, cuz,” he said to Hermes. “I’ve never been happier to see you.”
“I still don’t know if the rebellion is the right thing,” Hermes admitted. “But I couldn’t let my father kill Hermie. I just couldn’t do it.”
“You’re not with us, then?” Hades asked with his back to the door of the Titan Pit.
“I’m undecided,” Hermes said.
“What do you mean, ‘undecided’?” Alecto, who stood in the very back of the group, asked.
Hermes turned to face her. “I can’t go back to Mount Olympus. My father will probably never forgive me.” Then he spoke to Poseidon. “But I’m not sure if I want to help you dethrone him. I just don’t know.”
“I appreciate your honesty,” Poseidon said.
Apollo put a hand on Hermes’s shoulder. “I can sense how conflicted you feel.”
“Keep in mind that our father could still have a place in the new order,” Artemis said. “He doesn’t have to be out of the picture.”
“That depends on how much more damage he does before we overtake him,” Prometheus said.
Hip frowned. He knew what Prometheus meant: if Zeus were to paralyze Morpheus, or maim him in any way, the current king would not be welcome in the new order.
A shudder crept down Hip’s spine.
“Ready then?” Hades asked.
Poseidon lifted his trident. “Ready.”
The Furies stood behind him with their familiars.
“Ready,” Tizzie said, and her wolf howled.
“I don’t have the helm,” Hades reminded them. “So, I need everyone to pay close attention to the prisoners. We can’t afford an ambush.”
“Got it,” Artemis said.
“I’ll dowse everyone with drowsiness as soon as I step inside,” Hip offered.
“But not too much,” Prometheus said. “I’d like to speak to them.”
“What are your intentions?” Hades asked.
“Might we recruit a few to the rebellion?” Prometheus suggested. “We have Apollo to help us identify those who are true to their word.”
“Just because they’re true to their word today doesn’t mean they won’t turn on us in the future,” Poseidon pointed out.
“That’s true of every one of us,” Prometheus said. “Is it not?”
“Perhaps we should allow one or two more admirable Titans the chance,” Hades said. “Your father, for example?”
Prometheus nodded. “That would be my choice. And Hyperion as well.”
“What would Helios have to say about his father’s release?” Hip asked.
“He longs for it,” Prometheus assured them.
“Iapetus and Hyperion,” Hades said. “Only those two. Agreed?”
Everyone present nodded their assent.
Hades unlocked the ten deadbolts and the adamantine chains before he shoved the heavy door open.
Chapter Twenty-One: The Change
T
han dipped his fingers into the bowl of ambrosia and rubbed more of it onto Therese’s neck, shoulders, and arms. She lay on the bed smiling up at him, and he sat beside her, admiring her beauty. He didn’t often get to look at her like this. Their lives had become so busy, so routine, so ordinary.
Ordinary was fine for a while, but Than was ready to embrace his old life, his old duties, his immortality.
He moved down to her lower body, smearing the heavenly liquid on her heavenly flesh. Her moans made him grin.
“We may not need the Phlegethon to catch fire,” Therese said with hooded eyes.
Her skin was hot beneath his touch, and he felt his own heat rising.
She lifted her lips to his and gently caressed his mouth. He badly wished to show her just how much he loved her.
Once the ambrosia had been applied to every part of Therese’s body, it was his turn to lie down and watch her spread the god’s drink on his skin.
She began with his chest. At first, he sighed with pleasure. But those sighs soon turned to moans.
Gods, he wanted her.
“I love you, Therese,” he whispered as he rubbed a lock of her vibrant red hair between his fingers.
“Oh, Than,” she whispered back. “I can never be angry with the Fates, no matter how crazy things get, because I’ll always be grateful that they brought you to me.”
She leaned over and kissed him. He closed his eyes and relished the sensations of a mortal man for the very last time.
***
Hermie sat on Hecate’s bed, where his sister had been sitting moments before. “I don’t think it’s that easy. You can’t just think of a way for us to fulfill our destiny, all of a sudden, just like that.” He snapped his fingers.
His sister put her hands on her hips in that way that had irritated him all his life. “You haven’t even heard my idea yet, Hermie.”
“Just listen, okay?” Mina asked him.
“Let’s at least hear what she has to say,” Poros said. “You never know.”
“Okay. I’m listening.”
Hestie began to pace. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that you and I can speak every language imaginable?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Hermie asked. “Or do you want me to answer you?”
Hestie rolled her eyes. He hated it when she did that. She seemed to expect him to read her mind. He wanted her to be more specific, more direct. Was that too much to ask?
“I have over half a million followers on my Youtube channel,” Hestie said. “And I get over a million views every time I post. These people live all over the world. They like how I speak in multiple languages on my show.”
Hermie sighed. “And this is relevant because...”
“For someone so smart, you aren’t so smart,” Hestie complained.
Hermie tried not to get angry. That was another thing his sister did that he hated. Eye rolling was the number one pet peeve; saying he wasn’t so smart for a smart person was the number two. He wished she’d just get on with it.
“When you play online video games, how many international gamers would you say you interact with on a regular basis?” she asked him.
Again, he wanted to ask if it was a rhetorical question, but he didn’t want more eye rolling, so he said, “Unfortunately, there’s a latency in the timing of actions in a game based on how far away the players are from one another, so they’re set up regionally. I don’t play with anyone internationally—only with other gamers in Colorado.”
His sister frowned. “But you’re always telling me what gamers from other countries are saying about different games.”
“That’s my subreddit,” he said.
“Oh, yeah!” Jinsoo said. “I use Reddit a lot.”
“What’s a subreddit?” Poros asked.
“My subreddit is a place where gamers all over the world can review different video games and talk about strategies. I have like two million subscribers. I created a free app that translates each post into twenty-two different languages. I’m working to increase that number but haven’t yet.”
Hestie smiled. “You’re such a nerd.”
“Why does that sound like a compliment?” he asked.
“I like nerd,” Mina said with a sweet smile.
“Don’t you see?” Hestie spun around with her hands in the air, like a drama queen. He found this part of Hestie amusing and no longer felt irritated with her. “Prometheus said that gods get strength from the faith and prayers of humankind.”
“I wasn’t there to hear that, I don’t think,” Hermie said. “If I’d known that, everything you’ve been saying would have made more sense from the beginning.”
The others laughed, and he did, too.
“So, you think our destiny will be fulfilled when we convince our subscribers and viewers all over the world to have faith in the gods and to pray to them,” Hermie summarized.
“Not just any gods,” she said. “We need them to pray for change.” She snapped her fingers. “That could be our hashtag on Twitter and Instagram! We each have thousands of followers on those, too. We can make it #prayforchange.”
“You might need to be more specific,” Poros said. “You might need to tell them the truth about the current king—that he’s selfish and needs to be replaced. Ask your followers to put their faith in Prometheus.”
“We can say #prayforchange and #prayforPrometheus,” Hermie said.
“And maybe even #prayforPoros,” Hestie added, with a wink at Poros.
It was Hermie’s turn to roll his eyes. His sister wasn’t very good at hiding her crush.
“Good idea!” Mina said.
“What if people refuse to believe?” Hermie pointed out. “Just because we spread the message doesn’t mean people will act on it. Maybe we should give them proof.”
“I could demonstrate my powers on your video,” Poros offered.
“People think it camera trick,” Jinsoo said.
“But some might believe,” Mina said. “You can try, okay?”
“The only problem is that we can’t get a signal down here,” Hermie said.
“We need to go home and do it,” Hestie said.
“You mean back to Colorado?” Poros asked.
Hestie nodded.
“But it’s not safe,” Hermie insisted. “If we get killed, we won’t be much help to anyone—not to mention that it will be a bummer to be dead.”
“We can take the chariot,” Hestie said. She turned to Poros. “Do you think you can fly it?”
***
Artemis and Apollo stationed themselves just inside the door to the pit as Hip followed his father and Prometheus inside. It smelled different today. Hip took another whiff.
It smelled like burning flesh.
As they worked their way further down the spiraling pathway, deeper and deeper into the shadows, where the Phlegethon didn’t flow as much, Hip noticed something else was different. The Titans weren’t lying around aimlessly picking their nails and staring at walls. They were gathered around like footballers in a huddle, and they were talking. Other than the one-hundred armed monsters that sulked near the Phlegethon, only a few remained on the perimeter, looking sullen and angry. Hyperion and Iapetus were among them. So was Epimetheus.
Hip studied the three Titans. They refused to meet his eyes.
Hades sent a telepathic message to the others to get ready to fight. Apollo and Artemis left the entryway and joined them where they stood on a precipice watching the huddle below.
“They’ve got Hecate,” Hades said to them telepathically. “We may have to fight them to get her back.”
Hip disintegrated into the dozens. Pete told them telepathically that he was with the Furies and had disintegrated into an army as well. Poseidon joined Hades with his trident, pointing it toward the huddle below.
“Show your faces!” Hades commanded.
The Titans looked up in surprise. They’d been so busy that they hadn’t noticed the arrival of their enemies.
“Step away from her!” Hades shouted.
There were seven Titans with bloody fingers and gruesome smiles. Uranus was the bloodiest of all. Beside him stood his sons Cronos and Crius. Opposite them were Menoetius, Atlas, and Perses.
Lying on a flat rock in the center of their ring was poor, sweet Hecate—or what remained of her. The beasts had torn off her fingers and toes, pulled out most of her hair, burned her stomach and face, and appeared to be drinking her blood.
Hades flew down and swept her up in his arms. Hip followed, collecting her fingers and toes. Poseidon continued to point his trident as Hecate was taken by Hip and Apollo to Hecate’s rooms. While Hip helped Apollo to heal poor Hecate, he also remained as an army inside the pit to help his family and allies in case they were attacked.
Prometheus turned to his father. “What happened here?”
“Hecate resisted for as long as she could,” Iapetus said. “But she finally gave up and revealed your plot to unseat Zeus.”
“We want to help!” Uranus shouted from down below. “Together we can make the change a reality!”
“Stay where you are!” Poseidon shouted. “You’ve done enough for one day.”
Hades addressed the huddle below through gritted teeth. “Did you really think that we would accept you as our allies after you tortured one of our most beloved friends?”
“If she would have told us what was going on, we would have left her alone,” Cronos said defensively.
“Stubborn one,” Crius added.
“But tasty,” Menoetius said with a laugh.
“I ought to have the Furies give you a taste of your own medicine,” Hades mumbled.
“Just say the word, and I’ll zap them,” Poseidon said.
“What?” Crius cried. “No! Please don’t do that!”
“Not the trident!” Cronos said.
The Titans fell to their knees and pleaded for mercy.
“Why didn’t you participate, Father?” Prometheus asked Iapetus.
“We are fond of Hecate,” he replied, referring to himself and Hyperion. “We hated to hear her screams, but we were overpowered.”
“I don’t care for her,” Epimetheus said. “I just didn’t want to get involved.” Then, looking Prometheus up and down, he added, “You seem altered, brother.”
“As do you,” Prometheus said.
“We need to go,” Hades said to Prometheus.
“But what about…” Prometheus began.
“You can count on our support if you want it,” Hyperion said.
“We’ll consider it,” Hades said.
Then Poseidon added, “We’ll be in touch.”
The Olympians left the pit, and Hades restored the bolts and chains before joining Hip in Hecate’s rooms where they worked together with Apollo to heal their friend.
***
As Hestie led the others down the winding path to the garage and stables, she was startled by blood-curdling screams. They were coming from the banquet hall of the palace. She covered her ears and ran, not wanting to think about her parents’ pain. Tears rushed to her eyes, anyway, and she ran faster, not caring if the others kept up.
She waited for them in the chariot after bridling the stallions and giving them each an apple. Poros and Hermie had waited for Mina and Jinsoo. Hermie was also in tears, and the faces of the others were grave.
“I’m sorry,” Poros said to her.
She nodded, not wanting to think about it. “Should I take the reins, or should you?”
“You know as much as I,” he said. “Do you want to drive?”
Hestie just wanted to get away as fast as possible, so once everyone was seated, she took the reins and told the stallions to fly.
Hestie parked the chariot behind her house, nestled in the trees of the San Juan Mountains, and rushed inside through the back door, anxious to see her animal friends. Hermie called after her to wait, that there might be a trap, but she didn’t hear him until she’d already entered the kitchen.
Clifford and Noodle noticed her right away and jumped from where they’d been lying on the couch to greet her. They lifted their paws onto her shins, barking excitedly. Chidori’s tweets were soon added to the mix. Hestie could barely understand what the animals were saying, because they were speaking too quickly and over one another.
Kitty soon joined them from where she’d been perched on the television, and Jewels lifted her head over the side of her sandbox and winked.
Everyone seemed well fed. She ran up to her room to check on Prim and Katniss. Their cage reeked, but the animals were fine. “I’m so glad you’re all okay.” She let them out of their cage and had them perch on her shoulders. Then she met the others downstairs.
Not long after Mina, Jinsoo, and Poros had been introduced to the animals, including Katniss and Prim, Lynn surprised them by walking in through the back door.
“You’re back?” she asked. “Yay! I’ve been worried.”
“Not for good, I’m afraid,” Hestie said.
“We just came home to do something,” Hermie explained. “We have to return to the Underworld as soon as possible.”
“I thought you were on Mount Olympus?” Lynn asked.
“I was,” Hermie said. “And believe me, it wasn’t pleasant. But then we were in the Underworld. That’s where our parents are now, too.”
“For how long?” Lynn asked.
“We’re not sure,” Hestie said.
“Are these demigods, too?” Lynn asked of their friends.
“Poros is a god,” Hermie said. “But Mina and Jinsoo are regular mortals, like you.”
“Hey,” Mina said.
“Nice to meet you,” Lynn said.
“Same,” Poros said.
“So an actual god, huh?” Lynn said to Poros. “Like Athena and Aphrodite?”
“Yeah. They’re my sisters. Well, Aphrodite is a half-sister.”
“Cool,” Lynn said.
Poros smiled. “Thanks.”
“So how long will you be here?” Lynn asked.
“An hour tops,” Hermie said. “But don’t worry about feeding the animals today.”
“Yeah. We got it,” Hestie said. “And I promise to pay you my life savings when we get back.”
“No worries,” Lynn said. “I’ve got to go to practice, so I’ll see you later.”
After Lynn left, Hestie and Hermie filled the animals in on what was going on as they fed them and promised they’d return as soon as possible but explained that first they needed to create a video and post messages on their social media upstairs.
Clifford, Noodle, and Kitty followed the humans upstairs.
“Excuse the smell,” Hestie said to their new friends. “I don’t think Lynn has been cleaning the rat cage. In fact, Hermie, could you get the video camera ready while I do that?”
“Do you really want to take time for that?” Hermie asked.
“They’ve got to be miserable in there,” she said. “I can do it fast.”
“Can I help?” Poros asked.
This surprised Hestie, because the smell in her room was almost unbearable. “If you can stand it, sure.”
