The underworld saga, p.179
The Underworld Saga, page 179
“I’m not a power-monger,” Poros insisted. “I don’t want to rule the gods.”
Athena’s dark brows bent over her stunning gray eyes. “Then what do you want?”
“A better world,” Poros said.
“Then why not appeal to our father?” Athena asked. “Why wage war?”
“Because if history has shown us anything,” Metis said, “it’s that your father will never change. He cannot be the one to lead us.”
“Then who can?” Athena scoffed. “Prometheus?”
“I don’t want to lead, either,” Prometheus said gently.
“Then who?” Athena asked.
“Why not you?” Metis implored her, moving closer to the ship.
Athena glared at her mother. “You want me to overthrow my own father?”
Hestie took Mina and Jinsoo by the hands, pulling them a few steps back from the group, ready to flee if needed.
“We want the gods to vote on a leader, as they do in most of the countries of the modern world,” Poros explained.
“Why should the gods follow the lead of mortals?” Athena challenged.
“Because, regardless of its origins, democracy is wise,” her mother said. “And you know this to be true. Why are you fighting it?”
Athena blinked and shook her head.
“Take some time to think about it, Athena,” Prometheus said. “Please?”
“You have no right to ask anything of me after what you did to me,” Athena said angrily. “Neither of you do,” she added, glaring at her mother. “Both of you abandoned me when I needed you, but my father has been at my side. Why should I turn my back on the one who has never left me?”
“He turned you to stone,” Metis reminded her. “He convinced Poseidon to take you as a prisoner.”
“Because he knew I wanted to release you,” Athena said. “And now I understand why he resisted me.”
Without another word, Athena vanished.
Hestie tried to read the faces of Poros and Prometheus.
“I’m sorry that didn’t go better,” Prometheus said to Metis.
“She’ll come around,” Metis said. “Give her time.”
“How can you be so sure?” Poros asked his mother.
“Because no one is wiser than my daughter; but, right now, her emotions are getting the best of her. Once her emotions have a chance to settle down, she’ll see that we’re on the side of right.”
Dione flew from the water to hover in the air beside Metis. “My sister speaks the truth. Athena needs time.”
Clymene joined her sisters in the air above the sea. They were only a few feet from the stern of the ship. Hestie moved toward the rail of the back upper deck to get a better look at them.
“Son,” Clymene said, “You are the key to winning her over.”
“What can I do?” Prometheus asked.
“Mend her broken heart,” Metis said.
“I tried to tell you,” Clymene added. “For centuries, I tried to tell you. She still cares for you. She’s never been with another.”
“Metis must do the same,” Dione said. “Both of you need to find a way to make amends with her, or the rebellion will be lost.”
***
Morpheus left Mount Olympus beneath the helm of invisibility and god traveled to Lemon Reservoir in Colorado, just outside of Durango, to his cousins’ grandparents’ house. He felt sick to his stomach, realizing he had made another mistake in the face of hopelessness and desperation. He wanted Iris free, but not at the cost of another’s freedom.
Why had he offered to bring Zeus another seer?
The only thing he could do now was to warn Lynn that she could be in danger. If Zeus and his followers discovered that she was the seer Morpheus had been talking about, they would take her to Mount Olympus to use her for their own ends.
He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her. She could be killed, and it would be his fault. Hermie and Hestie and Than and Therese would never forgive him. He’d be an outcast in his own family.
When he landed on the gravel drive leading up to the house beneath the late afternoon sun, Hecate appeared beside him.
“What are you doing here?’ she asked him.
“I need to warn Lynn,” he said. “Why are you here?”
“Does Zeus know of her gifts?” Hecate asked.
“How do you know of them?” Morpheus asked.
“Than asked me to have a word with Hermes.”
“Great.” Morpheus wished he hadn’t told anyone. If Hermes knew…
“Why have you come to warn her?” Hecate asked. “Does Zeus know?”
“Not yet. But he knows another seer exists, and that she’s a mortal from Colorado. It might not be long before he figures out who she is.”
Hecate sighed. “How did Zeus come to know that? Was it Hermes who said something?”
Morpheus hung his head in shame. “No. No, it was me.”
She looked at him with wide eyes.
“I made a mistake,” he added. “If you could see how frightened Iris is…I just want to rescue her. I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re young,” she said. “You’ve made mistakes. We all have.”
Morpheus wished her words could make him feel better. “What can I do? I was going to warn Lynn. But what can she do, anyway? If Hermes tells Zeus, she’s screwed.”
Hecate scratched her head and took a few steps toward the street, as if she was going to walk away.
“Hecate?” Morpheus asked.
“I don’t think Hermes will say anything,” she said, “especially if you give him someone more valuable than Lynn.”
Morpheus lifted his chin. “Who?”
Hecate smiled. “Me.”
“What?”
“Tell Zeus he can have me if he promises to free Iris, Demeter, and Persephone.”
“I doubt he’ll give up all three.”
“Just go back and make the offer. Come to my rooms when you have an answer.”
Morpheus threw up his hands. “But if he has you, won’t that be bad for the rebellion?”
“Trust me, will you? And before you go, tell me everything you saw in Lynn’s dream.”
Chapter Seven: Prisoner Exchange
T
hanatos sat across the table from Artemis, Apollo, and Hades in one of his parents’ meeting rooms, where the light from the Phlegethon flickered, as if they were sitting around a campfire. Hip was there, too, with Hecate between them. Therese and Jen were carrying out their duties elsewhere but were on their way. His sisters and Pete had remained in Tartarus to interrogate a mortal warrior whom they believed was a son of Ares. The Furies had heard the warrior was beloved by their father and might know something about the loyalists’ plans. Poseidon had returned to his palace to defend it against potential attacks by Zeus.
As Hecate told them about her proposition, Than was glad his kids weren’t there to hear the gory details. He’d just finished checking on them on the Mediterranean, where they were safely aboard The Marcella with Prometheus.
“I don’t like it,” Hades said to Hecate. “Zeus will make you swear an oath.”
“You’ll be forced to lie or, worse, to tell the truth,” Apollo added.
“And if you refuse, they’ll torture you,” Artemis said.
Hecate stood from her chair. “You saw what they did to me in the Pit. I will not be broken.”
Than shuddered at the memory of Hecate’s injuries, given to her by the imprisoned Titans.
“I appreciate what you’re willing to do for us, Hecate,” Hades said as he tugged at his beard. “But I can’t let you endure more torment. You’ve barely recovered.”
“Shouldn’t that be my choice?” Hecate challenged.
“There’s no way Zeus will exchange three for one,” Hip said.
Than sat up in his chair. “Demeter would make a powerful ally, though.”
“She won’t help us,” Hades said.
“She would do anything to rescue her daughter,” Hecate said to Hades. “Even align herself with you.”
“Zeus knows that,” Apollo said. “He’d give us Persephone before he’d let Demeter go.”
“I might agree to those terms,” Hecate said. “But I didn’t want to start there.”
Hades frowned.
“Zeus needs a seer,” Artemis said. “And the fact that she’s also a witch sweetens the deal. I think he might go for it.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Hecate said, taking her seat once more. “I’ve sent Morpheus to Mount Olympus to make the offer.”
Hades jumped to his feet. “Without consulting me?”
“I knew what you’d say, Lord Hades. You’d try to talk me out of it, even though you’d know this was our best shot.”
“This might be a good thing for Morpheus,” Hip said. “With Hecate on Mount Olympus, I’d feel better, anyway.”
Than knew his brother hated the role Morpheus had been forced to play in this dangerous conflict. He wished he could shield the young god from the treacheries of war. If Lynn’s dream was truly a prediction, then none of the young gods were immune to them. It made Than eager to act.
“What can I do?” he asked his father. “Maybe I could use the helm to spy.”
“We do need a spy,” Hades said, “but it would be best to send someone without your power of disintegration, since the helm prevents it.”
“I agree,” Artemis said. “You never know when you or Hypnos might be needed to amass an army.”
“In fact,” Hades continued, “one of you should join Poseidon at his palace. His spies have heard whispers of possible attacks by sea.”
“A distraction, no doubt,” Apollo said.
Than knew how much his brother hated water. “I’ll do it.”
Hip gave him a grateful grin. “Thanks, bro’. I’ll keep an eye on things down here.”
Therese appeared and asked Than telepathically what she’d missed as she took the empty seat at the end of the table, next to Artemis. Than filled her in. Before he could stop her, she was volunteering to join him in defending Poseidon’s palace.
Then she added, telepathically to Than, Jen and Scylla are spying on Keto and Phorcys. Scylla suspects Zeus is recruiting them. We’re not to tell anyone.
Than replied that it was a bad idea for the two goddesses to go without backup, but their telepathic conversation was interrupted by Apollo.
“I should be the spy on Mount Olympus,” Apollo said. “It might provoke a vision, and I’ll know whom to trust.”
“We can’t afford to lose you,” Hades said. “No one is disposable, but your special skills are particularly useful when brothers wage war against brothers.”
“I’ll do it, then” Artemis said.
“Let’s first wait and hear from Morpheus,” Hades said. “We’ll amend our plans from there.”
“I’m here,” Morpheus said, removing the helm and stepping into the room. “Zeus has agreed to Hecate’s terms.”
“To all of them?” Hecate asked.
Morpheus grinned. “To all of them.”
Than scrutinized their expressions, having the feeling that there were other terms Hecate had failed to mention.
***
Hestie followed Poros from the upper deck to the salon, where the broken windows had been replaced, and there was no sign of the attack that had nearly killed her and Mina and Jinsoo. The others had remained above with Prometheus, but Hestie could tell that something was upsetting Poros, and she didn’t want him to be alone.
“Are you okay?” she asked him.
He stood near the kitchen, staring at nothing. “I guess so.”
“What’s wrong?” She crossed the room and sat on the long couch that stretched beneath the starboard bank of windows.
“I thought it would be different. What a letdown.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Meeting my sister. I imagined it differently. I saw her giving me a hug, kissing my cheek, or, at least, mussing my hair, like Prometheus always does. I thought she’d be as glad to see me as I was her.”
“I’m sure she was glad to see you.”
“She was jealous. She thought our mother loved me more. What a disappointment.” He swiped at his eyes, made even more stunning by the well of tears threatening to drop to his cheeks.
Hestie climbed to her feet and went to him. She put her hand on his shoulder and met his beautiful gray eyes: soulful, kind, but troubled. She couldn’t get over how stunning they were—even more so than Athena’s. “There’s a lot going on right now. Under different circumstances…”
“That’s what I keep telling myself. But it’s still a disappointment, nonetheless.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“I waited a long time for that moment,” he said, “and now I’ll never have it back.”
“There will be other moments.”
“I knew it wouldn’t live up to my expectations, but I didn’t think it would go that badly.”
Hestie squeezed his shoulder. “Give her another chance to show she cares.”
“She seemed cold, didn’t she?”
“The strategist in her is being cautious. For centuries, she’s only had her father.”
“I didn’t know there was a history between her and Prometheus,” he said. “He never told me about it.”
“Maybe he would, if you asked him.”
Poros gave her a half-smile. “Maybe.”
She suddenly realized she’d been clutching his shoulder for too long, and now he was gazing down at her, his face close to hers, as if he might kiss her. And to her own annoyance, she couldn’t stop looking at his mouth—those perfectly formed lips. As much as she wanted to comfort him, she didn’t think a relationship was a good idea—not while the entire pantheon was in jeopardy and they were on the brink of war.
She cleared her throat, dropped her hand from his shoulder to her side, and looked away, trying to distract herself with the view through the windows. “Maybe we should rejoin the others.”
Angrily, he muttered, “Athena isn’t the only cold one today,” as he brushed past her toward the steps to the upper deck.
“Poros,” she said as she followed him. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
He stopped on the bottom step and looked down at her with narrowed eyes. “I may have been raised on a ship away from most people, but I know I’m not imagining this thing between us.”
Hestie’s mouth dropped open. She resisted covering her cheeks, which were hot with embarrassment. She tried to speak, but no words came out.
Still angry—whether at Athena or Hestie or both—Poros stomped up the steps and didn’t look back.
Hestie followed him to the upper deck, where the others were still gathered. Clymene, Dione, and Metis had left shortly after Athena. Prometheus now sat at the helm with Jinsoo beside him in the swivel chairs, turned to face the couch, where Mina and Hermie were sitting.
They looked up at Poros and Hestie as they approached.
Jinsoo jumped from the chair that everyone knew belonged to Poros and scooted onto the couch beside his sister.
Poros took his seat and once more wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
Hestie squeezed onto the couch beside her brother. There wasn’t adequate room for all four of them, but none of them seemed to mind being pinned together like packaged sausages.
“Captain was telling us about Athena,” Mina said.
Poros looked up at Prometheus. “What about her?”
“I’m sorry she wasn’t herself today,” Prometheus said. “She’s hurt and conflicted.”
“You haven’t seen her in centuries,” Poros said. “How can you be sure she hasn’t changed since you knew her?”
“I’m sure she has,” Prometheus said. “But some things about a person never change. I knew Athena better than anyone, and, from what I’ve heard, no one has managed to get close to her since I left the gods behind.”
“Why did you never reach out to her over the years?” Hestie asked, and then immediately regretted it. This wasn’t her business, and she hadn’t meant to pry.
“For her safety, as well as mine,” he said. “As Zeus’s number-one enemy, I couldn’t afford to risk her father’s wrath. And I couldn’t very well be an advocate for the human race from the Titan Pit.”
“Do you still love her?” Mina asked.
“Mina!” Jinsoo complained.
“It’s okay, Jinsoo,” Prometheus said kindly. “As I said, some things about a person never change.”
“You should ask her to marry you!” Mina said with a smile that split her face in half.
Everyone laughed.
“I’d like nothing more,” Prometheus said with a smile.
Hestie noticed a movement at the top of the mast. It was a bird of some kind. It must have been perched there before flying off. She pointed. “What kind of bird is that? It’s huge.”
“An owl,” Poros said.
Hestie looked from Poros to Prometheus and back again. Had the owl been Athena?
***
Full of excitement over his upcoming reunion with Iris, Morpheus followed Hecate and Artemis through the rainbow arch from the Underworld to Mount Olympus. The rainbow was barely visible in the evening sky, and Artemis was completely invisible to him beneath Hades’s helm. She was going to spy on the prisoner exchange, and, if Morpheus understood the plan correctly, she would stay to ensure Hecate’s safety and to learn all she could about Zeus’s plans.
Zeus and Hera were waiting for them with extra security. In addition to Ares and Hermes, Phobos and Deimos—the twin sons of Ares and Aphrodite—were stationed near the bird cages holding Iris and Demeter. Phobos and Deimos stood like lions with their red manes and fierce brows and jutting jaws. Aphrodite, Hestia, Rhea, and Hephaestus were also there.
“Where’s Persephone?” Hecate asked before anyone had been greeted.
“Rest assured I will deliver her,” Zeus said from where he stood before his throne.
