Chapter 1
River
I
knew I was supposed to be paying attention to my father, but there was so much being thrown at me and all I wanted to do was get Hephaestus back. It was this catch-22 because I couldn’t get him back unless I focused and mastered all of this.
My monsters were teaching me the beauty of knives. I was almost getting close to hitting the target when I threw them. I also had hand to hand combat lessons that ended up way more erotic than they should be. I wouldn’t be out of breath and turned on if an Olympian pinned me on my back, but I just wanted to grab them and kiss them when my monsters did it.
I at least felt like I was making progress on learning to fight. My father was working with me on my demon side, and Charley was trying to teach me too. My father insisted the only way I could exist was that there must be something supernatural somewhere in my DNA, even if it was dormant.
I didn’t know this until I explained it to me. Still, there were several supernatural races on Earth, and the only ones who had successfully passed powers down to children when they mated with humans were the Fae and apparently the Olympians when they were here.
I should have been powerless by all rights unless there was something else supernatural in my DNA that I couldn’t access. Charley offered to do something called a lineage spell, which I guess is like those ancestry tests many companies offer. Witches could make bank with that if they marketed it.
My father wanted to do that later. It seemed important to him I access this demonic form because it could be another way to defend myself. He admitted his was just a much bigger man, but since he was fire born, I got some of his abilities, and mine could be virtually anything.
I could hear animals for as long as I could remember. I found out I was fireproof by accident. The only reason I could call fire to my body now was that I had a phoenix who was terrified I was going to burn him teaching me. Changing my entire body into something different when no one knew what that was? It wasn’t easy.
“Focus, River!” my father barked.
I ran my fingers through my hair. This would be so much easier if all my monsters weren’t in here watching. I knew they wanted to see my inner monster, but honestly, I had no idea how to bring her out.
“I’m trying!”
Barbatos pulled me into a hug.
“I know. But you have to try harder than you ever have in your entire life. I don’t want you going to Olympus if you can’t do this. I know you’re too old for me to tell you what to do, but I have Hades’s ear, and I will make sure you stay here!”
“What?” I shrieked.
I knew that was coming. I still couldn’t throw a knife with any accuracy, so all I really had going for me was that I could talk to the monsters and my fire. I’d put them all in danger if I went because they would try to protect me.
Still, I desperately needed to help save Hephaestus. Zeus had hurt him before. I was sure he was torturing him now. He couldn’t kill him because he didn’t have one of Hephaestus’s weapons, but he could still hurt him. He’d done it before. Hephaestus thought he was defective because of the limp Zeus gave him, even though I thought he was utterly perfect.
Barbatos held up his hand.
“I’m serious, River. Now that I’ve found you, I’m not going to lose you to some war in a realm that can’t claim you. I know I’ve got a lot to make up for. I’m going to help get your lover back, but I won’t let you risk your life if you can’t manage this. I know you can. You have this in you.”
I slumped in my chair.
“Yeah, but I don’t know how to reach it.”
My father’s eyes just twinkled.
“You wanted to maul me when I said you couldn’t go, yes? You want to kill Zeus for taking him too. Use that rage, River. Think about everything Zeus did to Hephaestus and channel your rage. That is when your demonic form will come out to play. You’re half demon. It’s not about puppies and kittens.”
“Stay away from my puppies when you bring your monster out, River,” Cerberus whined.
When I wasn’t throwing knives or working on my demonic form, Cerberus insisted I check on Lis. She ran straight into Demeter as she turned into stone, but Charley had magically healed her, and I kept telling him I couldn’t see anything wrong with her. She wasn’t much better. She kept saying her heat was coming soon, and she wanted to make puppies with Cerberus.
“Lis isn’t even pregnant yet,” I pointed out. “And demons don’t eat puppies. Wait, do they?”
Barbatos just threw back his head and laughed.
“Of course not. I’ve eaten some strange meat cuts in my travels, and I think I ate dog once, but not on purpose. You’re stalling. Get angry, River. Zeus has your lover and is doing whatever he wants to him. We haven’t gone to get him yet because Hades is still deciding if he wants to unleash the Titans. What are you going to do about it?”
I knew what I wanted to do about it. I wanted to kick down the gates of Olympus and start stabbing Olympians. Zeus was hurting Hephaestus, and I swore he would never hurt him again. When Hephaestus said he would stay in the Underworld with us, I told myself he would always know happiness and that he was special.
Zeus fucking made me break my word, and I was furious.
I let out a little growl. I could see the red swirling around me. Maybe that was my anger. I wanted it to grow. I wanted it to consume me until I just became it and destroyed everyone in Olympus. I gave in to it and moved towards it.
Then it just stopped.
Everyone was beaming at me.
Did I do it?
Chapter 2
Demos
S
he was the loveliest thing I’d ever laid eyes on. And she had wings like me. River’s demonic form was glorious. Pavlina had dressed her. I tolerated the spider a little better now, but even I could admit she had excellent taste in clothing and was talented with her sewing machine.
River stood a lot taller now. She was closer to six feet tall now. She was dressed in all black leather because that’s just what Pavlina did. Her beautiful face was gone and replaced with a sleek black cat’s head. Deadly claws had replaced River’s hands. I didn’t like cats on a good day, but River just totally owned it.
That wasn’t what had me gaping at her. They weren’t feathered like mine. She had these leathery black wings that had sprouted from her back, and I was already thinking about all the possibilities when we both could fly.
I walked over and ran a finger down the spine of her wings.
“Do they work? Give them a flap.”
She wasn’t used to this like we were. She tried to talk with the cat’s head and ended up letting out this considerable yowl. I was glad Cerberus had no interest in chasing cats because if he hurt her, I’d have to hurt him back. And Hades was still mad at me I’d completely set my bedroom on fire. I still didn’t regret it, but he was still pissed. Probably because I wasn’t sorry. Cerberus just cocked all three of his heads at her like he didn’t know what to do with her.
Barbatos was beaming like a proud father. I didn’t know the first thing about demonic forms and what they had in Hell, but as far as monsters went, she was pretty fucking impressive.