“How does he know that? Is he safe?” I demanded.
All I wanted Hades to tell me was that Hephaestus was fine, and we were closer to ending this so my life could be as drama-free as possible dating four monsters and a god. Hades looked like he was about to give me a very Hades answer, but Persephone just smiled.
“Hephaestus is just fine. He’s right under Zeus’s nose, and he doesn’t even know it. The Fates visited the Horae and told them to help him, but they would have done that, anyway. Hephaestus is older than I am, but he always made me curious because everyone was so mean to him. I saw him sneaking through Olympus one day and followed him. Our people don’t sneak anywhere.
“He went to the Horae’s back gate, and I watched him bring them gifts and have tea with them. They were so much nicer to him than his own mother, and I was happy for him. I don’t think he wanted anyone to know because he didn’t want to bring trouble to their door. I kept his secret for him and went back home. They would have snuck you in if he asked, even if the Fates didn’t give them some cryptic message they should.”
I didn’t really believe in fate because so much random shit just seemed to be thrown at me with no rhyme or reason even before I ended up down here. If all that was a bunch of crones playing with strings, then I had so many things to say about that. But everyone here who wasn’t a half demon, a full demon, or a witch believed fully in the Fates and wanted to know exactly what kind of spoiler they might have dropped. And they were about to hop right on top of Hades to find out.
Hades held up his hands as he got swarmed by four massive monsters. What was Charley doing? She was right up in Hades’s face too, and she was so tiny compared to the rest of them. I didn’t know how old she was, but I didn’t think it was Greek God old, and she ended up in Hell, not the Underworld. Everyone here seemed pretty unfamiliar with witchcraft when she showed up and started casting magic. Why was she so interested in what the Olympian Fates had to say?
“Enough! Persephone and I have dealt with the Fates way more than anyone here. They reveal nothing major, but they like to move things like chess pieces. They moved the Horae to help Hephaestus, but all they said were some strings were going to get cut soon. They are not, and will not, just going to change and start telling people when they are going to cut a string.”
Charley placed her hands on her hips and just glared at Hades. She was just so small and innocent looking, but I knew better, and I hoped Hades did too. Whatever she was about to ask, he’d better have an appropriate answer because something told me witch curses were just as unpleasant as the ones Olympians gave out like candy.
“Witches hold a lot of stock in fate and the stars. We don’t worship you, but we respect any old gods throughout history and have our own we pay tribute to. Do your Fates control everyone or just Olympians?”
Well, that was a really fucking good question. One I should have asked myself. If they were going to be cutting strings soon, we needed to make damned sure it wasn’t ours. I didn’t survive vet school and killing Demeter just to have some fucking Fate cut my string right when I had a chance at happiness.
Charley barely came up to Hades’s armpits, but she looked ready to punch him right in the testicles or curse him with a dick for a nose if he didn’t answer right. I watched the great God of the Underworld take a slow step back.
“Despite what they told everyone when they came to Earth, the Fates are an entirely Olympian thing. Well, demigods too technically since they share blood with us. The Fates just love messing with demigods, but they’ve left Olympians alone for the most part. I don’t know if they decided this a long time ago or something happened in Olympus, and they’ve decided to start cutting strings.”
I frowned. None of this was making sense. So, Hephaestus’s life was tied to these three women and their strings? Why didn’t they just cut Demeter’s string before she ran amok in the Underworld? Did I even kill her?
“Did I kill Demeter, or did the Fates? I thought Hephaestus’s weapon was the only thing that could kill an Olympian. Now, you’re telling me it involves strings and three women.”
“Can I explain before the two of you just start attacking me? Get out of my face and go sit down. You’ll get your answers. Keep your fire and spells to yourselves and let me speak.”
Charley just flounced back to the bench and plopped down. I joined my monsters and snuggled in. I wanted Hephaestus back and for this to be over more than anything, but we needed to know what we were walking into.
“Okay, the Fates. They spin our strings, and they cut them, but they need an outside action to actually do the killing. So, the Fates cut Demeter’s string, but they still needed Hephaestus to make a weapon and someone to use it on her. That is why they went to the Horae and told them to help Hephaestus. Whatever strings they are planning on cutting need more than him there to actually get the job done. Does that satisfy you?”
Charley was okay with this, but I wasn’t. I still had questions. I was good at my job because I asked a lot of those.
“Okay, so the Fates can cut the strings of Olympians and demigods. What about humans who were cursed by Olympians and changed into monsters? They technically have Olympian magic in them now.”
I saw the look that passed over Hades’s face. He didn’t know. Charley, Finn, Solron, Barbatos, and I would be safe when we went, but Hades was asking my monsters to go knowing the Fates said strings were getting cut. And he couldn’t know for sure if the Fates had strings for them that were getting cut as collateral damage. And my monsters knew it too. Kimon tightened his arms around my waist and squeezed me.
“We’re still going, baby bird. You aren’t setting foot in Olympus without us.”
“Damned straight!” Pavlina said. “Hades doesn’t know for sure, so there’s a fifty-fifty chance I kill Athena or she kills me. I’ve got a weapon, venom, and webs. She cursed me with that. It’s only fair I get to slow her down with them so I can kill her.”
Tryphon’s tentacle wrapped around my ankle.
“We need this, River. Poseidon needs to die, and so does anyone else who would want that weapon. Kimon and Demos might not need it, but Pavlina and I need our revenge. We need closure, and we need to end this before anyone gets bright ideas about coming to the Underworld.”
I knew they needed this. Even Demos and Kimon might need their revenge, and I got that. I had never really been about killing my enemies before I got kidnapped, but I’d done my share of petty revenge before. But that was it. It was petty and passive-aggressive. I eventually grew out of that, but I still understood that urge.
I also knew that even if they didn’t need closure by killing the gods that cursed them, they wouldn’t let me go without them. It wasn’t like I could ask anyone here to go in their place either. The demigods here would all have strings, and the humans weren’t fighters. They’d all be slaughtered and get me killed too. Plus, we had cut many of the human population down when the monsters revolted at the arena.
“You’re all leaving first thing in the morning,” Hades said. “With the time difference in Olympus, you’ll get to the gates late at night when everyone is asleep.”
My monsters all started whooping and letting out battle cries. I should have felt good about seeing Hephaestus again and being closer to ending this.