“Oh, kitty likes that?” Demos grinned.
“Oh, shut up, Demos. I can’t turn it off, so can we focus on flying?”
“Your wings feel strong and capable of flight. You haven’t used them yet, so I don’t know if you need to build up to this like the baby bird Kimon likes to call you, or this is more like a phoenix situation where magic is involved so you can always fly.”
Kimon had called me baby bird from the start, and none of us had any way of knowing I had wings. I didn’t even know what I was when he called me that. I’d met a bat shit crazy oracle, but Kimon didn’t get visions like that. I’d always liked his pet name for me, but now there was something serendipitous about it. I didn’t have a single feather on me, but I had wings, and I really hoped he didn’t change his name for me because my demonic form was a little cat and a fairly large bat.
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“Flap your wings hard and get a running start. Your wings will do the rest. I’ll join you.”
Demos burst into flame, and I looked at his phoenix, easily beating his wings in the air. He made it look so easy, but I was half wondering if I could run and flap at the same time without tripping and ending up eating pavement. How embarrassing. Everyone was watching, and Charley made a bag of popcorn with magic that she shared with Finn.
Here goes nothing. It was utterly awkward trying to run and flap wings I didn’t know I had for the first time. It was like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. You could do it once you found your rhythm. I hadn’t found mine yet, and I stumbled a few times. I hadn’t completely fallen on my face, but I still wasn’t managing this whole up in the air thing.
“Use your wings for balance, River. That’s what they’re for.”
Easy for him to say. I still wasn’t sure how I was supposed to run and flap them simultaneously, much less use them for balance. This was more awkward than my first school dance when my entire school thought I was weird and no one would talk to me, so I sat on the bleachers all night and got a stomach ache from the sugary punch. I never went to another dance after that.
I ran the courtyard's full length without face planting, but I also never left the ground. I placed my paws on my knees and tried to catch my breath.
“Well, that didn’t work.”
“It was a good first try, River. When I was a baby phoenix, my parents told me I used to fly into the wall all the time. You didn’t even fall. Do you want to catch your breath and try again?”
The Demos I met in the jails that first day would never have admitted he’d done anything like flying into walls when he was a kid. But he was doing it now to make me feel better, and I appreciated it. He’d been doing this since he was born, and even he had a learning curve.
I turned around and squared my shoulders. Even if I didn’t end up in the air, I was going to run the entire courtyard without tripping. I could do this. All these abilities might be magic, but I still had to learn to use them. Just because it was magical didn’t mean I’d instantly be able to do all this. I’d seen Charley do some unique spells, but she had to learn all that, and I had to learn this.
I took off running again. I was steadier this time. I never took flight, but I stumbled much less when I made it to the other end this time. I was thanking my insane devotion to my spin instructor and his killer workout because I could be here for hours, and I was already sweating.
“That was better, River. Do you want to stop for the day?”
Stop? I’d only run the courtyard twice, and I was better the second time. I might have the upper body strength of a toddler, but my cardiovascular system was in excellent shape. I was out of breath and sweating, but no one needed to stick a fork in me just yet. I could run the courtyard a few more times.
“Again.”
“That’s my girl, but it’s okay if you don’t end up in the air today.”
“No, it’s not. I’m going to need to be able to fly when we get to Olympus.”
“Hephaestus probably knows where to hide there. We can continue in Olympus. I know you want revenge, River, but maybe Hephaestus needs to be the one to kill Zeus. He was the one hurt the most by him.”
“I can’t see Hephaestus killing anyone.”
Demos just laughed.
“He snapped his ex-wife’s neck, River, and she didn’t throw him all the way to Earth. Hephaestus may surprise you.”
“True. But enough about that bitch. I want to go again.”
“I’m not going to stop you.”
I ran the entire courtyard three more times. I got better at not tripping, and I figured out how to use my wings for balance, but I never got airborne. As much as I wanted to get this figured out, I was still pretty proud of what I managed to do.
Maybe soon, I could join Demos in the air.
Chapter 7
Kimon
I
wanted to be alone with my baby bird. I watched her exhaust herself trying to take flight, and I just wanted to wash her back and snuggle with her to make it better that she couldn’t do it. She accomplished a lot. I could tell from the sidelines she was making progress every time she took off running again, but I knew she would focus on how she didn’t take to the skies so she could help Hephaestus.
I didn’t get my alone time, and River didn’t even get a hot shower. When she agreed to leave it for the day, Hades came out to pull us to a meeting. Pavlina insisted food be brought because River had to be hungry after all that running.
Hades had been ignoring us to do his own thing, and we were used to that. River wasn’t. Hephaestus made a move without Hades’s approval, and now he had to scramble and plot. Now we were getting called into the planning part. I liked Hades, but he was a bit of a control freak, and even though they didn’t get along, I don’t think he liked the idea of killing his brother.
I thought Hephaestus had the right idea. What was he supposed to do? Let the Olympians torture him while Hades tried to talk things out? I would have snapped Aphrodite’s neck and escaped too. I had to deal with her when Persephone would have lunch with her, and I have no idea how Hephaestus stayed married to her without flinging himself into his forge to get away from her.
We all sat down in Hades’s meeting room, and there was no food here. River needed to eat. Everyone noticed.
“Where’s the food I asked for?” Pavlina said.
Hades just rolled his eyes.
“Unless you want me to feed her finger sandwiches, the food needs time to cook. It’s coming. Sit down and pay attention.”
Barbatos had been with us watching her try, and he beamed at River.
“You were so close. I’ll bet you can manage it tomorrow.”
“You almost had it a few times,” Pavlina said.
“I wish I could fly,” Charley sighed. “Despite rumors to the contrary, I can’t enchant a broom and go flying wherever I like.”
“Seriously? I’ve seen you do all kinds of shit,” River asked.
Charley just yawned.
“Witches and warlocks have been trying to perfect that for ages. We have levitation spells, but they only last long enough to bring something across the room. A few have enchanted the broom, but it goes feral, and you can’t sit on it. It’s more likely to beat you to death than carry you anywhere. You got pretty close.”