Page 7 of A Contemporary Mythos Thanksgiving
I’d spent the rest of the day with Poseidon listening to embarrassing stories about Zeus as a kid and didn’t see Olivia until right before dusk. She’d hit it off with Triton and was beyond smitten, praying he’d want to see her again. We spent the rest of the evening touring Pensacola Beach’s bar scene and enjoying the view of the moonlight reflecting off the Gulf. Considering it took all of several minutes to convince Poseidon to come and the rest of the time was a relaxing mini-vacation, I could only hope my god-king husband had the same luck on his end.
* * *
Z E U S
The banks of the river Styx. I grimaced at the black sand caked to my once shiny, sleek loafers. The last time I’d been “down below” was the scheme to get Hades and Stephanie together—his forever queen. They’d thought me petty, cruel, and selfish at the time, but I’d since convinced them I only played the part to get through their thick, stubborn skulls. Their pairing had to happen, and being the leader, the task fell on my shoulders.
I shoved my hands in my pockets, whistling a random ditty to myself as I waited for Hades to notice my presence. The place hadn’t changed much through the centuries—doom and gloom with a macabre overlay. Gothic sconces hung from the cave ceiling harboring flickering blue flames, two thrones—one black and gnarled, the other white and ornate—erected tall and proud near the riverbank. Smokey shades of traveling souls skirted the Styx water like wailing fog.
“You’ve either bothered to show your face down here because you’re about to give me an order or an ultimatum,” Hades said from his throne, one leg hanging over an armrest, his black robes floating around him. “Which is it, little brother?” He leaned an elbow on the other armrest, placing his chin in his hand and all but glaring at me with skepticism.
Chuckling, I removed a hand from my pocket to rake through my hair. “This may come as a surprise to you, Hades, but—neither.”
“Oh?” Hades shifted on the throne, keeping his leg draped but folding his hands over his stomach. “I’m all ears then.”
I pointed to the empty throne beside him. “Where’s your blushing bride?”
Hades’ glowing white eyes brightened, his long silver hair floating in whisps around his flaming crown. “It’s been years. She’s hardly blushing any longer.”
“You sure?” A sly grin tugged at my lips.
A hint of a smile flashed from the Underworld King, and he flicked his wrist at me. “She’s handling Elysian affairs. Do you need her present for this mysterious visit?”
I jingled a random set of keys I’d kept in my pocket. “Actually, no. It’syouI need to convince.”
Hades let his face fall against his palm. “Olympus. Convince me? It sounds like this is going to take a while.” He flared his smoke and ember wings, floating from the throne to stand in front of me. “I’ve got rounds to make. You can talk to me while youfollowme. Deal?”
I’d be hesitant to make deals with the King of the Underworld, even one as trivial as this if it weren’t for me beinghisking.
Stepping aside, I held out my hand. “Lead the way, Doomy.”
“Resorting to childhood name-calling, are we?” Hades swooshed his arm, kicking up sand and grey smoke, making us appear in Tartarus.
“It’s the holidays, bro. I’m feeling—nostalgic.” I clapped him on the shoulder before grimacing at the insatiable heat wafting from every corner.
Hades groaned as he waltzed past a man with a single drop of venom dripping on his forehead every time he got tired of holding the bowl above his head to stop it. “Is this what this is about? Theholidays?”
The stench of burning flesh, oozing puss, and other questionable scents leaked into my nose, making me gag. “How do you deal with this? Gorgon’s tit. It smells like ass mixed with battery acid over a bed of diarrhea in here.”
“Put so eloquently, your majesty,” Hades responded, his tone laced with sarcasm. “I hurled my guts out for the first month dealing with this. But after thousands of years, I gotusedto it.”
A pang of guilt spiraled in my stomach, but one of us had to take control of the Underworld. And I knew I hadn’t been cut out for it. I’d taken on a different kind of burden, one that, when push came to shove, Hades wouldn’t have been able to handle—making the hard choices for the betterment of the realm.
Producing a nose plug over my nostrils, I breathed through my mouth. “To answer your question. Yes, this is partially about the holidays. Thanksgiving to be specific. My darling queen thought it best to have a meeting on Olympus to discuss deity affairs while simultaneously having a—family dinner.”
We passed another room with a woman in a straitjacket, running her head into one wall before running across the small padded white room and slamming into the adjacent one.
“How I do hate socializing,” Hades grumbled, flaring his ember wings as he passed a wandering man. “Back to your corner,” he roared.
The man’s eyes widened, a puddle forming at his crotch at the sight of Hades before he scurried away, wringing his hands together.
“Yes, I know, brother. You’ve been forced into a life of hermit-tude. And your company is—” I scrunched my nose at an old, scraggly man crawling on his hands and knees, picking things off the stone ground to eat. “—not exactlycompany. But, your sweet Stephanie, on the other hand, loves to be around her new family.”
Hades flashed a sly smile at me over his shoulder, those sharpened incisors adding to his wickedness. “Now it makes sense. Much like my life revolves around theloveof my life, so too is the King of the Gods governed by his woman.”
His words struck a chord. I hadn’t minded bending to any whim or will I could manage that Keira put in front of me, but what shellshocked me was the fact she’d been the first to have that effect on me—ever.
“Partially.” I adjusted my tie and shoved my hands in my pockets. “I decided to make Mount Olympus active again. That included regular gatherings of the royals to discuss diplomatic matters. The festivities, however—” Trailing off, I chewed on my bottom lip.
