Page 43 of Monster Whisperer
“Hephaestus was always put down by the other Gods and used by demigods to forge weapons for him. All of you have been using him and putting him down for centuries. I get the feeling he was lied to about those collars. If I can see him alone, I think he’ll tell me once and for all what they actually do. And maybe he’ll make me the Swiss Army knife of God killing weapons that have a way to unlock them.”
“River, you’re right about Hephaestus being used and abused by Gods and demigods alike, but it’s also made him very bitter. It’s why he still lives alone in his volcano with his forge. Olympus doesn’t want him because he’s not pretty enough for them, but I’ve told him he’d be welcome here a million times, and he doesn’t believe me.”
“Well, I’m not a God or demigod. I’m not going there to insult him. I’m not even Greek. My father is some Hellspawn, and my grandmother immigrated from Mexico. I have no intention of talking about what he looks like. I will ask for his help to save the Underworld.”
“It’s a risk, River. My own people have believed Demeter’s lies about Persephone being here against her will. Who is to say she hasn’t whispered into Hephaestus’s ear, and he made those collars do everything she’s threatened?”
River just shook her head.
“I don’t believe that. I just met Demeter, and she’s a rancid bitch. You offered Hephaestus a home. I just need to talk to him.”
She had all this hope for Gods and Goddesses, but they were all petty little bitches except for Hades. The Gods of Olympus used to go around raping women, and then the Goddesses would curse the woman like it was their fault. Poseidon released Tryphon to wipe out entire cities just because he didn’t think they loved him enough.
Tryphon ended up in the Underworld in this massive hot mess. He’d been sent to destroy an entire village unless they sacrificed their princess to him, all because some Nereids got butthurt that her mother said she was prettier than they were. Tryphon hated that kind of shit, and it cost him his life. Perseus even cut off poor Medusa’s head in the middle of that mess. It was pretty much a given, then everyone hated us monsters, even if it wasn’t our fucking fault we got turned into one like Medusa.
“You have too much faith in the Gods, baby bird.”
“I took Greek mythology as an elective in college, Kimon. I’ve read all about it. I didn’t know Olympus and the Underworld were real and just different realms. I didn’t know the myths were actually true and that I’d end up here and meet all of you. Maybe not being worshiped for so long has knocked them down a peg.”
“You met Demeter, and you seriously think the Gods and Goddesses in Olympus are less petty bitches than when they were running around Greece and Rome?”Pavlina asked.
River just huffed and glared at us.
“Well, we need a plan, and right now, this is the only one we have. If I can find out what those collars do, it’ll give the monsters in the pit hope. Maybe Hephaestus will make me a knife with a hidden key.”
“Or, he’ll warn Demeter, and you’ll end up with a head full of snakes,” Hades pointed out.
“Well, it’s the only plan we have, so we should just prepare. Demos is getting back tonight, so hopefully, he’ll have news we can work with after I find out about the collars.”
I thought River would look quite lovely with snakes for hair, but it would sure put a damper on things if meeting her gaze turned me to stone.
Chapter 33
Demos
W
hile it was nice to stretch my wings and gather intel on how to bring Persephone back, I had to return to jail. I did do some experimenting with that fucking collar. I was trapped as a phoenix and couldn’t revert to a man, but all my magic was there. I could do everything I usually did when I was scouting in my phoenix form. Which led me to believe Demeter was lying about some things these collars were capable of. For instance, my head never exploded every time I was reborn or when I turned myself to ember to spy. But the collar was still there when I came back.
I had an audience waiting for me when I got back, including Hades. I knew it wouldn’t take him long to figure out I was missing, but no one looked like they had taken the brunt of his wrath. Whatever happened while he was gone, it looked like he saw the logic in me going, and I didn’t see anyone else out there spying. Demeter’s armymightnot have caught them, but I would have.
“Come up and explain. All of you have set dangerous things in motion.”
I’ll give River credit for making the jail a better place. It wasn’t as good as being outside under the sun with the freedom to fly, but she’d turned one of the cells into almost a showroom living room. I settled on a comfortable chair. River took the couch. Tryphon just had to wrap a tentacle around her, and Kimon sat as close as possible. I didn’t know why they were getting so attached. It wasn’t like she would be sticking around. If she didn’t go back to Earth, she’d be going to Hell with her people. There was no point in exploring romance with her, even if I was liking her just a little bit.
“Demeter had a temple built. That’s where she’s holding Persephone. It’s swarming with her soldiers, but she didn’t create a fortress, she made a beautiful temple with pretty temple vulnerabilities. There’s a huge stained glass window in the back with no guards we could burst through. The guards are all stationed at the main entrance. They watch the door in shifts. There are ten guards at the door on a six-hour rotation. There are also fifty guards in the woods spread out in a fifty-mile radius. They are using earpieces to communicate.
“Demeter has them jumpy. They investigate everything, even if it ends up just being an animal in the woods. I got close and listened to them. They know Persephone is being held hostage, and they don’t want to be there. Demeter borrowed her army from Artemis, and they risk pissing off two Goddesses if they don’t do this.”
This was totally infuriating. I had to sit and listen while River replayed my entire speech to Hades. If there was one thing I hated, it was people talking for me or over me. At least she did a suitable job. She didn’t try to put words in my mouth or embellish my recon. She tried to give it exactly as she was given.
“Artemis is pretty vengeful when she wants to be,”Pavlina said.
“Artemis thinks Persephone is my hostage. All of Olympus thinks I tricked her into staying because that’s what Demeter tells everyone. Plus, Artemis is a prude and doesn’t like that Persephone soiled herself having sex with me.”
Artemis was a prude, and it wasn’t like she’d be caught dead in the Underworld for us to clear this up. I was pretty sure Demeter kept Persephone as far away from the other Gods and Goddesses when she had her time with her so she couldn’t speak for herself. If she got someone’s ear, Demeter had all the time in the world to go around lying and saying she was brainwashed and talking nonsense.
“Don’t you see? It’s perfect. If I can find out the truth about those collars, the monsters in the pit can join the fight. We can storm the temple and get Persephone. She can clear up the rumors, and the rest of the Underworld will deal with Demeter.”
