Page 45 of Monster Whisperer
“Or he’s sick of doing favors for needy demigods and those in Olympus, and Demeter lied to him about the collars. We have to find out one way or another, and this is the only way,”Kimon said.
“My pet hasn’t backed down from Hades. We all saw her set his trousers on fire. She’s got tricks up her sleeve, too, that Demeter and Hephaestus don’t know about.”
Why was Demos on my side suddenly? His reaction to my fire was pretty extreme. I would have thought he would want to get rid of me by any means possible. I wanted to win Demos over, but I thought it would take time. What exactly had I done? I wasn’t complaining, but he needed to let me do this.
“Y’all, I’m doing this no matter what. So, tell me everything you know about Hephaestus that I might not have been taught in college.”
Chapter 35
River
W
e spent the next few days with them telling me everything I didn’t learn in Greek Mythology 101 about Demeter and Hephaestus. They knew more about Demeter than they did about Hephaestus. Hephaestus was some mysterious God who lived in a volcano and made weapons. They knew he married Aphrodite, and she cheated on him with Ares. They knew he got some epic revenge, but they knew nothing about what he was like.
Sure, I was scared. There were so many ways this could go wrong. Demos didn’t want me to go, but there was some truth to his statement. Hephaestus could be on Demeter’s side. I had to approach this very carefully. I had to find a way to phrase my comments and get a feel for him.
Demeter finally came through the door in a swish of skirts and heels. Hades was behind her scowling, but I could see the worry in his eyes.
“I demand Cerberus go with her.”
“Then, I’d have to babysit two of your pet dogs, Hades. I will not hurt the little human. I have a use for her. I’ll bring her right back.”
I wanted Cerberus to come with me. It would have been nice to have a friend with me, but I also needed Demeter to trust me. I got close enough to her that Hades couldn’t hear me.
“Right now, that stupid dog likes me for some reason. I need Hades to trust me if I’m going to get close enough to kill him. You know men and their dogs. If he thinks the dogs likes me, he’ll trust me.”
“That idiotic mutt hates everyone.”
“Hades tested me by having me treat him. I won the dog’s trust by treating his upset tummy. It couldn’t hurt.”
“Fine. The mutt can come. But I won’t hesitate to kill your pet, Hades. This jail is stifling. I want to leave. You’re allowed to touch my pinky, human dog. You can touch the mutt.”
I took Demeter’s pinky and touched Cerberus’s head. I saw a flash of light, and we appeared in front of a huge, swirling red wall. Demeter looked bored.
“Well? Step through.”
“It’s the gate to the Underworld, River,”Cerberus explained.
“I have to pretend like I don’t know that.”
“I was passed out when I came down here. I don’t know what that is.”
Demeter just rolled her eyes.
“It’s a gate. One this filthy mutt used to guard before I took over. You bore me,” she said, shoving me through.
I nearly went flying on my ass before I righted myself. Demeter stepped through, and Cerberus came running.
“Are you okay? I’d love to give her a bite.”
“I’m fine. Play it cool.”
I looked around me, and we were on a mountain. We were on one of the ridges, and there was an enormous stone on the side. There were women with machine guns and bows all over the place. I guess this was Hephaestus’s volcano. How did we even get here?
“The door to the Underworld leads here?”
“It leads to where you want it to lead. Now, step inside. Hephaestus doesn’t have a rule about dogs going in with you. Run along now.”
