Page 34 of The Call of Monsters
“Be nice, Hera. She’s a good one.”
“I can tell. She’s not afraid to challenge me, even if they teach all those horrible things about me now. I even like it she’s not an Olympian and not mortal either.”
I hadn’t even thought about that. Hera could have had some serious opinions about Hephaestus falling in love with a half demon. I knew how most of them looked down on humans. What did she think about demons? Apparently, she didn’t care, even if we were the first she had met.
Pavlina sat up and glared at everyone.
“So, if we help you and you get your new society here, are you going to change Zeus’s rule about no new Olympian children? Because Persephone and Hades have wanted children forages,but they didn’t want Zeus finding out and sending their child to the Pits. Persephone is my queen, and she and Hades have both been very kind to us. They deserve a family.”
Dionysus just looked at her kindly.
“So do the rest of us. Zeus doesn’t want more of us because he’s worried about another situation of him and the Titans. None of us agree with him. He’s also banned any new demigods, but if you think the rule applies to him, you’d be mistaken. Zeus loathes birth control because he thinks it doesn’t feel as good, and it’s not like the humans here get basic healthcare where they can get what we get to prevent pregnancy.”
Well, that was definitely a problem. We thought we were going to be taking out some Olympians. What about Hercules? I really didn’t want to kill him.
“Are all of Zeus’s offspring going to rush in to protect him?” I asked.
Hera just laughed.
“Gods no. They’d be lining up to get their hands on those weapons. Even Hercules hates him now. I know what your class teaches you and what I did, but Hercules likes me better than he likes Zeus now.”
Was it wrong I wanted to fangirl and meet him? I was all about the television show when I was a kid and all the spinoffs. I was pretty fucking glad I wouldn’t have to go toe to toe with him over killing Zeus. I’d totally fangirl for a reason if he was going to help us.
“We need to make sure as few people die as possible,” Hephaestus said. “Zeus would take it personally if his offspring rose against him and they are half mortal. Old age won’t kill them, but we can. We need to find a way to get Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and Ares somewhere neutral where we can fight,” Hephaestus said.
“Athena is mine, and Poseidon goes to Tryphon,” Pavlina said. “I don’t care how much you hate them. We hate them more.”
“I always knew their little feud was going to bring trouble. I’m shocked you didn’t bring the Gorgons with you. They share your story, correct?” Hera asked.
“Yes, but I’m saner about it, so we didn’t bring them. The Gorgons are vicious and would kill every last one of you. They don’t care about making a society here. All of us were willing to listen to Hades and Hephaestus. If we like them, then it stands to reason that not all of you are a total garbage species. I’ll kill anyone you tell me to, but I want Athena.”
Hera just cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Athena is fair game, but what if she had changed in the long years since she cursed you? What if she apologized?”
Pavlina tossed her black hair over her shoulder.
“It would have to be asuperbapology, and there would be groveling involved. She’d have to work for it. I’d just help Tryphon kill Poseidon. Athena only cursed me because Poseidon raped me in her temple. You seem to have a high number of rapists in your species.”
“Not all of us,” Dionysus said. “Everyone who is on my side is not like that.”
Pavlina just let out a little growl.
“Good because I’m pretty firm on the whole killing rapists thing. I like to make it last a long time too.”
I wasn’t like that before, but I agreed with her now.
“Yes, but we need a plan,” Hephaestus said. “We can’t hide here forever, and there’s hardly enough room for all of us.”
Dionysus just beamed.
“Then come stay at my place. Hera has cameras in every secret room to spy on Zeus for us. She’s been doing all the watching to report back to us, but Hermes can get us access so we can all watch. You’ll be safe at my place, and you can still watch his meetings with Ares. You can also meet all of us and see we aren’t so bad.”
I was excited about the possibility of meeting more of the Olympians I’d studied about that weren’t awful. But they had better apologize for snubbing Hephaestus. He might not care about that anymore, but I did. Hephaestus stood and brushed off his trousers.
“We should get there the Olympian way. I’ve been traveling by foot to get a lay of the land since I haven’t been here in so long, and I wanted my people to see too, but we can’t risk going on foot at this hour.”
Dionysus just smiled and cut a hole in the air like Hades did.
