Page 35 of The Call of Monsters
“How do you think I got here? Welcome to my home, all of you.”
I actually wanted to see what his fucking house looked like.
Chapter 19
Hephaestus
D
ionysus was the last person I would have picked for a leader for this little rebellion. I knew he was totally against pretending to be gods, but a lot of us were. I thought the whole idea was silly and fortified my forge so people wouldn’t bother me. I sometimes made trips out to teach humans metalsmithing and working with fire, but it was fucking mortifying when they wanted to pray and sacrifice in thanks. I was just trying to give them tools to strengthen them as a society. I didn’t need a goat killed or people kissing my ass for it.
I didn’t take Hera for following Dionysus either. He was Persephone’s brother and the result of Zeus’s affair with Demeter. Demeter didn’t care about either of her children because Zeus didn’t. She only got obsessed with Persephone when she wanted to get away from her and took up with Hades.
Dionysus wanted her approval so badly. He’d never cared for Zeus, but he got nearly perfect at every art form our people had, and Demeter still didn’t care. I knew everyone talked about Dionysus’s famous parties when we were on Earth, but no one ever talked about all the art he taught humans.
Dionysus had always been more about the arts than war. I would have pegged him for writing ballads and painting frescoes about it instead of leading the charge. But if Hera had changed so much, Dionysus could very well have gotten angry enough to take up arms too.
I’d always loved his palace. They never invited me unless I was making something for him, but we could deal with that later. A lot of the Olympian palaces were over the top with gold and marble. Not his. There was no gold in sight. Every single wall in his house was a fresco he had painted himself. He was also talented with the loom and had made these ornate rugs. In fact, everything here, right down to the furniture, was carved by him.
We had a lot in common in that we both enjoyed working with our hands and making things, but because of Zeus, we had never been close friends. I loved all the arts too and wouldn’t have minded chatting about them with him. He probably could have used someone to talk to, but that was taken from us.
Everyone in the house was looking around in awe because his place really was beautiful. River was gaping at the walls.
“Who did these?”
“I did. I made everything in here. I’m also quite adept at cooking for myself. The humans who help me live on my estate help me keep it clean and run my farm. They are treated well, but if they want to leave, I’m not going to stop them.”
“A lot of the humans want to get on at Zeus’s estate because of who he is, but the smart ones try to get on with Dionysus, Apollo, or Hermes. All of their servants live inside the palace and aren’t worked to the bone. Apollo and Hermes cook and do chores too. All of us do. It’s the ones we are trying to get rid of that can’t even wipe their own asses,” Hera said.
Everyone in this room that wasn’t an Olympian thought Hera was being facetious, but she wasn’t. My father literally required his servants to wipe the shit from his ass and thought they should be grateful for the honor.
“She’s not joking about that last part,” I pointed out.
“I’d die for Persephone, but I’m not wiping her ass for her,” Pavlina said.
“That’s the thing,” Dionysus said. “Weknowhow to cook, hunt, farm, and do all these things for ourselves. We used to do it all the time. It changed when Zeus wanted to play god. Zeus took offense when the Romans came into the area he had chosen for us and started changing things up. That was the only reason we ever left. Zeus and several others wanted the adoration, and they found humans useful. So, they played it like they were offering them paradise and a chance to serve the gods. They would pick and choose among their offspring as to who was allowed into Olympus and pulled many humans here to serve them like slaves. They do nothingfor themselves anymore, even though they know full well how.”
“What were their criteria for demigods? We have a ton of them in the Underworld, and they loathe their parents,” Tryphon asked.
Hera just laughed.
“You answered your own question.Thatwas the criteria. They hated them when they were on Earth too. Zeus didn’t want Olympian blood left on Earth, so they were either forced to the Underworld or Olympus. Most of them wanted to stay where they were, and they weren’t given a choice. If they didn’t hate them then, they hate them now. They just pretend not to because they don’t have any other option.”
“We could go on and on about how shitty Zeus has made things, but we need a plan,” Hephaestus pointed out. “While we were still in Zeus’s place, I could have taken him out in his sleep.”
“We need them all in one place,” Dionysus said. “Athena and Poseidon still hate each other, but we need them working together towards a shared goal. Everyone loves Hermes, even Zeus. It’s why he’s so good at spying for us. They whisper into his ear, and he whispers into ours. Everyone thinks he’s harmless, but what he knows makes him one of the most dangerous people here.”
“The Olympians don’t take Hermes or Eros seriously, and Zeus forbid them to be together because he thinks it’s unnatural if love isn’t between a man and a woman. They’re still together right under his nose, and they’ve been collecting secrets for centuries. All Hermes has to do is have tea with Athena and mention Zeus and Ares are plotting. He can just say he thinks it has something to do with what we all felt with Demeter.
“Athena has always been smart. She’ll gather power and allies before she confronts Zeus. She hates Poseidon, but she’s intelligent enough to know she would need to use him to question Zeus and Ares. I can already tell you how she will play it. She’ll go straight to Poseidon and make him think it’s his idea. Poseidon will do all the talking, and she’ll act like she’s just there because she’s concerned. Any anger Zeus and Ares will have about the intrusion will be taken out on Poseidon and not her. Once that’s all died down, she’ll insert herself into the situation and see how she can use it to her advantage,” Hera said.
Tryphon just laughed.
“You know Athena, but I know Poseidon. He’s going to barge in that room and make a scene. It’s not going to take much to convince him it was his idea. He’s not going to go in and just ask. He’s going to hit someone, and since he can’t hit Zeus, he’s going to hit Ares.”
“That’s not a shocker,” Hephaestus said. “Everyone here wants to punch Ares if Olympians actually used fists.”
“None of us liked the way he bullied you after Zeus hurt you,” Dionysus said. “He was beyond cruel. If he was going to bed Aphrodite, he could have done it anywhere except your bed. What you did to him with that trap was just poetic.”
