Page 39 of The Call of Monsters
“I like her,” Pavlina said. “We were completely wrong about Artemis and her handmaidens.”
Hephaestus collapsed in an overstuffed chair.
“She’s changed. She didn’t use to treat them like that, and there was a time she laid out her own curses. Most of the people she cursed were men who hurt women, but not always. Let me call Hades.”
“How did you get a phone?” Demos asked.
That was a good question. I would guess when Zeus kidnapped him, he took it to go through it. Hephaestus just smirked.
“After I broke Aphrodite’s neck, I stole it back and disappeared out a secret passage. Zeus left it in his war room. He was probably trying to crack the passcode. Hermes could have done it, but it’s not like he could have asked him, now could he?”
“Can you put it on speaker?” Barbatos asked. “I need to talk to him too.”
Hades must have been waiting for the call because he picked up on the first ring.
“Is it done? Are you safe?”
“We have allies, but we’ve hit a bit of snag. One ally we have has a request. Artemis wants her handmaids back.”
“Since when?” Hades boomed. “She hasn’t given a shit about them before. Have you forgotten what they did in my realm? Do it without her, then.”
“Hades, be reasonable,” Barbatos said. “Everyone here is out of practice with a bow except her. We need her to take Zeus out so we can get rid of everyone in the room. Your plan is going to work. Several people here want change. We have our own plan, and it involves getting them all in one room. We don’t know how many people Athena will bring, and we could end up outnumbered. We want Zeus out of the equation before we storm in here. I know Ares pretended to be the God of War, and he’s going to be there. All we’ve heard is what an awful bully he is.”
Yeah, and I was going to kill that fucker.
“Hades, do it. I’ve already forgiven them. They were just following orders. Artemis may care about them now, but you know how she feels about deserters and giving up. They were only doing what they were told, and some of them really didn’t know. Before my mother drugged me, it was only ever the same women over and over, and they couldn’t leave the temple. I know some of them should have spoken up, but what do you think Demeter would have done to them if they mutinied and couldn’t get to Artemis?” Persephone said.
“Oh, fine. But only because you asked, and I get why she was needed. Hephaestus, I wish you had kept up with your bow instead of building traps and snares.”
“You haven’t either,” Hephaestus pointed out.
I could hear Hades grumble through the phone. I think I knew what all his little grunts meant by now, and that was hisI’m irritated, but I know you’re rightgrowl.
“Who all have you allied with?”
“There’s an entire fucking resistance here,” Tryphon said.
“Dionysus is the leader,” Kimon said.
“And don’t forget fucking Hera,” Demos said.
Out of all of us, Demos was the least impressed with her and thought she was lying. I don’t think any of us blamed him. We all had things in our lives that destroyed our tiny trust, and he was a lot older than I was. Demos had said nothing to her face, and I think, for that, we were all grateful.
“What the fuck do you mean, it involves Hera?” Hades demanded.
“She wants to leave Olympus. She’s tired of being a queen. She wants to live on Earth like Aphrodite does and start her own business,” I said.
Hades just grunted. I heard Persephone again.
“You’ve wanted the same thing sometimes, love.”
I’ll bet he did. Probably when Demeter was invading his territory. But I could also see where running a kingdom could be tiring. I think that was why I believed her. I didn’t run an empire by a longshot, but I ran a business, and sometimes, it was tempting to close it and not be the boss anymore.
“Fine. Artemis will get her soldiers backaftershe kills Zeus and this is over. Who the fuck blackmails me when Zeus’s death is involved?”
Good question. Artemis.
“Hello, Hades,” I heard Hermes say. “You must visit when this is all over.”
