Page 1 of Hera

CHAPTER1

“HERA!”Demi shouted from the other end of the apartment the sisters shared.

Hera sighed and swirled the potion she was in the middle of completing. She made a notation in her lab book so she could come back to it and left the room that Demi called her chemistry lab. She glided through the main living space of their apartment, the rugs soft on her bare feet and protecting her from the beautifully polished hardwood underneath. She found Demi on her knees in her bedroom, her head in the depths of her closet. “What is it, sister dear?” Hera asked.

Demi gave a little squeak of surprise and sat back on her heels, her long, dark hair in complete disarray. “Have you seen my white heels?”

“Why are you searching for them the mundane way?” Hera asked, puzzled. She pulled at the air and a pair of white high heels appeared in her hands. “Is this a ‘playing at being human’ thing?”

Demi blushed and got to her feet. “No, I’m just so flustered that I forgot about that.”

Hera smirked. “Charles is looking forward to you moving in as well. You know that anything you forget, you can pick up after work one day. I’m not going to ban you from the apartment.”

“You’re right,” Demi said with a chuckle. Her suitcase closed with a thought, the zipper flying around the edge. “Are you going to be all right here, all by yourself?”

“Of course, I will be.” Hera brushed off her sister’s concern. “And if I’m lonely, I can always—”

“Hook up with a random supe?” Demi finished for her.

“I wasgoing to sayget a roommate,” Hera declared huffily, crossing her arms under her ample bosom.

“Right, “ Demi said skeptically.

Hera relented and hugged her sister. “Maybe I’ll come visit you topside.”

Demi gasped happily and held Hera at arms length. “Would you really? We would love to have you. The lake house is beautiful.”

“Once you’ve settled in a bit,” Hera said, taken aback by how thrilled her sister seemed to be by the flippant suggestion. Hera hadn’t been topside in... Well, since she had moved to Purgatory to live with her sister. She suppressed a shudder. She was very happy living here, more so since Lucifer, the ruler of Purgatory, had cleaned up the place a bit for his love, Chloe.

The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get that. You keep packing,” Hera said, giving Demi a light kiss on the cheek. “Charles is expecting you soon, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is!” Suddenly, the room had four more packed suitcases and Demi’s hair was controlled in a long flowing braid. “Too much?”

Hera laughed. “Perfect.”

The sisters walked to the door together, the suitcases trailing behind like ducklings following their mother.

“Chloe!” Hera said as she opened the door. “How unexpected! Please, come in.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt...” Chloe said, looking at the luggage. “Are you going on a trip?”

“Moving in with Charles,” Demi said. “For a month. We’re calling it a trial run.” Her face crumpled. “What if it doesn’t work out?” she gasped, her voice suddenly thick with tears.

“Nonsense!” Chloe said. “You’ll be fine. Learn to compromise on the things that aren’t important, and communicate when things are.”

“Yes, I can do that.” As if the sudden panic had never happened, Demi was all smiles again.

Hera hugged her once more. “My blessing upon you,” she whispered in Demi’s ear, and then Demi vanished with her bags. Hera turned to her guest. “Please, come and sit. Can I get you anything?”

Chloe sat on one of the finely carved chairs overflowing with pillows. She put a hand over her lower belly and gave Hera puppy dog eyes. “Some lemonade would be amazing. And... Would you happen to have any raw carrots? I just got a wild craving for them.”

“You got it,” Hera said with a chuckle, heading for the kitchen.

“And ground cinnamon!” Chloe’s voice echoed from the living space.

Hera returned with a pitcher of lemonade, a plate of carrot sticks, and a bowl of cinnamon.

---