The Gatekeeper's House (22 page)

“
Where’s Cybele?” Therese
asked, no longer able to control her curiosity.

“
She is supping in another
room with Lethe, Laodice, and Charon,” Hades explained. “I asked
her to leave us while we discuss how to respond to the message
Hermes delivered to you and Thanatos.”

“
Please don’t tell me we’re
considering handing her over to Zeus,” Therese said, looking around
at the other gods.

“
It’s wise to consider all
of our options,” Apollo put in. “But no decision has yet been
made.”

Where’s Artemis?
Therese prayed to Apollo, not wanting to interrupt
the meeting with more questions.

Apollo replied out loud. “Artemis and
Hephaestus have both proclaimed their loyalty to us, but they have
not made that known to Zeus and are currently trapped on Mount
Olympus.”

“
Zeus is paranoid, as he
should be,” Meg said.

“
We’ve been discussing ways
to help them to defect,” Alecto said.

“
But Zeus has spies
everywhere,” Tizzie added.

“
Including our dear cousin
Hermes,” Hypnos said bitterly.

“
Demeter could be an asset
to us if…” Apollo started, but then stopped.

“
If what?” Therese
asked.

Persephone gave her a sad smile.
“Demeter is useless during this time of the year. She shuts herself
up in her winter cabin and has nothing to do with
anyone.”

That didn’t seem healthy to Therese.
Therese missed her parents, but didn’t feel the need to be in their
company twenty-four-seven.

“
What about Aphrodite?”
Therese asked. “She’s always been so nice to Than and me. She’s not
against us in this, is she?”

“
I’m afraid so,” Persephone
said. “She sympathizes with our cause but doesn’t want to go
against Zeus.”

“
She’s not cut out for war,”
Hades said. “I expected her to take the easy road. She won’t be an
important player in this, but will remain in her comfortable rooms
where she won’t upset her daddy.”

“
I wouldn’t underestimate
her, Lord Hades,” Hecate said. “She made much mischief for the
Achaeans during the TrojanWar.”

“
We would be wise not to
discount her potential contribution,” Than agreed.

“
Perhaps,” Hades conceded,
“but she would have been no real asset to us with Ares sitting
firmly in the other camp. I wouldn’t have trusted her.”

Therese felt her face flush at Hades’s
lack of confidence in Aphrodite, and her stomach churned with
conflicted feelings. Therese did not wish to go against the goddess
of love.

“
My brother Poseidon shares
Aphrodite’s sentiment,” Hades continued. “He would rather wrong
Athena than stand up to Zeus, and for good reason.”

“
Justice isn’t one of them,”
Thanatos said.

Hades looked upon his son and gave him
a warm nod. “Indeed. Justice is rarely anyone’s reason for doing
anything.”

“
That’s not true of you,
though, Father,” Thanatos said. “Which is why we should not turn
Cybele over to Zeus.”

Therese’s heart burned with love for
Than.

“
Life isn’t fair or just,”
Hades said.

“
But death is.” Therese said
as heat flooded her cheeks. She glanced at Than, hoping for
encouragement. She was a god, just like they were, but she felt
less worthy and less important since she’d been among them for such
a short time.

Than gave her a somber smile and
squeezed her hand beneath the table.

“
Are you two young love
birds so eager for blood?” Hades said in words that weren’t angry,
but that conveyed a challenge. He crossed his arms in front of him
and picked at his beard. “If we refuse Zeus’s request sent to us
through Hermes, we will all suffer. Zeus is the strongest god among
us, and without the help of Poseidon, we have little hope of
winning. In the end, he will likely have what he wants. Why not
forego all the battle and bloodshed and the resulting enmity if the
outcome is inevitable?”

“
But is the outcome
inevitable?” Hypnos asked.

Therese had the same question on the
tip of her tongue, but Hip had beaten her to it.

“
Great. Another optimist,”
Hades said—again, not with anger. “You must know I want nothing
more than to defend Cybele, and even Melinoe, for that matter, but
I have to think of this entire kingdom.”

Meg stood up and pounded her fists
against the table, causing her falcon to flutter unsteadily on her
shoulder before finding its place again. “Melinoe, Father?” Blood
began to seep from her right eye. “She deserves my punishment in
Tartarus.”

Alecto stood beside her sister, the
snake around her neck hissing. “I agree.”

Tizzie now also stood. “Melinoe must
not go unpunished for her crimes against humanity.” A hint of blood
welled in Tizzie’s eyes, and her wolf got up from where he’d been
sitting on the floor and began to pace uneasily.

Therese was reminded that she never
wanted to be on the wrong side of Than’s sisters.

“
Sit down, daughters of
mine. You make me proud. But listen. Does Melinoe deserve to remain
in Tartarus for all eternity without the judgment of Minos,
Rhadamanthys, and Aiakos?”

Persephone implored, “Consider how Zeus
has mistreated her.”

Although Therese resented the
Malevolent for what she’d done to Jen and the Holts, she had to
admit that even Melinoe did not deserve to be sent to the pits of
Tartarus without the possibility of redemption.

The Furies returned to their seats, and
their familiars settled down.

“
Apollo, can you see how
this will end?” Hecate asked.

“
Too many variables cloud
the future,” Apollo replied. “What about you?”

Hecate shook her head.

Hades said, “We will put this to a
vote, but first we should discuss it at greater length.”

“
Artemis and Hephaestus
might have something to add,” Apollo offered.

“
Perhaps that’s where we
should focus our first efforts,” Persephone said. “We need to help
Artemis and Hephaestus flee Mount Olympus.”

“
I agree,” Hades said. “So
let’s come up with a plan.”

***

Hip was taken by surprise when his
father stood from the table and walked over to him, slapping a hand
on his shoulder. “You, Hypnos, the god of sleep. You recall how I
said nothing in life is free?”

“
Yes, sir,” Hip replied,
wondering where this was going.

“
You asked a certain favor
of me over these past weeks involving the mortal girl recently
freed from the clutches of the Malevolent.”

Aha. Hip had not realized the payment
would come due so soon. He hadn’t even had time to make the girl
fall in love with him.

“
I want you to wear my helm
of invisibility and go to Mount Olympus,” Hades said. “There, you
will cast a deep sleep on all but Artemis and
Hephaestus.”

Hip inwardly groaned. This wasn’t the
first time a god had asked him to put another god to sleep so that
some mischief could be made. Hera had him do it to Zeus during the
Trojan War, so she could help the Achaeans fight back after being
trampled down by Hector and his men. While Zeus slept, Hector was
finally wounded with Poseidon’s help. Hera promised Hip could
choose from Aphrodite’s Graces, and he had chosen Pasithea. That
was back when Hip thought he wanted to marry.

Luckily, Zeus never discovered Hip’s
role in that loss for the Trojans.

But the time before that, Zeus had
caught Hip, and if Hip hadn’t flown to the arms of Night for her
protection, who knows what Zeus would have done to him. Hip may
have escaped Zeus’s notice during the Trojan War, but to succeed
with the same plan twice was pushing it, in Hip’s
opinion.

Of course, he could not say no. He
would not say no. He wanted to help, however he could. He glanced
at his brother, realizing that Than would have said yes as soon as
the question had been posed. Hip wished he was more like his
brother.

Before Hip could give his reply,
Therese said, “But what if Zeus senses the helm? Poseidon sensed it
last year when I wore it in the sea. You once said your two
brothers sometimes get suspicious of you when you wear it around
them.”

Hip had heard this about his father’s
helm whenever it was worn near water, but this was the first he’d
heard of Zeus sensing it in the skies. He felt adrenaline pump
through his immortal body as the odds of being found out by Zeus
seemed to increase.

“
We need a diversion,”
Apollo said.

“
We could pretend to be
releasing Cybele to the custody of Zeus,” Meg offered. “Hip
wouldn’t have to wear the helm. He could be one of two guards
pretending to turn the manly goddess over.”

“
But if things go wrong and
Cybele is captured,” Than began, “we may never have the chance to
save her.”

“
And I fear what Zeus will
do to Cybele for deceiving him,” Hecate added.

“
I don’t think we should
risk it,” Persephone agreed. “Let’s think of some other
diversion.”

“
If only we had some other
reason for needing to call on one of the other Olympians,” Hades
said.

“
Apollo could go to visit
his sister,” Alecto suggested. “Hypnos could wear the helm, and
maybe Apollo’s presence will be enough of a
distraction.”

“
Apollo could pretend to be
retrieving his lyre,” Than added.

“
I have it with me,” Apollo
said. “It’s in the guest chambers Hades has provided. Also, Zeus
will be suspicious of my visit to Artemis. He already questions her
loyalty.”

Hip realized he was imitating his
father’s habit of picking his beard. Hip had no beard, but
nevertheless, he found himself scratching and rubbing his chin as
though he had one.

“
I’ve got it!” Therese said,
sitting up straight in her chair.

Everyone turned their eyes on
her.

***

Than felt his pulse quicken as Therese
laid out her idea. “Aphrodite has been counseling me lately about
love,” she said. “I could say I need to speak to her on this
matter, and that it is more important to me than the tension
between the gods. Aphrodite will believe me, because she already
believes love is more important than war, and the other gods will
likely believe it considering all Thanatos and I have gone through
to be together.”

“
This sounds dangerous,”
Persephone said.

“
I could go and tell them
how upset I am over this conflict,” Therese continued. “I’ll say it
is forcing me to postpone my wedding at the very moment I realize I
want it, which is not a lie. I’ll beg them to please bring an end
to this conflict so that Than and I can finally be married. Then,
while I’m going on about love, Hypnos can put them all to
sleep.”

“
No, I don’t like it,” Than
said. “It’s too risky. Zeus will see right through it.”

“
Not without Apollo there to
spot the lie,” Hades said. “I like this idea.”

Than looked around the table at the
other gods with a feeling of dread. Everyone seemed to believe this
was the best plan of action. Of course, none of them cared for
Therese as deeply as he, and no one had more to lose if things went
wrong.

Than pounded an angry fist against the
table. “Then let me go in Hip’s place. Let us switch duties, so
that I can be there with Therese. I’ll wear the helm. I’ll cast the
deep sleep over all but Artemis and Hephaestus.”

“
No,” Hades objected. “No
one knows better than Hypnos how to put people in the deep boon of
sleep. I understand your desire to be near your bride, but I won’t
risk this mission over it.”

“
I promise to protect her,”
Hip said to Than, meeting his eyes with what Than knew was sincere
love. “I will do everything in my power to bring her back
safely.”

Than clenched his teeth in agony. He
loved Therese for her generous spirit, but just now he wished she
had kept her mouth shut.

She squeezed his hand
beneath the table and gave him a solemn smile.
I can do this
, she prayed to
him.
Try not to worry.

She had asked him to do the
impossible.

Chapter Twenty: Mission
Olympus

Therese held the reins of Swift and
Sure as she sailed through the chasm and into the evening sky
toward Mount Olympus. Hip was beside her, though she could not see
or sense him at all in his father’s helm. She wished she could
sense him, though, because she felt alone and frightened and was
questioning why she couldn’t have let one of the more experienced
gods think of a plan. What had she been thinking?

This is crazy, she thought to
herself—though she didn’t dare let Than know how terrified she
was.

A bolt of lightning streaked across the
sky, and she realized she’d forgotten the most important thing
Hades had told her to do.