Tempting the Fates

Chapter 26

As quickly as the hands groping me had appeared, they were gone. I turned to see who had touched me so inappropriately, only to see a small animal scurry past my feet and under the cabana.

"Now, now, Hades..." my mother chastised. "Please don't turn my guests into vermin."

"It won't happen again." He smiled with a dark look in his eyes. "I think instead, the next one to touch Callie without her permission will be a pile of ashes."

My heart swelled a bit, happy to know that he cared so much. He'd told me he would protect me, and he was proving to be a man of his word.

Aphrodite sighed, sitting up. She waved away the women on either side of the bed and patted the empty spots next to her. I sat down, preferring to keep everyone else in my sight after being felt up by some perv.

Hades leaned against one of the cabana's posts instead, folding his arms. He was very clearly out of his comfort zone.

"We came to talk about Dad." I said. "Hades promised me he'd help me look for him, and we wanted to start by talking to you."

"Of course." Mom sighed. "I haven't been able to find him. I've looked in all his usual places. He hasn't shown up to work, either. No one in Olympus claims to have seen him, but that place is full of spies these days, so I doubt anyone would admit it either way."

"Have you spoken to Zeus?" Hades asked.

Mom shook her head. "I wouldn't ask him, given our history. Not to mention that I couldn't get in to see him if I wanted to. He's pretty much locked down his palace. No one's seen Hera in weeks, either."

Hades looked concerned. His brow furrowed, and he bit his bottom lip, like he was thinking hard. He took a long, deep breath. "And Poseidon?"

"Can't be bothered with shit lately." Aphrodite flopped back into a reclined position, as if she were tired of the conversation already. "He's got himself a new plaything, so I hear."

"Anyone we know?" Hades pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes.

I wondered when the last time he'd left his kingdom was. If it were this bright for me after a few days, I could only imagine what it would be like after years in the dark.

"No idea. He's stopped speaking to me quite recently. I'm not sure who would be enough to turn his head, but he'll come back once he's had his fill. He always does." She smiled to herself.

I cringed. Yuck. I had always dreamt of having a sweet mom in an apron welcome me home after a long day, carrying a tray of cookies and offering to braid my hair while we talked about boys. This, on the other hand, was not what I had pictured: my mother, lying half-naked amongst a near-orgy, talking about her quite-active sex life.

"When was the last time you saw Dad?" I asked, trying to redirect the conversation.

"I stopped by a little after dawn the morning you left. You'd been gone a few hours, and I wanted to make sure the magic had taken effect. He woke up and went about his morning routine as usual, so I left. After a quick trip to Olympus, I decided to check in on him again. But he was gone, and the apartment was pulled apart." She shrugged. "So it's been a day or two."

"And there are no clues pointing to who took him?" I squeezed my hands into fists.

She shook her head. "Nothing that points to anyone in particular."

"What do we do now?" I looked at Hades, feeling more hopeless by the second. "If we can't go to the apartment, I'm not sure what to do."

Hades looked pissed. He reached up and slid his sunglasses down a little. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and took a long, deep breath.