Muse Unexpected (16 page)

“Had you told me…had you trusted me…,” Callie said.

“Things would have been different? My dearest,
dearest
girl, things were the way they needed to be. You found your happiness in the arms of Angelo. I found it here. I’ve had this wondrous journey full of excitement, sadness, regret and incredible moments of happiness and glory and there isn’t a single thing that would make me want to have it any other way. How could I, when you have given me this incredible granddaughter?”

Callie wiped her tears away.

“But enough of this,” Georgia said. “Aletheria, why don’t you explain the need for us, since you were there when all of this came to be.”

“You see, Sophia, you can’t rip away a faith system like one would rip off a bandage,” Aletheria began. “Free will must be given a chance to thrive. Without free will, there can be no system of faith. A choice must be given to believe or not, otherwise faith wouldn’t truly exist. So, certain gods had to remain, but they do so with restrictions to their powers, and most importantly, restrictions on their interactions with mortals. So God let Olympians, like Hades, The Fates and others remain because they maintained a balance necessary to keep things moving in the right direction. The Muses were the exception. They were tasked with creating an extended family of Demigods to continue their work. You’ve heard the saying “kissed by a Muse”? Well, they did more than kiss. Eventually, after this family was created and thrived in its own right, the original Nine Sisters were called back. Now, this extended group of Muses serves many purposes.”

Callie jumped in. “Muses are more than Xanadu or the Grecian ideal of womanhood and femininity. We float in and out of the lives of mortals, ensuring they continue down the path they were meant to go down. We’re the reset button to make sure those destined for greatness have another chance to reach their potential, whether it is to become the President of the United States or to give birth to a scientist destined to find the cure for cancer. Unfortunately, this is where it gets tricky. We can suggest, inspire, lead the horse to water, but we cannot make it drink. This ties back to free will because mortals must make the choice to get back on their destined path or to continue down the road they selected for themselves. This doesn’t always mean that if they choose a different path they are destined for doom. But they won’t be living to the plan.”

“It’s like dominos. Remember how you used to arrange them into all different designs on the kitchen floor and then knock them over? This is the same thing. Take one domino off the pattern and it impacts the dominos after it. So we spend a lot of time making sure the dominos continue to fall the way they should, and if one is taken out by free will we do everything possible to make sure the next domino falls as scheduled to maintain and continue the path.”

“But…,” Sophie interrupted, “wouldn’t it take a lot of Muses to maintain the balance?”

“Thousands,” Georgia said. “It’s a very large extended family comprising the Nine Vasilikós. There’s a reason why this Vasilikós is so big.”

“Thousands?” Sophie furrowed her forehead. “But if there are thousands, why haven’t I seen any of them? The only people I’ve seen are you guys, a few Hobs and Tammy, the librarian.”

“I run a very tight ship,” Georgia offered. “They are all incredibly busy, and because you were so new to being a Muse I thought it best they avoid the main areas of the Vasilikós until further notice. Also, most tend to live outside of the Vasilikós, either in the cottages located on the slope of the mountain or in certain cases in their own homes out in the real world. Sometimes it is better to have some stationed in the field, as part of our grassroots efforts.”

“So, we try and keep people on the path,” Sophie said.

“But,” Aletheria offered. “That’s not all Muses do. You see, there was the issue of the gods who did not wish to leave. These vile Olympians enjoyed inflicting agony on mortals and wanted to continue laying waste to the Earth. So they resisted the call to leave Earth and ran to Olympus with a plan to start a war against God.”

She waved her hand in the air, as she continued, “In reaction to this, several Olympians, with God’s help, created a way to tear Olympus away from this world and create a prison existing in its own dimension. Unfortunately, the Olympians have not only found ways to have sight into our world, but they also have begun to find ways of escaping their prisons, which is why the Nine Vasilikós are so important.”

“The Nine Vasilikós form the barrier keeping Olympus at bay,” Georgia said proudly. “All of the Vasilikós would have to fall in order for Olympus to resurrect itself. It is our job to make sure the resurrection doesn’t happen and to return any Olympians who find a way out of their prison.”

“What has all of this got to do with me?” Sophie asked.

“My dearest granddaughter, you are our last hope. The Vasilikós is a dysfunctional mess. The Olympians are plotting to return to power and enslave this world. You are the one who will unite the Vasilikós. You will be the beacon calling all Demigods to join forces and fight. You are our savior.”

The color drained from Sophie’s face as she sat back in her chair, trying to take it all in. She glanced at Angela, who offered a sympathetic look. Even though the girl’s hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with its ends tucked under, several loose strands fell against her long neck and those strands, without a doubt, were moving.

Sophie asked Angela the question burning in her mind. “What are you?”

“I’m a bit of a mutt,” Angela said, tapping her fingers on the table. “One part witch, one part Gorgonian.”

“Oh,” Sophie said and understood why some say ignorance is bliss. Not wanting to let any of her questions go unanswered, Sophie peppered those at the table with question after question after question. Once she started, she knew she couldn’t stop.

They reached the smooth, black sand covered shores of Hades sooner than Penny expected. Once she exited, the ship disappeared into the fog that heralded its approach. Before it vanished, she saw Charon on the ship’s deck staring back at her, clutching the coin purse in his hand. She couldn’t wait to see what chaos would take place because of those gold coins.

“So incredibly delicious,” she said under her breath and made her way off the beach.

She stopped as a flicker of light caught her attention and was surprised to see in the distance a small fire near a quaint beach house with a wrap-around porch and large shutters propped open by a secured piece of wood.

This is new. Where is the foreboding castle? Have I landed on the wrong side of the island?

Near the fire sat a man who wore jeans and a fitted, Harvard sweatshirt. He wiggled his bare toes in the sand. She straightened her blouse, brushed some sand off her skirt and approached the fire.

The man looked up. “You shouldn’t have come, Penny. After centuries of hostility, Saphie and I have reached a decent level of civility,” Hades said.

“Saphie?” she said, sitting down on the log nearest to her. She was close enough to talk with Hades, yet far enough away to demonstrate respect for his status.

“Persephone became too tiresome to say,” he said, with unhidden sadness, then smirked. “Besides, thanks to the others who created the “Haddie” nickname for me, she decided she wanted me to come up with a ‘pet’ name for her. So, I call her Saphie. She started getting a subscription to
Coastal Living
and now we live in a beach house. At first, I thought it was ridiculous, but I have to say it has grown on me.”

“Oh,” was all Penny could say. She was embarrassed to witness the King of the Underworld reduced to a hen-pecked husband.

“What do you want, Penny?” Hades said. “You are interrupting one of the few moments of leisure time I get, and knowing how difficult it was for you to get here I know you want something.”

“Revenge.” She sighed. “If you must know, I want revenge against the Muses.”

Hades poked the fire with a stick once more before throwing it into the fire. He waved his hands over the fire, putting it out. Stalactites twinkled like stars above, creating a false sense of sky and a realistic painted moon glowed down on them.

Penny guessed the moon was the work of Persephone.
She certainly is talented.

“Go home, Penny,” Hades said, getting up and walking towards the house. “I am no longer in the business of revenge or whatever your plan is. I am in the business of souls. That’s it. It is my job to send them on their final journey and I do my job very well. What you are talking about is war and I have no patience for it.”

She watched as Hades walked toward the porch of the house. The door opened and out rushed Persephone with a Pottery Farm catalog.

“Oh, Haddie,” she called. “I think these outdoor tables would be perfect for alfresco dining.” Her nose was buried in the catalog as she flipped to several dog-eared pages. “And look at these paper lanterns. They are so adorable. We could string them along the walkway and above the table. Did you see this wonderful beverage holder? It’s like one of those old aluminum washing tubs, but it’s painted the loveliest shade of blue.” She looked up at Hades and smiled. Hades smiled back. She then noticed Penny and gasped.

“Penny? Oh. Dear, dear, Penny.” The girl threw her catalogs down and rushed towards the elderly woman. Her hair was cut in a cute pixie cut and she wore shorts, a tank top and sunglasses perched on her head. The sunglasses tumbled off and clattered onto the steps of the house.

Like her mother, Persephone was a beautiful woman. She had an almost ethereal figure. She was in complete opposition to her husband Hades who was robust with his mop of unruly dirty-blonde hair. Penny thought he would fit in at any ivy-league school. The kind of person who liked to visit the Hamptons during the summer and loved both recreational and professional rowing and sailing.

“Persephone.” Penny cried out, surprising herself at how happy she was to see the woman. They embraced.

“Darling Penny, you’ve let yourself go. Why do you look so—”

“Old?” Penny said, laughing at Persephone’s grasp of the obvious. She had forgotten how vapid Persephone was. “I have lived in the mortal world for a long time. It tends to take its toll on a goddess, even if they have retained their immortality.”

“Oh, Penny,” Persephone responded. “Come on in and let’s have some iced tea. I just brewed it. Haddie, I am sure, will be a dear and find something to throw on the grill, so you’ll have to stay for lunch.”

Penny turned her head to see Hades standing there, watching her. He shook his head from side to side, and she knew she would have to be very careful.

The two women sat in a great room with slip-covered furniture, a large braided rug, and a stucco and brick fireplace. The walls were a stylish mix of natural-colored stucco and bluish-gray knotty pine. Persephone turned-on several lamps throughout the room, including one near Penny’s elbow. It was made of hand-blown glass and had the shell of a large crab inside it. To Penny’s disgust, the crab had a miniature mustache and a tiny sombrero.

“Isn’t he darling? I call him Senior Chi-Chi," said Persephone, before leaving the room and returning with a tray arranged with two tall glasses, a pitcher of iced tea, a saucer of sliced lemons and a painted bowl full of sugar cubes. “Help yourself to sugar,” Persephone said, kicking off her flip-flops and tucking her feet underneath her. She greedily sipped her iced tea, which now contained five sugar cubes.

“What the heck are you doing here, Pen?” Persephone asked. “Haddie and I rarely get guests. I mean, with the guardians and the ferryman, and all of Haddie’s little traps, we’ve grown accustomed to our exclusive little cul-de-sac.”

Penny took a sip of her tea. It was delicious.

Delicious considering the ton of alcohol in it. Oh dear, dear Persephone, under the veneer of fancy-free beach life, I’m so glad you are the same old lush I knew from years past
.

“Well, Persephone.”

“Pen, please call me Saphie.”

“Well, Saphie, it’s a long story and I wouldn’t want to bore you,” she said, setting down her drink. She was exhausted from the journey and the drink was going straight to her head.

“Oh, come on. Who are you planning on killing, or is it straight torture you’re thinking of?” Saphie said, running her fingers through her hair.

Penny knew she had been right.
This bird may be in a gilded Pottery Farm, Malibu Barbie cage, but she is no songbird.
She’s a predator, struggling to escape its prison
.

“Well,” Penny said. “Since you insist.”

She revealed her plan and Persephone listened intently. As she talked, Penny found it almost comical that the pretty little goddess was so interested in the potential death and carnage she was planning.

“It does sound like you have a somewhat aggressive timeline, Pen. But I wouldn’t be a friend unless I pointed out some obvious flaws in your plan. You were always good at figuring out high-level strategic items like who you want to maim or kill, but to achieve your goal you need someone who is more detailed oriented for the day-to-day plotting.”

Penny knew Persephone had made up her mind to offer help, as long as she was willing to ask for it. That was the unwritten code between gods. Ask and you shall receive, but there always was an extensive price to pay. Almost giddy at the thought, she knew all she needed to do was reel in the fish and, much to her delight, Persephone cut to the chase.

“You know Pen, I consider you to be a sister, with similar taste for, shall we say, eccentric hobbies.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Penny said, taking a gulp of her iced tea.

“And all you would need to do is ask for my help,” Persephone said as she fluttered her eyelashes.

Penny smiled. “Well, Saphie, you would be the very first goddess I would come to for help, but, what’s your price? We all know nothing is for free in our world.”

“Well, maybe we should start our negotiations with what I bring to the table," Have you seen my artist's studio? You’ll love it.”