“Cerberus went down this way,” Jason pointed down a dark alley. It was midday, the sun was high and the markets were teaming with people going about their daily business. But Jason had no problems picking up the unique sulfur smell that clung to Cerberus like a cloud. “If he’s got any sense, he’d hide away from all these people.”

“He could have gone anywhere.” Lasse was studying the area. Jason knew Lasse had spent decades in the small sea-side town and had been able to recognize the bar Jason visited when they chatted about it over a late breakfast. “If he’s searching for Hades, then I can’t think why he’d come here. This is not the sort of place my uncle likes to visit.”

“I’m not sure Cerberus is playing with a full deck right now. Look at this.” Jason crouched about two yards in the alley, running his fingers along the deep claw scratches in the paint work on the side of the building. They were fresh and stunk of sulfur. “If he’s shifted and can’t find his human form, he could pose a real threat to this town.”

“Surely, he’d just go back to the underworld?”

Jason could see Lasse didn’t want to think the worst of his furry friend, but Jason knew what anger and jealousy could do and Cerberus was full of both. “We can’t make that assumption. For now, we have to treat Cerberus like any other dangerous animal who’s snapped his leash. He’s crazed with jealousy and missing his master and that’s not a good state of mind for him to be in.” 

“I agree. It would be a lot easier if we knew where Hades had gone then he could deal with his mutt.” Lasse sighed. “Damn my uncle. If Cerberus hurts anyone I’ll freaking put him down myself.”

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that. Come on.” The end of the alley led to yet another market teaming with people. Jason knew he was missing something. There’s no way Cerberus would willingly walk among the living, especially so many of them. Listening to his instincts, Jason looked up and caught the glimpse of a black hulk sliding around the side of a building. Nothing unusual in that, except that the bulk was hiding under the eaves of that building, a good twelve feet off the ground.

“Can Cerberus climb?” He asked as he and Lasse pushed their way through the crowd. Everyone was enjoying the sunshine with smiles on the faces of the children and the stall holders hawking their wares. “Excuse me,” he said as he nudged one woman’s arm.

“Agorázoun portokália mou,” the woman insisted.

Jason shook his head as she shoved a bag of oranges in his face. “No, thank you,” he said quickly. “Er…óchi efcharistó. Er…” he pointed to the clock. “áron áron. I’m in a hurry.”

“Here,” Lasse reached over and grabbed the oranges, handing her a handful of euros with the other hand. “Efcharistó,” he added, thanking the woman. Jason let himself be pulled away, checking the eaves of the buildings around them. “What are you going to do with that fruit?” He asked when he didn’t see anything suspicious.

“That’s easy,” Lasse scanned the crowd. “Here.” He handed the bag to a cute little girl in a dirty red dress and pigtails. Her eyes widened and then she grabbed the bag to her chest and took off running. “The economy’s not been kind to many here. She will eat today.”

“You are a lovely man,” Jason said, but then he caught a glimpse of the black shape he’d seen before. “Come on.” Pushing as fast as the crowds would allow, Jason and Lasse made it to the edge of the square, but by the time they got there, the black shape was nowhere to be seen.

“Let’s head down to the docks,” Lasse suggested. “It’s a good place for him to hide.”

“Not the ruins?” Jason had slept in them many years before.

“Too many tourists,” Lasse replied. “It’s this way.”

/~/~/~/~/

Lasse was almost certain Cerberus wanted to talk to him and why the silly mutt didn’t just front up to his house was anyone’s guess. But the dog wasn’t silly enough to think Lasse would excuse the damage he did to his mate the night before. Mates were protected above all else, no matter who was mated to who. As the scent of salt increased, alarm ran up his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

“We’re being watched,” Lasse said, moving closer to Jason.

“I know, they’re behind us for now,” Jason kept on walking. “I expected a trap. I’m not sure that being I saw skulking under the eaves was Cerberus. You never did answer me about if he could climb or not.”

“Hard to know,” Lasse waved his hands as though describing the scenery. “Cerberus wasn’t meant to exist. He was another example of the Gods playing with life and if Hades hadn’t taken him in and raised him, he’d have been killed like so many other creatures of myth were.”

“I know,” Jason said dourly, his tone at odds with his expression. Anyone looking at him would assume he was simply enjoying his walk in the sunshine.

“Well, then you’d also know that no one knew, when genetics were mixed, what any being was capable of. Cerberus shares a mind link with Hades, at least he did. There’s no telling what else my uncle shared with him over the years. It could be that lack of mind link that’s sent him into a turmoil now.”

“Does Cerberus have any sway over other beings from the underworld – demons, spirits or the hellhounds? Because I’m fairly sure, that’s not Cerberus behind us.”

“Some maybe,” Lasse shrugged. “But that wasn’t a hellhound hanging from the rafters either and they’d never attack us unless we were a threat to them or those they protect.”

“That narrows it down, then.” Jason stopped suddenly and pulled Lasse behind a stack of pallets. “Kiss me,” he demanded quietly.

“Are you insane?” Lasse suddenly found his airways cut off as Jason shoved his tongue down his throat. Despite the danger, Lasse’s body responded, and he pressed forward eagerly, his hands grabbing Jason’s ass and pulling him closer. Oh yeah, let me take you home, mate.

“Don’t go zapping us anywhere,” Jason warned, wrenching their mouths apart and nipping on Lasse’s ear lobe. “Bad guys getting closer. Three of them. Demons. Can you contact Thor without them knowing?”

Lasse shoved his face in Jason’s neck as his body shuddered against Jason’s heat. “Payback’s a bitch. Remember that,” he muttered as he tuned his mind into Thor’s. Get off that skanky ho and get your ass down here, he ordered. Demon fight.

“He’s coming, although not the way he wanted to,” Lasse whispered as Jason licked up his neck.

“Any minute now.” Jason shoved his hand down the front of Lasse’s pants. Lasse arched into the touch and groaned.

“Bastard, winding me up like this.”

“You can fuck me later. Now!” Swirling, Jason had his sword in his hand, slicing at the demon hell bent on attacking him. Lasse took a moment to get his thoughts together – he was still thinking about fucking Jason – but his sword settled into his hand with a thought and the fight was on.

There were more than three demons, that much was apparent. It seemed as soon as one was down, another took his place. Out of the corner of his eye, Lasse saw Thor appear and heard his excited yell, “Hell yeah, Ja, you can invite me to the party any time,” before he started hacking the demons in his path to pieces.

Lasse didn’t like to fight, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t. Sex wasn’t the only thing he did with the Mer guards and he and Thor had gone through their share of the ancient wars. When he saw Jason cornered by two of the most gruesome demon specimens he’d ever seen, he was there, slicing and dicing one while Jason took care of the other.

“They got a portal open,” Thor yelled as he decapitated another one. “Close it or jump down it?”

Lasse looked at Jason and then leaned further as a set of claws came heading for his face. “Close it,” he yelled back, driving his sword into the demon’s guts. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would be a while before that demon enjoyed a meal.

“Cover me, Ja.” Back to back, Thor and Jason hacked their way through the growing crowd of demons. Sending a prayer for the good folk of his little town, Lasse yelled to cause a diversion working his way back to the waters.

As soon as Thor yelled, “Closed it,” Lasse raised his arms, feeling the power of Poseidon flow through his veins.

“Hold onto something,” he yelled as a giant wave rose behind him. “Incoming.” Pushing his hands forward, Lasse rose above the water as it streamed across the docks. Broken bodies, demon parts and debris from the docks were immediately caught up in the swirling waters and just as quickly, sucked back out to sea. When the wave was nothing more than slick on the wooden boards, Lasse let his feet hit the floor again, bending over as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Lasse,” Jason came running, but then his eyes widened as he looked past him to the waters. “Oh shit, no.”

“What?” Lasse turned to see what Jason was looking at, but his mate had already dived into the turbulent waters. “What the hell?”

“A little girl got swept out, look.” Thor ran to his side. Sure enough, a flash of red bobbed in the swirling waves, Jason struggling to reach her.

“Calm,” Lasse swept his arms across the water. The waters immediately became as flat as a mill pond. Now he could see more clearly, Jason was almost at the little girl who was flailing around, probably trying to keep her head above water. “At least she’s still alive.”

“The Fates would never be that cruel,” Thor said. “She has a long lifeline, that one. What I want to know is what the hell she was doing down here in the middle of a demon fight?”

“She might have followed us hoping for more food,” Lasse admitted as Jason started swimming back to the dock, the little girl tucked against his back. He looked over at Thor. “I gave her a bag of oranges. She looked as though she hadn’t eaten for a while.”

“Oh, Lasse,” Thor groaned. “You’re doing it again. I’ll take her and see to her family, but this is the last time, I’m warning you. The last time.”

“The last time for what?” Jason panted as he clung onto the edge of the dock. “Not keen on fighting anymore, old man?”

“I can fight anytime anywhere,” Thor snapped back. “No, this is the last time I pluck a family from poverty and set them on a path towards a productive and meaningful life. The Fates warned Lasse years ago he needed to stop interfering with mortal men. That they lived their lives the way they did for a reason. Now, when he comes across a case he can’t ignore, he gets me to do it instead. Like this little urchin here.” Reaching over, Thor plucked the little girl from Jason’s back. She was wide eyed but unharmed. Just soggy after her ordeal.

“Hey little one,” Thor said with a smile using her own language. “Let’s find your mama and make you a princess with lots of good food and a lovely house to live in. What do you say?”

“And a dog and a pony?” The little girl clapped her hands as Thor nodded.

“Later guys,” Thor strode off down the docks, the little girl safe in his arms.

“The Fates are going to have my ass in a sling,” Lasse groaned as he pulled Jason out of the water.

“You want to share with the rest of us?” Jason quirked a brow as he grabbed Lasse and held him close. “Maybe I shouldn’t have saved that little girl, but I just didn’t think she needed to die for seeing something that should never have been on this earth in the first place.”

“Please tell me you mean the demons,” Lasse’s body shook. “Honestly, a well-placed wave is the best form of clean-up I know.”

“I meant the demons. Now, what’s all this about Thor, the Fates, and princesses?”

“Hang on.” Looking around, Lasse could see the docks were bare, although any mortal being who might have seen the fight was probably in the nearest bar drinking to forget. A quick thought and he and Jason were laying in a hot bath in his house.

“I do love how you do that,” Jason said as he stretched. “Now talk.”

Safe in the water, holding his mate close, Lasse explained the issue he had with seeing people he was forbidden to help. Since they’d stopped being worshipped, Gods were not allowed to interfere in the life of mortal men and in truth, Lasse was only a demi-god. It wasn’t as though he did much, at least in his opinion.

Sure, he might have watered fields, so the crops would grow, provided treasure for a family to find buried on their farm. Orphaned children would suddenly find a loving home and every now and then a single mother would suddenly find their dead husband’s ‘inheritance’ under their mattress. Lasse never thought it was much, but apparently he’d done it once too often, causing the life threads for some individuals to veer off course, and the Fates told him to cut it out. Or rather, his father, Poseidon, yelled at him on their behalf. Lasse had never met the Fates in person before and didn’t want to.

“And so now, when a case tugs at your heart, you ask Thor to do something about it. You are such a wonderfully kind man.” Jason smiled.

“Yes, but Thor goes overboard and the Fates are going to notice and they’ll know it’s me,” Lasse grumbled. “He doesn’t just arrange for a house to be fixed, he waves his hand and gives them a mansion. You heard what he said. That little girl will be a genuine princess before nightfall. Goodness knows of where, because lord knows there’s enough royalty around the world already, but Thor will make it happen. That little girl and her family won’t lack for anything for the rest of her life.”

“How do you know that wasn’t the little girl’s fate already?” Jason asked, stroking up Lasse’s leg. “Maybe she is a displaced princess and the fates were just looking for a way to restore her to her rightful place in the world. You and Thor made it happen.”

“Do you really believe that?” Lasse really wanted to believe that was true. He didn’t want to upset the Fates because the power they had was damn scary, but when he saw that little face….

“Regardless of what the Fates think of your general do-gooding, you did good today.” Twirling in the water, Jason sat up to straddle Lasse’s lap. “That little one only followed us because she knew we could help her and heavens knows how much she saw, trusting her little instincts. She will be smiling tonight in a warm bed with a full tummy, and we gave her that. Far better than a watery grave or a life in an insane asylum because she can’t stop thinking that demons are going to get her.”

“You’re right.” Lasse looked down to where their cocks were bobbing together. “Did I hear you mention something about me fucking you, earlier today?”

“I wouldn’t trust anyone else to treat me well,” Jason nodded. “But let’s get some lube first.”

A wish, a blink, and Lasse was lying on top of Jason in the bed they now shared, warm, dry and a tube of lube in his hand. Damn, it was good being a demi-god sometimes.

“Eager much?” Jason laughed.