Chapter 34

The Strategist

“Do you think Hades believes there’s no longer a threat to the witch?”

With my back to her, Hera didn’t see me roll my eyes. “They just left here a few hours ago,” I reminded her.

I’d headed to my own temple to avoid everyone, but Hera had decided to track me down.

“So, he should be ready to send her back to the human realm,” Hera deduced.

“I seriously doubt that,” I muttered. “Did Hermes talk to Azrael?”

Hera nodded. “Yes, but I’m still not sure it will do us any good.”

“Azrael has no one,” I reminded her.

“Much like you,” Hera replied with a smug grin. “No consort. No friends. You aren’t even that close to your own family. The reasons are different, of course. Azrael is just creepy, while you’ve alienated everyone by believing you’re so much better and smarter than the rest of us. It’s why you need me. No one will follow you.”

My eyes narrowed. “Did you come here just to act like a bitch?”

“How am I acting like a bitch?” she asked. Not giving me time to respond, she continued. “If Azrael doesn’t care about the witch, then what are we supposed to do? It’s obvious your plan to gain Hades’s assistance won’t work. He hates us.”

“Can you blame him?” I asked.

“Yes,” Hera stupidly responded. “We’re his family.”

I snorted. “That’s nothing to brag about.”

“You’re really in a mood today, aren’t you?” Hera asked with a huff.

I was in a mood—a killing mood, but I couldn’t kill Hera yet.

“There’s a demon here to see you,” Hermes called out from just outside my temple.

“Send him in,” I told him.

“I’m not your errand boy,” Hermes grumbled.

“Just send him in, Hermes,” Hera shouted.

“Fine,” Hermes snapped.

The demon was covered from head to toe with a drab brown cloak. He was a low-ranking demon who worked security near the detention area. I was paying him to pass on any information about Persephone. I needed to know when she left the demon realm, where she went, and who went with her.

“You have news?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “Hades is taking Persephone to a witch club in the human realm tomorrow night. It’s called The Cauldron.”

“You must be mistaken,” I argued.

“I’m not mistaken,” he insisted. “One of the prison guards told me he overheard Lucifer and Hades talking about it. They’ll be out of the demon realm. Lucifer seems to think the club is safe.”

“This could definitely be useful,” I murmured. “Did you get any more information?”

“No,” he replied nervously. “I need to hurry back. If Lucifer finds out I came here, he’ll kill me. You need to get a phone.”

“How can you trust this demon?” Hera demanded of me. “What if he’s caught and turns on us?”

I smiled, my eyes moving to the demon. “You aren’t going to tell anyone about our little agreement, are you? It would be a shame if your whole family had to pay for your mistakes.”

“No,” he replied quickly. “I won’t tell anyone what you’re up to.”

I laughed and turned to Hera. “This little demon rat has been helping his sister smuggle contraband into the prisons. Either he helps me, or I make sure Lucifer finds out. While Lucifer is torturing confessions from him and his sister, I’ll kill the rest of his family.” A thought occurred to me. “I have a job for your sister.”

“Just leave my sister out of this,” he growled.

“You don’t give the orders,” I snarled. “Tell your sister, I need her to find someone inside the prisons, someone with connections to Hades who’s not afraid to get their hands dirty.”

“Fine,” the demon snapped before he spun and stormed out of my temple.

“Why do we need people inside the prisons?” Hera asked. “Those places are filthy.”

“They’re also filled with people who hate Lucifer and Hades,” I reminded her. “When the war starts, we’re going to need brutal fighters on our side. I don’t care where they come from as long as they’re willing to fight for us.”

“I don’t want to spend time with dirty prisoners,” she grumbled.

“Where do you suggest we get fighters?” I asked her.

As expected, she shrugged. “You’re supposed to be the brilliant strategist.” There was no missing the condescension in her voice. “Shouldn’t you be able to find fighters that don’t make me want to retch?”

I needed to get rid of Hera before I lost my temper and killed her. “I saw Zeus about an hour ago. He said something about heading to the human realm to seduce a cheerleader.”

“Over my dead body!” Hera roared as she stormed off to find Zeus.

Once Hera was gone, I headed off to scout out the area around The Cauldron. It was unlikely I’d be able to get anywhere near Persephone with both Hades and Lucifer accompanying her, but I’d check it out, anyway. If my demon informant was wrong about Persephone being there, I’d stop by his place to kill him and his entire family.