Chapter 5

Persephone

Hades was avoiding me, and it was beginning to make me very angry. Technically, he’d been avoiding me for months, but I’d at least caught him watching me every once in a while. It had been days since I’d last seen him lurking around my apartment complex. It was sad that I’d started to look forward to being stalked by Hades. I often wondered if the real reason I didn’t think Hades was as insane as he claimed to be was that I was also crazy. There were definitely people who would say I was crazy.

“You do realize you’re muttering to yourself, right?” Gryph asked as he walked by my desk.

Gryph was a werewolf—the first one I’d ever met. He was taller and even broader than Hades. I’d been a little intimidated when I’d first met him, not that I’d let it show. Mostly, I’d been curious. Gryph wasn’t always the most patient werewolf, but he’d answered my myriad of questions about werewolves. Before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, I’d met very few members of the preternatural community. My life had definitely changed. I’d met witches, demons, werewolves, swinger vampires, and fallen angels. I even got to have dinner at Lucifer’s home. How many people get to dine with the devil?

“Sorry about the muttering,” I told Gryph. “Be thankful I haven’t used any ugly words. More than a few have passed through my mind without making their way past my lips.”

Gryph’s lips twitched. “Which ugly words were you considering using?”

“I won’t say them, but one rhymes with ham and the other with duck,” I replied.

When Gryph’s mouth dropped open, I had to bite back a grin. I hadn’t really considered using the word that rhymes with duck, but Gryph’s reaction was all I’d hoped it would be. He looked like he wasn’t sure if he should gasp or laugh. After his initial shock passed, his eyes narrowed. “Do I need to kill someone for you, Persephone?” He wasn’t joking.

“No,” I assured him. “I’m frustrated with a certain fallen angel.”

Before Gryph could respond, the elevator opened and out stepped my best friend, Beatrice, and her husband, Lucifer. I loved saying my best friend was the devil’s wife.

“Bea!” I squealed as I raced around my desk to hug her. We’d been roommates for a few months before she became the queen of Hell. I liked saying that, too. Thankfully, Lucifer was subsidizing my rent so I wouldn’t need to get a new roommate yet. He’d also been able to get me into one of the more exclusive witch apartment complexes. It was nice having powerful friends. I didn’t mind humans. I’d grown up around humans, so I didn’t have the same prejudice against them most witches did. Still, I had more restrictions living among humans. The Council of Witches frowned upon the use of spells in human areas. There were also no protection spells on the human apartment complexes, making witch communities safer.

As expected, Bea tensed when I hugged her. My friend didn’t like hugs, but she loved me, so she put up with them.

“This is a wonderful surprise,” I continued when I released Beatrice. “What brings you out this way?”

“I’m not sure how to put this,” Beatrice began before looking to Lucifer for help.

“Hades wants you to stay with me,” Lucifer stated. “He thinks you may be in danger.”

“There are more subtle ways to put it,” Beatrice complained.

Lucifer simply raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never cared much for subtlety.”

“Hades thinks I’m in danger?” I asked. When Beatrice nodded, I continued. “Why does he think I’m in danger? People like me. It’s not like I have any enemies.”

“Some of the assholes from Olympus want Hades to help them with a rebellion,” Beatrice replied. “He refused, so they made vague threats against you. They didn’t technically threaten you, but they made it known that they are aware of your existence. Hades took that as a threat.”

“Why can’t you go there and kick their fannies?” I asked Lucifer.

“Fannies?” he asked with a bark of laughter.

“Sorry,” I began with a sheepish smile. “I’m not normally a violent person.” I certainly could be when the situation called for it, but violence was never my first solution to any problem.

“Having heard how well you fight, I find that hard to believe,” Lucifer replied with a grin.

“A witch has to defend herself,” Beatrice argued.

“I wasn’t insulting Persephone for her ability to defend herself,” Lucifer insisted. “As for your question about me dealing with the problem, it’s complicated. There’s always some plot in the works on Olympus. Their schemes rarely require any intervention on my part. Even when I have to get involved, they’re more of a nuisance than anything else.”

“They’re like a bunch of old witches sitting around and talking about the good old days,” Beatrice explained. “There is virtually no chance of them actually following through with any plans they make.”

“Have there been problems?” I asked.

“Loki tried killing an archangel to get his flaming sword about two-hundred years ago,” Lucifer began thoughtfully. “Poseidon planned to unleash a Kraken. Had either of them actually succeeded, I’d have been forced to lock them away in one of the prisons. I was tempted with Loki. Poseidon’s threat was less of a concern.”

My eyes widened. “A Kraken?” I’d never seen a Kraken. “A Kraken would be a huge threat.”

“Krakens aren’t immortal, and Poseidon forgot to feed them,” Lucifer explained. “There’ve been a few other issues, but most have been minor and easy to deal with. This only concerns us because you were threatened.”

“Are you certain I was threatened?” I asked.

Lucifer nodded. “They wanted Hades to know they’ve seen you. That is a threat.”

“I see where Persephone is going with this,” Beatrice began thoughtfully. “They could have been bluffing since Hades only goes after women named Persephone.”

“It’s possible, but I think it’s more likely they know who you are,” Lucifer replied. “Personally, I don’t think anyone from Olympus will follow through with their threat, but it would be foolish to ignore the possibility. This is also a huge concern for Hades. What could it hurt for you to stay with me for a short time?”

“You’re right,” I relented. “I just hate leaving my home.”

“You loved the tub in your room at Lucifer’s,” Beatrice reminded me.

“It was almost perfect,” I agreed.

“Almost perfect?” Lucifer asked.

“It needs water jets,” I replied absently. The tub in Lucifer’s home wasn’t enough to keep me from wondering, “Why isn’t Hades here warning me about the danger?”

Gryph had been pretending to check the security feed on a nearby computer, but he was listening, so I wasn’t surprised when he replied. “Hades isn’t allowed in the building.”

“Why not?” I demanded. “Hades is my friend. He’s been here before and never caused a problem.”

“We had Lucifer’s assurances Hades wouldn’t kidnap you before,” Gryph explained.

“He promised to behave until after Beatrice was safe,” Lucifer added. “I’d rather not be forced to torture my cousin. I like him, but I’d have to hurt him if he showed up at Bliss and abducted you.”

It seemed like a bad idea to mention all the times I’d found Hades watching me from the balcony of the apartment across from mine. I didn’t want Lucifer to tell Hades to stay away from me. I wanted to be closer to Hades. An idea came to me, and I smiled. “I should stay with Hades.”

My statement was met with silence.

“It’s a good idea,” I insisted. “Hades will protect me.”

“No,” was Lucifer’s flat reply.

“His home isn’t set up for guests.” Beatrice gave that explanation.

“You’ve been to his home?” I asked.

“No, but he doesn’t entertain,” Beatrice replied. “Can I have some time alone with Persephone? I think we need to discuss this without the two of you around.”

“You can use a conference room in the back,” Gryph offered. “Allie and Julia are both out on client meetings, so all the rooms are open.”

Lucifer let out an irritated sigh. He was obviously annoyed that I hadn’t simply agreed to do what he asked. His reaction made sense. It wasn’t often Lucifer had to compromise.

“Fine. I’ll wait out here with the werewolf,” he agreed.