***
Later that evening, Thanatos found Hades in his office and offered a bundle wrapped in white cloth.
“Atropos’s shears,” he said.
Hades would take them to Hephaestus so the God of Fire could restore them.
The two were quiet, each lost in their own thoughts.
After a moment, the God of Death spoke. “What sort of power would destroy the Fates’ magic?”
“Their own,” Hades replied.
Which meant more than likely, Sisyphus de Ephyra had found a relic.
After The Great War, scavengers collected items from the battlefield—pieces of broken shields, swords, spears, fabrics. They were items that contained residual magic, items that could still pose a threat if they fell into the wrong hands. Hades had worked for years to extract relics from circulating in the black market, but there were thousands and sometimes it took a disaster to figure out who was in possession of one.
A disaster like Sisyphus de Ephyra.
Hades would be damned if he let a mortal like him cheat him out of love.
Ilias had delivered a file earlier. It confirmed what Hades had suspected—Alexander Sotir was addicted to Evangeline and in debt to his dealer, Sisyphus, but making the connection did no good until Hades located the mortal.
“What will you do?” Thanatos asked.
“Visit Olympus,” Hades replied, shuddering.
CHAPTER VII – MOUNT OLYMPUS
Olympus was a marble city upon a mountain. It was bright, beautiful, and vast. Several narrow passages branched off from a courtyard rimmed with statues of the Olympians, leading to homes and shops where demi-gods and their servants lived.
Like the gods and the world below, Olympus had also evolved. Zeus had ordered the installation of a stadium and theater in addition to the existing gymnasium, where gods trained and mortals fought or performed for them. It was one of Zeus’s favorite pastimes and a practice that had not changed, even though the God of Thunder now lived on Earth.
Hades did not often venture to Olympus. Even before The Great Descent, it was a place he preferred to avoid, much like he preferred to avoid Olympia, the new Olympus, but there were a few gods who still resided in the clouds, among them Athena, Hestia, Artemis, and Helios.
It was Helios Hades wanted to see now—Helios, God of the Sun, one of few Titans who did not dwell in Tartarus.
Hades found Helios resting in the Tower of the Sun, a sanctuary made of white marble and gold that rose over the other buildings on Olympus, a pillar cutting through the clouds. The surface gleamed with its own internal light, like the sun shining on water. It was the tower from which he launched his four-horsed golden chariot across the sky and where he returned at night.
The Titan lounged upon a gold throne, his head resting on his fist as if he were bored, not exhausted from his work. He was dressed in purple robes, and his white-blond hair fell in waves past his shoulders, his head crowned with the aureole of the sun.
Helios blinked slowly at Hades, his hooded eyes the color of amber.
“Hades,” he spoke, acknowledging him with a lazy nod, his voice deep and resonate.
“Helios.” Hades inclined his head.
“You wish to know where the mortal Sisyphus is hiding.”
Hades said nothing. He was not surprised that Helios knew why he had come, it was the reason Hades was here. Helios was all-seeing, which meant he witnessed everything that occurred on Earth. The question was, had he chosen to pay attention and would he choose to share with Hades now?
Helios was a notorious asshole.
“He is not hiding. I see him now,” the god answered.
“Where, Helios?” Hades said between his teeth.
“On Earth,” the Titan replied.
Since Helios had fought on the side of the Olympians during Titanomachy, the God of the Sun felt that any aid he offered after their victory was a favor, one he did not have to bestow if he did not want to.
“I am in no mood for your games,” Hades said darkly.
“And I am in no mood for visitors, but we must all make sacrifices.”
A spike of anger rushed through him, manifesting in a set of black spikes ejecting from his hand. Helios’s eyes drifted there, and he smiled.
“Still struggling with anger, I see. How will you conceal your true nature from Demeter’s daughter? Will you find more souls to torture?”
“Perhaps I will begin with your son.”
Helios’ mouth tightened. His son, Phaethon, had been in the Underworld for a long time. The na?ve boy had attempted to drive his father’s chariot and lost control of the horses. He was struck down by Zeus after causing great destruction on Earth.