A Touch of Malice (Hades & Persephone #3)(125)

“I will not have to steal them. They will be given to me,” he said.

She should have guessed. Poseidon was his father, keeper of the trident, and Hera would ensure he had Zeus’s lightning bolt. They were weapons of war that aided the Olympians in defeating the Titans —it made sense that Theseus would think he could use them to overthrow the Olympians.

“Those weapons will not help you win a war against the Olympians. The gods are far stronger now.”

“I never rely on one method to defeat my enemy,” Theseus said.

She was not surprised that he did not elaborate. Theseus was not one to wax poetic about his plans.

Once he’d given her the mission, no one spoke again. Persephone feared saying something that might cause Theseus to pull over and cut up Sybil or Harmonia.

She looked at them, staring hard to make sure they were both breathing. Harmonia rested her head again the window while Sybil sagged against the leather.

The car came to a stop and the doors on both sides of the vehicle opened. Persephone was dragged out of the car by Theo. They’d stopped close to the shore of Lerna Lake, and she was guided with a heavy hand on her shoulder, down a rickety pier where a rowboat waited. A lantern hung at its prow and ignited a small part of the black lake.

“In,” Theo commanded, again giving Persephone a little push.

She glared at the man but stepped into the boat. She was followed by Theseus who helped Demeter. Then came Sybil and Harmonia. Sybil shook as she stepped down, but she managed to do so without trouble. Then she turned to reach for Harmonia, who was pale and still bleeding from whatever wound had been inflicted at her side.

“Do not touch her,” Theseus commanded. “Demeter.”

The Goddess of Harvest reached for Harmonia’s arm and yanked her down into the boat.

Persephone leaned forward and managed to catch the goddess before she smacked the side of the boat.

“I said don’t touch her,” Theseus said and swung. Persephone ducked as the ore flew over her head. When he tried to hit her again, she reached out and grabbed it, stopping his attack, her eyes gleamed.

“If you want that helm, I suggest you start rowing,” she said. “You don’t have long before Hades breaks my binds.”

At her words, Theseus seemed to become amused and jerked the ore from her grasp.

“As you wish, Queen of the Underworld.”

Theseus pushed off the pier. The water was dark and thick, as if it weren’t water at all but oil.

Persephone watched the surface, feeling a presence below, something monstrous lived within its depths. It wasn’t until they were almost across the lake—the cave entrance looming—that whatever lived in the water made itself known by rocking the boat hard, causing water to splash them.

Theseus’s eyes found Persephone.

“What did I say?”

Before she had a chance to react, a horrible cry came from the darkness around them, and the boat was flipped.

Persephone hit the water hard but broke the surface quickly, in time to see Sybil struggling to hold Harmonia up.

“Sybil!” Persephone called, but just as she started to swim toward the two, a shock of power sent them flying back. Persephone fought the waves as a creature roared, exploding from the water— followed by Demeter who stood atop a plume of water. The creature was something Persephone didn’t recognize. She was a goddess with large, downturned horns that stuck out on either side of her head. Her hair was long, and fell over her shoulders, down her naked breasts, falling to the edge of her scaley tentacles—which she’d used to hold Theseus prisoner.

“Ceto,” Demeter said. “I will not hesitate to sever your tentacles from your body.”

“You can try, Dread Demeter,” she said. “But you are not welcome here.”

Her mother summoned a blade and jumped, moving in a blur. In the next second, the tentacle that held Theseus was severed, falling into the black lake below. Ceto roared, and lashed out at Demeter, sending the goddess flying. In her rage, the waves rose, high and fast, burying Persephone, Sybil, and Harmonia beneath the surface once more.

“Stop!”

Persephone cried, water rushing into her mouth, but the two goddesses continued to engage, creating chaos in the lake around them. Ceto’s tentacles swept out, catching Persephone around her waist and lifting her from the lake.

“Ceto!” she cried, her lungs burned as she coughed, spitting up water. “I command you to stop!”

The goddess froze and turned toward Persephone; her eyes widened.

“My lady,” she said, placing her hand to her chest and bowing her head. “Forgive me. I did not sense you.”

She started to speak when she felt a rush of Demeter’s power. Her head snapped in her mother’s direction in time to see the goddess wielding her sword in mid-air.

“No,” she snapped, and her mother froze, eyes wide and wild, face contorted in an angry scowl.

Persephone turned back to Ceto. “My friends are in this lake,” Persephone said. “Will you find them for me?”

“Of course, my queen,” she said, but her eyes shifted to Demeter who was still suspended in the air.

“She will not bother you again,” she promised.

Ceto moved Persephone to the shore, before the cave-like entrance to the Underworld and disappeared below the water. It wasn’t long before the monster returned with Sybil and Harmonia. As she sat them on the sandy beach, they both collapsed, exhausted from fighting the water’s unnatural current. Sybil rolled onto her hands and knees and crawled to Harmonia who looked pale, almost blue. Persephone ran, falling to her knees beside them.