Chapter Five

The tension in the house had thankfully lessened once everyone was settled in.

Michael and Xiphrus had somehow convinced Rowan and Yiuwa to stay for a night so they could formulate some kind of plan once they entered Duat territory. The realm of Hades and Duat had seen a lot of tension recently and it was highly unlikely the Egyptian pantheon would let a couple of Greeks waltz into their territory. They may not be Greek by birth, but they were by citizenship, in a way, and it put them on Duat's blacklist.

Meanwhile, Hades and I retreated back to our room to stew.

Because, I wasn't going to lie, I was pissed about Michael omitting the fact that he was blocking our contacts outside the realm. And it only reminded me that he had given approval to bug my phones. I knew Heaven didn't trust me, that was a given, but things like this still pissed me off, having my privacy invaded and worse, having someone lie to my children.

The temptation to simply punch a hole through this plan and go to Duat ourselves was overwhelming. Hades was on pins and needles, fully prepared for me to give him a reason for us to get out of here and take hold of the wheel on this bandwagon of bullshit. However, I couldn't give him a reason that wasn't rooted in my own selfishness, and he knew that as well.

So we remained silent as we showered and got into bed that night.

It was frustrating to get comfortable. Not just all the shit that suddenly piled onto our plates, but literally, the bed was on the small side, so Hades had to draw his legs up since they hung off the end of the bed, and he just laid there, glaring at the wall across from us. I lay with my arm around him, spooning him as comfortably as I could.

"You need to sleep," I murmured, feeling his muscles tense and rippling beneath me. He growled.

"Fuck your brother."

"I agree."

"And Rowan."

"Yes."

"And the Shifter."

"Mmhm."

"How are you not more pissed off about this than I am," Hades demanded, rolling over to face me and I sighed, rolling onto my back and resting my arm over my forehead, "You taking something and not sharing, because I'm at catastrophic levels of pissed here. Like, I'm debating just eating your brother's heart and stuffing Rowan's somewhere real uncomfortable." My lips twitched in a smile that I quickly masked in case Hades thought I was mocking him.

"I am pissed," I admitted, feeling satisfaction boil from Hades, "But there's no point in wasting my energy on it. Right now, we need to conserve. We need to figure out just what is going on. Why Yhwhwa wants us here, if it was indeed him who contacted me. We can at least focus on that much while we're here. And while I hate admitting this, Rowan is correct about keeping the prophecy on the downlow." Hades was silent for a while, still stewing, but he shrugged at the blankets and scooted closer so he could get right up on me, his head on my shoulder, his eyes still narrowed in irritation.

"I don't want fucking logic right now."

"I'm surprised. Logic is basically your thing."

"Not when I'm angry," Hades growled, his voice reverberating through me, "What if that fucker goes after my kids, Lucy? That thing already fucking hurt Theo enough. You saw him when he came back. I didn't want any of my kids to go through that, not again, not after..." His voice trailed. He wasn't going to explain how broken he was when he'd heard what had happened to Theo during his brief stay with the Shifter. Hades hadn't slept nights after hew found out. He'd laid awake night after night. Every time his eyelids started to close, they would snap open again and he'd start breathing harshly, like he did whenever he was feeling claustrophobic.

"The Shifter won't hurt them," I said, surprised by how much I actually believed myself, "There's no way for any of them to be linked to this next step in the prophecy. Skies of a god? None of your children deal with the realm of the sky."

"And neither do we," Hades muttered, "As far as we know."

"Good point," I murmured, then tightened my grip on him, "But I know they're safe. They'll be okay. They're strong. They're smart. They have people who will protect them and fight with them. As much as you hate the ones your sons have chosen, you know as well as I do that they would lay down their lives for them." Hades didn't say anything. His eyebrow just twitched, like he was still bothered by that fact. He may not like the people his sons had chosen as their lovers, but he also didn't want to see them torn apart by losing them.

He'd been a combination of agonized and furious when Sept had left Theo. Theo had fallen apart after their breakup. And that was just a breakup. I didn't want to imagine how one of them would react were their lover to die for them. I certainly didn't want to think about it.

"It'll work out," I murmured, making Hades glance at me, "It always does, and it always will."

"You put a lot of fucking faith in chance."

"I put a lot of faith in ourselves," I answered, making Hades frown, "We've fought evil before, Hades. We've faced... untold horrors. And we are still here, still alive, still together. Christ above, Hades, you refused to marry me three times and I'm still right here beside you, and I will be, even if you say no three more times." Hades pressed his lips together thinly, clearly thinking about my words before he closed his eyes and dropped his head back down on my shoulder.

"But the Shifter is different."

"So were the Titans. And Atlan. Each one of the Source's tests will be different and dangerous and deadly. It will test not only us individually, but our relationships as well. We must face each one and show the Source that we are not afraid, that we deserve to be alive, that nothing will tear us apart. We are strong enough to in the skies among our past brethren, and we are strong enough to exist through all the universes and those to follow."

Silence came over the room. The only sounds came from the soft chirping of a cricket outside, a soft breeze that billowed in through the window, the curtains fluttering gently.

"You should be a fucking therapist," Hades deadpanned.

I laughed, tightening my grip on him and making him groan. I rolled over, pinning him down on the bed. His beautiful locks of silken black hair sprawled out on the white pillow, his blue eyes glowing in the darkness of the room, a room illuminated only by the crescent moon outside. Yet even in the dark, I could make out his beautiful stern features, his permanent scowl, despite the curve of his lips, the flash of his fangs.

"I don't think I'm allowed to have sexual relations with my patients," I murmured, leaning down to nip at his bottom lip, lacing my fingers with his and pinning his hands down on the bed on either side of his head. He growled, parting his lips and letting my tongue delve between them before pulling out for a soft kiss on his swollen lips.

"Your snake friend doesn't seem to give a shit," he responded breathlessly. I snorted.

"If you want me to go flaccid, keep talking about him. If you want to feel me inside of you until you scream, then shut up and let me kiss the living hell out of you," I growled, feeling the heat pool in my eyes as my curse surged through my veins with hunger. Hades moaned, lifting his legs up and wrapping them around my waist.

"We'll finish this talk later," he answered, then threw his arms around my neck and hauled me down for a deep passion kiss that blew me away. The smokey scent of him filled my nostrils, the sight of him languid dance on the bed as he rolled his hips and arched his back, the sound of his moans deep and penetrating, the feel of his smooth supple skin. My senses were blown away by him.

Nothing soothed my soul more than Hades.

We fought from time to time, and sometimes about the most idiotic things, and there were days, sometimes weeks, when we couldn't see each other because of our work, because of our schedules, but none of it took away how much I loved him. While it stung a little that he had said no, more than once, I understood it came from a place of emotional distress and not whether or not he loved me.

Because I knew Hades loved me.

Especially when he stared up at me with those beautiful glowing blue eyes, his brows knitted upwards, his lips parted in desperate gasps, his fangs flashing in the dim light, his arms wrapped around me as he held onto me. His lips clashed with mine and he moaned, raking his fingers through my hair, pumping his hips against me, swallowing me whole until I spilled inside him.

We rolled in the sheets, twisting our positions until he was sitting on top of me, bouncing in my lap, his long hair spilling over his shoulders, sticking to either side of his nose with sweat as he groaned, tilting his head back. His cock kicked and twitched, freeing a splatter of himself across my stomach. I groaned, arching my back, letting him ride out his orgasm before he dropped down on all fours over top of me, panting.

"How about we get Mikey back for being a fucking asshole?" He panted above me, those blue eyes twinkling. I smirked, sitting up abruptly, grabbing Hades in my arms, sitting with him in my lap, his gasp following my movements. I sank my hand into his hair, drawing him close for a kiss before I pulled back.

"Be as loud as you want," I encouraged. Hades laughed, wrapping his arms around my neck and hauling me close for another kiss before he moaned loud and proud, hoisting himself up and dropping himself back down on top of me. I shouted, tightening my arm around him and getting to work.

And it lasted through the night. Hades's stamina was insane when he was angry, and he was a combination of angry and positively delighted. We rolled around in the bed for a while, this way and that way, moved to the floor, to the bathroom, showered, came back for some more before the sun peered through the sheer curtains and we decided it was time for a break.

I woke some hours later, waking up to find that Hades was still fast asleep. He was completely out, his hair a gorgeous haphazard mess around his face and shoulders, the blankets yanked all the way up around him like a cacoon. I smiled at that, leaning in to kiss him on the temple. I lifted myself carefully out of bed, got dressed, and headed downstairs. I walked into the dining room, only to pull up short to see everyone sitting at the table. Michael's cheeks immediately pinkened and those sapphire eyes narrowed in a glare, which I met with a polite smile.

"Good morning. Is breakfast already prepared? I worked up quite an appetite," I said, breezing by Michael to head to the kitchen. Xiphrus glanced at Michael, touching his arm and shaking his head. Meanwhile, Rowan just drank his coffee dismissively, as per usual, and Yiuwa couldn't seem to bring himself to look me in the eye as he stirred his food around on his plate.

I served myself up something to eat, noting the lack of any bacon or sausages, then returned to the table and purposely sat right beside Michael, who actually moved a good inch or two away from me. I smiled at him and he glared.

"So, we'll be heading to Duat in a couple hours," Yiuwa said at last, clearly wanting to pretend last night had never happened, "We've contacted Set ahead of time and he's given us permission to enter the realm. We'll do our best to be back within a week, but no promises. Should we run into trouble, we'll contact you."

"Thank you," Michael said, shooting me one last dirty look before meeting Yiuwa's eyes, "Do be careful. It seems the closer we get to this, the more dangerous the situation."

"Indeed," Yiuwa agreed. Rowan said nothing, just glanced up at the sound of a creak on the staircase. My eyes came up as Hades came into the dining room, and my heart swooned at the sight of him. His hair was still rumpled, he wasn't wearing anything positively striking, just a t-shirt and a pair of boxer-shorts, and he was yawning, stretching his arms high over his head before he dropped them so he could walk through the entryway into the dining room.

"Wow, no sausages," Hades commented, coming to take a seat beside me, reaching over to pluck a piece of toast off my plate, "Nah, that's fine. I had plenty last night." I had to stop eating at that point. I put a hand over my mouth, wishing to the gods that Hades's childishness wasn't so infectious and amusing. Hades just smirked and Michael glared at us.

"You're both incredibly rude," he stated, "I gave you one rule--"

"You have us a fucking manual of rules," Hades drawled, eating up the toast and reaching over to take a piece of tomato off Michael's plate, much to his dismay, "I just figured this was one I would enjoying breaking the most. And yes, thank you, I did enjoy it. Very much."

"You could have waited until we left," Yiuwa muttered, averting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as if he were getting a headache. Hades looked surprised.

"And have you two miss the joy? Why would I be so inconsiderate?" He asked. Yiuwa gave him a pointed look, then looked at Rowan as if to silently plead for some back up. Rowan blinked, looked up and around the table, then back down at his coffee with the shake of his head. He clearly wasn't going to get in on it, much to my relief. Somehow I feel his commentary would piss Hades off, and Hades seemed to be much more relaxed this morning.

"Anyway," Xiphrus said slowly, "I have asked Joxeia to come and help you investigate why Yhwhwa would want you two to be here in Heaven. He has also brought Menoetius along."

"The Titan?" I asked, frowning immediately. It wasn't that I didn't like Menoetius, per say. I still had difficulties... with just him in general. He was a strange, unwell person. He clearly needed some therapy, but hadn't gone out of his way to seek it. But he had healed considerably since he and Arikos had gotten together and were raising their daughter, Amenti.

"Indeed," Xiphrus replied, "Menoetius's mission for the last prophecy may be at an end, but he has not lost his abilities as a Key. He can see things we cannot, so it is our hope that perhaps being near this situation, he'll be able to pick up on some residual feelings Yhwhwa may have left behind."

"Good call," I said with a nod, getting to business, "His ability has helped us in the past. I don't see why it wouldn't work now."

"I will see about getting us permission into our Father's sanctuary," Michael agreed. Yiuwa nodded, then stood up.

"Perhaps we should leave them and get this done and over with as soon as possible. The longer we linger, the more chance the Shifter has at figuring out the prophecy before we do," he explained, making everyone nod in understanding. He looked at Rowan, who finished his coffee and set the cup down before rising to his feet. Yiuwa stopped him, looked him right in the eyes, as if they were having a silent conversation before Rowan turned away and headed for the door, where Xiphrus was heading to meet them to let them out.

Yiuwa sighed, clearly disappointed before he gave us a quick friendly smile and headed after Rowan.

We were silent as Xiphrus came back to join us at the table. I finished breakfast and made Hades some coffee, which he took his time sipping down. Michael clearly wanted to get away from Hades as soon as possible, so he showered and dressed, heading out to meet with his contact. Meanwhile, Xiphrus stayed behind, and I had a feeling it was to make sure we behaved.

"So, who's Michael's contact into big daddy's house?" Hades asked as he came over to hand me his mug to wash. I rinsed the glass out, scrubbing it with a soapy pad before sticking it in the dishwasher the way Michael instructed us to do it.

"Jesus," I answered as I pushed the on button for the dishwasher, then paused to look up and see Hades staring at me.

"What?" I asked. Hades scowled.

"You're shitting me," he stated. I arched a brow.

"What? You thought he was a myth?"

"I thought he was a pathetic human who died because he couldn't keep his mouth shut."

"No," I drawled, "He was a prophet. He was chosen by Our Father to secure souls for safety in Heaven. During that time, the other realms were clashing quite severely and Our Father was afraid for the souls of His followers and their families. Jesus was instrumental in keeping these people safe, among many others. His death was merely the death of his mortal vessel and he was brought to Heaven.... You thought Jesus was a myth?"
"I don't interfere with mortals on a daily basis," Hades deadpanned, making me smirk, "They make my skin itch. Especially the preachy ones. So shit, am I meeting Jesus today? Fantastic. I have some things I'd like to call him out on." I rolled my eyes, giving him a shove toward the stairs.

"Funny, but don't bother," I said, "Jesus is not what you may think he is."

"So, wait, he's not a hippie junkie who hangs out with prostitutes?"

"Get your ass upstairs and put something presentable on. As tempting as you are right now, I don't think Michael will be happy to take you into the city dressed like a child," I said, corralling Hades toward the stairs. Hades snorted, opening his mouth to make what I assume was a pedophile joke, but I kneed him in the butt and he grunted, baring his fangs at me as he made his way up the stairs.

"You fuck me in the ass for six hours, then turn around and stuff your knee up my ass? You're a goddamn slave driver."

"I'm going to drive my whole foot up your ass in a minute if you don't behave for a few hours. We played for a while and got back at them, but it's time to straighten out a little."

"Huh, that's gonna be hard to do with your foot in my ass. Kinda not straight if you ask me--"

"What did I just tell you?"

"Ow! Jesus Christ-- Ah, there's a question I have for the celebrity. What does he think about me shouting his name every so often when we have sex? Does he hear it? Does he--"

"Clothes! Now!" I barked, shoving Hades into the room and slamming the door shut behind him. His laughter was muffled by the door, but I heard it well enough and shook my head as I heard him getting ready. I looked up as Xiphrus came out of his room, properly dressed in a pair of tight leather pants and a matching sleeveless turtleneck, a couple of save the turtle bracelets around his wrists.

"I'm glad you're both getting along so well," Xiphrus said dryly, making me smile politely, "Too bad it goes hand-in-hand with riling up Michael." I shrugged, folding my arms over my chest.

"Perhaps he should think about that before he violates my privacy."

"That's childish, even for you, Lucifer."

"Maybe," I admitted, "But it was satisfying nonetheless. And I should hope they plan on removing those bugs, or I'll have Hades do it and he'll make it so that no one will be able to contact me from this place." Xiphrus frowned.

"Frankly, I was not here yet when they had made the rule to bug your tech, however, I have no doubt that Michael did it in order to help you."

"I don't believe that for a second," I responded smoothly, making Xiphrus raise an eyebrow as I turned to look at him straight on, "Sometime before the third century, Michael ended up on the same battlefield as my son, Raven. If my other son, Jaques, hadn't been there when he had, Michael would have killed my son and I would not be here before you today. Michael's heart would be in my fist. So excuse me if I'm finding it difficult to see Michael's undying love for me." I couldn't lie. As much as I wanted to patch things up with Michael, as much as I wanted to see this relationship progress, it was going to be a difficult, rocky path considering how much Michael had done to me, and my family. Not to mention, it pissed me off how he saw Hades as nothing more than a walking sin.

If Hades was sin, I wanted to be sinful as hell.

Xiphrus pursed his lips, clearly frustrated by the situation, but really, what could he possibly say?

The door opened between us and Hades stepped out, looking once more like a poster child for gothic attire, a habit he had passed down to most of his sons, but especially Cerberus. His boots were massive, adding a couple extra inches to his height, a neat little row of skull and crossbones running up the sides, tight leather pants with chains dangling off the side, ripped at the knees, and a black long sleeved v-neck with mesh elbows. Xiphrus looked at him and Hades looked back.

"One of us is going to have to change," Hades drawled, referring to Xiphrus's black attire. Xiphrus rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched, so he was clearly amused and didn't want to encourage Hades's behavior, so he walked toward the stairs. I looked at Hades, who shrugged innocently before we followed Xiphrus downstairs and out of the house.

"Has Michael contacted you about our Father's sanctuary?" I asked. Xiphrus nodded.

"He just called. We've been granted access for a limited amount of time, so it's best we hurry this up. Right now, we're going to meet up with Joxeia and Menoetius to explain the situation more in depth," he explained. I nodded. We headed down the street through the neighborhood. A few children were outside playing and laughing, only to pause to wave to Xiphrus shyly before scampering off. A couple neighbors looked up, hesitating when they saw Hades and hurrying into their houses.

We continued through the quaint neighborhood and through a small business park before ending up on a strangely abandoned path. We went from a populated area to what appeared to be a forest, tall trees towering up into the sky, blotting out the sun. Rocks and twigs snapped and crunched under our boots as we walked. The only sounds came from bugs chirping and birds singing high up in the branches. Up ahead, a large gate came into view, and standing in front of it was Michael and three visitors.

I recognized Joxeia from a distance. He was taller than all of them, his long silky white hair streaming down his back from a high placed ponytail, his reddish pink eyes bright against his porcelain skin. He always dressed stylishly and with ankle boots that added about an inch to his height. At his side, Menoetius was looking uncomfortable, as usual. He was wearing his military uniform; a black stitch suit with blue seams and decor, his wavy hair haphazard around his face, his dark eyes reminded me of a child's, large and worried, like he trusted no one.

And he probably didn't.

It wasn't until I got closer that I recognized the third visitor. A mere six foot with a full black beard matching his short wavy hair that was swept back from his face, a pair of black sunglasses hiding his eyes. His skin was a warm shade of caramel, and he dressed like a biker thug.

"Jesus," I greeted him, holding my hand out. A smile came across those lips and he reached up, pushing his sunglasses up onto his head to reveal his topaz colored eyes. He took my hand, giving a firm shake.

"And here I thought he'd be taller," Hades deadpanned. Jesus smirked, glancing up at him, hardly intimidated by Hades's ridiculous height.

"I am only human after all," he answered, "Also, it helps that I can actually walk through doorways now. As a human, I had a habit of whacking my head when I walked in and out of rooms. You must be Hades." Hades gave him a droll stare.

"What gave it away? My dashing good looks?"

"Eyes," Jesus replied, reaching up to point at his own eyes, "I heard about the god with the eyes that glowed. They're far more fascinating in person." Michael and Joxeia rolled their eyes as Hades cocked his head.

"Anyway," Michael drawled, "We explained the situation to Joxeia and Menoetius. Jesus has given us permission to enter the property for a couple hours to see what we can find." Jesus nodded and went to the gate, unlatching the lock and pushing the gates open with a soft rickety creak. He led the way along a dirt path that eventually turned into a neatly stoned path. The grass was tall and overgrown on either side, flowers sprouting up here and there, trees randomly out of place. There was almost a chaos to everything.

Up ahead, a small stone house came into view. The house itself was also disordered, taller on one side than the other with an odd almost fairytale style roof, like it belonged in a Tim Burton movie. There was no door, just a wooden archway that opened up into the house and windows with no glass or screens. A bird sat in one of the windows, singing away until we approached and it flew back into the house.

"What is with your ancient people are your aversion to doors?" Hades muttered, glancing up at the wooden archway as he walked through it without issue. Made sense since our Father was on the tall side as well.

"Doors are someone's way of saying do not enter," Xiphrus answered, "To us, it's a bit rude. It means others are not welcome." Joxeia nodded.

"We were pretty open about everything, from our houses to our bedrooms. Privacy was not something we thought of," he replied. Menoetius frowned at that, clearly disapproving of it as much as Hades was, given the scowl on Hades's face. I smiled at that. I could see it from their point of view, considering their society was the oldest in existence and there really wasn't much for them to be worried about in terms of crime. Material objects were never particularly important to them.

Something I found odd considering Joxeia's room tended to look a bit chaotic back when he lived in Hell with me. He was always collecting oddities and storing them away in his room. He was also given gifts constantly, by clients and by friends, my children, myself even. He couldn't bring himself to throw many things away because he was sentimental when it came to material objects, something I found interesting as he shared this trait with Viviana. Meanwhile, Xiphrus and Geara saw material objects as simple convenience and not a necessity.

Upon entering, a cat seemed to float inside beside us, making us pause to look down. It looked up at us, an orange and white splattered female missing an eye.

"Barbara," Jesus greeted the cat, stooping to ruffle the cat's head, "Which reminds me. Try not to frighten the animals." I inclined my head. My Father was very fond of all creatures. He valued the animals in his home just as he did his children.

Most of them anyway.

"He likes cats," Hades stated, "Of course he fucking does. The psychos always do."

"Shut up," Michael and I said in unison. He rolled his eyes. Joxeia smiled at that, clearly amused. Menoetius just frowned, keeping quiet and sticking close to Jo, clearly not liking anyone else in the room, which made sense. I hadn't exactly been my kindest to Menoetius in the past, because of my own level of distrust. In doing so, I'd fractured what relationship we could have had. Now I was on the list of people he couldn't put to his back, and I couldn't blame him for that.

We wandered into the living room, pulling up short. The room was certainly chaos and disorder. A couple of old writing desks sat in the room piled high with books and scrolls and photos. Little knick knacks also sat randomly upon them and in the shelves around the room. There were a couple of sofas, and one large antique sofa was set against the far wall by another doorway, and occupying the massive space upon it was a huge dire wolf. Now extinct in the mortal realm, it's only remaining members resided in Heaven. Apparently one of which lived in our Father's home. The creature was massive, about the size of a large gray wolf, with streaks of grayish blue in its thick white fur.

Its great ears pricked forward at our entrance, its golden eyes watching us as we came into the living room.

"That's Dane," Jesus said at our staring, "Father rescued him long ago. He was the last remaining member of his pack in the mortal realm near Montana in the United States. We took him in to protect his species. There's another pack in the area, but Dane prefers to be on his own."

"He's huge," Menoetius commented, staring at the creature, who stared back at him.

"He's actually quite average for his breed," Jesus replied, walking over to place a hand on Dane's head, and the creature's ears flickered before laying back, "Dire wolves are about the size of a large gray wolf. He's just got his winter coat on, so he looks thicker. That and Father can't resist over feeding him someteimes." Dane growled, as if he knew what Jesus was saying, and Jesus laughed softly, bringing his hand down to scratch under Dane's jaw. Dane's mouth opened to reveal a set of dangerous looking teeth, only for a fat wet tongue to come lolling out.

Dane flopped over on the sofa with a grumble and Jesus stepped back to leave him be.

"Also, keep your wallets close," he said, "We have a monkey around here who likes to borrow things, if you catch my drift."

"What? No rhinos up in here?" Hades asked sarcastically. Jesus smiled.

"They don't do well in the climate here, so we don't keep those here."

"Of course not."

"Anyway," Jesus continued, pausing in the middle of the room, "Feel free to explore. No place is barred to you here. Do what you can to find a way to contact Father. I've frankly been rather perturbed about this whole thing as well. He's done this before, vanished for years before returning, but he usually lets us know ahead of time." I frowned, nodding in agreement. Michael sighed, then looked at Menoetius.

"Do what you need to do," he said, then turned to Hades, "And you don't touch anything." Hades smirked.

"What? Afraid I'll taint it with my pagan powers?" He asked, moving his hands up like he was some kind of witch. Michael glared at him, taking a step away from him. Joxeia elbowed Hades in the ribs as he walked by him, making him grunt.

"Don't be an ass," Jo told him, "We have work to do. See if any of you can find anything that may provide us with a clue as to where he's gone." Hades scowled at him, but said nothing as he shrugged and went to one of the desks, frowning at the mess there.

"And here I thought the almighty Yhwhwa would be well organized," he muttered, picking up a book of bird watching and flipping through it before setting it down. Jesus smiled at that, coming over to join him as he picked up a couple of knick knacks and rearranged them on one of the book shelves.

"He finds order in the chaos. It's always been a talent of His."

"Yeah? He apparently likes yoplait too," Hades deadpanned, picking up an old yoplait yogurt container. Jesus laughed, taking it from him and heading to a garbage can with a lid secured to the top.

"No, that would be Jacob's," he said, and at Hades's blank stare, he smiled, "The monkey." Hades smirked, but said nothing as he made his way over to a bookshelf, scanning the collection. I came to stand beside him as we studied the titles. Hades frowned, reaching up and taking one off the shelf, thumbing through the pages.

"A book on gardening?" I asked, confused as to why he picked it up, until he stopped at a certain page to reveal that a photo had been tucked away inside. I fell silent as I studied the image of Michael and I when we were children. Obviously photography hadn't been invented yet, but it was simple to manifest it through thought and magic with the right materials at hand. The image was crisp and clear as if it had been plucked from our Father's memory, from Michael's loosely curled hair to the bruise on my cheek from where I'd fallen down a cliffside during a day of play.

"How old," I murmured, "What made you pick this up?" Hades frowned.

"No frickin' idea... Dang, you were fucking tiny."

"Not all of us can be five foot by the time we're eight, Hades."

A growl permeated the room, and for a full moment, neither of us knew what it was until we looked over to see Dane sitting up on the sofa, his ears moved forward and his lip curled back in a snarl. Jesus frowned, turning to look at him curiously. A sudden crash to our left made Hades and I look over to see Menoetius standing in the middle of the kitchen on the other side of the doorway, staring straight ahead.

"Shit," I muttered, setting the book aside. I knew that concentrated stare into space. I'd seen Menoetius have visions before and clearly he'd done something to trigger this one. I started toward him, only for Hades to grab me at the same time Dane climbed off the sofa, facing the front entryway with a snarl, his tail sticking straight up and the fur on his back rising into a mountain range.

"We have company," Hades muttered.