Chapter Seven

"So they were after Menoetius."

I nodded, taking a sip of coffee as we sat around Michael's dining room table. Menoetius was still resting upstairs and Jesus had done damage control back at the sanctuary. Now it was just Hades, Michael, Xiphrus, and I.

"It makes sense," Xiphrus murmured, stroking his thumb back and forth over Michael's hand on the table, "Menoetius is the Key of Atlantis. His abilities don't stop when his role in a prophecy is finished. He can still see what is to happen next. The Shifter probably realized it could use him to figure out what the next step in the prophecy is." Michael nodded in agreement.

"That's what I was thinking. It means we should keep Menoetius under lock and key," he responded, making everyone nod. I frowned, though, stroking the engravings on the mug in my hand.

"My question is how they got into the sanctuary in the first place. You can't just walk in," I muttered. Hades shrugged, leaning forward on the table as he picked at his fingernails thoughtfully.

"The barrier on Heaven was breached. The barrier on Yhwhwa's sanctuary must have fallen too," he answered. Michael grimaced.

"If that's the case, our Father is weakened, severely. We have to find him. We can't leave Him out there unattended to. He's probably experiencing Recharge," he added, shaking his head as if the very idea disturbed him. I had to concur, because our Father didn't often go into Recharge. In fact, He'd only experienced it once while I had been in Heaven with Him. He was careful how He used His magic and conserved where He needed to. Knowing He'd been drained to the extent of His barrier falling around His sanctuary was disturbing.

"For once, I'm with Michael on this one," Hades said, making me frown at him, "If we find Yhwhwa, we'll probably find out what the next step in the prophecy is. Rowan can spew bullshit all he wants, but in the end, we need to know what the next step is so we can prevent it." Michael scowled.

"And who said you could come with? Our Father had you and Lucifer come here for a reason. I won't have His sacrifice be in vain because you need to feed your ego," he said, making Hades roll his eyes.

"Clearly we're not as safe here as you thought," Hades retorted, "Those shadows busted open a hole in the realm and into your daddy's sanctuary. Nowhere is safe anymore. So I think we should forget about the whole safety thing and get to work. I'm not going to sit on my ass while everyone runs around like chickens with their heads cut off." I glanced at Michael.

"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Hades--"

"Rude," Hades deadpanned, but I continued talking anyway.

"We're clearly not safe anywhere now if the shadows can get here, and they obviously don't know that Hades and I have something to do with this next step, so surely there's no immediate cause for alarm. I say we report what we've found to Rowan and Yiuwa in Duat, then look for Father."

"I don't like this," Michael stated firmly, folding his arms over his chest now as Xiphrus got up to wash out our mugs, "I think it's a bad idea. Father had you both come here for a reason. We got lucky today that Menoetius didn't get killed or kidnapped. Or worse, he'd accidentally spill something to the shadows about the next step."

"I can't imagine Menoetius doing anything by accident," I responded, surprised by my defense of the former Titan, "He's very meticulous. He's also known for his incredible loyalty. He stood by the hybrid, even after the terrible history the two of them had. He stood by us, even when we spoke against him. He'd sooner die than speak of the next step of the prophecy to anyone." Michael eyed me warily, clearly not on board with trusting Menoetius implicitly, but I wasn't surprised. Michael did not trust easily.

"Whatever," Hades said, making Michael glare at him, "We're going to Duat, party with Set for a while, then going out to find Yhwhwa. And Menoetius is staying here, since you think it's so safe." Michael looked completely put out.

"First of all, I won't leave him alone in my home unsupervised. Foreigners require mandatory escorts, especially ones from your neck of the woods--"

"Okay, I'm starting to think you're xenophobic--"

"Because you give us no choice with your wars and primitive behavior and--"

"Us? We're primitive? Our women have more rights than yours do, at least Greek women can get a divorce. I'm pretty sure your little drunken history book says something about divorce being a sin--"

"Our laws have changed--"

"When? Just now?"

"Alright," I exclaimed, placing my hands down on the table loudly to garner their attention, "So we've sorted it out. Menoetius will stay here. I will contact Arikos to come and tend to him, and you can call Gabriel to come and assist. Meanwhile, the rest of us will head to Duat to find Rowan and Yiuwa to report in our findings. Then we'll start our search for Yhwhwa." Michael glared at me incredulously, then looked at Hades, who just smiled, his arms folded over his chest, as if he'd won the argument.

Michael rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up before he rose to his feet and went into the kitchen to make the call to Gabriel. I left Hades to finish his coffee as I went to the living room to call Arikos, who picked up on the first ring.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay? How's my baby?" Arikos demanded, no greeting or trivial conversation. Right to the point. I smiled grimly.

"He's alive. I hope you'll consider coming to Heaven, though, as he'll need someone to take care of him. I understand you have Amenti with you as well. You are welcome to take her to Jaques to babysit, or you can bring her here. Whatever makes you feel most comfortable."

"I have to bring Amenti. She needs to know he's okay. We don't hide anything from her," Arikos paused, "At least, not everything... Is he..."

"He's just experiencing Recharge. He's thoroughly exhausted and resting in a guest room upstairs."

"Okay," Arikos sighed in relief, "Recharge is bad, but we've had to deal with it before."

"You have?" I asked surprised.

"Well, yeah. His body is artificial, sure, but his soul is still god. Anyway, we'll be there in about five minutes."

"Alright, I'll wait until you're here then," I answered, then hung up and went back to the dining room where Hades was looking into his coffee cup. I frowned, noticing he seemed to be a little out of it. He was lost in thought, his brows furrowed up tight, his lips set in a grim line, his hands wrapped around the mug, but not moving.

I came forward and touched his shoulder, making him tense for a moment, but he didn't look up.

Which meant he wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it yet. Maybe never. That was the thing with Hades; if he didn't want to talk about something, he'd never talk about it. Not until someone got it out of him. Oh, he'd be pissy for a while, but he'll eventually realize it was a good call. Otherwise, he'd bottle it up until he exploded.

And something told me this had to do with the fact that Rowan was Hades's real father.

Somehow, even knowing that, it didn't feel entirely real.

"Hades," I started, but Hades shrugged my hand off his shoulder and stood up, moving away from me.

"It's not important. It doesn't matter. Right now, we need to focus on the task at hand--"

"Hard to do that when your mind is occupied with other things," I said dryly, making him glare at me, "Hades, you're doing it again. Don't shut down on me. I know a lot is going on right now, but believe me, if you talk to Rowan, you will feel better. Maybe not right away, maybe not for a few months, or years even, but you need to get this out. We both know you're going to turn this inward, or worse, on your children." Hades stiffened at that. He knew I was right. He'd taken his anger out on his children before. He said it himself.

"I know this has nothing to do with them--"

"I know you know that," I said, making Hades glance at me, "Logically, you know that. But Hades, emotions don't play by logic."

"And emotions have no place in a war," Hades exclaimed incredulously, turning around to glare at me as he leaned on the back of a chair, "I don't have time to deal with more fucking daddy issues, Lucifer, the whole fucking universes could end in a matter of days, if not hours! Besides, I went through that shit before and I won't do it again! I'm seriously fucking done with this whole parent thing! I have children of my own to give a shit about without having to worry about the asshole who spawned me!"

I said nothing. I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell him he was being an idiot, that he was behaving childishly. And to be honest, it wasn't surprising. Hades's upbringing was by himself. He had no childhood to begin with, considering it was dedicated to raising his siblings and protecting them from a hostile environment. He had grown up learning to put his feelings and concerns on the back burner. Everyone else came first. Saving others came first.

And gods, he reminded me of Joxeia when he did that. It explained why the two of them didn't get along. They were so much alike in their altruistic tendencies. They kept forgetting that they, too, were important. Their feelings and their concerns and their pain was important as well.

It was agonizing to see Hades take this step back.

It felt like when we'd established this relationship in the first place. Back then, he'd been so guarded and hostile and angry at everyone and everything. Despite his undying love for his sons, he'd snapped at them and rejected them when they got too close. He'd been so wrapped up in his own head that he'd gotten hurt, and so hard his children.

If he'd just dealt with his problems head on before trying to bottle it up, he wouldn't have gotten into as much trouble as he had. And I didn't want to say it, because it sounded like I was blaming him for it, when it wasn't his fault. He couldn't help being afraid, being guarded.

"Hades," I started gently, watching him narrow his eyes, "No, I'm not going to lecture you. As much as I want to call you an idiot and everything else in the book, I'm not going to because I know you know how you sound. I just want you to know that I am here and I am ready to listen." Hades appeared to be struggling to maintain his angry expression. His eyebrows twitched and he pursed his lips, then turned away as Michael and Xiphrus came into the dining room.

At the same time they entered, the doorbell rang. Michael headed to the door and I followed with him, leaving Hades to stew. Michael opened the door, and sure enough, Arikos had arrived with Amenti in tow. Arikos's black hair was damp and limp from a fresh shower and he wore a loose black sweater and jeans. At his side, Amenti peered up at us with brilliant topaz eyes, her mass of curly black hair done in a cute bun on top of her head with a bright pink Hello Kitty scrunchie. In her hand was a matching Hello Kitty lunchbox.

"Glad you could come," Michael said, pausing to frown, "Have you met with Gabriel yet?" Arikos eyed him warily.

"Yup. He actually told us we could just go ahead. Something about having his own job to do?" He said, making Michael roll his eyes. Michael stepped aside, shifting uncomfortably when Amenti ran in ahead of Arikos, who sighed.

"Menti, baby, wait for papa. Daddy is upstairs," he added. Amenti seemed to be in a world of her own, looking around and ooing and ahhing at all the decorations. I could tell her wandering made Michael antsy. Nothing was worse for a person with OCD than having a toddler run around your house.

"I'll take you to him," I said to Arikos, who nodded thankfully, then walked over and took Amenti by the hand. Amenti waved back at the others, who waved back before we led her upstairs to the guest room where Hades and I had been staying.

"Tell me what happened," Arikos muttered, keeping his voice low. I glanced at Amenti, who was hopping up the stairs and taking her time, giggling when the stairs creaked.

"The shadows found us in the sanctuary," I answered softly, making Arikos swallow nervously, "They know Menoetius is the Key and they clearly want him to see if he can see what the next step is clearly."

"His powers don't work like that. They just come and go on their own, Lucifer, they--"

"I know. But they don't care, Arikos. For now, we think it's best, and safest, that Menoetius stay here in Heaven where he'll be protected by the angels. He'll also do better if he's family is with him, which is why I called you," I explained. Arikos nodded nervously.

I opened the door to the guest room. Menoetius was still fast asleep on the bed, redressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Arikos immediately went to him with Amenti hurrying behind him. Arikos swallowed thickly, brushing the hair back from Menoetius's face as he lowered himself onto the side of the bed. Amenti crawled up onto the bed with her lunch box.

"Is he sleepin' still?" She asked, looking at me. I nodded.

"He's very tired. Do you know what Recharge is?" I asked. Amenti nodded.

"It's the flu for god peoples. Daddy told me all about it. He got sick before too. Is okay, I'm a doctor," she added, getting a serious look on her face. She opened up her lunchbox, but instead of taking out a snack, she took out a plastic stethoscope and a little doctor's coat. She put it on and crawled to the other side of Menoetius, putting the stethoscope to his cheek. Arikos laughed softly, moving it down to his chest and Amenti beamed, then got serious again and nodded.

"Yup, he sick again. Don't worry, I got medicines for him," she said, looking at me as she hopped off the bed and pulled her lunchbox close, "I gots these for him last time I stayed with uncky Hanni and auntie Akin. They said it would make him all better." I was surprised when she took out a sandwich made of ambrosia and a small bottle of nectar. Arikos looked surprised too.

"They gave those to you?" He asked warily. Ambrosia and nectar were foods specifically designed for gods and demigods. Should any other creature try to eat them, they could become violently ill. Creatures like Amenti, who was only a child. I made a mental note to tell Akin what was and wasn't appropriate to give to a child.

"Uh huh," Amenti said, but when Arikos went to take them from her, she stepped back and shook her head quickly, "No, papa! You can't have these, they for daddy."

"Did your uncle Hannibal and aunt Akin tell you not to eat those?"

"Duh," Amenti said, giving her papa a droll stare, "Theys is for god peoples. I'm a doctor anyways. I don't eat my patient's medicines. That just mean. No, these is for daddy. They gonna make him all better soon. Oh, and lots of water. Uncky Hanni says lots of water is bestest. So I also got daddy this." She took out a huge thermos from the lunchbox and handed it to Arikos, who smiled.

"Okay. Yes, he's very right, sweetie. Are you gonna give daddy the medicine or can you let papa do that?" He asked. Amenti hummed thoughtfully, then nodded. She set the stuff on the nightstand first, though, and took out a little nurse's tiara from her lunch box and handed it to Arikos.

"You can be the nurse person. Make sure you give him little bits at a time. Water after every sip, was what Uncky Hanni said," Amenti explained. Arikos nodded as he put the nurse's tiara on and took the ambrosia and nectar from Amenti.

"Of course, doctor. Right away, ma'am," he said with a smile, then looked at me. I smiled, giving him a nod before I stepped out of the room. I could hear Amenti acting like a doctor and telling Arikos what to do and how to do it and Arikos responding with yes, doctor Amenti. I shook my head, endeared by the scene inside.

Menoetius was in good hands.

I went downstairs where the others were waiting and Michael was looking at me, clearly waiting to see if I was going to report damage to his home. I stared at him.

"She's five. She knows better. Besides, she's occupied with her father being bedridden," I explained, making him frown.

"Should she be in there with him," he asked under his breath, "Children shouldn't be around that kind of thing, should they?"

"Children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for," Xiphrus responded with a confident nod.

"I raised myself and my siblings," Hades deadpanned. Michael glared at him.

"You do not inspire me with that."

"At least your house doesn't have pools of molten magma or acid," Hades responded. Michael frowned at that.

"Anyway," Xiphrus continued, "If we're heading to Duat, we may as well do it now." We nodded in agreement, teleporting from Michael's home in Heaven to Duat.

And what a difference in... well, everything, really.

Duat was so unlike Heaven. Where Heaven was a clean and utopian paradise, Duat was the exact opposite. It was, of course, ninety percent desert with scatterings of grassy oases. The main city was full of buildings that ranged from old blocks to more contemporary ones that rose high up into the sky. Not very many colors in terms of buildings or roads, but clothing was a different matter altogether. People walked around wearing a variety of clothing from head coverings in bright greens and blues and reds to long lace skirts.

The sound of music rang through the streets, from tambourines to drums to string instruments. It was an exotic sound, given what I was accustomed to. The smell of rich spiced foods and warm freshly baked bread, the smell of sand and linen. It was a wonderful combination.

"I forgot how fucking hot it is here," Hades deadpanned at my side. I glanced at him, amused.

"You're the last person I expected to see here," a familiar voice said. We turned as a group, just as civilians went running past us, all ducking into their homes. Behind us was the Egyptian deity of battle and vengeance, Sept. Also formerly known as Theo's second-in-command and boyfriend.

He looked surprisingly well. He was still tall, but he'd filled out his muscles a bit more, bulking up, especially in the arms and shoulders. His long black hair was tied back with a leather cord, his vibrant gold eyes were heavily lined with kohl, his caramel skin darkened by the sun. He wore an odd black top with long sleeves, but the torso part was cut out so it was mostly just sleeves. He wore loose white harem pants with a black waistband.

And standing behind him were six armed guards in black and beige uniforms similar to Sept's.

"You brought the welcome wagon," Hades said, coming forward a few steps and making Sept frown, "Great. Huh, you look surprisingly good for a former disowned prince." Sept narrowed his eyes.

"You did not come here to discuss personal matters. Something tells me you came to find Rowan and Yiuwa," he answered. Before Hades could start launching into a tirade against the guy, I came forward, putting a hand on Hades's arm to calm him.

"Indeed. We have something to report about an attack in Heaven," I responded. Sept blinked, looking surprised.

"An attack? By shadows?"

"Yes. Is there somewhere we can discuss this more privately?" I asked. Sept nodded, gesturing for us to follow him. Hades didn't look too thrilled at being commanded by the guy, but he stuck close to me as we walked along with Sept's group out of the central part of the city. We walked over a large wooden bridge over the river, passing by herons dipping into the water and crocodiles swimming along leisurely. A small group of hippos also seemed to be going in for a dip further down.

"I noticed you arrived with guards," Michael muttered, eyeing the large Egyptian males who walked around us, almost like they were herding us. Sept glanced at him.

"You'll have to forgive our paranoia, but we've also had a few shadow attacks ourselves since this whole thing got started, so we're never without backup," he responded. Michael nodded slowly. Hades just glared at the guards whenever they got too close. I took him by the hand and he shot me a look, like he didn't want to calm down, but I gave his hand a firm squeeze. He ground his teeth together, but didn't shake me off as we made our way to a massive building on the other side of the river, a bit further out than the other larger buildings that were clearly the homes of the gods.

The one we approached was particularly lavish. It was huge and made of white gold that sparkled and gleamed in the sunlight overhead. Tall open windows and pergolas all around with thick lush gardens with all manner of palms and strangely menacing looking flowers. The entryway was a large open archway that led into a main foyer. Almost immediately, the air crackled with power and a goddess took form in front of us.

She was absolutely stunning. Her skin was a deep dark shade of brown, her eyes like flames behind a pair of round white sunglasses. Her long black hair was done in a thousand little black braids, most of which she'd pulled back into a high-up ponytail. What wasn't pulled back fell down to her chest with beads and gold jewelry tied into it. Matte black lipstick and winged eyeliner, the kind of makeup you only saw in makeup ads. She wore a cropped gold and black tank top with beads hanging down from the hem and high waisted white pants with lacework down the sides to a pair of caged black high heels.

"Sept," she exclaimed in horror, "What are you doing! What filth do you bring into your mother's home!" I raised an eyebrow. I definitely remembered Nephthys. Not that I'd ever met her personally, but I remembered Joxeia telling me she was quite a character and not a female to underestimate. She'd spent centuries controlling Set as well as Horus, in a way. She'd also thrown a huge fit when Sept had been banished if I remembered correctly and hadn't spoken to Set personally in years, furious at what her husband had done to their youngest son.

"Mother," Sept said, using a tone of warning, "I told you not to do this." Nephthys looked agonized, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head and stomping one of her heels so it cracked against the marble loudly.

"And I told you to stop bringing foreigners into my home! Take them to your father's place, not mine. I just had these floors cleaned and my yard landscaped."

"That has nothing to do with this--"

"Yes, it does! Now I have to clean everything all over again," she barked, then folded her arms tight over her chest, "There better be a good reason they're here, or you're in big trouble."

"There was an attack," Sept said, making Nephthys frown, "It's imperative that we speak of this and your home has much more privacy than father's." Nephthys wrinkled her nose, coming over to her son. She reached up to cup his face in her hands.

"Is your brother causing you grief again? Tell your father, my sweet," she said, giving him a kiss on both cheeks, "I don't like to see my babies fighting." Hades made a rude noise, a cross between a laugh and a choking sound. I squeezed his hand to shut him up, not that it did much, and Nephthys shot him a dirty look. She pressed herself against Sept, not in a sexual way, but a very possessive this is my baby kind of way. I understood that very well.

A mother scorned was a mother to be feared.

"Don't stay too long," Nephthys said at last, her voice more a growl now as she patted Sept's chest and looked up at him lovingly, "I want to spend the rest of the day with you. I was hoping we could go swimming or finally purchase you a familiar. I still think a cheetah or a panther would be perfectly suitable for you." She gave Sept another kiss before she lowered her sunglasses. She raked us with a disapproving sneer before she vanished.

"Your mother's a sweetheart," Hades deadpanned. Sept glanced at him for a moment, then looked at his guards. He gave them a nod and they hesitantly retreated from the foyer. Sept turned back to Hades, his expression darkening.

"I get you're pissed at me," he said, making Hades scoff as if that were the understatement of the year, "And you want to kill me, and that's fine with me, but keep your comments about my mother to yourself. She has nothing to do with what's between us. In fact, neither do you. It's between me and Theo and what is done is done. Besides, he's doing well now and we both know it." Hades curled his lip.

"No thanks to you."

"Don't we have a war to discuss?" Sept asked, turning to me now, clearly knowing I was ready to get back on track. I nodded.

"We need to tell Rowan and Yiuwa about the attack in Heaven and our suspicions of their next move," I explained. Sept nodded and gestured for us to follow him. We made our way through the main foyer and through an open hallway that looked out into a crystal clear pool of water filled with colorful fish and a couple of heron dipping their heads down into the water. We passed through that hallway and another before coming to a large open veranda with glass tables and chairs.

Rowan and Yiuwa were seated at one of the tables, clearly eating what I guessed was breakfast here. They looked up and rose to their feet as we approached.

"What are you two doing here?" Yiuwa asked, looking between Hades and I.

"Heaven is no longer safe," I said grimly, "We were attacked in Heaven. And worse; the Shifter is after Menoetius."