*told from Alexa's point of view*

"How many times have I told you, the wage gap is real and needs recognition!" I practically scream at Luke, rooting through the fridge, trying to find some food. "Oh that's right, somewhere around a million!"

"I didn't say it isn't real!" Luke yells as he saunters into the kitchen with a flail of his arms.

"Than what did you say, dipshit?" I slam the refrigerator door and spin around towards the doorway.

"I said if the wage gap is real, than why aren't female politicians and business owners doing something about it!" Luke retorts.

"Are you blaming women for the fact that they're paid significantly less than men are?" I ask. If this were a cartoon, my face would be tomato red and there would be smoke bursting from my ears.

"No, just answer the question!" Luke demands.

"Due to sexism, women don't hold nearly as many government positions as men. The ones who do are erased by their male counterparts whenever they try to address sexism!" I shout.

"Thank you for finally answering my simple question!" Luke yells.

"You're fucking welcome!" I reply.

"What's for dinner?" Luke asks after a minute or two of silence.

"There's nothing in here, I'll check the freezer." I look in the freezer for some microwaveable crap to keep us energized. "Pizza."

"Cool. I'll tell Jul. Hey, that rhymed!" Luke exclaims.

"Great job, you should be a poet." Sarcasm practically drips from my voice, seeping from my words.

Luke rolls his eyes. He retreats back into the living room, where I have no doubt Julia had a tremendous time listening to our quarrel. I also have no doubt that she's teasing Luke about us having a lover's quarrel at this very moment. I shove the pizza in the oven and rush out to the living room.

"Don't you dare." I point at Julia.

"What don't I dare?" Julia asks, feigning ignorance.

"You know." I retort, squinting a bit to look more menacing.

Jul shrugs. "So whats for dinner?"

"Pizza." Luke and I answer simultaneously.

"Great." She pauses for a moment, waiting to see if any of us will pick up the conversational ball which she has left in our court. When we don't, she continues on. "Hey Luke, have you been studying up on your patron?"

Luke acts offended. "Why just me?"

"Let's face it, the minuscule amount of knowledge you have regarding mythology is pathetic." I reply.

Luke sneers at me playfully. "Yes, I've done some reading. Osiris isn't really a major player in the stories."

"True, but he is a major god over all." Jul offers some consolidation. "You could've chosen a minor god."

"Don't diss the minor gods! Hecate is the bomb." I defend the minors.

"Hey, I didn't say a word against them. This just means I'll have more time to research both of your patrons so you don't yell at me when I don't know things." Luke resolves.

"Oh doofus, I'll always find something to yell at you about." I say with a mock heartfelt tone.

"I didn't expect any less." Luke retorts.

"I won't yell at you anymore, Luke." Jul promises.

"You don't yell at me now." Luke replies.

"Do you want me to start?" Jul asks.

"Absolutely not. Lexa is argumentative enough for the both of you and the entire nation of Russia." Luke exaggerates.

"Hold on, why Russia?" I inquire.

"It's large." Luke explains.

"Wow, mister school over here." I remark sarcastically.

"I'm ignoring you now. Hey Jul, why aren't you out with your idiot boyfriend?" Luke asks.

"For the last time, he is not an idiot! And for your information, we just saw each other this afternoon, so we decided not to hang out tonight." Jul answers.

"So it's going to be that kind of relationship." I observe.

"What kind of relationship?" Jul asks defensively.

"You know, the kind where you see each other maybe once a day. When you do you don't talk or actually get to know each other." Luke explains.

"What happened to ignoring me?" I ask Luke.

"If I had you two would've just broken off into a separate conversation." Luke replies.

"On that note, I'm going to check on the pizza." I say as I leave for the kitchen.

Almost immediately after I reach the stove someone bursts through the front door.

"POP POP!" Julia screams at the top of her lungs.

I sprint back into the living room and give Pop Pop a bear hug.

"You came home!" I exclaim. "How long are you staying?"

Pop Pop chuckles. "Well girls, I can't stay more than a few hours. I just wanted to stop by and see how you're doing. Tomorrow I'm flying to Germany for an annual thieves conference."

"Well, we're glad you're here now!" Julia exclaims. "You should meet Luke. He's our roommate." Julia steps back and gestures to Luke.

"Well, hello young man." Pop Pop assumes a more civilized heir.

"Hi. I've heard a lot about you." Luke greets Pop Pop anxiously.

"He's also Alexa's boyfriend." Julia teases.

"NO!" Luke and I yell.

"Julia is the one with the boyfriend. She just met him today, and he's the most idiotic person that has ever entered this household." I retaliate.

"He is not! Remember Amber?" Jul exclaims.

"Oh yeah. Besides Amber. But other than that, Rod is the worst. We took him to the amusement park in hell and he ran out crying after five minutes!" I explain.

"He doesn't sound great, but I trust your judgement, Jul. I agree with Lexa that he may not be the smartest or the best for you, but if you like him, that's it." Pop Pop reasons.

Julia sneers at me and I sneer right back.

"Girls and boy, there is a reason I came back here. I was going to tell you at the cemetery, but you were with that newcomer and I didn't want to bother her with troublesome talk. The spirits are the least of your worries. You girls know all about the gods and I'm assuming you do too, Luke. Adramalech has risen." Pop Pop informs us.

"Who?" Luke asks.

"Adramalech was the chancellor of infernal regions, ruler of hell, but not the hell we know. No, the hell we know is really just the underworld, and we should start calling it that. He was banished by strong magicians many eons ago. He had children burned at alters as a sacrifice, he killed for joy. If he has risen-" I explain.

"All hell will break loose. The world as we know it will have ended and transform into an untold hell dimension." Julia cuts me off.

"What do you need us to do?" I inquire.

"I know you girls have been studying and practicing magik, but you need to go into overdrive. I've been searching for magicians all over the globe using the teleportation network, and our numbers are dwindling. I'm counting on you." Pop pop explains.

Julia and I nod. "We won't let you down, Pop Pop."