The Gatekeeper's Secret: Gatekeeper's Saga, Book Five (The Gatekeeper's Saga) (5 page)

Zeus chuckled, but Poseidon frowned.

Zeus added, “And those legs of yours could benefit from an activity other than swimming. You look now as though you might topple over. Or is that because of the wine?” Zeus laughed more boisterously than before, and Ares and his children dared to join him.

Poseidon glared at Zeus but said no more as he returned to his throne.

Someone else object!
Therese pleaded.

Hades stood, “Your gift is generous, but unnecessary, Lord Zeus. Therese and
Thanatos appreciate the thought, I’m sure, but the splendor of your beautiful palace cannot be surpassed anywhere on earth.”

Therese held her breath as she silently thanked Hades.

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Zeus said. “My mind is made up. I want to meet her mortal family.”

Hades returned to his throne.

Zeus lifted his golden goblet. “We shall hold the ceremony in exactly six months, on the summer solstice.”

Six months? Therese met
Than’s eyes. She didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, she was anxious to be Than’s wife. The summer sounded so far away right now. On the other hand, it gave her allies time to regroup and plan their next move.

“We will hold the ceremony in Therese’s beloved Colorado forest,” Zeus continued. “Her parents will be able to watch from their special Elm tree. Won’t that be splendid?”

Therese thought how nice it actually would have been, had the biggest scheme in the history of time not been wrapped up in her wedding plans. The gravel pad outside her childhood home was spacious and flat and would serve as the perfect place for folding white chairs. If the audience faced away from the house, they would see the reservoir to their right and the mountains to their left, and a huge line of pines as a backdrop before them. The deck that wrapped around the house would be a nice place for the reception. At least a dozen round tables and chairs could fit around it, not to mention the enclosed porch and the gravel path, which could be cleared after the ceremony to make more room for tables, if needed. Oh, it would have been perfect if Zeus had not been told that his fall would occur on that day. She bit her lip and sighed.

Zeus continued. “So let’s raise our glasses to Therese and
Thanatos and wish them a happy engagement as we celebrate their love with them today. Let there be joy, laughter, and music!”

The music began again. Than bowed to Zeus and led Therese across the hall to their seats by the other gods of the Underworld. Therese glanced at Aphrodite and managed to make brief eye contact with her before the goddess turned away. Therese slumped in her chair. At least for the moment, it seemed she
and Than were safe.

A figure looming over her brought her from her reverie.

It was Poseidon.
I will stand with you and Athena.

Therese looked up at him in shock. Was it a trick? His turquoise eyes were filled with rage. Could the god of the sea be trusted?

Chapter Four: Athena’s Plot to Bind Zeus

The Parthenon was quiet after dark, when all signs of tourists and travelers were gone, and the gods, invisible to all but one another, stood in a ring to discuss their plan to betray their king. Unlike the Hydra’s lair beneath Larissa Hill, where they dared not speak their plans out loud, in this refuge, they spoke, because Athena’s wards around the Parthenon were too powerful for even Zeus to break. More importantly, there was no Hydra. Than had asked why they didn’t always meet here, and the goddess of wisdom had said they must vary their meeting places so as not to arouse suspicion. She had reserved the Parthenon for the most important, and most dangerous, meeting of all.

“I can’t go in my true form to the wedding,” Than pointed out. He hadn’t seen this move by Zeus coming. He felt blind-sided and a little hopeless. “I’d put all those mortal lives in danger.”

“And I’d put them to sleep,” Hip added. “So I can’t go in my true form either.”

“No, you cannot,” Athena agreed.

“Which means,” Than could hardly say it. Their plans were crushed in one move. Check mate.

“We’ll no longer have our greatest power at our disposal,” Hip answered for him. “And it was crucial to our plan.
The power of disintegration.”

Therese put a hand on
Than’s arm. He covered it with his own and hoped she did not already regret joining him in this dangerous life.

“I understand…” Athena started.

“I don’t think you do,” Than said. “This means some other god outside of this circle will likely be assigned my duties. And that means…” A cold sweat came over him, and he shuddered.

“I’ll make sure the person who replaces you is one of our own,” Hades declared. “I am the lord of the Underworld, and no one shall tell me how to rule my kingdom.”

“Hermes can’t be trusted,” Than said, though it pained him to say it.

“I’ll find someone who can,” Hades assured him.

“I understand your concerns,” Athena said to Than and to the other gods of the Underworld, who had been as fervent as he and Therese in arguing for a delay in their plan to bind Zeus.

His parents, his sisters, his brother, and Hecate had all pleaded his case.

“The problem is,” Apollo said again, “I can see our success at the
wedding
. I cannot guarantee our success if we wait for another occasion.”

“What about my family and friends?” Therese asked Apollo. “Can you see if they get hurt? Pete said someone close to me will die.”

Than wanted to go back in time and change the course of the future. Zeus was hitting him where it most hurt: Therese’s family and friends. She would be devastated, and so would Than.

“I only see us with Zeus,” Apollo replied. “I’m sorry, Therese. I can’t see beyond that.”

“Listen to me,” Athena said, looking directly at Than. “I know this would be hard on you and your bride. I’m sorry that Zeus has thrown this wrench into our plan. But our choices are either to give up completely on this mission, or to follow through on the day of your wedding. We have no other alternatives.”

Than started to object, but Persephone spoke first. “Ariadne could be convinced to meet with Dionysus on another day.”

Persephone referred to a deal they had made with the god of the vine. If he helped them to overpower Zeus, Ariadne would agree to meet with him the day of the wedding.

“Hera will be most distracted during the vows,” Hephaestus said. “We have to keep that in mind.”

“And don’t forget Nemesis,” Artemis added. “She agreed to balance out the fortune between Therese and Zeus during the nuptials. I can’t go back and ask her to alter her plan. It was hard enough to get her consent in the first place.”

“But we don’t need her,” Hades said. “As much as I admire her for doling out justice, now that we have Poseidon on board, neither Dionysus nor Nemesis is necessary.”

Than was still not sure they could count on Poseidon.

“But let’s not dismiss their contributions,” Artemis said.

“We need all the help we can get,” Hephaestus agreed.

Athena’s face reddened. “Can we trust Poseidon?” She turned to Apollo.

“I need an opportunity to interrogate him,” Apollo said. “He made his vow to Therese, and I wasn’t privy to it.” Then he added, “Even so, as I’ve said again and again, I can only see our success at the
wedding
. I can’t see it anywhere else.”

Hades tugged his dark curly beard and said, “We must weigh the benefits with the costs. Is the risk of losing an innocent life worth our chance to save Metis, who has already been a prisoner in Zeus’s body for centuries? Is it right to expect a mortal to pay this price?”

Than noticed the eyes of the two Furies present—Meg and Tizzie—turn red with blood, and he felt a beacon of hope rise in his chest. Perhaps his father’s moral point about the costs and benefits would move the rest of the gods to see the wrongness of their plan, but the beacon was squashed when Therese’s face took on a look that was all too familiar to him. He groaned.

“This isn’t
just
about saving Metis,” she said. “This is also about saving Cybele, and maybe even Melinoe. This is about standing up for women who have been bullied by Zeus for too long.”

“You would sacrifice a loved one?” Persephone asked.

“I’ve come to accept that there are worse things than death,” Therese replied—and Than could see the vein at her neck pumping fiercely. “Zeus cannot be allowed to wrong others. We need a more just king.” She looked across the room at Hades. “If Apollo can see our success, we must go forward.”

The corners of Athena’s mouth lifted, and her gray eyes gleamed.

Than recognized what this meant. It wouldn’t matter how much he objected. If Therese was willing, the mission was a go. The problem was, although Apollo could see them successfully bind Zeus, he could not see beyond that. Than had a feeling none of this would end well.

***

As the gods departed the Parthenon, each with his or her instructions from Athena, Hypnos chastised himself for not speaking up during the meeting. A part of him wanted to keep secret the strong feelings he was developing for Jen. If Ares got wind of them, the god of war might assume Jen would attempt to follow in her friend’s footsteps toward immortality, and another deity in the Underworld would only further threaten him. Hip did not want Jen to be any more involved with the gods and their drama than she already was. But on the other hand, Pete’s prophecy unsettled him. What if the person close to Therese fated to die at the wedding was Jen? Would he be able to bear
the sight of his brother guiding her will-less soul to the Underworld, never to be held in his arms again?

He decided to speak with his brother privately about the matter.

He waited a few hours, until Therese had gone with Apollo to visit Poseidon. Although Than was in thousands of places, he was also pacing nervously before the hearth when Hip approached Than’s room. Hip could sense him on the other side of the door.

“Hey, bro’, can I come in?” Hip asked.

The door opened. “Of course. Is something wrong?”

What
wasn’t
wrong? Hip neither said the question aloud nor prayed it. He crossed the room in one big leap and landed on a leather chair before the fireplace. “You got any wine?”

Hip glanced around at the addition of Therese’s things in the room as
Than poured wine into a goblet and handed it to him. She had moved in with Hecate for a while but had recently moved back in with Than.

“Thanks. Aren’t you going to have some?”

“I’m not thirsty.”

Hip chuckled. Than really was the practical one of the two of them. In Hip’s opinion, thirst was seldom a requirement for drinking wine. He took a sip and then asked, “You and Therese holding up?”

“As well as we can. I think she’s preparing for the worst.”

“She still upset with me for telling Pete how seers summon ghosts? I warned him not to do it. I told him what would happen to him.”

Than shrugged, but that was enough of an answer.

“I suppose the Fates are punishing me for that,” Hip said.

“You?” Than stood up, suddenly angry. “How is any of this a punishment for you? Therese stands to lose at least one of her loved ones. There could be countless others. Just because Mr. Holt’s ghost didn’t see others doesn’t mean there won’t be.”

Hip regretted coming. It was obvious to him that
Than had no idea how much he had come to love Jen Holt. Hip hadn’t meant to upset his brother. “You’re right, bro’. I’m sorry.” He stood to leave.

“Wait.” Than slapped a hand on Hip’s shoulder, locking him in place. “I’m the one who’s sorry. Sit back down and tell me why you came to see me.”

***

The others had already turned out their horses and had gone inside, but Jen needed to ride. Bobby had been anxious to get cleaned up for his date in town, and Jen’s mom hadn’t been feeling well, so the two of them had cut out early. Only Pete had remained, riding Ace behind Jen and Sassy for another round or two along the fence line. But now, he was gone, too, and it was only Jen and Sassy beneath the setting sun in the cold, cold dusk trotting through the already trampled blanket of snow beneath them.

She needed to get the god of sleep out of her head, but she couldn’t stop seeing his charming smile and broad shoulders and deep blue eyes and… Turning from the fence line, she steered Sassy up the hill toward the stream, where some of the horses were gathered beneath the lean-to. She wished she could un-love as quickly and as hard as she had loved.

Why did he have to be a god?

If he were a normal boy, she’d have a decent shot, but a god? The thought of being his play thing for a year or two, or however long it would be before he got bored with her, made her stomach churn. She pulled up to the stream, brought Sassy to a stop, and dismounted just in time to be sick. As she wiped her mouth with the back of her glove, she let the tears fall.