Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,46
he was shifted now, and while there was no problem doing that in the Underworld, the tiger’s endless pacing in front of the Underworld’s gate was too depressing for Paulie to allow very often.
“See, this is the thing.” Ali pointed a finger at the ceiling. “Zeus hasn’t considered Hades at all. He never does. When Hades lost the coin toss and ended up responsible for this place, it was like he ceased to exist for the lord of the skies. Hades used to be welcome at Olympus, before he was made Lord of the Underworld, but after that everyone ignored him or made rude comments about him shagging spirits and demons. It was horrible.”
“Hades is a good man. He didn’t deserve that,” Paulie said quietly. But then a troubling thought hit him. “That’s not why I’m here, though, is it? This isn’t Hades’ way of making a point against his brother?”
“I can see why you might think that.” Ali’s arm tightened around Paulie’s shoulder. “But I promise you, this is not a case of us giving you a hiding place from Zeus to be malicious against him. This is us, giving you some space to think about what you want in terms of a relationship with your mate, without him throwing his pheromones around and confusing the issue. He disrespected you and your bond, and you deserve better from your mate than that.”
Paulie smiled for real then. Ali might be small, but he was a staunch friend. “I know you’re right, it’s just difficult, you know. Thinking about any sort of future really, with Zeus or without. I feel like I’m suspended in time, and the world is rolling along without me. I’m worried when I do go back to my apartment, that I won’t fit in any better than I did.”
“You don’t have to fit in, you just have to be you. Didn’t you rain down a storm of fire over the quarry yesterday?”
“I didn’t mean to.” Paulie winced at the memory. Ali had encouraged him to use his powers and they exploded out of him. He still had a lot to learn.
Ali waved his hand. “The spirits working the quarry are dead anyway, so a bit of fire doesn’t bother them, and the demons loved it. Besides, didn’t all your embers turn into living trees when they hit the ground? They were beautiful.”
“The demons had to move the quarry. I’d turned a perfectly good pile of rocks and stones into a bush reserve.”
“I know, wasn’t it awesome?” Ali’s enthusiasm was infectious. “Imagine doing something like that on earth… Or maybe not. You’d hit the non-interference laws like the rest of the gods and demigods do, but I thought it was cool. The herd of deer was a lovely touch.”
“I’m not even sure where they came from,” Paulie admitted. “I just thought some animals would really enjoy the greenery.”
“They’re safe down here. The hell hounds won’t hunt them, and the demons don’t see the point in hunting for food when they go to the local store.” Ali squeezed his shoulder again. “Have you given any more thought…”
“Consort, Ali. Ali. Consort.” Folsom came running over, completely out of breath. “Come. Come quickly. Now. Come. The Master…”
“I left him resting.” Grabbing Paulie’s hand, Ali was on his feet and running towards the main house, grabbing Folsom as well as he ran past. “What’s wrong with him? Is it the babies?”
Paulie ran with them. It wasn’t as though he had any choice with the grip Ali had on him, but over the five days he’d known them, Hades had been good to him. If something had happened…
“The…babies…are…here!” Folsom tried to catch his breath. “I heard…”
“I’ll see for myself.” Bursting into their private quarters, Ali dropped Paulie’s hand and ran towards the bed. “Hades, why didn’t you call me? Oh, my stars, they’re here. What happened? Where are Silvanus and Artemas?”
“They will be here directly.” Three identical figures ghosted out of the wall and solidified. “A male god’s birth is rarely witnessed by any, including a mate. Your young are healthy, Ali, Consort of the Underworld. We only stayed on this occasion to speak to the tiger.”
“Me?” As the three beings turned to him, Paulie fell to his knees. The power coming from the triplets overwhelmed him.
“Paulie.” Paulie was surrounded by light. “We owe you a great apology.” The words were almost musical. “When you were born, we saw great things in you, and determined you would be the perfect mate for one