really a dog, he sure loved to dig.
'Knock knock,' sang Hecate's voice from the doorway of the conservatory. I stood up quickly.
'Hi,' I called, and turned to see her sauntering between the flowerbeds towards me.
'It doesn't look much more green in here yet,' she said as she looked about herself.
'Well, I think I just found out how to make things grow quicker,' I said, gesturing to the shoot.
'Ooh, what is it?'
'A sweet pea.'
'Nice. The Trial announcement is going to be made over the flame dishes tonight, so no showy ceremonies or dicking around.' I tried to stop my face from falling, but must have failed because Hecate frowned at me. 'I thought you'd be pleased? You always say you hate all that shit.'
But now I wouldn't be able to see him again tonight.
'Oh, yeah, I just...' I scrabbled for something to say, but Hecate looked sharply at Skop, then back at me, a slow smile spreading across her face.
'You were hoping to see Hades tonight,' she said, glee in her voice.
'Skop! You snitch!'
'I told her nothing,' he said, without looking at me.
'Bullshit.'
'Well, she's practically his best friend. She'll know soon anyway that you two are hooking up.'
'We're not hooking up!'
'Then why does he hide you or me in smoke literally every time he's with you?'
'Privacy from perverted gnomes,' I said, my face burning.
'Cos you're banging.'
'We are not banging!' My protest was so enthusiastic that I said the words out loud by accident and Hecate gave a bark of laughter.
'You and I, dear Persy, need to have a catch up. With wine. How about we watch the trial announcement at my place tonight, and have a few drinks? A girls’ night.'
'That sounds awesome,' I said, surprised by how much I meant it. That really did sound like exactly what I needed. An evening with Hecate, and no Hades anywhere. A chance to clear my head.
Hecate's rooms were significantly nicer than mine, though not my taste. She had to flash me there, because I wasn't allowed anywhere other than the conservatory and the training room, and we arrived in a large sitting room. Rocky walls and the high ceiling glowing with dusky daylight provided illumination, but the room had a dark, elegant feel to it. The floor was covered in deep plush carpet in a dark grey and two black gothic style couches with ornate detailing over the curved wooden frames dominated the room. The wall on my right was made up of a giant black bookcase, full to the brim with leather-bound volumes. The opposite wall had a long counter running along it, made of a dark wood and similarly gothic in style, and abstract geometric art in hundreds of shades of blue hung on the wall above it. The counter was covered in exotic looking objects, and I was half way to picking up a glowing skull before Hecate stopped me.
'Do not touch that,' she said sharply, and I froze.
'OK. Why not?'
'You'll wake up Kako. And I am not dealing with his shit tonight.'
'Kako?'
'The evil spirit that lives in that skull.'
'Riiiight,' I said, staring at the skull. 'Of course there's an evil spirit living in your sitting room.'
'Well, I am the goddess of ghosts,' she shrugged, and bent to open one of the many cupboards under the counter.
'Is there anything else I shouldn't touch?' I asked, looking along the row of shiny, glowing items. There was a vial that had something neon orange in it, a curved blade with tiny swirls etched all over it, a large pearl that shimmered in the low light coming from the wall behind it, and many other things besides. I wanted to touch it all.
'Everything. Leave it all alone.'
I pulled a face but backed away from the counter. The back wall of the room was missing, a large archway in its place, and I could see a massive four poster bed draped with black sheer material in the room beyond. A memory of the bed I'd seen Hades and I in popped into my head and I turned away quickly, sitting down on one of the couches.
'So, where's your flame dish?' I asked.
'Oh, yeah,' she said, straightening and setting two glasses on the counter. Her eyes turned white as she glowed blue, then a massive iron dish on a short stand appeared in front of the couch. A gentle orange flame flickered to life in the center. I peered at it.
'So these are like TVs? Do they always have something showing?'
'You can use them