Chapter One: Secrets Revealed

 

After Therese had blown out her candles and had opened the presents of her favorite bath and body products from her aunt and uncle and Mr. and Mrs. Stern, she went outside to the two giant Elms in the back of what was now her aunt and uncle’s property, searching for her favorite red birds—her parents. She couldn’t understand their song without the help of Hermie and Hestie to translate, but she had a feeling they were singing her a happy birthday wish. Besides, their words were less important than their presence. Their gift of immortality—even if they couldn’t be human—had been the best gift anyone had ever given her.

And she had received many amazing gifts, she thought, as she clutched the lockets around her neck. One had come from Athena, with the inscription: “The most common way people give up their power is by believing they have none.” The other had been a Christmas present from her Aunt Carol, and it contained a photo of her parents on one side and a photo of Carol, Richard, and Lynn on the other. She rarely took the lockets off.

She’d also received a crown of invisibility from Artemis. It wasn’t as powerful as Hades’s helm. The crown could only hide one from mortals. But it had come in handy over the years, especially when Jen had still lived at home.

Perhaps the most useful was the traveling robe from Aphrodite. The first one had been ripped to shreds years ago, during Therese’s challenge with the Hydra, but Aphrodite had given her another one after the twins were born. It had helped Therese get around when she was in a hurry, and it had also helped her to take Than and the twins to visit the Underworld from time to time—though it had been almost a year since they’d been. She would go more often if she didn’t feel as though she was in the way. The gods were busy and rarely seemed to have time for Therese and her family.

And of course, her animal companions—Clifford, Jewels, and Stormy—had been granted immortality, which had been a wonderful thing; though, she had to admit it only reminded her of what she and Than had lost. Now Jen road Stormy across the skies, and Therese rarely saw him. And she worried about who would take care of Clifford and Jewels once Therese and Than and the twins were in the Elysian Fields of the Underworld, living eternity in blissful oblivion.

She blinked away her tears. Thirty-seven. She was thirty-seven years old. She and Than had both aged and were reminded of it every time they saw the ever-youthful Hip and Jen, Pete and Tizzie, and the others. In fact, Therese now looked the same age as Persephone, and Than looked more like Hades’s brother than his son. Maybe that was another reason they didn’t visit the Underworld often.

She was brought from her reverie when she heard the twins around the corner on the deck at the side of the house. They seemed unaware of Therese as they sat at the table where Therese used to sit with her father to watch the deer, chipmunks, and wild horses that came out at sunset.

“So, what did Morpheus say to you, exactly?” Hestie was asking.

“The gods are fighting,” Hermie replied. “And Mom and Dad are in danger. I think he said we all are.”

Therese held her breath.

“Let’s both pray to him tonight and see if we can find out more,” Hestie suggested.

Then Lynn spoke up. “You’re in danger? And why would you pray to Morpheus?”

Lynn had met Morpheus many times when he’d visited in human form, and she knew he was their cousin.

“Uh, um,” Hermie stuttered. “Lynn. I didn’t hear you follow us out.”

“It’s a video game,” Hestie said.

“Why are you lying to me?” Lynn insisted. “Why are you in danger?”

“It’s cold out here. Don’t you guys want to come inside?” It was Bobby.

“Lynn overheard us talking about Morpheus,” Hermie said. “We don’t know what to say.”

“Why would the twins pray to your nephew?” Lynn asked.

“I don’t think they meant pray literally,” Bobby said. “That’s a new slang word. People say, ‘I’ll pray to you later,’ and what they mean is, “I’ll text you later.’”

“Hmm,” Lynn said—and it sounded to Therese like she wasn’t buying it. “But you still haven’t said why you’re in danger.”

Therese realized the time had come for Lynn to know the truth. It wasn’t fair for the adults to keep putting their children in these sticky situations.

***

 

Thanatos watched on helplessly as Carol, Richard, and Therese told Lynn about his family. They’d waited until after the Sterns had left, though it would have been nice to have had Bobby’s help.

“This is a lame joke,” Lynn said.

“It’s not a joke,” Carol said gently. “Look, I understand how you feel. It was hard for your father and me to believe it at first, too.”

“We should have told you sooner,” Richard added. “But we didn’t know how.”

Therese put a hand on Lynn’s shoulder. “And we didn’t want to hurt your relationship with Hermie and Hestie.”

Lynn was taller than Therese and the same height as Hestie. Her hair was curlier than theirs, and darker, as was her skin, but she shared their same facial features—pouty lips, green eyes, slender nose, and dimples. “You really expect me to believe that Than was once the god of death? His parents are Hades and Persephone? And, for a while, you were a god, too? This is crazy.” Lynn collapsed on the couch beside her mother.

“It’s true.” Therese took the chair opposite her.

“Then why aren’t you still gods?” Lynn asked.

Than sat on the arm of Therese’s chair. “We gave that up so we could raise Hermie and Hestie here.”

“Are they gods too?” Lynn asked.

“Demigods,” Hermie said.

Lynn’s eyes widened.

Than cleared his throat to buy some time to figure out how to phrase what he was about to say. He didn’t want to go into too much detail, but he wanted Lynn to believe and to understand. “There was a war on Mount Olympus, and part of the peace treaty was Zeus’s condition that no more gods could be made. Therese was pregnant with the twins at the time.”

Hestie sat down on the couch beside Lynn. “Gods don’t become immortal until they’re born.”

“So, we were born mortal,” Hermie added.

Therese said, “And the only way we could be with them was for us to become mortal, too.”

Than heard the subtle quiver in Therese’s voice and hated that she wouldn’t be anything but joyful on her birthday. He knew she missed their life among the gods. He wouldn’t have guessed all those years ago, when he was first getting to know her, that she would one day long to live in the Underworld. He’d thought her love of animals and of the Colorado mountains and of sunsets and of pine trees would make her miserable in his father’s realm. He’d been wrong.

“My best friend, Jen Holt, married Than’s brother, Hip,” Therese said. “Hypnos. He’s the god of sleep. Jen became the goddess of abused children. And they have a son named Morpheus, the god of dreams.”

“The Sterns and Bobby know about the gods,” Hestie explained.

“Pete Holt is married to our Aunt Tizzie,” Hermie put in.

“Wait, what?” Lynn asked. “I thought Pete Holt was dead.”

Therese glanced up at Than, who inwardly groaned.

Hermie’s face turned red. “Oops.”

“He took over my duties as Death,” Than explained. “I gave him my immortality.”

“So, Pete isn’t dead, he’s Death,” Lynn repeated. “And he’s married to Tizzie. And she’s, what? The goddess of death?”

“Um,” Hestie looked to Therese for help.

“She’s a Fury,” Therese said.

Than covered his mouth in frustration. He didn’t want to overwhelm the poor girl.

“A Fury?” Lynn repeated. “You mean, like the avengers of hell?”

“She’s a lot nicer in person,” Hermie said.

Than could almost see the wheels turning in poor Lynn’s head. He really hoped the conversation wouldn’t lead to the two red birds who were perched outside near the window.

Lynn scratched her head. “So, if Zeus said there could be no more gods while you were pregnant with the twins, how could Jen and—what’s her husband’s name?”

“Hypnos,” Than said.

“Hip for short,” Hermie added.

“How could Jen and Hip’s child be a god and not yours?” Lynn asked Therese.

“It’s a long story,” Therese replied. “But, basically, they had leverage.”

Lynn furrowed her brows. “So, let me get this straight. Than’s parents are the rulers of the Underworld.”

“Yes, sweetheart,” Carol said.

“And all those gods in the stories you’ve told to me—they all exist? Like Zeus and Athena and Aphrodite and Poseidon? They’re all real?”

“Yes,” Therese said.

“What about Santa Claus and the tooth fairy? Are they real, too?”

“Why are you so angry?” Richard asked Lynn.

“Because you’ve been lying to me all my life.”

Carol put an arm around her. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Can you forgive us?”

“Just tell me this.” Lynn turned to Hestie. “Why is your family in danger?”

“In danger?” Carol repeated, her eyes suddenly wide with worry.

“It was just a dream,” Hermie said. “We don’t know if any of it’s real.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Therese said, but Than knew she was lying.

***

 

During the drive home from their grandparents’ house, Hermie wasn’t surprised when his mother turned from the front passenger seat and said, “Tell me what’s going on with Morpheus.”

“Um, we don’t know,” Hermie said. “We’re going to ask him tonight.”

“Maybe it’s time,” their dad said to their mom.

“Time for what?” Hestie asked.

“Let’s talk inside,” their mother said.

Hermie sighed. “How long is this going to take? I made plans to meet with my friends online at nine o’clock.”

“You made plans on Mom’s birthday?” Hestie chided.

“I asked her first,” Hermie replied. “Mom said we’d be home between eight and eight-thirty, and when I asked if we were doing anything after that, she said no.”

“This is important,” their father said, as he pulled the truck into their gravel drive and headed for the garage.

“So is my game. I made a commitment to my team to be there. It’s World of Warcraft. I’m the tank. They’ll die without me.”

“This might be more important,” Hestie said gently.

“This game is important to me and my friends. They’re counting on me. I don’t like to let people down. The talk can wait, can’t it? We’ll be finished by ten or ten thirty.”

“We’ve waited sixteen years.” His mom unfastened her safety belt. “We can wait another couple of hours.”

 

Hermie tried not to let the guilt bother him as he played, but he failed, and his whole team died after an hour into the game. At least it hadn’t been a total waste. They’d had fun while it had lasted, and he hadn’t let them down in that.

His family was waiting for him in the living room. Apparently, they’d begun without him. He fell into one of two armchairs across from the sofa, where his parents sat frowning, with Clifford and Noodle in their laps. Hestie was already in the other armchair with Kitty, and the expression on his sister’s face could only be described as perplexed.

“What did I miss?” Hermie asked.

As an answer, his canary, Chidori, chirped from her cage, “You have a destiny.”

Of course, only he and Hestie heard it. To his parents, Chidori’s tweets were unintelligible.

“An important destiny,” Chidori chirped again.

Hermie’s Grampa Hades had told him years ago that he had a destiny, so it was no surprise. Even if he had no idea what that destiny was or how he was to fulfill it, he hadn’t thought much about it. It was Hermie’s belief that it would happen, whether he tried to do anything about it or not. The Fates were never wrong.

His father raked a hand through his dark, wavy hair. “When you were still a baby, Apollo had a vision of you two when you came to be about the age you are now.”

“Is it safe to say this out loud?” his mother interrupted.

His father shifted on the couch. “They need to know. I’ll make it quick.”

His mom nodded—reluctantly it seemed to Hermie.

“So, what was the vision?” Hestie asked.

“Apollo saw you with Prometheus,” their father replied.

Hermie cleared his throat, trying to hide the skepticism in his voice. “The Titan who made humankind?”

“That’s right,” his mother said. “And he also gave us fire against Zeus’s wishes, because he loved his creation more than the gods.”

Hestie stroked Kitty. “I’ve always thought that was pretty cool.”

“But to Zeus, it was a betrayal. As punishment, Prometheus was chained to a mountain,” his father said. “And Zeus’s eagle ate out his liver every morning.”

“And the liver grew back every evening,” Hermie said. “We already know the story.”

“And you know that Hercules set him free?” their mother asked.

Hestie and Hermie nodded.

“Where is he now?” Hermie asked.

“No one knows,” his father said. “He went into hiding centuries ago.”

“Did Apollo say why Prometheus was with us?” Hestie asked.

“No.” Their mother helped Clifford down from her lap. “We don’t know if he comes to you, or you find him.”

“Obviously, he comes to us,” Hermie said. “Right? We have no idea where he is.”

“Nothing in this is obvious, Son,” his father said. “And you need to know about another, much older, prophecy.”

“Is this the one you told me about tonight, while Hermie was playing his game?” Hestie asked.

“Yes,” their mother said.

His father helped Noodle, who wanted to follow Clifford, from his lap. “It’s one that Prometheus told Zeus, while he was still Zeus’s prisoner.”

Hestie brushed her long hair from her eyes. “He said that Metis would have a son by Zeus, and that son would one day overthrow him.”

“That’s why Zeus swallowed Metis in the first place, and why Athena later had to be let out by Hephaestus and his ax,” Hermie said.

“And then, centuries later, why Metis had to be rescued by the Athena Alliance,” Hestie added.

“That’s right,” their father said.

“I know the story, but I didn’t know Prometheus was the one who told Zeus,” Hermie admitted.

“There’s more,” Hestie said. “When we were only a year old, Metis disguised herself as Hera and tricked Zeus. She got pregnant using dark magic.”

“With a son?” Hermie asked.

“We don’t know for sure,” their mother said, “but that’s what the Olympians suspect.”

“Metis disappeared after the Olympians imprisoned Uranus for trying to wage war on them,” their father went on.

“Uranus took over his father’s body and nearly swallowed your Uncle Hip,” their mother explained.

Their father added, “Zeus probably fears that her son and Prometheus will team up to take over the throne.”

“Why would Prometheus do that?” Hermie asked. “You said he cares more about us than the gods.”

“I wouldn’t have suspected him if it weren’t for Apollo’s vision,” their father said.

“Maybe Prometheus tries to stop Metis’s son,” Hestie offered.

“Maybe,” their mother said. “The point is, we don’t know where he stands. We only know that one day soon, the two of you will be in his company—whether as his prisoners or his allies, we just don’t know. We need you to train.”

“We shouldn’t have waited this late,” their father said.

“Time got away from us,” their mother added. “We’ve been so busy. If I hadn’t overheard you tonight at Grammie’s talking about Morpheus, we probably would have put this off until it was too late.”

“We may have already,” their father said. “Don’t make any plans tomorrow. We need to teach you two how to fight.”

“You’ve been teaching us our whole lives,” Hestie pointed out.

“We know how to use a sword and shield,” Hermie added.

“You even taught us how to wrestle,” Hestie said.

“How to punch, how to kick. What more is there?” Hermie asked.

“We never taught you how to kill,” their father said.