Eris sat in a chair in the corner, ropes holding her in place. Duct tape covered her mouth, and a hat made of that same shiny black rock covered her head--apparently to prevent her from sending spells the way Vivian sent images. Eris"s eyes were narrowed in fury. If she ever got loose, they"d all be in big trouble.
Shards of black rock littered the entire room. Sadie was cowering underneath the checkout desk.
"I don"t care that you don"t know what to do with Eris," Dex was saying. "She"s your responsibility now."
"No one told us we"d be responsible for adults," said the blond teenager. She was twirling a long strand of bubble gum around her right index finger.
"She"s really old. What could she have done that"s bad?" said the next girl. She shook her corn-rows as if the very idea of a bad adult frightened her.
"Yeah, like we can discipline anyone," said the redhead, tugging on her nose ring.
Dex sighed. Vivian could feel his exasperation. "Well, can you at least keep her tied up until we figure out what to do with her?"
"Why can"t you?" the blonde asked.
"Because," Dex said, in that tone people used with particularly dumb children, "she"s stronger than I am."
"Isn"t that just like a guy?" the middle girl said. "He can"t control a woman, so he wants the law to do it."
"That"s right," Dex said. "You are the law, and she"s breaking it It"s your job to punish her."
"We don"t know what our job is yet," the redhead said. "We haven"t finished all the reading."
Vivian sat up. Her headache was gone, but she was still slightly dizzy. Sadie saw her, and her tail thumped.
Eris was examining the ropes as if they held some kind of secret.
"Why don"t you just ask the real Fates," Vivian said. "They"ll know what to do with her."
"Who"re you?" the blonde asked.
"Who"re you?" Vivian asked in the exact same tone.
"I"m Brittany. I"m a real Fate."
"Oh, really?" Vivian stood. She"d had arguments like this with Kyle. This was a world she was used to. "If you"re so real, then how come you can"t handle one measly criminal?"
"He says she"s not measly," the middle girl said.
Vivian arched an eyebrow at her. "I don"t believe I was talking to you."
"If you talk to one of us, you talk to all of us," the redhead said.
"Really?" Vivian raised both eyebrows. "Just like real Fates?"
"We are real Fates!" the girls wailed.
"Then prove it," Vivian said. "Do something with her."
She pointed at Eris. The girls all looked at Eris, who glared at them. The girls looked away quickly. The redhead started thumbing through a book. The middle girl looked like she was about to burst into tears. The blonde--Brittany--whispered, "We don"t know what to do."
As if Vivian knew.
"If you don"t know, you ask someone for help," Vivian said. "Dex, bring Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos here."
"No!" the Interim Fates wailed in unison.
"If we ask them what to do, then they"ll know we failed," the middle girl said.
"Who"re you again?" Vivian asked the middle girl.
"Tiffany."
"Well, Tiffany, you have failed. You don"t know how to handle a simple problem."
"Neither does he." The redhead pointed at Dex.
Dex was watching all this with great consternation.
"Yes, he does," Vivian said. "He captured the bad guy and brought her to you for trial, just like he was supposed to."
"He said you captured the bad guy," Brittany said.
"Whatever," Vivian said, using the phrase with as much emphasis as Kyle always did. "The point is that you have to deal with her."
"We"re not getting anywhere," Dex said. "I"ll get the real Fates."
He raised his arm. Vivian felt her stomach clench. What if Eris broke free and did something to all of them--the Fates, the Interim Fates, and Dex, Viv, and Sadie?
But Vivian wasn"t going to stop Dex, because this was their last hope.
Dex started to swing his arm down in completion of the spell when a voice boomed, "Belay that!"
Dex"s arm froze in place, and for one horrible moment, Vivian thought Eris had done something to him again.
Instead, a man appeared beside him. He was short and squat and had a square face that reminded Vivian of a bull. Yet there was something oddly appealing about him.
"Daddy!" the Interim Fates cried.
"Oh, Daddy," said Brittany. "I"m so glad you"re--"
"Shut up," the man said.
Dex had a look of sheer horror on his face. For a moment he didn"t move, and then he bowed.
"Bow", he sent to Vivian. "Now".
"I"ve never bowed before anyone in my life", she sent back. "Why should I bow now"?
"Because he"s one of the Powers That Be."
Vivian looked at the man, who was grinning at her. Except that it really wasn"t a grin. It was a leer.
"Yep," he said. "A Power That Is, that"s me. Better than a Power That Was, I always say. You really should bow, young lady. It"s protocol."
Vivian gave him a hesitant bow, which made her dizziness worse.
The man came over, put a finger under her chin, and helped her stand. The dizziness fled, but she shivered just the same.
"This is a pretty one, Henri Barou. Where"d you find her?"
Dex was standing. "Leave her alone." Then he blanched and added, "Sir."
"I hate "sir", don"t you? Makes me sound old." The man turned his back on Dex and nodded toward Vivian. "I usually go by Jupiter, but I suppose in this place you can call me Zeus with no harm at all."
"Ze-Ze-Zeus?" Vivian said, wishing her mouth would obey her. "The real Zeus?"
"Nope, the fake one," he said with incredible cheer. "Yes, the real one. Who else would you expect?"
Vivian shrugged.
"Pretty but slow," Zeus said over his shoulder to Dex. "No wonder you like her. The dumb ones really have the benefits."
Dex"s neck was turning red. Vivian could feel his anger. "She"s not--"
"It"s all right," Vivian said. They couldn"t be distracted. Eris was still staring at her ropes, which looked thinner to Vivian. "Can you do something about Eris? She murdered my aunt, and she"s been after the real Fates--"
"They"re not the real Fates anymore," Zeus said. "My daughters are the real Fates now, or they will be once I convince the rest of the Powers to forgo this stupid application process."
Vivian made herself take a deep breath and try again. "Well, then, would you show them what to do with her? Because she"s been trying to--"
"Eris, you say?" Zeus turned toward Eris and peered at her. "Ate? Mars"s sister? Strife"s mother?"
"One and the same," Dex said.
Zeus let go of Vivian"s chin. She resisted the urge to rub the place where his finger had touched. She couldn"t stop another shudder, though. He was one of those exceptionally virile men who thought all women found him attractive--even the ones who didn"t.
He stalked over to Eris and peered into her face. "It is you. I have a bone to pick with you, missy. You made Hera mad. And when Hera gets mad, she takes it out on me. That apple thing really p.i.s.sed her off. I was in the doghouse for at least three hundred years. Had to hide among the nymphs, which isn"t as bad as it sounds, but still the bawling out I got when I got home was not worth it. Not at all."
Eris looked up at him. She was so frightened that Vivian could feel her fear--and Vivian doubted it had anything to do with psychic powers. Everyone else seemed to notice Eris"s fear too.
"Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos were too light on you, sweetheart," Zeus said. "They blamed you for getting in the way of some lover or other, but that"s not the issue. The issue is that Hera still hasn"t gotten over the entire Trojan War--in fact, if I go home and mention it, I"ll be in the doghouse again--and you"re the one who started it."
Vivian edged closer to Dex. He shook his head slightly. Zeus probably wouldn"t appreciate any sign of closeness.
"And that little brat Strife. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos never did deal with him, did they?"
Eris"s eyes got even wider.
"He interfered with my life more than any other mage"s kid ever created. It"s like Strife is my middle name. Whatever happens to you, happens to him." Then Zeus nodded, as if he were agreeing with himself. "Yeah. I like all that. Now I just have to figure out what exactly to do with you. I think you should be punished for--oh, heck, why should I decide how long?"
He grinned, and it was a real grin this time, one that made him seem a lot more pleasant.
"I"ll punish you until my daughters know every detail of this job. Then, when they finally know what they"re doing, they"ll punish you. Begone!"
And Eris vanished, leaving behind the rope, the duct tape, and the stone hat. Vivian thought she heard a scream echo through the library, but she couldn"t be sure.
"There we go." Zeus came back to Vivian. "Answered your prayers, sweetheart. Got a reward for old Zeusy?"
Vivian glanced at Dex, who looked worried.
"No, of course you don"t. You"re in love with the cowboy over there." Zeus turned to Dex. "Listen, kid, hasn"t anyone told you love is overrated? Find yourself a few concubines. Have some affairs. Women are for enjoying, not for living with."
Dex started to speak, but Zeus silenced him with the wave of a hand.
"Don"t argue with me. I"ve heard all the arguments. I"m sick of all the arguments. h.e.l.l, I even made the arguments when I met Hera, which was probably my biggest mistake." Zeus nodded. "But things are changing, boyo. My girls, here, they"ll make sure this love and romance stuff will be taken out of the equation. Save the world for satyrs, that"s what I say. Provided I can convince the rest of the Powers. Aphrodite"s being a pill, but that"s because she thinks she"ll be out of a job."
Zeus clapped Dex on the back, and Dex staggered forward, as if he were trying to prevent himself from falling.
"About the time you"ll be sick of this little filly-- and you will, guaranteed--things"ll be just the way you"ll want them to be. I can promise you that" Zeus walked over to his daughters and kissed them all on the top of the head. "Get back to work, girls."
"But Daddy," Tiffany said, "you know I hate homework."
"You"re not at home, baby girl," Zeus said.
"But it"s the same concept--"
"Listen, child." His voice boomed the way it had when he arrived. "This is a modern world. Girls"ll enjoy the changes you make, same as boys. I was just talking to the cowboy because he should be old enough to understand. But he"s not. He thinks he"s in love. And he"s friends with the old Fates."
"Daddy, please. Can we just go home?" Crystal asked.
"Honey, we all do things we don"t like. You girls thought this would be fun. Now live with it." Then Zeus"s expression looked horrified. "c.r.a.p. The Old Ones are right. You always end up sounding just like your own parents."
And then he vanished.
Vivian glanced at Dex, who looked as startled as she felt. Sadie walked to his side and leaned against him as if the entire thing had tired her out.
The Interim Fates burst into tears.
"Let"s get out of here", Dex sent. "What do you say"?
"The sooner the better", Vivian sent back. Ear-splitting wails echoed around her. "The sooner the better".
*Chapter Twenty-eight*