The Heart of Hades

2

"Good morning gentlemen, I apologise for the wait. What can I do for you?" she asked, trying to mask her reaction to the taller gentleman.

"We are here to see Don. I am Zach and this silent brooding male is Harry," the other gentleman explained, jerking a thumb at the man she'd been drooling over. Zach was two inches shorter than Harry, the same olive skin but with blond hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a three-piece suit of light gray, with a crisp white shirt and red tie. She c****d her head to the side and said,

"Of course, but have we met before? You feel familiar to me."

"Probably not, I look a lot like the actor Ian Burton, so many people mistake me for him," Zach answered.

"No, Ian is my half brother, so that can't be it. Oh well, just a feeling I have. I'll let Mr. Waters know you and Mr. Undervold are here."

"How do you know my last name?" Harry asked, finally speaking to her. His voice was a deep rumble she could feel in her bones.

"Mr. Waters' last secretary left me important information, and your last names were on it. I don't want to call you by the wrong name," Lilia replied, her eyes shining along with her smile. Harry sucked in a sharp breath. Her smile was like a siren's call. He felt a pull and immediately wanted to get to know her. He watched in fascination as she picked up the phone and dialled into Don's office.

"Mr. Waters, your brothers are here to see you. Yes, I'll show them in, will you be wanting coffee?" she asked into the receiver and hung up once she had received an answer.

"You may go in, would either of you like coffee or tea?" she asked, looking up at the two gentlemen. Harry stared at her, lost in thought he didn't realise she was talking to him again. Zach elbowed him in the ribs and nodded towards Lilia.

"She asked if you wanted coffee or tea, Harry."

"Oh sure, black coffee please," he replied, shaking his head. It had been almost a century since a woman distracted him enough to lose track of a conversation.

"Of course, you may go in and I'll be in, in a moment with your coffees." Lilia motioned to the office door as she stood. She smoothed her skirt and stepped out from behind her desk, headed toward the small kitchen area to make coffee. Harry couldn't stop himself from watching her walk away, taking in her trim waist and petite frame. When she'd walked past he'd caught a whiff of vanilla and cherry, he also noted in four-inch pumps the top of her head barely reached his shoulder.

Once safely in the office, Zach burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

"Hades, if I didn't know any better I'd say Poseidon's new secretary has piqued your interest," Zeus joked.

"Is that so Zeus?" Poseidon asked, lifting an eyebrow and staring at his younger brother.

"You are insane, Zeus, what would I do with a mortal woman?" Hades inquired, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. When had they gotten so good at being able to read him, or was he just that bad at hiding his attraction to Lilia?

Knock, knock.

"Here is your coffee. Please call me should you need anything else," Lilia said, placing the coffee on the table and leaving quickly so not to disturb their meeting. The three men watched the door close and Poseidon remarked,

"I don't think she is all mortal Hades. Did either of you feel immediately at ease as soon as you entered my office?"

"Yes, and I felt a tug of familiarity toward her, she did too. She asked me if we had met before," Zeus explained, and Hades nodded in agreement.

"She mentioned her half-brother is Ian Burton, and he is of your line Zeus. His father is the son of one of your children," Hades remarked, looking thoughtful.

"Lilia and Ian have the same father, but different mothers. I think she is of Aphrodite's lineage, and with the amount of power I sense in her, Aphrodite might be her birth mother. I don't know if she is of your line Zeus, the power feels familiar but not the same as yours. It was not my intention when I first asked her to call Mr. James Carter, but after her reaction toward him and telling me he is her cousin, I want to see what information I can gather from him about her. She has no idea of her power. It is one reason I had her promoted so I could monitor her," Poseidon explained, sipping on his coffee.

"How long have you felt her power?" Zeus asked.

"Three months or so ago, I felt a surge in the building. It took me a while to pinpoint which secretary the power was coming from. She has been here for three years, give or take a month or two."

"Why are you just feeling her power now?" Hades asked, sipping his own coffee, appreciating the smooth rich flavor.

"I don't know, I've never felt a combination of her power before. Usually, I can pinpoint the god or goddess, a demigod is descended from without effort. It is almost as if Lilia is subconsciously hiding her power. I don't recall having a demigod with that ability, do you?" He put it to his brothers.

"I don't either, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. Have you asked Aphrodite if Lilia is her daughter?" Zeus wanted to know.

"She won't speak to me. We had a terrible falling out over her, loving a human who was destructive for her. He was a photographer who barely had time for her, and she pined away for him. It kept her from doing her duty as the goddess of love," Poseidon revealed.

"I'll talk to her. She is on Olympus for a break from the human world," Zeus offered, Poseidon nodded his thanks.

"What mix of power are you getting at Poseidon? You mentioned it was a mix," Hades pointed out.

"I think the mix of being a direct descendant of Aphrodite and her alleged father Matthew Burton being distantly related to Zeus is making for a unique combination of power. He may not be her father and Aphrodite pawned Lilia off on him because she knew her actual father would not want Lilia. Like I said I don't know if she is a descendant of yours Zeus, or if she has similar power. I don't know any god other than Hephaestus and Apollo who has a fire or lightning power. I mentioned her cousin James earlier in conversation and I could have sworn lightning or fire flared in her eyes."

"What happened between them?" Zeus wanted to know.

"She said it was a family matter and didn't elaborate," Poseidon explained with a shrug. If Lilia didn't want to talk about it, he would not pressure her.

"We came here to talk about Medusa and her sisters starting to become more active in New York City," Hades announced, and the three switched gears to talk about their plans on how to deal with Medusa.