Nearly Witches

Chapter Eleven

Alysanne looked at the pacing man, he had lost the battle against Octavian and had fled to Egypt to be with his lover; something that turned Hera against him in the end. She could understand why she didn’t like cheaters, Alysanne herself had been a result of such a thing, along with her twin brother and most of her siblings.

“Mark Antony,” Alysanne greeted as she walked into the room, both she and Apollon were backing up Octavian in this war; along with Hermes and Hera. Hermes backed up because he had known what Antony had done at her temple and knew how the twins took such actions against them.

“Lady Diana,” Antony said as he looked at her, Alysanne narrowed her eyes as she leaned against the wall.

“Now you think I’m important?” she asked him; crossing her arms and lifting one of her legs to rest against the golden wall behind her. Before she had agreed to back Octavian, she had made the man promise not to kill Antony’s children, as the two boys and girl were innocent. “Was it worth it? Pulling a girl out of my temple, then you had her killed on the stairs. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? Wouldn’t do anything about it?”

“She was Egyptian,” Antony told her. “And it was for Rome and for Rome to survive.”

“She was Greek, you i***t,” Alysanne told him, digging her nails into her arm. “A friend of Alexander the Great. They married brother to sister, kept the genes pure and meant that they didn’t have much Egyptian blood in them.”

Antony only looked at her.

“You know, if you followed the Norse. You wouldn’t be going to Valhalla, you’d be going to Helheim instead,” she told him while putting her hand on the poisoned needles her brother had gifted to her, but she only had six of them.

And it wasn’t the usual way she dealt with man who thought they could disrespect her because of her gender or thought they could get away with it for the same reason. Why Antony thought he could get away with disrespecting her, she didn’t know, and she doubted she ever know the reason behind his thoughts and actions.

Alysanne could use the needles on that woman instead, keeping the spares for any witness that had the misfortune of being with her at the time. She doubted that Octavian would allow her to keep many people, maybe just a handmaiden or two.

Instead she walked behind him, grabbing his sword from his sheath and held it in her hand as she walked around the room.

“You’re not going to die in battle,” she told him as she grabbed the back of his neck, stabbing him in the torso before twisting the sword and dropping his body onto the ground. “Good luck with the judges.”

“Artemis,” Hermes greeted as he walked down the hallway.

“Hermes,” Alysanne greeted back. “Here to collect the dead from the sea battle?”

Antony would face the judges or even Hades himself. He would be judged for his actions and she wouldn’t say anything to her uncle. She would trust him to do his job, as he trusted her to do her own job without saying anything.

“Already escorted them to Hades,” Hermes told her.

“You’re here for Antony then?”

--

Alysanne groaned as someone poked her side, rolling over before someone poked her in the cheek and she whacked the hand before pulling a pillow over her head. Giggling reached her ears before something cold touched her neck.

“Nymeria, Ghost, let me sleep,” Alysanne said.

‘Sleeping,’ Ghost and Nymeria told her.

‘Then whose touching me?’ Opening her eyes at another giggle, lifting the pillow to look at Persephone’s amused green eyes. ‘Persephone?’

‘You’re not talking out loud,’ Nymeria told her.

“Memories?” Persephone asked her as Alysanne pushed herself onto her forearms and looked at her clock.

“Killed Antony with his own sword,” Alysanne told her. Sitting on her bed, she leaned against the wall behind her and she looked at Persephone, before looking at what she was looking and blinked before looking at her dark green loose top and black sweatpants.

“I remember when he arrived in the underworld,” Persephone told her while smiling a kind smile that send shivers down Alysanne’s spine. “I was the one who got to him first and threw him into Tartarus.”

“Tartarus? The prison for the Titans?”

“That very one.”

Then she guessed last night hadn’t been a dream, that meant her father was dead. Not only that, but along with everyone who was in the plane at the time and they would never know what happened to their friends or loved ones.

“He disrespected my favourite sister’s temple,” Persephone told her as she sat down on the bed before patting her leg. “If Zeus thinks he put people in there for hitting on Hera, along with sleeping with a cloud version of her. Then I can put someone for doing that.”

“Like Achilles forever haunting the Styx?” Alysanne asked her before blinking and thinking about what Persephone said. “Didn’t he get cloud Hera pregnant?”

“That he did.”

“Kings.”

“Kings indeed.”

Alysanne blinked when her phone started ringing on her nightstand, she looked at Nymeria and Ghost before looking at the number. It was her father’s work; she knew what was coming and she doubted that she would ever be ready for that news. Never, then again, she didn’t think any would be willing to hear that any from their family was missing or dead.

Even learning that friends had gone missing or were now no longer in the land of the living was bad enough.

“I’m here,” Persephone told her. “I’ll stay with you until Monday, but then I’ll need to return to Hades and catch up with Athena.”

Alysanne blinked at her, before answering the call and listening as they told her that her father had gone missing in his last flight; that they would do all they could to find him alive and she knew tears were going down her cheeks again after the call ended.

“I’m sorry,” Persephone told her pulling her into a hug, pulling her into lap and it was then that she noticed that she was taller than she was. Ever as tears went down her cheeks and onto her collar bone. “I’m so sorry.”

Tightening her arms around her, kissing her forehead as Alysanne closing her eyes as she continued to cry. She could feel her heart breaking in her chest, as she remembered the last thing she had said to him in person. The last thing she had texted him had been a lot nicer, as he had told her the last location he was in.

The last thing she had said to him in person was I hate you and now she couldn’t take it back; she could never even text him again. Never tell him that she loved him after and now, she could never fix it since the living had no business in the land of the dead; any of the lands of the dead.

“It’s okay, Ally Cat, we’ll get revenge. Those who thought they could get away with killing him will pay with being chained back into Tartarus,” Persephone promised her and somehow, Alysanne felt a bit sorry for them but they were the ones who thought it was a good idea to piss of Persephone and she was sure their imprisonment in Tartarus would be a relief.

Or they might end up begging just to go there just to get away from her.

“I’m sure we can come up with something,” she continued pulling her hand through her hair, gently undoing any knots she ran into. “What do you think?”

“Turn them into deer and let them loose in Tartarus,” Alysanne whispered.

“With all the monsters down there, they won’t have fun trying to avoid them all without being horribly torn apart,” Persephone whispered before grinning at her and tightening her hug, putting her hand on her shoulder. “When you get all your abilities back, you can turn them into deer and watch them run for their lives.”

“That’s evil, I like it.”

“If only Hermes or Apollon were here. They’d have an idea to help.”

“Hermes always had some of the best ideas for tricks, when they were aimed at someone else, annoying when you’re on the end of them.”

“He would never prank either of us.”

“Aphrodite, on the other hand,” Alysanne said. “Didn’t he dye her hair neon orange once, another time neon pink?”

Persephone just smiled at her as her tears dried on her face, before letting her go and pulling her onto her feet; Nymeria and Ghost were still asleep, making Alysanne smile as she looked at her partners.

“Let’s get breakfast done, you can call those two when it’s ready,” Persephone told her, putting her fists on her hips. “Do you have anything planned for today.”

“I have an Irish dance lesson,” Alysanne told her.

“Can I come?” Persephone asked.

“You have an interest in Irish dancing?”

“Never really watched it.”

“It only got popular in the last century.”

“And tomorrow?”

“Archery lesson.”

Persephone smiled at her. “Huntress of the silver bow, which has been return to you. Last I knew of your and Apollon’s bows, Hecate had them on her for safe keeping.”

“And before that?”

“Somewhere in the underworld.”

“Breakfast?” Alysanne asked her.

“You can prepare…”

“Ghost and Nymeria.”

“Ghost and Nymeria’s breakfast, and I’ll prepare ours.”

“Sure,” Alysanne told her before Persephone put a glass of water in front of her. She knew that she was going to have to message Tribe and Captain Justice that she had a family emergency, she didn’t have to explain nor would she, and she didn’t want to be attacked while Hades was looking for something or was trying to come up with a plan.

Which made her wonder, wasn’t there a giant war? Yet, neither Hades nor Persephone had mentioned them. It could help that she had learnt that her father had died, and they thought that was more important.

“What about Gaia? And the Giants?”

“We haven’t seen any signs of them.”

This the first time since she was about fourteen that someone made breakfast for her, smiling she finished her glass of water. Only for Persephone pass her another one and daring her to say anything about it.  

Alysanne wasn’t an i***t and knew not to test her patience. Even if she doubted she’d get worse than a slap on the wrist. She didn’t want to disappoint her, and it was funny how quickly she had gotten attached to Hades and Persephone.

More so, when she still didn’t know if she could trust Tribe and Captain Justice.

“I can drive us there, my class is in the nearest major town,” Alysanne told her as she finished her water, before moving towards the fridge. “And I’ll also need to stop at a supermarket and a butcher to get more meat.”

“We can  get them after your class and stop somewhere for dinner,” Persephone told her while grinning, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl. Moving towards the blender, while Alysanne collected their bowls and cleaned it.

“We should get dinner before going to the butcher,” Alysanne suggested.

“I can get a small fridge for you to keep it fresh, and sister, I’m paying for it and you can fight me.”

“I’m not stupid.”

“Smart.”

“I try.”

“I know you do.”

Alysanne just blinked before sticking out her tongue, Persephone laughing as she continued making something. She just shrugged while putting Nymeria and Ghost’s bowels in their usual spot, while she was sure that Nymeria and Ghost were asleep.

‘Breakfast,’ she told them.

“Ally Cat,” Persephone said as Alysanne walked back to the counter and grabbed the juice from the fridge.

“Ally Cat?”

“Can’t call you Arty, so Ally Cat it is.”

Alysanne just looked at her before shacking her head, rinsing her glass before grabbing another one for Persephone.

“You’re cute, you know that?” Persephone asked her before pinching her cheek. “You must know that?”

“I’m not cute,” Alysanne told her, with her weirdly coloured eyes. How could she be cute? More people would think her looks were creepy, at least that was what she had been told when she was younger.

“No, you’re right. You’re adorable.”

“You’re stubborn, you know that?”

“In my last life, Demeter was my mother,” Persephone told her. “And she was the definition of stubborn, not that I’m going to let something like that again.”

“She tried pulling you from Hades, didn’t she?”

‘Breakfast?’ Ghost her.

‘Breakfast,’ Alysanne told him.

“She tried, once,” Persephone told her.

Alysanne giggled as she watched as she watched Nymeria and Ghost walked into the kitchen, she had a feeling that Demeter would have gotten a surprise when Persephone didn’t listen to her and showed her why the Greeks feared her to the point that they would avoid saying her name to avoid getting her attention or her wrath.

Which was different than what most people thought, they thought Hades had been feared in Ancient Greece, which Alysanne thought was silly since they were comfortable enough to say his name and the underworld had been named after him.

No, Alysanne knew. Persephone was the one to fear; not Hades.

If anyone couldn’t see that, then Alysanne wouldn’t be bothered to warn them and it would be their fault once they got on the Queen of the Underworld’s bad side. They would have also earned her wrath, since Alysanne would guess that dealing with spirit’s and the dead would give someone a bit of patience.

Alysanne also had a feeling that Persephone could pull apart countries without breaking a sweat or thinking about it twitch. Hades would, since he would be the one dealing with the dead, but she couldn’t see him saying anything about it.

“Would you like to walk Ghost and Nymeria with me?” Alysanne asked her once she looked at the pancakes and smoothie put in front of her. “I need to walk them or else they won’t sleep tonight, they have too much energy.”

“I’ll remember that once you can access your abilities,” Persephone told her. “Daily walks and at least two meals a day.”

‘I like her,’ Nymeria said.

‘Really?’ Alysanne asked her.

‘We’ll go on a walk after eating?’ Ghost asked her, Alysanne just looked at him before shacking her head.

‘We’ll go on a walk,’ Alysanne told them.

“I’d like that,” Persephone told her. “I walk Cerberus at least once a day, or else all he does is sleep above the entrance.”

“Which was way he was with you?” Alysanne asked.

“You’re ignoring your grief?”

“It doesn’t feel real.”

“It’s okay, not to be okay.”

Alysanne just smiled at her, that had been the first time she had been told that. At the moment, she had to process that small thing of hope that had grown in her heart and it was something that she knew was stupid.

Hades had told her that her father was dead. And he oversaw the underworld, and she didn’t see why he would lie about her father’s death. He might have been annoyed at Zeus, but she didn’t see him messing with her because he was a bastard.

Hades was unbiased.

Or at least, she hoped he was.

‘Would both be on it?’ Nymeria asked her.

‘No, maybe,’ Alysanne said. ‘I’m hoping it’s not a joke.’

“Do you like the pancakes?” Persephone asked her, Alysanne blinked before she dug into her breakfast.

“I do, thank you,” Alysanne told her. “I’m a bit of an airhead.”

“You were talking to Nymeria and Ghost,” she told her grinning as Alysanne felt her cheeks heated up. “Your eyes turn grey when you do, Moon eyes.”

Tribe had called her that once, but she hadn’t given it any thought. She never thought about what happened when she started talking to animals, but it would seem that her eyes were giving her away without her knowing it.

“We have a long day ahead of us,” Persephone told her. “Let’s get dressed and take your little partners on a walk.”