Page 74 of Professor and the Seer
“Wait, she betrayed the god of monsters?” Even I’d heard of the Greek deity, although in the stories he took the shape of those he ruled.
“I told you, she craved mightiness but, as a human, could never achieve her goal, so she found a way to steal it. First, she stole the power of a minor deity. Then she went after bigger targets.” He tapped the collar around his neck. “Once she trapped Typhon, she made sure to control me next, even though I was only a minor god.”
“What’s your name?”
“I guess there is no point in hiding anymore.” He hung his head. “I am known as Bacchus, god of wine and pleasure, who foolishly fell in love with a mortal woman named Ariadne, only to be betrayed by her.”
Apparently, I’d just gotten enmeshed in a Greek tragedy. Not good. Most people tended to die.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. He’d gone from closed-lipped to loose.
“Because, for the first time in centuries, she’s worried.”
“She knows Typhon is coming for her.”
“Yes, and while he has little of his abilities to draw upon, she still fears him. Especially since he managed to somehow bless three champions.”
“How did he do that if he was in prison?” I asked. Though Typhon had already told me it was the right conditions and Apate’s blessing that made us, it wouldn’t hurt to know what exactly my captors thought or knew.
Bacchus shrugged. “That is unclear, but I suspect he had help. Another god who sympathized with his plight. She suspected something was afoot given twice in recent times she was felled by a mysterious weakness. But search as she might, it wasn’t until recently she realized what had been done.”
While I said nothing, I couldn’t help but connect the dots. Want to bet her two incidents coincided with our births and sixteenth birthday? “If she knows we’re his champions, why would she want us all in one spot? Shouldn’t she be worried we’ll kick her ass?”
“She is arrogant and drunk on her own power. She is also determined to end the threat he poses. By taking his champions, she knows he will come, and when he does, she will snap shut the jaws of her trap. Once he’s dead, she’ll become the true queen of monsters, making her virtually unstoppable.”
“Gods can’t be killed,” I stated.
“They can, but it’s difficult. However, she’s had time to prepare and plot. You’re not the first prophetess she’s used to guide her path.”
The word “prophetess” made me think of Carillo, and I blurted out, “Is she the person selling my information?”
“That would be me. I thought if I could remove you before captured I might cause a glitch in her plan. Alas, you and your sisters proved more formidable than expected.”
“Who sent the Chupacabra?”
“She did, wanting to test your strengths. It was then she realized that, together, you were too strong. Hence why she chose to go after you first. By dangling you as bait with the threat of harm, she will get your sisters to present themselves and surrender, thus rendering Typhon defenseless.”
I blinked as I absorbed the information and realized how Reaper had been played. Played right into her hands. But little did she know the Grae sisters didn’t give up.
I stared intently at Bacchus, a victim just as much as me in many respects. “If the chance arose to be free of her, would you take it?”
“Even death would be preferable to my current existence.”
Reply noted, even as I didn’t know how I could use him. Not yet. In this place that muffled the paths of the future, I’d have to rely on myself.
Terrifying, but not as much as the thought of what would happen if this Ariadne actually managed to kill the god of monsters and permanently steal his power. I’d seen all the Godzilla movies growing up and had shivered while watching because whoever directed them had obviously seen a future where it came to pass.
I should know, because I’d seen it too. I’d just assumed the visions I had of monsters ending the world were caused by my overreactive imagination.
The throne room we entered screamed gaudy. Marble and gold all over. The raised throne sat under a domed skylight illuminating the woman sitting there wearing a gown of cream threaded with silver. The crown on her head offered a nice, arrogant touch.
I had two choices as I neared. Meek and subservient, playing the part of cowed captive. Or I could take a page from my sisters’ book.
Shoulders back, sneer on my lips, my haughty stalk took me to the foot of the dais, where I barked, “So you’re the cunt that’s been fucking with me.”
Anger narrowed Ariadne’s stunning blue eyes. She truly was beautiful. I commended Typhon on resisting her attempt at seduction. I might be straight, but I don’t know if I could have done the same.
“If it isn’t the prophetess. Not that powerful, apparently, seeing as how you never saw your capture.”