Chapter Six

The next morning, I woke to Apollo preparing for the meeting at the great hall. I wasn't sure how he already knew without my telling him, but he knew somehow because he was wearing a slightly more formal wear and he only wore such when he was attending a meeting at the hall.

Unfortunately, I was also required to attend along with my bodyguards and I was not looking forward to dealing with a room full of whiny gods. I had never been fond of pantheon meetings, either within the pantheon or the UP (United Pantheon) organization that was comprised of a representative of each major pantheon in existence. Of course, I had never attended a UP session, but something told me it was probably even more obnoxious than a typical pantheon meeting.

I got up and Apollo didn't say a word to me as I showered and dressed in a sedate pair of jeans and a plain cream shirt under a black cardigan. Out the corner of my eye, I watched Apollo slip on a pair of black slacks and a white t-shirt decorated with the red sun of Japan, and a black vest over top of it when he caught me staring at him. I averted my eyes, tying my hair up into a loose bun to keep it off the backs of my legs.

"Callias?" Apollo asked. I was caught off guard by both the fact that his voice was suddenly near my ear, and the fact that it was soft, almost shy. I stepped away from him, turning around to look at him as he kept his eyes downcast for a moment before looking up at me. There was an odd emotion swirling in those deep blue eyes as he swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing and I suddenly remember putting my lips there last night, stirring a pleasant heat in my stomach.

"What did you look like before?" He asked. I cocked my head, confused for a moment, then realizing what he meant.

"Would you like me to show you, master?" I asked. He nodded. I took my hair down again, running my fingers through it, feeling a slight tug in my scalp as the color shifted from deep red to my natural dark brown, nearly black, hair color and the length of it retreating to loose waves that fell just past my shoulders. I blinked my eyes once, feeling a slight throb as they went from indigo to white.

Apollo sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening for a split second before returning to normal and he scanned me from head to foot before averting his eyes as a warm shade of pink spread over his cheeks.

"You can stay like that." He said, turning away from me to head to the door. I cocked my head curiously, brushing the hair back from my face, pausing to savor the way my normal hair felt sliding between my fingers. No longer having to struggle with the ridiculously long red locks that were always tangled or ending up in my meals.

I followed Apollo out of the room, watching him yawn and stretch, glancing out the window at the sky that was still dark a bit dark, save for a very faint golden glow in the distance. Apparently Apollo had already triggered the sunrise.

"Wake your bodyguards," Apollo informed me, "I'll have Denarius make us breakfast before we head over." I nodded and let him continue down the hallway as I stopped at Arikos's door first, knocking and waiting for a response. When I didn't get one, I carefully cracked the door open and resisted the urge to smile at the sight of Arikos wrapped comfortably in a cocoon of blankets, his black hair sticking up like wet chicken feathers, and a bit of drool sliding out onto the pillow. I cleared my throat.

"Arikos?" I called out. Arikos groaned, a husky sound deep in his throat and a chill stole through me.

Do not go there. Brotherly love only goes so far. I assured myself sternly, then cleared my throat again, this time making Arikos peek an eye open drowsily.

"Wha?" He asked. I smiled.

"It's time to wake up. There's a meeting in the grand hall." I informed. Arikos made a noise of protest deep in his throat and seemed to drift back to sleep, but right when I opened my mouth to try and wake him up again, he waved his hand at me.

"Gimme a second. I'm still numb." He mumbled. I nodded and closed the door, snapping on the lights before I left to make sure he didn't fall back to sleep. I moved to Menoetius's room, didn't even have the chance to knock before the door was opened and Menoetius's hulking frame filled the doorway, making me grimace and take a step back to look at him pointedly.

He looked terrible, as if he hadn't slept a wink. Not even the thin layer of eyeliner he put on hid the dark circles under his eyes or bloodshot veins in his sclera. He wore a spandex turtleneck and a pair of military issue cargo pants, his weapons holster ready to go.

"Did you sleep at all?" I asked dryly. Menoetius gave me cold stare.

"Like a baby."

"Apparently." I responded. Babies, I knew for a fact, did not sleep as often as they should. I vaguely remembered my younger siblings screaming through the nights and waking every god for miles around.

I said nothing more as I headed to the kitchen, and unfortunately, Menoetius tagged along behind me. He yawned very quietly and rubbed at his temple, and a frown curved the corners of my lips when I spotted a cut across his left jawline that hadn't been there when I left him yesterday, but I decided against asking, because when he caught me staring at him, he pinned me with an infamous Titan glare and I looked away with a huff.

We entered the kitchen where Denarius was already preparing breakfast, looking sleepy himself as he yawned and gave me a tired wave before he went back to making omelets. He was even still wearing his plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt with a spaghetti sauce stain on the sleeve.

"Where's Apollo?" I asked him. Denarius scratched his leg with his foot, flipping an omelet over.

"In the dining room. He's in a surprisingly good mood... How about you? Are you alright?" He asked, looking over at me with a flicker of concern in those tired gold eyes. I smiled warmly at that, also mildly amused because Apollo's crying had been quite loud last night and it was often misunderstood to be my own, but Apollo and I never corrected anyone. The sun god would never admit to crying the night away.

"If Arikos comes through here, tell him we're in the dining room." I told him, and he nodded. I led the way to the dining room. It wasn't a huge extravagant room. A round white glass table with wicker seats and walls that were made up of windows on three sides to look out over the landscape. Apollo was seating in one of the seats and brightened when I came in, reminding me a lot of a happy dog. I smiled and he took my hand as I passed, brushing his lips over it before I sat down.

Oh yes, Apollo was definitely in a good mood today and I was going to savor it.

"It's too bad we have that meeting," Apollo muttered, his eyes locked on me hungrily, "Otherwise, I'd make it one of those stay-in-bed-all-day kinda days." I smiled at him and Menoetius twitched, looking annoyed by the comment, but didn't show any other expression aside from that, probably afraid of angering Apollo. Not that it did him any good because Apollo noticed instantly and raised an eyebrow at the Titan.

"What? Are you jealous?" He asked. Menoetius glared at him, but wisely chose to stay silent. Unfortunately, if there was one thing Apollo hated, it was being ignored. His dark blue eyes snapped fire and he narrowed them on the Titan.

"If you're going to stay here, you'll answer me when I speak to you. Answer me." He commanded. Menoetius's eyes flashed and he opened his mouth, probably all prepared to make some snarky comeback that was bound to get him beaten to death, but thankfully Arikos entered the room with a low whistle that caught everyone's attention to the little punk rock hybrid god entering the room.

"Wow," Arikos said in amazement, coming over to plop down in a seat beside me, "This is a nice room here." Apollo seemed pleased at the praise, his anger toward Menoetius not forgotten, but now ignored. Menoetius rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest, but didn't say anything as Denarius came in a moment later with our breakfast. We ate quickly before teleporting to Zeus's temple.

The temple was open around the entire building, sort of like a porch, but closed off at the center as walls separated rooms and large columns led the way down a long corridor that went from the outside straight to the heart of the temple where the grand hall was. The large white gold designed doors opened up to the newly refurbished grand hall with rows of white Doric columns coming together in a crescent shape around a large matching crescent white table with matching high-back office chairs going around it, each engraved the symbol of an Olympian god. A few added chairs were noticeably smaller and nameless, belonging to my bodyguards and myself.

On the other side of the room from the entrance was a massive fresco, from floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall, of Zeus taking down Cronus. Along the top was a series of smaller marble carved scenes that depicted Zeus's birth to his freeing his siblings and teaching them how to fight the Titans. Along the other walls of the room were several doors, around which were more frescos, these ones depicting the other gods of Olympus in their most famous tales.

The room was magnificent, and terrifying.

Only a couple gods were waiting when we arrived. Dionysus and Hermes were milling around near the largest fresco, making jokes and laughing about it. Apollo perked up the moment he saw them, leaning over to give me a surprise quick kiss on the cheek before he went to join them, probably assuming I'd be safe with my bodyguards. I was mostly stunned that Apollo had kissed me, in public, and not possessively. Just a sweet little kiss on the cheek, and I resisted the urge to laugh at that.

What a cute little kiss.

"Callias!" A woman's voice exclaimed excitedly and I turned to see Aphrodite walking in with Ares behind her, talking to someone on his cell phone.

Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love and rightfully so. Most people depicted Aphrodite as a tall slender woman with large breasts and backside, long luscious blonde hair and blue eyes. However, Aphrodite was a Greek goddess, not some warped photoshopped model based on mortal standards. Aphrodite was, indeed, on the tall side due to her god blood, but still about a head shorter than Ares. She was big-boned with light olive skin that seemed to glow, and hazel-brown eyes with a ring of gold near her pupils, and her hair was a deep shade of chestnut, long and lightly curled. She wore a pair of supernova leggings under a long white ruffled tank top, her jewelry jingling and heels clicking as she approached me.

One of the few gods who didn't turn their noses up at me, again something that surprised me, because Kali, my sister, had been a minor goddess of beauty, and had flaunted it and threw it in everyone's faces. Not to mention the rumors I heard about Aphrodite's temperament. However, she'd apparently mellowed over the years and seemed to find my company, well, decent.

"Hey," Aphrodite greeted me warmly, touching my arm, "I haven't seen you since I left for Paris! How long is that? Three months? Not okay!" I smiled.

"Aphrodite, how was your trip?" I asked. Aphrodite beamed and tugged at her blouse excitedly.

"New clothes! And new lingerie," She added with a playful wink and gestured with her thumb behind her, "You were totally right about the red thing. He goes brain-dead every time I wear it." I laughed and Ares made a noise of distress as he came over to drape an arm around Aphrodite's waist, tugging her against him.

"Don't go advertising our sex life," He scolded her playfully and she just beamed, a dimple popping in her cheek and I noticed Ares eyeing it like he wanted to kiss her there, but he restrained himself and looked at me, "Did you sleep last night? No more demon attacks?" I nodded.

"Safe and quiet." I replied. Demon wise.

"That's good," Ares said, but there was something about his tone of voice told me that my words troubled him more than they assured him, "But our time of peace ends the moment thunderass walks in the room." Aphrodite grimaced and touched his chest, rubbing him there.

"Come on, baby, not today. I just got back. Argue with Zeus tomorrow." She urged. Ares hummed as if he were considering, before a wicked smirk crossed his face and he leaned in to whisper something to her that made her laugh and shove him away.

"You're so bad!" She laughed, then paused to give me a pat on the shoulder before going to her seat with Ares following, making comments about being the baddest of the bad. Their relationship was one I found myself envying, and I wasn't entirely sure why. They had suffered quite a few... drawbacks. It didn't help that the only reason they were married now was due to the fact that Hephaestus couldn't take their running around behind his back and he refused to be the one to make Aphrodite unhappy. The only reason they'd gotten married was because Hephaestus had given Aphrodite so much jewelry, so much money, that she couldn't refuse, but her heart had always belonged to Ares and everyone knew it.

Not to mention, they'd lost one of their children when Ares had snapped and his curse bled through, a curse Zeus had forced on him after a tiny complaint during the Trojan war. According to Hermes, since then, Ares made it a rule never to complain, even as a joke, in the throne room. Although, I had never heard the god of war complain in general. I suppose Zeus's wrath really did make one learn their lesson.

I glanced at Menoetius as that thought crossed my mind and I noticed that he was extremely antsy. Every time a door opened or closed, or someone sat down, any kind of noise really, and the Titan was on pins and needles, eyes flashing around the room to make sure everyone was within his sights.

I decided not to question him, despite my curiosity. I'd seen panic and trying to comfort them or ask them why only succeeded in making them panic further, so I pretended I saw nothing as I looked away from Menoetius, and Arikos, who appeared to be just as curious as myself, but he also seemed to stay respectful Menoetius's privacy.

The next god to enter the room was Hestia, the goddess of home and hearth and family. She was a beautiful petite goddess, full-bodied and plump with her chocolate-colored hair resting over her shoulder in a loose braid. She wore a long brown peasant skirt and tan bell-sleeve crop-top. She was known, amongst the gods in proper company, as the Hippie of Olympus. Gentle and loving, Hestia rarely raised her voice. She was also one of the gods who adored her brother, Hades.

Following right behind her was Hephaestus. A tall buff man with a pronounced limp that he supported with a cane decorated with hellfire, a thick dark and well-kept beard that hid a thick neck, high cheekbones, narrow deep-set brown eyes. The rest of his hair was slicked back, giving him a surprisingly elegant look, despite an old blue and black fleece plaid shirt over a t-shirt with a picture of a one-eyed teddy bear on it, and snug jeans. I noticed the way his eyes passed over where Aphrodite was laughing with Ares and Hermes, but his eyes didn't darken. They just seemed to take a sad glint before he joined Hestia at the table, where the goddess was waiting to say something enthusiastically that had Hephaestus blushing and muttering in that deep gravelly voice of his.

How odd that, whenever my siblings were forced into a pantheon meeting together, they were always at each others' throats, yet these gods seemed to interact just as a normal family. Even the ones that were at odds seemed to be a bit civil.

The gods had come very far from the days of tearing at each others' throat every day.

Next came Demeter and Poseidon. Sharing thick dark hair that went past their shoulders, both tall and muscular, they came in laughing about something or other. Demeter wore a bright summery sundress sprinted with sunflowers, gold tinsel woven into her braid, and flats clacking on the floor as she walked while Poseidon opted for his usual khakis and unfortunately very ugly orange Hawaiian t-shirt, flip-flops slapping the marble until he caught sight of Menoetius and instantly veered for us.

"Well, well," Poseidon greeted, his voice a deep booming baritone that made Menoetius tense, "Look who's out of his hole and back in paradise. Last time I saw you, you were a whimpering pile of flesh and bones." Menoetius narrowed his eyes and Demeter elbowed Poseidon in the ribcage before giving Menoetius a quick, calculated stare that told me she didn't trust the Titan in the least.

"I'm surprised Hades would let you out," Demeter agreed dryly, folding her arms over her chest, "Considering our last encounter with your people." Menoetius narrowed his eyes.

"I wasn't involved in that war." He said coldly. Demeter tsked and waved his comment off.

"You, your father, I see no difference. You even look like him too. Same cold dead look in your eyes."

"Hey, you're right," Poseidon agreed, putting a hand on his hip, "What'd you know? Like father, like son." With a laugh, he sauntered off and Demeter followed, but not before passing Menoetius a scathing hot glare. I watched them go with a frown and Arikos looked positively peeved.

"Looks like there's a group of douche-bags in every pantheon." He said sourly.

"Unfortunately." I said grimly. Menoetius's expression went dead, and he made no comment. He took on that same soldier's stance and pretended nobody else in the room, but Arikos and I existed. At least, I think we existed in his world considering Arikos was his partner and I was his charge. He just didn't act like it as he stood behind me in absolute silence.

A few seconds later, Artemis and Athena entered the room. Artemis wearing a tight posh navy pantsuit with her hair pulled into a tight bun, looking peeved about something as she stormed away from Athena, who appeared calm and uncaring as she adjusted her brown bomber jacket and spotted me instantly, coming over to me, her long hair pulled into a ponytail that swayed past her waist. Athena's hair was an interesting array of every neutral hair color; brown, light-brown, blonde, red, black. And yet, it blended together so well, so beautifully. Her straight cut bangs, a pair of aviator sunglasses pushing up onto her head to reveal a pair of sharp intelligent blue eyes.

"Callias, I figured this was about you," She said grimly, taking her sunglasses off her head and tucking them into the inside of her jacket, which she then pulled off and draped over her arm so she was only wearing an olive button down shirt and black jeans, "Nothing's been quiet since those Atlanteans were summoned again. I can't imagine how you're feeling."

"Dandy." I said sarcastically and she laughed.

"Like a puppy in a fire pit." She agreed, then gave me a pat on the arm before heading to her seat. I followed, deciding to take my seat with Arikos and Menoetius on either side of me and Apollo sitting closer to Arikos and Menoetius on the end. The other gods converged on their seats just as Hera walked in.

Queen of the Greek gods, goddess of marriage and family, Hera was a force to be recognized with. A hot headed woman with too much power, she wore a blood red ruffled blouse under a black blazer and matching black slacks, her stilettos striking the marble floor like gunshots going off, her platinum-blonde dyed hair yanked up into a tight ponytail, bangs framing a sharply featured stern face, cold blue eyes that matched her brother's glaring out at every at the table. She wordlessly snatched her sat and plopped down in it, arms folding over her chest, and taking on a very pouty look, almost like a sulking child.

No one commented on it, though. Not even Dionysus, who appeared to have trouble containing it, so he settled for conjuring a shot of whiskey, which he swallowed in one gulp and made the glass disappear. Aphrodite elbowed him for it and he smiled innocently.

For a long moment, everyone was silent. No one coughed or cleared their throat. It was an ear-ringing silence that I swore would've stretched on forever is the air didn't pulse with a shock wave of power and a second later, Zeus appeared in front of the doors, slamming them shut and locking them behind him to give the meeting privacy.

Wearing a gray pinstriped suit and a blue partially buttoned top beneath, his blonde hair slicked back, and blue eyes razor sharp, the king god was prepared for debate... and by debate, it was more like people agreeing with him because they were terrified of angering him.

No one spoke as Zeus made his way to his seat at the head of the table and sat down with Hera on his left and Poseidon on his right.

"I'm calling this meeting to order to discuss the plans for capturing the Atlantean god, Atlan," Zeus announced, making a few people shift uncomfortably, "As you may have noticed, he sent a Cruentius demon into our territory to fetch his fleeing daughter, Atlia. The demon slaughtered her and left her corpse, sending a message to the Atlantean slave, Callias. According to our sources, Atlan is seeking and destroying every single one of his children known as the Khalian. As of right now, three of the thirteen Khalian dead and the other ten are missing. Atlan's current main focus right now, however, is Callias. Several thousand years ago, before we even came together to create the Olympians, Callias made a deal with the Source and imprisoned the Atlanteans in some sort of prison within the Source itself. That prison is broken, the Atlanteans are unleashed, and Atlan is seeking to punish the slave."

"Why don't we just hand him over," Hera asked, baffled, making Zeus narrow his eyes in irritation, "What? Don't give me that look, you were thinking it too. Why should we threaten ourselves with the god if all he wants is a measly little slave?"

"I hardly think a god that imprisoned an entire pantheon is measly," Zeus said dryly, making a few of the other gods chuckle, "No. We're not playing into Atlan's pathetic power play. We're the Olympians. We will not be intimidated by a bastard god who goes around killing his own children." No one said anything after that, just shared grim stares.

Some of the looks told me that they weren't impressed by that, seeing as Zeus had done his fair share of horrid things. He'd tortured mortals for so much as forgetting to save a portion of their meals as offerings. He'd cursed his own son, tormented another, beaten and hurt them in ways that would probably have most mortals putting in several calls to Social Services, however, being a god was different.

Zeus was a king god. It was almost required that they do a little overkill. If a king god were to show even the slightest weakness, another god or even another pantheon, would be inclined to invade and take over. Zeus wasn't perfect and he certainly wouldn't be my first choice to lead the pantheon, but they hadn't had any casualties, god wise, and they had Olympus rather fortified and extremely safe- which is why I wasn't allowed to leave in the first place.

"We need information to work with," Athena said after a moment of consideration, and Ares nodded in agreement, "Right now, we're only running on what our source from the underworld tells us. We need to know everything there is to know about Atlan and his methods so we can formulate a plan."

"We do have a plan," Artemis said dryly, "Tie the slave up, throw him outside and wait for Atlan to show up."

"Atlan's not that stupid," I informed flatly, "He sent a Cruentius demon to do his dirty work. Next time, he'll either send another demon, or Xanius."

"Xanius is his wife." Athena said to make sure. I nodded.

"She's a trickster goddess. She could make her way in and out before anyone noticed her. The problem is whether or not she's actually loyal enough to Atlan to do it. She's never been fully loyal to him. The only reason she stuck around is to be at the right-hand of Atlan so she'd have plenty of power of her own. She's bound to change her mind when she realizes Atlan has no intention of sharing power with her." I explained. The gods murmured under their breaths at that.

"It sounds like you're complimenting them," Artemis chided, making me narrow my eyes at her, "I still think you're the one who allowed the demon in here in the first place."

"And what logic is behind that piece of crap excuse?" Hermes asked snidely. Artemis's eyes flashed angrily.

"He's Atlantean. We can't trust them." She responded coldly.

"Then you might as well throw me in with him," Arikos spoke up, making me wince and Apollo sigh, covering his face, "Because I'm half Atlantean and I spent my entire life with Atlan and let me tell you that Atlan flies solo. He may claim to love people and to call them allies, but they aren't. You're forgetting that he destroyed his relationship with the Ancient Egyptians back when they were still growing. He nearly wiped out half their population and over nothing more than a misunderstanding. Callias isn't working with Atlan. He's too smart for that. Both Atlan and Callias. And let me just say that anyone who thinks Callias, who imprisoned Atlas in the first place, is working with Atlan is the dumbest excuse for a god I've ever seen. And I lived with Atlan."

Artemis's cheeks mottled red and she shot to her feet, throwing her hand out to send a blast of electricity at him, but Arikos threw his hand up, caught the attack and sent it flying up through one of the skylights.

"Enough," Zeus snarled, snapping his fingers to fix the damage while glaring at Artemis, "No magic is allowed to be used in this room, do you understand me? Now sit down and shut your mouth." Artemis clenched her teeth, but refused to argue as she plopped down. Arikos sat down casually, folding his arms behind his head. Zeus studied him curiously.

"So you've been at Atlan's side the longest. Therefore, you can give us more information on him. I want you to meet with Ares and Athena after this meeting and discuss that with them."

"No problem," Arikos agreed cheerfully, "Anything to give the bastard what he deserves." Zeus nodded, looking calmer now as he raked a hand through his hair.

"We haven't got much to go on right now," He said grimly, "Not until we have enough information. Fighting Atlan isn't going to be an easy task. I want Callias to remain with Apollo at all times with his bodyguards, save Arikos when Ares and Athena need him. The rest of you need to stay on high alert. I'm going to set a realm-wide curfew for nine. Anyone caught after hours will be brought here and severely punished. We can't risk Atlan getting a hold of anyone from Olympus and using them as well, so I want a total lock-down on the mountain. Anyone who wants entry must go through me first. I want extra security on Apollo's temple at all hours as well, so call in the nymph reserves. Meanwhile, I want Hermes, Hestia, and Poseidon to track down the remaining Khalian. Once found, I want them immediately sent to me for holding."

"Is that really a good idea," Dionysus asked dryly, "Having all of the guys on Atlan's hit list in one place?"

"It's not," Athena agreed, "But if we can catch all the Khalian, we have more bait to lure Atlan in. He won't continue his world domination scheme with traitors on the loose."

"Athena's right," Zeus said with a nod, "But it will be dangerous, we're going to have to summon more gods. I want Persephone, Eros, Psyche, Deimos, and Phobos here immediately. And damn it, someone find Nyx and Erebus. In fact, while you're at it, nab Nemesis. This is a battle that'll require as many forces as we can get." Demeter made a noise of anger.

"Not my Persephone! She's already juggling two children with a third one on the way. She has no time for our petty wars-"

"She won't have time for shit if she doesn't get her ass here." Zeus snapped impatiently, making Demeter's jaw fall open, then snap shut with anger. Ares looked less than thrilled to be having his sons forced into the war, but he didn't speak out against Zeus. Aphrodite also looked peeved about bringing Eros into the whole mess, but also refrained from protesting.

"Now that we've got that covered, I call this meeting to end and we'll pick up tomorrow morning at the same time, same place." Zeus commanded, then stood up and vanished in a column of smoke. Outside, the sun was blocked by a wave of sudden dark clouds that appeared to match Zeus's mood. The deep growling of thunder and the sound of rain pelting the roof like icy bullets.

"Damn it," Demeter sneered, "That self-righteous son of a bitch! Dragging my daughter into this mess."

"He's got a point," Poseidon said dryly as he stood up, "I'm planning on bringing my own children into this. As much as I rather not, we have no choice. It's for the greater good."

"Greater good? Sacrificing my children," Demeter said angrily, "How dare you! You may not care about your children, but I'd sooner let the mortals all perish than lose my Persephone! You can all rot in the depths of Tartarus for all I care!" With an angry shout, she vanished and Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"What a drama queen."

"She's scared," Hestia said grimly, folding her arms over her chest, "We should all be scared. There's something in the air that tells me this battle is going to be a doozy."

"What's the saying," Ares said with the same dire tone, "Something wicked this way comes?" Aphrodite nodded grimly, rubbing at her arms and Ares took her hand, squeezing it in his own before drawing it to his lips to kiss her knuckles and she leaned into him, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Actually, I think there's a song about it," Dionysus grunted, "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine."

"I certainly don't feel fine," Artemis said in irritation, "You people are so blind and ignorant. So maybe the slave isn't working with Atlan, but I sure as hell don't trust him." I gave her a deadpan stare, rising to my feet.

"That's fine by me," I responded calm, "I don't trust you either. You seem very eager to point fingers. For all I know, you could've made a deal with Atlan and you think he'll share a little power once he obtains it." Artemis's eyes flashed venomously.

"I don't trust Atlanteans. Period."

"Finally, something we can agree on." I said flatly.

"All right, enough," Apollo snapped, getting to his feet, "This meeting is through and, Artie, you make on more snide comment towards him and I swear to the gods, I'm going to kick you off this mountain myself and let you deal with the psycho-bastard. Come on, Callias. We're leaving." I inclined my head, and Menoetius and Arikos were on their feet, sharing similar grimaces that spoke of their distaste over the meeting, not that it was a surprise.

The whole way out the door, I felt Artemis's eyes drilling holes in my back.

And someone else's, but when I turned around to search the room for the source, the feeling was gone and I was left with a churning sensation of dread in my gut as the gears turned in my head.

Atlan had to have had a way to know that Atlia was on Olympus. He didn't just know. He has a fly on the wall inside. Someone watching for him...

And whoever it was had been at that meeting and knew we were preparing for battle.