“Have you considered therapy?” he asked.
“I fuck Persephone and torture Theseus. That’s therapy.”
“It…sure is something,” Dionysus said.
“No mortal wants to hear me whine about my time in the labyrinth.”
“You know this isn’t a sign of weakness, Hades,” said Dionysus.
“I liked you better when you were a fucking asshole.”
“I still am,” said Dionysus. “I think the net is making me sentimental.”
“Fucking great,” Hades muttered.
A snort came from the dark. It was followed by the glow of several nymphs, Hecate’s lampedes. The Goddess of Witchcraft’s eyes glinted with amusement.
“Do I want to know?” she asked.
“Just get this off, Hecate,” Hades said.
The goddess used her magic to lift the net. Dionysus stretched, muscles tight. He looked at Hades who was pale and covered in sweat.
“You all right?”
“Fine,” he said, voice curt, as if to say, do not draw attention to this.
“Lucky your wife is worried about you,” said Hecate. “Or I may not have found you this soon.”
Hades grunted.
“Your fucking gremlins stole from me,” said Dionysus.
Hecate’s eyes narrowed. “They’re not mine, God of Wine.”
“Well, you are the expert,” he said. “Where do they take the things they steal?”
“Wherever they feel it will be safe,” said Hecate. “Is that what you were trying to do?”
Dionysus and Hades exchanged a look.
“We thought we could capture one and…force it to tell us,” said Dionysus.
“You did not consider just…following one to their burrow?”
“We were caught up in the moment,” said Hades. “It was using a cat as a horse, Hecate.”
The goddess’s brows rose. “Oh, that poor pussy.”
Dionysus almost choked.
“Let’s hope Hephaestus has built a better trap for them by tomorrow,” said Hades. “It is Christmas Eve, after all. I wouldn’t want anyone to wake up and discover their gifts have been stolen.”
Hades vanished then, returning to the Underworld, leaving Dionysus alone with Hecate.
“In which direction did the pussy cat go?”
“Gods, you are just as bad as Hades,” he said and pointed west, down another dark corridor.
