Mount Olympus

MOTHER IS BEING TOTALLY weird. She didn’t even mind when Rebecca went to bed with that other bloke. Which suited me in a way because it got me off the hook for a bit. But, and this is a big but, I think the reason she’s not pissed off is because she’s decided to have John Sterling for herself. I know, I know, it’s my fault. I’m the one who messed up. But she is Aphrodite. She should be able to rise above it. But no, she’s wafting around with this goofy smile last seen when she was hanging out with Adonis and we all know how that ended. So it looks like we’ve well and truly blown it, which really depresses me.

Then just as I think it’s all over and that we’ve lost the bet with Athene I get some good news. Rebecca Finch has dumped the Lance guy. He’s pretty sore but he’s the type that heals fast so I don’t anticipate any real problems there.

So I go and find Mother to try and make her see sense. I mean someone has to be mature around here.

‘Rebecca Finch has dumped him. So we’re back to plan A, right?’

But she turns misty eyes on me and says, ‘Oh Lance will do. I’ll make sure they’re in the same place one more time and then you get her and everything will be fine.’

‘No.’ I slam down my bag of arrows on the marble. ‘We’ve been through all this. You said it yourself. The wager is about something else. We were going to get these two specific guys together and it would last and we would show everyone the power of love. That was the deal. I mean come on, this is about us getting back some respect.’ And about me getting my own seat at the table. But I don’t say that because I don’t think she really cares about that bit. ‘And it’s not like you have a future with John Sterling. He’s a mortal. You know the rules. I seriously can’t believe that you’re prepared to throw it all away for a fling. I can’t believe you’re that irresponsible.’

Mother waves her hand in a dismissive kind of way. She doesn’t care. She is in lurve.

‘And isn’t that just typical of this place,’ she says instead. ‘Gods can love a mortal, no problem at all, but when it’s a goddess then it’s against the rules, verboten. And whose rules are they? His, of course.’ She gesticulates towards the great hall.

Has she no fear? I look around me but luckily there’s no one else there.

‘You’re meant to turn Rebecca back into a worshipful mortal, remember? Get her back to writing those lame books.’

‘Maybe she will now she’s in love.’

‘But she isn’t.’

‘Then shoot her when she’s with Lance Cooper, I’ve told you already.’

‘No! It’s not enough. Not this time. This time it’s meant to be different. You’re the one who said it. And you were right. They’re just not suited. He just pretends to like the same stuff as her.’

‘They all do that.’

‘Yes, and that’s one of the problems we’re always facing. And it goes deeper than that. They don’t get each other’s souls. So it would be short-term, again, and she’ll end up even more bitter and twisted than she is now. Just think what that’ll do to our credibility.’

‘Credibility-senility: it’s just a wager.’

‘Just a wager!’

I despair, really I do. It’s like we’ve reached the end worse off than when we started. Mother will have zero respect, and me? Well, I’ll be on my own. I had set my heart on moving up here. I thought Mother quite liked the idea too. She’s never said as much but she’s not the demonstrative type, well, not with me anyway. But it seems she really doesn’t give a damn. She doesn’t give a damn because she’s got her sights on John stupid Sterling. I knew it, I knew there’d be trouble the first time I clamped eyes on him.

And guess who has been listening after all, hovering behind a pillar? You’ve got it, Athene. Now she steps out of the shadow with this sickly smile; it’s so sweet I reckon it’ll stick to her teeth.

‘We should have known, shouldn’t we?’ she says, her voice all soft. ‘We should have known something like this would happen. But we shouldn’t blame you, Aphrodite dear. It’s in your nature, after all. Just like it’s in my nature to be wise.’ The smile drops like there’s weights attached to the corners of her mouth. ‘So there we are. I won.’ And she turns and glides off. I swear to you even her behind looks triumphant.

‘Bollocks you did,’ I yell. ‘Mother and I haven’t finished yet.’