Genesis [malexmale]

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two

I wasn't going to tell Lucifer about the deal with Zeus.

It wasn't to protect him or protect Zeus, or any of the other Hollywood bullshit they made up on the fly to explain why they wanted to create conflict for the show. The reason I didn't tell Lucifer was because I didn't want to deal with his bullshit. I didn't have time to explain to Lucifer that I wasn't driven by subjective feelings such as himself. I didn't have time to explain to him how I could see Zeus through untinted lenses.

And I certainly didn't have time to hear him whine about it.

As much as I loved Lucifer, I wasn't going to start a battle between us that could very well end our friendship. Even though Lucifer liked to constantly remind me that his love for me was as equal as his for Hades, I didn't believe a word of it. If it came down to it, Lucifer would choose Hades and his safety over my own. And I understood completely. Love, especially love like Lucifer's, could make one's vision become tunneled, a pinpoint focused on one sole thing.

And in Lucifer's case, it was Hades's protection.

So in order to avoid a falling out, a battle that was unnecessary right now of all times, I would keep the deal to myself.

Making excuses to go see Zeus would be easy. I was now fully involved in the war, no longer dormant and no longer quiet. The Source had called to me the night of the Atlantean return and it was time for me to play my hand. I had plenty of excuses to go to Olympus to discuss battle strategies and whatnot with the gods there, and it had also become the unofficial headquarters of the war planning anyway.

I'd settled to meet Zeus on Olympus the next day at his temple.

For the time being, however, I was trapped in the palace in Hell. I'd slept on the canopy of Lucifer's bed, finding it a safe place considering the two lovers appeared to be at odds, and were not planning any love making. Instead, I had fallen asleep watching Lucifer go into a fitful sleep and Hades staring up at the canopy, as if he sensed me there, but felt no need to point it out.

I woke up early the next morning, before either of them, transporting myself to my quarters that was two stories above this room. My room was a combination of new and old, with Tiffany lamps and Victorian furniture, a large flat screen television and stereo system collecting dust, a black four poster bed with a cushioned headboard, a Chinese styled armoire, and paintings from Japan's early era. I went to the modern metal dresser, pulling out a pair of workout leggings and a tank top with a matching teal running jacket.

The weather was still frigid outside, snow blanketing the land as we pulled into yet another year. Still, it wasn't cold enough to disrupt my routine as I walked through the palace, taking my time to leave as I admired the handiwork of the construction workers who had to, yet again, rebuild the palace after being blown to pieces during the last Titan war.

While it still maintained an old English feel to it, the interior was entirely modern with sleek marble flooring and white wall paneling to match a gilded ceiling that stretched high, high overhead. Expensive French sconces lined the walls, making everything glitter and glow. Million cred drapery hung from the walls and paintings that ranged from old style Renaissance to postmodernism to something that looked like a toddler had gotten a hold of it and splattered it with paint-- Oh wait, that was one of Alaric's finger paintings from when he was a child.

I paused to stare at the particular fingerpainting, remembering the event quite well. Alaric had, indeed, been a toddler, tiny and cute just like his siblings, but with a hyperactivity that drove Lucifer up the walls. We'd had at least three nannies quit before Raven decided to stay home due to a war injury. He'd stuck around and showed Alaric how to stop painting on the walls, but on canvas instead.