I summoned all of my current followers into the conference room. There were so many and we had reached conference room capacity with thirty-eight in there. I would have to move to Olympia very soon, but not until I had Helios back.

“First, who knows how to contact Hecate?” I asked when everyone was settled.

“I can do that,” Titan said. “She is in Hades' realm and so is her father, Perses. Perses will know how to find her.” Titans always seemed to keep in touch with each other.

“Go, now. We need her as soon as she comes.”

Titan nodded and vanished from the room.

“Next. I have three dwellings. I need Ariadne and Dion and Hercules and Hebe to go to Bill’s house in Newport News to watch it. Pursue your hobbies, have friends over, whatever you like. Make certain you set up strong wards around it to keep out our kind. Anyone wanting to visit there will have to call one of those four to get permission. Dion, you are in charge. Also, continue your negotiations to purchase this entire building.

“If any of you don't have a cell phone, get one.

“I need a contingent to go to Olympia Island. Boreas, I need you to take care of Helios’s horses that are now living on Olympia. Also, Irene, Metis, Phoebe, and Themis, you four will go to my island to make it more livable. Hire any domestics you wish. Nike, Bia, and Jason, you three are in charge of security, there. Set up wards to keep our kind out. Again, if anyone wants to visit they will have to contact one of those three via sat phone. Metis, you are in charge of the household. Calliope, I would like for you to be my personal assistant if you want the job.”

“The rest of you will stay here.”

Phobos interrupted, “So you can keep an eye on us like we are little children.”

“As you pointed out, Phobos, you have been released from prison today and yes, you will spend time under my scrutiny. You need to impress the hell out of me.

“Now, Memory, you are in charge of the household here at the Highrise. Hire or recruit as many domestics as you like.

“You all may go to your respective assignments.” All of us can transport instantly, but some still prefer the old fashioned way. Those walked out of the conference room and others simply transported out.

I was happy with the new arrangements because they eliminated several people in my immediate vicinity. Of the remaining ones, I intended to only allow Ares, Bill, and by extension, Hermes to remain close to me at all times. Calliope would eventually become indispensable to me as we both figured out what I needed.

Everyone needed to do something other than waiting for me to make their day complete. Hermes could summon anyone I wished, so they didn't have to dance in attendance. In the meantime, I wanted Apollo to stick close until we had Helios sorted.

It was Ares who spoke next. “Athena, do you think you should keep Circe in your seat of power?”

“She will naturally be weaker here,” Apollo said.

“I don’t understand what is going on. Not really,” Bill said.

“Helios is possessed,” Hermes told him. “Two people occupy the same body.”

So many times in the past few weeks I have felt like I was a step behind everyone else and it happened, again. “Wait a moment...” I arose from my seat at the head of the conference table. “Apollo, Bill, Hermes, Ares, Memory stay here. The rest of you get out. Get off of this floor and go elsewhere.” I waited until the room was cleared and the people I requested to stay moved closer to the head of the table where I stood. “What if Circe transported herself into Helios?”

From the resulting stunned silence, apparently, no one considered that as a possibility.

“Is that even possible?” Memory asked.

“Theoretically,” Apollo said, “but I don’t know anyone who has tried.”

I said, “I assumed that during teleportation if you ended up inside a tree for example all you had to do is to keep your head and immediately transport out again. Or so I told myself.”

“Well, we can try it,” Hermes said.

“Another experiment?” Ares asked.

“Sure, then we will know.” Hermes would be willing, I knew. “Look, think about physics. All of us are mostly empty space if you factor in the spaces between each atom or between the subatomic particles in each atom. So two individuals wouldn’t precisely occupy the same space, but rather a microscopically adjacent space.”

Ares said, “But what about the chemical bonds that hold individual atoms or an individual together? Would occupying the adjacent space break those bonds?”

“There is only one way to find out,” Hermes said and he immediately vanished from my sight.

“Where did he go?” I asked in a whisper mostly because I was very frightened for Hermes and the person he chose to experiment with.

“Right here,” Bill said.

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And then Bill/Hermes said, “This is weird. Hey, move over. You’re crowding my brain.” Then, “I am trying to prove a point here. You move over.” And, “Oh, yeah, well since you put it that way. How are you doing that? I mean how are you talking with my mouth?” Then, “Because you are letting me do it.”

Apollo said, “Look closely at Bill. He looks fuzzy around the edges or not completely in focus.”

“He’s right. I noticed that effect with Helios. He seemed bigger or something,” I said.

Then Hermes stood next to the table, again.

“What was it like?” I asked Hermes.

“I didn’t have complete control of Bill. I tried to move his arm and I couldn’t. I was able to talk because Bill let me.”

“Could you sense his thoughts? His brain?”

“No more than normal. I got the impression that because his body is much bigger than mine, he had more control of it than me.” Hermes looked at Bill and asked, “What about you?”

“I suddenly felt heavier, like moving my arm was twice as hard as it should be. “

“We have proven it can be done,” I said. “But, what if the person is not willing? I assume that is the case with Helios.”

Apollo stood and paced along with me. A family trait? “She would have to be able to keep him subdued because the moment he got the upper hand, she loses control.”

“Does that mean,” I asked, “That Eli is unconscious, still?”

“I don’t know.” Apollo looked as puzzled as me.

Ares said, “Hold on a second, Athena. When he was looking for you, right after Apollo woke him up, remember how slowly he moved?”

I replayed the scene that happened in the course of a few seconds. Eli did move very slowly. “He was trying to prevent her from getting to me. So not unconscious, but certainly weaker.”

“The question is, is Helios naturally weaker than Circe?” Apollo said.

I answered, “I wouldn’t have thought so.”

“Athena,” Ares said, kindly, “You are very naturally prejudiced toward him. He is your husband and you likely have a blind spot.”

“What Ares is saying,” Apollo said, “Is Helios gets his strength from you.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “Helios can do things I cannot.”

“But that doesn’t make him stronger than you in a metaphysical sense,” Ares argued. “You are the strongest of us all. Zeus even told you that you could have taken his throne any time you wanted it. You have always underestimated yourself, choosing the easy way. When you destroyed Eli’s Valley, it wasn’t a newly acquired skill. You have always had that ability. But, I had to push you almost to my own death to provoke you into action. It is therefore reasonable to assume that you are much stronger than your husband. You are much stronger than me and that is not easy for me to admit.”

I know my incredulity must have shown on my face, but they all waited for me to wrap my head around the possibility.

“That means I am much stronger than that bitch inside Eli,” I moved toward the door and Ares stopped me with a strong hand on my arm. “Don’t be premature, Athena. Circe will not kill him. She wants you and being inside Eli is the easiest way to get to you. She isn’t ready to make her move, yet.”

Memory, who had been silent during all of our interchanges spoke, “Listen to Ares, Lady Athena. Helios will not give in to her very easily especially because he knows what she wants. Wait for Titan to return with Hecate.”

“I hate waiting,” I said, more to myself than to anyone else. “I’ll be in the penthouse,” I said as I exited the conference room to the lobby and headed toward the elevators. Phobos hovered near the elevators. “Did you hear everything you wanted to hear, godling?” I spat the words at him. I wasn’t in the mood for court intrigue and I had no intention of tolerating it.

Phobos didn’t answer, however. He had the good sense to at least appear contrite.

I sent energy into his body, exploding millions of capillaries in his head. He dropped to his knees and clapped his hands over his ears as if he was trying to hold his head together. Blood dripped from his nose, ears, eyes, and mouth. A scream of agony was ripped from his throat as terrifying as a Harpie’s cry.

Phobos fell forward and writhed on the floor, leaving smears of blood behind. He gurgled as his throat filled up with strangling blood and then he vomited blood because his stomach filled with the stuff. Phobos coughed and pink froth flew from his mouth. Even around his fingernails oozed blood. I pummeled him from the inside, battering and bruising. I released him a moment before he died. He stayed very still, save his whimpering from the pain I inflicted.

“Next time I tell you to get lost, you had better listen, Phobos, or I will not stop until you are dead. I do not love you and I will not hesitate to kill you.” Phobos cowered before me. “Tell your cronies what happens when someone defies me.” And then I placed a ward on him to prevent his wounds from rapidly regenerating. He would heal human slow and his purple face and blackened fingers would be a reminder to all for weeks.

The others stood as witnesses to my handiwork, apparently summoned when Phobos screamed. I saw the slight smile on Ares’s face and the look of shock on Bill’s. “Phobos is mine, Bill, to do with as I will. I gave him instructions and he disobeyed. Period. Ares, get this trash out of my lobby.”

Ares reached down and pulled Phobos across his shoulders in a fireman’s carry. Without a word, they vanished from my sight.

“Athena,” Bill argued, “You can’t beat the living crap out of someone just because they don’t do what you ask.”

I sighed and then said, “Bill, Phobos gave me an oath just today and he already broke his promise.”

Memory said, “Bill, she has to set a few examples as a way to firmly establish her power base. No one of us will dispute her right to punish offenders.”

Bill shook his head and then said, “I have a lot to learn.” Hermes put a comforting hand on Bill’s arm.

“As I said, I am going to the penthouse.” I touched the call button and waited in silence for the elevator to arrive. No one accompanied me.

I walked out to the balcony to contemplate the darkness. Nightfall in early December was always early and in a couple of weeks, it would be dark by 5:00. I watched the lights of the city and the ships on the bay. One of the Navy’s aircraft carriers slid by heading out to sea and support vessels followed. Traffic moved slowly over the bridge. A local bar was filled with revelers and I could hear their laughter and shouts of joy. A lone jogger headed down the beach. Nothing seemed wrong with the human world, but my world was in turmoil.

I wasn’t startled when Ares brought a jacket to me and draped it across my shoulders. I slid my arms into the sleeves, grateful for the soft comfort and warmth because the night was chilly and frost threatened. “Ares, I feel lost.”

“You aren’t lost. Merely at a loss. Big difference.”

“My poor Helios,” I said with a sigh.

“We’ll get him back. Don’t worry.”

“When did you become the picture of confidence?” I asked him. He slid his arms around me from behind and pulled me into a close embrace.

“To stay inside Helios, she has to expend a lot of energy. She can’t keep it up forever.”

“Can she steal energy from Helios?” I asked.

“It's possible. If she does, then the problem for us is she may start draining power from the three of us, too--you, Bill, and me. We’ll have to watch Bill. He will crumble, first.”

“I know. I am worried about him, too. And you.” I told my brother.

“We will defeat her, Athena. We will. I want Helios back as much as you do.”

I grinned and told my brother, “I doubt that.”