Chapter Eight
Ares found Hermes sitting atop a skyscraper overlooking Manhattan. The Messenger God was fond of high places and Ares often wondered why. Did Hermes prefer not to have anything to do with the people who dwelled below, or did he prefer his privacy so much he found it relaxing to sit in most places people would find terrifying.
“I didn’t expect to see you around here.” Hermes was sitting on the edge of the building, his legs dangling over the edge. “Not the sort of place to grab a coffee.”
“I brought my own.” Ares sat down and thought up his favorite brew. “What do you think about this Fated Mates business?”
“You were never one for small talk.” Hermes chuckled. “Has this got to do with that business with Zeus, Paulie, and Hera?”
“No. Zeus and Paulie seem happy with their new son and Hera appears to be adapting to life on Earth. As none of them think about me, I don’t see the point in worrying about them.” Ares took a sip from his coffee. “I was thinking about mates in a more general sense. For example, why are the Fates giving mates to the gods now, when we’ve all been alone for eons? I’ve never heard any god complain about not having a significant other.”
“It’s not like the Fates confide in me,” Hermes said, leaning over and sniffing Ares’ coffee. “Hmm, that smells good.” Seconds later he had a cup in his hand. “I do know Hades was someone who was actively mate hunting until his consort came along. Personally, I think it’s got to do with that lot.” He pointed his cup in the direction of the population below.
“Mortals?” Ares frowned.
“Beings other than gods,” Hermes corrected. “Think about it. Back in the day when our father was worshipped and all that rubbish, the known population was tiny compared to now. The Fates wove their threads of life, and that was a natural order of things.
“It’s my opinion, and just an opinion mind, that when people started to improve their quality of life and lived longer, they had more children and surprise, surprise those children lived, then the weave the Fates manage just got too big.
“It’s quite ironic, what’s happening now. The women of the Pantheons all had their children, but the men were all off fighting wars and making dicks of themselves.” Hermes winked at Ares and chuckled again. “Have you noticed all of the gods who’ve found their mates are male, and their mates are all men as well?”
Ares took a swig of his coffee, thinking about what Hermes had said. He wouldn’t call them active friends, but Hermes had been surprisingly helpful to Ares over the years. He was one of the few in the Greek Pantheon who didn’t actively hate him. “I believe Frigg, from the Norse Pantheon is actively seeking her mate on Earth. After Odin found his, she was very supportive.”
“Frigg is one in a hundred. She at least values life on Earth unlike others we won’t mention.”
Ares thought about what he’d seen in his tabletop, but decided some things were best not mentioned. “What did you mean about how male gods finding male mates was ironic?”
“They’re looking after children, aren’t they?” Hermes swung around, tucking one leg under him as he waved his coffee mug around. “Thor, Hades, Poseidon, even Zeus himself are playing happy families with their mates, and actively looking after their new offspring. I think it’s hilarious.”
Children? Ares hadn’t even considered that angle with a new mate. He already had plenty of them, and like most other people in his life, they didn’t have anything to do with him, nor did he with them. “I wonder why the Fates did that. I know they needed children to provide more permanent threads in their weave, but why not children to female mates?”
“Because society – that down there – is changing.” Hermes waved at the streets below. “And yet the gods have been stuck in the good old days, which you and I both know were never that good. You imagine if someone like Zeus, for example, was gifted a female mate. He’d impregnate her, the way he used to do with anyone else, but you wouldn’t catch him changing a diaper or reading his kid a bedtime story. If the Fates gave him a female mate, his behavior wouldn’t be any different than it was with any of the other women he’s had and left over history.”
“Are you sure?” Ares thought Hermes might be generalizing just a bit too much. “I was sure that when a god mated with a shifter, they couldn’t be unfaithful.”
“That’s definitely true. You only need to see Poseidon as an example of that. But simply not being able to stick your dick in other people is hardly an indicator of changed values or behavior. Zeus would still be living with the idea of patriarchy, as would Poseidon. Now, Zeus reads bedtime stories to his son, and both Poseidon and Hades went and got themselves pregnant.” Hermes’s lips twisted into a wicked grin. “That was fun to watch, especially with Poseidon. And look – Hades loved it so much he’s doing it again. That little chipmunk shifter of his has got hidden depths.”
“You were spying on Poseidon when he was pregnant?” Ares wasn’t sure if he should be horrified or laugh.
“I didn’t need to spy on him. His complaining could be heard on Olympus.” Hermes nudged his shoulder. “Why all the questions about Fated Mates? Are you hoping you’ll find one of your own?”
“No, I’m not worried about that,” Ares said, suddenly feeling distracted. He needed to get back to Boston. “I’m just not sure what I’d do with one if I claimed that person. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly likable.”
“That’s only on Olympus.” Hermes snorted. “Who cares about the opinions of people who should’ve been allowed to die out when they stopped being worshipped.”
Sometimes, following Hermes’s train of thought was like walking through a labyrinth. “Barely anyone worshipped me in the first place.”
“Exactly. So, you’ve got nothing to live up to. In case you haven’t noticed, the only gods who have mated with another god so far have been Baby and Owen, Silvanus and Artemas, oh, and Loki and Anubis, but they are all exceptions. Silvanus and Owen are older than Zeus, and Anubis was a Death God, so maybe that’s why he got Loki. Who knows? But everyone else so far has found themselves with shifters…”
“Ra has got a shifter and a vampire, and Zeus’s mate Paulie is a demi-god.”
“Ra still has a shifter as well, and if you think about it, it was Paulie’s tiger that claimed Zeus first when he was being a dick.”
Ares chuckled. In his opinion Zeus was still a dick. “Fair enough. So, your answer to a mating problem is just don’t be a dick.”
“Pretty much. From what I hear, shifters are very forgiving, and so long as you don’t pull a Zeus and leave your mate alone for months, you should be fine. I still can’t believe he was so phobic about being bitten, and look what happened to him. He was lucky Paulie was a demi-god, or that tiger could’ve gotten very sick, knowing he had a mate and not being with him. He should’ve known the Fates don’t make mistakes.”
“That’s what I’ve heard.” Ares stood up and blinked away his now cold coffee. That urgency to get back to Boston was increasing, but he did understand how a conversation worked. “What about you, Hermes? Are you seeking your mate as you zip around the world and between the realms?”
“I’m open to the opportunity.” Hermes shrugged. “It would curtail my lifestyle big time, but the thing I keep remembering is that the Fates give us mates as a gift. It’s like, I think it was Seth, the Egyptian God of Desserts and Storms, who said that being given a mate meant he hadn’t been forsaken, and that’s a pretty potent idea when you think about it.”
A gift? That did have a nice ring to it. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Thanks for the chat, Hermes, I’ll see you around.”
“Say hi to your mate for me,” Hermes said as Ares disappeared off the roof.
I didn’t tell him I had one, did I? Deciding it wasn’t worth worrying about, Ares spread out his essence so he could have a bird’s eye view of the pool house.
But the raccoon wasn’t in the house, where it was warm and safe. He was outside…in the pool…with a scrubbing brush…and from what Ares could see, he was wearing barely any clothes. What on Earth are you doing?