Blessings from Khaos

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Hērmês tuned back into the screens after watching as Apollō led Alina to Wyoming in a bid to reconnect her with Octavius and also help her chase Lukáо̄n down.

The three questers and their satyr protector made their way to Aiolos' palace.

Hērmês turned to the smaller screens which showed Aiolos Nightly! and Olympian Weather.

Gleeson moved away over to Zéphuros' pasture as the god of the west wind was also the messenger of spring. Apóllōn and Huákinthos both huffed, turning their nose up at the sight. The two of them had never forgiven him for his slight (and it was truly a wonder that Venus still allowed the wind god around her son. She was not fond of those that attempted to come between khaos-mates).

Jason, Leo, and Drew walked down the road to the steps of the palace. They passed through the front doors into a white marble foyer decorated with purple banners that read Olympian Weather Channel, and some that just read OW!

"Hello!" An aetai with cheerfully twinkling brown eyes approached them, her dark hair blowing softly behind her, and her white gown billowed around her like that one picture of Marilyn Monroe (Venus' daughter that she still grieved for). She had a white tablet computer in her hand. "Are you from Lord Ζεύς?" she asked. "We've been expecting you."

"Are you a ghost?" Jason asked. Drew palmed her face.

The smile turned into a pout. "I'm an aura, sir. A wind nymph, as you might expect, working for the lord of the winds. My name is Mellie. We don't have ghosts."

Drew smiled, gracefully. "Of course, you don't. Pardon him. You know how men are in the face of true beauty. And you are beautiful. You remind me of my Mother, Aphrodite. You could honestly be one of my siblings."

"Oh, she's really good," Aglaïa murmured, sitting beside her husband.

"Thank you," Aphrodítē and Apóllōn preened.

Mellie blushed. "Oh ... well, then. So you are from Ζεύς?"

"Er," Jason said, "I'm the son of Zeus, yeah."

Hērmês huffed in amusement. Loopholes gotta love them.

"Excellent! Please, right this way." She led them through some security doors into another lobby, consulting her tablet as she floated. She didn't look where she was going, but apparently it didn't matter as she drifted straight through a marble column with no problem. "We're out of prime time now, so that's good," she mused. "I can fit you in right before his 11:12 spot."

"Um, okay," Jason said.

The smaller screen showed Aiolos' face saying something, but because his makeup terrified all of the gods that dealt with beauty and charm, it was out of immediate view and muted.

It didn't take long for them to reach the central section of Aiolos' fortress though it came after Mellie somewhat flirted with Jason and Veritas had to be held back then she almost walked them into a pit. Mellie led them toward the middle of the chamber, where a loose sphere of flat-panel video screens floated around a kind of control center. A man hovered inside, checking monitors and reading paper airplane messages.

The man paid them no attention as Mellie brought them forward. She pushed a forty-two-inch Sony out of their way and led them into the control area.

Leo whistled. "I got to get a room like this."

Aphrodítē scowled, "It's almost as bad as Árēs' training room."

"Oh, I do not think anything was worse than Hḗphaistos' forge," Aglaïa told her.