Chapter Seven:

Duke:

"Jennifer, how…?" I asked, in shock. "How are you…?"

"Alive?" she completed my question, to which I just nodded. "Hope brought me back. She's been working on it for like a month, Duke. Before that, she said Mila helped her with some spell work so it wouldn't be as dangerous for her to do this for her."

Hope, I thought suddenly and looked for her, finding her in Dwight's arms.

"Is she…?" I asked him, fearing the worst.

"She's not dead. In fact, her pulse is strong, Duke. I'm pretty sure she's just passed out from exhaustion," he said, looking as relieved as I suddenly felt.

"Thank god. I never would've forgiven myself…" I started.

"She knew that, Duke," Jennifer said, stepping closer to me, reaching for my face. "She knew how angry you would be with her if anything bad happened to her, but she insisted on doing this anyway. I tried to ask her if she was sure, and she told me that you needed me… especially since you found out about Mila."

"What do you mean?" I asked Jennifer.

"Hope is working on figuring out how to help Mila, Duke. But she is worried that you're slipping into a dark place she can't pull you back from, one that she thinks I can," Jennifer said. "I guess she wants me to be here for you while she figures out how to help Mila, like she told you she would."

"But she's so weak right now, Jennifer," Dwight spoke up. "Last time she over-exerted herself like this and kept pushing her boundaries we nearly lost her. And that was just with the spirits of Haven. What is she facing to help Mila?"

Duke was looking between me and Jennifer.

"Well, Crocker? What is Mila in the middle of that you asked Hope to find a way to help her?" Dwight asked again.

"She's been cursed since the day she was born… by the Olympian goddess Hera, consort to the Olympian god Zeus. I asked Hope to see if there was any way to break Mila's curse, which she's under because her mother cheated on her husband and that resulted in Mila's conception," I finally answered Dwight.

Hope:

I knew I was out cold. The thing was, I didn't know where I was.

"You're on your way to the Olympian Throne Room," the man I was with told me.

"You're one of the Olympians, aren't you?" I asked. "That's how you knew what I was thinking."

"Yes, I am, Hope. My name is…" he started.

"Hermes, I'm guessing, Messenger of the gods?" I finished for him. "You were sent to bring me?"

"You are as smart as Apollo has said you were," he said to me.

"Why am I being brought to Olympus? Am I being brought before the entire Olympian Council?" I asked.

"I can't tell you everything. I can tell you that you are not meeting in front of the entire Council. You are meeting in front of Lords Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, and Apollo, and Lady Hera. That is all the information I can give you."

At that point, Hermes pulled up outside of the Olympian Throne Room. I felt tiny compared to everything on Olympus. My nerves were going, but I refused to let them. I took a deep breath, steeled my nerves, and made my way up the steps, where I waited for Hermes. When he met me, he led me into the Throne Room.

"Lord Zeus, Lady Hera, Lord Poseidon, Lord Apollo, Lord Hades, I present to you the witch you have called for, Dr. Hope Corey Crocker," Hermes said, as he motioned for me to step forward.

I stepped ahead of Hermes, in front of the five Olympians, and bowed to them. Showing them respect by bowing was something you just did in front of gods, as you would royalty.

"My lords and lady," I said. "I am honored to be in your presence… though I am uncertain for the cause of this honor."

"We would like to discuss with you some of your actions," Hades said. "Such as resurrecting your brother, Duke Crocker, after he had been dead for at least a day."

"As well as your quest to find a way to free my weapon," Hera said. "Your cousin has been mine since before she was born. She was born since she was conceived, since I allowed her birth."

Dwight:

"Duke, what do you mean you asked Hope to try to find a way out of Mila's curse?" I asked. "It sounds like a contract with one of the ancient powers she used to help protect all of us when she was dealing with the spirits. You saw how much channeling their energy took out of her! You're basically asking her to go against these ancient powers in order to free Mila! That could kill her! Hope is powerful and capable of many things, Duke, but she's not a god!"

"I didn't think about it. I just felt so bad for Mila and she's Hope's cousin who woke her up after the spirits tried to kill her… I didn't think about what would happen…" Duke stammered.

"Dwight!" Jennifer shouted. "Stop it! Duke obviously feels terrible about what you just made him realize. Hope is his baby sister. You don't need to beat him up like this. I know you love her, but would she want you to break her brother? You're both scared here. Hope just resurrected me, but that doesn't mean she's just going to immediately put a plan into motion to get Mila freed. Have some faith in her. Hope is strong and she knows what she's doing. Trust in that."

"Jennifer's right, Duke. I'm sorry. I'm just scared for Hope. I do love Hope more than I love anyone except Lizzie. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her."

"I'm sorry, Dwight. I'm so sorry, Hope. I shouldn't have asked you to do this," Duke said as he got closer to Hope and started stroking her hair. Then, looking at me while he continued to stroke her hair he said, "Can you ask Delia to keep her at her house? Just until she wakes up? This way she's not alone and Delia can hook up an IV and anything she needs to monitor her vitals? Tell her it will be paid for, just give you the total and you'll get her the money? I know she still hates me…"

"Why does my sister hate you, Duke? I know the four of us said we'd stay out of each other's relationships, but you want me to ask Lia to help Hope instead of you calling her yourself. I'll do it, you know I will, but why is she so pissed off at you?" I asked.

"When we did the ritual, the spirits showed me that I had been hurting Delia, Dwight. I had no idea that I was being that rough with her because she never told me that I was hurting her or else I would've stopped, I swear it. I don't get off on causing a woman pain she doesn't like. When they put us together in the same vision, I guess to see what I would do, knowing I'd hurt her, she tried to distract me when I called her on it. I stopped her and put her in an ice bath, getting her to explain why she let me hurt her, which isn't my story to tell you, by the way, but it was clear she wasn't going to stop letting me from hurting her, Dwight. So, realizing that I was bad for her, I ended our relationship. I couldn't keep hurting her, Dwight. Especially not since I knew I was hurting her at that point. I care about Delia and couldn't do it. So, I let her go, so I couldn't physically hurt her anymore. She's been pissed at me since," Duke said, his eyes and voice so haunted I couldn't even bring myself to be pissed off at himself.

I remembered how lost Duke looked when he came out of the ritual with Lia. This sounded right. Why would he lie to me about causing my sister physical pain knowing I'd hurt him? Something was wrong with Lia, but clear and present was Hope.

"I believe you, Duke," I said to him. "Why would you lie about hurting my sister to my face? I'll call her and make sure Hope is taken care of. You and Jennifer get out of here. Head back to The Gull and then to the Rouge. I'll bring Hope back to the mainland on her boat and then call Lia. I'll let you know when I know anything."

"Thanks, Dwight," Jennifer said, seeing Duke was in a state of shock.

Hope:

"We shall start by discussing the fact that you have resurrected three people, Dr. Crocker," Hades started, "though only one is of concern to us. Your brother, Duke, died by another mortal's hands. He comes from a long line of murderers and torturers, as do you on your father's side. Technically, he belongs to the underworld. Yet, you brought him back. Why shouldn't I take your soul now in his place?"

I looked at Hades. He looked angry. I tried to keep my fear of my father's mention deep inside.

"Lord Hades," I began, "I meant no disrespect to either you or your kingdom by resurrecting my brother. Honestly, I never considered it might anger you. From the time I was a child, I was raised knowing the vision of my future that my mother had before her death."

"Apollo," Zeus interrupted me. "Her mother was one of your followers, was she not?"

"Yes, Lord Zeus. Penny Corey. Her entire family use all of us as patrons of theirs for different things. Penny had the gift of foresight and healing, so she was one of mine," Apollo replied.

"Hermes," Lord Zeus said looking at him, "go retrieve Penny Corey from the underworld. Give her enough clarity of her life to answer our questions regarding this vision."

With that, Hermes left me alone with the Olympians. They did not say a word to me for a few moments, until Hermes returned… with my mother.

"Mom," I couldn't stop myself from choking out.

"My dear Hope," she said to me, but she didn't dare move towards me. Instead she looked to the Olympians and bowed. "My lords and ladies. Lord Hermes said you had some questions for me?"

"Yes," Hades started. "Your child is claiming you left information about a vision of her future before your death. Is this true?"

"Yes, Lord Hades, it is. Not long after I stopped seeing what my future was meant to hold and I realized I was pregnant, I realized I would die in childbirth. It was after I accepted my fate that I began seeing my daughter's future," Mom said.

"What was this vision you saw for your daughter?" Hades asked.

"I saw that she had a brother, where her father was from. I knew that was Haven, Maine because I did my best to find out everything about him after what I learned during our one interaction…" Mom started but was cut off by Hera.

"Where you cheated on your fiancé, did you not?" Hera asked.

"I did, Lady Hera, but I was honest with him. I told him the truth of what I had done the following day, long before I knew I was pregnant or that I would die in childbirth. I gave him a choice, to break off our engagement because of my actions and only be each other's high priest and priestess, or try again, and put the past behind us. He chose to put the past behind us as I had done for him after he cheated on me for a few months with my cousin," Mom said. "I had done something wrong in my relationship, Lady Hera, and I knew it. So the first chance I got, I told him and he chose to give me a second chance."

Hera had a huffy look on her face.

"Please continue about the vision for Hades," Zeus said.

"Yes, Lord Zeus," Mom said. "The vision I saw that at some point when her brother was an adult, she would need to leave the family to travel to Haven to resurrect him. His resurrection was going to be vital for at least two reasons."

"And what would those be, Penny?" Hades asked.

"For one, Lord Hades, Hope needed to resurrect him at the exact time the Troubles and aether were being sucked back into the Void with Croatoan. By doing this, all of the Troubles that would have remained within his body due to the Crocker Curse, which is what made his family line killers, would have stayed in this world. The second, the police chief needed him. He would have lost his best friend and his lover within days if the resurrection hadn't happened. He wouldn't have handled it. A third reason was the former police chief was finally reunited with his twin sister, who he thought was dead and hadn't seen since they both left Haven when they were 18."

"Nobody would have been able to access those Troubles from her brother, Penny," Hades said. "I don't think the other reasons are sufficient to steal a soul from my kingdom."

"Lord Hades, if anybody from the world the aether came from returned to this world, they have been able to extract the Troubles from Duke Crocker. They also might have been able to figure out a way to move the Crocker Curse from his family line to another. Hope's resurrecting Duke prevented that from ever being a problem. She resurrected him as the Troubles were being pulled out of everybody. He is now as normal as he was before his family Curse hit him," Mom said.

"Is this true, Dr. Crocker?" Hades asked me.

"Yes, Lord Hades. That is the vision I had been told about when I was starting my senior year of high school when I was 14. It was when they explained why my magickal training had always been fast-tracked… they never knew how long I would be with them before I would have to leave, that only I would know when it was time. So when I got to Haven, I found Duke's body and made sure the timing was precise, starting it when the aether starting gathering in one spot in town. I saw the aether from the Troubles leaving his body as his body was coming back. By the time he was fully resurrected he was Trouble and Crocker Curse-free," I said.

"And you're sure of this?" Hades asked.

"Yes, My Lord," I replied. "I've seen, as a result of the spirits of Haven, what Duke was like when the Troubles and the Crocker Curse were at their worst with him. He is nothing like that anymore. He is my caring older brother who I love very much and would do anything for."

"Including take on the Olympian Council?" Zeus asked.

"Lord Zeus?" I asked confused.

"Hermes! Take Penny back to the Underworld where she belongs," Hades said.

"Mom!" I screamed as I turned in time to see her disappearing with Hermes as she reached towards me.

"It doesn't feel good to have something ripped away from you, does it, Dr. Crocker?" Hera asked, as I fought to keep my boiling blood from getting the best of me.

"No, Lady Hera, it doesn't. But she has been lost to me my entire life," I replied, keeping my tone even.

"You have always been a faithful follower, Hope," Apollo said to me. "Why do you now want to take on the Olympian Council as Lord Zeus has asked?"

"I have no idea what you speak of, Lord Apollo," I said.

Poseidon gripped his hand into a fist and I felt like I was being crushed. It was hard to breathe.

"Do not lie to us, Girl! Especially not after you have called on Apollo and I personally to help you often!" Poseidon demanded as he released his fist and apparently his grip on me.

Dwight:

I brought Hope to Delia's house. She had the equipment to set her up on an IV and to monitor her vitals in the guest room on the first floor. Not long after I helped her set up the machines and we saw that Hope's vitals were stable, they started going nuts. Hope looked like she was being crushed. She was whimpering in pain.

"What the hell is going on with her, Dwight?" Lia asked me.

"Honestly, I don't know. When we got to her she collapsed, but she was in the same shape she was in when we got her hooked up to the machine. This is new," I said, struggling not to panic. "Her pulse was strong and steady. She wasn't showing any signs of pain. I don't know what just happened."

"I thought you said the spirits left her alone."

"They did, except Simon Crocker, but he can't get into your house, my house, or the Cape Rouge. They're all protected."

"Then this has to be something stronger than the spirits, Dwight."

I didn't know what to think. Then a lightbulb went off in my head.

"Shit!" I exclaimed. "Lia, get oxygen here in case of an emergency. Have Gloria bring a portable x-ray machine to check Hope since she was just crying out in so much pain."

"What's going on, Dwight?"

"Hope has only told me of one thing stronger than the spirits in Have, Lia."

"What?"

"The ancient powers… gods, like the Olympians. She called on a few of them for healing and protection work since she's been here."

"Wait, Hope is working with the gods?"

"She has been. But Duke asked her to do something. It could be considered challenging them. But it was to help her cousin, Mila. She's apparently cursed, Lia."

"So Crocker asked his little sister to do something that could be considered going against her patrons as a witch. Dwight, the gods could decide to kill her for having such hubris!" Lia exclaimed. "If they've pulled her from her body and they've got her in some sort of trial… if they find her guilty, her punishment could be death and eternal damnation in the fields of punishment of the underworld."

"Then we need to hope that she can prove that she isn't trying to challenge them, Lia. Because I can't lose her. I love her too much."

Hope:

I was still struggling to breathe, but I had gotten myself upright again after what Poseidon had done to me.

"Do you intend to challenge the Council of Olympus?" Poseidon growled at me.

"Lord Poseidon, I mean no disrespect to any of the Olympians. You have been my Patrons since I was a child. Please, I do not know what you are speaking of, me challenging the Council," I pled with him, trying to prepare myself for another of his attacks on me, which he was clearly about to unleash.

"Brother, stop," Zeus said. "Look at the child. She is quivering, pleading with you to believe her. Perhaps she is not lying."

"Zeus!" Hera exclaimed. "She's conspiring…"

"Hera!" Zeus cut her off. "We will hear her out before we choose whether or not she was committing treason against Olympus. Hestia!"

A woman who was by the fire stepped forward.

"Please tend to our guest," Zeus said.

"Of course, Lord Zeus," Hestia said.

She started to lead me out of the Throne Room.

"Hermes! Get the entire Council together. We will hear Dr. Crocker's side in no more than 45 minutes," Zeus said.

"You must have done something awful for Zeus to call the Council to session," Hestia said to me as she put a plate of food in front of me.

"I don't know what it is, Lady Hestia, though thank you for your kindness," I replied.

"Queen Hera believes you are conspiring against her on something," Hestia supplied.

Hera… Mila! It was the only thing I could think of.

"Oh no!" I blurted out.

"What is it, Child?" Hestia asked. "Are her accusations true?"

"No, it's not that, Lady Hestia," I said. "My cousin, Mila, has been cursed by Hera her entire life. Her step-father, who raised her and treats her as his own, petitions Hera to release her all the time, to no avail. The fact that Mila has been cursed since before I was born was always kept to the Corey family… until a few weeks ago when she told my brother, Duke."

"What does that have to do with Hera's accusations?"

"He asked me if there was anything I could do to help free Mila of Hera's curse, like I had freed him of the Crocker Curse. I told him, no promises, but I would try to think of something, but ultimately only Zeus or Hera had any real power to release Mila. The only thing I can think of as me challenging the Council would be me trying to free my cousin from Hera, Lady Hestia."

"I can see how Hera would take that as treason. Mila, in her eyes, is her property, as was your mother."

"Wait, my mother? What do you mean by my mother, Lady Hestia?"

"She had already cursed Mila because her mother had cheated on her husband with your mother's fiancé. When your mother cheated on him with your father and you were conceived, it was Hera who decided you would be allowed to live, but Penny would pay for her infidelity with her life."

My heart broke. I had never thought about Mila's curse like that. The possibility of my mother's death would be another form of curse.

"Am I cursed, too, Lady Hestia?" I asked meekly.

"Only time will tell, Child. You are in a serious relationship, are you not?"

I nodded.

"Don't cheat on him."

"I love him too much. He is only the second man I've ever been with, Lady Hestia. He would have been the only man if I'd known the truth about the first, Lady Hestia."

"Hope?" Hermes said from the doorway. "We're ready for you."

"Good luck, Child. Stay true to yourself. Don't lie, and justice shall prevail," Hestia said to me.

"Thank you, Lady Hestia," I said as I bowed to her before following Hermes back to the Throne Room.

Duke:

"You know that you couldn't have understood what you were asking your sister to do when you did it, don't you?" Jennifer asked me as she stroked my hair.

We were lying in my… our bed. She was trying to comfort me. I should be basking in her. She was back from the dead. Instead, I was dreading the possibility that I may have put Hope in mortal danger.

"I should have thought about it, Jennifer. I saw what the spirits did to her because they were mad at her. She told me she went to these ancient powers in order to protect us from the spirits until she was ready to face them. Dwight found out from the spirits that the more she called on them, the more she was vulnerable to the spirits, so obviously, working against them would be even more dangerous," I said. "Dwight was right. I shouldn't have asked her without thinking it through."

"I know you feel bad, Duke, but as someone who had been cursed, you wanted to help someone else who has been cursed for her entire life. I think that's sweet. I'm sure that regardless of you asking Hope, she wouldn't act without knowing what her consequences were. Even when she resurrected me, she knew that she was exhausted, but she knew what the worst-case scenario was. She doesn't just jump into something so major. You can't blame yourself for your sister's actions. She's a big girl and she knows what she can and can't do."

"I told her not to resurrect you because it could kill her."

"She and Mila did most of the groundwork magick together weeks ago. It was ready in a candle. That magick made my body ready for the resurrection spell. She took it in small doses. Hope is a competent witch. Don't underestimate her."

"I love my little sister, Jenn. What if my request gets her killed?"

"You won't, Duke. Don't think like that. Hope will be fine. She's tougher than you think. She had to be to grow up as fast as she did."

"What do you mean?"

"Being the youngest kid in your class straight through medical school, it's not easy. People can be mean, Duke."

I thought about it. When I had first mentioned to Hope that she couldn't work hexes, she had mentioned she never said she couldn't, but that she had to decide whether it was worth the karmic points. She said sometimes she had decided it was actually worth it.

"You're right."

Jennifer kissed me and my thoughts started to clear. I realized, this must be why Hope went out of her way to bring Jennifer back to me even though I told her not to… She realized how much I needed Jennifer to help me keep a clear head. In my head, I said a silent prayer to whichever ancient power was looking over Hope's destiny in that moment, they would not punish her for me asking her to look into helping her cousin.

Hope:

Hermes led me into the Throne Room before he took his seat in his throne. I looked around and saw the 12 Olympians, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Artemis, Apollo, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Demeter, Hermes, and Dionysus. Hades, who wasn't one of the 12 Olympians and apparently felt he settled his quarrel with me, had left to return to his kingdom in the Underworld. Looking at the Olympians, I was intimidated, but I knew that I hadn't actually done anything wrong. There was a podium in the center of the room. Zeus pointed to it and I took my place there. When I got there, I bowed to him and Hera before bowing to the other Olympians. When I finished, Zeus stood.

"We are here because this child, Dr. Hope Corey Crocker, who has called on us as Patrons for so many years, is accused of Treason against the Olympian Council by my queen, Hera," Zeus said.

There were gasps around the room. Some of the Olympians looked appalled. Others looked impressed. I didn't know what to think.

"Hera," Zeus said. "would you like to tell the Council your charge against the girl?"

Hera stood up from her throne, nodding at her husband who was taking his seat.

"My fellow Olympians, we have been patron gods of the Corey family for generations. They have been keepers of magick, healers, seers, and for the most part, faithful followers. However, before this child was born, her mother and her cousin both broke the vows of fidelity in their relationships. Her mother's cousin broke the vow of marriage by sleeping with this child's mother's fiancé. The union resulted in a child, who as a punishment for her infidelity to her husband, I claimed as mine. She has been my servant, my weapon of wrath upon those who have broken their wedding vows for years now. The child's own mother cheated on her own fiancé, the man who fathered my servant, with a man whose family line was cursed to make them all killers of the Troubled in Haven, Maine. Their union, between a witch and a murderer, resulted in our follower right here. She has lived her life without her mother, Penny, who has been in the Underworld with Hades since right after the child's birth.

"Now, it has come to my attention that Dr. Crocker here, is conspiring against the Olympian Council. After being asked by her older brother, a member of the murderous line of her father's, she has decided to find a way to get my servant, Mila away from me. She has known about Mila's curse most of her life and never tried to help her, but now she wants to take her away from me. I accuse treason!"

The murmurs got even louder in the Throne Room. I was worried. I knew Hephaestus and Ares were both Hera's sons with Zeus, but Ares was closer to her. Demeter was her sister. Poseidon was her brother. Aphrodite might vote whatever way Ares did. And if Athena felt that I was actually plotting against the Council she would definitely support Hera. I couldn't be sure who would believe Hera regardless of what I had to say.

"Enough!" Athena spoke up. "Zeus, may I ask Dr. Crocker a few questions?"

"Of course, Athena," Zeus replied.

"Dr. Crocker, you stand accused of treason for conspiring to take Hera's servant. Let's start by you answering, were you planning on stealing your cousin from Hera?"

"No, Lady Athena. My brother asked me if there was anything I could to do help end Mila's curse. I told him it is complicated, really the only ones with the power to end it are Zeus and Hera, but I could try to think of anything, a deal or something else, that might work to make Hera consider freeing my cousin. Even with me telling him I could try to think of something, I told him that it was a long shot without a guarantee."

"So, you are telling me that you, in fact, were not planning on challenging Zeus or Hera for the freedom of your cousin's soul?"

"No, Lady Athena. In fact, when Lord Hermes brought me here my body had just blacked out from exhaustion. I wasn't a threat of doing anything to anyone."

"Why had you blacked out?"

"I resurrected my brother's ex-girlfriend who was from another dimension. She died months ago and was being hurt by my father, Simon Crocker, which I realized when she risked her safety to stop him from coming for me in my dreams, Lady Athena."

"Your body is unconscious right now. You have no energy to face off against a demigod, let alone a god, am I right?"

"Yes, My Lady."

"Why should I believe you?" Athena asked.

"Because she has never done anything that could seriously hurt anyone, especially not with her magick," Apollo said.

"My brother is right," Artemis agreed. "I have watched her for many years, especially since she had no mother. She may have used her magick when she shouldn't have a bit during puberty when older students, such as boys, were picking on her, but that was the most harm she has ever caused with her magick. She did it knowing the consequences and accepting them. She protects and heals people. Most recently she called on me to protect the maiden daughter of her boyfriend. She is a child, not even a teenager, and I was more than happy to help protect her."

"She calls on me to help with healing while she is working at the hospital. Whenever she has a patient who is not going to die, she calls on me to help them heal just a little faster to keep their spirits up. I am happy to help her," Apollo replied.

"And she has called on me, to help protect her brother and his ship. Ultimately, it gave her a safe place to heal from what those spirits in that town did to her during that ritual, but she loves her brother so much. He has changed so much since she came into his life. He is not the murderer that he was before she resurrected him. He is unsure of himself, whether he trusts himself around people. For a while, he used her as a shield to keep people at a distance from him. They do so much together. She has brought out the good in him, Athena," Poseidon said.

"But she is conspiring against us! Because of this brother you claim she brings the good out in!" Ares exclaimed.

"She loves her brother, Ares! She wants to try to make him happy!" Aphrodite rebutted.

"These are all logical arguments, her actions make sense," Demeter cut in. "Sister, are you sure that you did not mistake her wanting to search for an answer to her brother's question as her coming after us?"

"Are you saying you don't believe me, Sister?" Hera asked Demeter, her voice rising.

"No, Sister, of course not. I'm just clarifying that there is no misunderstanding. I can see why you would see this as treason, Sister. But trying her for treason, the consequences on this loyal follower would be permanent, undoable, Sister. I just want to make sure that you are not taking her search for answers as conspiracy against the Council. Because they are two very different things. We do not want to ruin any lives unnecessarily."

"Demeter is right, My Queen," Zeus said gently.

"How about we do this the easy way?" Hermes asked.

"And what way is that?" Dionysus asked. "Because that sounds good to me. I'm getting bored."

"We ask Hecate to brew truth potion for both of them. I bring her a strand of each of their hair so it is specific to each of them. They each take their truth person and then we question them again."

"Hera?" Zeus asked.

Hera huffed, but didn't answer the question.

"Dr. Crocker?" Zeus looked at me.

"I'll take a truth potion if that will make you believe I have no intention of trying to overthrow you guys in order to get Mila's freedom. You've all been good to my family for generations. I wouldn't disrespect you like that. If you want, I'll brew the truth potion myself, in front of the Council of course."

"I appreciate the offer, but I would prefer Hecate do it," Zeus said. "Hera, will you consent to the potion?"

"Fine!" she huffed and stormed out of the Throne Room.

"The Council is adjourned until Hecate has brewed the potion," Zeus said as he got up and went after Hera.

"It takes courage to stand up to Hera, not to lose your temper with what she said to you about your mother, and still stick to your clear strategy of telling the truth," Athena said as she came over to me. "I've watched over you for years. You're quite intelligent. It's a quality I value. Good job, Hope."

"Thank you, Lady Athena."

"I'm glad that you agreed to the truth potion," Apollo said coming over to me. "It will make this all easier to prove as a simple misunderstanding. You're going to be fine, Hope. And I'm sorry about Penny. I had no idea that Hera changed her fate."

He gave me a hug.

Dwight:

Gloria brought the portable x-ray machine over and they did x-rays of Hope's entire body. She had several inexplicably broken bones. Gloria set the bones and then as Lia cast them, Gloria led me outside.

"What happened to her?" Gloria demanded.

"She blacked out on Carpenter's Knot," I said.

"Last time I checked, blacking out didn't break random bones. Those x-rays looks like she was crushed, Dwight. So what happened to her, Dwight?"

"Honestly, Gloria? I'm not sure. I brought her here, Lia and I got her hooked to an IV and the machine to monitor her vitals, because her pulse was steady and strong when we were on Carpenter's Knot after she blacked out from exhaustion…"

"She blacked out from exhaustion?"

"She resurrected Jennifer."

"She did what?"

"Yeah, Duke is with her on the Rouge right now. But even when we got her here and hooked up to the machines her vitals were fine. She was breathing fine. Then it was like something out of a Freddy Krueger movie, Gloria. It was like something was crushing her. After a few minutes her body went limp like whatever was crushing her let her go."

"What the hell is going on with her now?"

"When I know for sure, you'll know, Gloria."

"Alright, Big Guy. I'm leaving. Check in with your sister and then you should go home to Lizzie."

"I will, Gloria. Thanks for everything."

I went back to Lia.

"Is she alright?"

"Now that she's casted and braced?" Lia asked. "Yeah. She's breathing normally again and her vitals have evened out. Go home to Lizzie, Dwight. I'll send McHugh over to you to watch Lizzie if anything changes."

"Thanks, Lia," I said as I hugged my sister and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I owe you for this."

"No, you don't. I wasn't there when Hope needed me after the ritual. I'm not making that mistake again," Lia said as she walked me to the front door.

Hope:

Hecate entered the Throne Room. She carried two flasks. One was significantly larger than the other. That had to be Hera's truth potion. She gave Hera her flask first. Then she brought the smaller flask to me.

"Thank you, Lady Hecate," I said, bowing to her, and she gave me a small smile.

"Now," Zeus began. "Before we adjourned, both Hera and Dr. Crocker agreed to take truth potions in order to expedite this process. Ladies, please drink the potion."

Hera glared at me, but I drank the truth potion without another word. Immediately I could feel a change in me. I felt the potion taking effect in me. It was at that point, after a stern look from Zeus, that Hera finally drank the truth potion she had been given. Zeus waited a few minutes. Then he made Hera my size and had her stand at a podium next to mine. Finally, all the Olympians became human-sized in their thrones and Zeus resumed the trial.

"Now, who has a question for either of them?" Zeus asked.

"Hera," Aprhodite began, "did Hope actually conspire against us to steal her cousin from you?"

"She is planning to find a way to free her!" Hera exclaimed.

"Yes, but is she conspiring, or is she just trying to find a way to work with you or Zeus to get you to agree to let her cousin go?" Athena asked.

"I don't know!" Hera replied.

"Hope," Ares started with a sneer, "how were you going to get Mila away from Hera?"

"As of yet, I had no plan. The only thing I had agreed to was to try to think of something. I had been running in my mind, but nothing I would act on without having time to sit down and see how the idea would fully flesh out when I had more time to think about it. So, as of right now, I have no plans to get my cousin away from Hera, Lord Ares."

"Do you mean to tell us that you have been accused of treason and you do not even have a fully formed idea to attempt?" Zeus asked me, glaring at Hera.

"I suppose so, Lord Zeus. I do so many things with my time, I don't always have time to just plan something as major as freeing Mila. I work in a hospital and see many patients every day that I'm there. I work at the morgue, so my friend can go back into retirement soon. I help protect my loved ones with my magick. I try to soothe their pain however I can, like bringing my brother's love of his life back right before I was brought here. I was already working on bringing her back when he asked about Mila's curse. I didn't have much time to think about it since then, so no, I had no plans, Lord Zeus."

"Hera, what do you have to say to your accused?" Lord Zeus asked.

Hera turned her back to me.

"As a result of these turn of events, all charges of treason will be dropped against you, with the apologies of the Olympic Council, Dr. Crocker. In addition, for the trouble this has caused you, I will give you a way to earn your cousin Mila's freedom from Hera."

"You will, Lord Zeus?" I asked.

"Yes, you will be given a series of challenges by the gods of Olympus. You will not know who will come to you, when, or what the challenge will be, but should you pass these challenges, your cousin shall be granted her freedom," Zeus said.

The Faustian deal. One I literally had no choice but to accept.

"That's gracious, My Lord. Thank you. Thank you all for your kindness and graciousness," I said.

Suddenly, I woke up in my body.

"Owwww!" I exclaimed upon feeling the pain that was there, obviously from Poseidon attacking me. Then I remembered the Faustian deal. "Oh fuck…"