Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and please keep it up. Every one helps me shape the story.
.
.
Kaie stood in the center of the gods' throne room. Zeus and Hera sat on their thrones talking in hushed tones while the rest of the room was empty. Hermes had just been dispatched to assemble the other gods, including Hades.
Kaie turned to look at the hearth. The flames burned brightly, stronger than she had ever seen it in the past.
"Surprised at the strength?" Kaie glanced over her shoulder as Hestia came to stand next to her. She was in her grown form. A tall woman of indeterminable age with curly brown hair and a gentle smile. She looked very similar to Hera in this form but where the Queen of the Gods was regal. Hestia had a pure warmth that comforted you.
"Olympus is stronger than I have ever seen it." Kaie answered truthfully, bits and pieces of her past lives coming forth from her memories. Arguing gods and ruined buildings at the forefront this time. "Young Perseus changed much when he made the gods swear the new oath." Hestia told her kindly before taking her seat by the hearth gracefully.
Kaie turned away from the warmth of the flames as the sound of gods appearing echoed in the room. Dionysus and Hephaestus appeared at the same time. Dionysus' arrival told Kaie that Nico was back at the camp. She was filled with a sudden warmth and the most human part of her wanted hurry this meeting so she could go there sooner.
Within the next few minutes the other gods had appeared on their thrones and Hades arrived from his kingdom, taking a seat by Hestia.
"What have you found Gray Lady?" Zeus once again spoke for the gods.
"Wait." Hades interrupted, earning him a fierce glare from his brother. "I want to know what happened to her shoulder."
Kaie grimaced. She was surrounded by immortal beings in perfect form while she had just been hiking through woods after days of sleeping in bad motels and being shot. Zeus raised an eyebrow at her silence.
"I got shot."
"Apollo." Zeus looked at his son who was lounged on his throne, legs thrown over one arm, his head resting on the other. He was asleep and beginning to snore. Most of the gods rolled their eyes. A bolt of lightning streaked out of the sky and Apollo fell out of his throne. "I'm awake!" He looked around at the gods watching him before focusing on his father who gestured towards Kaie. Apollo noticed the sling for the first time. "Awesome!"
Kaie glared and Apollo backed down. This made Kaie feel a little better. Even mostly human she still had standing among the gods. "Let me heal it?" Kaie nodded and sat in the chair that appeared beside her. Apollo worked quickly, taking off the bandages before healing the muscle and skin as the gods looked on.
"So how did you get shot?" Hades prodded, earning him an amused glance from Kaie who recognized his test.
"Don't give me that bullshit. I might not have been alive since 1883 but I have not forgotten any of your tricks. I know you were watching Nico every chance you got. You can't see me so you sent him with me."
"True." Hades acquiesced to her statement with a sly grin. "Thank you." His gaze reinforcing how much he loved his son and his fear when Nico had almost been shot.
Kaie nodded, knowing how rare it was to be thanked by a god. There were several murmurs from around the room as those who had not watched Nico wanted to know what happened. "We were attacked by several Hyperboreans and because the Mist has been weakened by the deathgate's existence, several mortals saw something close to the truth. One freaked out, decided we were monsters also, and fired at us. I was hit as I teleported out.
The gods accepted this before catching on to the specifics.
"What do you mean the Mist has been weakened?" Zeus spoke from his throne, his voice commanding once again. Kaie let his tone slide.
"That is one of the reasons I have come back to Olympus. As I traveled I realized the closer you are to the deathgate, the weaker the Mist is. It is being stretched to hide the monsters pulled through deathgate and the sheer number is overwhelming it." She felt like facepalming but stopped herself. The Gray Lady knew the oldest of the ancient laws better than the gods and it was part of her duty to remind them of specifics when necessary. "You forget that the Mist is a finite resource and not unlimited like many believe."
Realization dawned in the faces of gods as Kaie turned to scan the room.
"The events of the last ten years or so have severally reduced the Mist's strength." She told the grim faces.
"Do you know anything that will strengthen it again?" Athena's voice filled the silence for a moment.
Kaie hesitated, remembering past and the few options she could think of. "Possibly." She said after several minutes of thought.
The Goddess of Wisdom nodded, accepting it. Several other gods seemed more nervous though, shifting in their seats and muttering quietly.
"What else can you tell us?" Poseidon spoke this time and Kaie turned to look at the god of the seas.
"The army is massive and more creatures are being pulled through every day."
"How massive?" Hermes interrupted cautiously.
"At least nine hundred as of right now."
"That's not that bad." Ares said with a scoff.
Kaie turned the full force of her glare on him. Allowing every ounce of Gray Lady energy she could spare free. Mist around her became opaque, swirling around her of its own accord for a moment before fading back to its normal state. Without needing to look, Kaie knew her eyes had gone to their true form. Solid dark gray from corner to corner.
"Nine hundred creatures that cannot be killed for more than a moment before they rise again to attack you again with renewed energy. Nine hundred monsters capable of killing your children and mortals in mere moments. Nine hundred monsters willing to attack Olympus itself. Nine hundred monsters standing between me and the deathgate. I need to be next to it to seal it. Only once it is sealed can the monsters be killed permanently." Ares backed down instantly and nodded as the other gods went still. Kaie released the energy, feeling drained from using so much for such a short time.
"What can be done?" The King of the Gods spoke again after several minutes of silence.
"The only thing that can be done. Attack."
"You are many things Gray Lady, but you are not capable of taking on such an army alone. Especially with Lady Gaea's metal still in your body." Hestia's quiet voice came from the hearth, voicing what every god and goddess had been thinking.
"I know." Kaie told the gods quietly. Surprising many of them. After her last life they had not expected such honesty.
"Will you remove the metal?" Zeus asked quietly as he seemed to contemplate the problem.
"No. I..." Kaie trailed off as the metal that circled her upper left arm burned for a split second. She tried to vocalize the feeling. "I have a feeling releasing the full Gray Lady now would be..." She struggled again. "Explosive." She finally said before continuing.
"Nico returned to Camp HalfBlood to ask for demigod assistance." Every god in the throne room grimaced. Disliking the idea of their children taking on such a threat. They also knew though that they could not stop their children if they chose to fight along side the Gray Lady. Many had in the past.
Kaie pushed on, ignoring their looks, "I am here to ask for your help."
"I can offer my Hunters." Artemis said after another moment of silence as the other gods simply stared at Kaie. Kaie shook her head. "I need more than that. I need gods."
"We are sworn to distance ourselves from the affairs of mortals and demigods." Zeus cited the ancient laws.
Kaie shook her head and gave the King of the gods a small sly smile. "This is neither. I know for certain after being near it that this deathgate is was created by an immortal being. This is the affair of gods." She told them simply. Realization dawned in the faces of the immortals once again.
"Without true proof the elder gods could not be present." Zeus stroked his beard as he spoke and Kaie bit back the urge to laugh at the sight.
"Yes!" Ares' excited exclamation broke the tension as he jumped from his seat, the last to catch on to Kaie's meaning. "I am so in!" For a moment Kaie couldn't help but wonder if Ares had actually lost brain cells since her last life.
"As am I." Athena said simply Hermes, Artemis, and Apollo all nodded in agreement.
"I can offer automatons." Hephaestus said gruffly.
"I will stay at the camp and look after the little bastards smart enough not to follow you." Dionysus said slowly. Kaie nodded, knowing this to mean he would protect Camp Halfblood should any of the creatures escape the fight and make their way there. She had known Dionysus well enough in past lives to know that he actually cared about the Camp and the demigods there despite all evidence to the contrary.
"When do you plan to attack the deathgate?" Athena's voice intruded on Kaie's thoughts.
"Two days." Kaie decided even as she spoke. "I need to speak to the demigods for now."
The gods nodded in agreement and in acceptance almost as one and Kaie teleported to the Camp.
.
.
So, pure plot advancement, but it is necessary. Please review and let me know what you think. The more specific the better :D