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been over seven
millennia,” he pointed out. “After all that time, how can you be sure that man carries
Medusa’s soul?”
    Poseidon bit back the question of whether
Bythos would recognize Ian’s soul after seven thousand years. “I would know the
soul of Medusa anywhere, at any time. And I know it resides in Griffin Moore.”
    A reluctant Bythos finally nodded. “So
what are we going to do about it?”
    That was an excellent question. “At the
moment, I’m not sure,” Poseidon said. “Especially since the timing of this
strikes me as extremely suspect.”
    Ian, who had been watching the byplay
between father and sons, raised a hand. “You don’t think the Fates are working
with Thetis, do you?”
    Three red heads shook in unison. “The
Fates are a power unto themselves—not even Gaia herself could suborn them,” Poseidon
said. “But it does seem suspicious that they chose to reweave Medusa’s soul
into life at the exact moment where it would be the most distracting to me.”
    The twins exchanged a glance. “What about
Mother?” Aphros said slowly. “Are you going to tell her?”
    Poseidon hesitated. Not for the first
time, he wondered if keeping the truth about Medusa from his sons had been the
best plan of action. All of their lives they had considered the woman who would
become the monstrous Gorgon to be the “other woman,” the one who had sundered
their parents’ marriage. Her supposed punishment by Athena and eventual death
at the hand of Perseus had done nothing to ease their distaste for her.
    He decided to tread lightly. “I will need
to talk to your mother at some point about this, yes. But for the moment I
would ask that you—all three of you,” he looked at Ian, “respect my wishes and
not mention this to Amphitrite.”
    Bythos eyed him warily. “All right. But
know this, Father. If you do anything to hurt Mother again, any family feeling
between us will be destroyed.”
    Poseidon bit back his initial response. Bythos
had always been close to Amphitrite, and the dissolution of his parents’
marriage had driven the demigod to her side. “Hurting your mother is the last
thing I wish to do,” he said. “But I need to speak with the Fates and get to
the root of this before I talk to Amphitrite. Will you grant me the time to do
that?”
    Another glance between the twins, and then
Bythos nodded.
    “Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a
trio of goddesses to question.” Standing, Poseidon opened a gate to his palace
on Mount Olympus and stepped through, leaving a shower of blue sparks in his
wake.
    ****
    Ian sat back in his chair and blew out a
breath. He had known his father-in-law’s marriage was problematic, but he had
no idea it was this complicated. “Okay, would someone like to fill me on the
background here?”
    Bythos just stared moodily at his
wineglass. Aphros sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard about Medusa the Gorgon?”
    “Yeah, she was in Clash of the Titans . Snakes for hair, could turn men into stone if
they looked at her, got her head cut off by Perseus…” Ian trailed off as
mythology and the reality of his new life collided once again. “Shit. You mean
she was real?”
    “Yes. Before she was transformed into a
Gorgon, Medusa was a human and the chief handmaiden to our aunt Athena,” Aphros
said. “And then Father saw her and decided he had to have her. He wound up
seducing Medusa in Athena’s own temple. Athena was so enraged by this, she
changed Medusa into a monster as punishment.”
    Ian winced. “Ouch.”
    “Well, it was hardly surprising. Athena is
one of the three virgin goddesses of Olympus,” Bythos added. “Her handmaidens
were expected to remain virgins while in her service. For Medusa to have sex
with anyone in Athena’s temple would be a grave insult to the goddess. For her
to have sex with Father, who has traditionally been one of Athena’s rivals…”
    “Yeah, I get it,” Ian said. “It would be
like a White Sox fan taking a leak