9 The Minotaur

9

The Minotaur

With time to kill and no desire to face off with Minos again, I spend the next day stalking Dionysus. He's the one among the Thirteen who I never paid much attention to. He was ordered off-limits at the party and therefore beneath my notice. The few interactions I've had with him have done nothing to convince me of his worth. He's a thin white man who dresses in inexplicably fancy clothing and always seems to be in an altered state of mind. At the party, it was alcohol, but in the time I've spent following him today, I watched him take no fewer than three different kinds of drugs.

Or at least I assume the pills he's been popping are drugs. I am certain the line he snorted is.

It doesn't seem to affect him, though. He bumbles through his meetings with a carelessness that aggravates me. This is one of the thirteen most powerful people in this fucking city, and he doesn't seem worried in the least he might be a target for assassination or that the city itself is about to be under siege. Not that he would know that last bit, but the rest of the Thirteen walk around as if they have targets on their backs or with a fierce bravado, daring someone to try them. Dionysus does neither.

As best I can tell, his meetings today in the dingy bars of the warehouse district are regarding the importation of the substances he's testing. Publicly, his prestige comes from the entertainment he offers. He's partners with several of the largest businesses in the upper city and a handful in the lower city and has exclusive distribution to said businesses when it comes to alcohol. I've tasted his vintages, and they're fine. I'm not really a wine guy, though.

There's nothing about him that's impressive. There's sure as fuck nothing about him that's worthy of Ariadne.

I'm under strict instructions not to murder any of the Thirteen until the barrier comes down, but I'm tempted to defy that order here and now. The final bar we've ended up in is the most threadbare of the bunch. The floors beneath my feet are sticky, the barstools appear to be in danger of collapsing under the next patron, and the booths near the back are bathed in shadows that invite shady dealings. It's one of those booths Dionysus has retreated to. I can't see him from my current position, but I can see the back door. He won't get away without my knowing it.

The bartender—a short, plump person with a bald head, pale skin, and star freckles tattooed across the bridge of their nose—stops in front of me and sets down a tall glass of beer. I frown at them. "I didn't order this."

"Compliments of the owner." They jerk a thumb toward the booth Dionysus disappeared into.

Son of a bitch . To not drink is cowardly. To drink is foolish. I've witnessed how many substances this man has access to. Surely some of them are deadly. While I've been considering taking him out, he might have been watching me watch him and thinking the same thoughts.

Only one way to find out.

I pick up the beer and walk to the booth where Dionysus is slouched. He doesn't flinch at my presence, but judging from how dilated his eyes are, that might be because he's incapable of sensing the danger he's in.

"So. It is you. I thought I saw a hulking monster shadowing my steps. Very spooky."

"It's me." I survey him just like I've been surveying him all day. It doesn't matter what angle I come at this from. The truth is that I don't understand him. As far as I can tell, he's the personification of all of Olympus's vices. Selfish and indulgent and completely oblivious to the danger all around him.

Dionysus heaves himself forward and braces his elbows on the table. He seems to be making an effort to study me back, but he keeps getting distracted with other things. The hazy light hanging over the booth. The spill of some liquid near his elbow. His nearly empty glass. Finally, he sighs. "Have you come to kill me?"

If I were a different person, everyone's willingness to believe I'm there to murder them might irk me. But I've spent my entire life cultivating a reputation that is not to be fucked with. When people think you're too dangerous to cross, they don't cross you. Even Minos, who has held my leash for half my life, hesitates to yank it too hard. That's just the way I like it.

"Well?"

The truth is I don't know why I'm here. I might not like him, and I certainly don't understand him, but as long as Ariadne is engaged to him, I know exactly where she's at. It gives me leverage that I fully intend to use. "I'm not going to kill you…yet."

"How comforting. Cheers." He raises his glass and drains the dregs. I have to fight not to wince at how thick they look. Surely that can't taste good, but it doesn't seem to faze him in the least. He raises his dark brows. "You haven't touched your drink, friend. For someone who doesn't seem to have much respect for me, you sure act like I'm a threat."

"I'm not your friend." I can't tell if he's provoking me with the intention of making me look like a fool or if he really has poisoned me. No, I'm thinking like an Aeaean, not like an Olympian. They fight their battles with words and public perception, not with knives and poison.

At least they do since the last Zeus died.

I hold his gaze and drain my beer in a single drink. I'm mildly irritated to discover it's the best beer I've ever had. This man might be a fuckup in a number of ways, but he knows his alcohol. I set the glass on the table with a clink. "You're set to marry Ariadne."

"That's what they tell me."

I wait for some kind of gloating or pride or even lust, but he seems completely indifferent to his pending nuptials. "You act like you didn't choose it."

"I didn't. If I had my way, it would be the permanent bachelor life for me. Don't have much interest in marriage or relationships in general, and Dionysus isn't a legacy title, so there's no need for me to procreate." He shudders delicately. "Thank the gods."

"Then why do it?" I don't know why I'm asking him. It doesn't matter why he's doing it, only that he is. If he doesn't want to get married, perhaps that'll save Ariadne from being put in a position where she has to sleep with him. I don't know what she would do if that choice was before her. I sure as fuck don't like thinking about it. "If you try to force her—"

"Going to stop you there. No one is forcing anyone to do anything." He frowns. "Well, there is a marriage bed, but this is Olympus. Marriages of convenience are the rule rather than the exception. At least these days." He leans forward even farther, peering up into my face. "Why are you so invested? Is it because of her father?"

"He wants her dead." I stare into his dilated pupils and find myself speaking the truth without having any intention of doing so. "He commanded me to kill her."

"That's going to be a problem."

Again, I speak without having any intention of doing so. "It really won't. I'm not going to kill her. She's mine. She has been from the moment I saw her."

" Interesting ." His brows wing up. "That's not very enlightened of you."

"It has nothing to do with enlightenment and everything to do with fact. I'm hers. She's still in denial about that, but she won't be for long." I snap my mouth shut and shove back. I've never said that shit aloud. I wouldn't have said it to him . "What the fuck did you put my drink?"

"A little of this, a little of that." He waves a hand leisurely. "Since you've spent so much time haunting my steps today, I thought it important that we have a frank conversation. You seem like the strong, silent type, so I took it upon myself to give you a little…lubrication."

"You motherfucker."

His body language is still relaxed, but the dazed look in his eyes melts away. It's enough to make me wonder if he took any drugs at all today or if that was all a show for my benefit. The better to underestimate him.

Dionysus waves over the bartender, who delivers two fresh drinks. "Let's chat. I have a number of questions requiring answers."

"With all your brilliant planning to pull me in and drug me, did it ever occur to you that I could just kill you once I realized what you'd done?"

He nods solemnly. "The thought did cross my mind. Especially after the attack last night. That's why I brought them." He nods and I follow the movement to the booth across from us. Two nondescript people sit there, draped in shadows. They weren't with him earlier or I would've noticed. I sure as fuck would've noticed the guns in their hands, pointed casually in my direction. Dionysus takes a long drink of his beer. "Let's not dirty ourselves with meaningless threats. You might end up killing me today—I'll give you that. But if you did, you wouldn't make it out of this building alive."

Entering the booth was a mistake. The few seconds it'll take me to slide out are enough to pump me full of bullets. He chose his trap well. I consider the people in the booth across from us and then turn back to him. "You'd still be dead."

"I absolutely would. But you would be too, and that's what I'm betting on. You seem like a man with a plan, and men with plans aren't suicidal. So why don't you drink your beer and we'll have a nice little chat and then go our separate ways at the end, both healthy and whole."

Clever motherfucker. I lean back, pointedly not touching the new beer. "There's nothing I can tell you that your fiancée doesn't already know." It's the truth, more or less. At least it's true enough to satisfy the drug in my system. Ariadne knows about the barrier coming down and she knows about the pending attack on Dodona Tower. Whether she told him—and I know she didn't—is not my problem.

"I see. What are your current orders?"

I debate not speaking at all, but curiosity is a powerful thing. He isn't acting like I expected, which means my father's—and Circe's—information has holes. "Kill Minos's daughter."

"Yes, you mentioned that already." He blinks slowly. "He's really not one to let sentimentality hold him back, is he?"

"You've met him. What do you think?"

"Ah, ah." He waves his finger at me. "No getting around the drugs by answering a question with a question."

I shrug. "His children have always been disappointments. Ariadne betrayed him, but more than that, she betrayed Aeaea. He's not going to let that go. Not even for a blood relation." Which is why I have to get her out of here. Eventually he'll figure out that I have no intention of harming her, and he'll send someone else to do the job. Maybe Aeacus. I don't have strong bonds with any of Minos's men, but I've trained with them and I know their strengths and weaknesses. I can beat them, but it will have a high cost. It's better to avoid that particular confrontation.

"How Olympian of him." Dionysus sits back. "When will Circe attack?"

"I don't know."

"Make an educated guess based on the information you currently possess."

Again, I debate not answering, but I suspect he already knows the answer. If not him, then another among the Thirteen with more battle prowess. There are stages to these things, and Circe and the council are moving through them like clockwork. "It will be soon. She already softened you up. It didn't take long for the city to turn on you or for Hades to erect the barrier, cutting the city in two. You're divided and you're weak, and she's too smart not to take advantage of that."

Dionysus twists the edge of his mustache into a perfect curl. "There is the barrier still in play."

Not for long. "The barrier continues to fail. I wouldn't stick my hopes on that."

"On that, my murderous friend, we are in agreement." He drinks his beer. "You have a plan to bring it down."

"Minos does."

"Thought as much." I expect him to press me on that, but he just contemplates his glass for a few moments. "Where is Hermes?"

"I would think you'd know. You two were attached at the hip." When he just stares, I finally shrug. "I have no idea. As far as my information goes, her deal with Minos ended at the party." I have no loyalty to either Minos or Hermes at this point. Dionysus doesn't seem inclined to murder me and toss my body in a dumpster, so there's no point in dodging this series of questions. It's not like it will make a difference in the final outcome.

"Ah well. Hope springs eternal, and she owes me some answers. Now for the less delicate business." His dark eyes go hard and his body language firms up, until it's like looking at a different man entirely. "You're more than welcome to keep following me if that suits your fancy, but Ariadne is now my fiancée, and she will be my wife. I have no great love for the woman, but she is under my protection, and I won't see her harmed. If you continue to be a threat and murder my people…" Again, he waves to the pair in the booth across from us. "Well, you get the idea."

"If this wasn't an ambush, they wouldn't stand a chance. They sure as fuck didn't last night."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." He glances meaningfully at the beer in front of me. "You're in Olympus, old boy. Everything you eat comes from Demeter. A good portion of what you drink is courtesy of me. You've been in the city too long to be running on food you brought in with you. All it will take is a little bit of this, a little of that, and you won't be a threat to anyone."