God of Thieves. Aimee CarterЧитать онлайн книгу.
I didn’t need sleep. I could go weeks, if not months without it when I wasn’t using my powers—all of us could. But before I was halfway done with that list, I needed sleep more desperately than I’d ever needed anything in my entire life.
I leaned against the golden wall of the throne room, struggling to keep my eyes open. I couldn’t fall asleep. Time was precious enough as it was, and if Zeus knew I’d been sleeping on the job, too—
Right. I liked my ass right where it was, thank you. I leaned forward and forced myself to focus on the list of names. Next up was Pollux. Not too hard to find him and Castor, even though they were on the run, so at least this wouldn’t take much effort.
“How’re you holding up?” Iris crossed the throne room, balancing a tray in her hands.
“I’m seriously considering running away and spending the rest of eternity holed up in the woods,” I said. “What’s that?”
“I brought you some tea. Figured you might need it.”
That was oddly nice of her. Maybe Zeus had laid into her, too. “Thanks,” I said, stretching. She sat beside me, and I picked up the cup and sipped. It wasn’t a solid night’s sleep, but it would do. “I mean it, though. There’s no way I’m finishing this list. Ten hours left, and I’m not even halfway done.”
She smirked, but there was a hint of sympathy behind it, too. “When Zeus fires you, make sure to put in a good word for me, would you?”
It would’ve been funny if it hadn’t been so true, and I glowered into my tea. “Zeus said if I don’t finish in time, I really will be kicked off the council.”
“Zeus likes to say a lot of things. Most of them aren’t true.”
“This is, though.” I nudged the list in her direction. “You didn’t happen to run into any of these gods on your trip, did you?”
She examined the names, and with a wave of her hand, she crossed off well over two dozen. “I know where to find loads more. If you want, I can check out a few places. That’ll cut your list down, as well.”
“You’d really do that for me?” I said. “What about wanting my job?”
Iris shrugged, and a curl escaped from behind her ear. “I’ll take pity on you just this once. Are you serious about running away?”
I leaned my head against the wall. If it were possible for immortals to have headaches, I would’ve had a raging one right about now. “Hermit jokes aside, someone needs to figure out what’s causing all of this. None of the others have spent time with mortals like I have.”
“And yet Zeus won’t let you go?”
“You know how he is. Can’t handle someone else having a better grip on things than he does.”
Iris gave me a look. “So while gods and goddesses are mysteriously dying for reasons the council can’t possibly be sure of, you’re going to listen to Zeus for the first time in your life.”
“He’d track me down the instant he knew I was gone. You know that.”
“Unless …” Her fingers danced over the parchment, an inch from my knee. “Someone kind, generous, thoughtful and extremely beautiful covered for you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Do you think someone like that actually exists?”
She punched me in the arm. “You’re a jerk. Maybe I won’t help you. Bet I could do your job with both hands tied behind my back.”
“Right now I’m not sure I can do my job, not if Hades keeps acting like this. And not if Zeus keeps giving me impossible tasks.”
“Hades will come around eventually, and we’ll work together on this list,” she said. “I’ll go down to the surface and check things out. You focus on the names I’ve circled, all right? But on one condition—after you finish this, you’re going to sneak off and mingle with mortals. I’ll cover for you.”
I glanced down at the list. Somehow she’d narrowed it down to a manageable number. “Really?”
“Really.” She squeezed my arm. “Some things are more important than kissing Zeus’s ass.”
Coming from Iris, that meant loads. “If we get through this, remind me to tell you I love you.”
She snorted, though her cheeks turned pink. “Please. I know you love me. It practically oozes out of you.” Giving me a pat on the hand, she stood. “Don’t fall asleep, lazy, else I really will have no choice but to replace you, bloodlines be damned.”
“Whatever you say,” I said with a tired grin. But the tea helped, and if she stuck to her word, this might be doable, after all. “And Iris?”
She stopped, inches from the portal. “Yeah?”
“Thanks. You’re not nearly as heinous as everyone says you are.”
Rolling her eyes, she stepped into the crystal circle and grinned. “You really are such a jerk.”
Together, Iris and I finished the list by the time the council reconvened. No idea how we managed it—magic, probably, or some sort of tear in time—but we did.
Six names were unaccounted for. Older gods and goddesses whose roles had been taken over by newer ones. I’d triple-checked those to make sure, but it wasn’t good news. Neither of us could find them. I should’ve stayed to tell the council; someone had to, after all, but by the time we finished, Iris was practically pushing me toward the portal.
“Go,” she said. “I mean it. I’ll give the list to Zeus.”
“He’ll smite you if he finds out you’re covering for me. Sure it’s worth it?” I said.
“Yes, I’m sure. Besides, if you figure this out, maybe they’ll forgive you for the whole Persephone thing.”
I frowned. Right. I didn’t need another reminder, but it was a possibility. Maybe they would forgive me. Maybe this would be enough to get me back on the council’s good side. Doubtful, but worth a shot.
Iris sighed dramatically and gave me a little shove. “Why do you always have to be so difficult? Get your ass down there before I have to drag you to the balcony and throw you.”
“Fine, fine, I’m going. Be safe, all right? Don’t disappear in a puff of smoke or whatever.”
“You, too,” she said. “And don’t come back until you’ve figured this thing out.”
“Which might be never.”
“By then, we’ll all be gone, so it won’t matter.” She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against my cheek. Unexpected, and my face grew hot. Iris laughed. “For luck, not to feed your fantasies. Now get out of here.”
Footsteps sounded from one of the hallways, and I didn’t need any more encouragement. I hopped onto the portal and gave Iris a halfhearted wave. This wasn’t one of our better ideas, but we didn’t have much choice. The gods were dying off. Even if we had several eons before the council faded, that wasn’t a chance any of us could take. Zeus was an idiot for playing it safe.
I slid through the portal with ease, and in the midst of dropping to the surface, I closed my eyes and relaxed. The solution had to be somewhere on the surface. A book, a town, some kind of religious theory—whatever it was that would bring me closer to understanding why we were dying.
That sort of hazy thought didn’t always work, and when I landed in the trees, I cursed. I’d expected to wind up in Rome or a library or something—somewhere with books and knowledge and answers, the kind Athena always seemed so good at finding. I didn’t have a chance of unearthing anything like that in the middle of a forest.
But when I started a more focused sweep of the surface, something twanged in my core, pulling me