Page 95 of Zeus' Spark
“For you, Bethany.” He pulls out what looks like a long golden rope all looped together like a lasso. “This is wicked and comes with this.”
He has a box in his hand that he holds out for me.
“What is it?” I grab the little black box from him and open it.
“It’s a gift from Zeus. He would give it to you himself, but he’s a little busy.” He shakes his head. “Put it on.”
A lightning bolt hangs from a metal chain that’s unlike anything I have ever seen. Its colors swirl iridescently in the light of the room.
“That’s beautiful. Raven, will you help me?”
“I’ve got it.” Jayden grabs the necklace out of the box and motions for me to pull my hair away from my neck.
I do as instructed and shiver when his fingers brush my nape.
Once it’s in place, he trails his fingers there briefly. Ares coughs into his hand, and Jayden snaps his head in his direction.
“Whatever the two of you have going, Zeus is not going to like it.” Ares raises a brow at us. “He and Hades still don’t exactly get along.”
“Hades likes it even less.” Jayden smirks. “I don’t care.”
“There’s nothing going on between us.” I throw my hands up, seriously considering zapping Jayden right now, but contain the urge. “Can we get back on track, please?”
Ares nods at my request, but he’s still eyeing Jayden with disdain.
I guess none of the gods really get along with Hades.
Well, that’s not my problem.
“That necklace, when activated, will store your whip.” Ares hands me the rope. “Monsters do not fare well when god metal hits their skin.”
It’s beautiful. It’s braided with the same iridescent metal as the necklace. The handle is a soft, buttery leather, but the actual whip is metal.
The whip is about six feet long when completely unfurled, and my buzzing electricity ignites beneath my skin to cover the entirety of the whip.
“That’s fucking wicked,” I say.
Without a thought from me, the whip is gone. I touch where it should be in my palm, and it appears again.
“That’s so cool, Beth,” Raven gushes, examining it. “It gives you a lot better reach too so you don’t have to get too close.”
“No other heroes alive today have access to weapons made from Hephaestus’s forges, so you need to be careful not to lose them. Bethany and Raven shouldn’t have a problem since the necklace your father gave you will always return your whip, and Raven can store weapons in the ether with a thought. You will have more difficulty, Jayden, because Hades was…unavailable for our discussion.”
“Hades is always unavailable when it comes to going to Olympus. He hates going to Olympus,” Jayden grumbles.
He doesn’t seem all that impressed with his father either.
“Well, we already know that you have your sword gifted to you by Hades, so we decided on something a little different for you, Jayden.” Ares grins, pulling a huge shield from a small closet.
“Is that…? No fucking way,” Raven practically squeals.
Ares winks at her. “It’s not the actual one, no. It is modeled after the shield of Achilles though.”
The shield is beautiful with depictions of both everyday life and war times. It’s the same iridescent metal as my whip and necklace.
I brush my fingers over the metal. It’s cool to the touch, and a shiver races up my spine.
“This is awesome. Thank you, Ares.” Jayden bows his head as he accepts the shield.
