After a few beers, she was starting to feel a little calmer, though she knew she should stop, if she drank too much she couldn't hear Hekate anymore, and at the moment that would be a very bad thing. She drank down the last gulp and stuck it in the sink next to the other two.
"Now that you have finished drinking, shall we get back to the task at hand?" the Crone said sniffing in disgust.
"I am so sorry you are upset but I needed a minute to just not think."
"Clearly we are going to need help," the Mother said after a small pause, "It might be time to reach out to him and ask him for help."
"Him? Him who?" Kate asked.
"Helios and no thank you, he is stuck up and thinks he is better than everyone else just because he sees everything," the Maiden said.
"He may be stuck up, but he does see everything, which means he probably saw who released Ares," the Mother responded.
"Great so let's find Helios and ask what he knows, but how exactly do we do that, isn't he the God of the Sun?" she looked pointedly outside where it was clearly night.
The Crone laughed heartily, "Now is actually the perfect time to try and talk to him, now is his only downtime."
Kate felt her face flush, she should have figured that. "Okay, so how do we reach him? A spell or scrying?"
"No," the Mother said laughing, "He actually runs a small bar downtown, I believe it's called Night of the Sun."
"A a ridiculous name really, what does it even mean?" the Maiden asked meanly, Kate was getting the feeling she wasn't a huge fan of Helios.
"I don't like him, just because he is older than us he thinks he can tell us how to behave," the Maiden answered.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense but don't you think that if there is a chance he could help we should at least try?" It was quite so long Kate thought they had decided against it so she headed back to her room and began looking through her books again.
"Okay, what is the plan here? We can't just sit here and wait, in case you have forgotten we have a ton of enemies looking for us. I know the amulet and the enchantments will protect us, but for how long?" she asked slamming her book shut and pacing her bedroom floor.
"Fine," the Maiden finally huffed giving in, "But when he treats you like a subject don't say I didn't warn you. Arrogant jackass." Kate giggled but it was cut short when she felt the anger she sent her way.
"Okay, let's find this bar and talk to your big brother. You know I have known you for so long and you have never really talked about your family and now in just two days I am going to meet both of you older siblings." She grabbed her satchel and started throwing in books, papers, pens, candles, a few daggers, some herbs, and a few crystals.
"Do you think you're bringing enough things child?" the Crone asked worriedly, "I understand the need to protect one's self but we also need to be able to move quickly."
"I am operating under the assumption that we may not get a chance to come back here any time soon so just in case I want to make sure we have everything we need." She grabbed a change of clothes and her phone slipped on her boots and headed to the kitchen. Rummaging through her cupboards she grabbed a handful of granola bars, went to the fridge, and grabbed a few glasses of water and a few beers.
"Everything we need?" the Mother asked skeptically.
"Oh leave her be, if we could do it we would and you know it," the Maiden said giggling.
"So is there anything else I should know about Helios before I get there," she asked as they approached the bar.
"Helios is old-fashioned. Just remember once he knows you know who he is he is going to expect you to be in awe of him," the Maiden snarked.
"Enough, we know you don't care for him but right now he is our only option if we want answers," the Mother lectured.
"Fine but just remember he can be an arrogant jackass, don't let him intimidate you." Kate could feel her frustration for a moment longer and then she faded into the background sulking. She sighed, sometimes having a teenager in her head was complicated but she still loved her and could feel her frustration but for now, she was just going to have to stay upset.
She finally saw the bar, it was kind of hard to miss since there was a giant neon yellow sun flashing brightly atop the small brick building. Pulling in she found a parking spot close to the entrance (she wasn't taking any chances after earlier) and turned the car off. Taking a deep breath she just sat there for a moment trying to gain her courage. After meeting Nyx she wasn't sure what exactly to expect. Finally, she swung the door open and headed to the front door. Before she made it through a tall dark skinned man stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She turned toward him, he stood a few inches taller than her and his clear sky-blue eyes looked down at her curiously.
"Yes?" she asked stepping far enough away to make him take his hand from her shoulder. She didn't feel any hostility coming off of him, but she wasn't risking it.
"That's him, Kate," the Mother told her quickly.
"What is someone like you doing at a dive like this?" he asked flashing her what she was sure he thought was a suave smile but honestly made him look a little condescending.
"Looking for you," she said playing along and smiling back.
His eyebrows rose and he looked at her as though he was trying to figure out where they had met before. She shook her head and turned towards the door, "Maybe we should grab a drink and we can talk in some comfort."
He squinted at her but took hold of the door handle and opened it for her following her inside. Once they had gotten settled at the bar and had a couple of drinks in their hands she turned to him.
"My name is Kate," she took a sip waiting to see if he would put it together. When he didn't she huffed, set her drink down, she took one of his hands and he gave her another charming smile, she rolled her eyes.
"Just pay attention would you please?"
He chuckled under his breath but looked closely at her, while she was sure she had his attention she slowly allowed a small bit of fire magick to seep out and into his hands, it wasn't a lot and she wasn't even sure he would feel it. After all, he was the sun god so maybe using water would have more of an effect but unfortunately, that was not an option as she hadn't quite mastered water and it tended to dehydrate her too quickly.
For a moment nothing happened and he looked at her confused and then bit by bit he started to feel the magick coming off her. He looked up at her shocked and stared closer at her eyes. Kate allowed each of the three faces of the goddess to pass through her eyes and he finally recognized her. Quickly yanking his hands from hers he jumped to his feet and took a step back. A few people looked up at the commotion but when nothing exciting happened they went back to their drinks.
"You really should sit back down," Kate said cooly taking another drink.
"Why are you here?" he asked ignoring her.
"Because apparently you are going to help us figure out who let Ares out of Hekate's realm," she said, "Really you should sit down, this could take awhile and I know you don't know me but I am one stubborn vessel and I won't be leaving until you at least talk to me."
"Do you have any idea who you are talking to?" he asked crossing his arms his face scrunching up in barely restrained anger.
She nodded, "I do and you know who I am so would you please sit down so we can talk, the sooner you do the sooner you get rid of me, but honestly I am happy to sit here and drink all your liquor, family drinks free yes?" she raised her hand letting the bartender know she was ready for another one.
"Don't you think you ought to slow down," the Mother cautioned Kate, but she ignored her and just kept staring at Helios. He let out a soft growl and sat back down but didn't touch his drink.
"Make this quick I have things to do."
"Oh I know, so many girls to hit on so little time to do so," then she stopped thinking about it, "Though I suppose being immortal you have all the time in the world." He smirked but didn't say anything. "Really? Okay well, you know what I want so...?"
"I am not getting involved with this, deal with it on your own Hekate," he venomously whispered.
"I'm not surprised he never wants to get involved," the Crone said bitterly, "He wouldn't even take sides during the Great War." Kate wanted to ask about the great war but for now, she needed to focus on Helios.
"That may have worked for you before but I need answers and I can be very persuasive when I need to be," to prove her point she turned to the bartender, "Do you believe in gods?" she asked, he looked from her to Helios confused.
"Fine," he growled. She smiled, she had had a feeling he wouldn't want to lose his cover here, he liked the power and opportunities too much. She smiled satisfied.
"Just fun bar trivia," she said smiling sweetly at him. He nodded at her still confused, and turned back to his work. "So who let Ares out?" she asked Helios expectantly.
"I really don't know, he was there one day and the next day he wasn't, whoever let him out waited until they were sure I wouldn't be watching, my guess though, Hera. He is her son after all."
She gulped down her drink and waited, she could feel he knew more so she just waved over the bartender for another. This would be her last one, as much as she would have loved to just drink everything away the Mother had a point, she needed to keep her whits just in case.
"But..."
She raised a brow, "But?"
"But there may be one or two goddesses that might be willing to help you, we have another sister, Selene she is the-"
"Moon goddess, I know," she said interrupting him.
"Selene? That girl didn't see anything she's too preoccupied with her sleeping love," the Crone said sarcastically.
"The Crone says she won't be any help, so who is the other goddess?"
He smiled wickedly and she felt a small spark of nerves not only from her but from Hekate.
"Artemis."
"I was afraid of that," the Mother said sadly.
"What's wrong? I figured you and Artemis would get along well, after all, she is a celibate goddess, if anyone should understand I would think it would be her," she said under her breath, Helios looked at her lost, she pointed at her head and then made talking motions with her hands. Understanding filled his eyes and his wicked smile came back.
"Oh hello little sister. Why don't you tell your vessel just why going to Artemis is impossible," he said crossing his arms.
"Okay really, why can't we talk to her?"
"Artemis isn't exactly happy with how we left things in our realm," the Mother said, "She isn't just a moon goddess, but a forest and animal goddess, as well as hounds." Kate waited, she still didn't understand the issue.
"We had to leave our wolves back in our realm when we left," the Crone said bitterly, "And Artemis saw that as us abandoning them even though if we had brought them with us they would be dead many times over by now."
"That's ridiculous," Kate said a little louder than she had meant to causing the bartender to jump. She quickly looked around and noticed a football game on the tv. "What kind of call was that ref?" she asked pointing up at the screen. Helios' face twitched as though he were trying to hide a smile at her attempt to cover up her outburst. The bartender just shook his head and went about his business.
She whipped her head back to Helios, "That has to be a joke, I mean what kind of person holds a grudge this long over something so silly?" she asked.
"To her, it wasn't silly, in fact, if my sources are to be believed, she has been visiting them off and on for years," he stood up and looked down at her pointedly, "I've answered all of your questions, now kindly leave."
"You know you're a bit rude," Kate said glaring at him, "I haven't finished my drink yet, and you haven't told me where to find Artemis."
He looked at her surprised, "You're still going to look for her even knowing she is angry with Hekate?"
Kate shrugged, "I don't have much choice, I need answers before he comes for me again," she finished her drink and dug around in her pocket to pay the tab. He reached out and placed his hand on top of hers stopping her.
"It's on the house," his bright eyes stared deep into hers, "Anyone willing to talk to a pissed-off Artemis deserves a few free drinks."
She smiled and pulled her hand from her pocket, "Thanks, so can you tell me where to find her?"
He thought for a moment, a line formed between his brows, "She tends to like her privacy, my guess would be a wooded area or forest. Somewhere there are very few people." Kate sat there for a few moments trying to think of a place she could be. She lived in a busy city, there were few places nearby but she didn't think they were that private.
"Perhaps we should try scrying for her," the Crone suggested.
"We could but she may have enchantments to stop us from finding her," the Mother said.
"No, I don't think that's necessary," Kate said an idea occurring to her she looked up at Helios, "You said she was upset that Hekate left her wolves there?" He nodded confused, "Yes..."
"I think I know where she is," Kate jumped up, and pecked Helios on the cheek, "Thanks, you have been a great help." He looked at her shocked by her brazenness. She smiled sweetly and headed out the door, she liked Helios, he may be concerned, but she could tell he cared about his little sister.