The Perfect Life - Dionysos' Challenge

10. Deals and Staters

Word traveled fast through their part of Greece. Within the last year, Philius had attracted many travelers who had come to visit the Dark Cousins' Shop. It wasn't every day that two strange women just popped into a town and opened a shop. Those who perused their goods, though, came away quite impressed. The cloth was high quality, and the dyes were vibrant and rich. There were some who had invested in the women as far as Corinth.

No one had to know that Arachne was the weaver. That was their little secret.

The two women were shrewd dealers and did not spread themselves thin. They had set out to allow a certain number of investors and partners, and they stuck to the line they drew in the sand. It had taken some work, but eventually, Helle's quirky personality and love of the night life was what drew in their target.

Basiane invested and became a partner after months of courting her. Nyx found the woman wanting and had to give herself a pep talk every time they had to interact. The primordial goddess wanted to, on several occasions, turn Kerberos on the offending female. But when Basiane came around, Nyx fell into her alternate personality easily and the officious woman would laugh and feel important once she left Nyra's presence.

Nyx and Hekate noticed that some days were better than others when they visited Basiane in her residence. The woman was prospering through her investment with them, and the house was showing evidence of repair. Nyx, at one point, had been able to connect with Daeira and found that Zipporah had been given slightly better food and clothing as well. It helped that Helle, on a couple of occasions, dropped hints about how the community looked upon the blessed in their regard for the unfortunate. Apparently, Basiane spent some of her earnings on her daughter each time Helle spoke about that topic. Overall, though, Nyx and Hekate wanted to toss the woman into Tartarus early.

Yet, there were days when Basiane seemed to wilt faster, or didn't receive visitors due to her health. Just prior to Zipporah's fifth birthday, Hekate learned just what was happening to Basiane to cause these fluctuations in her behavior. She caught sight of Epiales in the shadows during one of the vile woman's house parties. He was perched outside the main room on a balcony, watching the party with the look of a hunter on the prowl. His wicked smile made even the goddess of magic shudder.

She sauntered out into the crisp autumn air and leaned onto the balcony wall. As she skimmed the dark air over Philius, Hekate drummed her finger on the stonework. "What brings you here, Nightmare King?"

"We serve our queen as she sees fit." His voice resonated thickly as he watched, stifling a yawn.

"Oh?" Her eyes slid sideways, his dark countenance nearly disappearing in the night.

He sighed. "Of course, though my tenure is almost over. I was given but a year to torment Basiane."

"Oh, is that all?" Hekate scoffed and turned, leaning back against the stones so that she could watch the party. "Look at them, Epiales. How many of those humans have ever cared for anything other than themselves?"

"I would hazard a guess at none?" he answered.

"You would be right. What does the god of nightmares win?" Hekate asked the cool night air.

"He wins more fodder for his nightmares," Nyx quipped, appearing beside Hekate. "My Knightmare."

Epiales bowed to the elder goddess. "My evening queen."

"Mmm, so smooth." Nyx smiled. "I stood among them, invisible of course. She is telling stories about how perfectly wonderful her trips to the countryside were. I wasn't aware she's been out of the house in the last month." Nyx cast a knowing glance at Epiales.