Before I Fell

by Brandy Greeley

  Hades smiled and tugged her back to him and she squealed as she collapsed in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. He looked directly-and I mean directly- at me as he kissed her again, cupping her face tenderly and I felt the color rush to my cheeks, swallowing hard.

  Why was he doing this? Because it wasn’t hard enough already seeing her plastered all over him? Maybe I should just go back to my room after all, give them more privacy and time to be together without me butting in. After all, that’s what I would want if-

  “Stay.”

  My head snapped up, eyes finding his as he smiled again and helped Persephone back to her chair.

  “Please stay. I had the cook make your favorite blackberry pancakes this morning. To celebrate Persephone’s return to us.”

  So, you had my favorite breakfast made, in celebration of her return? Nice cover story, but I don’t buy it.

  What can I do to make this easier for you?

  Get a room, I said, nodding to Persephone, who reached out, tickling the back of his neck.

  His lips twitched. She’s affectionate. We haven’t been together like this in over two years, so please cut her some slack.

  Uh-huh. And that little smoochy-eye-contact? What was that about?

  “I’ve missed you, dear friend,” she said to me, folding her hands in front of her on the table. “Hades told me how much you helped him while I was cursed, so I wanted to thank you for it.”

  “Speaking of help, are we going to the beach this morning?” I asked Hades, who nodded slowly, glancing between the two of us as he sipped at his coffee.

  “Oh, I want to watch! What time will the two of you be there?” Persephone asked as I tensed, waiting for his answer.

  This was my alone time with him-my chance to talk through things that needed talking through, such as my future in the Underworld, what my role would be now that she was home and most importantly, what all of this meant for Hades and myself. I couldn’t do any of that with her watching and listening.

  And, Hades, if you know this, you’ll tell her that it’s not safe for her to be there like you’ve done in the past. It’s not even a lie.

  Things are different now, Emma. She ferried the souls for ten months, the same as you.

  I don’t particularly care. I need that time with you away from her.

  “Right after breakfast. But sweetheart-”

  “Oh, no, don’t you dare say that I can’t come, Hades. Not after what I did for you in Portland. You owe me this.” She snapped her fingers and waiters brought platters of food in, depositing them in front of us before leaving again.

  I loaded my plate, refusing to make eye contact with either of them as I debated the wisdom of even mentioning the beach in the first place. He knew how I felt on the subject and I hoped that whatever was currently running through that maniacal brain of his, he’d stop and see reason.

  You’re thinking entirely too much this morning.

  Stop eavesdropping if you don’t like what you’re hearing.

  “It wouldn’t be fun for you, watching us work, because there’s not much to it. Why don’t you wait until dinner; that’s when Emma’s soul load is at its heaviest, and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind a little compa-”

  “Drop it, Hades. I’m coming with you and that’s that. Emma, dear, please slide the butter this way, would you?”

  I stood at the head of one of the columns-Elysium this time, thank goodness-tablet in hand. I hadn’t missed the apologetic caress of Hades’ hand against mine as he passed me my daily list or the tight, nervous expression he now wore as Persephone stood a little off to the side, leaning against the castle wall.

  “Ready?” he asked as he stopped beside me, pulling his own list out as well and I nodded, stiffening my spine like I’d done countless times before. Just because we had an audience now didn’t change how we’d been doing things.

  “Ready.”

  Another day, same thing.

  Except that it wasn’t because absolutely everything was different.

  Focus on the task at hand.

  “Brittaney Abdi.”

  The soul stepped forward, walking towards the boat as I ticked her name off.

  One by one, Hades and I took turns calling out names until I could just about see the end of the lines.

  My phone rang.

  I fished it out of my pocket, glancing at the caller ID as I saw Hades’ eyes slide to me, motioning another soul past.

  “Problem?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said, frowning. “I don’t know how they’re calling me right now since we never have reception here so…if it’s important, they’ll leave a message.” I ended the call, tucking it away again as I crossed another name off the list.

  The cellphone rang a second time.

  “Maybe you should…?” He gestured to the side and I nodded, handing him my tablet.

  “Hello?”

  There was some interference on the other end of the line-scratching, like fabric over the mouthpiece-and I held it away from my ear an inch. “Can you hear me?”

  “Emma?” Sam’s voice-faint and barely recognizable through the static.

  “Yes, I can hear you, Sam. Look, I’m so sorry for abandoning you, but I didn’t really have a choice. I-”

  He screamed a piercing, bloodcurdling sound that shattered my eardrums as I dropped the phone, falling heavily to my knees.

  I felt Hades’ arms around me, helping me up as I pressed my hands over my ears, head ringing, and saw him snatch the phone from the sand, walking up the beach. Persephone fluttered around me, not sure how to help and in the distance, moving across the vast ocean, an equally awful screeching, getting closer…

  “Hold the lines!” Hades bellowed, thrusting the phone into my hands again. “Horace! Jasper! To me, now!”

  “They’re…birds,” Persephone said as I wiped a sleeve across my watering eyes, squinting where she pointed.

  My heart stopped.

  “Those aren’t birds, Seph. They’re Furies. Hades!” I stumbled my way to him, grabbing his arm and he whirled around, panic etched into every line of his face.

  “Persephone, take Emma to the castle-now-and don’t look back.”

  “Those aren’t mine,” I said as she took my elbow in her firm grip, and he nodded.

  “I know. Just go.”

  We raced together down the beach towards the door, sand whipping through my clothes and hair and I leaned into it, sides beginning to throb and saw Persephone tossed aside, body crashing into the castle wall as two Furies touched down in front of me, red-tipped talons clicking together menacingly.

  “What do you want?”

  They smiled in unison, tracking me across the beach as I scuttled away from them. “We’re here on behalf of someone you care about.”

  “Sam? It’s Sam, isn’t it? What the hell did you do to him, you nasty little parasites?”

  “We’re just the messengers, but if you don’t come with us now, he’ll die.”

  “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

  I heard the clang of metal on metal as Hades strode by me, placing himself and his sword in front of the Furies, who sneered.

  “So cavalier with human lives, Hades, Lord of the Underworld. So…heartless.”

  He jabbed his sword towards them and they shrieked as one, leaping back.

  Where did the sword come from?

  “You’re about to be in two seconds if you don’t leave her alone.”

  “Is Persephone okay?” I asked anxiously, glancing over to her motionless body.

  Please be alright…please be alright.

  “She’ll be fine, though she’ll wake up with a devil of a headache.”

  “We don’t answer to you. Our master wants her, and he’ll get her,” the Furies said, feigning left as he followed.

  “Take the rest of your brethren and go. Tell Kronos that his efforts here are pointless because I won’t surrender her without a fight.”

  “Wait,”
I said, stepping around him. “This isn’t just about me. Sam’s life is in danger, too.”

  A muscle ticked in Hades’ jaw. “I don’t care about him-just you.”

  “Yeah, well, I do. I don’t know how Kronos knows about him, but he doesn’t deserve to be tortured to death by your dad. Let me try to rescue him.”

  “You don’t know how.”

  “If I do nothing, Sam dies.”

  “If you go there, alone with no backup plan, you could, too.”

  “What’s worse, Hades? Martyring myself to save someone I care about or living the rest of my life knowing that I could’ve done something to save him, and didn’t even try? You would do this if it were Persephone, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes, of course,” he said, seeming to realize what I was saying, and scowled. “I won’t let you do this. It’s suicide.”

  “And it’s not your decision to make,” I said, approaching the Furies, who glared at me with black, beady eyes. “Y-you don’t have orders to kill me, do you?”

  They smiled, showing rows of glistening, pointed teeth. “Not yet.”

  “Take care of Persephone, alright?” I said to Hades as one of the Furies reached out, yanking me to them. “Tell her not to do anything stupid to get me back. And tell her…tell her that I love her, too.”

  His fists clenched and unclenched as his eyes spat fire. “You’re acting like this is goodbye forever.”

  I dropped my eyes to the sand, flinching when the Furies’ hold tightened. “I don’t know that it’s not.”

  He strode forward, ignoring their warning hisses, and grabbed my chin, forcing my face up to his. “I’ll find you like I did last time.”

  “Please give me time to save Sam before you do. That’s all I’m asking.”

  “Kronos could do anything to you, Emma, and I won’t be there to stop him. Do you realize how much that worries me?”

  “He wants something from me since he went through the trouble of kidnapping Sam in the first place. I’ll find out what that is, rescue my boyfriend, and once that’s done, I’ll call you to bail me out. Hopefully without any torture or murder involved. On either end.”

  I tried to smile, but the light didn’t touch my eyes and after a minute he groaned, kissing me softly on the lips before stepping back.

  “One day, this will end. One day, I won’t have to keep saving you. I look forward to that day.”

  “Me too. But for now, you need to let me go.”

  “If either one of you touches a hair on her head…” He snarled at the Furies, who hoisted me up, hovering mid-air.

  “Back off, Hades, if you know what’s good for you.”

  I turned my face away from him, so I couldn’t see the raw pain and anger there as he stepped up to Persephone’s limp body, gathering her in his arms.

  He backed slowly away from us, eyes never leaving mine as the Furies screeched once more, sweeping us out to sea.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Tartarus

  “Hello again, Emma,” Kronos said, propping his fork against his plate and dabbing at the corners of his mouth with a napkin as the two Furies marched me into the dining room. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “You’re such an asshat. Where’s Sam?”

  “Safe, for now. Why don’t you join me for dinner?” He pulled out the chair next to him, patting the seat invitingly and I felt my feet drag along the flagstone floor as the Furies pushed me towards it. “You’ll have to forgive them for being so rough with you. When they heard it was you I wanted to kidnap, well, the line of volunteers was practically out the door.” He steepled his hands together in front of him. “After all, you were the one who sent them to Tartarus in the first place.”

  “And then you turned them into Furies. Goddess, this is such a Wizard of Oz moment.”

  He smiled as he snapped his fingers, summoning a waiter who placed a dish of food in front of me. “Not poisoned, I promise.”

  “If you have to say that, it’s most definitely poisoned, and I’m not touching it.”

  He snorted, spinning my plate around as he grabbed his fork, shoveling some potato salad into his mouth. I waited, tensed, as he quirked an eyebrow at me.

  “Does that address your concerns?”

  “You’re immortal-of course it wouldn’t kill you.”

  “If I wanted you dead right now, you’d be dead. Now, please eat. You look famished.”

  “Why am I here?”

  He glared back at me until I sighed, biting into a piece of garlic bread. “And why are you feeding me like some exalted guest? You kidnapped me-I’m your prisoner-so why the niceties at all?”

  He picked food out of his teeth, lounging back in his chair. “What’s the fun in jumping straight to torture? I’d rather my victims be happy, full, and unaware.”

  I choked and he frowned, leaning over to whack me on the back.

  “I’m kidding.”

  “No, you’re not,” I wheezed, gulping some water as I struggled to dislodge the chicken from my throat. It was like swallowing knives. “You’re going to torture me?”

  What an absolutely idiotic thing to say, Emma. Good job.

  Kronos shrugged, nonchalant. “I don’t have to if you give me what I want.”

  “What makes you think that I have anything to offer you?”

  “Do you recognize this?” He held up a red and white polka-dot USB drive, and I felt my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. “You should really keep your things more closely guarded, Emma. It was way too easy for Terpsichore here,” he gestured to the woman standing off to one side of the dining room, “to steal it. Do you want to guess what we found?”

  He’s so calm, like all of this is just a game to him.

  “You have no right to that-it’s mine.” I surged forward and he smiled, holding it just out of reach.

  “So many personal details about Hades and his life in the Underworld. What should I do with it?”

  “I don’t care.” I did though, more than I’d admit to him. That little device contained my entire story until a few months ago, and if Hades knew who had it now and what he could do with it-I shuddered at the thought. ‘Hell to pay’ was an understatement. “Why do you need to do anything at all? He promised that he’d leave you alone, and that should’ve been enough for you.”

  “As you’ve so poetically stated several times throughout your story, things between us are complicated. The Underworld should’ve been mine, but when my idiotic sons banished me here, I lost my leverage on them. Knowing how much he’s struggling for control of his kingdom gives me a certain amount of pleasure.”

  “You’re sadistic.”

  He laughed aloud, standing. “Yes, I am, and right now I’d remember that if I were you. It wasn’t your place to meddle in the affairs of the gods, but because you did, I can use your information to take him down.”

  It felt like an ice cube was slowly sliding its way down my spine. “Why?”

  “Power, Emma. He doesn’t deserve what he has.”

  “But you’re talking about war.” I felt myself go hot and then cold, fingers clutching the edges of my seat.

  Hades, if you’re listening right now, you’re in more trouble than you know.

  Kronos smiled. “He can’t hear you, unfortunately. See, I’ve learned a little something from your last visit. The connection you have with him is like a two-way radio, right? And I’ve bajanxed your signal. You’re completely alone here.” He gestured to Terpsichore, motioning her over.

  “When?” I heard my voice crack over the word.

  “Oh, my Furies are already there and soon, I’ll join them. Make your peace with this because the next time you see your beloved Hades, it’ll be to watch as I kill him.”

  I felt my heart clench at his words as I fought the rising panic. It won’t happen, Emma. It won’t happen.

  “What are you planning to do with me?” I almost didn’t want to know, almost. The possibilities made my stomach clench.

  “Y
ou? You’re just the lure that I need to draw him here, away from his castle, right where I want him.”

  “He won’t do that, not even for me. He would never abandon his kingdom when it needs him, and I told him to stay away.”

  “You actually think he’ll listen? You have him wrapped firmly around your finger, and he knows you’re here, which means he’ll come, by any means necessary. In the meantime, I need you out of my way.”

  Terpsichore grabbed my arm in a vice-like grip, yanking me up and away from the table as Kronos bowed.

  “It’s been a pleasure, Emma, and I look forward to our next meeting. Oh! Before I forget,” he added, pausing in the doorway. “I had planned on killing you as soon as I take my rightful place in the Underworld, but I think that I’ll continue this little power trip I’m on and take everything that belongs to Hades. After all, you’re already bound to that infernal place, so why not? You’ll be a useful pet for me. Toodles.”

  He vanished and Terpsichore pulled me forward down a long, torchlit corridor, souls flitting past my peripheral-too fast to catch but unmistakably there-and I felt myself shudder a little at their nearness. It was one thing dealing with the souls in the Underworld, but these beings were darker, sadder and angrier.

  “Don’t come out of this room unless summoned,” she said, shoving me through a set of doors. “And if you even think of trying to escape, you’ll regret it.” She slammed them shut behind her and I slid down the wooden paneling, folding my knees up to my chest.

  I couldn’t stand the thought of Kronos attacking the Underworld-it was too much all at once to process without completely losing it-so instead, I tried to run through a typical day for me there, minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour conversations I’d have with Hades and Persephone, progress I’d make on my story, souls I’d help on the beach, mealtimes and alone time reading next to a flickering fire, walking Bailey through Persephone’s gardens, begging Hermes to poof me back to Portland for a bit…everything I took for granted while I had it, and now…?