by Skyler Andra
Outside in the hall, I pressed my back to the wall and ran a hand through my hair. I sucked in a deep breath, calming my raging pulse. Everything in my day had been out of the ordinary, starting with the intrusion by the Hermes’ avatar and ending with my rough handling of the soldier. Something was not right with my realm… with me. I never missed a soul. Never left one behind.
But what had shaken me the most was meeting Autumn, discovering her godly abilities, and the emotions she stirred in me. My heart clenched at having to say goodbye to her.
Oh, how easily she had charmed Alan Parsons into liking her. How she convinced him that he had to leave the Land of the Living. All of these skills I needed if I was going to fix the problem of the missing souls. But I never needed them before. As the Lord of the Dead, souls had always obeyed me. And look where my last efforts to retrieve two souls had gotten me. A punch in the face and a gun aimed at my chest!
I could not continue to lose my authority to rule my realm. I had to retain the Underworld through dignity and respect. Reclaim every last soul remaining on the Land of the Living. And, as much as I loathed to admit it, I needed Autumn’s help to do so.
Chapter 9
Autumn
“Oh, you’re back,” I said, shifting the flower truck’s gear to slow the vehicle down. After being thrown into an odd situation this morning, his sudden reappearance didn’t faze me as much I thought it might.
“I need your help,” Hades confessed after reappearing in the passenger seat. His voice dripped with regret and my heart stung at what it must have cost him to return and admit it after he’d kind of flipped out back in the Underworld—the cause of which I still wasn’t sure of.
“Try to get another soul to come back to the Underworld and it failed, huh?” I smiled sweetly just to piss him off.
He glared at me because I was right, and having an annoying little mite remind him every time he was wrong was probably infuriating.
“In light of… everything… I am offering you a job.”
I already had two jobs. One at the florist and another propagating for the nursery. I didn’t exactly have much spare time. He’d better pay well; otherwise, I wasn’t willing to consider it.
But instead of enquiring about the job, I pushed my luck instead. “Say you’re sorry first. You rather unceremoniously threw me out of the Underworld.”
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You will not accept until I do?”
“Accept?” I jammed my foot on the brake, making him jerk forward. His forehead hit the sun visor. I normally wasn’t a mean person, but Hades had really pissed me off with that stunt, and I didn’t react well to rude bullies who pressured me to do what they wanted.
“You have a rather high opinion of yourself.”
“I was wrong to have been so rude,” he muttered.
“What?”
“I said sorry.”
“Say it again.”
“No.”
“All right.” I lowered the sass in my voice. “Tell me about this job.”
“I am attending to the issue of the missing souls across the Land of the Living,” he began. “Apparently, I could do with some help corralling the souls; and after what you demonstrated today, I’d like you to accompany me. You’ve been… helpful.”
I had to laugh at that. Helpful. Was that the only word he could find? It must really have been painful for an almighty god to ask for assistance when he couldn’t do the job he was designed for.
“Helpful isn’t what I would call it.” God, my heart was such a traitor. Shameless flirt. But I was the master. Maybe I could write a course for Udemy.
He must have caught the slightly teasing tone in my voice. To my surprise, he eased up on that stiffness in his countenance enough to smile at me.
“But you know I have two jobs, right?” I told him. “I wasn’t just wandering around that funeral home for fun.”
His eyebrow scaled up his forehead with what was likely impatience. He didn’t take jokes too well, did he?
“Tell them you’ve found another job,” he insisted.
“Uh-huh.” I flicked on the indicator to turn left. We were two blocks away from Pearl’s. “How about benefits? Retirement? Dental? Cool co-workers? Having a company pup, or three, is nice, but it doesn’t really give me hospital coverage.”
Hades tented his fingers together. “In return for your service, I will make sure that you never have to work another day in your life.”
Curious. Now he had my attention. I leaned forward, hunching over the steering wheel to glance at the sky. “Specifics, please.”
When I sent a cursory glance his way, I found him staring at me, unblinking. “Two hundred drachma and whatever jewels you wish to take with you.”
I stared at him hard for two seconds because I wasn’t in a ridiculous movie where the characters could stare for like a minute and not crash. Was he serious?
“Um. What is the conversion rate for drachma these days?”
Hades glanced at the ceiling. “They are an ancient coin. I imagine they might fetch a few million in your currency. Would you like a cost evaluation?”
All the air around us was sucked into my lung when I gasped. I almost crashed the damn van. A few million dollars! My hands trembled as I pulled the vehicle over to steady myself. I left the engine running and wound down the window for some fresh ventilation.
When I could talk, I mumbled, “You know that that’s like… real numbers with real money attached, right?”
“Yes.” He inched closer along the bench seat as if pressing me to agree.
“Well, I want everything in writing.” I crossed my arms, playing hard to get, but also maybe hoping he might throw another hundred drachmae in as a bonus. “I need a binding contract and an evaluation of the drachma. Then we can negotiate price, conditions, timeframe.”
“Negotiate?” He said it like he had never been turned down before.
Well, I didn’t just throw my lot in with anyone, and I certainly didn’t make deals with the Lord of the Dead every day, did I? Plus, never having to work another day in my life sounded like fun. Perhaps I could buy Pearl out since she’d already spoken many times about retiring. I’d always wanted a shop of my own, minus Mr. Cotterly as a client.
I nodded at Hades. “I suppose I can take a leave of absence from Pearl’s. They owe me some time off for all the overtime I do. This isn’t going to be a forever job, is it? I don’t want to lock myself out of any opportunities.”
“At the florist’s?” he enquired.
I shrugged, unperturbed. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll take it over when Pearl retires. I’ll go bored with nothing to do. And if I have kids, that money won’t last forever. There’s always toys, medicine, school fees, clothes, and a house. Not all of us can be lords of the dead with unlimited wealth.”
“Obviously, he droned.”
God, I wanted him to smile again.
Stop it. Stop forgiving him because he’s gorgeous when he smiles. Even more so with those deep brown eyes that drank me up...
“So how long do you think this job will take?” Really, my question danced along the line of when could I buy Pearl out and get myself my own house with a garden?
He hesitated, glancing down at me, which made me realize how close we were sitting next to each other. He smelled of an intoxicating combination of the earthy scents of his realm, coppery like metal, and of cinnamon, vanilla, and spices. The darkness in his eyes had faded, revealing a softer brown similar to the shade of the soil I used to put my plants in. He was looking at me like he felt my want and fear in equal measure. His lips were slightly parted, his breath light and shallow. His hands twitched as if he wanted to reach for me but didn’t quite dare.
I didn’t have any such reservations.
“Oh, beautiful,” I murmured, my hand coming up to touch his hair, then falling to graze his cheek, my finger then tracing the shell of his ear, or whatever he would let me touch… damn, I’d forgiven him too easily.
�
��Tell them you’ll be back in the spring,” he said, for some reason, those words made me shiver. The command. The firmness. “I’ll have the contracts drawn and the proof of the drachma ready for you.”
Ugh. Back to business. He pulled away as if wanting to remain professional even though I sensed he wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss him.
“All right.” God. There went all my hard-thought negotiation! “But only because you said sorry.”
***
Hades’ offer checked out, all right. More than checked out. Turned out that one ancient Greek drachma was worth fifteen thousand a piece. They had been stamped with the image of Hades and were made of pure gold. They had never been in circulation anywhere besides the Underworld. So, my payday was bumped to three and a half million for their rarity.
Of course, I made sure I added a little bonus condition into my contract. For every soul retrieved, I got another fifty thousand in the bank. What? It wasn’t like Hades couldn’t afford it. He sat on a pile of gold, for Petunia’s sake! Me, I had to think about my future and whether or not I had a job to go to after this little adventure.
Pearl wasn’t happy at all that I was stepping out, but when I reminded her that she owed me leave, that I was one of the few people who actually knew how the filing and billing system worked, and that I was the only person who could create a teddy bear made out of roses in under twenty minutes, she responded with a begrudged okay.
“You’re not coming back,” Pearl predicted. “You’ve gotten your head turned around. I don’t know if I will ever see you again.”
“I’m just exploring my options,” I said, giving her a hug. “Putting myself out there.”
“Well, it’s high time you were putting out,” she declared. I coughed at her insinuation. “How you ever expect to get anywhere with anyone without doing that is beyond me.”
God, she made me laugh.
I hadn’t dated in a while. Down below needed a good Spring Cleaning. Well, its first cleaning. Maybe Hades might be the man for that job. I’d never gone that far with a guy. After my mom had died, I’d been too scared to get serious with anyone. I hadn’t wanted to get too attached or get my heart crushed by someone else. I mean, my dad wasn’t exactly father of the year, having left us to go to Australia. When my mom passed, I was all alone. I had no family, no one was around, except for Pearl.
“Thank you again, Pearl,” I said with a sigh. “See you in spring. Thanks for looking after my plants.”
I went back to my apartment that afternoon and checked my bank account for the fifth time. Hades’ first payment of half a million was already in, and… yeah, I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a dream. As long as this was real, this would set me up for a long, long while. Tonight, he’d pick me up and take me to our first collection.
I puttered around, making sure that my two dozen plants were watered and set up to survive for at least a week without me. While I waited for Hades to arrive, I took a nap. About an hour past sunset, I got a polite beep from my phone. Time to go.
As I made my way downstairs, I wondered why he hadn’t just magicked himself inside my apartment, like he had done in Pearl’s van. Maybe he didn’t want to see my apartment. It did look pretty shabby from outside so I didn’t blame him.
When I made my way downstairsmy backpack full of clothes, overnight gear, and toiletriesHades was waiting for me in a sleek black car that looked like it ate lesser cars for dinner. To my surprise, he stepped out of the vehicle and came to open the door for me. His dark crisp suit was back, which was just fine, but maybe there was a part of me that missed the robes and the teasing view they gave of muscles and a powerful chest. Sure, the suit made him look powerful and maybe just a little predatory, but the toga and the armor… well… let’s just say I had dreamed about it—god shut up… that was more than enough that needed to be said about it.
“What?” I said. “No dark chariot with black horses?”
“Get in,” he said, his voice warm with amusement.
“No seriously,” I insisted. “You magicked me to the Underworld. Why have you got a car?”
“The teleportation made you ill,” he explained. Awww. So thoughtful. I liked him even more. “Maybe when you can stomach it a bit more we will try again.”
The way he said that, like he was hinting at something more, made me curious. What did he know that I didn’t? But I’d get to that later. For now, I needed some insurance.
“Hang on for just a second,” I said, removing my phone from my jacket and lifting it up. “Smile, please!”
“What are you doing?”
“Just smile.”
He gave me a stilted, but nice and somewhat confused smile. I took a pic of him and then one of his license plate before I got into the car.
“What was that all about?” he asked as he pulled into traffic.
“You know.” I waved my phone before sending the text to a friend from my bush walking group for safekeeping, then tucking it away. “Insurance. In case you end up being some common murderer instead of- of you know.”
“The Lord of the Dead?” he asked dryly.
“In my defense, one is a lot more likely than the other.” I ran my hands along the fine leather seats, then settled into them. I could already tell I was going to enjoy traveling in style with him.
“You are… not wrong,” he admitted.
“I guess you would know, huh.”
He chuckled at that, the sound breaking through his stiffness. “Yes.”
My flirting was intense. I wondered if it might lead to anything. No. I should keep it strictly professional. You know, boss and employee relationship… but he had such sexy muscles. No! He was cold and stiff, I just wanted to warm him up a little. Bring out that smile some more. That was all this is.
Autumn!
Fine.
“I’m… going to change the topic now, all right?”
“Might be for the best,” he mused.
I blinked at the slight hint of humor in his voice. “Are you teasing me?”
“Maybe just a little.” He glanced at me, his eyes still that deep brown. “You are fine. Do what you need to keep yourself safe. I shall do the same.”
“Well, I promise not to stab you and run away with your nice car.”
“No. I meant that I will do what I can to keep you safe as well.” He didn’t get my joke. He’d uttered the words so plainly and so sincerely that it took me a moment to realize what he meant by them. Then for some reason, I blushed, looking down at my hands.
“I… you don’t have to,” I mumbled. “I’m pretty good at taking care of myself. I’m not a delicate flower.”
“Still.” I shivered at his protest. I guess I liked how protective he was of me.
Besides Pearl, no one had looked after me in almost eight years.
The way Hades worried for me was new and different. He feared the dead might hurt me and that he couldn’t be the one to stop it from happening. It was comforting to hear that someone would go so far for a person they just met. But I wasn’t worried about the dead, not like Hades was at least. Alan Parsons hadn’t thought I was a threat. I had to believe that everything was going to be fine.
We drove on in silence for a little while, which ended when Hades cleared his throat.
“There is a map in the glove compartment. Kindly pull it out and tell me which direction I need to go to get on the highway.”
“Can’t wait to teleport,” I hinted. “Maybe next time?”
He gave me a wry look.
Hmmm. I’d have to work on his demeanor.
I pulled out my phone again. “You want me to just use my phone?”
“No.”
“Right.” In the glove compartment I found a map, but it wasn’t what I’d been expecting. It was a weighty piece of parchment rolled up in a leather sleeve. Small skull beads dangled from the cords that held it closed. “Oh, wow, this is a map…”
I unrolled it and whistled. Talk about
gorgeous. It was inscribed with all the roads—sparkling blue lines that represented the freeways, and green ones for the county roads. Names and designations were written in ink so clear and sharp it was almost unreal. Across the state, there was a tiny gold bead, glowing and pulsing gently—our destination.
“This thing has every Waffle House listed,” I pointed out, looking at Hades with surprise.
“In case you’re hungry,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road. His seemly casual reply gave me the distinct impression that he’d magically programmed the map before we’d left.
“This is incredible,” I said with a grin. “Thank you.”
I wasn’t joking. I liked Waffle House. A LOT.
“Of course, now—which way?” He gestured to the map. Always, back to business.
I scanned the map, checking our gold dot and the line indicating our route. “West at the upcoming exit. Where do you even get something like this? Did you make it yourself?”
“It is… was stolen from Zeus.”
I looked at him shrewdly but paused to let him merge lanes before I spoke again. “That sounds an awful lot like you stole it from Zeus. Is he around too?”
It must have been the wrong thing to say because Hades’ lips thinned out a little, as he shook his head. “It’s a long and complicated story.”
“We’ve got time,” I insisted. “Looks like we’re going to be on this stretch for, hmm… I would say about five hours?”
“Then you should get some sleep. I’ll wake you when I need you again.”
Touchy subject. Maybe one day he’d share the story. For now, I shrugged it off, rolled up the map again and returned it to the glove compartment. I had already taken a nap, but florists rise with the sun, and I was way up past my bedtime.
“You know, we could do this ten times faster if we teleported.”
He glowered at me and I honestly liked the way he did that. It tickled my insides. Damn. He wasn’t going to budge.
“All right,” I responded. “Wake me when you need me.”
He made a soft acknowledging noise. As I settled back, I had to suppress the urge to reach over and rest my hand on his thigh. It was something my friends did with their boyfriends, and it had always struck me as something nice. I hadn’t dated in three years. Wasn’t interested. Didn’t have the time. Hadn’t met the right guy. And it would have been awkward if I attempted to do something similar to my friends. Plus I wasn’t here to make nice with Hades. I was here to do a job since he was my boss. Best to stick to that. Stop the shameless flirting.
