After Midnight

by Brandy Greeley

  “Your funeral.” I opened my arms wide for the ball of fluff that hurdled herself towards me, catching her mid-jump as she licked my whole face excitedly. “Hello, Maddy-girl; did you have a good afternoon?” I stroked her fur, moving to the side to let Gabriel in, even as I heard the thunk…sploosh of a container of cold spaghetti hitting the kitchen floor, and flinched at the carnage as Gabriel strode past me, wrapping a hand around Max’s throat as he body-slammed him against a nearby wall. “What the hell are you doing? Let him go.” I pushed Maddy back into her cage, yanking on his sleeve, but he ignored me, letting loose a guttural growl that raised the hair on the back of my neck. For his part, Max looked…bored…and I frowned, backing away from them slowly.

  “Should’ve known you’d be around her.”

  “You have exactly ten seconds to tell me how you found her, before I pummel the snot out of you.”

  Max glanced over at me, expression thoughtful. “Bookstore, wasn’t it? I expected more of a fight from your queen. Sorry, Amy, but with your defenses down, you acted just like a lovesick puppy.”

  I stumbled back until I found the edge of the couch, sinking down into it. “Your name is Maxwell Day, your family lives in Olympia, Washington, and you’re a…vet tech…”

  “Olympia? Seriously, Prometheus?” Gabriel’s hand closed more tightly around Max’s neck, and he gagged, fists punching out against rock-hard abs.

  “I wasn’t going for practicality, Hades.”

  “So, everything you told me at your house was…true?”

  “Yes, but I never wanted this,” he said, shaking Max like a rag doll. “He’s not with you because he loves you, Amy. Tell her the truth,” he said, releasing him as he fell to the floor in a heap.

  “Max, what the hell is he talking about?”

  “My name isn’t Max – it’s Prometheus. No, wait,” he said as I dropped my head into my hands, “I didn’t want you to find out this way, and you must believe me when I say that. You should be happy, and I know you can have that with me.”

  I surged to my feet, smacking Max across the face. “You son of a bitch! You’ve been lying to me this whole time? I thought you loved me.”

  “I do! I do!” He said as I raised my fist to strike again. “All I wanted was to protect you from him.”

  “Remove the curse first,” Gabriel said, laying a hand on my shoulder as I brushed him off, frowning. Curse? The word swirled through my brain as I tried to place it – make sense of it – but it was too ridiculous to comprehend and after a minute, I gave up trying.

  “I won’t do that,” Max said, watching me warily.

  “If you’re so sure that the love between you is genuine, let her come to you of her own free will as Persephone. I won’t stand in her way if she chooses you, after all, I’m the one who put her in this mess in the first place.”

  “How generous of you, though you’re forgetting one tiny detail. The curse won’t break until we’re married.”

  “I’m not marrying anyone right now, alright? That’s not in my immediate future, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “Because you’re already married – to me,” Gabriel said, and I groaned aloud, standing to pace back and forth across the living room floor.

  “In what world could you possibly think I’d want to marry you after eight months, anyways? I’ve had cheese in my fridge longer than that!”

  Max wrinkled his nose, sidling his way out of the kitchen. “Yeah, that’s just gross, Ams, and quite frankly, makes me seriously doubt your cooking skills. I was hoping you’d fall for my witty charm and dashing good looks when you’re not constantly around him,” he said, gesturing towards Gabriel. “I realize that keeping it in the family holds some weight, too, but I also know that I could make you just as happy if you -”

  “What do you mean keeping it in the family?”

  Max glanced from Gabriel, to me, and back again, a slight frown furrowing his brow. “Didn’t you tell her?”

  “It must have slipped my mind,” Gabriel mumbled, picking at a piece of invisible lint on his shirt, and I couldn’t help but notice that he seemed a little…ill at ease.

  “Amy, meet your uncle, Hades.”

  “You – you married your niece? But, that’s…that’s…”

  “Disgusting, incestual? So very fifth-century?” Max supplied, as Gabriel’s eyes roasted him on the spot. “I can’t wait to see her reaction when you tell her how you kidnapped her, and forced her to marry you, so that you could gain access to Olympus…oops, my bad.”

  I felt the breath whoosh from my chest as I sank to the floor, and when Gabriel joined me, wrapping his arms around me, I fought him, even as those strong arms banded me in place, his lips at my ear.

  “That’s the way it started, but not how it ended, Amy. He’s trying to turn you against me, so that you’ll want to stay with him. He could break the curse – easily – but he won’t, because his only goal this entire time has been to punish you – us – by keeping us apart. Don’t let him win.”

  There’s that word again – curse – like I should automatically understand what it means for me.

  He shifted, holding me close, and for a brief second, I saw myself in his arms in front of a roaring fireplace, animal skins covering our laps as he intertwined his fingers with mine, kissing the backs of my knuckles.

  I blinked furiously, trying to dispel the images, but they refused to abate, and after a minute, I gave up trying.

  “So, kidnapping your kin is better than a curse? C’mon, Hades, even you can’t be that delusional.”

  “Making fun of me isn’t wise right now, cow thief.”

  “Thanks to me, mortals have cheese, ice cream, and milk – three of life’s greatest pleasures.”

  “Thanks to you, mortals have lactose intolerance, digestive issues, and obesity problems.”

  “I need air.” I struggled until Gabriel released me, and I stood, grabbing Maddy from her kennel and looping her paws through the straps of her harness.

  “Where are you going?” Max asked as I shoved keys and wallet into my pockets.

  “Out – I need to get out. All this bickering is making me…crazy.”

  “Do you want company?”

  “No, absolutely not. Maddy and I need some quality bonding time – alone. If either of you tried to join us, I’d probably just punch you.”

  “You can’t leave me alone with him,” Max said as he followed me to the front door.

  “Then leave – go see if Chris wants to have another spontaneous guy’s night. He’s always looking for someone to play cards with.”

  “What about him?” He pointed to Gabriel, who still knelt on the living room carpet, bright green eyes tracing the contours of my face.

  “He can’t stay here if we’re both gone, right? Problem solved.” I turned to Gabriel. “Thanks for the stimulating company.”

  “My door is always open to you. Also, you should know that your visions are real, and that I’m not going to give up on us unless you choose him, and even then, I still won’t, because we’ve been together for millennia. He’s not good for you, and when you realize this, I’ll be waiting.”

  Max stalked forward. “Get out, before I smash your brains in,” he said, voice low and menacing.

  Gabriel laughed. “Make your peace with this, Prometheus, because I’m not leaving Portland until my queen is by my side.”

  “I’ll send you a wedding invitation.”

  “Enough! God, it’s like talking to a couple of children. Max, go stay the night with Chris…tell him that I want my growlers back. Gabriel, I’ll call a cab for you if you’d like.”

  “No need,” he said as he stood, slinging his jacket across one shoulder. “I can walk.”

  “But, your house is ten blocks from here. Seriously, it’ll take thirty seconds to call someone.”

  He stilled my hand as I reached for my cellphone. “I know a short-cut.”

  I eyed him for a second before shrugging, pushing th
em both out onto the upstairs landing as I locked up behind me. “That’s up to you, though if you get shin splints, don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

  I saw a smile play around his lips. “Thank you for the concern, but I’ll be just fine.”

  “What about me?” Max asked.

  I didn’t think, just whirled around, punching him in the nose as his head snapped back on his shoulders and I gasped, covering my mouth with a hand.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Gabriel snickered. “He deserved that, Amy.”

  “He most definitely did not,” Max said, blotting at a drop of blood as he leaned heavily against the staircase. “You broke my nose.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s for lying to me for the past eight months, you selfish asshole. You could’ve just told me who you were.”

  “Would you have believed me?”

  “No, of course not, but it would’ve been nice to have the option to make that decision on my own.”

  He grabbed his nose between thumb and forefinger, jerking it to the side, and I flinched as a small crack echoed in the space between us.

  “You’re the most frustrating creature I’ve ever known, and I’m including myself in that assessment. You want me gone? I’m gone then. But you’d better have one hell of an apology waiting when I get home. I can’t believe you marred my beautiful face.” He grumbled something unintelligible as he brushed past me down the staircase.

  “Are you upset that I drew blood, or that you got sucker-punched by a girl?”

  Max paused, turning towards me. “I’ll allow you this little moment of revenge, not because I deserve it, but because it made you feel better, and that’s a good first step for us.”

  “First and last,” I said, clutching the railing to keep myself from tackling him again.

  “We’ll see.”

  Gabriel watched Max stroll out of sight, then turned to me. “I wish you weren’t kicking me out; there’s still so much left to say.”

  I massaged my brow. “I can’t think with you guys here. You’ve just changed everything I thought I knew about my life, and I’m not ready for it.”

  “I’m not going to apologize, if that’s what you want.”

  “Yeah, you’ve made that point very clear. You enjoy watching me squirm, don’t you?”

  He stepped up beside me, gazing out over the parking lot, as I let my eyes wander over him.

  “You know, marrying immediate family members isn’t something people do in the twenty-first century, in fact, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal in all fifty states.”

  “We’ve been married for over two thousand years, Amy, so modern-day traditions don’t exactly apply to us.”

  “Why did you force me to marry you?

  “The reasons don’t matter anymore.”

  “They do to me.”

  He sighed. “I was angry with your father for giving me the Underworld – something I never wanted – and marrying you gave me the chance to inherit access to his kingdom.”

  “So, it was a diplomatic marriage, not because you actually cared about me?”

  He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other as I glared at him. “Amy, I’ll never lie to you, but I don’t think this is a story you need to hear.”

  “Wait just a damn second,” I said, shoving him against the wall of the apartment building. “You chase me through the park, interrupt my coffee date with Sarah, try to seduce me at your house, attack my boyfriend, and I don’t get to know the details about my supposed past with you? You’re such a hypocrite!”

  He spun me around until my back brushed the dirty siding, fingers tangling through my curls. “I’ve had to live with my decision to kidnap you from your family for the past two centuries. I was the reason Prometheus cursed you in the first place, so don’t, for one second, think that I don’t care. Everything I’ve ever done was to try to make you happy, and I’m still doing that now, even though you need space, something that I’ll grant you because I care.”

  “Stop saying that word,” I said, trying to escape his hold. “If you cared, you wouldn’t be forcing me to be someone I don’t want to be.”

  “I want you to remember who you’re supposed to be, sweetheart. Why do you think I followed you here, to Portland? For the overpriced coffee? I’m not going to give up on you – on us – because we’re meant to be together. Fight it, if you want to, but the result will be the same.”

  “And, what if I don’t? Have you considered that yet?”

  He held me in place, green eyes blazing.

  “In order to get my memories back, I’d have to marry Max, right? So, if that doesn’t happen, the curse stays, and I get to continue to be Amy…just Amy.”

  “Even if that means living a lie?”

  I thought about it for a moment before responding. “From everything I’ve heard, it sounds like my life with you wasn’t all peaches and cream so, yeah, if I could forget any of this happened, and go back to the way things before you showed up, that would be ideal.”

  “You don’t get to rewrite the past or the future because it doesn’t fit into your plans,” he said, his breath fanning my face. “This is so much bigger than either of us.”

  “This is my world, Gabriel, and I’ll decide what happens in it, so if you can’t accept that, leave and don’t come back.” I twisted out of his arms, scooping Maddy up. “I like who I am, and the life I’ve built here for myself, whether or not it’s ‘real’ to you, so forgive me if I’m not about to give that up just because you tell me I should. You don’t own me.”

  I stomped past him, down the staircase, and heard his rueful chuckle chase after me.

  “I’ll see you soon, Amy. Also, don’t even think about skipping town, because you know I’ll always find you, no matter where you go.”

  I spun on my heels to face him. “Is that a threat?”

  “Oh no, sweetheart…it’s a promise.”

  He smiled, tucking his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he strolled out of sight, and I stood on the staircase, mouth popped open, as I mulled over the thousand and one ways I’d like to end him, until Maddy reminded me, quite frantically, that she hadn’t gone to the bathroom yet.

  Chapter Six

  Olympus, two thousand years ago

  “Do I have to go back?” Mother smiled, cupping my chin in her hand.

  “He’s your husband, Persephone.”

  “But he intimidates me sometimes,” I whispered, slipping a couple of shifts into the cloth satchel.

  “He has a notoriously short temper,” she said, starting to braid my hair over my shoulder. “And he was alone for so long before he married you. Be patient with him. Besides, it’s only for six months at a time, and I’m thankful that he lets you come home to me at all.”

  I sighed gloomily, hugging her before moving to the hall, servants running back and forth from Athena’s chambers like worker bees.

  Mother saw my confused look and smiled. “There’s a minor war in Sicily; your sister is just having a bit of fun.”

  A girl dashed past us, arms piled high with scrolls and books, her Krepis torn and flapping on her feet uselessly, held up by only one thin leather strap tied around her ankle.

  “Why does she work them so hard?”

  “Athena is a general, and she believes in being…strict. You’re going to need to learn this if you’re going to be queen of the Underworld.”

  “Something which, I’ll remind you again, I never wanted in the first place,” I said, as she pulled gently on one of my curls.

  “Your father didn’t agree to your union to punish you; it’s time that you settled down and started a life of your own.”

  “I barely know him,” I said, thinking back to the calculating way he watched me, and the long stretches of one-sided conversation.

  “Hades, for all his many faults, is a good man, and given time I’m sure you’ll see that for yourself. Don’t give up on him. He might be lord down there, but every man needs a woman’s to
uch.”

  “Is she ready?” Apollo stepped out from a nearby alcove, a waxy red fruit balanced in one hand. He slipped it into my bag, grabbing my head between his strong hands as he kissed me on the forehead. “That’s just a little something for your journey, sister. The seeds within are almost as sweet as you.”

  “Awe, you’re such a suck-up,” I said, punching him in the gut as his eyes widened in faux pain, stumbling away from me to fall heavily into a nearby chair. “Please try to keep my flowers alive this time, okay? It took everything I had to bring my hibiscus back, and I don’t know that it’ll do that for me a third time.”

  He shrugged. “I might remember, though I do have a couple of plays to oversee, a few marketplace ballads to attend…”

  “Don’t you think you should let mortals create things for themselves?”

  He put a hand to his chest, face shocked. “You wound me, dear sister! It’s my duty to help them…guide them…”

  “Write everything for them…”

  “What they don’t know is no concern of mine, as long as they find the pieces I leave for them.”

  I smiled as he wrapped me in a tight embrace. “Try to make him happy,” he breathed into my hair and a couple of fat tears worked their way down my cheek.

  “When is Hermes coming?”

  He drew away from me, wise eyes telling me what I already suspected.

  “He’s not, is he?”

  “Didn’t you get Hades’ message? Your lord is coming here himself, though I don’t know why he bothers at all, when our brother is more than capable of doing the job he hired him for.”

  “Why wouldn’t he want to come get her? It’s her birthday, after all,” mother said.

  Apollo’s eyes widened briefly.

  “You forgot, didn’t you?” I asked as he shook his head.

  “I did not – your present just isn’t ready yet,” he said, rising fluidly to his feet.

  I smiled, taking his hands in mine. “It’s okay, brother. I know my new schedule is going to take some time to get used to. Besides, there’s always next year to make it up to me.”