He looked at me silently for a minute then, leaned up against the door frame, his arms folded over his chest. The calculating look in his eyes told me he still didn’t quite trust me.
“I agreed in the boat because I had other things to do at the moment,” he said slowly. “But . . . I’ll agree for real now. I’m still not sure how you’re going to work this to your advantage—and make no mistake, I fully believe you’re doing this to try and gain something from me in the future—but I also find the idea intriguing.”
“All right then,” I said, somewhat pleased to know he wasn’t going to be a push over about it.
There was something about a man who let people walk all over him that always bothered me. Hades clearly knew what he was doing whenever he dealt with people, though. I’d watched him all through the day, dealing with his work. While it was nice he was considerate enough to take on suggestions from those under him, it had always been clear that he was the one in charge.
“So, does this new agreement apply only to the work conditions around here?” he asked, moving away from his spot and walking over to one of the horses that had pulled his chariot all day.
“To everything,” I said, watching as he grabbed a brush and began the same work I’d just finished.
He nodded again, remaining silent as he brushed the black beauty down. His hands moved over it with a grace that was unexpected and alluring, the picture of someone who had been greatly misunderstood by many.
“Are you hungry?” he asked after several minutes, when he was almost finished with his task. “It’s close to dinner time. We could go up early, if you wanted.”
He patted the back of the horse before moving in to the closest stall and beginning the same work on the next horse.
Wanting to help, I grabbed another brush and entered the stall next to him, greeting the horse softly and starting the same process.
“I’m starving,” I chuckled lightly. “I didn’t realize so much of the day would be spent out on the ride.”
“What did you think about all of it?” he asked.
I could hear the smile in his voice and turned to see if it was on his face as well. When I discovered it was, I returned it awkwardly, not used to such friendly conversation from him.
“It was a lot to take in,” I confessed. “I had no idea it was so large. Or that parts of it were so beautiful.”
“It’s an interesting place, that’s for sure,” he said, his tone a little clipped.
“You don’t like it here?”
“It’s not that,” he said with a sigh. “As I’m sure you know, it’s an acquired taste, though. So much death.”
“So little sun,” I said softly.
We kept working in silence until all of the horses had been brushed down and everything put back in its place.
“Dinner then?” Hades asked, holding his hand out to me.
I eyed it for only a second, knowing that whatever deals he’d had in place with Persephone before were probably still there in his mind, despite agreeing to start over. It was probably better it stayed that way, to keep from rocking the boat.
“Please,” I said, sliding my fingers between his.
“So,” he said as we left the room and started heading back down the hot, open hallway. “Tell me about yourself. What is so different now that I need to get to know you all over again?”
I laughed nervously, not knowing how much to share and what to keep secret about my life.
“Have I ever told you about my summers away?” I asked, stalling for time.
“Not really, no,” he chuckled. “I used to think you were out spending all the time with your mother. That’s not exactly what goes on, though.”
He didn’t phrase it like a question and I was sure he was right in his assumptions. He couldn’t have spent all that time married to Persephone and not be somewhat clued in on the type of person she was.
“Some of it I spent with her,” I said slowly. “A lot of the time I would go to a, uh, ranch. I found it relaxing.”
“A ranch?” he asked in surprise. “I thought you were more the type to be dancing your goodies off on a poker table in Vegas. I even asked Zeus if he’d seen you while he was there all those years.”
“Zeus?” I inquired, not having any idea of what he was talking about.
“Yeah. He was there the whole time he was banished. Karly didn’t come into the picture until the very end of it, but you know that.”
“Karly.”
Obviously, something had happened in this world that was not in the history books, something recent. I had the feeling it was something big, too.
“Yeah. I forgot to tell you—I didn’t think you’d particularly care actually—but they’re going to have a baby. I think I might barf if Poseidon announces he and Audrey are expecting any time soon.”
“Right,” I said slowly, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying.
“How long have they all been married again?” I asked, trying to learn whatever I could without giving away the fact I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Zeus and Karly for about two—three?—years now. Poseidon hasn’t picked a date yet. I’d be surprised if they’d even settled on a ring with their crazy, wishy washy thinking.”
“Ah, gotcha.”
“Look at you, asking about my family,” he chuckled as we reached the entrance he wanted. “Like you actually care about them.”
He opened the door for me and ushered me through, releasing my hand for the few seconds it took. As soon as he was by my side again he interlaced our fingers, pulling me along after him.
“I care,” I said defensively.
“Which is why you threw a giant hissy fit about them getting married here during the summer and you having to come back for two days to attend it.”
He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at me, a smirk on his face.
I pressed my lips together, frowning at him and his goading.
“Enough about the brothers,” he chuckled. “Tell me more about your summers.”
“I kick back at a ranch,” I said simply. “There’s horseback riding, good food, and relaxation all around.”
“Relaxation,” he snickered. “It’s a spa ranch. That makes much more sense, you sitting by the pool working on your tan while someone massages your feet and fans your face.”
I sighed heavily, deciding to just let him think that. If that’s what Persephone would have done, then so be it. I spent my summers being lazy.
We reached the hall we’d eaten in the night before and another large spread of food was already laid out for us. Taking care of the horses had filled the extra time we’d had to waste.
Hades pulled my chair out for me and waited for me to sit before walking down to his end of the table.
Once again, I stared at the enormous amounts of food in front of me, with no idea or even possibility of eating it all.
“This is a lot of food,” I said without touching any of it. “What happens to what I don’t eat?”
He shrugged, his mouth already full of what appeared to be chicken pulled from the entire roasted bird in front of him.
“Do they have to make so much of it? I can have just one thing.”
I shifted in my seat uncomfortably as he looked at me, his chewing slowing down as he cocked his head to the side.
“Are you not happy?” he asked, a dangerous tone under the question.
“No!” I hurried to say. “It’s not that. It just seems . . . Wasteful.”
I swallowed back my nervous fear as I matched his gaze, wondering if I had indeed stepped over a line. Hadn’t he said all of my food was brought here special, just for me? What if I’d offended him by complaining about it?
“It’s your food, you tell them how much of it to make,” he finally said, picking up another leg from his chicken and tearing into it with his teeth.
“Thank you,” I said somewhat shakily.
“I can write it down for you, Highness,�
� one of the servants behind me piped up.
“Thanks,” I said again, turning around to look at him.
Hades cleared his throat and my attention was drawn back to him. He had another one of those questioning, surprised looks on his face, making me realize I’d probably done something out of character again. However, he remained silent, going back to his food after a few seconds of studying me.
The rest of our meal took place in silence, much like the night before. While I was relieved to know I was going to be able to be more myself, I still had that underlying feeling of fear whenever I was with Hades. I didn’t think he would easily fall into a pattern of trust, especially since he’d basically called me a liar to my face and accused me of having ulterior motives. On the other hand, though, that seemed like something Persephone would do. Maybe I was on the right track after all.
As we finished up and plates were being cleared from the table, I decided to take another stab at getting to know him, hoping that there wouldn’t be any other myth contradicting things to be revealed.
“What do you do during the summer?” I asked politely, catching him off guard.
“What do you mean?”
“Surely, you do more than just ride around checking on things,” I probed. “Don’t you have anything fun you like to do?”
A wide grin broke out on his face, followed by loud, belly laughter.
“Persephone,” he said, wiping his face with a napkin. “Would you like to see the media room?”
“Sure,” I said with a grin. “I didn’t even know we had a media room here.”
“There’s a lot of things you didn’t know about,” he snickered. “Follow me.”
He motioned for me to come as he stood and turned to the doors behind him.
I did as he said, curious as to what kind of things a god would keep in their media room. Something told me it wouldn’t be a popcorn machine.
We left the dining hall and turned the opposite way from where I knew the bedrooms were, heading down another long hallway. When we reached the end, a spiral staircase leading down was revealed behind the large door. As we descended, I felt the first inklings of cool air that weren’t in my bedroom and sighed in pleasure.
Air conditioning. It did exist here.
When we finally reached the end of the long staircase, another door greeted us, this one just plain black stone, almost completely blending into the walls around it. With a tap from Hades, it opened easily, revealing what I could only imagine was the dream of every boy on the planet at some point.
There were game and movie posters all over the walls, a lot of which I recognized. Over stuffed couches and chairs sat in places around the room, all of them pointed at one wall, which I suddenly realized was one huge screen. I could see every game console ever known to man sitting along the walls as well, movies on tall racks, CD’s stacked into cubbies, and basically everything anyone could ever want to have an enjoyable, multimedia night.
“Oh my gosh,” I laughed, turning to look at him after I’d entered the room. “You’re a nerd!”
“Excuse me?” he laughed.
“Look at all of this,” I snorted. “You have the perfect man cave for nerds. Any game, any movie, any anything basically.”
“At least it’s not a porn room,” he said with a grin. “I was under the impression most men wanted that in their man cave.”
“Ew, gross!” I said, wrinkling my nose. “This is much better.”
“Do you want to play anything?” he asked, motioning around the room.
“So, this is what you do for fun,” I said with a grin. “You play video games.”
“Not always,” he said, still smiling. “There’s a very nice library here as well and I like to read.”
“An intellectual,” I said, turning to look at his collection again. “This is very impressive, I have to admit. I wouldn’t mind seeing that library either, some time.”
“I can take you now, if you want,” he said, motioning back to the door. “Like I said, there’s a lot you don’t know about. It could take a while to see it all.”
“Then we better get started, don’t you think?” I laughed.
“Great,” he said, surprising me with another sincere smile. “Let’s get going.”
Chapter Twelve
The next few weeks seemed to pass unreasonably fast for some reason, filled with days of either getting to know Hades or looking for the elusive helmet I was supposed to be finding. Try as I might, though, it just wasn’t anywhere I could think of to look. Getting to know its owner was helping some, giving me ideas of where to sneak a peek when he wasn’t around. I should have known it wouldn’t simply be sitting out in the open somewhere.
I hadn’t ever gone back out on the weekly ride with him and his guards, choosing instead to have free reign of the castle and explore while he was gone. I’d been in almost every room now and was certain the helmet was not kept close like I’d hoped. I was going to need to go out and search through the giant land of the dead to try and find it.
While Hades was showing me all of the extra rooms with their cool features and treasures, I’d discovered that not only was the library huge, but it contained a copy of every book ever written. It literally went on forever, something I chalked up to the supernatural magic of the place. Knowing this also helped me immensely. When alone, I’d spend hours pouring over Greek mythology tomes and surfing the Internet, which I was also stupidly surprised to find worked down here. I didn’t bother so much with the stuff about Hades himself, since I was getting to learn about that first hand, but focused more on the helmet. Thanks to my research, I had a special trip planned today, my first one outside alone. To say I was nervous about it was somewhat of an understatement.
Now that I knew my way around better, I made it to the stables easily, telling a servant along the way I was going out for a ride if anyone were to ask for me.
“Hey Hero,” I said to my horse as I entered, smiling at the name I’d finally decided on for him. “Are you ready to get out of here for a little while?”
I saddled him up and got ready to go, some of my nervousness fading away at the normal actions I was used to taking. It felt nice to do something that reminded me of home.
My parents had been on my mind occasionally during my time here, as I wondered what was happening to them back home. Had they worked everything out? Did Erebos do as he’d promised? Was I still a murder suspect? If so, how was that effecting my family?
It was hard to keep those things in the forefront of my mind while I was here, though, almost like something was making me forget about them in favor of fulfilling my promise to the Titan.
After Hero was ready to go, we rode out quickly, pushing our way through the mass of people just like before. I still felt that they stared at me differently, like they knew who I was. Thankfully, they kept their distance anyway, looking at me from afar.
I pushed Hero as much as I could without hurting him, quickly making my way to the bank of the river the Islands of the Blessed rested in. The Underworld seemed a much scarier place without armed guards escorting me, like I could easily get swallowed up and lost here in mere seconds. Thankfully, though, the path was well worn, something I hadn’t noticed before because of all the dust the party had kicked up.
Once we reached the bank, I dismounted and let the horse have a drink, the pace of our ride having taken a toll on him. Once I was confident he wouldn’t wander off without me, I stood on the bank, waiting for the boat to appear. Just as worry started to cloud my mind, it rose up out of the water, magically dry like always.
Without Hades in the boat to make me feel uncomfortable, the sail seemed much shorter this time around. As the islands came into view, I could see a few of the guards gathering on the beach, probably surprised by an unannounced visit.
“All right, Mean Persephone,” I mumbled to myself as I came up to the dock. “You mean business. No letting them push you around.”
I left the boat with
a frown on my face, trying to appear like I should be there.
“Highness,” one of the guards said, shifting on his feet uncomfortably. “We didn’t expect you. Is there something we can help you with?”
“I’m looking for Perseus,” I said in a matter of fact tone. “Which island is he on?”
“Uh.” The guard looked confused and surprised at the same time, pointing to an island that was back a ways, with a view of the waterfall.
“Thank you,” I snipped, looking down at him as I passed by, hoping I was portraying just the right amount of haughtiness.
I moved between the different islands quickly, eager to get to my destination and talk with the famous hero. Looking for the helmet gave me a sense of adventure and forbidden desires, a thrill of the unknown. Never would I have imagined I would be in a place like this, discovering things that were meant to be stories only, in their very real forms.
As I stepped foot on the island I needed to be on, I could already tell it was somewhat different from the others. The music didn’t sound the same, but like something from another time. All of the other spirits here mixed and mingled together, a timeless landscape of fashions and tastes. This place, however, seemed to be only observing the traditions of their one, specific time—ancient Greece. There was still laughter and a feast going on, but gentle, string music filtered through the trees instead of the loud, messy dance music of the others.
I made my way up the shore slowly, watching the people visiting together and playing games I didn’t recognize. It suddenly occurred to me I had no idea which one of them was the hero I sought. To make matters worse, it sounded like they were all talking in their native language as well.
This was not going to be as easy as I’d hoped it would be.
As I came closer to the party, a few of the patrons fell silent, bowing their heads to me in respect before continuing on as if I wasn’t there. The same happened as I made my way past the tables, into the middle of the great circle they formed, by the fire that was lit there.
Everyone continued on as they were, only a few stopping to watch me curiously. It was obvious I wasn’t going to get anywhere without speaking up for myself. As one song came to an end, I cleared my throat and looked around, trying to pick which of the warriors here was the one I wanted.
Hades (The God Chronicles #3) Page 9
