Daughter of the Earth and Sky

by Musa Publishing

  “A lead on what?”

  Mom made her way back to the kitchen and sat down, fingers drumming on the wooden table. “Have you spoken to Orpheus lately?”

  “Ugh, Orpheus again? No. Once was enough.”

  I rolled my eyes. Hades worked hard to make the Underworld a paradise for the souls. So when Orpheus showed up, determined to take his wife back to the living realm, he took it personally.

  “Some of the Muses have gone missing.”

  Hades raised an eyebrow and sat down at the opposite seat. I leaned forward, listening intently. This is what Hades wanted me to hear. “Missing?”

  “I don’t suppose they’ve passed through the Underworld?”

  Hades shook his head, leaning back in his seat. “Thanatos knows to bring all deities to me. Demigods too.”

  I ground my teeth together. For a second I toyed with the idea of searching the Underworld for the missing muses. Thanatos would have a tough time explaining it if they were down there. I dismissed the idea. The Underworld was huge. I could search forever and never find them. Even if I succeeded, it wasn’t like I could tell Hades where they were.

  “Thalia contacted me. Some of her sisters are missing as well. And what do they all have in common?”

  Hades sighed. “They’re all Zeus’.”

  “Exactly. There’s been an upswing in missing persons lately.” Mom reached into her purse and pulled out a stack of missing persons flyers. I couldn’t see much more than gold hair. “Demigods, I’m willing to wager they’re Zeus’ as well. Since his kids are the only ones that can kill him, it seems logical that he’s taking them out before they can be used against him.”

  “The only ones he can kill are the demigods.”

  “Unless he can get the others to pull a Boreas. Give Zeus all of their power,” my mom pointed out.

  Hades mulled that over. “Have you warned Athena?”

  “Of course.”

  “If Zeus is hunting down his kids, that’s even more reason to stay close. You should have told me. I could have followed up on this, and she deserved to know. Did you even tell her what was going on?”

  “There was no reason to.” When Hades groaned, she continued. “Nothing’s changed. We still know Zeus is after her—”

  “You know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, right? You need to tell her—”

  “Hades, we’re not even on speaking terms.” She propped her elbow on the table and massaged her forehead with her hand. “I haven’t seen her for more than five minutes in passing since the night she found out about Minthe.” My mom gave Hades a sad smile. “You won, okay. She’s completely turned against me. So why don’t you two go live happily ever after? She’ll be safer in the Underworld—”

  “Demeter, we aren’t together.”

  I winced, the pain of that statement shooting me straight through the heart.

  Mom looked up. “Then where’s she been spending all her time?”

  “Apparently making out with random men in clubs.”

  Mom’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “Oh, yeah, and her new boyfriend. Did she tell you she quit school? She’s not on speaking terms with her priestess, either. She spends the bulk of her time out drinking and charming random shopkeepers with Aphrodite. I’d tell you more, but remember those significant gaps in her memory I told you about?”

  “That’s not—” Mom stared at him, shocked speechless. “She wouldn’t—”

  “No. She wouldn’t. Significant. Gaps. In. Memory.” Hades enunciated each word. “Remember the last time we saw those?”

  Mom paled.

  Hades continued. “I went through every stray thought in her head while she was out.” He shot an apologetic look in my direction. “I’ve seen every milestone with her new boyfriend, every dark corner of every nightclub, every lapse in judgment, but you know what I didn’t see? That Reaper torturing her earlier this afternoon.” He gave her a significant look. “I still don’t have a clue what’s been bugging her for the last few months. There’s a wall there, and I can’t break it.”

  “Zeus is using her to get to you.” Mom’s voice was strained.

  Hades nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Aphrodite?”

  “Do you think I would have left her here with Aphrodite if I wasn’t completely certain Persephone had enough power to resist her charm?”

  My mom considered that, and then nodded. “Someone else then.”

  “It’s not likely anyone I’ve seen in her head. He’s covering his tracks too well. She’s figured it out before, and today I point-blank told her she’s been charmed several times. She doesn’t remember.” He shot me an apologetic look. “She’s not going to remember until we can break her free of the charm.”

  I frowned, pushing my necklace back and forth on the chain. What was he talking about? Mom spoke, breaking my concentration and washing whatever Hades had just said from my mind. “Your Reapers would know who she’s been spending time with.”

  Hades shook his head. “I’ll ask, but I think we need to assume this was all taking place on the rogue Reaper’s shifts.”

  “Did you interrogate him?”

  Hades sighed and indicated the pile of dust on the kitchen floor. “I got a bit carried away. It was before I knew—”

  “I would have done the same thing. I can talk to Melissa.”

  “They haven’t spoken in weeks. Our best bet’s Aphrodite, but I’m not sure we should tip her off that we know anything.”

  “How about her boyfriend? He may know where else she’s been spending her time. If you talk to him—”

  Hades gave her a level look. “I just watched what feels like half the men in this city get to second base with my wife. Do you really want me in a room alone with one of them?”

  Mom snorted. “Fine, I’ll talk to him. It’s probably a dead end anyway. If Zeus is putting out enough energy to maintain a hold on her, he’s not going to leave witnesses.”

  Hades hesitated. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. He’s got to be using a ton of energy keeping her under. Persephone isn’t weak. Thanks to Orpheus, she almost rivals you and me. If we found Zeus now, we might actually be able to end this thing fast.”

  Mom narrowed her eyes. “You want to use her as bait?”

  “Hell no. She’s completely vulnerable to him right now. If Zeus caught wind we were on to him, he could just have her swear fealty, give him all her power, and then he’d have access to the Underworld, and she’d be gone. I want to keep her in the Underworld until this is over. If we both know she’s safe, we can put all our resources toward finding Zeus.”

  My mom’s shoulders relaxed. “Good. I don’t know how you’re going to convince her to stay down there, but it’s good we’re on the same page.” Her eyes widened as if a thought had just occurred to her. “What if she’s already sworn?”

  Hades shook his head. “I’d know.”

  Mom nodded, her lips pressed in a firm line, expression troubled. “I wonder what he’s waiting for?”

  I drew my knees to my chest. Good question.

  Chapter XXI

  “Thanks for letting me listen in,” I told Hades as we made our way down to the Underworld. “Mom never would have told me what she was up to.”

  Hades nodded, looking distracted. “Do you remember anything else from that conversation?”

  I gave him an odd look. “Weird question. Yeah. You two argued. A lot.”

  “Nothing else?”

  I shook my head. “Why? What did I miss?”

  He took my hand, and we teleported to the hall right outside my room. The hallway was huge and looked like it was carved from ebony. Not a single fingerprint marred the gleaming surface or silver trim. Hades changed that by planting his hand on the wall behind me and pulling me into a kiss. A surge of power rushed through me, and I pulled away, staring at Hades in surprise.

  “What was that fo
r?”

  “You tell me.” He studied my eyes for a moment, and then, as if I wasn’t confused enough, kissed me again.

  The door swung open. “Whoa!” Cassandra said. “Sorry to interrupt, but do you have any idea how late you are?”

  Hades ignored her, but I pulled away. There was something…My mind flashed back to a half-remembered conversation between Thanatos and…someone.

  “How much power would he give her if the situation turned dire?”

  “Everything.”

  My breath caught. Who had said that? Who had said what? Damn it! It was slipping away!

  What was slipping away? I blinked and tried to remember something…important?

  I looked up at Hades. His gaze was locked on mine.

  “Almost,” he murmured. “Cassandra, do you mind?”

  “Yes, actually. She should have been here hours ago. You, too! Go get ready.”

  “She’s right,” I said quickly. “I need to get ready.”

  Cassandra gave him a triumphant smile, and I stepped into my room. “Bye, Hades.”

  He clenched his jaw. “You’ve got one hour.”

  “See you in two.” Cassandra laughed and closed the door. She turned around to face me. “Hey!”

  I’d already changed into my costume—a white, Greek-styled tunic. I added heavy gold jewelry crafted to look like leaves to the ensemble. I touched the crown and adjusted the necklace until it felt comfortable. I let a glamour settle over me instead of bothering with makeup.

  “Take all the fun out of it, why don’t you?” Cassandra muttered.

  “Sorry, you said we were in a rush.” My thoughts were racing. Hades hadn’t caught on to Thanatos yet, but he had to be at least suspicious of the Reapers. I needed to push him further in that direction, but in the meantime I’d actually touched a Reaper today. Physically. It probably had something to do with Halloween, but if I could touch them, could I charm them? Normally souls were immune, but they weren’t typically corporeal either. It was like all the rules had just changed. Maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t completely helpless today.

  I needed to hurry. “Say, Cassandra, could you do me a favor?”

  “Might as well,” she grumbled. “Not like we have anything else to do.” She stood in front of the mirror and tapped her shoulder. Her costume appeared on her—some anime-style fairy thing.

  “That looks great.” I smiled at her as she yanked her black hair back and twisted it into an up-do.

  “Save the flattery. What do you want?”

  “I didn’t want to bother Hades with this, but I was wondering if you could send me a few of the Reapers.” I moved aside the sheer canopy and plopped down on the bed.

  Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. “Why? They should all be off now that you’re here. It’s Halloween, Persephone. It’s like their biggest holiday.”

  It was still weird to me that Greek gods celebrated Halloween. I knew Hades wasn’t just Hades. He was the god of the Underworld in every culture. He had thousands of names, but the Greek names stuck, so that was how I thought of him.

  I plucked at my necklace. “I know it’s typically their night off, but I wanted a few of them to keep an eye on my friends and family on the surface. If Zeus was going to do anything, he’d do it tonight, wouldn’t he?”

  Cassandra frowned. “Yeah, actually, that makes sense. Hang on; I’m sure there are a few of them wandering the palace.”

  She vanished. A few minutes later she popped up with three Reapers. The light fractured around them. I’d never seen the one in the middle before; he had hair so blonde it was almost white. “This enough?”

  I pretended to consider. “I don’t know…”

  “Hang on.” She vanished again.

  I smiled at the Reapers when she left. Their pupils widened as my charm took hold. “I want to try something.”

  “Okay,” one of them said. The others nodded, grinning like idiots.

  “Swear fealty.”

  They hit their knees.

  * * * *

  It took almost all night to find and charm the rest of the Reapers. It wasn’t easy slipping away from Hades at the party, but bit by bit I managed to corner every single Reaper alone. Fealty was weird. I could feel each Reaper tethered to me. It felt strange, unnatural.

  It was nearly midnight when Zachary found me in the banquet hall. “What have you done?”

  “I fought back.” I grabbed a glass of water from a passing soul and sat at the large table. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to charm you.”

  “And what do you think Thanatos is going to do to you once he figures out what you’ve done?”

  “What more could he possibly do to me?”

  Zachary gave me a sympathetic look. “You have no idea.” He knelt on one knee. “I swear—”

  I held up my hand to stop him. “You don’t have to! You helped me. I trust you. You don’t need to swear to me to prove anything.”

  “Yes, I do. What do you think Thanatos would do to me if he realized I was the only unsworn Reaper?”

  I grimaced. I hadn’t thought of that. “I won’t keep your power,” I promised. “As soon as Hades finds out what’s going on, as soon as he deals with Thanatos, I swear I’ll release all of you.”

  Zachary shrugged. “The dead always serve someone. I’d rather serve you than Thanatos. You make me remember…”

  I frowned. “Remember what?”

  He gave me a sad smile. “Being alive. The first day we met, I hurt you. And I felt something. Guilt, shame, fear—nothing good, but all the same, it had been so long since I’d felt anything.”

  I titled my head and studied him. “How long have you been dead?”

  He narrowed his eyes in thought… “Forever. In any case, I swear fealty and protection.”

  The power that flowed through me would have knocked me off my feet had I not been sitting down. I gasped, pushing it back to him before it could burn through me, but I could still feel it, tethered to me like a beacon of energy. Burning and bright. It wasn’t just the power of a Reaper. It was the power of a god.

  “There you are!” Hades rounded the corner. He glanced between me and Zachary. “Everything okay?”

  “Yup,” Zachary replied. He stood and walked toward the archway. “I heard about what happened. I wanted to apologize on behalf of the rest of us.” He glanced at me. “You need me for anything, don’t hesitate.”

  Hades looked at me. “Persephone?”

  I nodded, wide eyed. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” I shot Zachary a questioning look. “Thank you.”

  Hades stared after Zachary for a minute then turned to me. “Would you like to dance?”

  I smiled. “Sure.”

  We walked into the main hall. I took his hand and let him lead me into a waltz.

  “I’ve really missed you.” I let myself relax in his strong arms and laughed. “That sounds so weird, but I feel like I’ve been asleep for like…months.”

  Something flickered in his eyes. “Yeah, I get that.”

  I hadn’t expected Zachary to have so much power. Between that, the added strain of the Reapers, and the extra power Hades kept giving me for some reason, my head was buzzing. My plan might work sooner than I thought. Hades was going to wonder why all the Reapers had sworn fealty to me. When I couldn’t explain, he’d have to connect the dots to Thanatos.

  I brightened. I hadn’t considered that so it didn’t affect my promise. I couldn’t ask Hades to channel the extra power away now, but he knew all the signs, conscious and otherwise.

  I winced and put my hand to my forehead. Gods, it hurt.

  “You okay?” Hades led me through a turn, his hand tight and warm around my waist. Souls danced around us, smiling and waving when they recognized us.

  When I didn’t respond, his fingers brushed my forehead. “Ah. Let’s try something different. We should see how much you can take. The more power you can hold onto, the better.”

  “What? Why?”

  “You won�
��t remember even if I tell you. Just trust me. I’ll keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t—”

  “Die?” Desperation colored my laugh.

  Hades frowned, steering us away from the other souls. The music softened as we reached the edge of the ballroom. “You’re here. I can make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “It hurts.”

  An emotion I couldn’t identify flashed through his eyes. “Yes. But it’s better than letting him use you as his puppet. I don’t know what he’s asked you to do, I can’t risk—” He raked his fingers through his hair. “You still have no idea what I’m talking about do you?”

  I gave him a blank stare. He’d said something, and…Something about what he’d said seemed important, but for the life of me I couldn’t grasp what he’d said. The words and meanings slipped out of my brain like…

  What had I been thinking about again?

  Hades clenched his jaw and flagged down one of the passing souls. A brunette with a far-away look in her eye, common to the souls that drank from the Lethe, offered Hades two champagne glasses from the tray she carried. Hades wasn’t going to change his mind about channeling my powers unless I could explain why. Since my promise prevented me from doing anything to help Hades learn about Thanatos, I was out of luck.

  Hades took a cautious sip of my drink. “Sparkling grape juice?” He offered, no doubt remembering the time I’d accidentally drunk ambrosia and made a fool of myself.

  I took the glass, rethinking my plan. It would still work, just not the way I’d envisioned it. He’d know something was going on with the Reapers the second he channeled my power. If I didn’t die before he got around to it…

  I felt like the floor dropped away beneath me. I could really die. I could die before making things right with Mom, or with Melissa, or with Hades. “I love you.”

  Hades’ eyes widened. He opened his mouth, but I rushed on before he could interrupt.

  “I’ve tried not to. I know your life would be easier if I didn’t. There are other guys. Guys with less baggage.”

  Hades raised an eyebrow and drained his drink.

  “Guys who aren’t using me as a placeholder for someone else—”

  “What?” Hades set his glass down with a thunk.