by Melody Rose
Erich, my half-brother who had been destined to help me so he could get his own eternity of happiness. Even though he had helped me, I found that I hadn’t seemed to help him yet or at least he hadn’t achieved the thing he wanted most.
Wave after wave of sadness crashed over me. No matter how many times I told myself that I hadn’t failed, I couldn’t help but feel like the whole journey had been for nothing.
Until my eyes landed on Esme.
It was as though one of Zeus’s lightning bolts crashed down from Mount Olympus and slammed into my head. I whirled around and raised my voice, intending to shout at the god of the dead.
“Hades!” I said, my voice stronger than I felt at that moment. “We’re not finished here.”
I watched the god freeze in his tracks. His whole body looked as still as a corpse as he took in my words. I gave them a moment to sink in, to gauge his reaction before I continued.
Slowly, like ice melting, Hades turned to face me. His face was completely unreadable, the master of masking his emotions. He didn’t say a word to me. I knew he wanted me to explain myself, but I wouldn’t be the one to break the silence between us.
“Cheyenne,” someone hissed from behind me, but I ignored them.
My mind was set. I knew exactly what I was doing. There was no way that this journey was for nothing. I just hadn’t seen it before now, because as it turned out, I’d actually been right all along.
30
“Excuse me?” Hades said with one curved eyebrow raised.
“I said, we’re not finished here,” I repeated, elongating my words to make sure he could hear every single syllable. “You still owe me a soul.”
“I do?” Hades said with a scoff. “I seem to think that the soul you wanted to bring back just rejected your offer and refused to come with you, so we have nothing more to discuss.”
“You promised me a soul,” I emphasized the specificity, highlighting its importance. “I didn’t specifically ask for Ruby’s when we made the bargain.”
Hades’s lips pinched together. “And I agreed to that?”
“You gave your word,” I reminded him.
The Lord of the Underworld and I stood in tense silence. He seemed to look through me, as though he was running our previous conversation through his mind. He could look for loopholes all he wanted, but I knew what was said between the two of us. While my mind had been focused on Ruby when originally making the deal, it was never specified. That vagueness was going to be our saving grace at this moment.
“She’s right, husband,” Persephone said with a mocking drawl. “One soul for one helm. That’s what you said. I said you were crazy, but did you listen to me? No, you did not. Now you owe her a soul.”
Hades shot his wife a searing, disapproving glare over his shoulder. The goddess, however, was completely unphased by his threatening eyes. She responded maturely by sticking her tongue out at him, clearly showing that she didn’t give two shits about his mean gaze.
If the situation wasn’t so dire, one of literal life and death, I might have laughed at the exchange. My mind wandered to the origin story of these two, thinking that what we had been told in the myths might not have been the whole truth. There was definitely something more to the story than one would have thought.
“It would seem,” Hades said slowly, drawing out the moment longer than necessary. “That I need to hold up my side of the bargain, yes.”
My lips curved into an accomplished smile. “I want to take her soul.” Then I turned around and pointed directly at Esme.
The daughter of Prometheus’s eyes popped open, wide and full of shock. “Me?” she checked as she put a hand to her chest.
Hades seemed to share in Esme’s surprise because he released a bark of laughter. “Why, Cheyenne, daughter of Hephaestus, you are full of surprises, aren’t you?”
“I thought this choice was rather obvious,” I said, trying to play off the fact that I hadn’t just thought of this idea minutes ago. “If anyone suffered a more unjust death, it was Esme.”
“Have you forgotten that this demigod turned traitor against the Academy?” Hades said, his lips curling into a sneer. “That she stole from Eros and infected the entire school? Or how about that she killed your mentor in cold blood?”
I watched as his words hit Esme like bullets. She flinched at each of his accusations. The reminders of her actions affected me, too, especially at the mention of Ruby’s murder. I felt my heart race and a flush of anger crawl up the back of my neck. But I tempered it down as I recalled what Esme told us after she saved us in Tartarus.
“None of that was her fault,” I defended. “She was under the control of a twisted goddess.”
Hades’s eyebrows shot up at this piece of information. A rush of pleasure swelled in my chest at having caught the god off guard.
“That’s quite the accusation, Cheyenne,” Hades growled. “I would warn you against such drastic claims.”
“Drastic or no, she’s not responsible for all of that,” I said, taking a step towards Esme, showing my solidarity.
“Cheyenne,” the daughter of Prometheus whispered from behind me. “But I am responsible. It was my choice to listen to Eris and go along with her.”
“She tricked you,” I said with a sharp shake of my head. “Esme, you’re not at fault here.”
“But they’re not going to see it that way,” she said, her voice trembling. “The Officials… if I go back, they’re still going to think I’m a traitor. I’m going to be wiped of my memories and thrown back into the mortal world.”
“Now that’s interesting,” Hades said as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his weight back. “I didn’t expect that level of cruelty from you, Cheyenne.”
“What?” I whirled around to face the god, shocked by his words. “I’m not being cruel. I’m trying to give her another chance, one that Eris robbed her of.”
“I see what she is trying to do,” Hades said, suddenly shifting his gaze to Esme. It was clear that he was no longer speaking to me. “She’s going to bring you back but then let them punish you for your crimes. Cheyenne is out for revenge against your crimes.”
“No, I’m not!” I said hurriedly, trying to get my words in edgewise. “I would never do that, Esme. I swear.”
But I could see the flicker of doubt in her eyes, the seed that Hades planted in her mind. It wasn’t strong or large, but its presence was a worry all the same. I knew I had to do something to convince Esme that I really was trying to do her a favor.
“You have an opportunity here, Esme,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “Eris robbed you of your life. She played on your jealousies and anger and used it to her advantage. She made you do some terrible things, but I swear to you, we’ll convince the Officials that wasn’t you. It wasn’t your fault.”
“The General hates you,” Esme countered, the doubt growing into a shadow behind her eyes. “He’ll never listen to you.”
“But the rest of the Officials might,” I argued. “He doesn’t have the final say over everything, and we’ll stay by your side the whole time, Esme. We won’t let you go through this alone.”
“You’ve never done anything for me,” Esme snapped. “You saved me that one time, sure, but then I saved you from the Tunnel of Fear, so we’re even. Don’t think I’m going to let you trick me like Eris did.”
“I’m not trying to trick you!” I insisted, my voice growing sharp. How was I ever going to prove to her that I was sincere? “I know you’re a hero, Esme, one of the best or Eris wouldn’t have sought you out.”
I tried to reach out and touch her, but the attempt at comfort was in vain. My hand just fell straight through her ghostly form.
“I killed your mentor,” Esme said in disgust. She jerked out of my reach and took a couple of steps back from me, almost threatening to topple into the river. “How can you say that none of this was my fault when I was the one who did that? Committed murder?”
“That wasn’t
you,” I said.
“You don’t know me,” Esme spat, hurt coming through in her tight voice, and the tears springing to the corners of her eyes.
“But I do,” Ansel said as he took a step forward. He and his friend locked eyes, and the energy pulsed between them. These two had history, not just as friends, but as soldiers who fought and trained side by side with one another. That wasn’t something that could be erased easily.
I recognized what Ansel was doing and stepped aside, giving him the stage. Surprisingly, there was not a hint of jealousy in my chest like there had been back out on the villa. I knew Ansel’s love for me and recognized that this was a different kind of love. I needed to let it run its course.
“I never believed that it was you,” Ansel said, his voice firm and confident. “Even when I saw you across that whirlpool of mud, flinging monster after monster at us, I knew it wasn’t you. I didn’t say anything because everyone told me I was wrong, but I know you serve the Military. You may hate the Olympic Officials and disagree with their unfair methods, but you stand for truth and want to protect this world as much as any soldiers. You know the disadvantages facing the mortals and would never wish harm upon them. Do you know how I know this?”
Esme broke Ansel’s eye contact with a sniffle. She wiped at her nose and looked at the ground, refusing to respond.
“Because you told me so,” Ansel continued with a second step forward. “On the first day we met, remember?”
Esme nodded, her face contorting as if that action was painful for her.
“We were in the cafeteria,” Ansel said, bringing her back into the memory. “We were sitting at the same table when you looked up at the mural on the ceiling and said--”
“I want to protect those stories,” Esme supplied, recalling her own words from all those years ago.
“That desire has never left you,” Ansel said as he held out his arms to gesture up and down at Esme. “You might have gotten a little lost in going about it, but everything you have done has been to protect.”
As I looked into my fellow soldier’s face, I saw true regret there. This was the same powerful soldier who I had met two years ago, stunned when I calmed Ansel down from his supernova state and impressed by my powers. While she might have been covered in gray with tear stains running down her face, I knew that fierce warrior was still there. She was strong. Her confession and desire to want to do better proved that.
“I’m just so sorry,” Esme broke. “I thought I could make the Ultimate Weapon, and when they took that away from me, I was so angry. And then she was there and caught me in a moment of weakness.”
“We all have them,” Ansel sympathized. “It’s how you come back from those mistakes and moments of weakness that matters.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Esme choked out. She spread her arms wide and then slapped them against her legs in a defeated gesture. “I’ve gone too far. I mean, I’m dead and in Tartarus. There is no coming back from that.”
“There is now,” I said, seizing the moment. “You can come back and continue to protect those stories like you always wanted. Like you were meant to do.”
I reached out my hand and held it out for Esme. “Come with us.”
Esme’s eyes shifted from me to my hand to Hades over my shoulder. I could feel the god and his wife behind me, watching my every move, but I kept my focus trained on Esme. I knew I couldn’t make this decision for her. All I could do was open the door, but she had to walk through.
Suddenly, Esme’s eyes locked on mine. I could see the determination and the resolve burning from behind her eyes. Our mouths moved into smiles, mirroring one another.
“I’ll go with you,” Esme said, giving her verbal agreement. Then, she reached out and put her hand in mine.
Our palms connected, and I felt the pulse of life in her hand. It was solid and secure. From her hand, a ring of color rippled up her arm and spread across her whole body. The soul returned to life before my very eyes until every scrap of black, white, and gray dissolved off her skin. Esme had returned.
I pulled Esme forward and wrapped her into the biggest hug. She returned it gleefully, squeezing me tight. There was nothing to say. We only needed to hold one another to know that all was forgiven, and that it was going to be alright.
There was a loud cough from over my shoulder. I broke away to glance over at the Lord of the Dead who shot me an impatient look.
“Well, you have your soul now,” Hades said with a look of displeasure on his face. “And there are far too many living beings down here for my taste. I suggest you be on your way.”
I couldn’t agree with him more. Now that we had Esme back, it felt as though the journey to the Underworld, twice, and the adventure to Italy had been worth it. There was no reason to stay down here any longer.
“Hey, Charon,” I said to the ferryman. “Can we borrow your boat to get back to the mortal world?”
“Absolutely not,” Charon said sharply as he crossed his arms definitely.
“Oh, for the love of the gods,” Persephone said with a dramatic eye roll. “Hades, just zap them back up there so we can get on with our day. This has taken up enough of our time as it is.”
“If you say so, my love,” Hades said with a snide grin. “I look forward to seeing you all soon.”
“Not too soon,” I countered with my own cheeky smile.
The god of the Underworld raised his hand and snapped his fingers with a flourish.
The pain was instantaneous. It shot out through all of my limbs and burned my organs from the inside out. I opened my mouth to release a scream, but no sound came out. My body boiled alive, cells popping one by one.
At first, I thought Hades tricked me. He hadn’t let us go at all and decided to kill us for his own gain, getting a helm and three souls. But when I gasped in a breath of air and sat up straight, there was an incessant beeping sound as the monitors next to me went off.
The pain disappeared, but the shock of it wore me out. My heart raced, and my lung pumped to try to get in some clear air. I was refreshed by the filtered med bay air. I recognized that I was back in the hospital room, with Ansel at my side, still hooked up to the IV and the heart monitors.
“Cheyenne!” Violet’s voice broke through my panicked thoughts. She threw her arms over me and wrapped me into a large hug.
“Get off, Vi,” Darren said, gently pushing Violet away. “She’s still injured from the explosion, and I need to check her… holy shit.”
“What?” I asked, my IV hand going up to my face. “Is something wrong?”
“No, I mean, yes, but not really,” Darren stuttered, a look of complete astonishment on his face. “You’re healed. All your wounds, they’re gone.”
“I guess being dead did you some good, huh?” Benji joked from the end of the bed.
Just then, Ansel released his own breath of air and opened his eyes. He blinked furiously, and his chest heaved as though he just finished running a marathon.
“Fuck,” he grumbled. “I never want to do that again.”
“Me neither,” I agreed as I put my free hand on his and squeezed. Ansel squeezed back but didn’t look at me as he continued to concentrate on his breathing.
“So, what happened?” Benji asked eagerly. “Did you do it? Did you bring Ruby back?”
“I thought she would be with you,” Violet added as she looked around the room. Then a look of horror struck her face like a slap. “Oh, my gods. She didn’t, like, return to her body, did she? Do we have to go dig her up?”
“No, we don’t,” I assured my friend quickly. “We didn’t bring Ruby back.”
“Hades didn’t honor the deal?” Darren asked, his eyebrows pinching together worriedly.
“He did,” I clarified. “We just didn’t bring back Ruby.”
“Then who...?” Benji began but was soon interrupted by another desperate gasp for air. This time it came from the chair on the far side of the room. Seeming to appear out of nowhere, Esme
sat with her own pained expression after having been zapped through death and back to life again.
The reactions throughout my friends varied. Darren’s body stiffened from his place on the other side of the bed, near the door. Violet put a hand over her mouth, her own eyes rounding out like saucers. Benji was the most aggressive of the group, taking two long strides to approach Esme and getting in her face.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” he growled at her.
Esme, to her credit, didn’t back down. “Ask them. They brought me back.”
“Benji, don’t,” I warned. I wanted to hop off the bed but was still hooked up to all the things. I gestured with my hands to get Darren to help me. He seemed grateful for something to do since he didn’t want to focus on the newcomer in the room.
“She’s not who we think she is or was,” I tried to explain but quickly realized I was doing a poor job of it. “All the stuff she did, it wasn’t her fault.”
“It wasn’t,” Ansel rushed in to aid me. “She was under the control of Eris.”
“The goddess of Chaos?” Darren asked as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “What really happened while you were down there?”
“Yes, Cheyenne, we would like to know that as well,” came another stern voice from the door.
Simultaneously, all of the demigod’s heads turned to find the source of the voice, though I didn’t need to see his face to know who it belonged to. The General stood in the doorway of the hospital room with the rest of the Olympic Officials behind him, like an army ready to charge.
“What could have possibly compelled you to bring back a traitor from the Underworld?” the General asked.
Even though we’d just made it out of the Underworld alive, something told me that the true test was happening right that minute.
