At the Touch of Death

by Gina Carra

  Hebe doesn’t react. She doesn’t even move for ten solid seconds. Then she finally speaks up. “…You…trapped…my best friend…in the Underworld. Am I understanding that correctly? And then you came here to hide? Eros, you should be hiding from me. Who the hell are you hiding from?”

  She realizes the answer before Eros can say it. They all speak at the same time, “Demeter.”

  Eros nods. Hebe looks at Helios, putting the pieces together. “The famine?”

  Helios nods.

  Hebe sighs. “I, of all people, appreciate your youthful faith in love solving all things, but you couldn’t have at least bided your time and maybe told everyone involved before shooting? Isn’t that a common courtesy you use for immortals?”

  Eros pouts. “I forgot about the time limit.”

  Hebe is completely unconvinced. “Cue, you’ve been her best friend for a full millennium. No one has that time limit memorized better than you.”

  Eros stares at a wall. “It’s been a century. I’ve lost my touch.”

  Hebe rolls her eyes. “A century is nothing for us.”

  Helios waves a hand at Hebe. “That’s what I said.”

  Eros goes limp in his chair. “Please stop teaming up against me and help maybe?”

  Hebe and Helios look at each other. Helios pats Eros’s shoulder. “You’re so impulsive, Cue.” Helios has long ago given up on trying to teach his friend the concept of patience.

  “Why did you come to me?” Hebe’s brows draw together in confusion. Hebe is able to sense a child’s needs and guide them in the right direction, so sometimes if someone has enough of a youthful energy, it allows Hebe to guide them as well. Eros will always be a little immature and Hebe has always been able to help him, but there’s not a lot she can recommend. “I’d love to help you more, Eros, but my instincts tell me you need to grow up a little and just talk to Demeter. Communication and honesty are important.”

  Awkwardness fills the air as Helios and Eros look at each other. Since the vast majority of their conversations involve gossip, Helios is well aware that Eros went to Hebe because she’s fated to be with Demeter. Not that Hebe knows that. It’s not quite time for them, so Eros hasn’t taken the shot, but he figured if anyone knew how to get through to Demeter right now, it’d be Hebe.

  Hebe cuts in, ignoring the silence. “I assume Demeter doesn’t know you were involved in this yet?” Eros shakes his head. Hebe shrugs. “That’s your first step.”

  She may as well have asked Eros to fling himself into the River Styx.

  ✽✽✽

  Demeter stands in front of Zeus, hands on his hips and rage in his eyes.

  Zeus pinches the bridge of his nose. “Demeter, I have no control over my sister’s whims.”

  Demeter laughs, loud and short. “Oh. No control. Really. That’s incredible. I remember quite a few times you’ve asked her for favors. It’s not like all of us can just pop down to the Underworld for a chat.”

  Zeus sighs. “You know only Hermes can do that.”

  Demeter’s eyes light up in mock awe. “Wow! Hermes! I had not thought of that! Thank you so much for that suggestion!”

  Zeus closes his eyes. He wishes it was rare for Demeter to get like this, because when he does, he’s impossible to appease until you just give him what he wants. Unfortunately, this time isn’t as easy as apples shouldn’t grow in husks! Humans deserve at least one easy-to-eat food that they can just grab from a tree and go.

  Zeus offers his only solution, “We have to wait for Hermes’s Day so he can go speak with Hades and we can try to figure out what happened.”

  Demeter shrugs nonchalantly. “Don’t think I’ll fix the crops just because you’ve got Hermes working on it. This doesn’t end until I have Persephone back, no strings attached.”

  The Perfect Prison

  Hums and murmurs float through the air like a haunting melody. Persephone could almost sing to it at this point since there is nothing else in this entire goddamn place.

  Eventually, flower in hand, Persephone caves. She calls out, “Hades!”

  As if the shadows themselves summon her, Hades hesitantly fades into view. She doesn’t speak. She waits.

  Persephone doesn’t seem to really have anything to say either.

  Hades ducks her head. It conveys her guilt more than words could.

  Persephone sighs. “I can’t sit here by myself for a month.”

  Hades’s mouth twitches, but she doesn’t smile. “Well, you couldn’t last an hour before calling for me.”

  Persephone watches her. She has to make a decision. She has to know if she can trust the god in front of her.

  Hades laughs, responding to the discomfort radiating from Persephone. “I don’t think you’re ever going to be able to trust me. You’ll have to decide if you want to risk it or not.”

  Persephone huffs out a long sigh and paces nervously. “I can’t even trust the information you’ve given me. As far as I know you did take me captive. Or maybe I’m trapped down here forever and you’re giving me false hope. There’s nowhere to go, no one to talk to, not even a way to fucking keep track of the time or day. I don’t know if time works differently here! It may have been a month already! Maybe I was unconscious for years!”

  Hades watches her rant; patient with a small smile on her lips.

  Persephone glances at Hades’s lips warily. “It’s fucked up that you’re amused by this.”

  Hades clears her throat, smile vanishing. “I really am sorry. It’s…I’ve said it already. It’d be weird to repeat.”

  Persephone watches the god…feign embarrassment? Or was it real? “Just say it.”

  Hades stares right into Persephone’s eyes. “Your soul really is beautiful. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” Her fond look flickers away. She murmurs to herself, “I don’t think I’ll be able to get out of this until I meet with Cue again.” She steels herself, looking back at Persephone. There’s a decision in her eyes. “If…if you're comfortable with it, I can spend the time we’re waiting with you. I had hoped that this would fade on its own but…” She rubs at her neck, radiating awkwardness. It’s strange to see from someone so powerful. “I don’t think this will fade without force and only Cue can help with that.”

  Persephone absorbs that for a few minutes. Her voice is low when she speaks up. “Is this how the arrow works? You’re weirdly, suddenly infatuated with me? You don’t know me.”

  Hades opens and shuts her mouth, keeping her eyes away from Persephone’s. “It’s more complicated with me, with my ability. I…I do know you, Persephone. I know everyone upon meeting them. I already know how you think just by being in the same space as you. I know how desperately you want to trust me, but how scared you are. I know you have this slow-burning optimism that you ignore in favor of rational thinking and logic. I know part of you always wants to cave into that hope, but you resist because…well, I don’t know why, but I assume you’ve had a bad experience.” Her eyes glance toward Persephone but then jump away again. “I don’t say this to scare you. I feel you should understand what I can see. It’s not that…the arrow doesn’t make me love you. It doesn’t make me know you. It draws me to you. I can’t really keep my attention or my thoughts off of you.” She says it with a frown. “So no, it doesn’t make me love you. You’re just very hard to ignore.”

  Persephone hadn’t realized she was holding her breath. She’s not sure if it’s awe or fear, but having her inner thoughts ripped out of her like that…She shivers. “Well, I’m not sure the arrow would make me hard to ignore at this point. It’s just us down here…isn’t it?”

  Hades looks out at the river again. She seems to be considering something. “I think she might favor you.” She nods to herself and turns to Persephone. She gestures toward the river. “Styx. She—”

  Persephone sputters a laugh. “You call the river she? Is this like humans and their flashy cars?”

  There’s a flicker of anger in Hades’s eyes and it makes P
ersephone’s blood run cold as those blue eyes shimmer. “The goddess of the River Styx.” Her voice is firm. “She doesn’t talk to me much. She doesn’t like me. I think she would appear to you if I left you alone long enough. Just so you don’t have to waste your time down here with just me.”

  Persephone follows her gaze to the river. “...Why doesn’t she like you?”

  The entire world seems to go quiet. Persephone wonders if her ears are ringing. Hades’s voice is so quiet Persephone isn't sure she even spoke. “That’s a long story.” Hades blinks and the murmuring continues. “Anyway, it’s nearly Hermes’ Day so you’ll be able to speak to him and I imagine your caretaker Demeter will send a message with him.”

  Persephone feels whiplash as Hades springs away from the topic of Styx. She tries not to show her confusion as she takes a moment to remember that Hermes’ Day is what the humans call Wednesday now. She’s really so immersed in humanity. She’s forgotten the old names. She stammers out a weak retort. “Demeter’s not my caretaker.”

  Hades throws a sideways glance at her without commenting on it. “I’ll send a message to Cue to be sure he can prepare a lead arrow.”

  Hades walks away. Persephone has no choice but to follow, only getting more questions and no answers. “A lead arrow?”

  Pinching the bridge of her nose, Hades pauses her retreat from the interrogation. “That’s how you reverse this if the arrow doesn’t fade. I’ve done it before. It’s not a big deal.”

  Persephone gets the impression it’s a very big deal. “Stop, just stop—You’re saying things like I understand them, and I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe I can’t trust you, but I at least want to hear your whole lie. How are we trapped? How are you—a higher god—trapped anywhere? You guys get to travel without answering prayers. It makes the rest of us insanely jealous. You know I’ve actually taken taxis to get places? And airport security is the worst. Some of us even have jobs so we can blend in and earn money and—” Persephone takes a breath, not sure what she’s even saying anymore. The confusion spirals in her mind.

  Hades listens intently. “You use their transport systems?”

  Persephone sighs heavily. “Don’t—” She blushes, frazzled. “Just ignore that part. Why are we trapped?”

  Hades folds her arms over her chest, regarding Persephone carefully. “You won’t believe me.”

  “Try me.” Persephone folds her arms too, subconsciously trying to imitate Hades’s cool demeanor.

  Hades studies her soul for a moment, a force of habit, and decides to humor her. “I never trusted my brother. When we designed these kingdoms for us to rule, it was meant to be a vote between the three of us. Poseidon and I discussed how unruly Zeus could be. He’s powerful and makes hard decisions well but…when it comes to leadership, he’s blinded by personal gain, so we designed a cage. I designed a cage. We all agreed it made sense. A landscape of death wasn’t enticing so to keep the ruler loyal to their land, the god would be bound to it. A full moon allows a day of respite so as long as the sun touches the earth on a day the moon is full, the god would be able to leave and enjoy the sunlight. When the sun sets, they must return to the Underworld. It was the perfect prison for Zeus.

  “Except that’s clearly not what happened. Zeus and Poseidon had a plan of their own. They called it ‘fate.’ Three beings were created to watch over every event in this Universe and guide them, unbiased, to their destiny. The Fates laughed at our plan to vote on kingdoms and told us to draw straws. So here I am—in a prison of my own design.” Hades’s eyes are empty as she watches Persephone for her reaction. “If you can believe that.” Sarcasm filters into her last few words, but it doesn’t do much to disguise the burning hatred in her eyes.

  Persephone feels as if the world has turned upside down. Her voice is a whisper as she processes this new world view. “Zeus always said you wanted this, the isolation. The…The violence.”

  Hades laughs, dark and cold. “Guess one of us is lying. You get to decide who.” Hades turns sharply and walks to her room.

  Persephone is left alone on the bridge, mind and heart at war. She knows Zeus is a great and terrible leader. She’s developed a very strong hatred for him herself, but Hades was the one thing she never expected him to be lying about. She stares at the waters and tries to picture Zeus as the lord of this world, how careless and uninterested he would be.

  The story starts to make sense. She’s heard of the Fates and knowing they guided Hades to this world—Hades who simmers with power but speaks with honesty and justice in her eyes—seems like destiny.

  She plays the words in her head over and over, the flower in her hand shining brightly.

  Rift

  Eros watches the people mill around the town square. They call them shopping centers now, but he misses the older, more romantic names.

  He loves this part of his job. Even if he doesn’t feel the pull of fate, he can see potential in all these humans. He can see so many stories in their eyes and he can feel so much hope in their hearts. Sure, humans have darkness and cruelty in them, but that’s Hades’s job to deal with. He doesn’t concern himself with it.

  Two young boys run through the square, causing a ruckus among the citizens. Eros laughs at their energy. He feels a slight tug toward them and smiles. He’ll be back for them in a few years.

  As he stands at a distance, he feels the sunlight on the back of his neck get a little hotter until it begins to feel like a hand. He leans into it. “Helios.”

  Helios hums. “Are you doing my job?”

  Eros laughs as they both look down at the humans under their watch. “You do a lot more than I do. I touch their lives once. You nourish them their whole lives.”

  Helios’s laugh is soft. “One moment can lead to a thousand.”

  Eros turns to him then. They watch each other, simply breathing. They’ve known each other so long now they don’t have many more words to exchange. Eros is generally a chatterbox, but with Helios those words are heard within a gentle touch.

  Eros’s breathing quiets and Helios looks away, a small frown on his face as he drops his hand from Eros’s neck.

  Eros shivers at the lack of warmth, eyeing a couple with potential that might grow with the right circumstances. He notches an arrow to give them a chance.

  Helios watches him take aim, breathe in, and shoot. He’s gone by the time the arrow flies.

  Eros moves on to the next town.

  ✽✽✽

  Demeter watches the sun with a frown. He squints at it. “I know you’re trying to take your time up there so Eros isn’t late, Helios. Let him own up to his responsibilities.”

  The sun seems to scoot through the sky a little more quickly to get into the right position for the time of day.

  Demeter rolls his eyes. “Unbelievable.”

  Eros runs frantically and reaches Demeter, hands braced on his knees, panting.

  Demeter crosses his arms. “How are you always late? I should expect it, but I optimistically hope you’ll learn one day.”

  Eros smiles cutely. “The heart flutters to be where it wants. Love calls to us in the air and does not ask the time of day. Though shadows grow, they don’t darken my heart. Even in the darke—”

  “This never helps your case.” Demeter waits. The guilt weighs heavily on Eros’s face. “I know you’ve done something wrong, so own up to it.”

  Eros’s posture seems to stiffen as he sobers. He can usually soften people up by being cute, but everyone is well aware of the famine and whose fear and pain is causing it.

  Eros bows, low and respectful. “I did not fully analyze the actions I took. I should have…I…”

  Demeter’s eyebrow twitches in confusion. “Cue, what happened?” His voice is full of concern and it drags Eros further through his guilt.

  Eros can’t think of another way to put it. “Fate directed my arrow. It wasn’t my choice to shoot, but I could have waited, and I apologize for my lack of patience.” He continues to hide par
t of the story.

  Demeter should be able to connect the dots, but his brain is pushing the harsh reality out of his thoughts. “What are you talking about?”

  Eros gulps. “Hades was looking at Persephone.”

  Demeter’s silent.

  Eros waits, tense with anticipation, as Demeter absorbs all the facets of the situation. He doesn’t run away, as much as he desperately longs to. He stays to answer questions. He owes Demeter that much at the very least.

  When Demeter finally seems to have a grasp on the concept, he remains calm and something about it sends a chill down Eros’s spine. “Does either Persephone or Hades know?”

  Eros shakes his head. “Hades probably thinks I’m just intervening again to try to make her happy.”

  Demeter narrows his eyes. “And you weren’t doing that, correct?”

  Eros bows his head and repeats himself. “Fate directed my arrow.”

  Demeter’s eyebrows furrow, piecing together the options that Persephone now has. Worry overwhelms him as tears well in his eyes. “Is there a way for Persephone to come back?”

  Eros can’t answer that.

  Demeter’s face doesn’t betray his feelings, but he wipes a tear from the corner of his eye. “Hermes is on his way. We can’t tell Persephone about this yet. Not until we have more answers. I don’t want her to think she’s trapped there forever away from the earth and her flowers.”

  Eros hesitates, but offers his thoughts. “Demeter, it is important to keep in mind that…and I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, Hades will make her happy. I know it seems unlikely, but my arrows have never been wrong.”

  Demeter chews his lip. “It’s one thing for a person to make you happy, Cue. Life can still make you suffer even if you’re with your loved one. Hades may make her happy one day, but Persephone would be suffocating down there with her.”

  Eros falls to his knees. It’s a low blow from Demeter to speak of such things. That’s exactly the sort of thing Eros has spent all of his existence trying to deny.