At the Touch of Death

by Gina Carra

  Zeus smiles. He loves the respect Hermes always shows him and is hopelessly oblivious to the fakeness of it. “Hermes.” Demeter stands somewhat beside Zeus’s throne. His positioning is clearly a signal of his status as he stands a few steps down, facing Hermes with a frown. “I’ve got a little bit of an unusual request for you.”

  Demeter interrupts. “I need you to take a message to my daughter, Persephone.”

  Hermes knows almost everyone’s name on paper. He’s basically the mailman of Olympus but there was no record of Demeter having a child named after the goddess. “You don’t have a daughter with that name…?”

  Demeter shrugs, blushing as he realizes his mistake. “Adopted.”

  ✽✽✽

  Hermes generally checks on Hades anyway in case she needs a message delivered, but this week he knew he’d be spending more than a couple of minutes in the Underworld.

  His winged shoes carry him over the River Styx.

  Upon hearing the fluttering, Hades turns to meet him.

  Hades had been waiting on their usual bridge. She looks unusually haggard. Hermes voices his concerns as he lands. “Sir, are you all right?”

  Hades’s smile is small and forced. “Fine. Don’t call me sir. We’re equals, Hermes.” The sentiment is nice, but they’re both well aware that Hades is a higher god and Hermes is a lesser god.

  Hermes stands beside Hades, eye level with her. Hermes often compared Hades and her brother. The respect he showed Hades was never forced. “I’ve heard a pretty unusual story, sir.”

  Hades rolls her eyes at the formality, but she turns toward her room. “Persephone is still asleep. I know time is of the essence for you. I’ll wake her soon.”

  Hermes takes the opportunity to glance over Hades as her back is turned. She's tense and her breathing is shallow like she is in immense pain and trying to hide it. “Sir—”

  Hades spun back around. “Please, Hermes. Call me Hades.” The flames in her blue eyes flicker. Hermes used to think it was anger and annoyance, but he’d learned that it was fear.

  Hermes bows his head. “Hades, you seem to be in a lot of pain.”

  Hades watches him warily. “No one’s ever cared about that before. Why start now?”

  Hermes sighs. “Zeus practically gave me the day off. We never had much time to talk before, but you’ve got me for the full day.”

  Hades’s eyes go wide at that. She’d never seen Hermes for more than ten minutes before. She assumed he’d stay a little longer to meet with Persephone, but she never imagined they’d have the whole day.

  Hades considers this. “I’ll wake Persephone. She’s going to need a full day with someone who’s not me if we’re going to make it through the month.”

  ✽✽✽

  Hades knocks on the door softly. She has no idea how deep a sleeper Persephone is. “Hermes is here.” She calls through the door and waits. She jumps as the door is opened from the inside. Her eyes catch on the open drawers in her desk. Persephone had been going through her drawings.

  Persephone returns to the desk, continuing to look through the sketches. “These are beautiful.” Her voice is stoic but Hades can feel the honesty in her words. She knows she should be angry. She should be furious at the invasion of privacy but…she stole this woman from her home, even if it wasn’t intentional. She doesn't mind that she was snooping around. Persephone holds up a drawing of Eros. “You loved him?”

  Hades stares at it. She hadn’t looked at that one in a while. “That’s a long story.”

  Persephone shrugs. “I feel like it’s not.”

  Hades glances at her curiously. “What makes you say that?”

  Persephone shuffles through more drawings. “You’ve hinted at it so much you’ve all but told me already. Cue shot you, right? And you loved him and couldn’t fall out of love so you asked for a lead arrow.”

  Hades feels her jaw clench. “It wasn’t that simple.”

  Persephone looks up, eyes flickering over Hades. She takes in her reaction before holding up another drawing. “This is me, over two centuries ago.”

  It’s a fairly abstract drawing compared to most of her other work. Persephone stands in the middle, but the background is all wild strokes and colors. Everything else had been sketched in graphite, but she had to use colors for this. She never finished it. She couldn’t capture the woman with the glowing soul on paper.

  Hades shrugs. “I told you your soul is beautiful. That’s not something that changes very often.”

  “Did you tell Eros to shoot you? He’s your friend. Why wouldn’t he give you what you want?”

  Hades’s teeth grind at the accusation. Pain shoots through her as Persephone downplays the events she’s ignorant of. Tendrils of smoke curl around her as the anger overwhelms her. She sees Persephone’s eyes widen and she pulls the energy back in. She can’t have this fight right now. There isn’t time. She pushes the door all the way open, voice curt and eyes void of emotion. “Hermes is here.”

  She walks away, livid.

  ✽✽✽

  “ ‘Persephone, Eros told me what happened. He’s deeply apologetic about the timing and about his rash action. I can’t forgive him, but I assume you can.’ ” Hermes reads from a scroll. They sit at the table together. Persephone’s surprised there’s more than one chair. There’s only one of practically everything else. “ ‘As you’ve suspected, I will not rest until you return. I can only imagine the pain you’re feeling being away from your flowers. Eros has asked that you talk to Hades to cope with being out of your element. He warns that Hades will probably not want to talk to you, but you should be able to twist her arm. We can only help so much from here. Please stay safe until I can see you at the next full moon. It’s only a few weeks away. I love you so much, Seph.’ ” Hermes blushes as he reads the last part.

  Persephone had zoned out, staring across the room as she listened. “Is that it?” Hermes nods. “Talk to Hades. That’s all the advice they have to offer me.” Persephone laughs to herself. “Unbelievable. At least I know she was telling the truth.” Hermes isn’t sure what to say so he lets Persephone rant. “Do you have any advice for living in a world where everything is dead? You’re here pretty often, right?”

  Hermes sighs. “Well, honestly I think they’re right.” Persephone laughs even louder, but Hermes frowns and looks serious. Persephone hesitatingly gives Hermes her attention. “You…you know you’re not the first person to be in this situation, right?” Persephone blinks.

  Oh. Eros. “He chose this though.”

  Hermes laughs a little sadly. “That didn’t really make much of a difference. The world was without love for a month. The humans suffered and Eros suffered. He was so ill he could barely leave their bed.” Persephone flinches at the word ‘their.’ “Not to devalue your pain, but the fact that you’re able to walk around leads me to believe you’ll have an easier time than Eros did. Though his fatigue did set in after a week or two…and you’ve been here for two days.” He sees Persephone’s eyes widen at that and clears his throat, hastily backtracking. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, though.”

  Persephone lifts an eyebrow. “Encouraging, thanks.”

  Hermes seems to blush. “Sorry, I don’t usually have the time to sit and chat. I just read from the scroll and move on.”

  Persephone frowns. “So you haven’t even spoken to Hades?”

  Hermes shrugs. “I’ve spoken with her from time to time, but not really.” Hermes hesitates. “If you’re wondering if you can trust her…you can.” Persephone startles at that. Hermes holds up a hand. “I know, trust the god of death, I must be crazy. But seriously, Zeus is my boss and between the two siblings…I’d much rather be working for Hades. Have you ever met Zeus?” Persephone looks at Hermes with a deadpan expression. She has, but she tries to never think about it. It seems to be one of Olympus’s best kept secrets seeing as Hermes doesn’t even know.

  Hermes shrugs and carries on. He gestures around the room. “This is Hades’s
office. A simple table and two chairs. She has no real use for it, but there used to be one chair until Eros. Zeus’s office is in the clouds, made of gold. You can barely see his eyes because his throne is raised upon so many stairs. And Olympus forbid you actually try to climb a stair past your social status. I’ve looked Hades in the eye. We’ve all heard stories and honestly, they’re probably true. But despite her lot, she’s a good dude. I can tell.”

  Persephone raises an eyebrow, “A good dude?”

  Hermes smiles shyly, a boyish charm cropping up suddenly. “I’m around humans a lot.”

  Persephone laughs off the slang. She’s picked up some too, but it’s rare these days to directly interact with humans without an extenuating circumstance of some kind. She takes the flower from her ear and twirls it in her hand thoughtfully.

  Hermes raises an eyebrow at it. “Is that a real flower?”

  Persephone pauses, remembering how Hades reacted to it. “I…I’m not sure. Hades made it. She said she expected it to die, but I guess if I hold onto it…”

  Hermes stares at the flower like it holds the key to understanding the entire world.

  Persephone tucks the flower behind her ear again. “I assume you have a scroll for me write on?”

  Hermes’s eyes tear away from the flower as he nods and retrieves the writing supplies. “I’ll give you a moment.”

  ✽✽✽

  Persephone finds Hermes and Hades talking on the bridge when she finishes her letter. Hades’s hands grip the railing so tightly she can see it warp under them. Hades releases it. A blue ribbon of smoke curls around it and it reforms. Hades turns to Persephone as soon as she’s in view. Persephone supposes she can’t help it, but Hades keeps her attention on Hermes as they’re mid conversation. “I think this counts as a special circumstance.”

  Hermes glances at Persephone, unsure if they should continue, but since Hades did, he follows suit. “Since the last incident, they figured it wouldn’t happen again. I don’t know that your brother woul—”

  “He’s my fucking brother. Just…just ask him. He’s an asshole, but even he shouldn’t be this cruel.”

  Persephone looks between them. Hades never cursed at her. It’s interesting to see how she tries and fails to contain her rage. Her power and strength radiate from her, but Hermes isn’t fazed at all. Hermes truly trusts Hades not to hurt him or lash out, even in a complicated situation like this. Persephone is the one staring now.

  Hades sighs as she turns to Persephone. She startles at the emotions inside that beautiful soul she’s so captivated by. Her anger fades a bit, but she ignores it so she can explain. “Apparently Cue only had access to a single lead arrow and for some reason my asshole of a brother doesn’t want Cue to have another one even though there’s a whole armory filled with them.”

  Hermes chews his lip nervously. “Sir—”

  “Hades.”

  “H—Hades, he’s just concerned a—about...if Eros misses and strikes out a love that’s meant to be…He just doesn’t want people to hear rumors about their love coming to an end.”

  Hades looks furious. “First of all, Cue never misses. And secondly they should know this only seems to be a problem with me.” Her voice softens as her limitations weigh on her. “Just…tell Cue to fix it. Tell him he owes me that.”

  Hermes bows his head. “He wanted me to ask…if you’re in pain.”

  Hades’s eyes flick to Persephone and hold there. Persephone looks right back. “Tell him it’s not my pain that I’m worried about. He should know that.”

  Hermes is watching Persephone too. Persephone glances at him and Hermes raises an eyebrow at her before looking back at Hades. “Yes, si—Hades.” He looks between the both of them. “Um. I…brought a chess board if you’d like to play?”

  Hades’s eyes are on Persephone. She takes a breath and her head falls. “I’m going to lie down. You two have fun.”

  Persephone watches her walk away and close the door to her bedroom. Hermes sets up the board on that simple table, in a simple room, with simple chairs. Persephone hadn’t even spared a thought to how barren the entire world is.

  For the first time, she wonders just how much pain Hades is truly in.

  Hades doesn’t sleep. Her bed smells like Persephone and it tortures her more than her dip in the River Styx.

  An Empty Spot

  Demeter sits on a couch in Hebe’s small house.

  A realization hits him. He’s never visited on his own before now. Persephone was always with him.

  Hebe offers Demeter a mug of warm apple cider. Demeter smiles knowingly, “Hate to make you relive that old job.”

  Hebe laughs, “Honestly, it was a lot simpler serving drinks to gods on Olympus than it is to deal with things firsthand down here. We Earthbound gods have to stick together.”

  Demeter laughs harshly and raises his glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

  Hebe sits in a chair while Demeter sits on the couch. It’s quiet. Neither of them quite knows what to say. The empty spot next to Demeter screams in the silence. They both look toward where Persephone usually sits.

  Without a word, Hebe gets up and grabs a flask from her cabinet. She pours some in her own drink to spike it and offers it to Demeter who nods and adds some to his own.

  Hebe pours some into an empty mug on the table next to them. She mumbles quietly, “Cheers, Seph.” They both drink to that, glancing at the untouched mug awkwardly.

  Hebe offers an attempt at conversation. “You’re finally facing me. I was starting to wonder how long it’d be until I got to see you. You’re ready to calm down?”

  Demeter tilts his head. “Calm down?”

  Hebe gestures out her window at her own garden of rotten crops. “You’re not really going to keep this up the entire time she’s gone?”

  Demeter nods seriously. “Of course I am. I told Zeus I would.”

  Hebe considers that, sipping her drink. Her voice is soft when she speaks again. “Humans will die.”

  Demeter squirms uncomfortably. “That’s on Zeus and Hades.”

  “It’s not and you know it.” Hebe looks into Demeter’s eyes and sees him more clearly than anyone ever has. “We both know death can give new life. Dead crops can be made into fertilizer to help new crops grow. Maybe Seph’s time will be educational for her. Maybe…she’s okay.”

  Demeter’s eyes darken. “And maybe Hades already drowned her.” Demeter rubs at his eyes. “I’m sorry, you’re right. You’re right to be optimistic, I’m just tired and scared. Letting the harvest die, it’s terrifying. It goes against every instinct I have and it’s taking a toll.”

  Hebe pours him a second drink. “Let’s not think about it right now. Let’s just drink.”

  They’re properly drunk within the hour.

  Demeter had complained about sitting alone on this stupid couch so Hebe tugged at his sleeve until Demeter stood up. He eventually stumbled and fell into Hebe’s lap.

  They both laughed, drinks in hand as they found a comfortable position together on the chair. Now Demeter found himself staring at Hebe. “I feel like we’ve never really talked.”

  Hebe shrugs. “We did. We just both focused on Persephone, I think.”

  It’s quiet a moment. Demeter’s eyes glance at Hebe’s lips. “How’s your wife?”

  Hebe laughs bitterly. “Aside from never seeing her? I wasn’t sure what to expect from an arranged marriage with the great hero Hercules, but I didn’t expect…nothing. She’s always touring around and going up to Olympus to be praised.”

  Demeter hums thoughtfully. “Does she remember anything about Hades?”

  Hebe shrugs. “We definitely don’t talk about that, but she was a baby. I doubt she remembers.”

  Demeter drops his head on Hebe’s shoulder. “It’d be nice to know what an unbiased person thinks about her. Eros is all caught up in his puppy love.”

  Hebe snorts. “I don’t think Hercules would exactly be unbiased toward Hades either.”

&
nbsp; Demeter frowns. “Guess you’re right.”

  It’s quiet again. Hebe holds Demeter and Demeter closes his eyes in the embrace.

  Hebe speaks up after a few minutes. “You can stay, if you want.”

  Demeter sits up to look Hebe in the eye. After a moment of evaluation, he leans in and captures her lips. Hebe returns the kiss.

  They end up wandering into the bedroom.

  ✽✽✽

  Hermes cheats at chess somehow and it only makes Persephone like him more.

  Persephone snorts. “You can’t move a pawn three spaces.”

  Hermes laughs. “Watch me.”

  They somehow get through three entire games without following any rules, but they think Persephone might have won two of them.

  Persephone’s quiet as their laughter fades after the game. “Thanks for staying. I know you didn’t have to.”

  Hermes shrugs. “I think I kind of did.” Persephone doesn’t respond to that. “I’ll be back next week. Hopefully I can stay a while then too, okay?”

  Persephone doesn’t like the seriousness in his voice. Laughing had distracted her from this predicament and Hermes’s tone made it sound like this was visiting hours at a prison.

  Hermes pats her hand. “Maybe Hades can join us next time?”

  Persephone’s eyes flicker toward Hades’s room. “Maybe.”

  Hermes raises his eyebrows. “Oh!” He digs in his bag. “I nearly forgot.” He pulls out a book that Persephone recognizes immediately. “This is from Hebe.”

  Persephone holds it reverently. Her eyes tear up but she doesn’t cry.

  Persephone swallows. “Tell her thank you.”

  Hermes stands and Persephone knows their time is up. “Be well, Persephone.”

  Persephone sits in silence after Hermes takes off. He left the chess board and Persephone is grateful.

  The silence is interrupted by a door slamming loudly.

  Persephone turns to see Hades stalking from the room. She doesn’t even spare a glance at Persephone. Persephone stares at Hades and sees how the god moves gracefully, evoking power in every step. It’s a power she doesn’t flaunt and doesn’t abuse.