Daughter of the Earth and Sky (16 page)

I shook my head, unable to face his questions. I stared at his bared, hard chest. It hadn’t been me. Something, someone else had been calling the shots.

Charm’s subtle,
Hades had said.
It should feel like it’s your idea.

Aphrodite’s voice echoed in my head.
If you see something you want, just take it.

I gasped for breath setting the room spinning around me. What had she done? What else had she asked me to do? It wasn’t possible! Hades had given me enough power to withstand her charm.

“Persephone, look at me!” Hades gripped my shoulders and stooped until his gaze was level with mine. “What just happened?”

I’d been tired. So tired. Resistance to charm should be innate, but what if I’d been so worn down that I didn’t have the energy to resist?

But why?

I’m not working with Zeus
. Aphrodite had promised.

Glamours. The gods could look like whatever, whoever, they wanted. She might not be working with Zeus, but we’d forgotten a question. Such a basic question.

Hades had almost sworn fealty. What would I have done to him next?
What had I been programmed to do to him next
?

“How?” I whispered. “You said it wouldn’t work on you. On other gods. I’m the exception because I haven’t come into my powers yet. How did I use it on you?”

Realization dawned in his eyes. He stepped away from me, pulling his shirt back on. Something flickered in his expression. Fear. “You’ve grown more powerful since then. We’re married.” His voice was tight, drawn. “I’m vulnerable to anything you can throw at me and vice versa.”

Inexplicably my mind turned to Hera. Was that what had happened to her? Was that why she had given Zeus so much of her own power that she hadn’t been able to sustain her own life? No wonder they all hated Zeus so much. That was despicable.

And I’d just done the same thing to Hades.

“I didn’t mean to.” My voice broke.

“Persephone.” He reached for me, and I twisted out of his reach, practically falling out of the library door.

“Don’t! Don’t touch me. Don’t even look at me. I’m dangerous.” I was shaking, trembling. What had I almost done?

“Wait a minute. Look, I know it was an accident. We just need to work more on your control…” I didn’t hear the rest of what he’d said. He didn’t realize what had almost happened. How he’d almost sworn away his free will.

I had to get away from him! Without further thought, I teleported back to Tartarus. Shaking, I pulled on my shirt and reentered the living realm. Tears blurred my vision. I collapsed onto the grass and retched, but could only manage dry heaves. I clutched my knees to my chest and waited for the shaking to stop.

“Hey, there you are!” Aphrodite’s voice sent chills up my spine. I looked up and saw her approaching from a distant picnic table.

Joel was with her. He waved one finger at me and grabbed two cups from the table, heading off towards a nearby trash can.

“I’ve been waiting for hours!” Aphrodite called. “We’re supposed to go out, remember? But look who I ran into? I recognized him from that picture of the three of you that Melissa has on her desk. You know, the one where you—” Her features shifted to something resembling concern when she got closer to me. “Persephone, are you okay?”

“How could you?” I whispered. I stood shakily, drawing as much of my power to myself as I could.

I didn’t have much to work with. Hades had just channeled it all away.

Her head tilted, and she gave me a confused look. “What?”

An image of Hades, eyes wide with charm, flashed through my brain. A torrent of anger ripped through me. “How
could
you? I trusted you!”

Her eyes widened in alarm. “Uh—”

My vision was tinted red with rage. “Did you really think it would work? That you could charm me into hurting him?
How could you
?” I lunged toward her. I wasn’t sure what my plan was, I just really wanted to hit something. I was so mad and angry and humiliated and horrified. So many negative emotions swept through me in a nauseating whirl, why not add violence to the list?

Two Reapers grabbed me, holding me back. I gasped as the pain of their touch lanced through me, but the pain only fueled my anger.

“Everything okay?” Joel asked.

Aphrodite’s gaze flicked between the Reapers, then landed on Joel.

“Leave him out of this!” I glared at Aphrodite and turned my charm on full force. “Joel, don’t worry. You’re not going to remember any of this. You should go home now.”

“Okay.” Aphrodite’s voice was measured, even. She approached me slowly, using the type of caution typically reserved for wild animals, or crazy people. “I’m not going to hurt him. But I’m going to need you to look at me—”

“No!” I shut my eyes and tilted my head away from her. I couldn’t let her charm me.

Aphrodite shushed me, a cool hand gripping my chin. I felt the edge of her sharp nails digging beneath my jaw bone, forcing my head up to her.

I lashed out, kicking as hard as I could. I struggled against the Reapers’ hold, but their grip only tightened. “Let me go!” I shrieked, jerking my head free from her grip. “I won’t do it! I won’t be used against Hades.
Never
. I will never charm him! I will never act with the intention of hurting him! You can’t make me!”

Aphrodite clapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late, the words were spoken. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

I laughed. “Do you really think I don’t know what it means to make a promise after all this? I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“Oh, Persephone…”

Was that pity in her voice?

The Reapers tightened their grip. Pain slashed through me, and I cried out.

“Look at me,” she demanded.

“Please!” I gasped. I jerked my head, but her nails dug into my flesh, holding me tight. “Please, don’t do this!
Stop
!”

One of the Reapers grabbed my neck. Pain ripped through my body, traveling from my spine to the end of every individual nerve. My eyes flew open as an entirely new wave of agony tore through me. My screams echoed through the park.

Blue eyes stared into mine, and everything went black.

“She did what?”

A jolt of adrenaline shot through me when I recognized Thanatos’ deep voice. All I needed to do was look at him. But however hard I tried, my eyes wouldn’t open. I drifted just beneath consciousness. I was lying on something soft. A fan whirred overhead. The cold air gave me goose bumps.

A man with a voice as smooth as silk replied, “She swore she wouldn’t be used against him. We can’t count on her to obtain his fealty. It’s time to move on to the next plan.” He sounded like he was standing near my feet.

“She bound herself. Intentionally?” Thanatos’ voice was incredulous. His footsteps echoed as he walked closer to me. The hair on my arm prickled, he was standing so close. If only I could open my eyes!

You
are
outnumbered
. The rational part of my brain pointed out.

Right. It was probably best I didn’t wake up just this second. I needed a plan. I focused on listening instead.

“It’s unfortunate,” said the man. “But there’s no sense dwelling on it. Of course had you done your job, Hades would already be in our grasp.”

“My job? Zeus—”

I stiffened. Zeus? Zeus was here?
Oh gods.

Thanatos was still talking. “Come on! It’s nothing short of miraculous that Demeter hasn’t caught on to the Reapers—”

“I can keep Demeter occupied. We need to take this to the next level.”

“The next level? Persephone barely eats or sleeps. Frankly, I don’t understand how she’s retained her sanity. Over the last few weeks she’s endured physical and psychological torture every hour of every day. She’s as isolated as we can get her. I don’t know
how
she broke free from your charisma, but the fault was not mine.”

“She’s strong.” There was something akin to pride in Zeus’ voice. “I had hoped to avoid using her for the next step.”

“She’ll die.”

“That upsets you?”

“Hades deserves anything we throw at him, but
her
? She’s just a kid.”

Zeus snorted. “Gods, you’re half in love with her too, aren’t you?”

“She doesn’t deserve to die for
him.”

“Collateral damage,” Zeus’ voice was dismissive. “If I’m going to use her, she needs to have enough power to be worth it. I can generate some more worship for her, but Hades would be an ideal source. How much do you think he’d give her if the situation were to turn dire?”

“Everything,” Thanatos said without hesitation.

Zeus laughed. “I doubt that.”

“You haven’t seen the way he looks at her. He’d do anything for her.”

“I can work with that,” Zeus mused. The floorboard creaked as he shifted. “I can almost see why. She’s incredible.” His fingers touched my thigh, and I jerked away.

“Oh good, she’s coming to.” Zeus leaned so close I could feel his hot breath on my face. “Look at me, sweetheart. There’s something I need you to do.”

* * * *

“I’m so glad we went out!” Aphrodite giggled.

I blinked and looked around. We were on Clayton Street walking toward Five Points. It was dark. I glanced down and saw I was wearing a short black dress and heels. Not my usual look.

“Um…yeah. Fun.” I murmured, trying to get my bearings. A sign advertising a Halloween party “tomorrow” gave me pause. “Is that right? Halloween’s tomorrow?”

“Geez, Seph, can you say lightweight?”

“Ugh, no! For the thousandth time, unless you want to go by Phro, you cannot call me that.”

She rolled her eyes. “You are no fun. Anyway, um yeah. Or I guess today, if you want to get technical.”

Halloween? That was weeks away. I frowned trying to recall the last few days. Brief snippets flashed in my mind. Hanging out with Joel during the day, Aphrodite at night. It was the only way to avoid the Reapers. Some club, 8E’s, or something. Random guys buying us drinks. Lots of dancing. “My feet are killing me! Why can’t we catch the bus again?”

“Bus service stops at three a.m.” Aphrodite’s voice was patient. “But wasn’t that fun? Next time, tell Joel not to bail. He’s pretty hot, you know, as hot as humans get anyhow.”

“You say that like you’ve seen
so
many cute gods.” I kicked off my heels and scooped them up. It wasn’t like I could get tetanus.

“Well, if they all look like Hades—”

I shot her a murderous look, and she burst into giggles. “Oh he’s so not my type. But he’s nice to look at. You know, you’re right. Forget walking. I just found us a ride.”

She stepped into the crowded street without warning. A horn blared, tires squealed. A silver two seated convertible stopped just short of hitting Aphrodite.

“What the hell!” The man driving it exclaimed.

“Gosh, sorry to scare you.” Aphrodite giggled. “But my friend and I need a ride.”

The man’s eyes widened as he took Aphrodite in. “Uhh…okay. But um…I only have room for one.”

“Oh that’s fine, you can walk,” Aphrodite said brightly.

The man unbuckled his seatbelt and fumbled for the door handle. Aphrodite tapped her foot until he got out of the way.

“Thanks!” She slid into the driver’s seat. “Come on, Persephone.”

I got in the other door. Something about this was…off. I put my hand to my forehead trying to get my befuddled brain to think clearly. There was something I was forgetting.

Meh, it probably wasn’t that important.

I was still hungover the next afternoon, but I forced myself to go on my run. Joel was waiting for me at the park.

“So you’re sure you can’t go to the Halloween party tonight?” he asked when we finished our jog.

I sat on the carpet of orange and red leaves, watching the sunlight sparkle on the lake. “I told you I have a thing tonight.” I’d been avoiding Hades as much as I could, but there was no getting out of Halloween in the Underworld. It was a pretty big deal to the souls, and, like it or not, I was still the queen. “We can do something tomorrow if you want.”

Joel sat beside me on the leaves, hand wrapping around my waist. “Like what?”

I moved away from him. “I’m all sweaty.”

“I don’t mind.” He leaned in and gave me a kiss, pushing me down onto the leaves.

“Joel!” I pushed him off me with a laugh. “We’re in a public park…And leaves are really uncomfortable.”

“No one’s watching…” he murmured. He looped his hand behind my back, protecting it from the scratchy leaves. His other hand ran up my leg.

I grabbed his hand, frowning. When had we gotten to this point? This didn’t feel right. I vaguely remembered Aphrodite saying something about loosening up and having more fun.

“Everything okay?” He caught my eye and gave me a concerned look.

“Um…yeah, everything’s fine. I’m just…I’ve been really disoriented lately.”

“You’re probably spending too much time with that Aphrodite girl. Every time I text you, you guys are out. Ever considered staying in for a night?”

“You don’t like her.” I brushed a leaf out of my hair. “Why?”

“I don’t know. You act different around her. You’ve been…really different lately.”

I shrugged off his concern. “I’m not going out with her tonight. I’ve got…kind of a family thing. Happy?”

“Almost. Come on, can’t you get away for a little while? Orpheus is playing at Terrapin tonight.”

I laughed. “Wow, what’s next, volunteering to take me to the new
Dusk
movie? It’s at the dollar theater, you know. I think that’s in your budget.” I pushed myself up on my arms, giving him a look of mock concern, that familiar lightheadedness returning. “Why are you trying to gain brownie points? Is there something you need to confess?”

“You want the long list or the short list?” Joel nuzzled my neck. “Maybe I just want to spend more time with you.”

I pushed him away. “You’re sweet, but I still have to go.”

Joel sighed. “It was worth a shot. Why is Orpheus playing in Athens anyway? Isn’t he too big for this town?”

“Athens has a rich musical…” I stifled a giggle at Joel’s look. “His wife is here. He wants to stay near her.” Orpheus still had to travel more than he liked, but he was never out of Athens for more than a day or two.