Before I Fell

by Brandy Greeley

  I glanced over my shoulder at Hades.

  “Please stay away from the lake, for now.”

  “Okay. I should pack anyways.”

  “No-I need you to remain in the Underworld for a little while longer, after all.”

  I ground my teeth together-hard-as I glared at him and thought about the hundred and one ways I’d like to end his life.

  “Put her in my room, please,” I said, holding Bailey out to him, and he poofed her away as I marched right up to him, smacking him across the face as the sound reverberated through the room. “You said I could leave.”

  He massaged his jaw as Poseidon whistled.

  “You need a little instruction on how to handle your women, brother.”

  “And you,” I said, rounding on him. “I get the whole Playboy vibe you’re going for, but it’s not working because it’s just creepy you vapid manatee. Back off, alright?”

  “I’m not leaving him alone here, so while I go see about getting my wife back, you need to god-sit,” Hades said, shrugging his coat on.

  “But, that’s not fair-”

  “You’re bound to me, and to the Underworld, and I’m ordering you to stay put,” he interrupted, vanishing into thin air and I groaned aloud, whirling around as Poseidon followed.

  “So, how about a tour-narrated by yours truly-of the mysteries of deep-ocean life?”

  “Get dead.”

  “Movie and popcorn works, too.”

  Chapter Seven

  “A month was completely uncalled for,” I said as Hades stomped snow off his boots, greeting Bailey as she rushed up to him, tail wagging uncontrollably. “Three souls became Furies-please don’t give me that look, because it’s your own goddamned fault for leaving-and Poseidon tried to sleep with me no less than eight times.”

  “Nice to see you too, Emma. Are those cookies I smell?”

  “Busy work. Are you going to make him leave, or not? How long does it take to create an island, anyway?”

  “Centuries.”

  He moved to the side of the entryway, hanging up his jacket as a woman joined him, light brown hair curling loosely around her heart-shaped face…

  “Persephone!” I surged forward, wrapping my arms around her, and she leaned away slightly, frowning.

  “Do I know you?”

  “Oh.” My heart sank as she glanced around the living room, eyes wide. “No, I guess you don’t. Hugging complete strangers is just something I love doing-ask Hades-and is that a dog?” I gestured to the ball of fluff clinging to her leg, begging to be held and Bailey reached around me to sniff it.

  “Maddy is picky about who she likes and hates, just fair warning.”

  “Thanks for letting me know, but Bailey is chill around other dogs, except Hades’ hellhounds, who almost mauled her to death three times. I’m sure she’ll survive anything Maddy throws at her.”

  She smiled at me as I took her bags, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. What do you say to someone who forgot that you already knew each other?

  Hades stepped forward, laying a hand against the small of her back and she immediately shied away from the touch, picking Maddy up.

  “Why don’t we go upstairs? I’ll show you our rooms,” he said, meeting my eyes for a moment, frustration and anger evident as he led her away.

  “She’s going to give him hell,” Poseidon said, joining me as he tossed a gold coin in the air, spinning it between his fingers.

  “She needs to remember who is before Hades takes all that pent-up angst out on one of us. Probably me, since I know how to push his buttons.”

  “I filled his lake with saltwater and dumped all of my marine creatures in it, even the sharks. I’m pretty sure he’d rip into me, though you’re a close second.”

  I snorted, shaking my head as he moved closer to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and I shoved him away. “In your dreams, fish boy.”

  I sat on the bottom step of the staircase, watching as Persephone brushed past, tablet clenched between her hands and Hades joined me, dropping his head into his lap as tremors shook his whole body.

  “What did you do this time?” I asked, arranging my skirts around my feet.

  “She killed a Fury.”

  “I think that’s awesome because they’re spiteful, pesky bird-people who desperately need a shower-but that still doesn’t explain why she just stormed out of here without so much as a ‘hello, Emma, I’ll see you later,’ or why you look so miserable.”

  “She turned the Fury into a tree and-”

  “Seriously? I didn’t know she could do that.”

  He glanced at me, exasperated. “It was reckless, and I tried to stop her, but she tapped into all of her power, and when the Fates saw what she did, they turned her into a death goddess.”

  What did this mean for me?

  “She’s been trying to help you with the souls for years, right? So this should be a good thing, and still doesn’t explain the stomping.”

  He seemed ill at ease. “I may have lied to her about being able to go back to Portland.”

  “Why would you do that? You know how much her freedom means to her.”

  “It was desperation, Emma! You have no idea what it’s like to love someone with everything you have, only to have them reject you at every turn. And she did that before she was cursed, too. It’s exhausting.”

  You might be surprised.

  “You’re trying to mold her into something she was before the curse, but she changed, in more ways than one, and she might never go back to the old Persephone. You have to be ready to accept that and move on.”

  “Psst. Over here.”

  I inhaled sharply, glancing over at the soul. “If you don’t mind, we weren’t done with our conversation.”

  “It’s okay-work. I need to go smash something,” Hades said, standing.

  “What are you going to do about Persephone?”

  He shrugged, running an agitated hand through his hair. “I don’t know. The Furies still want to punish her, so please try not to make any more of them, okay? I know you’ve improved lately, but you’re still not at the level I need you to be. See you at dinner.” He left, and I glared at his back before turning to the soul.

  “You’re not going to become a Fury if I make you wait another five minutes, are you?”

  He shook his head.

  “Okay, then. Wait here. Hades!”

  He stopped mid-stride, eyes hard and tense.

  “Emma, I don’t have time right now.”

  “You get into these moods whenever you can’t control a situation. And I know that she hurt your pride by wanting to leave you again,” I said as he tried to walk away, “but you can’t let her be the sole focus of your life. You’re the freaking lord of the dead, for crying out loud, and other people occasionally need your help. Like me.”

  “What do you need help with? I told you that you’re getting more confident with the souls, and I’ve given you more than enough material for your book today alone, with Persephone’s little…spat…”

  “I want to know why Hera claimed me, and why she thinks that I deserve these gifts.”

  “Mortals,” he mumbled. “She gave you those abilities freely-and she’s not always known for her niceties-and your only response is to ask, ‘why me’? How about a little ‘thanks’ first?”

  “Someone listened to me that day on the beach, alright?” I said, smacking a hand to his chest. “I knew I was a goner, and then I wasn’t. But why did I come back at all? Why can I do what you can, without the excuse of being a god?”

  “I can’t answer those questions.”

  “Exactly, but she can.”

  He watched me for a minute, jaw clenched.

  “My sister doesn’t always answer my summons. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not exactly the most popular god.”

  “She would, though, for me.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “And you do? Just admit it, Hades. Since the moment I agreed to
let you help me, you’ve wanted to know why she thought I was so special. This is your chance to find out, and my chance to finally get the answers I’ve been craving for years. So could you please just try?”

  He sighed, closing his eyes as his lips moved, and I felt a tingling sensation zip up and down my spine before subsiding again. He looked down on me, eyebrow quirked. “I told you it wouldn’t work.”

  “Wait, that was it? Try again.”

  “No, Emma.”

  “You want to abandon this because you’re having connection issues?”

  “She said she was ‘very busy’ and to ‘stop bothering me, brother.’ I’m sorry but let this one go.”

  He strolled out of sight and I huffed out a frustrated breath, biting my thumbnail as I wandered back over to the soul. “I’m sorry that took so long, but what can I help you wi-”

  “Is he gone?”

  I glanced up in surprise at the woman who stood next to us, smoothing a hand down her red poppy dress, and the soul rolled his eyes.

  “I can see this isn’t going to happen, so if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go find that death goddess instead.”

  “No, wait, I can do it! Damn,” I said as he disappeared. “If I can’t help the souls, what’s the use in being here at all?”

  She smiled, stepping forward. “He won’t be the last soul to abandon you, now that my lovely niece has taken over Hades’ job. Speaking of which, I think you wanted to see me.”

  I looked her over from head to toe. “You’re Hera?”

  “One and only.”

  “I-uh…”

  What did I want to say to her? ‘Thanks for saving my life, and slapping me with paranormal gifts that I’ve only recently begun to fully comprehend’? How about ‘I appreciate what you did for me, but why did it take you so damn long to show yourself’?

  Admittedly, there was a tiny amount of anger associated with her, and I knew it didn’t make sense because Hades was right-I should be grateful instead-but the four years after I almost died would’ve been so much easier and less stressful had she told me what she expected me to do with these gifts, and why she gave them to me in the first place.

  “I’m glad that Hades is teaching you how to handle the spirit world, and I’m proud of how far you’ve come so far.”

  She smiled at me like I was her progeny-like I’d finally earned her love and respect, instead of admitting that she could’ve done so much more for me. “Okay, so, you brought me back to life, and I’ll always be thankful you did, but I could’ve done without the…eh…aftereffects.”

  “Do you mean the souls? Why not? You and Hades weren’t going to find each other the normal way, so I had to give you a little advantage, though you should know that your gifts were always there. I just heightened them.”

  “You wanted us to meet? For what possible purpose other than complicating my life?”

  She blinked back at me as if I’d spoken another language. “Your connection, of course. The Fates knew you and Hades are soulmates and keeping you apart all this time seemed awfully mean of them, so I intervened on your behalf.”

  I doubled over, laughter rippling through my body as she raised an eyebrow in question.

  “I’m sorry, but Hades? That’s impossible.”

  “The two of you are separate halves of one soul, and I’m honestly surprised that you didn’t know this since he does.”

  It felt like I’d been gut-punched. He knew and didn’t tell me?

  Why would he, Emma? After all the time he spent getting Persephone to return to him?

  “What about Persephone?”

  “Kidnapping, forced marriage…tell me, Emma, does that sound like true love to you?”

  “Even if this is true, I guarantee that he doesn’t feel the same way about me. In fact, let me think about it-yup, he most definitely denied it at least once before.”

  “I may not like my brother all the time, and we’ve had our share of epic fights in the past, but I’ve known him for thousands of years and in that time, he’s never cared about the wellbeing of a human until now. That makes you unique, whether or not you’ll admit it to yourself.”

  “How long has he known that we’re meant to be together?”

  I wasn’t going to say the word soulmate, because it was too much too soon, and I still didn’t fully believe it.

  “Your first night here, in the Underworld. Something snapped into place for him, so he convinced Persephone to give you another task to keep you here, where he could watch over you.”

  Writing a novel for them, tricking me into eating the pomegranate seeds…

  “That stupid little rat-fink!”

  Hera blinked at me in surprise. “Excuse me?”

  “It makes so much sense now! He doesn’t want to deal with the guilt of being married to Persephone and having feelings for me at the same time. It’s like having a mistress on the side, except that he’s too proud to take this to the next level. Does Persephone know?”

  Please say no, please say no.

  She shook her head and I sighed in relief. It was entirely possible that nothing would ever come of this, even if I could somehow get Hades to admit how he really felt about me, not with one half of the equation currently cursed and living in Portland.

  “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with this information.”

  She shrugged, unaffected. “Whatever you want. You deserved to know the truth, and now you do.”

  “That’s not as comforting as it should be.”

  She smiled in response, wandering over to the bar. “I’m sorry that I can’t help you further, but you have the freedom to alter the course of your life now. Or not-it’s up to you. I’m not going to pretend that I wouldn’t be thrilled to pieces to have you as part of my family on a more permanent basis, but I won’t force the issue.”

  “This might make things awkward between Hades and me.”

  “He doesn’t know that you know and quite frankly, it gives me a little satisfaction thinking about you having that leverage on him.” She winked at me and disappeared, glass and all.

  Chapter Eight

  “No matter how many times you give me those doe-eyes, it won’t change my mind about which line you belong in,” I said as the girl scowled, stomping away and I sighed, collapsing against the wall. Eight in one hour. That had to be some kind of record, but I wasn’t allowed to gloat about it just yet because I still had to get my butt back to Portland in time for lunch with my parents.

  My parents.

  I cringed, knowing they were going to ask questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer, like ‘what are you doing to keep yourself busy these days?’ And ‘why haven’t you called in the past month? Did you pay your cellphone bill?’. I was going to have to make up an excuse again and hope that they didn’t see straight through it.

  So many lies lately.

  “You can’t get attached, no matter how much you might want to. If I caved every time a soul begged me to change my mind, I’d never be able to do my job the way I'd intended to.”

  I stood as Hades rounded the corner, hands tucked into his pockets, and felt a furious blush creep across my cheeks.

  “I know, only, it’s not always so easy. When they tell me a particularly sad story about their life, a small part of me wants to give them a second chance at their afterlife. Everyone makes mistakes, right?”

  He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ll never know what that’s like to have one chance to do the best I can with the life I was given. It’s such a human thing, and I’m not human.”

  “Yes, I know, you keep telling me that like I’m going to forget. Speaking of which, what are these frequent back-and-forth trips doing to me?”

  “I don’t understand the question, and don’t know that I want to.”

  I rolled up a sleeve, running my hand across the smooth, pale skin. “Three hours ago, I accidentally stabbed myself with a pair of scissors when I was trying to open a new
bag of dog food, and now there’s barely a mark the-”

  “I wish you’d take better care of yourself, Emma.”

  “That’s not the point. Why do I suddenly have super healing abilities?”

  “You’re in the land of the dead, which means that the rules governing living things are a little different. Persephone’s gardens, for example, only stay in their healthy, perfect state because she wills them to. Or did-now that falls to Demeter.”

  “That’s maybe something you should’ve mentioned before I came down here.”

  He smiled, eyes dancing. “Oh, I’m sorry; here I thought that being nearly invincible to harm was a good thing. My bad.”

  “I resent being treated like a pack mule.” A man appeared, tapping his heels together as iridescent wings retracted into his shoes. “I do have things to do with my day, you know, and in case it escaped your notice, Yule is almost upon us, which means that every Olympian worth their salt will expect a dinner invitation. That’s a lot of traveling, Hades.”

  Hades cleared his throat and the man glanced over me, did a double-take, and bowed low.

  “I’m sorry, where are my manners? The name is Hermes, the messenger of the gods, and brother to this miserable little git. You’re Emma, right?”

  “You’re throwing a dinner party? And you didn’t think to invite me?” I asked, feeling a tad miffed. It wasn’t like I expected to be welcomed with open arms at his family gatherings but considering recent information, the oversight on his part stung. “I mean, you don’t have to I guess, because I have my own family and all but-hold on-did you wait until I wanted to go home to throw this shindig? You did, didn’t you? Of all the-that’s not nice, Hades!”

  He held up his hands in supplication. “You haven’t seen your family in over six weeks. I figured you wanted to catch up-let them know that you’re alright. Was I wrong?”

  “You could decide not to get rid of me every time someone visits like you’re ashamed I exist.”

  “It’s for your protection that I’m excluding you, not because I don’t want to be seen with you. Please be reasonable, for once.”

  “Why you little-”