Drag Me Up

by RM Virtues

  Hades shoves him away, and the guards immediately seize him with no questions asked. Agamemnon and Leonidas are the two that come when Hades’ emergency button is pushed. Large and imposing, they drag Zeus away even as he tries to break from their hold.

  “Don’t forget who I am, brother!” Zeus roars. “I could destroy you! I could—”

  “Before you make a threat, Zeus, I would implore you to remember who usually has to carry them out,” Hades says slowly. “Good night, brother.”

  Zeus continues to shout at him, spiteful and arrogant, but Hades pays him no mind as he straightens his jacket. After all, he has a date to get to, and he would hate to keep Persephone waiting.

  17

  Persephone

  The meeting with Terpsichore and the scouts passes in a blur, and Persephone hardly believes she’s awake the entire time. Once they leave, she struggles not to race through the service corridor as Daeira leads her to the penthouse elevator. She takes a quick shower once she’s upstairs, washing off the evening before donning the little red number she’d come to the casino in. She’s just finished pulling the straps on when she hears the elevator arrive and the doors open. Then a woman’s voice calls her name - Hecate.

  Persephone knows of Hecate. Her name is as commonplace as that of Hades. The difference is that Persephone had seen the woman a time or two around the city before coming to work at the casino, namely at Aphrodite’s various events. Despite this, they hadn’t talked much, if at all, beyond a few words amidst group conversation and certainly not under these circumstances. If she’s honest with herself, Persephone is nervous. Hecate is imposing in her own right, but she’s also Hades’ family, meaning this is an important first impression.

  Persephone opens the bedroom door to find the shorter woman standing there with a broad smile and a bag in her hand.

  “Hades sent me up with some goodies,” she says, moving into the room and towards the bathroom.

  Persephone follows, curiosity piqued. She looks over the woman’s shoulder as Hecate begins pulling out various lipsticks and eyeliners. She wonders if Hades had forgotten to specify she only needed a few things or if Hecate simply likes to be as prepared as he does. Either way, Persephone appreciates it. Although Hecate seems to read the question off of her energy because she looks over her shoulder with a wry smile.

  “I don’t have much in the way of foundation that wouldn’t be absolutely insulting, but I wanted to be sure you had options,” she explains. “Hades is right though. You are a natural beauty. Your freckles are gorgeous.”

  Persephone flushes, looking down at her feet with a smile. Makeup had always felt like a necessity. Even after coming out, passing in public was a lifeline she had been all too eager to cling to, and she hated when people looked too close. They were always looking for the flaw, the clue, the proof that she was exactly who she said she was. The worst thing was that they were never satisfied either way. She never felt like she passed as well as Aphrodite, and while her mother’s critiques had only ever been to aid her, they sometimes tended to do more harm than good. Luckily for her, Hades’ opinion has gained a bit more weight than anyone else’s as of late, but she hates to admit that she still craves that validation.

  “Thank you,” Persephone replies, sifting through the eyeliner selection. “I hope you live in the casino too, and he didn’t send you out somewhere.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Hecate chuckles, moving out of the way to give Persephone full access to the mirror. “I’m right downstairs in the suite below. I share a suite with Thanatos, and we share the floor with Charon. We like the arrangement. It’s been the same since we were children really. I would always sneak out of my room to pile in with the boys. I felt safer that way.”

  “So you all grew up together then? I mean, I figured as much, the way Hades talks about you all, but still.”

  “We’ve pretty much been together all of our lives. Even when Hades and Rhea moved to Olympus, she made sure we could stay together. None of us really had the best home life, and she never shied away from taking us in and making sure we were cared for.”

  “I’m really glad he had you all while he was there then, in Olympus.”

  Although Persephone doesn’t point out the obvious, their eyes meet in the mirror, and she’s slowly becoming convinced that Hecate can read minds.

  “We still had to share him more than we liked,” the redhead says softly. “Being Zeus’s big brother was - is a full-time job, you know.”

  Persephone swallows. “So he’s been doing that his whole life too.”

  “Just about. Since we were all about eight or nine. Zeus was only a year younger than Hades, but he acted no more than half that. It wasn’t just annoying either. It was - cruel. And he always knew Hades would clean up after him, which only made him do more damage.”

  “That hasn’t changed, it seems.”

  She nods sadly. “We try to tell him, and I think deep down he knows, but…”

  “But he thinks it’s his purpose,” Persephone finishes with a sigh, setting the eyeliner down without putting much on. “Like it’s all he’s meant to do.”

  “Exactly.” Hecate pushes a hand through her vibrant red hair. “He-”

  She’s cut off by the sound of her radio crackling, and she rips it from her hip as a voice says “-think we got a counter.” Rolling her eyes, Hecate sighs.

  “Thana, can you get that, love?” she replies, holding down the side button of the radio. “I’ll be right down to help.”

  She returns the radio to her hip and smiles at Persephone in the mirror, both of them wanting to return to the conversation but knowing it’s better they don’t.

  “I should both get going,” Hecate huffs. “Do you want me to walk you down?”

  Persephone shakes her head with a smile. “No, you go ahead. I know my way, and I don’t wanna hold you up from a potentially eventful evening downstairs. But thank you again for the makeup and everything. I really appreciate it.”

  “Anytime. You need anything at all while you’re in this casino, you give me a call or a text. You’re never alone while you’re here.” She reaches into her purse on the counter, pulling out a business card and setting it on the sink. “That’s my number. Don’t be shy.”

  Persephone grins. “I won’t. Thank you.”

  “And-” She pauses briefly, her smile still present although she seems to be warring with something. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” Persephone raises a brow.

  “Everything you’ve done for him already. It’s good to see him genuinely happy. You’re - good for him, and I’m glad he has you.”

  Hecate’s words linger on Persephone’s mind long after the other woman leaves, and she stands in front of the mirror for what feels like ages, alternating between staring at her reflection and checking the watch once again secured around her wrist. She knows Hades awaits her, but it takes her some time to gather her wits and enough courage to leave the suite and head back downstairs. She doesn’t know if Hades talked to Zeus, but she knows that if he had, there was no turning back now. Regardless, she wants to be with him, to be in his company and surrounded by his energy. The night had been a good one, all things considered, and she wants to end it with him. She focuses on that rather than the excess because all things considered, that alone is worth it to her.

  She makes her way into the service corridor, her clutch cradled in her arm. Once the music from Elysium begins to beat through the walls around her like a strong heartbeat, she starts to tense, but she keeps moving forward. Yet something feels eerie in the empty halls, a tense silence just beneath the bass. She tries to ignore it, her own heart pounding in her ears, but as she turns the final corner leading to the Elysium elevator Hades had first led her onto, that eerie feeling intensifies. She only has time to inhale before she feels someone behind her. She’s about to turn around when a familiar voice stops her cold, a large hand snatching her clutch from her grasp.

  “Just walk out on your o
wn, Persephone. You’re coming with me one way or another. We both know that. I really don’t want to make it worse for you or - anyone in this casino, so please.”

  18

  Hades

  Hades intermittently glances down at his wrist only to become more frustrated when he finds nothing there. The lights in Elysium are beginning to give him a headache, or make one worse, and he can hardly sit still.

  “Ephialtes, what time is it?” he calls over to one of the servers near the skybox bar.

  The man, hunched over and hardly meeting Hades’ gaze, hurries over.

  “Just four minutes past midnight, Sir.”

  “Thank you.”

  Ephialtes scurries away again as Hades stands up, moving to the railing that overlooks the dance floor. He catches a glimpse of Dionysos and Calliope dancing near the corner of the room, Terpsichore not far away. Even Apollo is sitting at his reserved table near the back of the room tonight, another man beside him whispering in his ear. His sister Artemis, who rarely makes an appearance in Elysium, sits on the other side of him watching the crowd. Though everywhere Hades looks, there is no sign of Persephone.

  He walks around the bar and into the back room where they store some of the liquor, closing the door behind him where the music doesn’t penetrate as much. Pulling out his phone, he dials Persephone’s number for the fourth or fifth time. No answer. He huffs and dials Hecate’s number. She answers on the second ring.

  “Hey, is Persephone with you?” he asks hopefully.

  “No, love, why?” Hecate returns, and he can tell she’s already in her suite.

  “She hasn’t shown up yet.”

  “What?” Her tone of voice makes Hades’ stomach turn. “No, I left her in your suite at around- Thana, what time did we deal with that card counter?”

  “Dunno, probably about half past ten or so?” Thana’s sleepy voice comes from somewhere close enough to the phone that Hades hears him perfectly.

  “She said she was on her way down,” Hecate goes on. “Couldn’t have been later than 11 for sure.”

  “Was - everything okay?” Hades questions. “Did she look alright? Did she look - I don’t know, nervous or anything?”

  “No, no, nothing like that. She was - she looked happy.”

  Worry clouds his mind, and it immediately goes to Zeus. How can it not? Hecate is saying something in his ear, but he isn’t listening.

  “I’ll call you back.”

  He doesn’t wait for an answer, hanging up and leaving the back room. He makes his way out of Elysium and upstairs to security headquarters where he finds Agamemnon manning the cameras.

  “Aga, are you and Leo sure that Zeus left when you walked him out?” Hades asks without preamble. “That he didn’t come back?”

  Agamemnon doesn’t miss a beat.

  “Oh, yeah, we’re sure, boss,” he nods firmly. “We watched him drive away, and I let everyone on perimeter duty know that he wasn’t allowed back.”

  Hades trusts his word. Hades trusts his security. No one, least of all Zeus, would be able to get past them. However, that doesn’t make Hades feel any better about where Persephone is, especially when he gets a text from Hecate stating she’d checked his suite again and Persephone was nowhere to be found. When Hecate asks if he wants her to come down, he replies in the negative before looking back up at the screens.

  “Review the tapes for me, please,” he sighs, sitting down beside the man.

  They go through the recordings from the external cameras, confirming that Zeus had both left and not come back within the last several hours. There are only two entrances onto the property, both of which are heavily covered by cameras. Of course, that isn’t to say someone working on his behalf did not, but that would be much harder to pinpoint. Hades grips the edge of the desk but suppresses any emotion, directing Aga to next review the tapes from within the casino, namely the service corridors. However, before he can begin, Hades stops them. There is no need. In the corner screen, he sees a familiar head of thick curls and a notable white dress. He points at it.

  “Bring that one up on the main screen and rewind a bit,” he commands.

  Aga does so with expert efficiency, and Hades watches Persephone exit one of the side doors from the service corridor nearest Elysium. She had been on her way then, but something had changed. She seems in good shape, but she’s walking quickly, as if in panic. They move to the next camera, the one in the parking garage, and Hades’ heart plummets into his gut as she gets into her car and pulls out of the lot. Just like that. No one with her, no one following. She just leaves. There is indeed a small bit of relief to know she’s safe, but after that, the dread sets in. And rather quickly.

  She’d changed her mind.

  “Thank you, Aga,” he says curtly, clapping the man’s shoulder as he stands.

  Hades makes his way out of the security room and back up to his office, the idea of returning to his rooms unsettling. He sits down on the couch in the dark, pouring himself a drink, and listens to the floor below him bustle. At some point, the door opens, and he realizes he must have dozed off, his glass still clutched in his hand. Hecate doesn’t say anything, simply sits beside him and pours herself a drink as well. She clinks it against his and brings it to her lips.

  “I’m sure there is a perfectly good explanation,” she hums.

  “Yes,” he agrees. “That doesn’t mean it will be one that I like.”

  19

  Persephone

  It’s well past midnight when Persephone reaches the stark white house on the hill, its pearlescent pillars glittering in the moonlight. Beautiful as it is, she knows that nothing of the sort awaits her inside. Another car pulls up shortly after her, but she doesn’t turn around. No doubt the one sent to fetch her had taken another route entirely out of the casino, and out of the Underworld. Persephone had warned that Hades would have cameras everywhere, and while the little exchange in the hallway would be one thing, the image of her being escorted out against her will would be something else entirely. A disturbance like that would have certainly brought the district down upon them like a pack of hellhounds. Now that she’s here, part of Persephone wishes she would have just let it happen. However, she knows that she has to face this, otherwise it will only be worse later.

  She enters the house and already knows where she is meant to go, allowing her feet to carry her through the dark halls and down to the dining room. The light at the end of the hall calls to her, soft footsteps echoing in her wake, and she has to fight the urge to turn around and tell her escort that his job here is done. Instead, she keeps walking until she enters the correct room, met by the precise sight she had expected to be greeted by.

  “Ah, there you. It is about time you graced me with your presence, Persephone. I suppose I should be grateful to the Fates that my daughter has made time in her busy schedule for poor old me, yes?”

  Demeter’s voice is sickly sweet, but Persephone can see the sharp glint in her eye like a viper ready to strike at a moment’s notice. The leader of the Harvest District sits at the table, imposing as ever, her slender neck dripping in jewels as though she had just returned from somewhere important. Her thick, dark hair is pulled up and arranged into something intricate, but Persephone focuses her attention on the red-painted lips that twitch with indignation and the fathomless glare that cuts through her like butter. Demeter isn’t angry. No, she was most likely angry weeks ago. Right now, she’s spiteful, apathetically so, and that is the most dangerous thing she can be.

  “Hello, mama,” Persephone greets softly, moving to stand at the other end of the table. “Auntie.”

  She now greets Hestia, who stands off to the side, her expression unsettled. She manages to flash her niece an apologetic smile as Adonis passes Persephone to stand on the other side of Demeter. Persephone doesn’t look at him, but she does grab her clutch from his hand as he passes. He looks back at her, surprised, but she keeps her eyes on her mother. It’s hard to look at him, and not because
they’d broken up on less than respectable terms, but because he’d taken his hurt feelings and given them to Demeter to use as a weapon. She had done just that ever since.

  “I hear you’ve been spending quite a lot of your time south of the river, Darling,” Demeter goes on, clasping her hands together. “In Casino Asphodel no less.”

  “I work there,” Persephone surrenders. “Which I’ve just finished, and I’m exhausted, so if you wouldn’t mind rescheduling - whatever this is-”

  “Oh, no, no. You ignore my calls, my texts, my very existence, and you expect me to believe you would have come on your own?”

  “When I had time, yes.”

  “No, see, you make time for your mother, or she makes it for you, Persephone.”

  “I have a job, Mama, a life, and I-”

  “Yes, so I’ve heard. A job isn’t all that keeps you in the casino, is it? Having drinks with the rabid dog who runs it now as well, are we? Privately at that. Has he given you a room there too? Is that where you were coming from when Adonis found you, or was it his own room?”

  Persephone doesn’t answer right away, forcing her hands to remain unraveled at her sides. She refuses to look at Adonis, but it begins to click. He’s the only one Demeter would dare send into the Underworld, into Casino Asphodel, and he’s the one person Persephone would not look for because she wouldn’t expect her mother to be so blatant. She wouldn’t expect her to send someone Persephone knows, but he’s seen more than enough it appears.

  “It is no one’s business but mine,” Persephone says now, her voice rough.

  Demeter chuckles. “Don’t be naive, Persephone. You may get to play pretend on that stage, but the moment you step off of it, this is real life. He is the most dangerous man in Khaos Falls, on the leash of the dumbest man in Khaos Falls, and you-”