I stepped onto the large front lawn that preceded the palace gardens and looked up at the building. The dark green marbled stone had seemed forbidding the one time that I, Sophie, had seen it. But it had been night, and Theo and I had been breaking and entering.
Now, in the sunlight, the stone was warm and richly veined. It had depth and a kind of magnificence to it. Didn’t mean I was planning to walk in the front door, though.
Thanks to Persephone’s memories, I knew other ways in. I skirted around the stoney path that led to the gardens full of twisted silver trees and statues. I sidestepped the Pool of Lethe, and the ornately carved iron doors depicting the War of the Titans.
I ducked around to the side, giving the palace a wide berth until I found what I was looking for: a narrow path with a vine covered archway overhead. Provided Hades hadn’t done a major reno, there would be hot springs where I could bathe.
I darted onto the walkway, feeling its wrongness. The filtered light should have had a green tinge, but it was flat. And not because of me. Which was interesting. So far, the only things I’d seen here with any richness to their color were the corrosive dark orange and red of the River Styx, and the green of the palace marble. It made me think that the Underworld was great with the evil color palette, but somewhat limited in the happier pigments.
I knew that Hades liked color. Kai had told me stories about how they would go to Earth to see all the colors it offered. But, for whatever reason, certain hues just didn’t seem to stick here. Idly, I wondered if that was part of the reason Hades had fought so long for control of Earth.
Nah, that made him vaguely likable.
I fingered one of the smooth-edged leaves on the vines that wound up and around the walkway. But where the vines should have been twists of deep green, they were silver. Which was cool but, well, really wrong.
Grapes hung from the vines in fat bunches of the palest blush. Like someone had sucked the purple from them. What little color there was could only be seen at certain angles of sunlight.
Cautiously, I sniffed at them. I was starving and they smelled right. I snapped off a bunch and gingerly touched my tongue to one. No immediate convulsing from poison. I hesitated for a second, unsure whether eating anything would leave me stuck here, but I figured that if I was Persephone—for all intents and purposes—then that ship had already sailed. Greedily, I scarfed them down. Sweet, sun-warmed, and sticky, I filled up on their juicy yumminess.
Behind me, I heard a flat dispassionate voice. “You look awful.” I practically choked on the grape I was eating. Seemed Persephone didn’t like the owner of that voice any more than I did. And I wasn’t even sure who it was yet.
I turned.
Oizys, Spirit of Misery, Woe, Distress, and Suffering, peered directly into my eyes. She took her image very seriously. Her jet black hair was pulled into a severe bun, with a short fringe across her forehead. Behind black, round glasses, heavy kohl ringed her green eyes, and her lips were a slash of deep purple against pale skin. She wore a black sweater, a black spandex mini skirt, and thick black tights with (shocker) black combat boots.
Okay, the boots were cool.
“Greetings, Goth Girl.” I saluted her.
She blinked in confusion.
Yeah, I bet Persephone never spoke to her that way, but I figured that if I could keep everyone slightly off balance by being myself, it might work in my favor when it came to making it out of here in one piece. Hopefully, it would also twig Kai’s memory of my existence. Besides, no way could I speak like Persephone and keep a straight face. Formal, flowery BS language.
I imagined her bristling at that. Well, truth was a bitch.
“Grape?” I held one out to Oizys.
She frowned. “They’re not washed.”
“Precious much?”
She nodded. “Yeah, you are.”
Hang on. Me? It figured. Persephone probably wanted them peeled on a silver platter. Gag. I popped a last one in my mouth
“What’s wrong with you?” Oizys touched a finger to some dirt on my dress and then touched her finger to her lip. “Why were you in the tunnel?”
My ewww, gross turned to huh, cool, when she figured that out. “None of your business,” I said.
“Because you don’t get dirty.” She pushed her glasses up her nose in a gesture that was eerily reminiscent of Theo.
A pang of missing him so badly speared my heart when I remembered the horrible condition Felicia had imposed. I needed to find out if he was here. See him right now. “Yeah,” I told Oizys, “well, I was cavorting with some deer and they led me astray.” I brushed past her and continued on my way to the bathing pool.
“Using sarcasm to steer me away from what you’re really up to.”
She’d followed me and was still talking. Lovely.
“That makes you marginally more interesting,” she said.
“I’m so thrilled you think so.” I sped up, but she clomped alongside me no problem.
“Which leaves the question ‘what, precisely, are you up to?’” Oizys’ expression, like her tone, was bland. No. More like curiously detached. Like I was a science experiment. I swear, if she’d had a clipboard, she’d have been taking notes.
Hannah would like her.
I shoved that thought down, way far far away, and padlocked it tight. No thinking about people who may or may not remember their best friend with whom they had just had the worst fight of their lives.
Oizys kept pace.
I stopped, annoyed. “Back. Off.”
An amused glint cracked the blank slate of her face. “And here all I thought you were good for was dancing among flowers and looking pretty.”
Me too. “Me too.” Involuntarily, I voiced Persephone’s memory of that exact feeling. I frowned. I didn’t want to feel for her. I closed my eyes briefly, trying for patience. “Just … I need to go.”
Oizys tilted her head and studied me for a long moment. “You’ll keep your secrets longer if you play the part given you, Springtime.”
With that, she spun on her heel and left me wondering if she could see through Kiki’s enchantment. And what she would do about it if she could?
I killed that train of thought as I reached the end of the walkway, finding myself outside a long, low cedar hut. The air around it was warm and moist and full of that fabulous woodsy scent. I opened the door, glad that it was unlocked, and stepped into the vacant room.
My entire body sighed with relieved recognition. Smell was such a strong gateway to memory, and both were really powerful here. I was a tad worried that I might be assaulted with sexytime details but, thankfully, Persephone had only ever come here alone. It was been her place to unwind and relax.
And plot. And seethe.
Yes, well, I wasn’t doing any of that. I slid the wooden latch on the door, locked it, and slipped the blue dress up and over my head, tossing it in a rumpled ball on the floor. The heat in the room gave my skin a rosy glow, and I could already feel sweat beading the back of my neck.
This was the first time I’d seen this body naked, so yeah, of course I totally gave in to curiosity and checked myself out.
Score one for Persephone. Light olive skin that was butter soft to the touch, even my elbows and the pads of my feet. Dangerous curves, C cup boobs, long legs … Persephone’s hair was longer than mine, falling down the middle of her back, but our hair color was the same.
I twisted around to examine my butt. From what I could tell, it was a perfect, perky globe.
So pretty much a twenty out of ten.
Body issues? I refused to be jealous of a dead chick.
Instead, I faced the pool. It was probably about fifteen feet in diameter with cedar planks around the edges and steam rising from the water. Baskets of towels and pale green soaps were placed around in easy reach.
I dipped a toe into the water. Yikes! Hot. I was in heaven. I loved hot baths. The hotter the better. We’d only had showers at Hope Park. Same at Fee’s place.
I pulled myself out of the pool, looked down at the less than clear water and waited for the neat trick I knew was coming. Sure enough the surface rippled, magically cleaning the pool of all dirt until the water was pristine for the next bather.
The Underworld did have some amenities I could get behind.
Toweling myself off, I picked up my dress. I didn’t really want to put it on again but I had no other option. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the heat had done a steam clean number on it. I slipped it on and wrung out my hair as best I could. It settled down my back in glossy ringlets.
She even had good wet hair. Whatever.
I threw open the latch and headed out. I still wanted to find Theo, so when I heard male voices close by, I went to investigate.
Coming around the bathing hut, I saw a field in the distance with a soccer game in progress. There were a lot of spectators: dead humans, a variety of demigods and goddesses, and a few fantastical creatures varying from small and ugly to large and hideous.
Kai was there, shirt off, running toward center field with his arms spread out, like he was trying to get things moving.
My brain promptly started issuing stern instructions on keeping my dignity in the face of his male magnificence.
Don’t stare.
No, not the head tilt!
Stop that! Straighten head. Close mouth. Act like the dignified goddess you are.
Now tear your eyes away.
Not down. Away.
Yeah, fine. It took me a minute to line up my intentions with my actions. But eventually, I was able to look at the rest of the field. I didn’t recognize any of Kai’s teammates but I did see Oizys playing on the other team. She was the reason for the hold up, juggling the ball on her knees and ankles in a very cool show. Her face was total concentration, until she suddenly grinned and snapped the ball to an approaching teammate.
My heart caught in my throat. It was Theo.
No, it was Prometheus.
Wow.
Twelve
Prometheus had the same height as many of the other gods, so about fifteen feet, with his familiar shock of spiky hair. His face was, well, it was like my Theo really was the teen version of this very hot male. His features were more ruggedly masculine.
And—my, my—Festos had been right. Prometheus wore eye-liner. No glasses, just these big, dark eyes ringed with black. Also, he had a six-pack so crazily well-defined that all I could think of, even in the presence of Kai, the love of my life, was that I wanted to drag him off and lick them.
Holy crap did I need to restore Theo’s powers if it got him his proper body back. I’d be made a saint for that good deed alone.
“Staring at the wrong guy aren’t you, Springtime?”
I didn’t bother hiding my irritation as I turned to face Oizys. “Really got that ninja stealth walk going for you, huh?”
She looked amused, but there was an element of … what? It was a gleam that I could only interpret as a challenge. Was she waiting to see how I would respond to her initial question?
I was going to protest. Say I’d been looking at Kai, only had eyes for him, but screw it. “It’s enough to make me wish I’d been born male.”
Oizys studied me for a long moment. She pushed her glasses up her nose and looked like she was about to speak, when—
“Yo! Zys! Scared you can’t keep up with me?” Prometheus yelled out in a teasing voice.
“Any time, any place, Rock Boy,” she called.
Rock Boy? Had Theo picked his last name partially in memory of Oizys? Had I been calling him something that was a constant reminder of the friend he’d been unable to see for all these years?
My entire reality was shifting. I had one foot on shaky ground and the other in quicksand. Any more upheaval and I’d be lost.
Prometheus made a taunting “bring it” gesture with his hands as he jogged backward. Then he smiled at her with this look of incredible love and affection. I waited for that smile to include me.
But it didn’t. It transformed at the sight of me, to a polite nod, for a casual acquaintance.
My face fell. That nod was a blow to my soul. Four days from now, I was never going to see Theo again. The time we had left should have been about stockpiling as many memories as possible. Instead, it was about polite indifference.
I realized that Oizys was still watching me. Suspiciously now. She probably thought I was secretly in love with Prometheus. I took a shaky breath. “Better get back to your game.” I turned toward Kai, gave a little wave to catch his attention, and kept my eyes on him until I sensed Oizys leave.
Kai looked concerned when he saw me. Probably wondering why I’d bolted off so suddenly before.
I nodded back at him, smiling to let him know I was fine.
He brightened and blew me a kiss.
I blew one back, but my heart wasn’t in it. A best friend who didn’t recognize me, and a boyfriend who treated me like I was breakable, rather than the flirty, funny, infuriating Kai who turned my crank.
It was a very long game.
I passed the time seated on the edge of the field, making appropriate cheering noises while my mind churned over ways to make Kai and Theo remember me. More than once, I caught my fingers viciously ripping grass stalks from the ground.
I sifted through Persephone’s memories. But it wasn’t as if I could sit here and recite every single thing she had ever known or experienced. And there was nothing useful in what I could remember right now.
I watched Kai and Prometheus tussle, both fighting for control of the ball. Kai managed to get it with a fake out, but Prometheus stayed hot on his heels as Kai wove deftly around players and launched the ball into the net.
Cheers and whoops abounded.
I figured Kai would turn to me after that, but he was gazing off to the far end of the field, his poker face on. I followed his line of sight and saw Hades watching with disdain. A couple of nymphs clung to him. He said something that made them titter with laughter before walking off.
Kai went completely still for a split second. Then, with an easy grin to a teammate, he jogged off.
I doubt anyone else noticed his flash of pain.
Hades was an asshat.
I ached for Kai. I wanted to call him over all sweaty, so that I could fling my arms around him and kiss him and take away his hurt with some snarky comment about his dad. Yeah, and bug him when he got all smug about his prowess. Except Persephone would never do that.
That just made me feel bad for her. As far as I could tell, she basically acted as precious as everyone expected her to. But given how she’d snapped in the end, that goddess was carrying around a lot of suppressed anger and resentment. She was the original Goddess of Spring with an edge.
A title I wasn’t sure I wanted anymore.
The sound of a whistle brought my focus back to the game. Oizys had the ball, with Prometheus keeping close, trying to get her safely to the net. They worked seamlessly, passing back and forth at just the right moments, trash talking their opponents in tandem.
I was jealous. Bitterly, bitterly jealous. It burned in my chest and I had to swallow several times against the metallic taste of bile in my mouth. I wanted to run into the middle of the field and scream, “It’s me!” I couldn’t stomach watching them anymore.
The only bright spot was that the game ended shortly after. Pretty much everyone cleared out, until it was just me watching Kai and Prometheus play some one-on-one. More aggressive than friendly.
I drifted closer to them. My mind emptied of everything except the highly pleasing image of the two guys before me. Not that I’d ever admit this but, truthfully, I’d be hard pressed to say wheth
er Kai or Prometheus was better looking.
A vague thought nudged its way into my brain. Some story about Prometheus and truth …
Processing … processing …
I grinned in triumph it came to mind. Aletheia, the Spirit of Truth. Prometheus had crafted her out of clay and brought her to life. If he could go to her now, could she reveal the truth about me? It was worth a try.
I steeled myself to go speak to Prometheus, one friendly acquaintance to another. “Can we talk?” I asked him.
Kai snatched his shirt up off the ground and slung it around his neck. My mouth went dry,
“Can it wait?” Prometheus asked.
I tore my gaze from Kai. “No. Now.”
Kai cupped my hip with his hand. “I’m going to get changed.”
I didn’t want him listening in on this. Plus his touch, with his shirt off like that, made me lose my train of thought. “Good idea,” I said and waved him off.
He blinked dumbly at me for a second, then he left.
Prometheus laughed. “That was code for ‘you were supposed to follow.’” He jogged off toward where his own shirt lay on the ground.
Whoops. I called toward Kai’s retreating back in a lame fix. “My heart won’t be complete until I’m with you.” Oh. My. God. It was like I was possessed and this gibberish was just spewing out of me. But it was just my instinctive recall of how Persephone and Kyrillos had interacted.
Kai turned around, jogging backward. “I will burn until I see you again.”
I gave him a weak smile and sashayed off, trying not to gag. What a difference seventeen years and a waaaay better girlfriend made.
I trotted after Prometheus. “Do you know who I am?”
“What?” He picked up his shirt and wriggled into it.
No wonder Festos kept trying to get that second date. I stared pointedly at the sky, and tried to stop objectifying my best friend.
“What’s wrong, Persephone?”
Well, that answered that question. “I thought maybe you were mad at me or something. Since you were pretty cool when you saw me with Oizys.”
My Life From Hell Page 14