by P M Cole
“Very well.” He looked at my mother. “We will see you in a bit.”
My mother appeared just as eager to see inside the room as I did. Her disappointment was obvious. “Of course. I’ll be upstairs if either of you need me.” She looked at me, then ascended the steps.
Hades stood to one side, pushing his door further open. “Please come in.”
I walked into a moderately sized room, with shelves along two walls, some paintings on others, and a large desk in the centre. The shelves had a series of exotic items, from African masks, to bronze statues, to vellum-covered books. Nothing about the decor screamed former god of the underworld.
“Not what you were expecting?” he said, moving behind the desk. He gestured to me to sit, which I did in one of the two chairs in front of the desk.
“I’m… not sure what I was expecting, but it’s a pleasant room.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. So, your mother said you wanted to talk to me?”
My eye caught sight of a globe, before I retuned my gaze to the man opposite. “Yes. I… it… was—”
“Do not be afraid to speak your mind.”
“No, I am not afraid. When I first arrived here, after what happened in the Factory, I was… in shock would be a word for it. I saw my friends hurt.”
“Yes, that was quite an unfortunate event.”
“And, with what Chronus had told me of you, and the others, and then with what happened on Byron's birthday—”
“Another such event.”
“You can see why I thought what I did.”
“Indeed.”
“But after spending some days here. With my mother, and Heather, and the others, I have come to see I was wrong about all of it.”
Throughout my long-winded apology, his mouth was contorted into the same smile he always seemed to wear. The kind of smile his eyes always appeared to disagree with. I kept going.
“So, I wanted to apologise to you in person. I have wronged you. After what happened, what Finlay did—”
“He paid for that.”
“Yes, Mother told me.” I briefly smiled. “The pain of that night stayed with me my entire life—” As I talked, the act became partially an honest portrayal of my life, right up to the moment I stepped foot in Hades' prison. “— And discoloured how I saw you and the others.”
“And you never knew your mother was alive. I wanted to tell you that night in the grounds above us. I just needed to know you would be with us, not against us, but then your friends arrived.” He frowned. It seemed the first honest show of emotion so far. “Chronus took you as revenge for what happened between us. He lost the ultimate battle we fought, and so many years later, when I tried to give something back to humanity, and by that, I mean the seven of you, he wanted to stop that. He would have taken all of you, if I hadn’t gotten to the others first. That is why I asked Finlay to go that night. It was to protect you and your mother from Chronus, for I had learned he had located you both.”
He appeared sincere. I felt a bit disorientated. His words were making sense. A voice I did not want to acknowledge was wondering if I had been wrong about everything all along. I started to be unsure if my apology was false anymore.
“I’m sorry, that I was not able to save you Corine. That the crazy old man eventually found you and poisoned your mind as he did.”
I tried to remember the night of Byron's birthday. Echoes rang in my mind, but each time I thought I caught an image or word from that time, it slipped away. And even though something within me jarred against what Hades was saying, I had to admit, he was making sense. Mr Gladwell did keep his true identity secret from me all these years… could it all had just been about his revenge against Hades?
“Are you OK, you appear quite pale?” he said, then got up and poured some water from a jug into a glass. He sat on the edge of his desk, on the side closer to me. “This water comes from the aquifer we have direct access to down here.”
I took a small sip.
“I’m fine. It is just I think I know my past, and then I learn something else and everything gets thrown up in the air again. It is hard to know who you are, if your past is constantly changing.”
He reached forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. Surprisingly, I did not shudder, although it still made me uneasy. “You are with your family now. That is all you need to know.” He got up and started to move around the desk. “And with time I will tell you our plans, but for now, you and I have a banquet to prepare for." He sat back down. “I will be introducing all of you to the Prime Minister!”
“The Prime Minister?” I said, shocked.
“Indeed. He and I have great plans for the empire!”
He looked down at some papers on his desk. I stretched a little to better see the typed text but was unable to discern anything. He looked back at me and I stood. “I will leave you to your work. Thank you for taking the time to hear me out.”
“My door is always open.”
I smiled, my face changing to one of concern as I walked to the door and left.
*****
I lay in my bed and looked at the craggy ceiling.
Prime Minister? Hades was trying to protect me?
My mind was circling, moving from one thing that made no sense to another.
Hades is evil. Heather is evil. All of them are evil! He has to be stopped!
I sat up, unable to sleep anyway and felt my forehead which was hot. I looked at my mother's painting to think about what was behind it, but instead got caught by her gaze. She was enamoured by the man that killed my father. That attacked the Factory, that raised these insane murderers for children, and yet I felt her affection for me was real.
But what was worse… far worse, was I felt the kind words from Hades were real as well.
His plans with the Prime Minister were what concerned me the most though. What could they be? I thought back to what Byron told me in the Factory, that the casuals know about the bombs Hades was building, that they wanted them for themselves. That had to be the reason why the Prime Minister was working with him.
My plan to get close to Hades and learn more was working, but living down here, being part of this strange family was slowly eating into my mind, disturbing who I thought I was, or could be. Perhaps that was Hades plan all along. Deceive me into forgetting who I was. And I could feel it beginning to work.
Tomorrow, during the Banquet I will free the aged children and escape, but not before I put an end to Hades. No more will he hurt the people I care about.
I walked to the door and looked outside to make sure no one was coming, then closed it and returned to my mother's painting, pulling it from the wall. I pulled the metal objects out with my mind and brought them to rest on the bed, then replaced the painting.
I pondered the objects in front of me. For now, I needed to hide them. I looked at the gold-yellow dress, then back to the bed.
Thread.
I moved them to the floor, then concentrated my mind, waving my hands across the gold, silver and iron making them move together, melt and blend. The mass stretched, longer and thinner until it was hardly visible without looking closer. I then looked at the dress, and the twine moved through the air, like a snake and pierced the inside of the fabric and flowed from section to section, feeding its way through the dress until all of it had found a place.
I lifted the dress off the hook. It was a good pound heavier, but from the outside, no one would know the difference.
I climbed back in bed and ran through the likely events of tomorrow. While everyone was distracted with the banquet, I would slip back to the palace and free the children, maybe with the help of Colin and the others whom I’m sure would be there, probably as staff. Once I knew they were safe I would then return to the banquet, get Hades alone, put an end to him, then escape before anyone knew what had happened.
I took a deep breath. It was a simple enough plan.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
I awoke to th
e sound of distant voices. They appeared to be travelling through the tunnels and cracks and emerging in my room as muffled anger. Somebody was arguing.
Pushing aside my curiosity for a moment, I steadied myself.
This is the day.
I had been here a few times before of course. Each time confident of victory and each time just about managing to come out alive, the first time only doing so with the help of a Titan. Whatever the outcome, by time I awoke tomorrow, my friends would be safe, and Hades would be taken care of. If the others stood in my way, I would deal with them too, but hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
I got up and dressed in my usual clothes, then made my way outside, along the tunnels until reaching the grand hall. Heather and my mother's raised voices were evident before entering.
“You always wear black! This one time I want you to wear something a little more colourful!” said my mother.
I made my way gingerly across the rock floor, hoping to cross the hall to a smaller room which was the kitchen, without being seen.
“Corine!” said Heather.
I sighed, then turned around with my best smile plastered across my face. “Yes?”
“Tell your mother that I simply must wear black. It is the only colour which works with my complexion.”
“Don’t bring Corine into this!”
Three elderly children were standing against a nearby wall, each almost buried under a heap of dresses.
My stomach rumbled, but I walked over and grabbed a blue dress.
“Ugh!” said Heather.
Before she was able to say anything else, I tore off a strip from near the hem, and held it against the black dress that Heather was favouring.
“How about a small amount of blue, sewn in?” I said to Heather.
Heather scrunched her face, then looked at what I was proposing. “OK fine.” She looked at the nearby old man. “Sew this, and it better look exquisite!”
Ophelia took the dress and material from Heather. “I’ll do it. You just go and start getting your hair prepared.” She looked at the nearby staff. “Go with her.”
They nodded. Heather frowned, then they all filed away and out of the hall.
Ophelia rolled her eyes, letting out a breath. “She’s so frustrating.”
I smiled.
“Have you eaten?”
“No, I’m about to.”
“Yes, you must eat. You will need your strength. Banquets are quite draining, despite all the food on offer, and this one will be especially so. Harold was…”
I waited for what Harold was.
“He was quite tense this morning. It is an important evening for him. He and the prime minister have important talks tonight after the main course.”
“And I have to be ready by six?”
“Yes, we need to be in the main house shortly after. Guests start arriving at seven.”
“And we start eating when?”
She frowned. “Oh, I don’t know. Sometime around eight I presume. Why?”
I made a mental note of the times. “Just like to know when I’ll be eating.”
I had to get the children out by time the dinner bell was rung.
*****
I touched the string which was holding my hair in a bun.
My mother tapped my fingers. “Stop touching it, it will come undone, and then we’ll be late.”
We had been in one of the rooms off the grand hall for some time while she and others attended to every aspect of my appearance. It was quite unnerving. They applied some powder to my face and some essence of red berries to my lips for some unknown reason.
“There. You are finished.”
I thought I looked hideous, as if I was about to take to the stage. Still, if it helped hide my true intentions, then it would serve me well.
Mother turned to Daphne who had been one of many helping us. “Bring our coats and bags, we will be leaving soon.”
She nodded and left.
“Will the others be meeting us there?” I asked.
“Yes.” She turned to the open door. “Heather! We're about to leave!”
A rustling of lace came from the doorway, and Heather appeared with her largely black dress, a black top, and black ribbons in her hair. She also had the same pale complexion due to dust having been applied to her face. “Stop fussing mother, I am ready, as you can see. Can we go now? I'd hate to wait any longer.”
“Yes, we are leaving now.”
Daphne reappeared with our coats which we put on. I waited for the others to leave the room first then nodded to the elderly servant. She did the same in reply.
Soon we were on the elevator, moving heavenwards. The sky was already dark, but it was fragmented by the white flakes falling all around. Our breath was already making itself visible due to the icy conditions.
“Will it ever stop snowing,” said Mother.
“I like the winter. Father does too. That’s why he—”
Mother shot her a look, which stopped her from saying any more.
On reaching the surface, the manor was aglow. Most of the rooms were bursting with light, especially from the main doors on the terrace, and most of the grounds were visible despite the complete darkness further out.
Mother looked at a small pocket watch. It made me miss my own. She then lifted the bottom of her dress and marched through the freshly fallen snow. “Come, we are already off schedule.”
We followed her, walking the short distance to the rear door, and moved inside, brushing the ice from our shoes. The heat was a welcome break from the bone-chilling temperature outside.
I immediately started looking at the faces of the staff nearby. There were none I recognised, but one of them approached.
“Your coat and bag, ma’am.”
I handed both to the man, as did Mother and Heather.
Someone I did recognise approached as well, and I started to back up against the wall.
Mother noticed my reaction. “The past is the past, Corine. You are one of us now, she is no threat to you.”
She was referring to Daria who was dressed in a long purple and black dress, her hair being tied back. The gorgon leaned into my mother and they briefly embraced.
Daria stared at me, as if waiting for an apology. There was none forthcoming.
“So, you are part of London’s most prestigious family I see, Corine, or do you still prefer your street name, Cog?” she eventually said.
I thought I could hear the sound of hissing, but I presumed it was my imagination. “Corine is my given name.”
“You know that helmet you placed on my head, took quite some time to get off.”
I couldn’t hold in the laugh that quickly came but turned it into a cough.
“Yes, I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm by it. And the past is the past, isn’t that so, Daria?” said Mother.
The gorgon frowned.
I noticed someone else I knew further along the hall and took the opportunity to get away from the awkwardness. “Daniel is here. I’ll go and say hello.” Before anyone could respond, I moved away. He saw me coming and went to turn, but I caught up to him before he did.
“Daniel?”
He stood, already with a glass of golden liquid and sent me a passing glance. “What do you want Corine.”
“We haven’t had a proper chance to talk since I first arrived.”
He took a sip of his drink, still avoiding my eyes. “OK.”
“Why won’t you look at me?” I said, somewhat irritated.
He turned to face me. “Because all I see is the face of a girl who lies. My parents might be falling for your game, but not me.”
“But there are things you don’t know… and I just want to—”
He placed his empty glass down on the nearby sideboard. “It looks as if some of the guests are arriving early. I should go greet them.” He walked away.
I sighed. Of all the foster children of Hades, he was the one that appeared to have a seed of good in him
. He believed Hades genuinely wanted to make the world a better place.
I looked at one of the many newly hung wall clocks. The two hands displayed 6:55 p.m.
The din of conversation was already rising to a level where it was difficult to discern one voice from another. I strolled along the long hallway which ran through the centre of the building, pausing to take into account paintings of people and country scenes none of which I recognised, until I found myself in the large hall at the front. It was half-full, but already a hubbub of regal-looking men and women. Gold and silver necklaces and tiaras accompanied long, flowing dresses, all of which caught the lights from the crystal-covered lamps above while men, mostly of the older variety with turned up moustaches and slick greying hair, smiled and nodded. I was especially pleased to see so much metal jewellery on display.
A string quartet played a piece from Chopin in the far corner.
Laughter drew my attention to Heather. She had managed to find the youngest of the handsome men and was engaged in conversation with two of them.
“I’m surprised they let you out of your cage,” I jumped slightly, then recognised Byron’s voice.
“It’s rude to creep up on someone,” I said not turning to acknowledge his presence to my right, against the wall.
“Ha, to creep up on you is the exact opposite of what I did. Father must already trust you, for you to be here. I’m impressed. Those years in the gutter taught you well how to trick people.”
Another of the children that distrusted me.
“I wasn’t given a choice.”
He took a glass of alcohol from a passing servant. “No, he usually doesn’t give you one.” He moved closer to me. I wanted to move away but fought the urge. “Just so you know, none of us, well apart from Heather who I’m sure you know by now is insane, is buying this little act you are putting on for your mother and my father. He’s so obsessed with having his big happy family and how useful you could be, that he can’t see you for who you truly are.”
I turned and looked at him directly in his eyes. “Do tell me. Who am I?” Despite my sarcastic expression and tone, I was almost asking honestly.