Chapter Forty-Two

Feeling seeped back into my body slowly. I regained consciousness to the aches and pains of bruises and cuts but those weren't anything I couldn't handle. The agony in my leg was what finally woke me. It was undeniable torture, and the wound itched.

I wiggled my toes, rolled my ankle, and told myself that I wasn't going to lose my leg. It took all of the conviction I possessed but eventually I was able to drop my feet to the floor, to stand, to hobble to the door. I recognized the bedroom around me, a comforting feeling which mingled in the pain.

Outside of the still-broken door Lindsay lounged asleep on my couch. Hades was talking to himself in the kitchen, undertones of music accompanying his mumbles. He was so animated—what a change from the last time he'd been in that kitchen, sickly and weak. Inching slowly passed Lindsay with careful footsteps I headed for the welcome warmth that the kitchen promised.

"You're finally moving." Lindsay hadn't moved from her position but her eyes had opened. "I bet Gregory you wouldn't make it; he has always had much more faith in you than I had. You've just cost me my favorite dagger."

"Where is he? I don't remember much after he handed me his sword." Hades was well occupied; I could take a moment to catch up with Lindsay. I hobbled in her direction.

She sat up slowly, as if it hurt her to do so. "You mean the sword that you used to kill Zeus and unintentionally grant Gregory his mantle? That about sums it up."

I wanted to laugh at her. Gregory wanted nothing to do with godhood. I had suspected he'd wanted to perish in this war. And now he had assumed the mantle of Zeus just like Hector had with the helm of Hades. My fault.

Autumn: 2; gods: 0.

"We sent Alex into the River with the rest of the dead after the battle."

I didn't respond to her. She didn't deserve my pain; she might have laughed in the face of my sorrow and I wasn't healed enough to shut her up.

Alex, who I thought betrayed me but hadn't; Alex, who saved me in the dungeon; Alex, who had a soft spot for dragons and fancy clothes. I blinked several times, staving off tears I knew would embarrass her could she see them.

Alex had died to protect me. To protect all of us from the Fates' plans. She was my hero. I wished I could tell her that, to make her laugh one more time.

Lindsay was uncharacteristically chatty. She continued to tell me how Tantalus died and that Hades banned the Fates and that Lindsay was a free Fury now. There were still pieces missing to the story but I got the gist: the Fates plotted to bring the myths out into the world of man once more. There is power in belief and the advent of Christianity had belittled the existence of the once-awe-encompassing Greek myths.

But, I thought as Lindsay recapped for me, what was to stop all myths from emerging, from taking over? Native American, Norse, Chinese? It would snowball until all of humanity was wiped out by the things that go bump in the night.

I sincerely hoped I wasn't the only one who saw that future had the Fates achieved their plans. Lindsay, as if reading my mind, assured me that Gregory—Zeus—and Hades were in cahoots to quell the ambitious new gods who felt that the Fates had a point.

Interrupting Lindsay's explanations, I said, "Gregory should be here, god or no god." My stomach rumbled. For the first time a smell from the kitchen was appetizing. No more Fury food for me.

Lindsay followed me towards the aroma. Hades, Lord of the Underworld, grinned and pointed us in the direction of food. My heart danced in my chest at the sight of him. It was funny, seeing him there: we had really come full circle. Ravenous, I shoveled bites of food into my mouth without words.

We had already had good-bye after good-bye; I wasn't going to say it again.

Another day passed. Lindsay stayed with me in my apartment long after Hades left to go do godly things. Even though he and Lindsay spoke animatedly, freely, I deliberately avoided talking to him at all.

She would be here, with him, long after I was gone.

We were right back where we started. Much as I didn't want to leave, I was prepared and expectant of my impending departure. If only Hades would rip off the Band-Aid instead of drawing it out...

On the third day of peace most of my bruises were already yellow or faded. The cuts I sported all but closed. Someone had been sure to save my leather "armor" when they dressed my wounds from the battlefield—in case I wanted a souvenir. All it reminded me of was pain and a big, fat I-Told-You-So. I told Lindsay that she could keep it for all the good it had done to protect me.

Her laughter was not unkind; her demeanor towards me was less holier-than-though in those days following the battle. She laughed a lot more now that we weren't waiting to die.

On that third day Gregory came down from his cloud and visited the plebeians he'd left behind when he was elevated to the position of Zeus. We bowed to him when he entered my apartments, traversing the portals of the Underworld without issue.

"Ladies," he started. From the hesitation in his eyes, he wasn't sure what else to say. The bowing made him uncomfortable. In the wake of the awkward silence I limped over to bestow upon him the biggest hug he'd ever received. At least I didn't imagine Gregory getting many hugs. I wanted to hug him until he understood the full extent of my gratitude for all that he had done for me.

Despite his cool exterior Zeus hugged me back.

"You don't write, you don't call; you have a lot of nerve showing your face here, Zeus. I expected better of you." My chastising fell on deaf ears. Zeus hugged me again. "I'm so sorry about Alex."

He held me tighter for a quick second before letting go entirely. Remorse flickered across his newly golden eyes; I thought for a moment that he was going to cry. Luckily for all of us his eyes stayed dry.

"There will be more time for this later; I'm actually here for Hades. We've not yet solved all of the world's issues and I hear he's getting a bit impatient." Zeus patted my head when he let me go, like patronizing a little sister.

If Hades was knee-deep in solutions, that would explain why I hadn't seen him in days.

"We'll help you find him," I offered. After what felt like weeks in the Underworld I was finally able to travel through the portal on my own and what had I done for three days? Moped around with Lindsay acting friendly and ignoring the awkwardness between us under the pretense of allowing my body to heal. It was time I got over myself.

I didn't give the pair a second to stop me, just the choice to stay or follow.

My feet stepped out of the portal on the other side and we walked through the hall into the book-lined office where Hector had taken me before Ares showed up. That incident felt like it had been years ago. Hades was not in his office, plotting. Nor was he in the throne room, the dungeon, or any of the other rooms we stumbled into.

"Perhaps the River? If you could have heard the way he talked about her in the days before the Nectar you would have looked there first," Zeus suggested.

Thank you for that helpful tip; would have be nice to know that an hour ago.

The days before the Nectar seemed a lifetime ago.

One more trip and one more change of scenery brought us to the exterior of the castle. We exited the mirror portal and I had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. I shivered at the memory of Jasper's hands on me. Instead of dwelling on unpleasant memories, I turned to face the River. Sure enough Hades sat on the bank close enough that the water covered his toes as it flowed. A large flat ferryboat made the slow trek down the River filled to the brim with passengers. They all looked human. I was not brave enough to ask what had become of the victims of war. Alecto had killed many of them with my hands; I didn't really want to know if they had gone on to greener pastures.

"How is the water today, Hades?" Zeus asked his brother.

Hades looked up at us as we approached. "Breathtaking," he replied.

I couldn't help but agree; the first time I breathed in the atmosphere of the River Styx it felt sticky in my lungs, like it was coating my insides with tar. Now the air was fresh to the taste, no longer smoggy or dirty.

And Hades, sitting there completely at one with the essence of his realm, had never been more at peace. It was a good look for him.

"If you remember, old friend, we have business to attend to. There are many fires to put out and less time to take care of them with each passing day." Zeus still sounded like Gregory, still ancient and serious and polished. I hadn't realized just how much I'd missed him.

"Of course." Hades reluctantly stood, brushing the dust from his pants. My mission accomplished, I turned to leave them. No way was I going to be able to solve their problems for them.

"Where are you off to?" Hades asked. Assuming he meant me, I looked up at him. His smile broke my heart.

Remember when I wanted nothing more than to leave?

Remember when I hated him?

I couldn't remember anything before him, even though I had stopped eating the poison Fury food days ago, and while I knew I shouldn't feel anything more than contempt for him I couldn't ignore the way he made my stomach flip.

Ridiculous, I know. We would probably all have a good laugh about it later.

"Did you need me to stay?" I questioned, not breaking eye contact.

"Much as I would appreciate your company, I made a deal. You are free, Autumn." Hades' smile never wavered but his eyes betrayed him. Just as with the night we struck out bargain he presented me with his hand. I shook it, because what else was I supposed to do?

Yet another good-bye. I wondered if he would ask me to stay, if he would kiss me one last time.

Instead he placed a ball in my hand—no, not a ball, it was a pomegranate. Why? I contemplated it for a moment too long; when I looked up again I was back on the street where I had first met Hector.