“What have you done?” Oizys demanded, her fists up and ready.
One hand clutching my side, I elbowed her off of me.
She rolled herself to her feet, and I scrambled to mine. I wasn’t about to let her tower over me. “You want to get mad?” I swept my arm out. “Get in line. But if you want to do something useful, then help me break Prometheus out.”
Oizys stilled, taking me in slowly.
I shook my head and started walking. I’d had enough.
“There’s something off about you, Springtime,” she said.
I almost laughed. How right she was. On so many levels.
Oizys caught up to me, puzzled at my amusement. “You don’t have your usual energy.”
“My happy goddess delight?”
She shook her head. “The darkness that is usually deep within you.”
That was disturbing. I stepped back. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Oizys watched me intently. “It’s tempered by a fire now,” she said.
The vision …
My body went cold. I clasped my trembling hands behind my back and kept moving.
Oizys saw my shock and nodded. “Misery and pain. I see this in you. Or I did. Something fundamental has changed.”
She could try and puzzle it out all she wanted. No way would this denizen of Hades guess who I really was. Kiki’s enchantment was good for that much.
“Are you going to help me break him out or not?” I needed Aletheia to come reveal the truth, and it would make life a lot easier if Oizys played on my team.
She gave a sharp nod. “Only because I want to crack your secrets.”
Fine by me.
My stomach rumbled. I realized I hadn’t eaten since morning, and judging by the fading light, it was heading into evening. I was starved. “Let’s eat, and then we can go back to my …” I was going to say “room” but no way was I going back there. I shared with Kai. My brain tripped over that thought, and I trailed off. “We’ll eat,” I said, finally.
We continued back to the palace in the deepening gloom. I was happy to feel the last rays of warmth on my face, even as a chill nipped at my ankles. The air was rich with the scent of dry grass and scorched earth.
There was a rustle of wind. Enough to bring the faintest echo from Tartarus. I shivered and stepped up the pace, marveling at the silver trees around the deep, black, silent Pool of Lethe. We crossed the garden to enter the palace through the front, and I let one finger trail over the cool relief of the ornately carved iron front doors depicting scenes of gods in battle.
Once again, the throne room was packed. Oizys and I raised a lot of eyebrows and heard a lot of whispers at the sight of us together. “We shouldn’t be seen together,” I said. I didn’t want anyone getting suspicious about a newfound alliance between us.
“Works for me.” She veered sharply out of the room, headed for the large alcove adjoining it. Inside, there was a heaping buffet of dinner choices.
Atkins dieters would be in roasted protein ecstasy. I went to the opposite end of the buffet, filling my plate with the most recognizable foods. I pretended to focus on my dinner, eating at my own empty table. I kept one eye on Oizys at all times.
She kept to herself a lot. That surprised me. If she was going to win Miss Congeniality anywhere, I would’ve thought it would be here in the Underworld. But she avoided the other deities, and they her.
I felt a pang of sympathy. Being a misfit here had to suck.
I let Oizys leave first, then snuck out after her. All right. I wasn’t all that secretive because the only ones who seemed to care where I was going were a couple of intimidating looking Infernorators who puffed up their flames at me.
Two Pyrosim were child’s play for me. And I knew that beyond making Persephone’s life miserable by forcing her to stay in the Underworld, Hades didn’t allow any actual harm to come to her here—because Kyrillos had insisted on that. Of course, if anyone could end up breaking that rule, it would be me. Since I wasn’t about to test my luck, I ignored the minions completely.
A few minutes later, I spied Oizys in an empty corridor. She sped up at the sound of my approach.
I sped up, too, until I had come flush alongside her. I slung my arm around her shoulder.
She didn’t go into full rigor-mortis-stiffening at my touch, but it was close. “How do you feel about a roommate, Goth Girl?” No way was I going back to that stupid shared bedroom. I hoped Kai would freeze, all alone under the covers.
Oizys shrugged my arm off, shot me a disdainful look, and picked up her pace. “What happened to not being seen together?”
“Nothing. But we’re alone now.” I waggled my eyebrows at her for good measure.
She stared at me, like she couldn’t figure me out but would love to try. Preferably using pointy instruments that would cut my head open. “No. No roommates.”
I let her think that she’d had the final word. Didn’t argue at all when she made her way toward her room. I let myself zone out to the sounds of far off voices and the random hum of activity in the palace. And I followed her.
Oizys put up with me dogging her heels until we reached her bedroom door, in a wing far from my own, though it looked much the same.
She hovered on the threshold. “Much as I wish otherwise, we can’t do that thing …” She gave me a pointed stare. “… tonight. It’s too dangerous to go traipsing around now. We’ll reconvene in the morning.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
As she turned, I hip checked her, and she stumbled into her room. Quickly, I stepped in and shut the door. All sound from outside the room was cut off. The room itself smelled surprisingly floral. Girly.
I surveyed her digs. “Love your use of monochrome.” Everything was the same dense shade of black. I ran a finger along one wall. “Although I hear accent colors do wonders. Consider a little blood red, or rat’s eye pink. Classic choices in the goth palette.”
Oizys folded her arms. “Get out.”
“Nope. If you and I are going to plot, I’m betting this is the safest place to do it. You’re a natural born citizen of the Underworld. I’m just a landed immigrant with dodgy papers. Probably a lot more breathing room on your side of the palace.”
Oizys sank onto her bed and tugged off a combat boot. “Points for stringing together a logical argument. But no. I don’t room with anyone. Especially not goddesses of spring.”
“It’s not a communicable disease. Trust me. You’re not going to get suddenly flowery and smiley.” I sure hadn’t and I was the Goddess of Spring. I leaned back against her door, my palms pressed to the wood. “I’ll be honest.”
She paused, boot in hand, and looked up at me, visibly pained. “Must you?”
“I can’t go back to the room that I share with Kyrillos. Which means I’ll have to wander the halls, stealing naps where I can, and being entirely inefficient in springing Prometheus.”
Oizys pulled off her other boot and waggled her toes as if delighting in the cool air. “Good. Then you won’t get in my way. You’ve done enough damage.”
“Oh no,” I scowled. “You’re the sidekick on this little mission.”
“I don’t think so.” She fixed me with her best Spirit of Misery and Woe glower, and rose to her full height. It was an impressively quelling look, but once a girl had death squads trying to whack her ass on a regular basis, evil stares failed to pack a punch.
“Partners then.” I settled myself onto a daybed in one corner. Instead of the usual wrought-iron rosettes, curlicues, and colored glass that often made up the sides and back of these things, this one looked like a massive iron spiderweb. Complete with evil metal spider awaiting its prey.
I bounced up and down on the mattress to get a rise out of Oizys. “It’s a little macabre but it’ll do in a pinch.”
Her lips flattened so thin, they were practically nonexistent.
“Look,” I said, relenting, “it’s only for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll find Prometheus and break him out.” This was a total lie. Until that truth spirit showed up to break this farce of an enchantment and let us out of here, I was bunking with Oizys.
Not that I’d tell her that.
Oizys pulled on the cuffs of her sweater so that they slid over her hands, covering them. “It’ll cost you,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. Of course it would. There couldn’t be the simplest transactions with these Greeks without payment due. “What?”
“Tell me why Prometheus matters so much to you.”
I leaned back against the daybed’s scratchy sheets—black of course, like the rest of her bedding—and considered how best to answer that.
I felt the mattress creak as she sat down beside me. Felt her expectant stare.
I couldn’t tell her the truth. First off, she’d never believe me. Second, no matter how much she cared about Prometheus, I wasn’t about to risk the well-being of humanity by telling her anything that could be used against us on the equinox. Or get me imprisoned now.
So not the plan.
Which only left one explanation. “In another time, another place, he was my best friend. And whatever we are now, I’ll always love him.” Even if we never saw each other again, Theo would always be my best friend. I would always love him, and I refused to give him up without a fight. There had to be some kind of wily loophole in the Theo agreement. Like telephones. Technically, I wouldn’t be seeing him, right? I couldn’t give him up. He was a part of me.
I let myself get lost in mushy memories for a bit.
“He never mentioned you.” Oizys said.
I blinked a couple times to clear my pictures of the past, then met her eyes, the fingers of my left hand crossed behind my back. “Because he loves sharing so much, does he?” It was a long shot, but given how closemouthed Theo was, I was willing to bet that the same was true for Prometheus. Which meant he probably didn’t go around talking about his life in Olympus.
She bought it. I could tell by the way that her jaw relaxed. “Fine. You can stay. But annoy me and I’ll throw you into the Styx, and happily watch you dissolve.”
On that cheery note, it was bedtime.
On Tuesday morning, I woke up the polar opposite of refreshed. Part of it may have been the fact that I was wearing yesterday’s clothes, since I dreaded going back to my bedroom and running into Kai. Part of it may have been my nightmares, where the world burned and I was forced to watch, held in place by one enormous spider leg.
Mostly though, it was the equinox was in two days and I had a massive amount of stuff to accomplish: free Prometheus, break the enchantment, get through the portal safely, take down the wards, do the ritual, save the world, and not die anywhere in the process. I was somewhat daunted.
I couldn’t let myself dwell on that, because, well, thinking led to getting overwhelmed, which led to angry feelings and the possibility of uncontrollable destruction.
Back there in reality, I’d managed to throw Planet Earth into a seasonal limbo. I’d made plants burst into flame, and broke branches off trees from twenty-three stories up. Not to mention dealing with an internal rage that was ripping me to shreds. Literally, given the way I’d attacked my arms.
Here, I was so busy trying to keep Persephone’s emotions at bay that mine hadn’t had a chance to suffocate me. And I planned on keeping it that way. If my off-kilteredness somehow managed to leach through and combine with all of Persephone’s issues? That sounded like a recipe for disaster. The makings of a Sophie/Persephone megabomb.
Which was why, as much as I could, I focused all my thoughts on what I could do, what I had to do, not what I was feeling. And my immediate problem was freeing Prometheus. “We need to know what obstacles we face in the great prison break,” I told Oizys. Also, how would I buy him time to get the Spirit of Truth here without Kai mounting a manhunt—or rather, a Titan-hunt?
“Where are the dungeons?” I asked. We’d returned to Oizys’ room after breakfast for maximum plotting privacy. She’d needed to eat as badly as I had.
She sat at in front of her mirror, re-applying eyeliner in heavy black lines.
I was on the floor, my back against the daybed, chin resting on my hands. I was hopeful. Neither Kai, nor Hades had crossed our paths. Yet. Out of sight, out of mind seemed like my best policy where those two were concerned. While I understood that Kai—and Kyrillos—didn’t want me hurt, who knew what consequences our newly strained relationship might have.
My breakfast suddenly felt heavy in my stomach. I shifted, uncomfortable.
“There are no dungeons,” Oizys said.
Her voice startled me out of my thoughts. “Where do they imprison people then?”
She tossed a flat stare over her shoulder. “They don’t.”
Queasiness morphed to all out panic. I bolted upright. “They killed him?!”
Watching her reflection, I saw Oizys roll her eyes. “Don’t be stupid. If Hades or Kyrillos were going to pull a power play like that, everyone would know.” She examined herself a final time before turning on her padded stool to face me. “We just have to figure out where they would put him.”
“Tartarus,” I said, and shivered automatically. I did not want to go back there. Plus, the place was huge. “Let’s rule everywhere else out first.”
Oizys raised an eyebrow. “Scared, Springtime?”
I snagged a pillow from the daybed and wriggled it under my butt. “Uh, yeah. And don’t even try to convince me that you enjoy hanging out there. Because there’s gloom and doom, and then there’s just plain stupid.”
“Nobody enjoys hanging out there,” she said, sounding more than a little convinced of my stupidity.
“Dead people and Olympians don’t,” I said. ”Your kind might think it’s a happy fun park.”
I got an annoyed sigh, but no actual response. I crossed my legs and thought it over. “He wouldn’t be in the palace. That’s too obvious. The first place I’d search.”
“Somewhere that would cause Prometheus maximum pain,” said Oizys, rising to root through the jumble of stuff on her dresser.
“His rock.” We said it in unison. And then, just as quickly, we both shook our heads. “No. Kai would want to keep Prometheus in the Underworld.”
We stared at each other, both somewhat startled. “Great minds think alike,” I murmured.
“Then I don’t know how you reached that conclusion.”
I waved my hands around, faking scared. “Ooh. Insults.”
A corner of her mouth lifted ever-so-slightly into a grin. I had to look really hard, but it was there.
When she spoke, though, her voice was as matter-as-fact as ever. “Even if Kyrillos didn’t actually bind him to the rock again, he could recreate the psychological trauma of it. Briareos, Kottos and Gyes, the Hekatonkheires who helped subdue him initially, live—”
“In Tartarus,” I finished, glumly. “It fits. Kyrillos turned Prometheus over to the giants’ keeping. We have to get him out of their hundred-handed clutches.”
“Three hundred-handed clutches,” Oizys corrected, snagging a tube of lipstick. “A hundred hands each. Along with their combined hundred and fifty heads.”
“Thank you so much for clarifying that,” I snapped. “Because we wouldn’t want any hope going into this.”
She uncapped the tube to paint her lips purple. “Best to know what we’re up against.”
I sighed. “You’re right. I don’t suppose there’s a handy map of Tartarus anywhere?”
Oizys pointed to herself. “Spirit of Misery and Woe, here. If those giants are doing their jobs properly, Prometheus’ pain will call me to him like a beacon.” She sounded pretty miserable about that.
I didn’t blame her. “Okay, so what do you need to—”
“Shut up for five minutes.” She tossed the lipstick back onto the dresser and moved over to her bed.
I shut up.
Oizys hung backward off the bed, her hair sweeping the floor. Her eyes were closed but it didn’t look comfortable.
For a few minutes there was no sound except our breathing. I looked around the room, trying to spot the source of the lovely floral aroma. Given the clutter strewn over the bed, the daybed, the dresser, and another low table, it could have been anywhere.
Oizys raised her head, her eyes bleak. “Found him.”
My heart sank. “And he’s in …”
She rolled herself into a sitting position. “Yeah.”
“Then it’s field trip time. We’ll need ear plugs. And possibly gas masks.” Because I doubted I could withstand long-term exposure to either the sounds or the smells of the damned.
Oizys pointed at my ugly dress. “First, you need some proper clothes.” She strode to her closet and flung the door open. Inside was a whole lot more black. She flipped through her stuff, pulling out a black T-shirt and black cargo pants. “Change.”
It wasn’t a suggestion.
But since it was a damn sight better than what I was wearing, not about to get an argument from me. I stood up, took the clothes, and headed into the bathroom, sponging away any stinkyness as best I could, and using my finger as a toothbrush. With the help of her bathroom mirror, I smoothed the more obvious snarls out of my hair, grimaced at my reflection, and decided this was as good as it was going to get.
Truthfully, it was pretty good. My Sophie self would have looked like something the cat dragged in, but Persephone looked like a slightly tired supermodel.
I stuck my tongue out at her face, and headed back into the bedroom. “Ready.”
Oizys smirked. “So you didn’t burst into flame wearing black, huh?”
“Sorry to disappoint. Do I get boots?”
She snatched up her glasses from her dresser and put them on. “I don’t share footwear.”
I didn’t have any memory of Persephone owning anything other than sandals. Great.
I looked around. “Thoughts on the ear plugs and gas masks?”
“Yeah. Suck it up and suck it up, princess.”
“Bite me.”
“Ohhhh,” Oizys pursed her lips. “Springtime shows her thorns.”
I felt a momentary pang. This was just an enchantment, and when things returned to normal, we’d probably be mortal enemies. Too bad. I liked this chick. I allowed myself a small smile at how easily Oizys could take Bethany down a notch or two. Then I crossed to the door and opened it. With a flourishing arm sweep, I motioned for Oizys to lead the way.
We kept to the back stairways and corridors as much as possible. Seeing the two of us together, especially when I was dressed like Oizys’ Mini Me, would raise too many questions. Luckily, it was fairly simple to get out undetected. The souls we passed on our way to Tartarus didn’t know us. And frankly, they were more concerned with being dead than finding out what we were up to. All of which allowed us to get within nose-hair-blistering distance of Tartarus relatively easily.
We stopped in front of the bronze fence. This was nowhere near where I’d gone through to meet Demeter. The section was totally smooth, with no door in sight. I debated whether or not to mention that I knew a way in, but figured it would lead to questions I wasn’t about to answer. So I kept quiet and let Oizys take the lead.
She placed her hands on the fence. A violent shudder ran through her.
I moved to push her back, remembering how the cries of the damned had chilled me to the core. But she kicked out at my leg.
“Ow!” I rubbed my calf. “Fine. Touch it, you psycho.”
Oizys looked at me. Her eyes glowed red.
I took several steps back and brought out my green light.
She just laughed. “Like you could take me.” In a feat of insane strength, even for a supernatural being, she dug her fingertips into the bronze, and shredded it like paper.
My eyes bugged as Oizys tore a jagged opening.
“Go.”
I hesitated, taking in her ragged breathing. The red in her eyes had dimmed somewhat. “Touching the fence powered you up, didn’t it? You got strength from their pain.”
Her fingers tightened on the rough segment of fence. “It’s fading fast,” she said. “If you don’t want me to kick your ass so I can amp up again, I suggest you move it before I lose my grip.”
I hopped through the hole, staggering back as a wave of sheer despair overwhelmed me. This was way worse than wherever I’d met with Demeter.
I gritted my teeth. “Lovely.”
Oizys ducked through the opening and let go of the fence. It snapped itself back into place with no sign that it had ever been disturbed.
“Impressive.”
She gave me one of her flat stares and wiped her brow with her arm. Then she tromped past me toward a large boulder.
Awesome traveling companion. I gagged on a particularly vicious waft of sulphur, and an image of a burning pomegranate tree slammed up inside my head.
No way! I knew scent was a trigger but this was a terrible time to get hit. I hustled my butt to catch up with Oizys, keeping my mind on our task and trying to forget the putrid smell.
Oizys strode around the boulder. Without pausing or checking to see if I was still with her, she veered sharply left and entered a low cave.
I scowled at the blackness in front of me, just as the beam of a high-powered flashlight popped on inside.
“Figured you’d be afraid of the dark, Springtime.”
I headed into the cave, making sure my voice was pure sweetness. “What dark? I was going to wrap you in my light vines and use you as a lantern. But a flashlight works too.”
That shut her up.
I peered around as best I could. It didn’t seem too bad. We were in a narrow tunnel made of craggy, black stone. A bit musty, and reeking of old rotten eggs, but at least it was dry.
Famous last words.
My next step went down. I stumbled, just managing to stop myself from falling into a puddle of warm, murky liquid. “Do I want to know?”
“The rivers converge to trickle through here.”
“And you let me go in sandals? What if my feet melt?”
I could practically hear her indifferent shrug. “Next time, buy proper footwear.”
“You’re a real joy.” I shuffled along behind her for a bit, trying not to think about what might live in the water to feast on my toes. I kept moving. There wasn’t much more than a slight prickly heat. I didn’t feel corrosive acid eating the flesh off of my bones. “Can you tell if … well, if they’re hurting him?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“They’re leaving him alone. For the time being. But that means that my sense of him is fading. So pick up the pace.”
That was the best I could hope for. A jog was more than a fair price to pay.
We continued in silence for a while. I tried not to think about how fast I’d be smushed if all this rock came crashing down on me. Or what was waiting at the other end of the cave. Mindless chatter seemed like the best plan. “Are you going to Hades’ masquerade ball?” I asked.
“Like I have a choice.” Oizys sounded totally disgusted.
Best not to mention I’d inadvertently given him the idea. I picked my way gingerly along. The water had risen to just above ankle height, and there was a eye-watering stink of dead fish. “You got a costume yet?”
“I’m not wearing one.”
“Way to take all the fun out of it.”
Oizys stopped abruptly. I stumbled into her and whacked my head on her chin when she turned to face me. We both swore.
“There is nothing fun about one of Hades’ parties,” she said, shoving me back a step. “It’s all backstabbing and plotting and secret agendas.”
I rubbed my chin. “Which is different from any other day around here, how?”
“I keep to myself,” she hissed, and she went on walking.
True. I’d noticed that. “Your anti-social tendencies trump your evil ones.” I trailed my right hand against the stone wall to keep my bearings, since Oizys held the flashlight in a low beam that only helped her.
“I’m. Not. Evil.”
She actually sounded hurt. “Sorry.”
“Do you think Kyrillos is evil? Your boyfriend is heir to this kingdom, but I don’t see that stopping you from jumping into bed with him.”
I wasn’t jumping into bed with anyone. But I got her point. And she was right. “I think many varied things about that boy,” I muttered. “None of which have to do with his birthright.”
“Then don’t paint me with that brush.” She whipped around, momentarily blinding me with the flashlight. “You Olympians. You’re all so judgmental. So self-righteous.”
“Like Underworlders aren’t? You thought all I was good for was dancing among flowers.”
“Poor baby,” she mocked, adjusting the light so I could see the sneer on her face. “Someone thinks you’re pretty and useless. Cry me a river. You don’t have everyone automatically assuming you’re evil.”
With that, she stormed deeper into the tunnel.
I stood there, the fetid water swirling around my feet. Maybe, sometimes, I could be judgmental. Even if I was, weren’t we all? Did that make it all right? If anyone had asked me, I would have said that Hades’ gang was evil and Zeus’, what? Good? Less evil? Opposite, somehow.
I took a few faltering steps forward. Oizys had sounded hurt. Like this actually mattered.
I guess it wasn’t that black and white.
I sloshed along until I’d caught up with her again. “Is that why you like Prometheus? Because he doesn’t judge you?”
“Isn’t it why you like him, too?”
I didn’t know about Prometheus, but Theo hadn’t. Did we spare the people we loved? No, because I certainly laid a whopper of a judgement on Hannah. I squirmed, self-loathing and guilt rearing their ugly twin heads in a bitter knot in my stomach. I didn’t want to have this conversation anymore. I sped up. “You need a costume for the ball.”
“Maybe I’ll borrow your clothes and go as you.”
I snorted out my laughter. That was unexpected.
Oizys turned, balancing the light so she could see my expression. “You don’t care?”
I put a hand on her shoulder, trying not to double over laughing. “Care? I think it’s brilliant. Can I do your make up?”
Oizys stared at me like I was insane, but I distinctly heard an amused, “Maybe” before she disappeared around a corner and made what sounded like a smothered yelp.
My adrenaline spiked and I stupidly ran after her. I flew into the next section of tunnel, made it about three feet in, and dropped like a dead weight into nothingness.