Hades (The God Chronicles #3) (12 page)

We exited Tartarus quickly, moving at a pace
that felt much faster than any previously. Once we’d ridden back
into the forest, we turned away from the way we’d come before,
following another path deeper into the trees. I didn’t even know
how long we’d been out on the ride, but hunger grumbled in my
stomach, the time for lunch having long passed.

The trees parted and we were on the bank of
another river, this one leading out into . . . Could it be?
Sunlight!

We rode towards the opening of the cave,
following the water’s edge. I didn’t even know I’d missed the sun
so much until its light was right there, waiting for me.
Unfortunately, we stopped before reaching the hole in the rock.
Even I could see it was for good reason, though.

So many people were crowding into the space,
some looking around confused, some sitting on the ground with blank
looks on their face. As I watched, a boat came down the river, a
tall hooded man that reminded me of the grim reaper piloting it. As
he came up the shore, the people got in a line, digging in their
pockets for something. Slowly, coins were dropped into the hand of
the hooded man and the boat filled with people. Once full, the man
turned and got back in, pushing away from the shore and taking all
who had paid away with him.

“Wait!” one woman who hadn’t been allowed on
cried, falling on the shore behind them. “Don’t leave me
here!”

“She didn’t have the fare,” Hades said
grimly.

“What will happen to her?” I asked, watching
her sob on the beach.

“She can never come in,” he said sadly. “She
will wander the earth for all time or join the Lost
Ones.”

“Why is it so important she pay to get
in?”

“We put the minerals from the money back into
the earth,” Hades said grimly. “Without something to contribute,
she can not stay. Nothing in life—or death—is free.”

With a sigh, he motioned the three guards he’d
singled out at the meeting this morning forward. He instructed them
to stay and watch everyone, to make sure that only those who did
not pay were leaving through the gate.

“This is the area of concern?” I asked as the
rest of us turned away, following the river’s edge in the direction
we’d been going again.

“There isn’t always a guard at this gate,”
Hades said. “Charon has his ferry duties and can’t sit here all the
time. I’ve left guards in the woods to watch before, but there have
been requests for more out in the open. We’ll see what the ones who
stayed behind today think about all of it.”

As we rode on, I fell silent again, knowing
that they were guarding the wrong gate.

Chapter Eleven

What was it about the gate I’d entered in
through that made Hades not even think about it when it came to the
security of his realm? There had been no guards, no deterrents to
keep me from entering, just the maze of caves on the other side.
Perhaps that was it? He didn’t think that anyone could learn to
navigate them well enough to remember how to get in? While a little
farfetched, I could see where he might think that way.

After the ride out was finished, I found myself
back in the stables, brushing down my nameless horse with care. I
felt a connection with him for sure, like I’d had with the horses
back home. It hurt my heart to know he’d been down here, neglected
for who knows how long. Making sure he was taken care of now seemed
like the right thing to do, even if I wasn’t really who he’d been
intended for.

The brush moved over his short hair with ease,
relaxing both of us at the same time. While he munched on oats, I
thought over a few name possibilities. After only one ride though,
I wasn’t feeling like I knew him well enough to give him one
yet.

Around me, the guards took care of their own
mounts and put away the extra things they’d taken out with them.
One by one, they left the room, going to wherever they were
supposed to, I guessed. No one had said anything else to me since
we’d arrived back and Hades had left immediately, not a sound
coming from him.

Eventually, I looked up to discover I was
alone, not another soul in sight. Slipping out of the stall and
putting the brush away, I eyed the door to the armor room, knowing
this might be my only chance to get in there and poke
around.

It appeared I wasn’t going to be so lucky this
time, though.

“You surprised me today.”

Hades’s voice startled me, causing me to flinch
slightly before turning around.

“How so?” I asked, regretfully putting away my
ideas of snooping for the moment.

“In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never
spoken up or done anything that involved spending time with me, not
unless you had to. I mean, there was that one year, but we know how
that ended. Then today . . . I can’t figure out why you would
suddenly decide you want to be a part of it. What
changed?”

“I don’t think I’m who you think I am,” I said
truthfully. “And I think you’re not who I think you are,
either.”

“Starting over,” he said, bringing up our
earlier conversation. “I thought you were just pulling my leg with
that, too. You actually mean it, though, don’t you?”

“I do,” I said, nodding.

He looked at me silently for a minute then,
leaned up against the door frame, his arms folded over his chest.
The calculating look in his eyes told me he still didn’t quite
trust me.

“I agreed in the boat because I had other
things to do at the moment,” he said slowly. “But . . . I’ll agree
for real now. I’m still not sure how you’re going to work this to
your advantage—and make no mistake, I fully believe you’re doing
this to try and gain something from me in the future—but I also
find the idea intriguing.”

“All right then,” I said, somewhat pleased to
know he wasn’t going to be a push over about it.

There was something about a man who let people
walk all over him that always bothered me. Hades clearly knew what
he was doing whenever he dealt with people, though. I’d watched him
all through the day, dealing with his work. While it was nice he
was considerate enough to take on suggestions from those under him,
it had always been clear that he was the one in charge.

“So, does this new agreement apply only to the
work conditions around here?” he asked, moving away from his spot
and walking over to one of the horses that had pulled his chariot
all day.

“To everything,” I said, watching as he grabbed
a brush and began the same work I’d just finished.

He nodded again, remaining silent as he brushed
the black beauty down. His hands moved over it with a grace that
was unexpected and alluring, the picture of someone who had been
greatly misunderstood by many.

“Are you hungry?” he asked after several
minutes, when he was almost finished with his task. “It’s close to
dinner time. We could go up early, if you wanted.”

He patted the back of the horse before moving
in to the closest stall and beginning the same work on the next
horse.

Wanting to help, I grabbed another brush and
entered the stall next to him, greeting the horse softly and
starting the same process.

“I’m starving,” I chuckled lightly. “I didn’t
realize so much of the day would be spent out on the
ride.”

“What did you think about all of it?” he
asked.

I could hear the smile in his voice and turned
to see if it was on his face as well. When I discovered it was, I
returned it awkwardly, not used to such friendly conversation from
him.

“It was a lot to take in,” I confessed. “I had
no idea it was so large. Or that parts of it were so
beautiful.”

“It’s an interesting place, that’s for sure,”
he said, his tone a little clipped.

“You don’t like it here?”

“It’s not that,” he said with a sigh. “As I’m
sure you know, it’s an acquired taste, though. So much
death.”

“So little sun,” I said softly.

We kept working in silence until all of the
horses had been brushed down and everything put back in its
place.

“Dinner then?” Hades asked, holding his hand
out to me.

I eyed it for only a second, knowing that
whatever deals he’d had in place with Persephone before were
probably still there in his mind, despite agreeing to start over.
It was probably better it stayed that way, to keep from rocking the
boat.

“Please,” I said, sliding my fingers between
his.

“So,” he said as we left the room and started
heading back down the hot, open hallway. “Tell me about yourself.
What is so different now that I need to get to know you all over
again?”

I laughed nervously, not knowing how much to
share and what to keep secret about my life.

“Have I ever told you about my summers away?” I
asked, stalling for time.

“Not really, no,” he chuckled. “I used to think
you were out spending all the time with your mother. That’s not
exactly what goes on, though.”

He didn’t phrase it like a question and I was
sure he was right in his assumptions. He couldn’t have spent all
that time married to Persephone and not be somewhat clued in on the
type of person she was.

“Some of it I spent with her,” I said slowly.
“A lot of the time I would go to a, uh, ranch. I found it
relaxing.”

“A ranch?” he asked in surprise. “I thought you
were more the type to be dancing your goodies off on a poker table
in Vegas. I even asked Zeus if he’d seen you while he was there all
those years.”

“Zeus?” I inquired, not having any idea of what
he was talking about.

“Yeah. He was there the whole time he was
banished. Karly didn’t come into the picture until the very end of
it, but you know that.”

“Karly.”

Obviously, something had happened in this world
that was not in the history books, something recent. I had the
feeling it was something big, too.

“Yeah. I forgot to tell you—I didn’t think
you’d particularly care actually—but they’re going to have a baby.
I think I might barf if Poseidon announces he and Audrey are
expecting any time soon.”

“Right,” I said slowly, trying to wrap my head
around what he was saying.

“How long have they all been married again?” I
asked, trying to learn whatever I could without giving away the
fact I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Zeus and Karly for about two—three?—years now.
Poseidon hasn’t picked a date yet. I’d be surprised if they’d even
settled on a ring with their crazy, wishy washy
thinking.”

“Ah, gotcha.”

“Look at you, asking about my family,” he
chuckled as we reached the entrance he wanted. “Like you actually
care about them.”

He opened the door for me and ushered me
through, releasing my hand for the few seconds it took. As soon as
he was by my side again he interlaced our fingers, pulling me along
after him.

“I care,” I said defensively.

“Which is why you threw a giant hissy fit about
them getting married here during the summer and you having to come
back for two days to attend it.”

He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at me, a smirk
on his face.

I pressed my lips together, frowning at him and
his goading.

“Enough about the brothers,” he chuckled. “Tell
me more about your summers.”

“I kick back at a ranch,” I said simply.
“There’s horseback riding, good food, and relaxation all
around.”

“Relaxation,” he snickered. “It’s a spa ranch.
That makes much more sense, you sitting by the pool working on your
tan while someone massages your feet and fans your
face.”

I sighed heavily, deciding to just let him
think that. If that’s what Persephone would have done, then so be
it. I spent my summers being lazy.

We reached the hall we’d eaten in the night
before and another large spread of food was already laid out for
us. Taking care of the horses had filled the extra time we’d had to
waste.

Hades pulled my chair out for me and waited for
me to sit before walking down to his end of the table.

Once again, I stared at the enormous amounts of
food in front of me, with no idea or even possibility of eating it
all.

“This is a lot of food,” I said without
touching any of it. “What happens to what I don’t eat?”

He shrugged, his mouth already full of what
appeared to be chicken pulled from the entire roasted bird in front
of him.

“Do they have to make so much of it? I can have
just one thing.”

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably as he looked
at me, his chewing slowing down as he cocked his head to the
side.

“Are you not happy?” he asked, a dangerous tone
under the question.

“No!” I hurried to say. “It’s not that. It just
seems . . . Wasteful.”

I swallowed back my nervous fear as I matched
his gaze, wondering if I had indeed stepped over a line. Hadn’t he
said all of my food was brought here special, just for me? What if
I’d offended him by complaining about it?