The Gatekeeper's Daughter (2 page)

He was forced to break his oath.

Now, his mother and grandmother, their blond hair mussed about their lovely faces like savages, were wrapped together in a similar cocoon of roots, which was damp and possessing the rich smell of tilled earth. Hestia and Hephaestus looked away in polite sympathy, while Aphrodite stared with her hands over her mouth. Athena and Artemis looked on with skepticism, especially the latter whose forest green eyes were narrowed into an accusation. Ares wore a smirk on his red-bearded face, Hermes fear, and Apollo concern, though not as pronounced as Aphrodite’s. Poseidon’s eyes were on Zeus, and he looked as though he was in a hurry, impatient for this meeting to adjourn. Zeus had already told Than he would be exiled and subject to an annual visit by the maenads, so why had they been brought here?

He looked again at his mother and grandmother, their corn-blond hair pointing in all directions, their worried brown eyes meeting his. He never meant to drag them down with him. This was all wrong. Why wasn’t his father helping them? He sat on his throne tugging his beard, eyes glazed like he was deep in thought.

Zeus asked for silence and then said, “Hades, you need to get your house in order. How do you propose to punish these offenders for their crimes against the rest of us?”

Hades looked up without letting go of his beard. “Well, now, it seems to me Thanatos’s punishment has already been mandated by you, brother. In addition to the maenads playing havoc with his body, you’ve decided to exile him from Mount Olympus.”

“Do you object?”

“No. The punishment is fair.”

Than narrowed his eyes. Would his father do nothing to help him, then?

“But no more punishment is necessary,” Hades added.

“Prevent him from marrying the girl,” Ares said.

A wave of nausea overcame
Than, and he bent over, holding his stomach. Therese sucked in a sharp, audible gasp. They couldn’t let that happen, not after all they’d been through to be together. If it weren’t for the cocoon of roots, he would punch Ares. Yes, he would very much like to punch Ares.

“No!” Aphrodite objected.

“What say you, then?” Ares quipped to the goddess of love.

“I object to these silly cocoons, first of all. Demeter and Persephone don’t deserve to be treated this way. Than and Therese aren’t going anywhere, besides.”

The cocoons vanished, and Than felt a sense of relief to have someone stand up for him and his women.

“But something must be done,” Zeus complained.

“Watching Than ripped to pieces each year is punishment enough,” Hades said.

Many of the other gods and goddesses nodded their heads and muttered their agreements. Than closed his eyes for a moment, silently thanking them. Maybe his father was on his side after all.

“What of the girl?” Zeus asked.

“She fought bravely against the Hydra,” Athena said. “Be merciful, father.”

Than met Athena’s sharp grey eyes. She liked Therese and had even given her a locket with an inscription that had helped Therese face the challenges:
The most common way people give up their power is by believing they have none.
Those words may have been more powerful than any of the gifts Therese received, including the crown of invisibility from Artemis and the traveling robe from Aphrodite.

Than pulled Therese more closely to him and asked, “Permission to speak?”

Zeus nodded.

“She committed no crime. Why should she be punished?”

“By assenting, she is guilty,” Zeus replied.

Than looked around at the others present and then turned to his father, who sa
id, “Yes, but she broke no oath and so shouldn’t be subjected to the maenads.”

Thank the gods for that,
Than thought.

Therese shivered in his arms.

He prayed to her, “It’ll be okay. You’ll see.” He didn’t want her to know how he really felt. One never knew what to expect from the gods.

In fact, Zeus once sentenced Apollo to Tartarus for killing the Cyclops that made the thunderbolt Zeus used to strike one of Apollo’s sons. The son, a demigod and not immortal, was brazen and irreverent and deserving of his punishment, but sentencing Apollo, one of the great gods, to Tartarus? That was harsh. Fortunately for Apollo, his mother
stepped in and got the sentence reduced to a year of hard labor. Than could only imagine what Zeus had in store for Therese.

“Someone will need to stand in for Thanatos while he recovers,” Zeus said. “That should be her punishment. No one else wants that burden.”

Yet another consequence Than hadn’t thought through when deciding to make Therese a god. Surely Zeus didn’t expect this life-loving, inexperienced girl to handle every dead being on the planet. Plus, she had no concept of disintegration. How could she be in hundreds of thousands of places at once?

Therese’s eyes widened. Than patted her back and gave her a half smile.

“That’s not your call,” Hades bellowed.

“But it’s only fair,” Hermes said. “Someone must take his place, and it won’t be me.”

Hades stood from his throne and moved closer to Than and Therese. “She has no experience. Knows nothing.”

“Than will train her before his punishment is carried out,” Zeus said.

Another lucky break, Than thought. “For how long?” he asked.

Zeus turned to the god of the Underworld.
“Hades?”

“At least a week.”

“Two days, then,” Zeus said.

Than squeezed Therese’s hand when tears flooded her eyes. “We can do this.”

Her lips were close to him when she said, “I can barely look at a dead animal in the road.”

He felt his throat tighten as he watched the fear darken her pretty face. He had to protect her, no matter what. The last thing he wanted was to see her suffer.

Zeus stood from his throne, spittle spraying from his brown-bearded lips as he spoke. “Furthermore, unless she fails to find a purpose and reverses her transformation, I recommend that she be forced to replace Thanatos every year during his incapacitation. No other god should be punished for a choice made by these two.”

Therese’s mouth fell open as she met
Than’s eyes. He clenched his jaw and said nothing.

“Hear, hear,” the other gods said, some forlornly.

Only Hades refused his assent. Than knew his father resented being told how to run his domain. He hoped he wouldn’t take his anger out on Therese.

Zeus commanded, “Take your leave, Thanatos.
And you, too, Therese. Never again shall either of you set foot on Mount Olympus.”

A chill moved down
Than’s spine.

“No!” Persephone ran to
Than and circled his arm with both of hers. “Please, Zeus! Have mercy!”

“Thanatos knew the consequences,” Zeus said. “He chose his path, not I.”

His mother kissed his hand and then his cheek. “I know I’ll see you in the Underworld, but the idea of exile from this good place forever saddens me beyond grief.”

“
It’s okay, Mother. I rarely come here anyway. I need you to be happy for me, not sad.”

She shook her head.
“Oh, son. I hope you won’t regret this choice you’ve made.”

He didn’t hesitate.
“Never.”

Chapter Three: A New Plan

Therese followed Than using god travel to his sitting room in the Underworld. Despite the cozy fire from the Phlegethon and the fireplace, she was overcome with anxiety. As if the ordeal on Mount Olympus weren’t enough, her aunt was crying out to her, afraid she’d been abducted.

Therese paced the room as soon as they arrived. “I have to get a message to my family. They’re worried sick!”

“What will you tell them?”

“I don’t know. But I’ve got to tell them something. That I ran away? That would break their hearts.” She continued to pace and to beat one palm with a fist.

“Tell them you took the bus to come see me. Tell them you’re on your way home and you’re sorry.”

She flung around to face him. “You want me to lie to them? To lead them into thinking I’m coming home? That would kill them!”

“No.”

“Than, what are you saying? You want me to leave you?” Her stomach felt sick.

“No. God, Therese. Would you calm down?” He tried to take her hands, but she pulled them away.

“Calm down? Calm down?” Everything was crumbling to pieces before her eyes, and he wanted her to calm down?

“Listen to me, please? Will you sit down?” He pointed to one of two leather club chairs in front of the fireplace.

She sat, but on the edge of her seat on top of her hands, clenched in tight balls beneath her thighs. She wanted to kick something.
To punch something. She’d never felt this anxious. Hearing her aunt’s suffering was too much. How did the gods do it?

He sat across from her, his hands on her knees. “You’ll call her on the phone. You’ll tell her you were upset about Vicki and wanted to see me, but you knew she and your uncle would say no. You’ll tell her how sorry you are that you worried them, but you’re coming home in a few days by bus and should arrive in a week’s time.”

“They’ll insist I come home immediately.” Her fingers curled around the locket from Athena. Even as a god, she felt powerless.

“Tell them you can’t.”

“I suppose I can say my ticket is non-refundable or something.” She pulled at her fingers and jumped to her feet to pace some more. “I don’t want to leave you right after, you know. I want to be here for you.”

“We’ll have eternity together. This way you can ease their minds.”

“And tell them what? That I’m leaving again?” She fell into the club chair and put her face in her hands.

“What if…”

She looked up at him. “What? Just say it.”

“What if you tell them you want to marry me?”

“They won’t go for that. I’m only sixteen.”

He gave her a hurt look. “You do want to though.”

“Yes. Eventually. After I…” She was about to say after she graduated, but was that really necessary anymore? She was a god, for crying out loud. What was she thinking?

“After what?”

“I was going to say after I graduate high school, but I guess that’s not important anymore.”

“Wait. No. That’s a good idea.” He jumped to his feet and paced around as she had done moments before.

“What are you talking about?”

“After I’m recovered, go back to your family, in mortal form. Go back to school and graduate.”

“But I’m only a junior.”

“Can’t you finish early?”

“If I go to summer school.”

“Well?”

“Well, it might be too late. The last session starts in August. I don’t know if I can still register. And I’m not sure how many classes I’d have to take. I need to talk to a counselor.”

“So? Talk to one.”

“Why does it matter? I don’t need a high school diploma to be a god.”

“No, but if you graduate, your aunt and uncle will be less likely to object to our marriage. Don’t you want their blessing?”

Yes. The idea of leaving them in a state of pain—either because they’d think she was dead or that she’d run away—had burdened her from the beginning. If she could make them think she’d left them to get married, and if she could win their blessing, they wouldn’t have to suffer. She stood from her chair, feeling hopeful as she bit on her lower lip.

Than put his hands on her shoulders. “Problem solved?”

“If I can graduate early. And even if I can, it means being away from you for almost a year. If I can’t, it’ll be two years.”

“We’re gods. I can visit you every day. We don’t have to worry about my presence killing you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”
He moved closer to her, so their faces were inches apart.

“Every day?”

“Every day.” He leaned in and kissed her.

“Oh, Than!”
More tears pricked her eyes. She couldn’t get enough of him and didn’t want to leave, ever. But her happiness wasn’t the only thing important to her. “So how do we call my aunt and uncle?”

He handed her a cell phone.

“A cell phone? Really? Don’t tell me you get reception down here.” She half-laughed, sniffling at the same time.

“It’s magic but works like one of yours. Try it.”

Her hands trembled as she punched in her home number. “They’re going to kill me,” she whispered nervously.

Than smiled at her, his eyes mocking. “Like that’s possible.”

“It’s an expression. Wait. Shh.” How strange. She could sense her aunt answering the phone before she answered it. Now she could see her, too, standing in the kitchen, elbows on the granite bar, a hand rubbing her forehead, her straight red hair in a ponytail.