The Gatekeeper's Daughter (5 page)

“I-I-want-want-one-one-of-of-you-you-to-to-sleep-sleep-and-and-the-the-other-other-of-of-you-you-to-to-stay-stay-awake-awake.”

“Hu-uh?”

He pulled her onto his lap in one of the club chairs in front of the fireplace, and, simultaneously, l
ed her across the field of poppies. She felt sleepy and wanted to lie down.

“Over-over-here-here.”

They lay together among the flowers, and she closed her eyes, but she could still see him, holding her in the club chair, leaning in for a kiss. Hip appeared, and she was simultaneously kissing Than and trying to hear what Hip had to say. She couldn’t understand a word.

“What?”

“You look like you’ve been drinking,” Hip repeated.

“I’m dizzy and confused.”

“Well, what I was trying to tell you is that I think I’m in love with your friend Jen.”

“You stay away from her.”

He put his hands on his slim hips. “Just because you’re a god now doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do. Besides, she needs me.”

“She doesn’t need you.”

“She’s heartbroken, and I make her feel better.”

“What do you mean she’s heartbroken?”

“Some friend you are. Didn’t you know Matthew broke up with her?”

Therese realized
she was hovering above the poppies, above where her body slept. Than was beside her. She glared at Hip. “How do you know they broke up?”

“At night, she begs me to come, to help her forget. She calls me Mr. Sandman.”

Therese muttered the familiar lyric, “Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream.”

“Exactly.
I’ve been comforting her for three days now.”

Therese turned to
Than. “Matthew must have broken up with her the day I left to face the hydra. She didn’t say anything to me on the phone.”

Than put an arm around her.
“She’ll be okay.”

“She needs me. Hip’s right. I haven’t been a very good friend.”

“Courtney’s with her.”

Therese’s stomach felt sick. Courtney. Would Courtney replace her as Jen’s new best friend? She should be glad that Jen wouldn’t be alone when Therese left to live in the Underworld, but she wasn’t. Even when Courtney returned to North Dakota, they could email and text. The thought of it made her sad and hurt. Could she email and text from the Underworld?

“And after that we’ll try a dozen,” Than said.

“Yes.
Three, six, twelve. That’s a good plan,” Therese said, suddenly aware that she’d been having two conversations simultaneously, and was able to follow both.

“You’re doing
good,” Than said. “I’m sorry about Jen.”

She and Than hung out in the dream world with Hip, lounged on the club chairs and made out, and disintegrated once more, dispatching to Tartarus to visit Tizzie.

“Hey.” Tizzie, her dark, serpentine curls hiding her face, spoke without looking up from the soul she tortured, a young man whom Therese sensed had been there a few years. He lay on a marble slab bound at the wrists and ankles to leather straps connected to chains on a pulley. Tizzie cranked the pulley, which pulled at the straps and stretched the soul.

“Can souls feel pain?” Therese asked, sensing this one could.

“It’s more psychological than physical,” Tizze said. “But, yes.”

The soul looked at them warily, tears slipping from the corners of his transparent eyes.

“You do realize the oath-breakers are brought here while their bodies heal?” Tizzie’s black, serpentine curls momentarily parted as she looked up from her victim. The emerald choker around her neck and the silver halter top gleamed with the light cast by the Phlegethon. Her wolf paced a few yards away, ready to serve her.

“Are you going to stretch me as well?” Than asked.

Tizzie glanced up at the jug carriers, drenched from their leaking vessels as they walked across a narrow bridge above the bottomless pit. “I may require you to fill a bath to wash away your sins, like those women.”

“But their jugs are leaking faster than they can carry them,” Therese noted.

“Exactly.”

“Or should I help poor Sisyphus by taking over his rock?” Than offered.

Tizzie abruptly turned to face them, her eyes dripping with blood. “You can’t take over the punishment of another.”

“Relax, I was only joking.”

Tizzie’s eyes returned to their usual black discs. “You deserve no additional punishment, brother. You have a kind heart, and the maenads are punishment enough.”

“So what will you have me do? Twiddle my thumbs?”

“You won’t be here long.”

“If Apollo…”

“He won’t touch you, I don’t think. Not with Ares against it.”

“In that case,” Than said.
“I’ve seen gods require days, weeks to heal.”

“You can take over my job while I take a holiday in Paris.”

“Oh, yay,” Than said with sarcasm. “Can’t wait.”

“So why are you really here, if it’s not to admire my work?”

“Therese is practicing disintegration. We’re in two other places together. We’re going to watch you for a while, if that’s okay, while we disintegrate and dispatch to other locations to retrieve the dead.”

“Watch away. Let’s see how far I can stretch him before he breaks.”

Chapter Six: Time’s
Up

Than couldn’t stop laughing. In the presence of the dead, he was somber and melancholy, and he was making sure Therese could handle each horrific scene they visited, but here in his room in front of the fireplace with Therese in his lap, he was having the time of his life. He was testing her ability to concentrate on her duties in other places while he distracted her here.

And he was enjoying the hell out of his distraction techniques.

The brightness of her green eyes framed by her long, dark lashes undid him every time she looked at him. There was something in her expression, too. Even if he hadn’t been able to hear her prayers of love and longing, her sweet eyes said it all. He wondered if his eyes held the same message for her.

“Yes.” She touched her forehead to his. “They do.”

Had he directed those thoughts to her? Had he been praying to her?

“I guess so.
If I can hear them.” She looked at his mouth. “Now where were we?”

“Here.” He kissed her neck. He’d been kissing every inch of her skin, starting with her forehead and working his way around her face.

She moaned as his lips worked their way down from below her chin, behind her ear, and to her throat. “Oh my.”

Now he followed a shoulder and kissed down the length of her smooth, soft arm. “Put your hand on Melvin’s shoulder, Therese. Stay aware in all locations.”

She closed her eyes. “Oh my heaven. Don’t stop.”

He sucked each of her fingers.

“Patricia’s going to miss the raft if you don’t keep her steady.”

“Sweet heaven.
I’ve got her. Don’t stop.”

He laughed. “I’m going to make this even more interesting.”

Her eyes shot open and she gave him a playful grin. “How?”

“Let’s disintegrate and dispatch to Demeter’s winter cabin. We can make out there while we make out here.” He leaned in and licked her bottom lip before smiling and adding, “That is, if you think you can handle it.”

“Where’s Demeter?”

“Mount Olympus.
The cabin’s empty.”

She tucked in her chin and looked up at him through her dark lashes. “Bring it on.”

They disintegrated and landed with a thud on the bed in his grandmother’s guest bedroom. For a moment, he worried he’d crushed her, but her laughter told him otherwise.

“I hit my head!”

“Oops. Sorry.” He shifted his weight so he wasn’t fully on top of her.

He broke out in laughter again when he felt her arms at his torso tugging him back on. “I’m a god now, remember? You can’t hurt me that easily.”

He climbed back on.

“Wait.”

He met her eyes, which looked full of mischief. They were beautiful.

“This isn’t sacrilegious is it? Making out here and in your room while we’re escorting souls to the underworld?”

“It’s good practice for you,” he insisted. “It’s important.”

“Important.”

“Necessary.”

“Necessary.” She gave him a smile that showed she didn’t quite believe him.

“Now, back to your lessons.” He ran his mouth along her jawline.

“In that case, do what you’re doing back in your room.
The same thing, but in the other ear. I want to see how that feels.”

He liked the way she was thinking and moved his mouth to her ear.

She gasped and whispered, “Oh. My. God.”

Just then the door crashed open, and
Than immediately sensed the presence of two gods—Hermes and Dionysus. He and Therese flew to their feet, holding one another as they faced the two intruders.

“What the hell do you want, cousins?” Than asked.

“Sorry to be the one to tell you,” Hermes said. “But it’s time.”

“Zeus said two days!” Therese moved her body in front of
Than.

Dionysus stepped toward her and twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers. His own golden hair hung in the same two long braids at the back of his head
Than remembered from their last encounter, and his half-naked body gleamed in the sunlight pouring in from the windows. “That may well be, but Zeus has apparently changed his mind.”

Than pulled Therese into his arms and away from the clutches of Dionysus.

She searched Than’s face, her brows nearly touching. “Can he do that?”

Than held her face in his hands and forcefully pressed his lips to hers. “I love you. Remember that. Now go and do your duty in my place.”

“But I’m not ready. I haven’t even disintegrated to more than twenty places. How can I manage hundreds of thousands?”

“Thanatos has no choice but to go with us,” Dionysus said grimly.

“Sorry, Therese,” Hermes added. “But you’ll get the hang of it. And Than will be back to himself soon.”

Than’s throat constricted as he anticipated the pain he was about to endure.
He recalled the sharp sting of his thumb being ripped from his hand and shuddered. “It won’t be long. I promise.”

“No! Don’t take him! He doesn’t deserve this!” She turned to Dionysus, and for a moment
Than thought her eyes would bleed like the eyes of his sisters. “This is your fault! If you’d only helped us, he wouldn’t have had to break his oath!”

“So I forced him to go against his word?” the god of the vine mocked.

“You selfish bastard! You could have helped us!” Therese beat at the god of wine’s chest.

Than’s mouth dropped open at Therese’s choice of words, and he held her back, back in his arms. Dionysus was a bastard, in all its connotations, and the fact that he had a chip on his shoulder and hated all the other gods for his isolation meant he probably didn’t appreciate being reminded of it.

Dionysus narrowed his eyes. “I’m going to enjoy this now, thanks to you, missy! I’ll be sure to instruct the maenads to take their time.”

Therese turned her wide eyes to
Than. “What have I done?”

Before
Than could stop her, Therese threw herself on the ground, prostrate before the wine god. “I beg you with all my heart to forgive me. I’m your servant. If there’s any way you can minimize Than’s pain and suffering, I’ll be your servant for all eternity.”

“Therese!” Than cried, his blood rushing to his face in a pool of heat. “You don’t know what you’re doing! You can’t swear yourself to him and live a life with me.” He plucked her from the ground and turned her to face him. “What are you saying? You’ll be with him?”

Her face flushed now, too. “No. That’s not what I meant.”

“That’s how he’ll take it.”

Therese glanced at the golden braids, the tan face. Than hated that he wore only the loin cloth. Exhibitionist bastard.

“I only meant I’d do his bidding, any time he needed help.”

“When a woman says that to a man…” Than couldn’t finish.

Dionysus and Hermes were overcome with laughter. Than gritted his teeth.

Before Than could speak, Hermes put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Sorry, ol’ cousin. Truly. But you should see the looks on each of your faces.” He busted out in laughter again.