The Frankenstein army rose below me, cheering as I flew over the riverbank through the air towards a looming golden humanoid, large as the fortress of the Underworld. It held a flaming sword in its massive hands, positioned like a baseball bat. A laugh ripped from my mouthâLindsay's laughâand I charged the golden creature.
He swatted me out of the air with his sword-bat and Lindsay screamed from my mouth as my body met the dirt.
The door opened, jerking me out of sleep's terrifying grasp. Alex strode into the room, not surprised in the slightest that I was there.
"Figures you would end up here." She tossed a set of towels on the bed, ruining the crispness of the burgundy covers. "Gregory gave up on you coming back about two hours ago and used me as a sparring partner instead. You're welcome."
Two straight hours of practice with Gregory? I shivered. As she spoke she lifted the sword from the scabbard about her shoulders and opened the armoire. Inside was a collection of weapons, mostly blades. The sword was stowed carefully and the doors closed again.
I should have known she wouldn't have clothes in there.
"I'm going to take a shower but you're more than welcome to stick around. Gregory is occupying Jasper up at your place, at least for a while." With no further attempt at conversation she took her towels into the bathroom and shut the door.
A shower sputtered to life and I had to squash my instinctive jealousy; there were more important things on my mind than cleanliness.
Her offer had proven three things that she may not have wanted me to know: first, that Gregory was purposefully keeping Jasper off my back for the time being. Second, that my apartment was on a different level than this hallwayâthe fortress I had seen when Hector had taken me out to the River had many stories and somehow I ranked high enough to warrant a place higher than everyone who lived in this hall. Third, and most surprising, that Alex wasn't as mean as she wanted people to think.
The bathroom door opened enough for Alex to stick her head out. "Don't get comfortable, though. He'll be expecting you back this afternoon."
It was still only morning? I dismayed that I was never going to get the hang of the time difference.
While Alex showered I rested my head on my knees again. She didn't sing in the shower, not that I'd expected her to, but this glimpse of off-duty Alex was a welcome change.
After a moment the shower turned off. She must have been trying for the shortest shower award. I relished in the last few minutes I would have to myself before Alex opened the bathroom door again.
She was dressed in her signature black and her hair hung in damp strings down her back. "Gregory's room is nicer, you know. The one with the dragon on the door? He keeps snacks and his collection of those laughable paperback romances is pretty amazing." She toweled off her hair as she spoke, not looking at me. I wasn't even sure if she was talking to me. "You could probably visit him when he's there but if you need a place to escape, this is the only room that's safe on this hall."
I could tell a warning when I heard one. I nodded to her, saying, "Duly noted. Last time I tried to go through the door from the other hall it was locked."
Alex shook her head. "Jasper held the knob until you stopped trying," she said with a grin. But the smile faded at the thought of Jasper. "His door is the creepy one with the kids on the front. Just stay away from that one."
"That was the plan. I didn't recognize it for his room but it was somehow less inviting than the scary lady on your door," I told her as I stood. It didn't feel as nice as it had to sit down but I knew I had to move some time.
"She's actually a Fury, not a Harpy. The Underworld has a funny way of showing you it cares; when I started working for Hades, this was the door that showed up for me." Alex grinned at the memory, like she was looking back to a long-ago time, a memory she had all but forgotten. "I think she's one of the three original, most powerful Furies. Tisiphone, maybe? I also think Tartarus was upset that I wasn't a Fury and it wanted to let me know its displeasure. The realm is funny that way, has a mind of its own."
"Sometimes you call it 'Tartarus', sometimes 'Hades'; what's the deal?"
Alex laughed. "Nobody gave you the Underworld 101 crash course, did they. Well, I guess that was my job." She shrugged. "The terms are not interchangeable, really. 'Hades' is the Underworld; 'Tartarus' is the prison beneath the Underworld. Tartarus is soulless and terrifying and you don't ever want to be locked up down there."
Believe me, I won't be going back down there ever again. Once was enough.
Once again in front of an open armoire, Alex tucked knives into sheaths hidden in her clothesâsix in all.
"Whoâ" I was about to ask who the other two big, bad Furies were when there was a knock on the door. Silence followed it. Whoever was outside wasn't interested in talking to us.
"Back to work, Fury. You didn't think he was going to let you off that easy, did you?"
Gregory did not, in fact, let me off easy. Alex, showered and clean of the days-old sweat that graced the mats of the training room, was nowhere to be found. Her partner on the other hand was everywhereâbehind me, unlocking my knees; in front of me, landing blows to my middle; above me, jumping over my weak attempts to attack.
Graceful is one word for it; fluid and magic would be others. Gregory was everything I wasn't and I sincerely hoped I would get to see him fight for real. The dragon could do a hell of a lot more damage than I could and he wasn't even trying.
Our session was much like any other session for Gregory and a whole new level of torture for me: both Lindsay and Hector had come to watch me fail. They stood shoulder to shoulder by the open panel in the wall. Lindsay examined the weapons stash, her back turned to me. Her companion watched me intently.
I could only make frantic attempts to strike back at Gregory, none of my blows making contact. After a time I stopped kicking out at him altogether; every time I kicked he would grab my ankle, no matter how fast I thought I was, and tip me over. I was tired of being on the floor.
There was a voice in the back of my head begging me to get angry enough to bring out the Fury again, the transformation that made Lindsay back down. Or at least she'd conceded the fight if it wasn't an outright forfeit. No matter how hard I tried to get mad, Gregory always blocked me, distracted me, knocked the wind out of me.
He wasn't trying to hurt me, I knew. Just teach me a lesson: I couldn't rely on the Fury to fight my battles for me. And here I was, trying to bring on the aspect that would give me the advantage.
For the first time all afternoon I dodged an open-handed hit to the shoulder. "Ha!" I smiled triumphantly. Gregory responded by sweeping his leg out and knocking mine from under me. I hit the mat harder than usual, my body bouncing slightly on impact.
Lindsay didn't try to stifle her vicious laugh. Hector didn't look at her, only at me, splayed out on the floor, defeated. Lindsay did her best to capture his attention.
Every mirror in the room reflected my horrified face at her hand on his cheek, their camaraderie, their history keeping them connected. Then I remembered that I was on the floor, low, showing submission. Standing at the right hand of the Lord of the Underworld, Lindsay showed me just how all-powerful I really wasn't.
The other teachers of the Underworld School of War gave the wrong impression of my importance. And I had believed them.
It was foolish, both to take their word of my immense and awe-encompassing role in this war, and to be upset when I learned how close to the bottom of the tier I was. Hector may have needed me for my blood but he had no idea how little skill I had. It was either going to be a long way to the top or an eternity in hell.
I didn't even have time to be upset. I couldn't have screamed about my own disappointment any more than I could tell Hector I was done, finished, renegotiating our deal. Every nerve in my body tingled with humiliation, even my teeth hurt.
Hector left Lindsay at her perch by the weapons cabinet and walked further into the room. He carefully helped me stand, pulling me effortlessly from the floor with a strength that I hadn't seen in days. He said nothing about training or about war or about anything at all. His grins were nowhere to be found and he looked strictly professional, no time for touchy-feelies or patience for questions. Was he having regrets about this whole situation or did his body still betray him, showing the world how weak it could be?
Maybe he was disappointed that his pick of a Fury, who was supposed to be some kind of grand game-changer, had ended up being me. I was so caught up in my own selfish lamentations that I hardly registered Hector's hand pulling me up, him leading me from the mirrored room and the audience, traveling through the portal (which had repaired itself after I had rudely cracked the glass), or walking me back into my apartment. Hector didn't speak until we were safely away from the others.
"There is power in knowledge, Autumn. Perhaps it was rash to throw you right into training but I needed to know if you were the one. I am running out of time, which unfortunately means that so are you. This is happening, whether we are ready or not." Hector paused, looking at me. I searched his face but found nothing; I couldn't read his mind, understand the exhaustion, find the confidence I had come to miss. "Do not hate her for being here. I need to keep Lindsay close, a Plan B in case the worst happens, but I do not enjoy her company. The Fury... is more important than you know."
"You can always explain it to me, help me to understand," I ventured.
Hector stared at me, wondering if I was ready for the whole truth and nothing but the truth. "Half of a century ago, when the gods first noticed the absence of the Nectar, the Fates prophesized that before the Nectar was found there would be a great battle. Later, on the day he died, they came to my predecessor to tell him that a Fury with the power of her ancestors was key to winning against Zeus. That was the day that the sisters indoctrinated me into the mantle of Hades, letting me in on their secret, and sending me off to find the prophesized Fury.
"Several failed attempts later, here you are. It is Fate, Autumn. When I told you that you belonged with me it wasn't a lie or an excuse; Fate brought you here."
I still didn't have all of the answers. I had no idea why it had to be me. But I believed in that moment that Hector hadn't stolen the Nectar. And part of me was relieved. I wanted him to be the good guyâit's easier fighting on the right side.
"Belonged to you."
Hector blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You said, when you came out of the crack in the ground, you said I belonged to you, not with you." I remembered his words, his face, vividly.
"That's what I meant," Hector crossed his arms defensively. "You belong to me because you are of a legendary bloodline dating back to the beginning of this world. There is no place for you among the humans."
We shared a look for a moment too long. The part of me that wanted to correct him, again, was silent. His eyes dared me to challenge himâor perhaps begged me not to. Never once did his conviction waver; that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Eventually he turned from me to search for a book from the infinite shelves in my living room. With a deep breath he blew the dust from the binding and handed it to me. I was so busy looking at "Greek Myths and Legends" written in gold ink on the cover that I didn't notice him leaving through the portal.