CHAPTER 18

“Caleb,” Olivia whispered, speaking for the first time. When I nodded, she shot to her feet. “I want to go.”

Apollo arched a brow. “Two people sneaking into the Underworld trying to find one soul among millions is insane and dangerous. No one else can go.”

Olivia turned her wide, pleading eyes on me. “I have to go then. It has to be me. I need to—”

“And that’s why it cannot be you,” Apollo said before I could respond. “You will be focused on finding Caleb instead of the mission at hand.”

Her hands curled into fists at her side. “How is that any different than Aiden? He’ll be focused on Alex!”

I slid the person in question a look, but Aiden had the same expression that Apollo did. There might be a lot of tears and pleading, but there would be no debate.

“And that’s what we need,” Apollo said, almost gently. For a moment, I was almost convinced that he pitied her. Not in a bad way, but like he could sympathize with her, which would be amazing since gods were really lacking in the empathy department. “There’s no guarantee that they will even find Caleb, but either way, we need Alex to come back out of the Underworld with the information we need. Alive.”

Some of the other gods probably didn’t feel that way.

Apollo’s gaze settled on Aiden again. “You would give your life for her?”

I didn’t like that question at all and I opened my mouth, but Aiden answered without hesitation. “Yes.”

The god nodded. “I know you would too, Marcus, but Aiden would…”

Marcus looked less-than-pleased but nodded. “I know what you mean.”

A bitter taste crawled up my throat as my heart turned over heavily. Going into the Underworld would be insanely dangerous, and the idea of Aiden risking his life scared the crap out of me, but as my gaze fell over the room, I knew that out of everyone there he was the most skilled.

Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to change anyone’s mind, Olivia said nothing as she walked out of the room, head high. Sorrow panged in my chest, as potent as the fear. It wasn’t fair. I wished that Caleb and Olivia could have had one more moment together before all their future moments were stolen from them.

After Olivia’s exit, plans were quickly made for our departure. The group would stay behind, as was safest for them, and Aiden and I would leave in the morning for… Kansas. Other than an apparent Underworld gate, I had no idea what was in Kansas. Hay bales? Dorothy?

“There’s something else,” I said to Apollo after the group scattered. Aiden remained behind, closing the door, seeming to know what I intended to tell Apollo.

“I can’t wait to hear,” Apollo said dryly.

I took a deep breath. “I saw Seth yesterday.”

Apollo’s brows slammed down as he opened his mouth, but no words came out. Maybe I should have clarified. “What I mean is,” I said quickly, “kind of.”

“Kind of?”

I nodded. “He was able to pull me… inside my own head. It looked and felt real, and it was like I was dreaming… but I wasn’t.”

His eyebrows began to lift. “That makes no sense, Alex.”

“She was talking with Lea and started to get a headache right before it happened, like before, when she was on the Elixir,” Aiden explained, since obviously I couldn’t form a coherent sentence. “Alex fainted—”

“I didn’t faint,” I grumbled, feeling my cheeks flush.

Aiden’s lip curved up on one side. “Okay. She was suddenly not walking or talking anymore. During that time, she saw Seth. Apparently, he used Hermes to pull her in.”

“Hermes?” Apollo hissed—actually hissed like an angry lion. “That little, punk-ass bitch.”

My brows rose.

“I actually felt somewhat bad about stealing his helmet and melting it down.” Apollo sounded indignant. “Hermes won’t be helping Seth anymore.”

It was hard not to laugh when Apollo got all butt sore, but somehow I managed. “By the way, when did you steal his helmet?”

Apollo shrugged. “A couple of days ago.”

“Do you think that’s why he might have helped Seth?”

“Hmm…” Apollo’s face screwed up. “Good point. Anyway, did Seth tell you anything?”

Geez. “He didn’t really say anything important. I have this feeling he was really just testing it out, but if you can stop Hermes from helping, then it shouldn’t be a problem.”

A muscle flexed in Apollo’s jaw. “Can he transfer power in this state?”

“No. And he can’t read my thoughts.” I leaned against the wall, smothering a yawn. “It seems more like an annoyance than anything else.”

“It’s more than an annoyance.” Aiden’s eyes flashed silver.

“He sees it as a ‘violation’,” I explained, upon seeing Apollo’s puzzled look. “But it could be worse.”

“As in him doing something like that when you’re in the middle of a battle or in the Underworld?” Apollo asked.

“Well…” I frowned.

“I’ve been thinking,” Aiden continued. “We know Hermes helped, but it has to be more than that or Seth would have done this the moment you broke the connection. When you were on the Elixir, he seemed to be able to reach you when it started to wear off, and when it wore off, you were exhausted. Maybe that has something to do with it—how tired you are.”

“Makes sense. I guess I just need to get my beauty sleep.”

Aiden looked unimpressed. “That’s the best theory I can come up with.”

“It does make sense.” Apollo stretched his head to the side, his striking face tense with annoyance. “You two are still connected, and even though you’ve shielded out the bulk of that connection, he may be able to get to you when you’re weakened, with or without Hermes.”

“Like a crappy two-way radio,” I muttered.

“Exactly. And especially if Hermes created a path to you.”

I so did not like the sound of that.

Apollo smiled at Aiden then. “Needless to say, I think you know how important it is to stay close to Alex.”

“Like you even have to point that out,” Aiden responded.

Apollo smirked. “The trip to the Underworld isn’t going to be easy, and that’s not even taking into consideration Alex’s newly-acquired narcoleptic tendencies.”

I rolled my eyes. What part of “wasn’t asleep” did they not understand?

“And if this happens again, you may not believe he can glean any important information, but you need to be careful that you do not let on to what you are doing, especially your new mission.”

“I know,” I said, staring at the worn chair next to the god. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know what Solaris was planning to do with the First, but he knew there was something. And maybe we’ll get lucky. Seth may not be able to pull it off again.”

Neither of them looked convinced.

“Okay, back to the bigger problem at hand. The one I can sort of help you with.” Apollo strode over to the desk, finding a piece of paper and pen. “The Stull portal should place you beyond the entrance to the Underworld, at the beginning of Asphodel Fields. They might not really be fields, or they could be.” He paused, glanced over his shoulders. “They have changed every time I’ve been there. Sometimes they are vacant. Other times they are not. Souls that you encounter there will be… relatively harmless.”

I crept closer, peering over his shoulder. He was drawing a map. I recognized “Styx.” The rest I figured I’d recognize if I’d paid attention in class.

“There will be tunnels you will enter. You should be able to find a place to rest there for a few hours since the souls are unable to travel through them. Get there before night falls and stay there until the sky is golden. If you don’t make it there before night, you’ll find out why souls don’t travel there.”

I waited for him to elaborate and when he didn’t, I exchanged a look with Aiden.

“You do not want to be roaming any part of the Underworld at night.” Apollo’s pen swept over the paper. “From there, you will cross into the Vale of Mourning.”

“Oh, that sounds fun,” I said.

Apollo smirked. “You will eventually come to a crossroads. One way will lead you to Tartarus, and the other will lead you to the Elysian Fields—this will be the Plain of Judgment. You’ll want to make yourself as invisible as possible. And I don’t mean necklace-invisible.”

He set the pen down and handed the map over to Aiden. “I can call in a favor and get word to Caleb, have him meet you there. But from that point…”

“We’re on our own.” When Apollo nodded, I bit on my lip. “Okay.”

“Wait,” Aiden said, eyes narrowing on the map. “Isn’t the Plain of Judgment near Hades’ Palace?”

“As I said, you two will want to make yourself as invisible as possible. I have it on good faith that Hades will be at Olympus, but he has many eyes guarding the palace.” Apollo’s folded arms were the size of tree trunks. “I need you both to understand that the Underworld will be dangerous. Caleb could be anywhere, and it won’t be like the last time, when your arrival was noted. You will see things you cannot understand. Things that you will want to intervene in, but you won’t be able to.”

I swallowed at the seriousness in his tone. “I understand.”

“Do you? You have shown very little impulse control in the past, Alex. You will be unwelcome there. And it’s just not the Underworld.” His cold, steely gaze moved to Aiden. “The gates are well-protected.”

“We understand,” Aiden responded calmly.

Keen knowledge flared in the god’s eyes. “Be careful. Most who enter the Underworld do not leave, and those who do are irrevocably changed by what they experience.”

Apollo started to fade out as we stared at him, no doubt our expressions mirroring the seriousness of what he’d said. Just before his body was enveloped in shimmery blue dust, he said, “I’ll owe you two for this, and everything else.”

It was way too early to be up moving around, but here I was, standing beside one of the Hummers, glaring up at the morning sun.

Aiden was saying goodbye to his brother, and I was trying to give them some space while maintaining my balance on one foot. It was the only thing from keeping me falling over on my face. Last night, Aiden had called an “early night” and literally forced me to bed like he was my babysitter.

“You need to be well-rested,” he had argued, and then sat watch until I went to sleep. And even after about eight hours of shut-eye, I still didn’t want to get up at the crack of dawn. We had a long drive ahead of us—about nine hours and nearly five hundred miles. A plane would’ve been quicker, but there was no way we were getting the weapon stash past mortal security without using compulsion on half the TSA. And it would’ve been harder to explain why Aiden was painting runes in Titan blood inside a 747. With that and the talisman Apollo had given me, at least it should be a relatively uneventful road trip.

“Alexandria?”

I turned at the sound of my uncle’s voice and headed toward where he stood just off the porch. “Hey.”

He tried to smile, but it was forced. “I know you’ll be careful, but really—be careful. Okay?”

“I’m always careful.”

Marcus’ expression turned bland.

Unable to help myself, I grinned. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

At the sound of Aiden’s approaching footsteps, he stepped back and pinned the other pure with a dark look. “If anything happens to her, it’s your ass.”

My mouth dropped. “Did you just cuss? I’ve never heard you cuss before. Wow.”

Instead of responding, Marcus hugged me. He let go quickly and looked away, swallowing hard. Within seconds, we’d said our goodbyes to the rest of the group.

“Try not to let any souls free,” Luke said, grinning.

“Unless it’s Sam or Dean’s souls, right?” When they laughed, I gave them each a quick hug and then trotted over to where Aiden was packing the Hummer.

Once I got a load of the heavy sack of weapons and provisions, I said, “Not it.”

Aiden chuckled. “I got it.” He lifted it with one arm—impressive—and tossed it in the back. “I’ve already stashed a few daggers in front. You ready?”

“Yeah.” I glanced over my shoulder, taking in those waiting on the porch. An odd ache filled my chest. For a moment, everything was peaceful, though. Birds called. Rays of bright light sliced through the thick trees. It was almost like Aiden and I were going on a vacation or something.

Not going to the Underworld.

Aiden placed a hand on my arm. “We’ll see them again.”

“I know.” I smiled, but it felt all kinds of wrong. “It’s just…”

“What?” He closed the trunk.

Shaking my head, I tore my gaze from my friends—my family. As I turned to Aiden, a flash of movement caught my attention. Near the edge of the oak trees stood a doe on thin, elegant legs, and I’d swear our eyes met. There was something intelligent in the gaze—something foreign. Then it shot off, disappearing into the abundant foliage.

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” I asked, meeting Aiden’s eyes.

“I wouldn’t leave my brother behind if I didn’t think so.”

There was truth in those words. Nodding, I headed to the passenger side, my gaze drifting to where the doe had stood. I thought of Artemis. The gods shouldn’t be able to find us, but it took no stretch of the imagination to assume that Apollo would’ve told his twin where we were.

A small smile played at my lips as I climbed in. They would be okay. Over half of them were trained and damn good with a dagger. Not to mention that all of Deacon’s playing around with fire was paying off. With Laadan and Marcus capable of controlling air, they could protect themselves. And if Artemis was really hanging around, they had one badass goddess on their side.

Belting myself in, I then placed my hands in my lap. They balled into fists. I glanced over at Aiden as he started the engine. The Hummer rumbled to life. “You know I suck at long car rides, right?”

A half-grin appeared. “I remember.”

“You’ll need to entertain me. A lot.”

He laughed as he coaxed the massive vehicle down the narrow, one-lane dirt road that was all new to me. “By the way,” Aiden said, casting me a long look that had me totally forgetting about the seriousness of our mission. “You look damn good in a Sentinel uniform.”

A hot flush that had nothing to do with embarrassment spread over me. “So do you.”

“I know.”

I laughed outright. “Wow. Healthy ego there.”

Aiden’s eyes were light, a heather gray, as they focused on the rural road. “Check out the glove box.”

Curious, I leaned forward and threw the latch. Inside were two black, shiny objects. I pulled one out carefully, turning the heavy thing over. It was a specially designed Glock. Feeling like a badass, I checked the clip—titanium bullets.

The gun felt weird in my hands, though. “I’ve only held one of these once outside the Covenant.”

Aiden was quiet as he waited for me to continue. Of course, he knew when. “I didn’t use it. I hesitated.”

“You were facing down your own mother, Alex. It’s understandable.”

I nodded, ignoring the lump in my throat as I placed the gun back in the glove box. “What else is stashed away?”

“Look under the seats,” he murmured as the Hummer’s tires evened out on pavement.

Under the seat were two daggers and a sickle blade. “The same under yours?”

He nodded.

“What are you expecting? A daimon siege?”

“Safe than sorry, Alex. We have no idea what or who we’re going to run into out here.”

I straightened. “Seth’s nowhere near here and we’re protected.” I tapped a finger off the talisman I wore, and then gestured at the mark above our heads.

Aiden grunted something unintelligible.

My brows rose, but I dropped it. Not like I was bothered by the things designed to stab, shoot, and otherwise kill. “Man, I wish we had coffee.”

“Like you need more caffeine.”

“Ha. Ha.” I stared out the window, nibbling on my lower lip. “Caffeine is my friend.”

“And red meat—can’t forget red meat.”

I grinned at his teasing tone. “Whatever. Eat your bland chicken breast, but soon… very soon, I shall sway you to the dark side of red meat.”

We went back and forth for a while, distracting ourselves, and it worked. My muscles relaxed with each passing mile and we weren’t bombarded by daimons dropping from the sky from the moment we hit civilization, otherwise known as the interstate. When we took a detour to grab a quick lunch from the drive-through, I ordered a hamburger…

Aiden got a grilled chicken sandwich… and took one of the buns off.

Rolling up the wrapper, I laughed. “Why do you do that? It’s like you have something against two-bun sandwiches.”

“One bun is enough.” He glanced down at his lap, one hand on the steering wheel and the other covered with specks of seasoning. Looking up, he sighed. “Did you take all the napkins?”

I looked at him sheepishly. “Maybe, but I saved you… half of one.” Digging into my bag, I pulled out a napkin and tore it into two. Then I dabbed at his hand, not as graceful as he’d been when he’d washed my hands the night in the kitchen.

I think I may have rubbed his skin raw.

Snatching the bag out of his lap, I pulled out the other bun, wiggling it near his mouth.

“Alex…” He leaned toward the window, avoiding the dangerous second bun. “Come on.”

“Eat it,” I ordered, holding it with two hands now, making it dance in the air. “It’s begging you. ‘Eat me’.”

He arched a brow.

“Perv,” I muttered.

Aiden pressed his lips together, but when he glanced at me and my dancing bun, he burst into laughter. “All right, give me the bun.”

Grinning, I watched him eat the bun, and then pulled out the small order of fries. “Want some?”

Surprisingly, he didn’t turn them down. But after the food was gone and neither of us could find anything remotely worth listening to on the radio, I started to get twitchy. Four hours in, we hit a convenience store a few miles beyond Des Moines, refilling the tank and stocking up on what looked like gerbil food. Considering my run-in with Hades last time I was in a convenience store, I stayed in the car and asked for some Doritos, but apparently nacho cheese wasn’t appropriate Underworld food.

“Want to drive?”

I shook my head as I buckled in. “If I was driving this, I’d take out a family of four.”

“What?” he laughed.

“I’ve only driven a car, like, once. And it was a bug compared to this thing. I mean, I know how to drive, but I don’t think you want me on the interstate.”

Aiden reached over, wrapping his hand around mine. “When all of this is over, I’ll get you up-to-speed. You’ll be driving one of those trucks over there.”

I laughed as I eyed the eighteen-wheeler. “You might want to add ‘small town’ to the list of casualties.”

“You’ll do okay—more than okay.” He slid the Hummer between two trucks. “Anything you set your mind to, you succeed at it. So no worries.”

Tipping my head back against the leather seat, I smiled. “You always say the right things.”

Aiden brows furrowed. “Nah, I don’t think so.”

“You do,” I said quietly, holding his hand tighter. “I don’t think you even try. It just comes natural to you.”

Two points on his cheeks flushed, and I found it terribly cute. So I leaned over the center console and kissed one of those flaming cheeks. I settled back, grinning at the bemused look he sent my way.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and I actually dozed off about an hour or so from Stull. At first I didn’t realize I was dreaming. Everything was foggy, like I was staring down a narrow tube filled with mist. As it cleared and the glimpse of images settled into place, I thought the circular chamber and its sandstone walls looked vaguely familiar. But it wasn’t the place that caught my attention.

It was what was on the floor.

Apollo was on his knees, his hands outstretched, and he wasn’t alone. Aiden was there, his back to me as he held something—someone—to his chest, his body bowed over the still form as he rocked back and forth, his broad shoulders trembling. There was another person in the room, but their form and image was too hazy to make out.

Unease slithered through me like murky fog as I focused on Aiden, wanting to reach out to him. I called his name, but I had no voice. The anxiety grew and I felt cold—too cold. Something wasn’t right. I felt like I was there but detached, as if I was watching what was happening from a great distance.

Aiden was saying something, but it was too low for me to make out. All I heard was Apollo’s response.

“I’m sorry.”

Without warning, Aiden straightened and threw his head back, letting loose a roar full of pain and fury.

I jerked awake to the low sound of Aiden singing along to The Maine’s “Saving Grace,” slamming my knee into the dashboard.

“You okay?” he asked.

Dragging in a deep breath, I nodded as I pushed loose strands of hair out of my face. My heart pounded in my chest. I’d seen the lifeless body Aiden had been holding and I’d understand that scream that tore from the depths of his soul.

It had been me in his arms.

I slumped back against the seat, staring out the window. It was just a dream—only a dream. And could I be surprised that I was having messed-up dreams like that? All the stress and crazy stuff going on had to foster some whacked-out nightmares, but…

There had been something to the dream that made it hard to shake, that had left behind a chill deep in my bones. It took a lot to push the dream out of my thoughts. I settled back against the seat, watching Aiden from behind my lashes, picturing us going somewhere else—anywhere other than a freaking cemetery. Like maybe if we were driving to Disney World. Okay, maybe not. Maybe a beach for a sunny, romantic weekend, and I could almost see it. I could taste it.

Us being normal, living among mortals like we’d talked about, having a future where we weren’t doing crazy stuff like this, where I wasn’t connected to a psychotic Seth. We’d have a house, because I couldn’t picture Aiden in an apartment or a townhouse. He’d want space—a yard—and even though a dog was out of the question because of the power daimons had over animals, it was my perfect future, so we had a Labrador that ran along the fence.

And I’d have a cat that curled in my lap, a fat tabby that ate Aiden’s leftover sandwich buns. We’d have a deck where we’d sit out on the evenings. Aiden would be reading a comic or some boring historical text written in Latin, and I’d be doing everything in my power to distract him.

I could get behind a future like that.

“What are you thinking?” Aiden’s quiet voice startled me.

“How did you know I was awake?”

There was a pause. “I just did. So tell me…?”

Feeling a bit foolish, I told him about my fantasy future. Aiden didn’t laugh. He didn’t poke fun at it or ask why a cat would be eating sandwich buns. He looked at me—looked at me so long I started to worry about crashing. Then he looked away, a muscle popping along his jaw.

“What?” I asked, squirming in the seat. “Did I divulge a little TMI?”

“No.” That single word was hoarse.

“Then what?”

Aiden’s eyes were so bright and luminous when they met mine again—shiny and strong like the titanium daggers we wore. “Only that I love you.”