After Midnight Read online

  “Sweetie, I hate to break it to you, but you’re already dead...he’s already dead. So, I don’t understand...”

  She shook her head side to side, limp blonde hair flopping around her shoulders. “I heard someone come through the rift. I was scared and thought that if I were...whole again...they would take me back to my mother, so I jumped on him, and when I came to, I could feel...everything.”

  It felt like an ice cube slipped its way down my spine. I didn’t do this...I couldn’t have. “You’re...alive.” My voice sounded tiny...strained.

  “I think so...? I definitely feel that way.”

  I grabbed her upper arm, gasping when flesh met flesh.

  “What does that mean?”

  Nothing good.

  “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out when we return.” I pulled her up, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Are you Elizabeth?” She nodded, and I sighed, glancing down at the scroll as her name slowly faded from the paper. “Well, there’s not much we can do about it now. I’m sorry...in advance...for whatever does happen.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  I felt his presence before the arm that banded across my chest, yanking me up and away from Elizabeth, who screamed...and fainted.

  “Nice to see you too, Kronos. Long time, no fight.”

  “Little goddess, you shouldn’t be here.”

  “I’m here on instruction...from Hades.”

  Kronos laughed, a sound which twisted my gut. “You’ve never been a particularly good liar. Hades wouldn’t risk sending you to me, not with our shared history. So, you came alone. That’s...fascinating.”

  “I told you, Hades...”

  “Right, right, of course. Well, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?”

  “Elizabeth isn’t supposed to be here,” I said, twisting in his grasp. “I need to bring her back to the Underworld, so we can send her where she’s meant to go.”

  He glanced down at her motionless body, frowning. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but to do that, she would have to be...well...dead.”

  “Yes, I know that already. I didn’t mean to scare her into body-jumping and I sure as hell didn’t expect I’d have to bring her back as anything but a newly-formed soul. So, are you going to help me, or not? Because if not, get out of my way.” I struggled to break free, even as his grip tightened, the breath knocked from my lungs.

  “You haven’t yet paid the price for crossing me last time, Persephone.”

  “What do you want?” I asked, suddenly wary as he turned me around in his arms.

  “Amnesty – from both you and my charming son.”

  “You know I can’t give it unless Hades—”

  “A promise, then. Surely you have the power to grant me that. If I help you with your little...problem...you’ll leave my kingdom and never return. After all,” he said with a wry quirk of his lips, “Each time one of you does, we’re on the brink of full-blown war. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

  “This won’t be the last time we misplace a soul, Kronos, so what should we do about them then? Forget about it, and move on? That would be awfully sloppy of us.”

  “I don’t care what mistakes you make, so long as I’m left in peace.”

  “An emissary, then. Give us that much and you have a deal.”

  I’m sorry, Hades...this is the only way.

  I knew he was listening. By now, the servant would have told him everything, and knowing him, he was probably livid...and worried.

  “You strike a hard bargain, but I agree to the terms. It’s time for you to die...again,” he said as Elizabeth stirred, pushing herself up to her elbows. “Hold on, love – this will only hurt a minute.” He bent over her, and I looked away, thought about something else and tried not to flinch as a small strangled scream echoed in the space around us. “There – done. Is she on your list again?”

  “How did you know about—” He silenced me with a look as I fumbled with the parchment, eyes scanning over the columns. “Third row down, yes, she’s here. Thank you, Kronos.”

  “I don’t do charity; remember our bargain.”

  “I’ll let him know, you have my word.”

  He reached out to chuck my chin. “Oh, don’t look so glum, little goddess. You got everything you wanted!”

  He helped Elizabeth to her feet again and she shied away, tucking herself behind my back, sobbing when she noticed her lifeless body on the ground.

  “He’s not going to be happy that I came to you for help.”

  “Hades needs to not get his way now and then. It keeps him from developing a Herculean-sized ego. Your friend is dead, you’re not and I’m letting you leave without trouble, so I’d call that a successful mission, wouldn’t you?”

  “I doubt he’ll see it that way.”

  “Yes, well, that’s not my concern. Best be on your way now, before he comes to get you himself.”

  I led Elizabeth back towards the door, rubbing a hand up and down her back in what I hoped was a soothing gesture, not sure what to say in response as she sniffled and used the sleeve of her dirty dress as a handkerchief.

  “Oh, and, Persephone?”

  I paused, turning to him reluctantly as he smiled, rubbing his hands together. “This is a little something for Hades to remember me by.”

  I saw the ball of energy hit me long, long minutes before I felt anything and as I fell backward, black dots swirling up to claim me, I flipped him off, surrendering to the void.

  The Underworld

  “I’m going to kill him.” Hades tore the bandages from my hand, deftly wrapping it around my arm as I bit my lip...hard...and tried not to throw up at the sight and smell of my charred flesh.

  “You can’t; we made a deal. At least he didn’t kill me.”

  “But, he could have – so easily. What you did was incredibly stupid.”

  I yelped when he tugged on the fabric, tucking the edges under and securing it in place.

  “I just wanted to prove to you that I could help you. It was a big deal when you gave me the assignment, and I didn’t mean for it to go so badly. He wants to punish you, not me. This was just a... warning.”

  He glared at me a minute before pulling my head towards his chest, and I snuggled up, needing the comfort and security.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I won’t do that again.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you.”

  “You’ll never have to find out.”

  “And thank the gods for that. I’m glad you’re here in one piece, Elizabeth is where she should be, and no one, save the two of us and one very loyal servant, knows what happened today, but there were other ways to bring her back that didn’t involve putting yourself in danger.”

  I felt a cold, hard lump settle low in my belly as I saw the disappointment in his eyes and reached up, cupping his cheek in my hand. “I’m sorry.” He kissed me gently, mindful of my bandaged arm, and I snuggled against him.

  Chapter Eleven

  Portland, Oregon, 2017

  Snowflakes swirled around me as I loaded my arms with grocery bags, kicking a path to the base of the staircase. I finally had a day off – one whole, glorious day where it was perfectly alright to do absolutely nothing at all except sit in pajama pants and binge-watch re-runs of Orange is the New Black.

  Amy.

  I stiffened and spun around, cans of black beans and chickpeas clattering to the concrete.

  I bent to retrieve them and glanced up, heart pounding right through my chest when I saw Gabriel walking towards me, snow melting beneath his heavy black boots, clearing a path.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the conflicting emotions roiling through my gut. When four months came and went without a single visit, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking maybe, just maybe, he’d let me live my life the way I wanted to. Feeling his dark presence now as he approached was like a punch to the gut.

  I’m not ready yet; I need more time.

  I sucked in som
e frosty winter air – felt it crackle through my lungs – and braced myself for his touch.

  Which never came.

  I waited a full three minutes, my whole body tensed, even as loose groceries, which had rolled around and escaped en route from the store, fell out the back of my car and plopped to the snow below.

  It was absurd, the way he made me feel. It was one-part loathing and another part longing for something I didn’t want to want, and it was all too much to handle as I stood there and waited for him to poof us to the Underworld.

  Open your eyes, love.

  Please go away – I have plans, ones that don’t require company and I was really looking forward to them. Alone.

  Did you forget what day it was?

  It’s called selective memory, Gabriel, something which might benefit you, too. Go away.

  Open your eyes. I won’t ask again.

  How about you come back in another six months, and see if I’m ready then?

  He didn’t answer with words, just one drawn out, guttural growl that sent shivers up and down my spine and I looked up at him, eyes watering at the onslaught of light as he smiled, taking the bags from my hands.

  “Hello, sweetheart.”

  “I’m not coming with you.”

  His smile faded. “Oh, yes, you are in fact, the sooner you’re ready and packed the better. I gave you the full six months, something which nearly drove me insane, but I did it, knowing you’d be home and in my arms soon. I’m not against throwing you over my shoulder and dragging you back there if I absolutely have to, so don’t test me.”

  I mumbled as many insults to him as I could think of as I stomped my way up the stairs, grabbing Maddy when she tried to barrel her way past me and dropping keys, wallet, and phone on the side table.

  “I’m not leaving her behind again,” I said as I gestured down to my dog and he nodded, scratching her behind the ears.

  “She’s family; I didn’t expect you to.”

  I started to unload the bags, pausing when I noticed how much food I had, which would most likely mold over if left for the next six months.

  He brushed past me, rolling the sleeves of his white button-up shirt. “Pack. I’ll make us some lunch.”

  “And dinner and breakfast tomorrow. There’s a lot of stuff there.”

  “I’ll figure something out. Go.”

  “If you do sandwiches, don’t put any mayonnaise or -”

  “Onions on yours. Yes, I know, you hate both. Amy, you’re stalling, and I’d love to say that I have all the patience in the world, but that’s not true. Pack, or I’ll do it for you.”

  “You’re stupidly stubborn, and that’s not an attractive quality,” I said as I banged the dresser drawers open, stuffing shirts, pants, underwear, and socks into every crevice of my overnight bag, hoping it would be enough. “I don’t suppose there are seasons down there?”

  “It’s all the same temperature inside, which is where you’ll be most of the time.”

  “Sounds like a prison to me.”

  Sundress, or no?

  “Is it really so different from what you’re used to now?”

  I tossed the dress in, along with a couple more, just for good measure. “There are these things here in Portland called parks, you know, like the one you mercilessly chased me through?”

  “You’re allowed to visit your greenhouse anytime you’d like. It’s rather large. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

  “And, what about the souls?”

  “What of them?”

  I plopped my bags down in the entryway, watching as he pulled a couple of plates from the cupboard.

  “Don’t you need help...sorting them?”

  “No, sweetheart, I don’t. And even if I did, you can’t do it, for reasons I know you don’t remember yet.”

  Yet – there was that word again, hanging over everything. His involvement in my life banked on the hope that I would want to be Persephone again – would want her memories back so we could...what? Pick up where we left off as if nothing had happened? As if knowing who I was would change things?

  Remembering a life and family separate from my current reality wouldn’t erase who I was now, or who I wanted to be. I was willing to accept the fact that Gabriel wasn’t going anywhere, that I was the world’s best florist and that I had to spend half of my year in a place without sunlight, coffee shops or connections to Portland, but I wasn’t going to forget being Amy Hensley, and that was something he would have to get used to if he wanted to be with me.

  “Come eat.” He held a dining chair out for me, laying a napkin on my lap as he took a seat next to me.

  “Please don’t make me go there again.”

  He leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest as he appraised me. “Why not?”

  “Despite what you think, I don’t belong there and if you really cared about me like you claim to, you’d realize that I’m happier in Portland. Why can’t I be your queen and live here?”

  “That’s not how things work, Amy.”

  “Just because it’s never been done, doesn’t mean it can’t work. You need to be in the Underworld, that’s your home, but it’s not mine anymore.”

  “Let me help you find a way to break the curse and it will ag -”

  “Even if I agree to go there to stop the Furies from tracking me, I won’t be happy,” I interjected. “I’ll be a shell of a person until I come back.”

  “Six months here. That’s the deal the two of us made, remember? And now you want to break that because you have cold feet?”

  “What if you came here every six months for a few days?”

  He pushed his plate away, agitated, and I lay a hand on his arm.

  “Think about it, Gabriel. You’d still be able to come visit me and do your job. After all, isn’t that what started this in the first place?”

  “The point of coming to the Underworld was to mask you from the furies, who are still hunting you, by the way.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re the reason they’re unhappy and trapped.”

  “Me? You’re the one who left the Underworld to track me down, so how is this my fault?”

  “If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have left to get you back and all those souls would’ve ended up where they’re supposed to be. So, in their eyes, you’re the one to blame. They still need me to sort through the mess.”

  “Awesome. Fantastic. So now I’m expendable.”

  “Never.”

  “If they really want to punish someone, they should be after Max. After all, if he hadn’t cursed me, I wouldn’t have to live in Portland, which means you wouldn’t have had to find me, right? So, why they aren’t on him?”

  He smiled, but the light didn’t touch his eyes. “Because he’s not my wife.”

  “So, he gets a free pass? That’s bullshit.”

  “No matter which way you spin this, sweetheart, the result is still the same. You won’t live in the Underworld full time, so the compromise is living with me for half the year, and I can’t let you live here full time, because you’re in constant danger from the furies, who want to kill you, so bringing you back with me every six months is better than never seeing you at all, while I pray to the gods that they don’t find you when I’m not with you. You have no idea how dangerous this game is. Prometheus may have painted a target on your back, but we re-paint it every single time you return to Oregon, and so long as you continue to deny your place by my side, this dance will continue until the end of time.”

  He took my hand in his. “Let me ask you a question, Amy,” he said. “If the curse didn’t exist, if you and I were both human beings, living and working right here, in Portland, would you still want me? If we weren’t already married and happened to bump into each other somewhere, like a park, for example, would I be enough for you? No god of death, no goddess of spring, no Underworld, Olympus, furies or Fates. Just you and me, and this city. Would we be together?”

  “I don’
t know.” And I didn’t. His introduction into my life was like a tornado – furious, fast-moving and completely unpredictable, but there were moments when he was sweet and kind and I could tell he genuinely cared for me, so if he didn’t kill people for a living; if he was just a man – a dark, brooding, sexy hunk of a man with a god complex, who smelled amazing and oozed confidence, I might be more willing to look past his arrogance, stubbornness and fierce jealousy to find someone who could love and be loved in return.

  But that scenario was never going to happen. It was never going to be an option for us.

  That wasn’t the question, Amy.

  “I think we might, after all, you did make me food and that’s a serious point in your favor. Speaking of which...” I picked up my fork, glancing at him in time to see the tail end of a smile as he shook his head side to side.

  “You do have an appetite. That, I’m pleased to see, hasn’t changed.”

  “I’ll do the dishes,” I said as he moved the leftovers from the table to kitchen counter.

  “You’ll need a few Ziploc bags if you were hoping to pack up that food.”

  For later, is what he meant to say. For your trip to the Underworld.

  I sighed, rummaging through the pantry as he poured himself a glass of wine, moving to the couch, dog in tow.

  “Why can’t they find me down there?”

  “Who?”

  “The furies. Why is Portland the only place I’m not safe from them?”

  He scratched Maddy’s chin as she yawned, circling a couple of times on her blanket before flopping down beside him. “Their domain is the mortal world. Since you choose to live here, it makes sense that they’d be able to find you easier. You’re cloaked from them when you’re with me.”

  “So, that’s why you gave me this?” I asked as I held the necklace up to the light, watching as it threw crystalline beams around the walls.

  “It also looks beautiful on you.”

  “What am I supposed to do when it turns grey?”

  He ran a finger over the rim of his glass, eyes not meeting mine. “You run – as fast and as far away as you can, and then you call me.”