Chapter 16 #2
Within minutes, I’m driving toward Juniper Bridge. I manage to awkwardly pull out my phone and dial the number Eurydice input… Was that really less than twenty-four hours ago?
She answers immediately. “Eurydice here.”
“It’s Atalanta.”
She huffs out a breath. “Yeah, I know. Did you save Hermes?”
The question nearly makes me laugh. Maybe I would if I had the breath for it.
“More or less. She’s alive and free.” No telling if she’ll stay that way for long, not when she keeps seeking Circe out.
“That’s not why I’m calling. In the process of extracting her, I found information Hades and the rest will want to hear. That they need to hear.”
“That’s very vague and a tough sell.”
I tighten my grip on the wheel, ignoring the burning in my shoulder as a result.
It would be smart to withhold information on the condition I’m allowed through the barrier, but I’m too tired to drive a hard bargain.
“Circe has a team in the lower city, which I know you all were aware of. They’re not only there to threaten Persephone and the others; they’re searching for the base in order to bring down the barrier permanently. ”
She curses. “Wait on your side of the bridge. I’ll talk to Hades.”
“Will do.” As I approach the bridge, I see more and more people on the streets. They clog the sidewalks and edge out onto the road. I slow to try to get a gauge of what’s going on.
Which is when someone throws a rock at my windshield, spidering a break across the glass. “Fuck!”
I dial Eurydice again, and this time I don’t wait for her to speak to start in. “There’s a crowd on my side of the bridge and they’re getting violent.”
“Shit, okay. I’ll call the people on our side. Head for the barrier now.”
If she doesn’t get me permission to cross, this is about to be a special kind of agony.
I hesitate…until the second rock—no, not a rock, a fucking brick—breaks my windshield entirely.
Cold air slaps me in the face as the glass drops in a giant chunk onto my dashboard.
I get snippets of people yelling at me, but I can’t make out their words over the rushing in my ears.
If they’re blocking the barrier, I’m going to have to choose between getting out of my car and running them down. There’s no space for retreat, not when the crowd is bleeding onto the street behind me, blocking any attempt to reverse without casualties.
I keep moving forward, unwilling to floor it, so I’m forced to an agonizing crawl. The crowd gets out of my way, but slowly. The bridge itself is my savior—the crowd can’t breach the barrier that spans the River Styx and seems reluctant to be pinned against it. That’s something at least.
“I really hope you got me permission, Eurydice.” After the briefest hesitation, I climb out of the car and slide around to the front to keep it between me and the crowd.
The people closest watch me with hate-filled eyes.
I don’t recognize a single one of them, but it doesn’t matter.
They don’t hate me on a personal level. They hate me for who I’m connected to, for what I represent.
One of them, a white man with a shaved head and frenetic energy about him, steps forward. “Get her!”
I’m in the process of deciding if I need to fight my way through, get back in the car, or—
Hands wrap around my waist and pull me back through the barrier. Trying to pass the greater barrier used to result in a zap that occasionally killed people. I have no idea if this one is strong enough for that, but it would be a special kind of fuckery for me to die like this.
I hold my breath as I pass through. It prickles against my skin in a sensation that’s almost unpleasant, but it’s over quickly enough. The person who grabbed me releases me instantly and takes a step back. “Atalanta.”
“That’s me.” I can’t help glancing back at the barrier. It’s not opaque, but there’s a film between us and the crowd. I’ve never been more grateful for a damned Olympian barrier than I am in this moment. “I have news.”
“They’re expecting you at the main house.” They jerk their thumb over their shoulder. “There’s a car waiting for you. Don’t try to go anywhere else.”
“I won’t.” It’s almost like déjà vu to climb behind the wheel of yet another black sedan, to drive the same path, to park the car in nearly the same spot, to walk to the front door and be escorted to the same office where nearly the same combination of people waits for me—except for Eurydice.
I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad one. At least I’m here.
Hades steeples his hands. “Do you need medical attention?”
“No.” Dio’s doctor stitched me up fine. There’s a solid risk I’ll tear the stitches at some point, but I don’t need to go through the song and dance with a new doctor. In fact, I’d rather not. “Are you ready to listen?”
Persephone and Hera sit together, pressed close to each other, for all that their expressions are fierce. Persephone lifts her chin. “My mother and sister? And…Eros?”
Guilt pricks me in a thousand tiny cuts. “Eros is gone. I’m sorry.” I clear my throat. “I don’t know the exact location of your mother and sister, but they were safe the last I heard.”
Persephone closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, she seems to draw herself up. “We need them in the lower city, Hades. Now.”
“Psyche has an open invitation. Your mother…” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, little siren, but we can’t endanger our people on the hope that Demeter will choose her daughters over her bid for power. I want to believe she will, but all her actions point to the contrary.”
“Our mother didn’t anticipate Circe wanting me dead,” Hera says slowly. “But even if she had a plan to counter Circe, this has spun too far out of control. He’s right, Persephone. I hate that he’s right, but he is.”
“But…” She seems to wilt, just a tiny bit. “She’s our mother.”
Hera glances at me and any warmth disappears from her hazel eyes. “We’ll talk about it after Atalanta gives the report she was willing to return to the lower city to convey. Brave or foolish, there’s only one way to find out.”
“A little bit of both.” I recount a severely edited version of what happened and what I know, leaving out anything involving Hermes and Circe’s history—and not-so-history.
In the end, it’s not that much information after all.
Except for one thing. “I know you’re aware of Circe’s team in the lower city.
No matter what threats they’ve put out against Persephone, that’s not their main goal.
They’re not here to pick off the Thirteen and legacy families.
They’re here to bring down the barrier.”
Hades stares at me, and I can practically see the wheels of his mind spinning. “You could have given us this information on a phone call.”
“Yes, I could have.” It takes effort to keep my shoulders straight, to look just over his shoulder instead of meeting his dark eyes that see too much. “There’s nothing for me in the upper city.”
A beat of silence that might be awkward, but I can’t focus enough to know for sure.
Finally, Hades says, “Thank you for the report, Atalanta. I think you’ll understand I can’t have you wandering the lower city, but as long as you agree to stay in the house, I’m happy to set you up with a room and have my doctor look you over.
Wait in the hall and one of my people will see to it. ”
I want to find an excuse to stay, to find out what he’s planning.
He’s too smart to send people rushing to the location of the machinery keeping the barrier running.
He must know where it is, though, right?
Most of the Thirteen weren’t aware of how the larger barrier worked, but the person who held the Hephaestus title always had a small team working on its maintenance in perfect secrecy.
Surely Hades is the same if he was able to raise his barrier so quickly in response to the attacks.
Athena rises. “No need to trouble your people. I’ll take Atalanta to the spare room next to mine. Don’t wait for me; I’ll catch up when I return.”
Tension flows through me as I follow her to the door and along the hallway.
I couldn’t take Athena even at full health, without a stab wound in my shoulder.
I sure as fuck can’t take her now. If the offer of hospitality was a fake out and she intends to make me disappear, I might not be able to win that fight, but I’ll damn sure make her work for it.
I clear my throat. “No matter what you think of me, I only ever wanted the best for the people of Olympus. Everything I said in that office was true.”
“I know. It was a very good report.” She closes the door and leans against it. “Now, I want you to tell me all the things you very carefully left out.”