I frowned. Right. I didn’t need another reminder, but it was a possibility. Maybe they would forgive me. Maybe this would be enough to get me back on the council’s good side. Doubtful, but worth a shot.
Iris sighed dramatically and gave me a little shove. “Why do you always have to be so difficult? Get your ass down there before I have to drag you to the balcony and throw you.”
“Fine, fine, I’m going. Be safe, all right? Don’t disappear in a puff of smoke or whatever.”
“You, too,” she said. “And don’t come back until you’ve figured this thing out.”
“Which might be never.”
“By then, we’ll all be gone, so it won’t matter.” She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against my cheek. Unexpected, and my face grew hot. Iris laughed. “For luck, not to feed your fantasies. Now get out of here.”
Footsteps sounded from one of the hallways, and I didn’t need any more encouragement. I hopped onto the portal and gave Iris a halfhearted wave. This wasn’t one of our better ideas, but we didn’t have much choice. The gods were dying off. Even if we had several eons before the council faded, that wasn’t a chance any of us could take. Zeus was an idiot for playing it safe.
I slid through the portal with ease, and in the midst of dropping to the surface, I closed my eyes and relaxed. The solution had to be somewhere on the surface. A book, a town, some kind of religious theory—whatever it was that would bring me closer to understanding why we were dying.
That sort of hazy thought didn’t always work, and when I landed in the trees, I cursed. I’d expected to wind up in Rome or a library or something—somewhere with books and knowledge and answers, the kind Athena always seemed so good at finding. I didn’t have a chance of unearthing anything like that in the middle of a forest.
But when I started a more focused sweep of the surface, something twanged in my core, pulling me south. Not the kind of connection I usually got whenever something I was looking for was within reach—instead, it was a vague feeling that made me want to kick a tree. Vague wouldn’t solve this problem. It wouldn’t give me answers. And it sure as hell wouldn’t save my family.
Not as if I had a lot of leads though, and I needed time to cool down before I tried again. With Iris helping me with the list, I’d had time for a short nap, but exhaustion did nothing for my temper. And I’d be no good to the council pissed off.
I took a deep breath. It wasn’t my fault Hades was acting like an ass, and it wasn’t my fault Persephone had chosen to give up her immortality. Everyone liked to pretend it was, but it wasn’t, and I forced that one simple truth down my own throat. I was a scapegoat. And the only way I could make them see it was by finding a solution.
So I kept walking. The forest grew dim as the sun dipped below the horizon, and owls began to call to one another. Most mortals feared night, but I loved it. Quiet, dark, gave me time to think, and nothing seemed as bad as it did when the sun was out. I relaxed soon enough, letting my anger drain away, replaced by determination. I would figure this out, my family would accept me again and no one else would fade. I’d be a hero, and not even Hades would be able to treat me like the villain anymore. Everything would go back to normal, and that’s all I wanted. To act like none of this Persephone drama had ever happened.
Soon enough, I stumbled onto a trail. It wasn’t much—mostly a path that looked wide enough to fit a horse, but that was about it. It looked well traveled though, and that tug in my stomach grew stronger with each step. Maybe all of this self-loathing had thrown my powers out of whack. I didn’t see how the secret to our immortal existence could possibly be hidden here.
But I had to find whatever it was that pulled me in this direction. Whether or not my inner compass was broken, something was going on in these trees, and I needed a bit of fun right about now.
I’d been on the trail for five minutes when I heard it—a faint crackle, as if someone with loads of experience sneaking up on people was walking on dead leaves. Excellent. Things were about to get interesting.
The first one appeared seconds later. He couldn’t have been older than nine, and he cried out at the top of his lungs as he ran toward me, brandishing a stick like a sword. I stopped, bemused. Did he really think he could hurt me?
To my surprise, he skidded to a stop a few feet away, his eyes wide. “What’re you gonna do, just stand there and stare?”
“Was there something else you wanted me to do?” I said. Another set of footsteps behind me; a third pair to my left, and a fourth to my right. It didn’t take an idiot to figure out I was being ambushed. By children, apparently.
“Yeah,” he said, puffing out his chest. “Hand over your things.”
“What things?” I held out my arms. I wore a simple tunic, not unlike the one he had on, and a pair of trousers. Judging by the style, I was in…England. Probably. “My clothes?”
“Your valuables,” said a second voice to my left, deeper than the first. “Jewelry. Food.”
“Does it look like I have any on me?”
“Then where did you set up camp?”
“Nowhere.” At least that was the truth, even if the look on the first boy’s face told me he didn’t believe it. “I’m just walking.”
“Where?” said the same deep voice.
“Well, that’s none of your business, isn’t it?”
“We just made it our business.”
The thief behind me shoved me hard, and I landed at the first boy’s feet. “Are you sure you want to do this?” I said calmly, making no move to stand. They’d just push me down again anyway.
The second boy’s answer was a swift kick to my ribs. Perfect. Now I was going to have to either fight or run like hell, and I wasn’t in the mood to take off like that.
Instead I fell over as any mortal would, clutching my ribs halfheartedly. It wasn’t much of a ruse, but the second boy continued to kick me, while the first screeched, “Your gold or your life!”
Good grief. Talk about overkill. “Since—I don’t have any gold—guess it’ll be my life,” I said between kicks. Wasn’t doing that great of a job imitating wheezing, but I didn’t care too much right now.
Behind the second boy, a third joined, this one much bigger than the other two. He had a baby face though, and he held his weight awkwardly, as if he wasn’t used to being so large. Even though he had to be the strongest, he didn’t join in, and I liked him instantly. Unless he was the brains of the operation, but he didn’t hold himself like an authority figure, either.