The Gatekeeper's Challenge (12 page)

He missed hearing Therese’s voice. For ten months, her prayers had been constant, the only joy in his long life. He’d heard his father and other men joke about the tendency for women to talk more than most men, often to the point of annoyance, but Than looked forward to her daily prayers. Sometimes they were full of passion and longing, and his own longing would stir deep within him, nearly unbearable; but often they were clever remarks, funny comments and observations that would have him in stitches even as several thousand fragmented selves somberly escorted the dead. Therese had become the light of his existence. He didn’t want to live without her.

But he couldn’t hear her anymore. She stopped speaking to him. Hours had passed since he had taken Vicki to Erebus to lie in the pallid pool of the Lethe near her mother. In the interim between now and then, the only words to him from Therese were, “How could you?”

As he came upon a three-way fork in the passage, ignoring those to the left and right, he felt anger move through him. Therese knew he had no choice. It was unfair of her to blame him. Vicki had already gotten away with deceiving Hades once. She couldn’t expect to do so twice.

Than had seen others like Vicki come to the gate in their drug-induced trip to jeer at him and Cerberus. Some had even boarded Charon’s raft. But none had made it through the gate and gotten out alive save Vicki. It certainly couldn’t happen twice. Therese had to know that. He was hurt she didn’t seem more sympathetic to his point of view.

“How obtuse of her,” he muttered.

No sooner had he made the remark than the Minotaur appeared before him, sprung from some crevice in the side of the rocky cavern. He gave
Than no time for words, but shoved him with an unexpected force back against the wall. He hadn’t been shoved like that since he and his brother wrestled together in the asphodel before they were old enough to take on their duties. Demigods had sometimes tried to shove him out of their way as they resisted death, but none were his match in strength. This Minotaur gave him pause. He’d forgotten exactly how the beast was immortal, though he sensed immortality was in his blood and not later conferred upon him. He stood up and pushed the monster back.

The Minotaur gasped when his humanoid back hit rock.

“I mean you no harm,” Than said. “Let me pass through here, and I won’t touch you again.”

The beast panted as he pushed himself back to his feet and pointed the horns of his bull head at
Than. “Oh, it’s you. Why have you come? There are no dead nearby.”

“Ariadne sent me.”

“She sends only those she wishes to sacrifice to me. She knows how hungry I am. Why would she send a god to taunt my taste buds unless she meant for me to feast upon him?”

“Don’t force me to kill you.”

The Minotaur lunged for Than, who deftly moved and twisted in a flourish before the Minotaur could blink. The monster was strong, but he was no match in speed to the god of Death. Than pinned the beast’s humanoid arms to his sides and again said, “I’m no Theseus, but I will kill you if you give me no choice.”

His words seemed to further enrage the monster, who tucked his bull head down and butted
Than’s head. Than lost his grip on the beast and staggered back. Lighter on his feet, Than skipped past him, uphill and straight.

The path was not well-lit, but
Than could see in the darkness and felt confident he would leave the beast in his dust. Then the Minotaur appeared before him and took him by surprise. He either used a shortcut or god traveled. After a moment’s hesitation, Than ran into the monster with all his might and fell on him onto the narrow rocky ground of the passageway.

With the creature pinned beneath him,
Than asked, “Why do you want to fight me? Are you really that hungry?”

The bull-man bucked
Than from his torso, and Than fell on his back. Before the Minotaur could pin him, Than kicked the beast up against the ceiling. The beast and a cart load of rocks tumbled to the ground beside Than’s feet. He jumped up and took the monster by the horns. “I hate to do this,” he said, and with one twist, he broke the Minotaur’s neck.

The body fell beneath
Than as the soul emerged. Than put his hand on the beast’s shoulder. “Tell me why. Was it really hunger? I could have brought you food.”

“You came to take Ariadne.”

“You love her?”

Ariadne appeared.
“Asterion!” She glared at Than. “You killed him!”

“I had no choice.”
Than disintegrated so that one self could escort the beast’s soul to the Underworld, though it wouldn’t stay long.

“Wait!” Ariadne wrapped her arms around the transparent apparition of
Asterion’s soul. “I’ll be waiting for you. I promise.” Tears fell from her eyes. “I won’t leave you again.”

Than left with the soul to Charon while another disintegrated
Than confronted the weeping goddess. “You promised you would return to Dionysus with me today.”

“That was before you killed my brother.”

“Brother?”

She looked up at him. “Our mother is the daughter of the sun-titan. She was tricked into sleeping with a white bull given to my father.”

“I know your father. I didn’t know you shared the same mother with the beast.”

“He can’t help what he is.
Was.”

“Is.
As soon as his body regenerates, his soul will return. Though I don’t understand how he’s immortal if one parent was a bull.”

“A magical bull from
Poseidon, infused with Poseidon’s blood.”

“Great. I’m sure I just pissed off the god of the sea.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Well, you’ll have your brother back.”

“Last time that took nearly a week.”

“So go with me to Dionysus while you wait.”

“Never. I couldn’t bear for my brother to wake up here alone. I left him once to go with my husband, and before that, with Theseus, but never again. No one should have to live a life of solitude. It isn’t fair.”

Than wanted to say what his father had always said, “Life isn’t fair, but death is,” but he supposed that only applied to mortals. “Come with me now and return tomorrow.”

“You know that won’t happen. Dionysus has his methods of persuasion. Why do you suppose the maenads and satyrs never leave him? He’ll trap me as he has before.”

“You never meant to help me. So why did you send me into the maze?”

Ariadne lowered her eyes. “I was hurt when you rejected me. And now my brother suffers. Either comfort me in your arms or leave me before I rip my own eyes out as Oedipus once did.”

“Goodbye, Ariadne.” Than left her at once and entered his private chamber in the Underworld, not defeated by the Minotaur, but defeated nonetheless.

Chapter Sixteen: Saying Goodbye

Therese didn’t want to attend Vicki’s funeral, but Carol and Richard forced her to go. She sat between them on a hard wooden pew at St. Francis’s Cathedral with a handful of others. The Holts sat in the pew in front of her. Ray and Todd were right behind her. A couple of teachers from Durango High were there. Mr. Stern slouched alone in the front pew. Therese felt the burden of his sadness. She could have stopped Vicki, should have stopped her, but had encouraged her for her own selfish reasons. Therese could meet no one’s eyes, especially those of Mr. Stern’s. This was mostly her fault. She pondered the bottle of sleeping pills and Prozac in her medicine cabinet. If she took both bottles of pills, would that be enough to kill her?

The funeral mass was the longest service of Therese’s life. She could feel the cold, hard, accusing eyes glancing her way. When news spread about what had happened
, Therese received a lot of cold looks. Even Jen was outraged, though she had enough heart not to say so. She didn’t need to. Therese could see it in her friend’s eyes. The only person in Therese’s life who showed sympathy instead of judgment was Pete Holt.

At the graveside service, her despair and remorse over everything—the loss of her parents, the loss of Than, the loss of Puffy and Dumbo, and now of Vicki, whom she might have saved had she been responsible enough—shuddered through her body in uncontrollable sobs. She stood behind the metal folding chairs, outside of the canopy, several feet behind Carol and Richard, not wanting to be seen, sunglasses shielding her swollen eyes, when Pete Holt approached from behind and took her hand. He squeezed it, and this small act of kindness sent her into
hysterics. He took her in his arms and held her as she wept, allowing herself to collapse in his arms.

After a brief reception at Mr. Stern’s apartment, where a few
people brought food Mr. Stern would probably never eat, Pete came over and sat with Therese in the swing on her wooden deck where they watched the sunset across Lemon Reservoir. They rocked back and forth, holding hands, saying nothing, and it was nice.

But it wasn’t long before Therese’s thoughts went to
Than. As angry as she was for his role in Vicki’s death, and despite her own miserable feelings of guilt, her heart continued to ache for him against her will. She hated herself for that. Why couldn’t she love Pete? He was everything she could want in a guy. He was gorgeous, sweet, funny, and smart. And she could tell how much he loved her. Maybe she could learn to love him back.

As if he sensed her thoughts, Pete lifted her chin, looked into her eyes, and said, “Can I kiss you?”

She slowly nodded and closed her eyes.

Pete’s warm lips softly swept against hers, but instead of exalting, she filled with dread. This wasn’t right. She carried out the kiss and waited for him to end it, but inside, she thought it couldn’t end too quickly.

He looked at her with a smile. “That was nice.”

“Yes, it was.”

He kissed her again, and she bore it, convincing herself it was the right thing to do. How had she ever thought she could marry Death and become a god?

That night, alone in her room, after Carol and Richard had come to talk to her about making good choices—on the heels of her friend’s funeral, really?—she took out her flute and played a tribute to Hermes. As she played a piece by Bach, she sang in her mind her prayer to him: “Help
me, Hermes. Help me find a way either to fall out of love with Than or to be with him. I can’t take this agony. Maybe it’s time for me to join my parents. Maybe it’s time for me to die, too. Please, Hermes. All my hopes lie with you.” She continued to play and to meditate on these thoughts as tears rolled down her cheeks until she was too tired to go on.

Chapter Seventeen: Another Deal with Hades

Than appeared before his father near the flames of the
Phlegethon River illuminating the vast private chamber where Hades spent most of his time. Hades sat on a chaise lounge and held a book in his hand, but he wasn’t looking at it. He was speaking with Alecto, who stood close by, her python wrapped around her waist and lying over one shoulder. They both looked at Than when he appeared.

“Am I interrupting?”

“We were just discussing you,” Hades remarked. “Alecto believes a recent soul taken to Erebus must be vindicated.”

“Who?”

“Vicki Stern.” Alecto stepped forward and squared herself to her brother. “Your old girlfriend is partly to blame.”

“How?
She didn’t force or persuade the other girl to take the drug.”

“She bought the drug.”
Alecto’s eyes turned as red as her hair, and one drop of blood dripped onto her cheek. “She’s culpable.”

Great.
Alecto’s charge wouldn’t help Than’s case. “I came here to tell you of an important decision I’ve made. Whatever the consequences, I’m determined to make Therese a god.”

Alecto
gasped.

Hades jumped from his chair. “Are you mad?”

“I guess that means I won’t be getting your blessing.”

Hades stepped closer. “The maenads will rip you to pieces once a year forever.”

Like he didn’t already know that. Than resisted the urge to say this sarcastic thought out loud. “I want this.”