The Gatekeeper's Promise: Gatekeeper's Saga, Book Six (The Gatekeeper's Saga 6) (2 page)

Pete said yes at the same time Tizzie said no. The two lovers glared at one another.

“Whoa,” Hip said. “I didn’t mean to start a war.”

“It’s about the twins,” Pete said. “Therese’s twins.”

“What about them?” Therese asked from around the corner as she escorted Than into Tartarus.

Therese had obviously taken Than’s duties as the god of death. Than didn’t look so hot. It was August, which meant the Maenads.

“You okay, bro’?” Hip put a hand on Than’s transparent shoulder.

“Huh?” Than gave him a blank look.

“Give him a minute,” Therese said. She put her arms around her husband. “Than, Baby? Do you know who you are?”

“Speaking of babies,” Pete said. “There’s something…”

Tizzie cupped Pete’s face in her hands, and blood dripped from her eyes. Her serpentine curls lifted up in a hiss before falling limp again. “Don’t.”

“What’s this about?” Hip asked. “I get that it’s about the twins, but what about them?”

“Do you mean
our
twins?” Than snapped to attention.

“They can’t live here,” Pete blurted out. “Hades neglected to tell you
that
part of the prophecy.”

Therese’
s brows bent together and her mouth fell open. “What are you saying?”

“The twins have to grow up
among mortals if they’re to fulfill their destiny,” Pete replied.

As
Therese and Than sought one another’s eyes, Hip wondered what this would mean. Would Therese leave his brother behind and return to the Upperworld to raise their children?

Chapter Two: Confrontations

Than
atos was not one for sitting idle. It wasn’t in his nature. Rarely, since the moment he had come of age and the duties of death had been bestowed upon him by his father, had he had a moment’s rest. Even as he had been honeymooning with his bride, he had been working.

Now he
wasn’t sure which was worse, enduring the horrific pain of having his limbs ripped from him, or sitting in Tartarus waiting for his body to heal. Although Therese visited him each day, she had her duties and responsibilities, along with his, and couldn’t stay with him for more than a few hours at a time. Unlike him, she wasn’t adept at disintegration and found it hard to relax while doing a million other things. That left Than bored out of his mind and burdened with thoughts of his family’s future.

Therese
and the babies would have to leave him. It was the only way.

If he’d been in his body as he imagined his life without them, he would have cried.

So, as the days wore on in Tartarus at their unusually slow pace, Than distracted himself as much as he could. At the top of his list was a confrontation with Melinoe. He’d been putting it off, but now he had no more excuses not to speak with her.

He floated past the area of punishment, where Alecto was busy purging some evil soul of its wrongdoing, his screams as loud as they would have been using his human body. Unused to this part of the Underworld, Than shuddered and moved on, down into another part of the pit where the souls who never leave dwell.

Unlike the seers’ pit, the deepest parts of Hades were alight with the flowing Phlegethon spiraling down in an almost vertical drop. The souls of the damned clung to the cavern walls. Most of them were silent in their misery, but others moaned or sobbed—usually the newly condemned who had not yet accepted their lot. At the very bottom of this pit were the Titans who’d been imprisoned by the Olympians after the great rebellion.

No one went down that deep anymore.

At last Than found the Malevolent sitting idly on a rock tossing pebbles into the river of fire.

She narrowed her transparent eyes
—one black and the other white—when he approached. “What do you want?”

“Peace,” he said
, as he took a seat across from her.

“Peace is boring.” She tossed another pebble into the fire.

“And this isn’t?”

She floated up
so that she could look down her finger at him. “Look, you have a purpose. You don’t know what it’s like.”

“You could have one, too.”

“I
had
one.” She folded her arms and turned her back to him.

“Stealing souls and tormenting mortals?” he asked, but not without kindness. If he wanted her to cooperate, he didn’t want to make her angrier than she already was.

She whipped around to face him again. “Your other sisters torment mortals.”

That was the first time in centuries she’d acknowledged they were related. He looked at her for a moment, taking it in.

“What?” she said impatiently.

“Do you realize you’ve never called yourself my sister?”

She turned away from him again. “Quit changing the subject.”

“Well
, you must see the difference between tormenting evildoers to purge them of sin and scaring the hell out of innocent people.”

She laughed and faced him. “One’s a hell of a lot more fun.”

He didn’t have to ask which one she meant. “If it didn’t mean robbing those souls of eternal peace…”

“
Like what you’re doing with these people down here?”

“These people made their choices.”

“Well, which is it, Thanatos? First, you say I should have the opportunity for redemption because my father turned me into the monster I’ve become.” She moved closer. “And now, you’re saying that people are responsible for their choices.”

He looked at her misshapen face—half
white and half black. “You’re different.”

“Are you so sure? Look around you. Most of the souls down here never had a chance.”

Than didn’t know what to say. He stood up. “Therese swore an oath to spend eternity down here with you if any god in the Alliance treated you unjustly.”

Melinoe flew back to her seat and sat down. “I should have known that was the only reason you came. Get away from me.”

“Melinoe…”

“Get away from me!!!”

He planted his transparent feet firmly on the path and said, “I don’t have all the answers, but if Therese has taught me one thing, it’s that change
is
possible. But you have to want it too, sister.”

Reluctantly he turned and flew back to the upper part of Tartarus.

He spent the next couple of days spying on Hip, who, he noticed, was not acting like himself.  Hip’s usual charm and quick wit had been replaced with dullness and despondency. Maybe Hip had become depressed over some news about Than’s twins.

So Than beckoned to Hip one day.

“Come see me in Tartarus,” Than prayed. “I’d like a word.”

Hip appeared instantly. “You called, bro?”

“Yeah. Sit down.”

Hip sat cross-legged on a nearby boulder. “If this is about the fate of your twins, I know nothing more than you.”

Than sighed. “You swear, on the River Styx?”

“I swear.”

Than slumped on a rock across from Hip. “Then what’s on your mind. You’ve been moping around like a teenage girl who’s just got her period.”

Hip arched a brow.
“That’s a rather pleasant comparison.”

“And apt. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Hip shrugged. “Life sucks for me now, bro’. I used to have it good, see? I used to play all day and night without a care.”

“What’s changed?”

“You know the answer to that.” Hip lifted his palms in the air. “Sometimes I wish we never would have met Therese. Things were better before.”

“Maybe for you
.”

“I’m glad you got your girl, but it kills me that I’ll never have mine.”

“Why can’t you? At least for the rest of
her
life?”

Hip cocked his head to one side.
“Would you be able to live happily if Therese died a mortal?”

“No, but I’d take that over no life with her at all.”

Hip stood up and turned his back to Than, facing the dancing flames of the Phlegethon. “Maybe. The only time we have together is when she sleeps. It’s hard not to have her here with me.”

Than stood and clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know what you mean. Therese and I are in the same boat.”

Hip spun around to face his twin. “What are you saying?”

“
You heard Pete. She’ll have to go back to Colorado. Maybe she’ll live with her aunt and uncle and visit me at night, I guess. I don’t see any other answer, do you?” Than looked into his brother’s eyes, hoping for an idea.

But Hip slowly shook his head. “
Sorry, man.”

As Hip was about to leave Tartarus, Hermes appeared.

“Lord Zeus requests your presence, cousin,” Hermes said.

Than and Hip exchanged looks.

“It’s Hip this time,” Hermes said. “You holding up okay, Thanatos?”

“As well as can be expected.” Than gave the messenger god a smile. “It’s good to see you back in business. I can’t thank you enough for what you did.”

“Oh, stop,” Hermes insisted. “I’d say naming your son for me is thanks enough and more than I deserve.”

“You promised to come play night Frisbee over on Crete,” Than added.

“And I will. Call me next time.”

“Sorry to interrupt this sweet family reunion,” Hip said. “But what could Lord Zeus possibly want with me?”

“Well, now. That’s for Zeus to know and for you to find out.” Hermes winked and turned again to Than. “Don’t be a stranger.” Hermes disappeared.

“Catch you
later, bro,” Hip said just before he followed Hermes to Mount Olympus.

***

As soon as Hip entered the court
where the sun always shined, his mother crossed the room and embraced him.

“I’m so bored up here,
and my mother is suffocating me,” she whispered in his ear.

At that moment, Hip wanted to say, “I know how you feel,” but he resisted the urge as he peeled his mother’s arms from his neck.

From over his mother’s shoulder, he met Aphrodite’s smile. The goddess of love waved at him. Hip smiled back.

The Graces, sitting
near Aphrodite, batted their eyes at him—all but Pasithea, whose face turned red as she looked away.

“Please t
ell me you’ve come to visit me,” Persephone said. “And you’re not here on business.”

Hip squeezed his mother’s
hands. “I should visit, shouldn’t I? I’m sorry I haven’t. Shame on me.”

Hephaestus waved from the door of his forge. Hip gave the older god a friendly nod.

Persephone smiled. “Well, you’re here now.”

Hip lowered his head and then met his mother’s hopeful face. “Zeus called for me.”

Persephone’s smile faded.

“
But I’ll come by and chat right after I see him.”

“Good.”

Hip left his mother and crossed the room to the double throne at the back, where Zeus and Hera sat conversing with one another. He always admired the golden ruby-eyed eagle and three golden finches that adorned their throne. The two gods leaned close together, their noses almost touching. Hera’s long red hair was loosed from its usual knot. Hip thought she looked more beautiful, less severe, with her hair down.

Ares, the twins, Athena, and Poseidon were not at court.
Hip remembered Athena and her mother, Metis, had gone on a trip around the world together—making up for lost time, he supposed. Hestia was discussing something with Hecate and Demeter, who had thrown her arm around her daughter’s shoulders the moment she had returned from Hip’s side. Hermes played a light tune on his pipe while Cybele—or Rhea, as they had come to call her again—clapped her manly hands to the rhythm beside him. Despite the presence of this handful of gods, Mount Olympus felt abandoned.

The god of sleep waited
patiently to be acknowledged.

“Aha,” Zeus said. “Good to see you, Hypnos.”

“Likewise,” Hip replied. “You asked for me?”

“No one likes a dull boy,” Zeus said. “The mortals are suffering. What pains you?”

Hip hadn’t expected this direct question from the lord of the gods. His mouth dropped open, and he stared dumbly back at Zeus.

“It’s the mortal girl, isn’t it?” Hera asked.

“Of course it is,” Rhea said.

“I knew it,” Zeus said before Hip could reply. “Hermes, bring Cupid to me.”

Hip glanced at his cousin, who looked up with surprise from his pipe. “Cupid? Of course, Father.”

Hermes left the room.

Aphrodite flew over to Hip. “Father, what has my son to do with Hip’s situation, if you don’t mind the question?”

Rhea
moved closer to Hera and crossed her manly arms.