The Gatekeeper's Promise: Gatekeeper's Saga, Book Six (The Gatekeeper's Saga 6) (3 page)

Zeus got to his feet. “Sleep is very important to peace on earth,
my dear—not that I ever expect to have such a thing, especially with Ares running around, making his mischief. As of late, mortals have been suffering from lack of good sleep. They are restless because Hypnos is restless.”

“Lord Zeus,” Hip began, feeling suddenly light and happy
. Might Zeus make an exception of his rule against apotheosis for the sake of world peace? “Is this what I think it is?”

“And what is that, my boy?” Zeus asked.

“Do you mean to make Jen Holt like us?”

Zeus burst out in laughter.
Hera even chuckled beside him, but Rhea frowned.

Hip’s cheeks burned red, first with embarrassment and then with anger.

Zeus’s face also turned to anger. “Make Jen Holt a god? You can’t be serious, Hypnos! Don’t you recall the stalemate that took place, right here in this room, just a few weeks ago? I had your brother with my lightning bolt at his throat. Poseidon directed his trident at Ares. Your father threatened to unhand me as he hid beneath his helm! In response to the demands of the Alliance, I gave equal footing to my sisters and mother in exchange for my own demand! Don’t you recall what it was?”

“No more gods
,” Hip said glumly.

“Precisely!” Zeus bellowed. “So why should I change my mind so soon on the heels of that agreement? Nay,
oath
! We all swore an
oath
!” His face looked like an angry red bull about to charge.

Hermes and Cupid appeared beside Zeus.

But Zeus continued. “It was my one and only demand in a stand-off with my brethren! And you think I would dismiss it so easily? So soon? Because you are
sad
?”

“My apologies, Lord Zeus,” Hip managed
to mutter, his hopes dashed and his ego humiliated. “I will try to do better for the sakes of the mortals. Am I excused?”

“Not quite,” Zeus replied, the red draining from his face. “Not quite, my boy. Aphrodite, bring me Pasithea.”

Aphrodite turned on her heels and returned holding the hand of Pasithea, who looked nervous standing before the lord of the gods.

“What is this about, Father?”
Aphrodite asked.

Hip held his breath as sweat broke out on his brow.

“Be careful, Zeus,” Rhea warned. “Think this through.”

“Hypnos, gaze upon your old fiancé,” Zeus commanded
, ignoring his mother. “Cupid, shoot him with your arrow.”

Hip fell to his knees
as the room began to spin. The thought of losing his love for Jen sickened him. He wanted to vomit. “Do not do this, Zeus. I beg of you. I will go back to my merry ways. You have my word.”

He sensed Pasithea break into tears. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. Surely she could understand. He turned back to see her face, and at that moment, the arrow struck him fully in the heart.

***

Therese was overjoyed when she re-integrated—a sure sign Than’s soul had returned from Tartarus, rejoined his body, and resumed his godly status. She stood up from her favorite spot in the bat cave and smiled down at Clifford, as well as Cubie and Galin, who had been allowed to remain in the Underworld to keep Clifford company while their mistress was away on Mount Olympus.

Therese lifted her chin.
“Than?”

He immediately appeared before her.
The glow of his body brought more light to the cave.

She threw her arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you.”

He laughed. “You’ve spoken to me every day in Tartarus.”

She kissed his face, his lips, his ear. “I’ve missed your skin.”

“Mmm.” He returned her kisses. “So have I.”

“We’ll see you two lovebirds later,” Cub
ie said.

“Why?’ Clifford barked.

“They need their privacy,” Galin explained. “And they’re making me a little sick.”

Clifford reluctan
tly followed the black Doberman pinscher and fluffy polecat out of the bat cave.

“We’ll catch up with you in a minute,” Therese called after them.

Thanatos put his hands on Therese’s abdomen. “Wow. The twins have grown a lot in one week.”

“They’ve missed your touch.”

He kissed her gently on the lips and then knelt on the ground, even though it was damp and dirty, and kissed her swollen belly.

Together
they walked through the winding tunnel along the Phelgethon back toward their rooms.

Than
seemed distracted, so Therese asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

He squeezed her hand. “I should ask the same of you.”

“Fine but…”

“What?” Than’s frown made her stomach lurch.

“It’s time,” Therese said before they had reached their part of the palace.

Than looked down at her.
His mouth dropped open. “So soon?”

She laughed and
said, “Not the twins, silly. It’s time to confront your father about Pete and Melinoe.”

Than let out his breath.
“I still don’t think there’s anything Hades can do without Melinoe’s cooperation.”

“There has to be,” she insisted. “Please?”

He sighed. “Lead the way.”

At the door to Hades’s chamber, Therese and Than heard shouting.

“McAdams has moved on to the Elysian Fields,” Tizzie snapped.

Therese shuddered. The man who had
killed her parents had moved on, already?

“And your point?” Hades snapped back.

“If someone like that killer can be purged of wrong-doing and have a chance at redemption,” Tizzie said, “then why can’t Pete?”

“You know the rules!”

“But Pete was only using his gifts for good. He should be allowed a chance!”

“That’s not what you want, and you know it!”

“I do too, Father! I want him to be happy, even at the expense of my own happiness!”

“There’s nothing I can do,” Hades replied. “Now leave me be!”

Tizzie rushed from the door, her snake hair hissing.

Therese
swallowed hard and turned to Than. “Maybe this isn’t the right time.”

“For what?” Hades demanded from inside. “Enter!”

***

Jen froze on the bottom step when she heard the voice of Mr. Stern at the front door. She’d been napping after a late night of babysitting Lynn for Carol and Richard. Peering around the corner, she saw her mother leaning against the open door with a cigarette in a shaky hand. Her gray hair had recently been cut in its usual bowl shape for the funeral, but it was stringy and in need of a wash.

“I’m sorry, John,” Jen’s mother said. “I just can’t do this right now.”

“Don’t shut me out.”

“
I need time.”

“
Believe me, Steph. I know how you feel,” Mr. Stern said.

“Will you please stop saying that?” Jen’s mom said in a raised voice. “Please quit saying you know how I feel! You
don’t
know how I feel! Now please go!”

Jen jumped at the slam of the door. Then she softly crept back upstairs to her room and fell on her bed and cried.

Her poor mother! She would never be the same.

Jen wiped her eyes and reached for her dream globe. More than ever she needed Hip. Things had been strained between them lately
, for reasons she didn’t quite understand, but he had visited her a few nights ago and had admitted he loved her.

At first she had thought he was a
figment, but when she had said the words Therese had taught her to say (“Figment, I command you to show yourself!), he hadn’t turned into one of the giggling eel-like creatures that had often left her feeling disappointed. The person who had said he loved her had been the real Hypnos.

If it hadn’t been for her sadness over losing Pete and her concern for her mother, Jen would be on cloud nine. Hip made her feel so happy to be alive
, in spite of all the tragedy that surrounded her family recently. There was something about his playful charm and easy grace—not to mention his magnificent good looks—that lifted her up no matter how often she fell down in the dumps. Maybe he could lift her up again.

S
he closed her eyes and asked to see him. He appeared immediately, but he wasn’t alone. Standing beside him looking smitten was his old fiancé. And they were holding hands.

“Hip?” Jen asked
. “What’s going on?”

Hip’s eyes widened as
he looked directly at her through the globe. “Jen?”

Jen stared at the globe with disbelief. Her throat tightened, her mouth went dry, and everything around her went still, as though time had stopped. Was this really happening? She tried to speak.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

“Jen, I…”

“F-figment! I command you to show yourself!” she finally said through her tight throat.

“Jen…”

“Figment! Figment!”

“I’m no figment.”

Jen climbed from her bed with the globe cradled like a football in one arm. Then she flung her window open and tossed the globe from her second-floor bedroom as far as she could. She watched it hit the ground and shatter into pieces, just like her heart. Iridescent light flickered from it like a dying flame and then disappeared. She closed the window and returned to her bed, trying not to cry as she hugged her pillow, but the tears came hard.

I’m such an idiot
, she thought. How had she ever believed a god could love her?

“Therese!” Jen prayed. “Please come as soon as you can. If you’re still my friend, I need you!”

Chapter Three: Unexpected Visits

As Than followed Therese into his father’s chambers, Therese turned to him with a look of concern.

Jen is calling to me
, she prayed.
It sounds like an emergency.

Go. I’ll handle my father.

Than walked across the room and explained why Therese had vanished.

“What brings you here?” Hades asked. “I doubt you
’ve come to keep me company, knowing how miserable I am with your mother away.”

“I should have come for
that.” A wave of guilt washed over Than. “I’ve only just returned from Tartarus, and I have a lot on my mind.”

“Take a seat and tell me about it.” Hades motioned to a chair, not far from his. “It doesn’t seem that long ago when your mother and I were expecting our twins, and here you are, expecting yours.”

Than sat but didn’t reply. He didn’t think his situation was similar to his father’s in the least. Hades had always been a part of Than and Hip’s lives. Thanatos wouldn’t get that with his children.

“You’re worried about them, of course,” Hades said. “All pa
rents worry. And you think because your children are mortal you have more to fear than those of us with godly children. But you couldn’t be more wrong.”

Than lifted his brows but said nothing, sensing his father had plenty to say.

“Your children are destined to live lives of greatness. They will shine like a bright flame, and then they will spend eternity in the Elysian Fields. Once they are there, your worries are over.” Hades tugged at his beard. “My worries over my children haunt me for all of eternity. I can never escape them. Just before you came here, your sister Tisiphone asked me for something I had no power to grant. Do you know what that does to a father? It’s maddening.”

“What does she want?” Than asked.

“To free the new seer from Tartarus. I think what she really wants is to grant him the status of a god.”

“Impossible?”

Hades frowned. “Not impossible. Deals can be made. But the Fates require a trade, like they did with old Admetus centuries ago. Remember? Which of us would trade places with the seer and spend eternity in Tartarus? I know none, do you?”

Than shook his head.
No god in his or her right mind would choose to spend eternity in Tartarus. “What if Pete were sent to the Fields of Elysium—forgiven for his pride. He did help us, after all.”

“It’s against the rules,” Hades said. “The ancient law forbids it.”

“But…”

“And even if we could find some way around the ancient law—something I highly doubt—that would only worsen your sister’s situation. At least with the boy in Tartarus, she can have a relationship with him. If he were to pass on
to the fields—well, you know what happens to souls who pass on.”

“They lose their memories.”

“Not to mention their free will.”

Than rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t been back in his body long, and the transition was never without some pain. He wished he could go to sleep.

“That, of course, would be better for the seer, but not for your sister.”