Whatever was happening to her went far beyond her feelings about their doomed relationship.
Lucas moved so quickly down the hallways of the museum that his face couldn’t be recorded. Even though his surroundings changed by the nanosecond, Lucas knew where he was going. There were plenty of signs to point him in the right direction. the treasures of ancient greece was a huge crowd pleaser, and this famous exhibit of recently unearthed gold artifacts had already traveled all over the world. This month it was the Getty’s turn, and they had plastered the place with bright silk banners in celebration.
They’d also put a lot of pictures of the artifacts online. In true Southern California style, the smaller, less impressive pieces of gold that had been left out of other museums’ promotional pictures were clumped together in huge, sparkling group shots. Los Angeles just loved to get as much dazzle as it could into one frame, and after over two weeks of flying all over the world, searching every museum, that was how Lucas had finally found what he was looking for. On the internet.
Compared to the other pieces in the collection, the small handful of gold coins was hardly worth displaying. He had to go to one of the back cases to find them, but when he did, he didn’t waste any time. As far as he knew these three coins—each with a poppy flower engraved on one side—were the last remaining obols that had been forged in honor of Morpheus, the god of dreams.
Lucas stole them all.
“We’re going around in circles!” Helen moaned to the unsympathetic library ceiling. “I know it doesn’t make much sense, but trust me, there’s no such thing as geographical progress down there. Did I mention the beach that doesn’t lead to an ocean? It’s just wet sand like a beach at low tide, except there’s no ocean. Ever. It’s just a beach!”
She was so tired she felt like she was starting to crack up, and every now and again she’d shiver unexpectedly, which was beginning to worry her. She couldn’t get sick. It was both impossible and annoying. Helen’s phone buzzed, interrupting her scattered thoughts. Orion was asking if the “Greek Geeks” had come up with anything yet. She smiled at his nickname for her study group and texted back that they hadn’t. She asked him what he was reading on the Roman end.
War, orgy, rinse, repeat. Getting boring, he texted. Almost ;)
“Is that Orion again?” Ariadne asked with a pinched face. Helen glanced up at her and nodded in a hassled way while she typed.
She understood why everyone was concerned—they had to make sure the Houses stayed separate—but sometimes Helen felt insulted. Sure, Orion was gorgeous. And brave. And hilarious. But that didn’t mean they were dating or anything.
“Wait! You can find Orion!” Claire exclaimed, derailing Helen’s wandering thoughts.
“Yeah, I told you already. I concentrate on his face and I appear right next to him, just like Jason and Ariadne do when they bring people back from the edge of the Underworld. But I can only find him if he’s in my same infinity,” Helen answered. “Because if he isn’t, I won’t ever find him, even if he descends the next . . . Oh, forget it.”
“Helen, I understand all that,” Claire groused in frustration. “What I don’t know is if Orion is the only person you can find just by thinking about him.”
“I’ve already tried to find the Furies that way, Gig—a bunch of times. It never works.”
“They’re not people,” Claire said very clearly, trying to contain her excitement. “What if you focused on someone who lives down there? Do you think you could use that person as a kind of beacon?”
“It’s the land of the dead, Gig. Looking for someone who lives down there is kind of an oxymoron, isn’t it?” Helen asked, getting lost in Claire’s logic.
“Not if she was kidnapped, body and soul, by the boss himself,” Claire said. She folded her arms across her chest and smiled like she knew a secret.
Jason made a surprised sound in the back of his throat. “How’d you get so smart?” he asked, gazing admiringly at Claire.
“Just lucky for you, I guess,” she answered with a grin.
Ariadne, Helen, and Matt shared confused looks while Jason and Claire smiled at each other, forgetting that there were other people in the room.
“Um, guys? Hate to interrupt, but what are you talking about?” Matt asked.
Jason stood up and went to the stacks. He brought back an old book and laid it open in front of Helen. She saw a painting of a young black woman, walking away from the viewer, but looking back over her shoulder like she didn’t want to go. She was dressed in a gown of flowers and wore a crown that sparkled with jewels as big as grapes. Her body was as graceful as a ballet dancer’s, and even in the profile view her face was stunningly beautiful. Yet despite her great beauty and wealth, she radiated a crushing sadness.
“Oh, yes,” Ariadne said quietly. “I remember now.”
“Who is she?” Helen asked, awed by the image of this sad, beautiful woman.
“Persephone, goddess of flowers, and the queen of the Underworld,” Jason answered. “She’s actually a Scion. The only daughter of the Olympian Demeter, the goddess of the earth. Hades kidnapped Persephone and tricked her into marrying him. Now she’s forced to spend the fall and winter mont
hs in the Underworld. They say Hades built her a night garden next to his palace. Persephone’s Garden.”
“She’s only allowed to leave the Underworld to visit her mother in spring and summer. When she comes back to earth she makes the flowers bloom everywhere she goes.” Ariadne sounded dreamy, like she was enchanted by the thought of Persephone making the world blossom.
“It’s October. She’d be down there now,” Matt added with cautious hope.
“And you’re sure she’s not an immortal?” Helen pinched her eyebrows together in doubt. “How can she still be alive?”
“Hades struck a deal with Thanatos, the god of death. Persephone can’t die until Hades lets her,” Cassandra spoke from across the room, making Helen jump.