The Fleece Job (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Chapter 9: Your mission (should you choose to accept)

Zephyr

Another day in the Underworld. I should have gone home last night, but her ladyship (the queen of the Underworld) informed me I was staying. Something to do with her asking if I had any plans and I said in what I thought was a flippant amusing way 'shoot myself probably' and that's how I wound up on suicide watch down here. Not really. They don't actually think I'd do it if only because it means I'd spend more time with them. But. They tend not to leave me alone if my gallows humor gets to a certain level. The funny thing is, they leave the blind individual to 'watch' me. I don't think that anyone told the blind individual that, though. So. It's interesting.

I'm freshly showered, my hair is wet and partly in my face which is better than people looking at me. I'm off for a week because I had unused leave and apparently knocking your fellow surgeon through a wall is 'unprofessional' and 'it doesn't matter if he thought it was funny take a vacation Zeph, Jesus Christ how did you even throw him through a wall?' It wasn't that dramatic really. It was only Sol who got told not to sing 'old town road' for the eightieth time. I mean he was warned. I didn't see the issue. I kept working and I work better when Sol Rhea's head is through dry wall. An issue was seen; now I'm on a mandatory vacation.

Except I don't get a vacation from Hell so I'm here. I was gonna sleep to be honest. Sleeping is good. Sleeping means no thinking no people no existing no anxiety and occasionally pleasant dreams in which my putrid brain occasionally begrudgingly accidentally produces a miniscule bubble of serotonin. Anyway. I'm probably not gonna get to sleep.

"Come play with us, Zeph!"

"There are faeries in our mother's garden!" the little princesses of hell. They're sweet and polite little things. Their father is enormously protective of them for obvious reasons. So they go to school here with their lovely mother to teach them.

"I'm sorry I've got to go talk to your dad, I only just got up," I apologize. I have no idea what time it is. My phone went through the wall after Sol Rhea's head for added damage to the empty chasm that is his skull.

"All right."

"Where's Dare?"

"Your—sister's upstairs doing something clever with money," I say, gesturing the appropriate direction. The castle is confusing even after twenty odd years. Picture the Addam's family house. No not colorized--- the original. Yeah, that's exactly what it looks like minus all the cheerful touches and plus more sentient body parts. I am not kidding.

I proceed to the old man's office. That's what we call him, the old man. That said he looks my age or younger, with a typical severe expression, black Bespoke suits, and dark glasses always over his eyes. His name is Hector. I am not about to call him that. I call him sir because I don't want to be murdered. 

"Sir?" I knock on the door.

"Come in, Zephyr."

I walk in. His office is fairly normal, if you consider human skulls an art form. It's also very well organized. None of it is written in English that I can tell. It's got a nice filing system. Oh it also smells like a corpse. And vanilla. Hint of vanilla.

"I ah—don't have any shifts at the hospital for this week or next. So. I'm reporting in." (Pro tip, ladies, gents, and threats [that's what Ev says to call non-binary people, I don't question it] Pro tip, ladies, gents, and threats: if you're pleading with the King of Hell to release a soul or fifty, and he says "I'll make a deal with you" the correct answer is NOT "oh yes thank you I'll do anything". Anyway. That's what I'm doing here).

"Right, I know. Something a bit different, my amazing wife has been looking at the stones again—" that means foretelling the future, and what not. I say let it be a surprise it's not like it'll be worse than my anxiety says it'll be. "—and I need you to keep an eye on my boy—Zag. He has no real occupation this summer and without his lessons to occupy him, he's fully capable of mischief. I suggested reasonable employment for a boy his age. Perhaps testing the boundaries and the traps surrounding the Underworld as so many people think it's clever to wander down here and try to wander on out with souls."