Death's Reason

Chapter 35

(Neeks- )

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Neek sat and drank from the canteen of unicorn draught. Traveling with Reyna was much different than traveling on the Argo II, and they were just realizing this again. The fact that she was able to give them some of her energy this time...

"What sort of feedback did you get from me this time?" they asked.

Reyna stopped, no doubt still getting used to the whole time travel thing.

"You should rest-"

"Was it memories or feelings?" Neeks asked. "I need to know."

"Feelings," Reyna gave in. "Just feelings. Emotions. It's not mind-reading, not even an empathy link. Just ... a temporary wave of exhaustion. Primal emotions. Your pain washes over me. I take on some of your burden."

Neeks twisted the ring on their finger before sitting back. What the Fates once said still haunted them.

Fate sends the Protector of Souls,

The Lord of Time is on patrol.

Son of Hades, walk through time.

Son of Hades, hide your crimes.

Beware of this, the Fates decree:

Let them die, don't let them see,

What once was, will never be,

Fate changes and Fate you will see

Has always been foretold to thee.

No one would be able to find out what they did down there, down in Tartarus. There was a reason the Fates had warned them long ago and there was a reason why it wouldn't sit well with the others.

That much murder. That much blood. A murderer is still a murderer, no matter the reason why.

"You should rest," she told them. "After two jumps in a row, even with a little help ... you're lucky to be alive. We'll need you to be ready again by nightfall."

Neeks looked around them. "I really tried not to land here. This place is full of lemures."

"Lemurs?" Coach Hedge seemed to be making some sort of snare out of kite string, a tennis racket and a hunting knife. "You mean those cute fuzzy critters –"

"No," Neeks hissed. "Lemures. Unfriendly ghosts. All Roman cities have them, but in Pompeii –"

"The whole city was wiped out," Reyna remembered. "In 79 C.E., Vesuvius erupted and covered the town in ash."

Neeks nodded. "A tragedy like that creates a lot of angry spirits."

Coach Hedge eyed the distant volcano. "It's steaming. Is that a bad sign?"

"I don't know. I'm not an expert on volcanos."

"Can you keep the lemures at bay?" Reyna asked.

Neeks turned up their palms. "I've sent out the message: Stay away. But once I'm asleep it won't do us much good."

Coach Hedge patted his tennis-racket-knife contraption. "Don't worry, kid. I'm going to line the perimeter with alarms and snares. Plus, I'll be watching over you the whole time with my baseball bat."

Neeks knew they wouldn't be able to stay awake long. "Remember, you know how to wake me if you need to. And Coach, go easy. We don't need another Albania."