Hades Legacy (Hades Series #3)

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

For the three days following that encounter, much to my intense chagrin, Spencer still doesn't let me leave the house. His excuse was that he didn't want me putting myself out in the open so soon after I almost died, and that he wanted time to figure out who it was who attacked me, but we both knew he was lying. He was trying to protect me by - unintentionally, I'm sure - taking the same route that my parents did, and believing that keeping me locked up in the house would protect me from the person who tried to hurt me. It didn't make sense to me; if the person really wanted to hurt me, keeping me locked up in the house wouldn't stop them, most particularly if they were a super, and the fact that Eric managed to practically walk through the back door the day after I was attacked only emphasized that point. It made a lot more sense for me to leave the house with Jasmine every morning and go to university like I had originally planned; at least that way, I would constantly be surrounded by people, and the likelihood of someone attacking me would be much less. But I never brought that point up to Spencer, and never openly challenged his decision, because I was terrified that he would tell my parents what happened.

So instead, I spent most of my time sprawled across Jasmine's window seat, alternating between reading the books in her room and listening to the voices in my head. I didn't know what was more interesting; the books, which were full of fascinating worlds that were completely unlike anything I'd ever read down in the Underworld, or the vast array of differing voices that had slowly accumulated in my mind the more time I spent up on the surface. I wasn't entirely sure what it was, but for some strange reason it was like my phantasmal field had been widened the minute I stepped foot on the surface, and suddenly I could reach thousands more people than I ever could down in the Underworld. Despite my better efforts, I'd neglected to really do my job ever since I had traveled up to the surface, and being put on hypothetical house arrest provided me with the opportunity to help as many scared and lonely people as I could without the worry of missing some important aspect of the surface. Several times I became so completely overwhelmed by the voices that it wasn't until Jasmine arrived home from university later that night and shook me out of my stupor that I realised I hadn't moved once the entire day.

But the small relief that I was helping people again was a bittersweet feeling, and I still couldn't help but languish over all the time I was wasting being stuck in that house. I was only up here for another two weeks, and there were so many things I had yet to see, so many tasks to cross off my bucket list; yet here I was, sitting on the same seat for hours on end and staring at the same sights all day. It was absolutely maddening.

It was during one of these moments, where I was internally bemoaning about my predicament, that Eric suddenly decides to randomly turn up again. But this time, fortunately, I'm not taken by nearly as much surprise.

"Get up she-demon. We're going out." He announces loudly, appearing in the bedroom doorway. When I don't reply, he throws my shoe at me, effectively tearing me out of my funk. I start, jolting upright and staring at him in shock. He shrugs. "I was just checking to make sure you're still alive."

"Why? I'm obviously not dead; it would be very easy to tell if I was."

"You're right. I lied. I just wanted an excuse to throw something at you." He replies sincerely. I give him a look. "Oh chill out Bambi. You really have no sense of fun, do you?"

"My sense of fun doesn't include throwing shoes at people."

"Like I said. No sense of fun." He smirks, and I roll my eyes at him. "Ok fine, you got me, I lied again. I'm here to kidnap you."

"You're not doing very well at it then; correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly sure the kidnapper shouldn't inform the kidnapee that they're kidnapping them." I state, and this time he's the one giving me a dry look. My lips curl up into a small smile. "Why are you kidnapping me?"