The Mark of Janus (Book 2)

Chapter 16

I didn't feel dead. I felt like I had woken up from an especially long nap. Except I felt cold, and a little hollow.

"Primrose." I heard a cheerful voice and as I sat up, I saw the lush greens and pinks of Persephone's garden. "Welcome back."

I tried to smile. "Thanks." I just felt a little sad.

She grabbed my hand, kissing the top of my head. "Let's get you into come clean clothes. Maybe something that will cover your death wound."

I put a hand to my throat, feelling a hole sliced into my neck. It didn't hurt, but it felt uncomfortable to touch.

She looked at me a little sadly, before dragging me into the palace.

In her room she pulled out several layers of puffy materials, and petticoats. She seemed to be into victorian and edwardian styles. I was kind of annoyed at that, but there wasn't much I could do about it. And I wanted to get out of my blood covered clothes.

She put me in a cream colored dress with a high collar, sitting me in front of the mirror. My scar wasn't showing anymore, but I could still feel it there, making me both upset and uncomfortable.

She grabbed a brush and started to brush out my short hair, humming gently.

"Now, we have to go meet with Hades and Janus. Don't worry sweetie. It shouldn't get too much worse."

It got a whole lot worse. I thought dying was scary. This was much, much worse.

"I have to lead them to the doors in Tartarus?"

"It will be only one person." Hades waved a hand. "Don't worry about it for right now. You still have three days. And days pass slowly down here."

Janus nodded. "It shouldn't be too hard, I gave you my gift, the doors will be relatively easy to find. It's the obstacles that will be hard to overcome." He muttered.

"For now you just have to wait here." Persephone grabbed my hand again. "You have a couple of visitors."

"I never thought I would have to see you down here so young." Poseidon sat next to me in Persephone's garden. Now that I was dead, Zeus couldn't put any arbitrary restrictions on visiting me.

I sighed, fiddling with the hem of the stupid dress that Persephone had given me. It was a nice gesture, but after having to fight Porphyrion in a dress, I realized that dresses weren't really my mojo. "Neither did I."

He half smiled. "I honestly expected Percy to be in here first, for doing something completely outrageous."

I frowned. "Can you tell them I'm okay? Hades won't let me visit them. I want to make sure they're okay."

Poseidon frowned. "I'll try. Connections are a little weird right now. Dreams are a little wacky."

I nodded. "I understand."

The door opened. "Primrose?" A tall woman entered the room. She kept shifting her appearance, but it seemed like each one was prettier than the last. "Oh, hello Poseidon. Mind if I talk with your daughter?"

He pressed a fatherly kiss to my head, before disappearing. I turned to the woman. "Can I help you?"

She smiled. "Oh, my dear, I want to help you. That scar is not the prettiest. And although I love Persephone, her style is a little outdated."

"My scar? It's an open wound." I grumbled.

Aphrodite laughed. "Let's make you beautiful."

She put me in a white dress. She obviously hated me. This was the second time she put me in a white dress. This one was almost exactly the same as the one I picked, except she altered the neckline of the dress to hide the gaping hole.

"Wow. Thanks." I muttered, staring at myself in the mirror.

"I knew you would love it." She beamed. "I'll see you later. Say hello to Piper for me."

I rolled my eyes as she left. "Yeah, sure thing."