Beneath

Chapter Six:

Emma, Portland, Oregon...

"So he comes in, low and fast, tackles him to the ground and says 'if you bring my daughter home again after curfew, it won't be your nuts I'm squishing against the ground'," Uncle Ray said, lifting his beer high as mom and dad cackle with laughter. I smile in response, moving with my drink to the edge of the pool, glancing down into its reflective surface.

I needed another trip to the Underworld for more story material, and also to drill Persephone about the properties of Venus Flytraps, and what the best way to care for one would be, for Josie, but no one was answering my Underworld-Uber request, not even Hades himself, which was a first. I didn't bother him often during my time in Portland unless he purposefully checked in on me, but if I called for him, say, three times in a single day, he usually noticed the urgency.

I should just enjoy this moment of peace. There have been a rash of tragedies lately, spanning school shootings to downed planes, which means Hades is bound to be busier than usual. The last thing he probably wants is me acting super clingy and needy. It can wait.

"Alright, something's up," dad said, joining me, and I jump, almost launching myself into the water. "You've been distant all night despite my efforts to pull you into the barbeque. It should be a crime not to be happy around your family."

I snorted softly, taking a sip of wine. "I'm sorry; my brain is all work all the time right now, but I didn't mean to bring you down with me."

"Book, or flower shop?"

"Both, actually. Would it make me the worst daughter in the world if I just wanted to stand here a while longer and think things through?"

He chucked me under the chin, giving me a one-arm squeeze. "Of course not, honey, but don't take forever, because ribs are almost done." He walked back towards the group and I sighed heavily, taking my shoes off before sinking down into one of the pool-side lounge chairs.

It wasn't that I didn't want to socialize, just that we had nothing to talk about. I couldn't tell them where I disappeared to every few weeks, especially since that somewhere had zero cell reception, and it was a bit exhausting routinely trying to convince them that I wasn't hurt or dead because they couldn't contact me. Sometimes, people just have to disappear, guys, alright?

Especially when they work for the Lord and Lady of the Underworld.

"Emma."

I glanced up, through the solar yard lights and steam rising slowly from the surface of the pool, straight into Hades' otherworldly gaze.

Speak of the devil.

He walked carefully around the pool edge, eyes never leaving mine, and I stayed right where I was, breathing in the humid Summer air, even as I pursed my lips together into a thin line, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Where the hell have you been?" I asked when he stopped in front of me, tucking his hands into the front pockets of his slacks. "I've tried everything I could think of to get your attention, and nothing worked. Are you avoiding me or something? Old-school beeper not working properly? You know, if you upgraded to a reliable Wifi-connection there, your pocket wouldn't buzz every five seconds from someone just trying to do her jo-"

"Persephone is gone."

My feet thwacked the concrete patio as I stood, eyes wide. "What do you mean she's gone? Gone on a vacation, gone, or...dead?" Can gods and goddesses be killed? Maybe by other gods, but she was on Olympus, where she was safe... oh my gods.