Beneath

Chapter Sixteen:

Tartarus...

"Hello again, Emma," Kronos said, propping his fork against his plate and dabbing at the corners of his mouth with a cloth napkin as the two Furies marched me into the dining room. "It's so good to see you."

"You're such an asshat. Where's Sam?"

"Safe, for now. Why don't you join me for dinner?" He pulled out the chair next to him, patting the seat invitingly and I felt my feet drag along the flagstone floor as the Furies pushed me towards it. "You'll have to forgive them for being so rough with you. When they heard it was you I wanted kidnapped, well, the line of volunteers was practically out the door." He steepled his hands together in front of him. "After all, you were the one who sent them to Tartarus in the first place."

"And then you turned them into Furies. Goddess, this is such a Wizard of Oz moment."

He smiled as he snapped his fingers, summoning a waiter who placed a dish of food in front of me. "Not poisoned, I promise."

"If you have to say that, it's most definitely poisoned, and I'm not touching it."

He snorted, spinning my plate around as he grabbed his fork, shoveling some potato salad into his mouth. I waited, tensed, as he quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Does that address your concerns?"

"You're immortal - of course it wouldn't kill you."

"If I wanted you dead right now, you'd be dead. Now, please eat. You look famished."

"Why am I here?"

He glared back at me until I sighed, biting into a piece of garlic bread. "And why are you feeding me like some exalted guest? You kidnapped me - I'm your prisoner - so why the niceties at all?"

He picked food out of his teeth, lounging back in his chair. "What's the fun in jumping straight to torture? I'd rather my victims be happy, full, and unaware."

I choked and he frowned, leaning over to whack me on the back.

"I'm kidding."

"No, you're not," I wheezed, gulping some water as I struggled to dislodge the chicken from my throat. It was like swallowing knives. "You're going to torture me?"

What an absolutely idiotic thing to say, Emma. Good job.

Kronos shrugged, nonchalant. "I don't have to, if you give me what I want."

"What makes you think that I have anything to offer you?"

"Do you recognize this?" He held up a red and white polka-dot USB drive, and I felt my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. "You should really keep your things more closely guarded, Emma. It was way too easy for Terpsicore here," he gestured to the woman standing off to one side of the dining room, "to steal it. Do you want to guess what we found?"

He's so calm, like all of this is just a game to him.

"You have no right to that - it's mine." I surged forward and he smiled, holding it just out of reach.

"So many personal details about Hades and his life in the Underworld. What should I do with it?"

"I don't care." I did though, more than I'd admit to him. That little device contained my entire story until a few months ago, and if Hades knew who had it now and what he could do with it...I shuddered at the thought. 'Hell to pay' was an understatement. "Why do you need to do anything at all? He promised that he'd leave you alone, and that should've been enough for you."