that he used existing pathways?”
The man was more than just a pretty face.
“Existing,” I answered.
“That’s what I thought.”
He put the butt of the flashlight in his mouth to have his hands free for disentangling our climbing gear— harnesses, ropes, carabiners, anchors that he’d borrowed from Spiro, who’d apparently planned on a little adventuring after the wedding. He’d given me a knowing look when I’d asked for it, as though climbing were code for something a lot more horizontal than vertical, but he relinquished it with the demand that he wanted it back in good working order. I heard the shower going in his room when I went by for the equipment, and figured that he was otherwise occupied for the time being anyway. I wondered if it was Jesus and instantly realized I didn’t want to know.
“Do you know how any of this works?” I asked, looking at the twisted-up ropes like I would a string of hopelessly tangled Christmas lights I’d never put up. With my fear of heights I hadn’t ever had the occasion to ascend or descend anything more challenging than stairs.
He took the flashlight out of his mouth and handed it to me so that he could answer. “Of course.”
“Apollo,” I began, ready to voice my concerns.
“Stop,” he said firmly.
“But—”
“No.”
Now he was just pissing me off. I was going to say my piece.
“Yes,” I said adamantly. “You make whatever call you’re going to make, but listen first.”
He looked up from messing with the lines, straight into my glare. “Okay.”
“When the titans were defeated, weren’t many of them banished to Tartarus?”
“Yes,” he said, brows furrowed, wondering what I was getting at.
“So there’s a good chance that if they’re rising, Hades has his hands full.”
He nodded.
“That could mean that he’s too busy to take any notice of our approach or that he’s already on high alert for trouble, which will make this infinitely harder. Even if he’s fully occupied, I’m not sure that sneaking up on him is our best idea ever.”
“I don’t see what choice we have. There are no cell towers in Hell.”
“I’m just saying…this is your chance to change your mind. Show me how to use this junk and get back to the others. I won’t…” my voice broke, “…I won’t be responsible for your death.”
Apollo’s whole face lit with…something. I turned away. It was too much. Like staring at a solar eclipse. I felt rather than saw him rise and take the few steps toward me. When he grabbed my chin, I looked up at him reluctantly, and he pulled me toward him with his free hand. I expected him to come in for a kiss and shook my chin out of his grasp, ready to turn aside, but he just wrapped that arm around me and hugged me to him. My arms were trapped at my sides. My face pressed to his chest, and I felt…warm, safe and disappointed all at the same time. I’d been ready to avoid that kiss, but on some level I’d wanted it…or wanted him to try it, anyway. Screwed up, that was me in a nutshell.
He rested his chin on top of my head and we just breathed together for a minute.
“Tori, I’m a big boy. I can make my own decisions. You’re not responsible for them. What’s more, I’m a god, and that comes with certain responsibilities…it’s in the handbook.”
I pulled back enough so that I could see his eyes. “There’s a handbook?”
“Sure. I wrote it. It’s in graphic novel form. I figured more people would read it that way. I’ve even got a small cult following.”
“You’re kidding me,” I said.
He shrugged, his eyes glimmering with mischief. “Maybe. You’ll have to live through this to find out.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, feeling better, respecting him for not trying to kiss me while I was vulnerable.
A graphic novel as a reason to live. Well, why not?
“Come on,” he said, eyes still shining. “Let me hook you up.” He paused for a second, then added, “Huh, I always thought that when we got to play around with ropes we’d be having a lot more fun and wearing a lot less clothing.”
And there went that respect, evaporating into the evening air. Or not, because I couldn’t help but smile, which I’m sure had been his intent. If nothing else, the banter was keeping my mind off my fears and recriminations. Someday I’d thank him for that. If we lived that long.
“Ready?” he asked, holding open a section of harness that I guessed was supposed to be a leg hole. I gave it a dubious look and stepped through. He repeated the procedure with the other leg and then buckled something around my waist, tugging a section at my back to make sure all was secure.
“I feel like a marionette,” I said.
“Trust me, you are much too pretty to play Pinocchio.”
“You say the sweetest things.”
“You’re very inspiring.”
I snorted, and he left it alone, though I wouldn’t have minded if the banter lasted a little longer, postponing our descent into the abyss.
I winced as he drove an anchor, or whatever they called it in mountain-scaling lingo, into the ground. I knew the site had already been violated and that we weren’t exactly standing on undisturbed ground. Still it hurt to deface an ancient site this way. Like kicking over a standing stone.
He looped a rope through the anchor, tested things out, did some voodoo with the equipment and a harness of his own, and we were apparently ready to go…way too soon. I wondered if his harness cut into him the way mine cut into me. Or, maybe not in the
“Let’s go,” he said, when he decided all was in readiness.
“I liked our last date better,” I said, before I could consider my words.
“Duly noted. When all this is over, I’ll buy you a nice dinner at a beautiful upscale restaurant. You can wear that wrap dress again…and maybe something other than a scowl this time.”
I scowled at him. It was nostalgic. “I’m taken,” I said, even though I wasn’t so sure it was true anymore. It was still true in my heart.
He shrugged. “You’re the one who brought it up.” But his expression wasn’t nearly as casual as his words.
“How do we do this?” I asked.
“I’ll go first,” he said. “That way I can get to ground level, make sure it’s all clear and hold the rope so that you can repel down. Just like climbing a rock wall.”
Right. Just like that thing I’d never done. But, hey, I’d seen it on TV, so that was the next best thing, right?
“Bombs away,” I told him. He looked at me funny from his perch on the edge of the abyss, but I was used to that. If I took exception every time someone looked at me funny, I’d spend my life in righteous indignation. Sounded exhausting.
“A kiss for luck?” he asked.
“Yeah, cause I’ve been so lucky so far. Look at Armani. Um, Nick.”
He held my gaze a moment more, letting me know he’d caught that.
“Right,” he said. “You’ll miss me when I’m gone.”
And then he was. He pushed off the side and was sliding down into the abyss, holding his own rope with
