Chapter 31: Thirty-One: Mal

"There's a girl in the kitchens from Apo. She can take me there. Reus can follow me just in case. The two of you should get control of the city. Close all of the exits. Let no one into the castle. They can not know there is no Queen, or they will kill her for sure."

"Kako won't be that stupid," Nero said quietly. "He of all people would know she'd just flatten the city. They don't just want her dead, they want her throne. If she thought she was in danger, we would know it. There would be light." He turned to Presta. "I'll follow you. Reus will go with Mal. It doesn't make sense for the two of you to go together. We must assume everyone in that neighborhood is in on this scheme. Their power is diluted but not gone, and they would need numbers to pull something like this off. You will also need to assume that she is using glamor and won't look like herself. I can help you identify her." Nero handed Presta a demon's stone. "Carry this in your pocket. Touch it as much as you can, and we can communicate this way."

"The stone," I said suddenly, momentarily ignoring my irritation that I'd be stuck with Reus. "We need it. The one Kako brought her at the party." Reus shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "What's wrong?"

"It's gone," he admitted. "It was my first thought when we needed to find her. She said it was powerful. But it's missing."

"How do--"

"We don't have any time left for arguing," Nero interjected, shooting me a weary glance. "We must get going. And Presta is right. Your priority should be the city. Get it under control and convince the people that everything is alright. The less chaos there is for us to sift through, the faster we will find her. And hope that Hades finds Fen in time. He is, truly, our best path to the Princess."

Nero's statement was like a dagger to my heart, but he was right. I felt the pain of being away from Alchimia. I felt the tether tugged tightly as if she was pulling away. But I could get nowhere from there. She'd put up some kind of wall, and without knowing how she'd done it I had no way of undoing it. I was useless in tracking her. Every instinct in me--both innate and initiated by our bond--wanted to be the hero. I wanted to go to her, to find her, to bring her home and explain everything. I wanted to be the one to place her on her rightful throne and, desperately, I wanted to spend the rest of my days serving her as she rebuilt Echelon. I wanted so badly to tell her how I understood, and how everything had changed, but that was not my role now, and it was my own fault. I had caused this mess, and I would be the one to shoulder the grunt of the repairs. Reus, who had done his own part to offend her before the ball, was my fitting companion.

A few minutes later, we watched together as a cloaked Presta disappeared through The Palace gates with a kitchen girl, followed by a swift streak of orange--Nero's fox.

"Reus, how many men are left in The Palace?"

"Some twenty or so."

"That's enough to get all of our exits sealed off, including the ones to the other realms. Leave one man on guard at each, I'll collect those that are in the city and send them for backup. Once you've gotten them stationed, have messengers go out and let the city know the Princess is home safe and sound, asleep in her bed. Have the nymphs tell them she was never lost--an imposter was playing a trick. Have them point the finger anywhere but at Apo. The slower the news gets to that end of the city, the better. When you're done, meet me at the gate to the underworld. We will join Hades in his search for Fen."

Reus nodded once, then left me. I was glad he, at least, was a man of duty. I didn't feel much like one, even as I went through the city streets and performed my duty. The people of Echelon did not know what I had done. They still listened to me and respected me. They still believed me to be their rightful, covert leader. Many of them likely thought that the Nethis were just a face--a pretty token kept in place by the will of the Gods. I wanted to climb up the highest towers and shout at them how wrong they were. How impossibly right Chimi had been all along.

I wanted to beg her to return home or beg whoever had her to return her to me.

Ever since she'd figured out what was going on between us, the lines where my heart ended and the soul tie began were nearly nonexistent. She was all I could think of, all I could move for. Tirelessly, I swept through the streets of Echelon and did everything within my power to calm the people and get them to one place. When I finally finished and reached the gate to the underworld, mere hours had passed, but each one felt like an eternity. Each second I waited there for Reus to arrive, I was sure that my beloved was gone. I kept envisioning myself grabbing him by his throat and squeezing until he could neither see nor breathe again for delaying me.

"Everything you've asked is done," came a voice from behind me. I turned to see a man I did not recognize at first. Reus was out of his uniform, now dressed in a simple blue tunic and sandals. His garments swallowed him, minimizing his height. His shoes exposed large, bony feet.

"Why are you--"

"I'm not going to enter the underworld dressed like an Echelonian guard," he answered tertly. "You're a demon and a God. You belong there. I...don't want to stand out."

I rolled my eyes. "You should have known that I already had a plan for that." I beckoned him closer, and, curiously, he came. When he was within arm's reach, I snatched him by the back of his collar and dragged him through the gate, letting his real shock and fear play out as we entered. But there was no one around to see us anyway. Not yet, at least. I shrugged, releasing him, and helping him right his clothing.

The entrance from the underworld to Echelon turned out to be located in Hades'...uh, garden, I suppose would be the word for it. Reus choked and sputtered behind me, but I put a finger to my lips. "The last thing you want is Persephone's hounds hearing you and leading her to you," I told him. "You probably should have worn your uniform. Stay here while I go inside. Don't let anyone into the city."

"Are you--"

"Yes, I'm serious. Now shut the fuck up."

I trudged up the winding path, past statues and gargoyles of unspeakable horrors, past terrifying and deadly plants, up to the front gate. There, Cerberus lay on his back, receiving belly scratches from his mistress.

"Hades said you would come," the Queen purred. Persephone was beautiful, though her skin grew ashen and her hair dull when she was here in the underworld. "He has not yet found the one called Fen," she said with a deep sigh. The monster she was treating like a pet rolled over and nuzzled her neck, coming to sit beside her, to glare and growl at me. "He left instruction for you, though."

I grinned. "I will not eat or dine with you, Persephone. No matter what you have in mind for the menu."

Another melancholy sigh. A few months ago, I would have jumped at this opportunity, regardless of the consequences. The Queen of the Dead's favorite pastime was luring demons to their death by her own husband's wrathful hand, but I would have taken any amount of lashings to taste her. After all, I could no longer be killed. She no longer interested me. Not even a bit, not even by virtue of tasting forbidden fruit. "Fine," she muttered. "Then you may as well know I lied. He's found the one called Fen and they are anxiously awaiting you in the den. Something about needing you to get back into Echelon because Fen is weak."

I didn't wait to hear the rest of what she had to say, brushing right past her and her ferocious pet to get inside.