The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 7: Τι έχω κάνει

      Jasmine looked at her brother, then back at the god. "Are you Thanatos?"

      Thanatos stared at her, shocked; how did she know of him? "Yes, I am. How...?"

      "I saw your name written on Danny's arm last night. I looked it up." Jasmine glanced at her brother again. "Will he be alright?"

      "I do not know," Thanatos answered. "But I cannot stay and watch over him. Will you...?"

      "I can watch him." Jasmine entered the room, closing the door behind her. She pulled the desk chair to the end of the bed. "Go take care of whatever you need to."

      Thanatos nodded his thanks to her and melted into the shadows, leaving his apprentice in the care of his older sister.

      Thanatos shadow-traveled into Persephone's garden, under the pomegranate trees. He sat down heavily on a bench, head in his hands. I cannot lose another, not again. I'm not ready to go through that pain again. Memories of Dianthe's death resurfaced, unbidden: Thanatos' mark disappearing as Dianthe's life force faded... Dianthe taking her last breath... a village dying as Thanatos took her to the Underworld...

      A hand rested lightly on his shoulder, snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts.

      "What happened?" It was Persephone, and the usual airy tone was gone from her voice.

      "I don't know. Daniel and I were just sparring when green fire suddenly erupted around him, hurting him, and I couldn't do anything except watch. His... screaming... it-" Thanatos' voice cracked, and he looked away from Persephone as emotions welled up inside of him, threatening to overflow.

      "Here," Persephone held out a goblet of nectar. Thanatos made no move to take it from her. "Thanatos, please. You're injured. Look at your hands."

      Thanatos did, and was surprised to see that angry blisters covered his palms; how had he not noticed his hands were burned? Still, he did not take the goblet. How can I worry about myself while Daniel is lying in bed, injured, almost dead?

      "Thanatos," Hades' voice called. Thanatos turned to see Hades walk briskly up to him and Persephone. "Why do I feel your apprentice trying to join our realm again?"

      "What?" Thanatos looked down at his mark; it had started to fade and disintegrate off his arm. "No, no, no. Not again." Why didn't I notice? He looked up at Hades desperately. "Hades, what do I do?"

      "How should I know? Neither of us are life gods!" Hades sputtered.

      Persephone cleared her throat. "Luckily for you two, I am a life goddess." She held the goblet out again. "Take this to Danny. It should help him."

      Thanatos took the goblet this time. "But won't it burn him up? He's not a demigod."

      "No, but he is a descendant of a powerful demigod, so he should be fine." Hades answered. "Now go."

      Thanatos was confused by what Hades had said, but he had more pressing matters on hand as he nodded and shadow-traveled back to Daniel, goblet in hand.

      Jasmine jumped in surprise when Thanatos appeared at her brother's bedside. Daniel had changed back to his human form, laurel wreath still in place on his now jet black hair. His Lichtenberg scar was pink against his pale skin, which looked even paler than normal as he lay motionless.

      "I don't know what's going on with him." Jasmine sounded like she had been crying. "He looks like... like he's fading away."

      Thanatos looked at Daniel again. Jasmine was right; Daniel's life force was slowly fading before his eyes. Thanatos placed the nectar-filled goblet on the desk near Jasmine and quickly stepped away; with how out of control his emotions were at that moment, he didn't want to risk his power hurting Jasmine. "Give him some of that, only a little for now."

      Jasmine stood and grabbed the goblet of nectar. "What is it?"

      "It is called nectar, and it should help Daniel heal." Thanatos explained as Jasmine propped Daniel's head up and poured a little of the golden liquid into his mouth. Almost immediately, Daniel's life force stopped fading and his color improved a little. Jasmine sighed in relief.

      "Will Danny be okay now?" Jasmine asked as she placed the goblet on the nightstand and sat on the edge of Daniel's bed.

      Thanatos opened his mouth to answer, but paused as the smell of springtime flowers filled the air. "He will be fine now, Jazz." Persephone said softly from behind Thanatos.

      "Wha-who are you?" Jasmine asked, standing up.

      "I am Persephone." The goddess smiled kindly.

      "Why are you here? I-is he going to die?!" Jasmine put her hands to her temples and started hyperventilating; she was working herself up.

      Persephone strode forward and enveloped Jasmine in a hug. Jasmine cried into Persephone's shoulder, her uncertainty about her brother's survival overwhelming her.

       Thanatos stood quietly by Daniel's bed, watching over his apprentice. He reached for Daniel's hand, but froze as he remembered Dianthe once again. I do not wish to be the cause of Daniel's untimely death.

      Persephone spoke softly to Jasmine, who was wiping the tears from her eyes.

      "So why have you come here, Lady Persephone?" Thanatos asked.

      :I have come to make sure you do not do anything rash.: Persephone said in Ancient Greek, still smiling at Jasmine.

      :I would not have done anything rash.: Thanatos muttered.

      :You did when Dianthe died.: Persephone's voice was full of compassion, but Thanatos scowled; he did not want another reminder of his previous apprentice. :Danny will not die, not today.:

      :How do you know that?: Thanatos asked, sadness creeping its way into his voice.

      :Look at his life force.: Thanatos did. Daniel was growing stronger, slowly but surely. Persephone switched back to English. "Now we should leave, and let Jazz take care of her brother."

      Although he did not wish to leave Daniel, Thanatos agreed. They bid Jasmine a good night, and shadow-traveled back to the Underworld.

{Danny isn't a half-blood in this story, but we decided that his paternal grandmother was a child of Hades, born before the second world war. Her mother moved from Italy to America while she was pregnant with her. This means that Danny is a legacy of Hades, which Hades didn't realize until Danny almost died the second time.}