Chapter Three
"So. You finally managed to convince them."
I pause in my packing and turn around, still holding clothes in both hands. Dorian's standing in my bedroom doorway, his arms folded over his chest and a neutral expression etched into his features.
"Hey." I bundle up the clothes and throw them onto my bed, aiming in the general direction of the bag I've almost completely packed. Only then do I face him head on, pulling the sleeves of my dark maroon knit jersey down over my fingers. He watches me silently, his expression betraying nothing. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since yesterday afternoon."
If he notices my obvious aversion to his question, then he doesn't point it out. "I've been busy doing stuff."
"What stuff?" I frown. "Has my mother been sending you on errands again? She hasn't done that in months."
"No, she hasn't. There's only so much being the Queen of Hell's personal gopher a man's ego can take."
"Then what?" I question, crossing my arms. "Because it feels like you were avoiding me."
"I was avoiding you." He replies bluntly.
"Why?" I ask softly. "What's going on with you; are you still mad about me listening in on my parents' conversation? Because they already told me everything."
"Are you sure?"
"What? Yes, I'm sure. Why wouldn't they tell me everything?" My forehead furrows in confusion as I study him. "What's with you, Dori? You never act this... moody."
He cocks an eyebrow at me. "Moody?"
"Yes, moody! You always have this permanent, cocky smirk on your face, not a despondent scowl. It's weirding me out; I'm supposed to be the moody person in this friendship."
"'Despondent scowl'?" He snickers. "Do you ever use normal words in a conversation, princess?"
"Yes. Normal words. See? I use them." I walk over to him, peering up at him suspiciously. "You're abstaining from answering my question, Dorian."
He rolls his eyes. "Your attentiveness to detail is borderline annoying, has anyone ever told you that?"
"Yes. You do. Constantly." I tell him wryly. "But my parents have always praised me for it. Now, stop deviating. Spill."
Dorian sighs. "Going up to the surface... it's not a good idea, El."
"What?" I tilt my head to the side, frowning at him. "Still? You've been on board with me convincing my parents to let me go from day one, so what exactly did they say to you that changed your mind so drastically?"
He hesitates, running a hand through his hair roughly. "They told me the same thing they told you. I just still think it's a bad idea."
"Why? Even my father came round to the idea, and he hardly ever changes his mind once it's made up."
"Your father, as all-knowing as he likes to think he is, has no idea what the surface is like." He holds his hand up when I open my mouth, silencing me before I can even get a word out. "And your mother doesn't either. She only lived up there for nineteen years, and she didn't even know the supernatural world existed until she made a deal with Satan. Neither of them have any idea what the super sphere is really like."
"What makes you think I'll experience the 'super sphere'?" I ask, making air quotes with my fingers.
He snorts. "Princess, you're a goddess, who's going to be living under the roof of Dionysus and his dryad-wife. Trust me, you'll experience the super sphere."
"I'll be fine, Dorian. I can take care of myself." I reassure. "I have my powers, and worst comes to worst, I'll just turn invisible and high-tail it out of there."
He eyes me. "No you won't. You're like your mother; you have a ridiculously insatiable curiosity."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Yes."
I punch his shoulder. "Dorian!"
"You also punch like a baby bird." He informs me, cracking a grin when I punch him again. "Seriously, can you not punch any harder? You're never going to be able to defend yourself if you don't know how to punch properly; you might as well get used to running away invisible."
"Good thing I won't need to defend myself then, right?" My lips quirk up into a smile, and he huffs, looking unconvinced. "Geez, you make it sound like I'm going up there to pick fights, Dorian."
"I know you won't." He grunts. "I just don't trust the rest of the world."
"Stop it!" I punch him again. "Stop worrying about me! It looks weird on you; leave the worrying up to my parents."
"Okay, okay!" He jumps back out of my reach, rubbing the shoulder I punched. "Damn girl, you really are just like your mother. You're both violent. I take it back; maybe you will be able to defend yourself if you just incessantly punch people like that."
I give him a look, folding my arms back over my chest again. "How many times do I have to say I won't need to defend myself Dorian? I will be fine. I can't believe I have to keep assuring you of this; you're the one who's constantly been trying to convince me I'm secretly badass."
He sighs, and plasters a rakish grin on his face that isn't reflected in his eyes. "Yeah, you're right. You'll be fine."
I scrutinize him, carefully dissecting every inch of his expression in an attempt to figure out what's going on in his mind. "Is that sarcasm?"
"No." He says, and I raise my eyebrows challengingly. "It's not! I'm just worrying. There are certain people up on the surface I wouldn't trust as far as I can throw them. And by certain people, I mean ninety percent of the super population."
"You keep saying that. Stop." I reiterate, turning on my heel and heading back to pack my bag. "It's weirding me out, and it's curtailing my excitement."
"Curtailing?" He guffaws, sounding a little more like the impish Dorian I know. "What are you, a walking dictionary?"
"No. I'm just educated." I reply, in the most melodramatically haughty voice I can.
"Oh yes princess, so very educated. I feel like a conversational peasant in your overwhelming educated presence." He snickers. "That was sarcasm, in case you didn't pick it up."
I whirl around, narrowing my eyes at him. "I know what sarcasm is, Dorian. My mother speaks it fluently."
He pouts at me, widening his blue eyes contritely. "Uh, so do I! How dare you forget about me and my sarcastic ways."
"I don't think I ever could, Dorian. I don't think your ego would let me." I shake my head in exasperation and point to the chair next to him. "Can you pass me my jersey?"
He chucks it at me, and I shove it in my bag. He watches silently as I double check I have everything I need and zip the bag up, and when I turn to question him on his unnatural silence, I'm surprised to catch the concern fleeting through his gaze. "You'll be careful, right El?"
"No Dorian, I'm just barreling up there with no thought for my safety." I retort sarcastically, slinging the bag over my shoulder. "Of course I'll be careful! My parents didn't raise an idiot."
"I know." He replies, with a sheepish grin. "Just... be careful who you trust, promise me that? There are some questionable nymphs up there."
"Coming from you?" I ask bemusedly, and he winces. "Mum told me you did some pretty questionable stuff for her before I was born."
"Okay, in my defense, a lot of the stuff I did back then was purely to piss the others off. Mainly Spencer and Axel. Pissing those two off was like being given free reign at a county fair and told to go nuts."
"Not much has changed, then."
"Hilarious, El." He narrows his eyes at me. "Look, as much as it seriously pains me to say this, I'm like the fluffy bunny little kids coo over when compared to some of the supers up there. So just be careful who you trust, and if in doubt, trust a water nymph." I open my mouth to question him on that, all the warnings that my mother had given me about water nymphs circling my mind like vultures, but he holds his hand up. "I know what Evie's told you, but I also know my kind. Trust me, if you gain a water nymph's trust, they'll never lead you astray."
I grin. "So what's your excuse, then? Have I not gained your trust, after all these years?"
"No, I'm just an asshole. I'm one-of-a-kind." He smirks rakishly, and I laugh, throwing my arms around him in a big hug. He hugs me back, ruffling my hair. "I'll see you in a month, princess."
"Try not to cause too much trouble when I'm gone." I tease.
"Are you kidding? With your parents worrying themselves sick over you, I'll have triple the opportunities to cause mayhem down here." He exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air as he starts to back out of my room. "They'll never see me coming."
My parents choose that exact moment to show up, and my mother grins wickedly. "Who will never see you coming?"
Dorian jumps about a mile into the air, cursing loudly. "Jesus Evie! You sure know how to give a dead guy a heart attack!"
She blinks innocently at him. "I guess you didn't see me coming."
He glares fiercely and stalks past her, muttering expletives under his breath and repeatedly calling her evil. My mother grins, subtly high-fiving my father so Dorian doesn't see.
"I've been waiting to do that for a very long time." She mutters under her breath, causing my father to laugh.
"Bye Dorian!" I call after him, barely managing to stifle my own laughter.
"Bye demonspawn!" He yells back, and my laughter bubbles up over my lips.
I look back over at my parents, and my father smiles at me. "Are you ready?"
I nod as I walk over to them, letting out a long breath. "As I'll ever be."
"Very well then." He turns to my mother, who walks forward and wraps her arms around me in a tight hug.
"Be careful, okay?" She says tightly, and I nod, not missing the way her voice catches in her throat. "And if anything goes wrong, you know we're right here, Ellie. Well, technically, we'll be in a semi-alternate universe under the earth's crust, but you know what I mean."
"I'm only going away for a month, Mum. I'll be fine."
"I know." She smiles, but her smile doesn't reach her eyes. "And have fun, you got that? I'm expecting lots of juicy stories when you get back; I'm going to have to live vicariously through you for that month, just so you know."
I laugh, nodding again. "I promise."
"Good." She relinquishes her hold on me, sharing a look with my father. He pauses, and though they don't say a single verbal word, I know they're having one of their silent conversations; the one that their telepathic link allows them to have. Finally she nods, mumbling, "okay" as she leans up to kiss him, and I lower my gaze to the floor to give them some privacy.
"I'll be back soon." My father murmurs, and she nods again, folding her arms over her chest and rubbing her biceps like she's cold. She shoots me another smile as my father crosses over to me and offers me his arm, and the last thing I see before I close my eyes is the fear creeping into her usually cheerily optimistic gaze.
Then, all thoughts of my mother and her worry evaporate in my mind and are replaced by my own feelings of apprehension and excitement as my father finally, finally transports us out of the Underworld and up to the surface.
— — —
All the breath is knocked out of my body the moment my feet connect with solid ground, and I honestly don't know whether it's from the abruptness of the landing or my shock that this is finally happening. Although the world stopped whirling around my father and I like a personalised hurricane the moment we landed, my head continues to spin as my thoughts rocket around my brain like over-excited fireflies. I keep my eyes squeezed shut; I can feel the bright sunlight stroking my eyelids with it's warmth, but I'm both too afraid and too excited to open them even for a mere peak.
My father chuckles, and I know even without opening my eyes that he's laughing at the look on my face. I can only imagine how strange I must appear; with my elation and trepidation waging a full on war for the control of my expression. "Are you going to stand there like that for the next month, Ellie?"
"No."
"Why won't you open your eyes then?"
"I'm scared."
"Why?"
"I've been building up the perfect picture in my head of what the surface will look like when I opened my eyes." I mumble. "I don't want that expectation to be let down and dragged through the mud."
"Trust me Ellie, I do not think you will be disappointed." He tells me, amusement interlacing his tone. "Open your eyes."
I swallow hard and suck in a sharp breath, hesitantly opening my eyes.
And my world suddenly explodes with a kaleidoscope of electrifying colours.
I spin around in a slow circle, my mouth open with barely contained awe. In all my dreams, in all the pictures I'd painted in my head with the words spun from my mother's and Dorian's stories, never had I imagined the surface to be exploding with such a colourfully dynamic palette. The grass was literally greener on the other side; the sun shone brighter than all the lights in the Underworld palace tenfold; the trees accessorised the skyline with their vibrant leaves and flowers, in more colours than I imagined was possible. In that one moment, though I searched through the thesaurus in my brain as feverishly as a writer trying to find the perfect descriptive word, I like the writer, could not find one word, one adjective that so completely encumbered the ethereal beauty of the nature surrounding me. Nor could I even begin to detail the feeling that encompassed me at the feeling of the sunshine washing over me, or the experience of the wind riffling it's gentle fingers through my hair, or the soft crunch of the grass underfoot as I slowly spun on the spot.
I turn back to my father, my eyes growing even wider as the scenery enraptures me more by the second. "This is..." I shake my head slowly, struck mute.
He smiles. "What did I tell you?"
"You were right. It's beautiful." I whisper. "Where are we?"
"In a small secluded park behind Spencer's house." He points in front of me, where I can see the glimpses of a light brown roof peeking over the top of the soft green trees surrounding the park.
"Oh." I swallow, hitching the strap of my bag further up my shoulder. "Why didn't you just transport us to the house directly?"
"Because humans are very fickle beings Ellie. If they bore witness to us appearing out of nowhere, they are going to ask questions we will be unable to answer." He replies amusedly.
"Oh. Right. Of course." I smile minutely, pulling my sleeves over my fingers. "I haven't even been up here five minutes and already I'm proving I know absolutely nothing."
"You are a fast learner Ellie, I am sure you will pick things up relatively quickly." He reassures. "Besides which, you are only up here for a month. It is not cause to worry."
"Yeah. I guess." I say quietly.
"Ellie." He says gently, and when I glance up at him, he's watching me concernedly. "What is with this sudden melancholy? Just a minute ago you could barely repress your excitement."
"I'm just nervous, that's all." I shrug, lacing my tone with nonchalance in the hopes that it'll dissuade his curiosity. "It's hard to distinguish between the excitement and the terror of finally being able to live out and face your dream."
"I understand." He says lightly, and I stare at him incredulously. "I do. The unknown potentials of what the future may hold once you realise your dream is daunting. But more often than not, facing a dream you have built up in your head for so long changes your life for the better; you just don't know it yet."
"That's...exactly it." My forehead furrows as I process the earnest truth behind his words. "What was your dream?"
"Your mother." My father replies simply, smiling at me. "And you."
That evicts a small smile from me. "Was Mum more a dream or a nightmare though?"
"Some days, I honestly could not tell the difference. Sometimes, I still can't." He sighs, a pained expression crossing his face. "Do not ever tell her I said that, though."
"No promises." I tease, and he narrows his eyes at me. I duck my head so he doesn't see me laughing. "Thank you, Dad."
"You're welcome." He replies. "Are you ready?"
I nod, the smile on my face widening. "Hell yes."
"Alright." He nods, an undecipherable emotion flashing through his eyes. "Let's go."
He sets off towards the house, his trench-coat flapping behind him in the breeze, and I hurry after him. He doesn't say another word, but I don't expect him to. He's never felt the need to fill the silence with unnecessary chatter like my mother does; a habit of his that I seem to have inherited. My mother's always joked that, given the chance, my father and I would prefer to sit in a room for hours and not say a single word than interact with real people.
Neither of us ever had the heart to dissent her claim. She'd never let us live it down if we did.
When we arrive at the house, my father pauses, his hand going to his pocket. I track his movements with my gaze, my forehead furrowing in confusion.
"Why are we stopping?"
He hands me something, pressing a small box into my hand. I glance down at it and hesitantly open the lid to reveal a small, light green gemstone that glints softly when it catches the sunlight. I lift the necklace out of the box by it's thin black chain and study it for a few seconds, my frown deepening. "What is this?"
"A gift." My father says. "From your mother and I."
Understanding dawns on me. "Is it like the necklaces you gave Mum?"
"In a way, yes." He nods. I had noticed my mother's necklaces on a number of times; her turquoise, that sat like a pale blue teardrop above her sternum, and the small glittering blood-red crystal, that, even though my parents had never explicitly told me, I knew was the key to opening Tartarus. She had always told me that they were more special than they appeared, but I never was able to figure out why. "It is gaspeite. Should you ever feel like your life is at risk, or that you need our help, this necklace will call us. It will offer you the protection that your mother and I cannot."
"How?" I ask curiously.
"I am sure you will figure that out for yourself." He replies amusedly.
"But why would I be at risk?"
" Because it is not primarily ruled by deities, the surface is in a slightly different realm to the Underworld or Olympus." He explains.
"But there are gods and goddesses living on the surface, like Spencer and the twins. Don't they technically rule the surface?"
"Many have tried, but the world tends to descend into chaos when one god tries to take over. Instead, they help to keep the supernatural world in balance."
"Okay, but how is being in a different realm risky?"
"It means that you will be more mortal up on the surface than in the Underworld, Ellie." He says softly, and my eyes widen. "Which means that you will need to be more careful than usual around other supernatural beings, even more so due to the prophecy."
"Okay." I reply slowly, carefully dropping the necklace down in it's box. "But you know I'm going to be fine, right? Even with the prophecy hanging over my head."
"You would be unwise to ignore the Fates' prophecy, Ellie." He warns. "It is by doing that, that you will set the prophecy in motion."
"I know Dad, I'm not stupid." I reply quietly. "But I don't understand why you and Mum are so worried. Now that I know about the prophecy, I'll be even more careful not to set it in motion, I promise."
His gaze narrows ever so slightly, but before he can reply to me, the front door swings open in front of us to reveal a blonde man who shoots us a cheeky grin.
"Hades!" The man greets loudly, his tone warm and laced with extravagance. "I know you don't exactly excel at social conduct, but you do know that standing on someone's porch for an extended period of time is weird, right?" Then, before my father can respond, the man's gaze falls on me, and his eyes widen a fraction. "Well hello there, mini female who looks freakishly like Satan; you must be Ellie!" He sticks out his hand, winking at me. "I'm Spencer, and may I just say, it's about bloody time we met!"