Styx snorts. ‘Fair enough. Who would?’
‘Urgh.’ I stand, dusting the dirt from my hands, and face Hades. ‘It’s not working.’ It pains me to even ask but this is too important. And it’s his realm, after all. ‘Can you try?’
Hades gives a doubtful glance at the rift I’ve created.
‘Ha, I knew you’d convince him to help you. How did you do it?’ Styx asks.
‘I damaged his scrolls, apparently.’
‘She did. I’m still furious,’ he says, pacing along the cliff edge and examining the world below.
‘Ah.’ Styx nods. ‘I understand.’
‘You do?’
‘Well, no,’ she says. ‘He is weirdly anal about his scrolls –’
‘May I remind you that I am literally your king.’
‘Sorry,his majis weirdly anal about his scrolls –’
‘I hate you.’
‘No, you don’t. Goddess of hate here – I’d be able to tell.’
I realize with a start that I’m smiling. Have I given a real smile down here? I must have – but perhaps not this easily.
‘Are all your subjects like this?’ I ask.
‘No,’ he says firmly.
‘All his other subjects fear that terrifying reputation of his,’ Styx explains. ‘But Hades gets his servants to swear his secrets on my waters. I get all the juicy tidbits and don’t believe that reputation for a second.’
‘Which Styx takes to mean she owes me no respect whatsoever,’ Hades says. ‘Never mind that I’m still her king.’
‘You may bemyking but I’myourclosest friend.’
‘Knowing someone’s secrets isn’t the same as friendship.’
‘Do you have anything better?’ Styx asks.
‘I fought alongside half the court. They’re my comrades in arms.’
‘So that’s a no then.’
Hades glares at her. It’s rather easy to listen to their back and forth while I’m too worn to contribute much myself, but now I grin and ask, ‘So what secrets are we talking about?’
‘You will never know,’ Hades says curtly. ‘Weren’t we discussing tearing my world apart?’
‘Swerve,’ Styx coughs.
‘Can you try to create a divide?’ I ask Hades. ‘You’re right – the goddess of flowers really can’t do this.’
Gods can do some limited things outside their areas of expertise: turn mortals into plants, curse cities or even twist their own forms into other shapes – though I’ve never had much luck with that. But this is too big, too expansive. It needs the connection to the land that comes only from a specific godhood. It needs Hades.
‘Well, you’ve done more than I imagine I can,’ Hades says.
‘Oh come on, I’m not going to beg.’
