Lee led the way to wherever it was he was taking me, drifting along on half-formed legs. He could actually move pretty fast and it took most of my concentration to keep up while dodging the other spirits meandering through the Asphodel Fields. Castor followed, muttering about how Orpheus was a traitor who had forsaken the gods and didn't deserve the credit he got. I wasn't really sure what he was talking about. "Hey, Lee?" He glanced back at me, still moving. "What's all this about Orpheus forsaking the gods?" I didn't remember that part of the story.

Lee shrugged. "By the end of his life Orpheus had became disillusioned with the worship of the gods. He stopped paying homage to all of them except Apollo." I didn't miss the note of satisfaction in his voice. I guess Lee felt pretty proud that Orpheus had still worshipped his father when he'd decided to ignore the other gods.

"Yeah, but it gets better," Castor muttered from behind me. "One day he went to my father's oracle to pray to his father. How rude was that?" I glanced around at him to see the he was grinning, but it looked kind of sick and twisted. "Well, my father's followers didn't like that. They tore him to pieces and threw his head and his lyre into the Hebrus River." He wrinkled his nose. "Served him right."

I wasn't really sure it did, but I decided not to argue. We continued on in silence for a while longer. I was about to ask where we were going – the landscape was pretty featureless and I had no idea what direction we were heading in or even how far we'd gone – when out of the gray mist ahead appeared a tiny stream of sluggish black water. Sitting on the bank with his back turned was a young man with dark hair. He was trailing one hand in the water and humming softly to himself.

"Orpheus," Lee said, coming to a halt a couple of feet away from him. I felt my heart speed up a little as I stopped too. This was really Orpheus? The one man who'd ever actually gotten Hades to agree to let one of his subjects go?

The figure stopped humming and turned around. He had a pale face that was pretty plain, I thought, for a Greek hero. For a minute his eyes were dull, like his mind was a million miles away. Then they slowly cleared and he looked at the three of us, his gaze eventually resting on me.

"You're alive," he said, obviously speaking to me.

I frowned. What did that have to do with anything? "Yeah," I admitted, frowning. "What does it matter?" I hoped that didn't mean he wouldn't want to help me.

He shrugged. "It's hard not to notice."

"Oh." I wasn't really sure what to say to that. At least he didn't seem angry or nearly as excited about that as most of those other spirits had been. I didn't exactly know what somebody like Orpheus wandered around muttering about, but I didn't really care to find out either. Not unless it helped me get Nico.

"We were looking for you," Lee said.

Orpheus looked over at him. "Me?" He looked confused. "What do you want me for?"

"He wants your help," Lee explained, pointing to me.

I felt kind of uncomfortable being talked about like I wasn't even there. I figured it was time to put in my own two cents. "Look… you're the only person who ever got Hades to agree to let someone go," I said.

His eyes went dull for a minute, like he was thinking. "I guess I am."

That only made me frown deeper. "Hey, wait a second." Something didn't add up here. I tried to remember the rest of what I did know about Orpheus. "Weren't you reunited with Eurydice? You know, when you…" I didn't exactly want to say ripped to shreds, now that I knew, so I temporized, "died?"

Orpheus' eyes lit up at that. "Eurydice! Have you seen her? Oh, Eurydice, my love!" His face suddenly fell. "I can't remember… I think she was here… It was a long time ago. I miss her sometimes."

I looked over to Castor and Lee – did they know what he meant? Why couldn't he remember where Eurydice was? I mean, she was pretty much the most important person ever to him, considering what he'd done for her in the myth. What he'd done for her was the reason I was here asking for his help in the first place. How could he have forgotten about her?

But Castor just sighed and rolled his eyes. Lee looked pretty indifferent. "Wait. Let me get this straight," I said, still not understanding. "You think Eurydice was here, but you don't remember when or where she went?"

Orpheus sighed dramatically. "Exactly."

I was really missing something here. "But – but when you were alive, you came all the way to the Underworld to get Hades to give her back! How could you not know where she is now? You're both in the same place again!"

"We are?" Orpheus looked around for a moment before turning back to me. "Don't do that," he said, like I'd played a joke on him. "I don't see her anywhere. Have you seen her?"

I sighed in frustration, gritting my teeth. This sure wasn't getting me anywhere. I still didn't get what was going on. How could he not remember where Eurydice was? And why would she just wander off in the first place, if that was even what had happened? You'd think they'd want to spend forever and ever and probably then some together, even if they were stuck down here in the Asphodel Fields with its black grass and gray, stalactite-studded sky. It was better than nothing, wasn't it?

Behind me Castor was muttering again, this time something about how it was unfair that he had died – why couldn't he and Pollux have the same timeshare program their namesakes had gotten? I frowned, looking from him to Lee. Lee looked only half-interested in what was going on, drifting around a little and looking at the grass.

Orpheus had begun humming a little again. This all seemed so absurd. Suddenly I wondered…

I tried to put together what I knew based on the dead spirits I'd met. And I began to realize that maybe being dead really did get to you, even if you were a half-blood. The dead weren't interested in most of the things the living were. They all seemed hung up on mundane things that frankly seemed pretty insignificant. All most of the spirits in the Asphodel Fields did was wander around and mutter about whatever they saw fit to mutter about. I'd certainly learned that the hard way.

So maybe when you died you just… forgot the things that had been important to you in life. Maybe that even meant you forgot things like… well, like the love of your life. Maybe they just weren't as important when you were dead. Maybe Eurydice really had wandered off after a while, simply because she couldn't remember why she wanted to be with Orpheus so much.

I shuddered. That was really depressing. I mean, I didn't exactly have any illusions of angels singing in choirs and people sitting on clouds with their loved ones when they died. Not after seeing the Underworld and Mount Olympus and everything. But there was Elysium – that had to be better than this, right? Maybe the people there could remember what was important to them. I hoped so. Otherwise what kind of reward was that?

Suddenly I thought that being stuck in the Fields of Asphodel like this, only sometimes remembering what had been important to you when you were alive and mostly just griping about stupid stuff, almost sounded worse than being stuck in the Fields of Punishment. Almost.

What if I found Nico and he didn't even remember me?

But none of this was getting me any closer to a solution to my own problem. I turned back to Orpheus, who was still humming to himself. "Look, Orpheus. I really do need your help. I need you to… I don't know." I paused, uncomfortably. What could he really do for me? There had to be something he could do. Finally I decided to be direct. "I need you to tell me how to get Hades to let someone go."

He shrugged. "All I did was make him cry."

I felt my mouth fall open at the absurdity of what he'd just said. "What?" Make Hades cry? How was I supposed to do that?

Orpheus waved a hand like it was no big deal. "All I remember is that I was sad – really sad. I wanted Eurydice back… I wish she was here now…" I glared at him, and he went on, though he looked at me sourly. "I went to Hades' palace and I asked for her back. He said no, so I sang about how sad I was. I wanted him to know how I felt. When I was done, I realized he was crying and he said I could have her back."

"But then you broke your part of the deal. You looked back even though you weren't supposed to and she disappeared back into the Underworld forever," Castor sneered. Orpheus' face fell and he nodded sadly.

"I should've known better. Oh, Eurydice… I wish I could see you again! I know you were here…" He shook his head a little. "I don't like to think about it. It just makes me sad again."

Meanwhile, I was trying to grasp at any part of what he'd said and try to use it to figure out how it could help me. Finally I said, "So all you did was sing to Hades. Could you… you know, sing that song for me? The one that made him cry?" It was a pretty long shot – I wasn't much of a singer, believe me. But maybe it really wasn't that hard. Maybe Hades had a soft spot for power ballads or something. I could hope, couldn't I?

Orpheus made a face. "It's a really sad song," he said. "I don't like singing it. And I don't even have a lyre." He suddenly looked away, watching his own reflection in the dark water. "It's just going to make everyone sad, and then I'll be stuck here thinking about Eurydice again. It's better when I forget." He sighed.

I clenched my fists. I wanted to scream at him – didn't he understand how important this was? Just because he was dead and he'd lost his chance to get his lover out of the Underworld, why did he have to ruin mine? My mind raced frantically as I tried to think of some way to persuade him. But what did I have to offer him? I didn't have anything he would want –

Wait. Yes I did. "What if I give you something?" I asked, pulling Grover's reed pipes out of my pocket. I'd almost forgotten I had them, but suddenly it looked like they might come in handy after all. I didn't know if dead spirits could play reed pipes, but it was worth a shot.

Orpheus' eyes lit up like a little kid's on Christmas morning. "Reed pipes…" He reached for them greedily, almost snatching them out of my hand before I pulled it back.

"What if I give you the pipes?" I asked. It was clear from the look in his eyes that he liked them. I couldn't do a thing with them, and even if I was going to sing this song for Hades I couldn't play the pipes at the same time. I felt kind of bad just offering up Grover's pipes as a bargaining chip like that, but he had given them to me and he'd understand, right? He could always get a new set…

Orpheus seemed to consider this as he eyed the instrument in my hand. My stomach twisted in on itself as I clenched my teeth and willed him to say yes, practically begging him silently to take the payment I was offering. Right now it was my only chance.

Finally, after a long silence during which Castor was clearly getting restless, Orpheus said, "All right. I'll sing for you if you give them to me. At least it'll give me something to do, to cheer myself up again…"

"Yes!" I said, before I could help myself. Reigning in my excitement, I told myself that this still wasn't a sure thing – I had to hear this song and memorize it before I could find Hades and use it on him. But it was definitely a start. I looked back at Orpheus. "It's a deal, then. You teach me your song and you can have these pipes."

He nodded. Even Castor had fallen silent during our exchange, and despite how much he seemed to dislike Orpheus he actually seemed interested in hearing the song. I shifted from foot to foot as Orpheus' expression turned inward for a minute, like he was trying to remember how it went. Then he took a deep breath and began singing. Even though the words were in ancient Greek, I could understand them perfectly.

O gods who rule the dark and silent world,

To you all born of a woman needs must come.

All lovely things at last go down to you.

You are the debtor who is always paid.

A little while we tarry up on earth.

Then we are yours forever and forever.

But I seek one who came to you too soon.

The bud was picked before the flower bloomed.

I tried to bear my loss. I could not bear it.

Love was too strong a god. O King, you know

If that old tale men tell is true, how once

The flowers saw the rape of Proserpine.

Then weave again for sweet Eurydice

Life's pattern that was taken from the loom

Too quickly. See, I ask a little thing,

Only that you will lend, not give, her to me.

She shall be yours when her years' span is full.

Even as the song melted away into the sticky air, I knew that I could never do something like that. I couldn't really sing and even if I could, I could never sing like that. Even though he hadn't had any sort of accompaniment, his voice had seemed like it had a full symphonic orchestra behind it. I felt my eyes getting wet even though I'm the kind of guy that can watch pretty much the saddest movie you can think of and still laugh and forget about it. I don't get weepy over anything, yet here I was, standing in the middle of the Asphodel Fields and feeling like I wanted to cry.

For the first time since I'd started out on this quest, I felt truly defeated. If the only way to get Nico out of here was to do something like that…

I realized Orpheus' expression had changed. The look on his face pretty much exactly mirrored the way I felt inside – empty and lonely. He sat with his mouth open for a minute, then he blinked looked up at me angrily. "There, I did it! And now I feel horrible." He stood up on his ghostly legs and snatched the pipes out of my grasp. "Now go away. I want to be alone."

Honestly, I was only too happy to do just that. I wanted to be alone too – I guess Castor and Lee must have gotten the hint, because they both looked at me and Orpheus and then moved off without so much as a goodbye. Their transparent bodies drifted away from us across the Fields of Asphodel without looking back. Orpheus was still looking at me angrily, and I realized that there wasn't anything else I could ask of him. If that was how he'd gotten Hades to agree to let Eurydice go, then it was clear that there was no way I could use his method to suit my own needs.

"Yeah… thanks," I muttered, and walked away just like Lee and Castor had, away from the little stream and farther into the Fields.

Now I have to say, I'm not really one for self-pity. Moping doesn't get you anywhere and it definitely doesn't get anything done. But moping was exactly what I felt like doing. I found a spot on a low hillside that was pretty devoid of muttering ghosts and sat down, pulling Nico's sword out of my belt and laying on the grass next to my leg. I stared at it for a moment, wondering if maybe, maybe this really was a lost cause.

Maybe I would never see him again. Maybe I was going to have to accept that.

"Why are you so sad?"

I started at the sound of a voice over me. I looked up to see that a young woman spirit had come up to me and was leaning over, her hands just visible on her see-through knees. Curly hair tumbled down over one shoulder, but what was most beautiful about her was her eyes. They weren't like most of the other spirits' – her eyes were focused and full of sadness.

I shifted a little and looked away from her. "I can't do what I came here to do," I mumbled. Not that she would care, I supposed. She probably only wanted to talk to me about whatever she was sad about.

"Oh," she said. But her voice wasn't monotonous. It was soft and sweet. "That is sad. But I guess I understand. I had a boyfriend like that once. But I lost him a long time ago." She paused, sighing. "Just now I thought I heard him."

I looked up, frowning. "You did?"

She nodded, sighing and looking out over the Fields. "Yes. I think about him sometimes. I think he's here, but I don't know where. He's never where I left him."

This was sounding eerily familiar… "Your name's not Eurydice, is it?" I asked, pretty much expecting her to tell me no.

But she didn't. She frowned for a moment and then she said, "Yes, that's it. My name is Eurydice."

I felt a strange mixture or elated and nauseated. "Your boyfriend is Orpheus, then."

"Yes! Oh, have you seen him?" she asked, her eyes twinkling. "I thought I heard him singing. He hasn't sung in such a long time. I think I used to love it when he sang."

I opened my mouth to tell her but for a minute nothing came out. Did I really want to tell her the truth? I mean, chances were she'd probably forget what I'd told her a minute down the road. But she looked so coherent. She looked like she really meant what she said. And who knew? Maybe his song really had reached her – maybe his singing was that powerful even down here. I mean, it had made me feel pretty close to tears.

I suddenly felt ashamed that I'd even thought about lying to her. "Yeah," I said, pointing back the way I'd come. "He's not far. That way."

"Oh! Thank you!" she cried, and the way her voice sounded made me feel just a little bit better. Maybe at least I could help them, even if I couldn't help Nico.

Eurydice was already drifting away down the grass in the direction I'd pointed. But then she stopped and turned back to me. "Oh, and don't give up. On whatever you were trying to do, I mean." She paused, her eyes losing a little of their focus. I felt my stomach drop – great, maybe I had been right. Maybe she was already going to forget –

But then they cleared again and she looked straight at me. "Love shouldn't be kept silent. It should be shared." Then she smiled and glided away like a ghostly girl with a mission, and left me sitting on the black grass with Nico's sword by my side and a funny feeling in my stomach.

--

Author's Note: Orpheus' song comes from Mythology by Edith Hamilton. All of the information on what happened to him is true – he was reunited with Eurydice when he died, though there aren't any details on what part of Hades he went to or what happened after that, so that's where I started taking liberties.