"Elsa? No, Elsa, what happened?" I'm holding her heart in my hand as her body lies on top of me, blood pouring onto my hospital gown. Why am I wearing a hospital gown? What the hell is going on? The last thing I remember, I had just sent her off to take back our bank and to send a message doing it. How did I get here? "Elsa, please say something." I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close. "You can't be dead. I need you."

This happened the other day too, didn't it? Not Elsa being dead obviously, but I lost time. I was so mad at her that I went out with Susan. I thought maybe I'd just had too much to drink. Holy fuck, that's when she was attacked by Notos. Am I... No, I can't be. I didn't kill her. I didn't attack her. I couldn't have. Why would I? This has to a dream. A horrible horrible dream. Elsa, please just wake up.

I place a finger to her chin, almost convinced that she'll shatter, and pull her lips to me in a gentle kiss. "Please wake up. You're a god. You can't die."

I swear I feel her heart stir in my hand. Unfortunately, I instantly drop it, so I suppose I'll never know if that kiss could have brought her back. I'm just fucking everything up. I've killed her all over again.

"Elsa!" a voice shouts from somewhere behind me. "You killed her! You monster!"

Instinct carrying me, I manage to roll out from under Elsa just in time to avoid being skewered by a massive shard of ice. "What the hell?"

"You bitch! I can't believe she trusted you. How could you do this to her?" Tears stream down the face of some woman I've never met. She's wearing blue harem pants and a flowy blue shirt. She looks more like a belly dancer than a goddess. Elsa made a new friend?

"What are you talking about? Who the fuck are you? How do you even know Elsa? I didn't kill her, I swear." I wave my hands in front of me and a ball of fire hurtles towards her. Great, that is definitely not helping my case.

She blocks it with a hastily formed shield. "I'm not buying your act again. You already think I'm just Elsa's little pet! Well I'll show you, this dog has fangs. Wait – no, I mean I'm going to kick your goddamn ass! Like she would. I will avenge my sidekick, damn it." She hesitates slightly each time she curses. Where the hell did Elsa find this girl?

"What do you mean you're Elsa's pet? How long have I been gone? Did Elsa cheat on me?" I back up. Clearly she's not an enemy. I just need to make her see that I'm not either.

She charges, a sword joining her shield. She lunges at me and I leap to the side, my hand grazing her shield and causing it to melt. So I really do have powers now. "You don't even deserve a trial. You're a monster. You killed your own girlfriend! You lied to her. She would have done anything for you and you killed her! Well I'll kill you!"

I am not going to kill this kid. I already have Elsa's death on my conscience, I'm not going to kill her pet. Though she and I are definitely going to have a talk after I drag her back out of Hell. "I swear that wasn't me. Notos must have been possessing me. The last thing I remember is sending her to take care of the bank. I don't know how long I've been out, but I swear it wasn't me. You have to believe me. I don't want to hurt you."

"Like I'd believe a word you say! Her blood is literally on your hands." She kicks at my knee as a mace appears in her hand. I manage to dodge the kick and the following swing, but I'm already slowing. I look down and see blood pouring out onto my burnt and singed gown, along with fire engulfing my body. So I'm injured and my powers are acting on their own. I don't have the time to play with her if I want to avoid bleeding out, and she's never going to believe I'm not trying to kill her if I can't stop my flames from doing just that.

Fine. I hurl fire at both of her weapons then charge at her, tackling her to the ground. While she's stunned from the impact, I slam my forehead into her nose, earning a satisfying crunch. Then rings of fire surround each of her limbs, pinning her there. "They won't touch you unless you move, so hold still and listen to me."

"My nose," she sobs. "Elsa just fixed it!"
"Sorry. I needed to get you to shut up long enough to listen to me." I manage to make the flames ringing my body to dissipate. Unfortunately, the gown has completely vanished by now, and I'm naked in the middle of town sitting on top of some crazy belly dancer. This is definitely going viral.

She scrunches up her face trying to keep from sniffling. Elsa told me how much that can hurt.

I place a hand on her cheek to steady her and try to pull her nose back into place the way Pete taught us. "Is that better?"

She yelps in pain, but nods. "Yes." Her voice is still a bit nasally. It's kinda cute. Maybe I can't blame Elsa too much for cheating on me.

"So we can talk now?"

She sniffles and her lower lip protrudes. She really is just a pitiful puppy. "I guess."

"Okay. First question. When is this? How long have I been out?"

She tilts her head as she considers this. I absentmindedly pet her. My hand was already on her cheek and she's just so pathetic. "You said the last thing you remember was a bank, right? I met Elsa after she murdered everyone in a bank. I attacked her and the fight went about like this. You two are a lot alike." She giggles. What the fuck is this girl?

"So it's only been a day and Elsa already found a new girl? I might have to bring her back just to kill her again."

"No, no, no, no, no! I'm straight! I didn't do anything with your girlfriend, I swear." Her eyes widen as she realizes that there's a naked girl on top of her stroking her hair. "Get off! What are you doing?!" Her face lights up. She is damn adorable.

I climb off of her and clothe myself in fire again. "Is this better?"

She nods.

"Okay. So, next question. You act like we've met. How is that?"

"About an hour ago, you woke up and started talking to us. You sent Elsa to have a meeting with someone, I wasn't too clear on who, and then you lit on fire and charged after her. I tried to chase after you, but I didn't make it in time. If I'd only been faster I could have saved her." Tears start to stream down her face. How did she manage to get so close to Elsa so quickly?

"It's not your fault."

"No, it's yours!"

I don't want to believe that. It can't be my fault. Flames clean her blood from my hand. "It wasn't me, damn it! How many times do I have to tell you?" I resist the urge to tighten the bonds. That would only prove her right. "Notos must have possessed me. That would explain so much. I knew that voice in my head couldn't be me."

"What voice?" She manages to stop crying, but continues sniffling through her damaged nose.

That's it! Now I understand. "It's only been there for a few days. Anytime Elsa and I have had a fight, I've heard it, egging me on, insisting that I was right, that I had to stop her. Oh my god, that's the last thing I remember. I was questioning if I should really have her kill all those people, if I was going too far, if I was just like our father, and the voice was telling me I was right, that I had to stop her, then nothing. The next thing I knew she was on top of me and I was holding her heart in my hand." Notos really possessed me. How? Why?

"I'm sorry. I know what it's like to have a voice in your head urging you forward."

Well that's interesting. "You do?" I sit down by her head so I can look into her eyes as we talk.

"Yeah. Ever since I found this bracelet." She wiggles her arm to indicate it, then winces as she hits the fire rings. "Can you please get rid of these things? I promise I won't attack you again."

"All right." I wave my hand and they disappear. Wow, these powers are surprisingly easy to use.

"If you were possessed, why do you still have her powers?" She sits up and pulls her knees to her chin, wrapping her arms around herself.

That's a very good question. Why do I have his powers? If they're so easy to use that waving my hand accidentally sent out fireballs, then there's no way I wouldn't have noticed them before. I search within myself, looking for that voice. Maybe it can answer for itself. Come on out, Notos. You and I need to have a conversation!

There's no answer. Is he gone? "Are you okay?" the girl asks.

"No, not really. I have no idea what's going on. What's your name anyway? I forgot to ask."

"I'm Jasmine, but you can call me The Ice Queen!" She grins, her sparkling white teeth showing.

"I can see why Notos called you Elsa's pet. It's a much better name."

Her eyes narrow as she looks down at me. I pet her hair again. "You're adorable. I'm sure you're a very good pet."

The glare only intensifies. "I thought it was just Notos that was so mean."

"Oh, I'm very nice. Do you need me to show you?" I bare my teeth to her, my gaze openly looking up and down what little of her body is visible.

She squeaks and backs out of my reach. "No."

Notos? Can you hear me? I swear if you don't come out right now, I will end you. You killed my girlfriend. I don't care what excuse you offer, I don't care what Boreas did to you, she had nothing to do with it, and you killed her. Notos, answer me!

There's still nothing. It's like he's gone. Maybe it only works when I have doubts about Elsa. I can manage that. Elsa shouldn't have put me in charge. I need to make her take this back. I won't let her force leadership on me.

Nothing. Notos? Hello?! Are you here or not?

So, why do I have his powers? He kept taking over my body, what if I just took over him? What if there isn't Notos anymore because I actually overpowered him? Is that possible? "Jasmine, is the voice in your head always there?"

She continues to eye me suspiciously. "Yeah. Why?"

"Ask it something for me."

"What?"

I shrug. "Anything."

"Skaldi, is Anna a creep? She says yes."

I laugh despite myself. How the hell did Elsa end up with this girl tagging along? "Ask if it can tell if Notos is still inside me?"

"Skaldi, is Notos still in her? She says she has no idea. If she'd known there was someone else there in the first place, she would've warned me about you."

That's fair. "Well Notos isn't replying to me. I'm starting to wonder if I killed him. Does she know if that's possible?"

Jasmine pauses for a moment, as if listening. "She has no idea. She doesn't really know the Greek gods too well. Elsa is the first one she'd met. She thinks that you two are both dangerous though and that I should stay away from you. She can be a little overprotective. She says she's not overprotective, she just doesn't want to be stuck in a museum for another century and that she kinda likes me. Aw, I like you too, Skaldi."

Well, great. That wasn't helpful. Notos, if you don't answer right now, and I find out you're still alive, I swear you will suffer more than you could ever imagine. I will make you wish that you'd pissed off Zeus instead. If you think that Prometheus had it bad, you'll be wishing you were him before I'm even halfway done with you.

No response. Well, that settles it. Either he's an idiot or he's gone. I'll just have to assume he's gone. Maybe he left some sort of sign. I close my eyes and try to focus. Anything. He lived inside of me for days, he has to have left something!

I can't find it. "Let's go back to Elsa's and my place. I need some clothes and to formulate a plan, and you're far too useful for me to let you out of my sight." I rise to my feet.

"What do you mean I'm useful?" She stands, but continues to keep her distance.

"Well you're a good little pet who cares about her Mistress."

Her eyes widen.

"You have ice powers and can hold your own in a fight. What the hell do you think I mean?"

~o~

Once we arrive back at the apartment, Jasmine takes a moment to look around. "So this is where Elsa lives?" She begins analyzing the random bricabrac, most of which is mine.

"If you're looking for Elsa's stuff, check for the guns hidden all over the place." That'll be a fun little scavenger hunt for her.

"Okay!" She actually does so. Is she really in love with Elsa? I might just have to kill her.

I brew up some coffee and take a seat in the kitchen. This is going to be a long day. I have to bring Elsa back. I will not have her death weighing on me while I try to run the empire she forced on me. How do I do it? Notos, please, just tell me.

The smell of the chair beneath me burning stirs me from my thoughts. Right, I still need clothes. I grab a green skirt with a grey shirt and feel substantially more human. Shame though, I like these clothes, I'm not looking forward to having to light them on fire.

When I return the coffee is cool enough to drink. Actually, it may still be burning, temperature hasn't really been hitting me right the last few days. I wonder if that's why Elsa's various ice toys haven't bothered me.

"Is this all of them?" Jasmine is holding an armful of guns. I honestly didn't realize there were that many in here. Elsa, how paranoid were you – are you, damn it. You're not gone yet, I'll make sure of that.

"Yeah, I think so. Now put them back so Elsa won't kill you once I get her back."

"Why does she need so many? She kept insisting that she wasn't a bad person, but I just don't know why a good person would need an entire arsenal in their apartment." She stares into the pile of guns.

Wow, Elsa, lying to her already? We gave up any right to be good. "In our line of work, we make enemies. Elsa liked to make sure that those enemies couldn't harm me. She always wanted to keep me safe." I just wish I could've done the same for her.

"But killing is wrong. It doesn't matter what they did, you can't just kill someone." She sets the guns down on the table and slumps in a chair, staring into them.

"Weren't you trying to kill me earlier?" I'm unsure what to do with her, but I place a hand on her shoulder, slowly enough that she can stop me if she needs to. She's clearly still dealing with that whole lesbian thing, and I'd rather not trigger her internalized homophobia when we have more important things to be doing. I went through enough of that myself when Elsa came out to me.

"Well, yeah, but you killed Elsa."

I stare at her waiting for her to realize the contradiction. She looks back at me, her head quirked in confusion. Poor puppy. "I thought killing was always wrong."

It finally hits her. She blinks. "Oh. No. It is wrong. But then it was -" she stops. "I thought you deserved it."

"Morality isn't that black and white." Neither is sexuality, but we'll have that conversation later.

"Yes it is!" Her gaze falls back to the guns as her finger taps on Elsa's old 9mm. She killed her first man with that gun. Wow our history is fucked. "It has to be. There's good and there's evil, and that's how it is!"

She always did like them naive. Does Elsa miss me being more like that? Well, if so she shouldn't have made me the don. That sure as hell cemented my cynicism. "How old are you?"

Her eyes dart back to me before returning to the weapons. "Eighteen."

"Live with your folks?"

She nods. "My dad really is a good man, no matter what the papers are saying. He taught me everything."

Nope, I do not care about her story enough for that tangent. I just need to get her to understand us well enough that I can use her to help me. "Right, so he taught you morality. You haven't even really seen the world yet." I sound so old. We're only three years older than her, just a lot less sheltered. "Things aren't always as simple as your parents make them seem. Hell, that's why we killed our father, he didn't teach us too well at all."

I laugh as Jasmine stares at me, her eyes widening. That distracted her at least. "What?"

"We were adopted. Long story."

She looks like her eyes might pop out of her head. "Huh?"

"We can talk about all of that after we bring Elsa back."

"We can bring her back? What? How? Why didn't you say that earlier?"

I smirk. I thought that might make a difference. "So you'll help me?"

"Of course I will. I need her back." She pauses, likely making sure that what she said wasn't too gay. "How can we save her?"

"We're going to Hell. Well, Hades. We just need to find how. Elsa's a Greek god and so am I. I'm certain she'll be there. She's already met Hera, we just need to find Hades. How hard can it be?"

Her face lights up. "We can really bring her back? I'll do whatever you need. We can do this. Should I go ask around? Do I need to fight another god?"

"No. We need to read."

I wait for the crestfallen look I would expect from an overactive puppy when told she has to sit still and do hours of research. Instead she grins. "I have so many mythology books! Want to go to my place?"

Fuck. Do I really need to go to some wanna-be straight girl's parents' house? Hi, this is the girlfriend of the girl I have a crush on, she's the leader of a mafia family. Isn't that cool? How's business stuff? Stocks? "I can just order the books online. Everything is digital. No reason to bother your parents."

"He even has a few classic ones in Greek. Like from the 20th century, not anything from Ancient Greece. Other than that vase, but I don't think that would help." She just wants so badly to be helpful.

"Do you speak Greek?"

"No. Notos doesn't give you that power?"

I'm not sure. I try to think of Greek words. "I haven't checked before, I'm pretty new to this thing. Does – what was it, Skaldi? Does she let you speak Norwegian or read runes?"

She turns her face down, facing Elsa's old pistol again. "Well, no."

Then why did you expect Notos to? She looks like she's about to cry. God damn it. We don't have time to cry. Well, maybe we do, she is likely there for eternity, but who knows what she's going through. "All right, you go grab the stuff from your father's. I'll give you some cash, you can take a taxi. Gimme a second" I get up and head to our bedroom. I find Elsa's old go bag from back when she wanted to run away with me buried in the back of our closet. I'm not sure where my wallet is, I'll have to ask Notos about that. "Hurry back."

This seems to cheer her up a bit as a faint smile tugs at her lips. "Will that really help?"
Probably not. "Of course it'll help. I need you on this. We are not letting Elsa stay down there for so much as a second longer than she has to."

She nods, the smile taking up more and more of her face until she raises her head back up to face me with a full on grin. "You're right. We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have to save Elsa." She gives me a massive hug, cracking my spine. Fuck, I didn't even know it was hurting, that feels a lot better, who needs a chiropractor when you have a super powered puppy? I pat her back and send her on her way before buying an e-book of every single text with even the slightest mention of Greek mythology. Thank Zeus for browsers saving payment information.

By the time she returns home – to Elsa's and my home, we are not keeping her – I've buried myself in research. My fourth coffee sits next to me, recently reheated by my shiny new powers, as I skim through some boring professor's life's work. It's dreadful, his writing has to be the most dry uninteresting thing I've ever read, but if anything is going to have the exact location of the entrance to Hades, it would be this. People went there all the time. His retelling of Persephone's story should have had it, but of course it didn't, it just had a bunch of sexist drivel that made the story sound even worse than usual. At least the last one I read made them have a lesbian relationship.

She drops a stack of books at my feet before sitting on the floor in front of them and sorting through them. "Where did it go? I know I had it." She knocks one off of the couch as she pulls a massive hardcover out from under it. "There we go." She turns around to lean back against the couch as she pores through the book. At least the puppy knows her place. She's not allowed on furniture.

I tap her head with my foot as I read through Orpheus's tale for the fifth time today. My third skimming through of yet another copy of the Odyssey hadn't had any answers. "Thank you." I'm shocked to hear the words leave my mouth. This crazy girl tried to kill me earlier and she has a crush on my girlfriend, but she is the only other person that cares about Elsa and we need to save her. Maybe Pete would help? But no, he has enough to deal with, Elsa would have turned to him to help run the family while I was gone. I should let him know that I'm okay, but it can wait until I can tell him that Elsa's okay as well.

So, if I'm not turning to him then it's just Jasmine and me.

"I'm happy to help." She stretches and glances at my cup. "Is that hot chocolate?"

"No, it's coffee."

"Do you have hot chocolate?"

I roll my eyes. Children. "Yes, we do. We have some salted caramel packets in the cupboard and we have some chocolate chips you can melt if you want to make it from scratch."

She chews her lip as she considers the two options. "I've never had salted caramel before. Will you make it for me?"

"No. Go make it yourself, I'm trying to find a way to Hell." I turn back to my computer. Orpheus turns back to his wife. The story ends with no mention of any useful landmarks or a far more useful specific city. What am I doing? If Hades was this easy to find then people would go there all the time. Notos wake up! I find a tear threatening to spill from my eye and shake my head. "The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition" pops up on my screen and I skim through the table of contents. This is going to be a long night. "Make me one too."
"Okay," she agrees, her voice still chipper despite my snapping at her. I actually feel bad, don't I? I do not need to make her hot chocolate, she is an adult no matter how pitiful of a little puppy she may be.

By the time I meet Cerberus for the dozenth time I'm barely able to keep my eyes open. My stomach hurts a lot. It's like someone shoved a sword through it or something. Maybe a quick nap would help.

Jasmine hands me a cup of cocoa overflowing with whipped cream and marshmallows. I don't think we even had marshmallows, where the hell did she find them? "Need a pick-me-up?"

"I do." I blow on the drink before remembering that I have fire powers and just take a sip of it. It's really good. This isn't our caramel mix. Did she actually make it from scratch?

"I couldn't find the caramel stuff, I hope it's okay." She smiles at me as she sits down on the floor again, wrapping a blanket around her and chilling the cup with her ice powers. Why does she need a blanket?

"It's actually amazing. Are you cold though? I mean don't you have ice powers."

She shrugs, looking oddly bashful. "I'm always cold. My powers work really differently than you two's. The cold doesn't really hurt me, Skaldi makes sure of that, but I'm always cold."

No. This is dumb. No. I wrap an arm around her, letting the warmth of the Northern wind flow through me as I continue to scroll through the book with my free hand. "That help?"

She pulls my arm snug about her. "It helps a lot. Thank you."

I refuse to acknowledge that I could possibly be blushing. Elsa, we are kicking her out as soon as you're back. Where do you even find these girls?

Odysseus's journey into the underworld begins to blur. I force my eyes open as I stare at the words on the page. He's entering Hades, it's useful, I need to focus. The words fizzle out again, replaced by an image I can't quite decipher. I take a sip of the hot chocolate and notice that Jasmine has fallen asleep with her head lolling against my hip, snoring lightly. The blanket and my arm are both wrapped about her as tightly as can be, but she still shivers. Poor thing.

I can stay up. I just have a couple mortal wounds to recover from, that's nothing four cups of coffee and some hot chocolate can't fix. The cup is suddenly empty. Shit. I don't want to disturb Jasmine. As much as she should be researching, I've already put her through Hell. I'll just power through it, it's fine. Odysseus –

Boreas shoves his blade into my brother's heart. I can see the sneer on his face as he turns to me, Zephyrus's blood still warm as it clings to him. Eurus's mouth tries to form words, but none escape as he slumps over, tears in his eyes as he watches me, silently pleading for my help. I can barely stand. My body is spent. I will never recover from these wounds, but I have to stop him. I lunge forward with all that I have only for Boreas, my dear brother, my hated enemy, to slam the heel of his foot into my face before bringing the blade to bear on me. I fall to the ground and see it plunging towards me, seeming to move at a glacial pace. I need a way out. I can't save our siblings, I can't stop him, all I can do is run. I can't even do that, my legs refuse to work.

I will all of my being into the wind, the hot air blowing Boreas back, his blade colliding only with the ground. Instead of taking the chance to riposte, the wind takes my body with it. Not quite my body, it takes all of me. I seem to dissipate until I'm nothing but my own power. I float, as if weightless, looking for a way to return – a way to avenge my brothers.

I jerk awake, sweat coating my body. I guess I can't claim I was too hot anymore. What the hell was that?

"I'll save you, Elsa," Jasmine murmurs. That girl is crushing hard.

I'll save you, Elsa. I will. And now I have a way.

Notos?

Still no answer, but there's no mistake. That was Notos's memory. He's not completely gone. He has to have a way into Hades, or at least a way to Mt. Olympus. Anything that can get me a conference with Hades or Persephone will do. I just need someone who can help me get to Elsa. I don't care what I have to give up in exchange, I'll do it. Elsa will come home with me.

So, what do I do? Should I go back to sleep? How do I guide his memories? Should I go to some therapist and be put in a trance? No, if I do that then Notos might take back over, I'm not willing to go under, and I'm certainly not willing to try to channel him. There's no way he'd ever bring her back.

I close my eyes, trying to will myself back to the dream. If I can just get back into Notos's memories then maybe I can find my way to where I need to be.

Jasmine mutters something indecipherable and bites my hand. I thwack her on the head and roll over, burying my face against the couch cushion. She can freeze if she's going to be a bad puppy.

Brother,why? You meant the world to me, and now you've ruined everything. Why would you kill them?

I jerk awake. These fuckers are more incestuous than we are. This is getting me nowhere. Elsa, what should I do? I need to find you. "Jasmine?"

She looks up at me, a spot of drool shining on her chin. "Hrm?"

"Can you get us to Greece?"

"My father doesn't have his private plane anymore, but I could buy us some plane tickets." Her mouth opens wide in a yawn, her teeth glistening at me in front of her uvula. She really is a superhero. I can just see her saying 'And remember kids, always brush your teeth. And stay in school." Elsa and I should break her in. Corrupting her sounds fun.

"I was just hoping I wouldn't have to go unarmed." The stupidity of that statement hits me. "Oh, right, I have fire powers. Who needs regular fire power?" I hate myself for that pun. "All right, buy them. We're going on the next flight."

"Did you find out where it is?" The sleep seems gone from her eyes as she grins at me.

I almost hate to disappoint that face. "No. But I might be able to. I just need to be closer, if I can just find some sort of trigger then maybe - I don't know. I just know that sitting here isn't helping. We have to do something."

She pulls her phone out of a pocket in her costume. "All right, gimme a minute and we can get going."

~o~

I pass over an endless expanse of hills, with only memory and the barest hint of a trail guiding me. In a thicket of trees, I find my goal, a small wooden cabin radiating an unmistakable warmth. I make my way inside, the door doing little to stop my formless being. I find the goddess I seek.

"Demeter, I need your help," I gasp, my words nothing more than the rustling of the wind. I need protection,I need food, and I could greatly use my pain lessened.

"Of course, Notos. What has happened to you?" The corn she sets out provides enough sustenance to allow me to solidify a bit more.

"Boreas has betrayed our family. I need your protection under the law of hospitality as I recover."

She nods. "You've already eaten of my food. My hospitality is extended to you."

Jasmine shakes my shoulder. "We're here! Look!" Her finger flies in front of my face as she extends it toward the window. "It's so pretty! Look at it, Anna, look!"

The city of Athens rolls along below us. A massive array of architecture can already be seen as the new, the old, and the very old mesh together in the streets. It looks so different from when Notos fled past it. Wait, how do I remember that? Is it bleeding over? Is he healing? How long will I be able to keep my body?

There's no time to waste. I know where he found Demeter! That's all I need. If she's still there, then she can direct me to Hades. We're coming for you, Elsa.

After the plane lands, we arrange for a car rental and I study a map of Ancient Greece on my phone, comparing it to the one on my GPS. It's tough to tell, I only caught a glimpse, but I think I know the general path he took. We might have to search nonstop for a few days, but we can do this.

Jasmine grabs me by the hand to pull me over to a little cafe inside the airport. "It looks so yummy!"

We look like a couple. She's not my girlfriend. This is so weird. I feel my face heating. I calm myself before it actually lights on fire. I'd rather not deal with airport security right now. "It does look good." I buy us each a pastry and drag her back to the rental car.

"Thank you." Her smile is outlined in powdered sugar.

"Wipe your face. You look like a child."

The little Mini Cooper putters along as the city falls away, revealing endless fields of green. That's closer at least. I know it was Northeast of Athens. I wish I could say more than that.

"Jasmine?" I find myself asking.

"Yes?" She turns to me, her gaze leaving the window for the first time in half an hour. I wonder if she'd stick her head out if I rolled it down?

"What are your plans for when we save Elsa? Are you just going back to your father's and superheroing?"

"That and college, yeah. Why?"

"No reason. Was just wondering." Our apartment doesn't even allow pets. What am I thinking?

I remain silent as I study the countryside, looking for any familiar sign. Jasmine mostly respects this, only occasionally exclaiming about something beautiful. I suppose I can't blame her, Greece really is amazing.

Then I see it. The same hill that I flew past in my dream. It's changed plenty, there's new houses, less sheep, a road circling it, and the little trees near the top have grown to dwarf their surroundings, but it's still unmistakable. There's the same hills around it, the same flowers blooming in an almost perfect path up the side, and now that the window's down, the same gentle scent of lilac. I'm almost there. I just hope Demeter is still here.

I pull over to the side of the road and dash out without a word. Jasmine wakes up and chases after me, I can hear her calling my name, but I run up the hill, following that trail of red flowers. At the top of the hill I look out and, while it's far from solid, or even straight, there are dots of the flowers here and there, marking the path. They'd be impossible to follow from the road. We'll be walking from here.

"What is it?" Jasmine asks, panting for breath as she catches up to me.

"Demeter." I don't offer any more explanation as I run down the other side of the hill, only to climb the next, keeping my eye open for the odd sign. We follow it, keeping conversation to a minimum as we wind our way through the idyllic countryside. I suppose there couldn't be a more picturesque location to hunt down a goddess in search of a way to bring your girlfriend back to life.

Three hours later, we almost run headlong into a tree. I know I could've flown there. I would like to believe it's that I didn't want to advertise my presence, but I know that it was so that Jasmine could keep up. She's useful. I'd hate to walk into this alone and unprepared. Jasmine prods the tree with her finger. It seems solid enough. It wasn't like this in my dream. Where's the cabin?
"Demeter!" My voice carries on the wind for a solid mile. "Demeter come out here! Please, it's Notos, I need your help!" She has to still be here. I don't have any other hope. I need Elsa back. Please, Demeter.

"What's she doing here?" a voice asks, seemingly from nowhere. "I hardly recall you being the like to go off cavorting with a Norse goddess. Has our dear Notos finally found love? And what is that skin you're wearing? It looks like it's ready to drop dead at any second." A beautiful woman walks straight out of the tree. Gods sure do love being showy, don't they?

"Some morphine would be lovely for that, Poppy Mother," I offer. Notos would expect that, right? He wouldn't call it morphine though, fuck. I should've said milk of poppy, or just shut up and gotten straight to my request.

"I'm sure you could use it. Well, I've extended hospitality to you when you were in worse shape, I suppose it would be rude of me to withhold it now. What of your companion? Do you expect me to look after her as well?" She gestures towards Jasmine.

Before Jasmine can strike a pose and introduce herself as some hero of justice, I explain, "She helped me get back here. As you can see I'm hardly in any condition to do so alone. I'm in her debt, I would appreciate her receiving the same kindness you extend to me." I hope I'm getting this right. I didn't have much time to learn how to talk like Notos, I only had those few brief dreams.

She nods and the tree turns into a small wooden hut. "Very well. Come in."

We do as we're bid. Jasmine's eyes look ready to pop out of her head as she examines the house that wasn't there a second ago. "How did you do that?"

"Can you not?" Demeter laughs. "It's barely even a parlor trick."

"You know how the Aesir are," I explain, silently willing Jasmine to keep her mouth shut, "they've never been the type for subtlety."

"Now isn't that the truth." Demeter offers us both a seat around a cozy table with a kettle of tea already set out, before taking one herself. She pours us each a cup. "So Notos, I know you didn't come here just for the poppy, what is it that I can do for you?"

No sense beating around the bush. "I'm looking for Persephone."

She pauses mid-pour, leaving my cup half-filled. "Whyever are you looking for her? You know she's not going to be back for another three months."

"I know. I was hoping I could meet her in Hades, I just need you to point the way." Please say Notos wouldn't know it.

She tops off my drink. "You wish to go to Hades? What sort of nonsense is this about? No one would ever want to see my dear brother. It would be like you wanting to see Boreas."

"That's actually why I'm going there." I take a sip of my tea to force myself to appear calm. She doesn't need to know how desperate I am. "I killed him. I killed Boreas. Finally. Only, now I see that all I've done is torn apart my family even more. Without him, there's only me. The world needs more than a single Anemoi. I can never forgive him for what he did to our family, but I need him back. He's still my brother, and I shouldn't have slain him." There's no way she'll actually believe this. It doesn't even make sense. Of course, Notos would still want him dead, that's been his goal for a goddamn millenium.

She drinks her tea as she studies me. "Perhaps you do need closure. I highly doubt that that rat bastard will release your brother, but I think talking to him, maybe asking him why he killed them, will do you some good. I'll show you the way."

It worked? "Thank you."

"You will?" Jasmine, just keep your mouth shut and look like the most intimidating puppy you can manage to be!

"I will. But first, let's see to that milk of the poppy. I would hate to have you pass out from the pain of your injuries on the way to the underworld."

The morphine does its work. I'm woozy, but the wounds I've been ignoring the best I could for the past day are finally starting to sting a bit less. My guts didn't seem to be in any serious danger of spilling out, but now they don't feel like it either.

She takes us out of her cabin and leads us along a narrow path, that I swear wasn't there a moment ago. Why do they even need so many illusions? "It's a treacherous path," she says, watching her foot as she places it on a sliver of rock outstretched over a mountain that juts up out of nowhere. The hills behind us have vanished. "Only step exactly where I do."

We follow her precisely. Even Jasmine manages to rein in her exuberance enough to be cautious. The mountain seems to tower over a vast emptiness. I try to avoid looking down to see how accurate that may be. Fortunately, she seems to know the way by heart – likely from centuries of visiting her daughter or walking her there. We're able to make our way with no real difficulty.

We step off of the last rock into a dense forest. I'm not sure we're even in Greece anymore. The air smells of musk and decay. We make our way past gnarled old trees, the branches of which block out the sun - if there even is one - to find our way to a colossal oak door. I'm surprised to see that it lacks the inscription "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here." I suppose it isn't exactly Hell we're heading toward.

"You need only step through this door, and you'll enter his domain. I only hope that you'll be able to walk back out." Demeter's voice quivers slightly. Even now, it must still be an emotional subject for her.

"What door?" Jasmine asks, looking between the two of us.

"The big wooden one, right there." I point at it. It has to be fifty feet high and ten feet wide, there's no way she could miss it.

"I just see more forest." She stares at me, her brow furrowing.

"I suppose you don't belong there," Demeter answers. "This isn't the door to Hel, after all."

Jasmine kicks the ground, her lower lip threatening to protrude into a full pout. "I'm not letting you go in alone. There has to be another way!"

"I'm afraid there isn't." Demeter places a hand on Jasmine's shoulder, and I find that I actually feel a little bad tricking her. She seems surprisingly decent, especially for a Greek god.

"It'll be okay." I kiss Jasmine's cheek. I have no idea what that was about. "I'll be back soon." Without bothering to wait for a reply, I push the massive door open. It's a lot easier than I expected, it puts up almost no resistance, almost like it's made of solid air. When I step through, I'm not surprised to see that the environment has changed yet again. I am, however, surprised to find that there's no door behind me.

I guess there's no going back. That's fine, I wasn't going to do so without Elsa anyway. I take a deep breath of the rotting air and continue on the path. It's a cobblestone one, winding down through a dark chasm with no visible walls or ceiling. The ground around it seems to be made of ordinary rock, but I've no desire to test it.

With only an hour of walking, I find myself on one side of a great river, from which emanates a horrifying sound. This must be the Styx. I'd always wanted to see it.

A small dock protrudes into the water a few feet off to the side. On it, a lone figure stands, his features entirely concealed by a cloak. When I reach him, he holds out his hand, palm up. Apparently Charon isn't one for small talk.

I didn't have time to procure a gold coin. I hope that a two Euro coin is good enough. The second I drop it into his hand, his skeletal fingers close around it and he gestures toward his ferry.

I guess I'm in. Elsa, I'm coming.

The boat glides over the glistening water as hands reach out towards us, desperate for something I'd rather not fathom. The ferryman ignores them, so I try to do the same, but I'd be lying if I said my skin didn't crawl at the sight of them.

I think the most horrifying thing was the way neither the boat nor the bodies seemed to make any sound as they moved in the water. The water itself made noises, the dead made their ephemeral moans, but there was no splash or slosh as they moved through the waters of the Styx. I want to try throwing something in to see if it would make a sound, but something tells me that doing so would be a very bad idea.

The surreality of the situation gives me enough to contemplate to pass the short time that the trip takes. The ship suddenly stops as Charon climbs from it and extends his hand to me.

I stare down at it. I'm not sure if he's asking for another coin or if he's offering to help me out of the boat. I decide to take his hand. It appears that I chose right, as he hauls me onto the dock.

Rather than bid me farewell, he simply appears back in his boat and it returns from whence it came, sailing backwards. He faces forward, rowing in reverse, what would be his face staring into my eyes.

I rip my gaze from him and focus on the path before me. There is still only one road, so I follow it. Hades or Oz, I guess it's all the same.

It takes what feels like days, though was probably closer to five or six hours, before I reach another room. A gold door, covered in bas reliefs of the deeds of some god or other, opens into a seemingly endless dining room. At the table, sits a lone woman. Did I go off the path? This doesn't look like where the dead would normally be?

"Good morning, Notos." The woman turns to me. "Have you come to join me for breakfast?"
How long have I been walking? Isn't taking food in Hades a bad idea? "I'm afraid not." My stomach protests. Apparently even in the underworld, I still digest and grow hungry. It's just not worth the risk. I refuse to be stuck here any longer than I need to be.

"I suppose I can't blame you. It hardly went well for me when I first ate here."
Wait. It can't be this easy. "Persephone?"

"In the flesh. Has it been so long that you don't recognize me?" She skewers a strawberry crepe on a fork and slowly brings it to her lips, chewing as she studies me.

Shit. Do I double down on my lie now that I've already fucked it up so badly? No, that wouldn't make sense. That might just end up with me leading Boreas back to Earth instead of Elsa. "I'm not Notos."

She continues to chew as she considers this. "Then who are you? You're not one of the newly dead, I would know, and you have his powers, his very essence."

"He possessed me. First it didn't go well for me or the people I care about, then it didn't go well for him."

She laughs, sending a piece of strawberry flying toward me. "Notos is dead! He didn't have a coin to pay. I can tell now. I should have noticed that before. It's so odd. So much of him is left in you, there's scarcely anything to wither away in the Styx. What is your name?"

"I'm Anna Arlotti."

"Arlotti." She chews another bite. "Oh, there's another Arlotti here. She just arrived a day ago."

"I know. I need to take her home. Notos had no right to take her life. Especially not with my hands. Please, just let me bring her back." Tears begin to fall from my eyes. I decide to go with it and drop to me knees. I'll prostrate myself, I'll beg, I'll plead, I'll do anything in the world if it will bring Elsa back to me.

"Why would you want that?" She continues eating her breakfast as my tears fall onto her floor.

I try to collect myself, but fail miserably. "Because she's everything to me," I wail.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be the first. I don't know that she'd be likely to agree though." Another bite meets her lips and she closes her eyes as she savors the flavor.

"She will." I grit my teeth and force myself back to my feet, tears still streaming down my face. "Of course she will."

"Well, if you're so sure of that, then okay. You can take Elsa back on one condition." She sets her silverware down on her plate and stands to face my fully.

"No looking back?"

She giggles. "I'm afraid it's nothing so easy. She has to leave voluntarily."

Before I can ask how that's supposed to be difficult, she vanishes. Or rather, the entire room vanishes. In its place, I find myself in a field of flowers, where the wind gently caresses my skin, and I can hear laughter over the sound of a waterfall. I turn to take a look around, and see men and women who all seem to be in utter bliss. They have a food that smells like all of my favorite meals mixed into one and yet somehow better, liquor - the mere scent of which is enough to intoxicate me - and even the air itself seems to be full of some sort of drug, as everyone is smiling and lying about in a stupor. It takes less than a second to find Elsa.

When she spots me, my heart stops. Her lazy smile morphs into something truly frightening. She's never looked at me that way before. She didn't even look at our father that way when she killed him. It's like I'm less than nothing to her, and suddenly I understand what Persephone meant.