Her mom checked her watch. “I can’t. I’ve got just enough time to run a few errands before I go back in to the office. But I suppose you could take Cassandra, if you’ll drop her at the house right after.”
Her mom got into the car and smiled at them as she buckled up. They waved as she pulled out onto the road.
“Odd how she lets me out of the house unsupervised with the boy who just brought me home from god knows where,” Cassandra said.
“Well I’m sure she wouldn’t, if she knew I was Death.”
Cassandra frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you. To see how you were. And Athena kicked me out of the house.”
“Why?” she asked, and almost chuckled at the image. Standing in the familiar spring sunlight of the town she’d grown up in, Thanatos looked different. She could almost forget the way they met. She could actually feel her brain trying to superimpose a normal explanation over the true one.
Thanatos sighed.
“Because I am what I am,” he replied. His brows knit. “There’s something wrong with Hermes.”
“What? What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s dying.”
“He’s been dying.” But something in Thanatos’ eyes told her this time was different. Hermes was dying now.
*
When they pulled into Athena’s driveway, Cassandra had a moment of doubt. A flash that going inside wasn’t the best idea. Ares was bound to be there. It could all blow up. But she had to see Hermes.
She knocked at the door without knowing why. She’d always gone straight in. Times had changed.
Odysseus answered, and after his face lit up, he pulled her into a hug. Her arms stuck out behind him like brittle twigs. He was alive. Alive and unhurt as if nothing had happened.
And Calypso will never know.
“Odysseus,” Cassandra said. She could only bear looking into his eyes for a few seconds. “Athena told me you were alive, but I almost didn’t believe it.”
“Yeah, well, this bloke told us about you, and I almost didn’t believe it, either.” He touched her hair. “I’m glad you’re okay. I’m sorry about Cally.”
Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut. He was the last person in the world who should say that.
“Is Hermes…?” she asked.
Odysseus nodded over his shoulder.
“Stick around, after,” he said. “I want to hear all about your time on the road. God killing.”
Cassandra let him lead her into the house. The kindness in his voice was terrible. It was only because he didn’t know. Once he did, their friendship would be over. She deserved that. But she couldn’t help wanting to put it off.
Hermes lay on the couch, covered from chin to toe by a slab of blankets. They’d packed something in with him that made boxy bunches beneath the fabric. She didn’t know what it was, but it hid his thinness well enough. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he had just come down with the flu.
That’s a lie. His gaunt face had gone the color of ash. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was already dead.
Athena stood beside the couch. She’d changed out of her bloody shirt, but the way she stood said the wound still hurt. A dark spot above her collarbone hinted at another feather working toward the surface.
“You brought him back here,” Athena said, staring at Thanatos.
“He’s not the cause of this.” Cassandra spoke carefully. Anyone could see Athena was barely hanging on, and Thanatos was an easy target. But Athena knew the truth when she heard it. She backed up a step so Cassandra could get to the front of the couch.
“Hey,” Hermes whispered as she knelt. “We’ve been looking for you. Went all the way to the desert to ask Aunt Demeter where you were.” Cassandra felt the cold emanating from beneath the thick blanket. They’d packed him with ice, and still his eyes shone bright with fever, and sweat dripped down his neck. “They killed her, you know. The Moirae. Sliced her into confetti.”
Cassandra pressed her hand to his shoulder. “How long has he been like this?”