It was then that Hermes noticed the shabby armour laid out on the pallet. His heart sank.
‘If you don’t come with me, you will die.’
The mirth left Aeneas in an instant. ‘Is this a test?’
Hermes sighed. ‘Look, either you’re going to starve behind these walls or be slaughtered in the dirt outside your city. I promise I can get you out safely, give you gold, a horse, whatever you need. You can go anywhere you want, be anyone.’
Aeneas drew himself up to his full, irritatingly tall height. ‘I would proudly die for Troy and noble King Priam. It will be the honour of my life to defend my kingdom.’
There was only one thing for it. Hermes rose into the air on his winged boots, spreading his arms to reveal his golden armour.
‘I am the god Hermes, Messenger of Olympus. I command you to come with me.’
Aeneas gasped, then fell to his knees, prostrating himself below Hermes’ feet. He always loved it when mortals did that.
‘M-my lord Hermes, forgive me. I did not know it was you.’
Hermes floated back to earth. ‘Good. Now we need to hurry. I have places to be.’
Aeneas sat up, his eyes glistening. ‘I cannot come with you, even though you are a god. I have sworn myself to Ares. It is my destiny to be a soldier, fall by the sword then spend eternity in Elysium.’
The poor, stupid fool. Never had Hermes been so sorely tempted to reveal that the dream of reaching paradise following a noble death in battle was a lie. But the punishment laid out by Zeus for telling a mortal that the three realms of the afterlife were a fantasy was execution, with no exceptions. There were rules even gods could not break.
Hermes sighed once more and ran a hand over his face. He must continue his search for the Underworld girl. He had spent too long in Troy already.
He could always force Aeneas to come with him. Knock the man out and fly him away from the city. But that was risky. If they were seen by a shade or one of his siblings’ priestesses, Zeus would surely kill Aeneas, and he dreaded to think what punishment he and Aphrodite would face.
Struck by a sudden idea, he reached beneath his cloak and pulled a golden homing medallion from the pouch on his belt. The amulet was embossed with a rose in full bloom. He had taken it on a whim, wanting to keep something of Aphrodite’s for himself.
‘Think on what I have said, for I will return. In the meantime, find yourself some better armour. And if war does come before you see me again, place this around the neck of a bird with a message. It will reach your mother.’ He paused. ‘I know she would wish to hear from you before your end.’
‘I will not forget your kindness, Lord Hermes,’ Aeneas replied, his face shining with tears.
Hermes shook his head, wrapped his cloak around him once more, and stepped out into the street, muttering, ‘Mortals.’
When the coast was clear, he flew up to a nearby rooftop, tossed the cloak aside and pulled the rest of his armour from his bag. Once fully clad in gold, he launched into the air. He would need to replenish his life-thread supply before the flight back to mainland Greece.
He swooped low, grabbing a woman from where she sat weaving on a balcony. Choking the breath from her lungs, he drained the life-threads from her dying body mid-air before dropping her corpse over the wall of Troy into the sea.
The mortal’s life force streaked renewed vigour through Hermes’ limbs, and he kicked up into the sky, cutting a path through the pale herds of clouds drifting above the ocean, towards the Black Sea entrance to the Underworld.
12. The Asphodel Meadows
Alea’s name reverberated around the rock walls of the lagoon. Time slowed, and the air grew as thick as tar as the girl in the water turned to reveal the rest of her face. The lily pads shuddered as ripples fled across the water.
Danae fell to her knees.
It was not Alea.
Luminous green eyes stared back at her from a face framed with gills, which before had been hidden by the girl’s hair. Silver scales snaked up her abdomen to circle her pale breasts, muddling with the freckles speckling her chest. She tossed her auburn curls over her shoulder and stretched back her mottled lips to reveal sharp, pointed teeth.
A Nereid. Danae had seen their likeness depicted in a mural on a wall at the trade office in Naxos Port.
She did not move as the creature swam towards her, the joy that had filled her now drained away. She saw how foolish she’d been, trying to fit the imprint of Alea’s face onto the Nereid, anchoring her hope to a few fleeting similarities. As the sea-creature reached the edge of the lagoon she realized that she could no longer remember her sister’s face as a whole, only in fragments. Despite her best efforts, Alea’s memory was fading, and Danae was losing her all over again.
She did not flinch as the creature launched itself from the water, bone-white arms outstretched, jaws open wide. But before the Nereid could snare her in its clutches, Charon yanked Danae back from the water’s edge. She fell to the ground as the Nereid hissed, then dived beneath the water, alarge, shimmering fish tail breaking the surface as her torso disappeared.
Danae scrambled to free herself from the tangle of roots and rock, the impact of slamming into the earth shaking her from her reverie.
