of breath, “we don’t know!”
“What’s wrong with Thanatos?”
“The Ephyrean was here one moment,” Minos shuddered, “then the next, the chains…”
Persephone blanched as Thanatos turned toward her. A master of sleight of hand…
The manacles that once held Sisyphus’s wrists were now on Thanatos’s arms. The links of iron chain laced through flesh and bone, grotesquely exiting his skin on the other side. There was no blood, no other sign of injury; he was a god. But, there was pain. Against all instinct, she forced herself not to be sick. The bile welling in her throat since she reached the shores of the Cocytus abated, replaced with empathy. The sight of her husband’s friend, her friend, in such agony superseded the ghastly sight of the chains impaling his arms. “Thanatos! Stay still.”
“My queen, you do not need to see this!” he yelled out, turning away from her.
Aidoneus walked to him, his heavy staff thumping on the ground with each step. Persephone ran over to Thanatos and knelt down to cradle his head, narrowly avoiding a thrashing wing.
“Please,” he said through gritted teeth, “Don’t… This was my fault—”
“No. This wasn’t,” she said, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead with the cloth of her mantle.
“Sisyphus planned it all along,” Hades snarled, speaking to Thanatos. “He spent the entire judgement distracting us. Throwing us off guard. I should have read his thoughts… I should have been reading them the whole time. I let this happen.” He knelt next to Thanatos and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, my friend. This is going to hurt more than you can imagine.”
“It already fucking hurts!” he screamed.
“What are you going to do?” Persephone said, looking up at her husband.
“Break the chains, pull them out,” Aidon said quietly. He inspected the chains. “Most of them are missing…”
“Just do it already!” Thanatos gritted his teeth.
“You may want to look away—”
“No,” Persephone said. She remembered from her youth when one of the Naiads had tended to another, removing a forgotten fishhook stuck deep in her heel. Persephone took the edge of her chiton and tore a strip of it away, wadding it up in her fist.
“What are you doing?” Thanatos said dizzily, the pain making him nauseous.
“Making sure you don’t crack your teeth,” she muttered, twisting it into a bit.
Aidoneus kept his voice calm and motions steady. “You will heal. But the pain—”
“Of course I’ll heal! I’m a fucking god , aren’t I?!” He forced a smile around the pain.
Persephone twisted the wool again and put it between Thanatos’s teeth. He looked up into her eyes. The mask of anger, his feigned mastery of the pain, melted into fear. His eyes widened in panic, a vulnerability he only allowed her to see for a moment. She stroked his forehead. “Just be still, Thanatos.”
She held him and watched as Aidoneus rolled a small boulder over to where he lay.
“I thought nothing could break the Chains of Tartarus.”
“Everything has a weakness,” her husband said quietly, raising the raven standard. “Hold him steady!” he called out to Minos and Rhadamanthys.
Aidoneus draped the center of the chain over the boulder, stretching out Thanatos’s arms. The judges gripped him at the elbows and held his wings while Persephone leaned his head in her lap. “It will be all right,” she whispered to him.
“On three,” Aidoneus said. Thanatos started breathing hard around the twisted wool, bracing himself. Persephone nodded. “One, two…”
The staff landed with a resounding crack, and Persephone flinched away from the noise, feeling the ground lurch and shake. Death bit down hard and screamed through his clenched jaw, his arms flailing, flinging Minos to the earth while Rhadamanthys desperately maintained his grip. The boulder beneath the chains was broken into rubble. She tried to calm Thanatos, and saw Minos grasp his
“What’s wrong with Thanatos?”
“The Ephyrean was here one moment,” Minos shuddered, “then the next, the chains…”
Persephone blanched as Thanatos turned toward her. A master of sleight of hand…
The manacles that once held Sisyphus’s wrists were now on Thanatos’s arms. The links of iron chain laced through flesh and bone, grotesquely exiting his skin on the other side. There was no blood, no other sign of injury; he was a god. But, there was pain. Against all instinct, she forced herself not to be sick. The bile welling in her throat since she reached the shores of the Cocytus abated, replaced with empathy. The sight of her husband’s friend, her friend, in such agony superseded the ghastly sight of the chains impaling his arms. “Thanatos! Stay still.”
“My queen, you do not need to see this!” he yelled out, turning away from her.
Aidoneus walked to him, his heavy staff thumping on the ground with each step. Persephone ran over to Thanatos and knelt down to cradle his head, narrowly avoiding a thrashing wing.
“Please,” he said through gritted teeth, “Don’t… This was my fault—”
“No. This wasn’t,” she said, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead with the cloth of her mantle.
“Sisyphus planned it all along,” Hades snarled, speaking to Thanatos. “He spent the entire judgement distracting us. Throwing us off guard. I should have read his thoughts… I should have been reading them the whole time. I let this happen.” He knelt next to Thanatos and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, my friend. This is going to hurt more than you can imagine.”
“It already fucking hurts!” he screamed.
“What are you going to do?” Persephone said, looking up at her husband.
“Break the chains, pull them out,” Aidon said quietly. He inspected the chains. “Most of them are missing…”
“Just do it already!” Thanatos gritted his teeth.
“You may want to look away—”
“No,” Persephone said. She remembered from her youth when one of the Naiads had tended to another, removing a forgotten fishhook stuck deep in her heel. Persephone took the edge of her chiton and tore a strip of it away, wadding it up in her fist.
“What are you doing?” Thanatos said dizzily, the pain making him nauseous.
“Making sure you don’t crack your teeth,” she muttered, twisting it into a bit.
Aidoneus kept his voice calm and motions steady. “You will heal. But the pain—”
“Of course I’ll heal! I’m a fucking god , aren’t I?!” He forced a smile around the pain.
Persephone twisted the wool again and put it between Thanatos’s teeth. He looked up into her eyes. The mask of anger, his feigned mastery of the pain, melted into fear. His eyes widened in panic, a vulnerability he only allowed her to see for a moment. She stroked his forehead. “Just be still, Thanatos.”
She held him and watched as Aidoneus rolled a small boulder over to where he lay.
“I thought nothing could break the Chains of Tartarus.”
“Everything has a weakness,” her husband said quietly, raising the raven standard. “Hold him steady!” he called out to Minos and Rhadamanthys.
Aidoneus draped the center of the chain over the boulder, stretching out Thanatos’s arms. The judges gripped him at the elbows and held his wings while Persephone leaned his head in her lap. “It will be all right,” she whispered to him.
“On three,” Aidoneus said. Thanatos started breathing hard around the twisted wool, bracing himself. Persephone nodded. “One, two…”
The staff landed with a resounding crack, and Persephone flinched away from the noise, feeling the ground lurch and shake. Death bit down hard and screamed through his clenched jaw, his arms flailing, flinging Minos to the earth while Rhadamanthys desperately maintained his grip. The boulder beneath the chains was broken into rubble. She tried to calm Thanatos, and saw Minos grasp his
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