Dreamless

there?”
    “Didn’t stop to chat. Thanatos just has to touch you to kill you, so I left that one to your mother and her bolts.” Hector gave an expressive shrug. “We don’t know why the minor gods are out and about. Daphne sent me back here immediately to have you ask the Oracle if she’s seen anything.”
    “I’ll call her right now.” Helen took out her phone.
    “There’s one more thing,” Hector said reluctantly. “We don’t think Automedon is working for Tantalus anymore. We don’t know who’s pulling his strings now. It could be that he watched you for a while, saw what you can do, and decided it wasn’t worth it. He hasn’t attacked you, so don’t panic yet. Just keep your eyes open.”
    “Great,” Helen said with a mirthless laugh. “Anything else you want to tell me? Because I just started dreaming again and I could really use some more nightmare material.”
    Hector laughed with her as she dialed Cassandra’s number and listened to the phone ring. She reached out and laid her hand over Hector’s, giving him a sympathetic smile. She noticed that he had avoided saying Cassandra’s name, and opted instead to call her by her title. He missed them all so much. Hector smiled back at Helen ruefully and dropped his eyes.
    “It won’t be much longer,” Helen promised him softly, listening to the phone ring and ring. “You’ll be back with your family soon.”
    “You found something, didn’t you?” he said, perking up. “Why didn’t you tell me right away?”
    “Orion and I are pretty sure we know what we need. The only problem is I still don’t know how to find the Furies once we get it,” she replied as she hung up and dialed Matt’s number instead. “I didn’t want to say anything, just in case this all falls through, but we’re going to make our first try for it tonight.”
    Matt’s phone went directly to voice mail. She tried Claire, Jason, Ariadne, and finally Lucas, but in every case she either got shunted directly to voice mail or the call was dropped entirely.
    “No one’s answering?” Hector asked with growing alarm as call after call failed to connect.
    “It’s the weirdest thing!” Helen huffed, and began typing an email. Hector reached out and prevented her, taking the phone and deleting the email.
    “Helen, go home,” he said in a low, tense voice. He gave her back her phone, stood up, and began looking around in alarm. “Go home right now and descend.”
    A lab table from the science department at Nantucket High came soaring through the front window of the store, shattering the glass and sending the displays tumbling across the floor. The rancid smell of Eris came wafting in after it. Helen fought off the urge to light something on fire, knowing that her emotions weren’t real and that she was being manipulated by a malevolent goddess. She heard customers scream in the back room and that snapped her out of her dangerous mood. She vaulted over the counter, but Hector held out an arm and stopped her from sprinting into the back.
    “I’ll protect Kate and Jerry—from themselves if necessary. You descend,” he said in a firm but blessedly calm voice. Helen gave him a level look and nodded once to show she understood his orders.
    “Don’t be a hero,” she ordered him back. “If the Hundred or your family comes, you run.”
    “Hurry, Princess,” Hector said, and kissed her on the forehead. “We’re counting on you.”
    Helen ran out of the News Store. Behind her, she heard Hector explaining to her father that she was going for the police. Avoiding the raucous mob, she darted down a dark alley where she couldn’t be seen and soared into the air. Flying under the blue tarp that still covered her window, Helen landed directly in bed, hoping she would eventually calm down enough to fall asleep.
    Her feet slammed down hard between row after row of sterile, white flowers. It was the first time Helen could recall ever having a hard landing in the Underworld, and it was most likely because she had been so desperate to get there. Helen spun around in a circle and discovered that she was in the dreadful Fields of Asphodel. Thankfully, she was not alone. She hadn’t realized it until she saw Orion’s solid shape a few feet away, but she had been worried about him.
    “Orion!” Helen said with relief. She ran the last few steps toward him through the tombstone blooms. He turned and caught her up in his arms with a worried frown.
    “What’s the