Dreamless

under the lids that signaled the deep, healing sleep that mortals need. But it never came.
    Without true rest, each night she would grow weaker and weaker until the time came for his master to strike.

CHAPTER FOUR
    H elen felt the stale air of the Underworld envelop her. She flinched and looked around, half worried that her attempt to think positively had failed, and that she was going to find herself in the pit.
    “Do you always wander around hell in your pajamas?” asked a sardonic voice. Helen whirled around and saw Haircut, standing just a few feet away.
    “What?” Helen stammered, looking down at herself. She was wearing a nightshirt and shorts with gap-toothed pumpkins and hissing black cats all over them.
    “Don’t get me wrong, I like the short shorts, and the Halloween motif is hilarious, but I’m getting cold just looking at you.”
    Haircut took off his jacket and started stuffing Helen into it without even asking if she was cold. She thought for a moment that she should refuse, but as soon as she felt how cozy his jacket was, she realized that she was freezing her butt off, and decided she’d better not complain.
    “I’m wearing what I wore to bed,” Helen explained defensively as she tugged her hair out from under the coat’s collar. She hadn’t given any thought to what she wore when she descended. “So . . . do you always fall asleep with that stupid gold shrubbery on your arm?”
    He looked down at his arm and chuckled to himself. Helen couldn’t remember ever hearing laughter in the Underworld, and she almost didn’t believe she was hearing it now.
    “A bit too much bling, huh? How ’bout this?” The tree branch that snaked around his forearm shrank until it was no more than a thick gold bracelet. Embossed with a leaf design, it circled his wrist like a cuff. Helen had only seen one other object magically transform like that: the cestus of Aphrodite, which she wore around her neck in the guise of a heart necklace.
    “Who are you?”
    “I’m Orion Evander. Head of the House of Rome, Heir to the House of Athens, Third Leader of the Rogue Scions, and bearer of the Golden Bough of Aeneas,” he said in a deep and impressive voice.
    “Ooh,” Helen hooted sarcastically. “Am I supposed to bow or something?”
    To her surprise Orion laughed again. For all his high-and-mighty titles, this guy was definitely not stuck-up.
    “Daphne said you were powerful, but she never mentioned you were such a wiseass,” Orion said. Helen’s amused face dropped immediately.
    “How do you know my . . . Daphne?” she demanded, awkwardly avoiding the use of the word mother .
    “I’ve known her my whole life,” Orion replied, concerned. He took a step closer to Helen and looked her in the eyes, like he wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t joking around anymore. “Daphne took a big risk to help me get here so I could help you. Didn’t she tell you I was coming?”
    Helen shook her head and looked down, thinking of all the unreturned messages she had left on Daphne’s voice mail.
    “We don’t talk much,” Helen mumbled. She was embarrassed to admit it to a stranger, but Orion didn’t look at her like he thought she was horrible daughter or anything. In fact, he smiled sadly to himself and nodded, as though he knew exactly what Helen was feeling. He looked back at her with kind eyes.
    “Well, even though you two aren’t close, Daphne wanted you to . . . DUCK!” He suddenly screamed as he grabbed Helen’s head and pushed it down.
    A snarling black dog sailed over Helen and hit Orion directly on the chest. Orion absorbed the blow and fell back, his long dagger already in one hand as the other hand held the dog back by its throat. Unsure what she should do, Helen scrambled up to her knees and saw Orion slashing at the snapping head of the creature. He was on his back and he couldn’t get the momentum required to deliver a killing stab. Helen hauled herself up to her feet, but had no idea how to jump into the fight. The beast’s claws raked at Orion’s chest, leaving jagged, bloody scratches.
    “This is not a spectator sport!” Orion shouted from the ground. “Kick it in the ribs!”
    Helen stowed her shock, planted her left foot, and booted the monster with all her might. It didn’t seem to hurt the hellhound at all. Instead, all the kick managed to do was get the beast’s attention. Helen stumbled back. The monster turned its glowing red eyes on her. She squeaked in