Page 40 of A Touch of Chaos

“The first one?” Persephone asked.

“He hires and fires them,” said Hermes. “The—”

“Architects,” Robert and Hermes said at the same time.

“Why?” Persephone asked.

“He thinks it will add to the perplexity of his labyrinth,” said Apollo.

“I told him it wasn’t so,” said Robert. “All he needed was a great architect, but he wanted it to beinescapable.”

Persephone frowned, holding the mortal’s gaze.

“And…why are you here again?”

“Wethoughtwe would get to torture him into telling us how to get through the labyrinth,” said Hermes. “Turns out he’scooperative.”

“I think you are upset about the wrong thing, Hermes,” Hecate advised.

The God of Mischief crossed his arms over his chest.

“You are telling me Hades is trapped in a labyrinth?” Persephone asked.

“It is more than likely,” said Robert. “I do not know much about Theseus’s plans beyond the fact that he wanted a type of prison. He insisted it be constructed from adamant.”

“Well, that is unfortunate,” said Hecate.

Persephone looked at the goddess. “What is it?”

“It is a metal that was forged by Gaia,” Hecate said. “Itmeans that entering the labyrinth will be like becoming a mortal. It also means we cannot teleport inside or out.”

The more she learned, the more anxious Persephone became, but things were making sense. Now she knew why she could not feel Hades’s magic.

“So the only way to reach him is to go through the labyrinth,” Persephone said, more to herself than anyone else.

“Do you know which part of the labyrinth you built?” asked Apollo. “We could find the other architects and piece together a map.”

But Robert shook his head. “It would be too hard to say which part was mine, and I imagine it would be the same for the others.”

Persephone studied the mortal. “Why are you so compliant?” she asked, a little suspicious.

“Theseus never asked us what gods we served,” said the man. “I have always been pious, and pious I will always be.”

His sincerity rang true.

“Thank you, Robert.”

He smiled. “Of course, my lady,” he said with a nod. “Er…would anyone be willing to…untie my hands? They’re a little numb.”

Persephone turned her gaze to Apollo and Hermes. “Take him home, and one of you…grant him a favor.”

Apollo and Hermes exchanged a look and then spoke in unison. “We can’t.”

Then Persephone remembered what Aphrodite said—that Zeus had stripped them of their powers.

“Well, how did you get him here?”

“The old-fashioned way,” said Hermes.

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