Page 39 of Song of Memories

"Hercules!" Hermes hissed, whisper-yelling down the hallway. "I told you to be careful!" Hercules was bent over the remnants of a shattered vase, an embarrassed look on his face with his cheeks flushed pink. Hercules, Hermes's consort and the greatest warrior Greece had ever known, was horribly clumsy at times when he wasn't very literally counterbalancing his own weight with a sword.

"I told you not to bring me!" Hercules whispered back, delicately stepping over the broken shards of glass. "I don't know why I'm necessary for a reconnaissance mission, Hermes." Hercules tiptoed over to his husband with a pout.

"Because…" Hermes exhaled in relief when he realized they hadn't been caught, "if we run into Cerberus, he likes you more."

"Cerberus guards the gates of hell. He's not inside Hades and Persephone's household."

"Of course he is," Hermes scoffed and continued walking down the hallway. "Persephone demanded that Cerberus be allowed to sleep in their bed."

"Do I want to know how you know that?" Hercules flushed a little deeper, and Hermes shivered pleasantly. There was nothing he loved more than the big demigod when he got pouty and jealous.

"I'm the god of thieves, my love." Hermes winked. "It's my job to know the comings and goings of guard dogs."

Hercules said nothing but crossed his arms over his chest, clearly skeptical. Hermes went up on his tiptoes and quickly kissed Hercules on the chin, relishing in the hazy look it gave Hercules.

"Let's hurry up, and we can go home." Hermes waggled his eyebrows, his seduction apparent. Hercules held his hand out towards the heavy double doors at the end of the hallway, indicating for Hermes to get on with it. Hermes stole another kiss from Hercules and squeezed his hand.

"Wait here and watch daddy go to work." Hermes chuckled to himself, dissipating into a soft cloud of golden magic. He slid effortlessly towards the doors to Hades's office and slipped through the crack in between them, reappearing on the other side.

"Not even a little ward or some magic to stop me?" Hermes whispered to himself as he headed straight towards the apothecary cabinet behind the oak table Hades used as a desk. Hades's office looked like every other room in the house, which was elaborately decorated and stockpiled with riches that would make mortals and immortals alike weep. There were hundreds of tiny shelves nestled across the walls, each small alcove holding anything from a sparrow's skeleton to a ruby the size of an infant's fist. You never knew with Hades.

However, Hermes was looking for one thing in particular—something that would help him skirt around Hades's rules and hopefully bring Pan some peace. It might result in a little chaos first, but it would—he hoped—inevitably ensure that at least Eurydice was making fully informed decisions.

Hermes's hands glowed as he started tracing his finger over the wooden shelving, feeling the little cracks and pops in the atmosphere from the magical signatures of all the tiny keepsakes. Hecate may have been the goddess of witchcraft, but if she ever needed an ingredient she couldn't find, she asked Hades if he had it.

After a couple desperate minutes of searching, Hermes giggled to himself when he landed on a tiny, sealed jar. It was made with a typical red clay, nothing fancy, with a wax seal over the top of it. Arguably, it looked like the plainest thing on the shelf. Anyone who didn't know what they were looking at would inevitably leave it behind, assuming it had no value.

"Hello, my pretty!" Hermes cooed, snatching the jar off the shelve and reading the label. There was a small piece of parchment tied around the lip of the jar with string that had nearly rotted away. Hermes read the tiny, neat handwriting.

“Krasi tis alitheias." Hermes's smiled widened. "Oh, you lovely thing, you."

Hercules hissed through the door. "I don't know what you're talking to, but it better not have a pulse!"

Hermes had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing too loudly; he could never get enough of a jealous Hercules. He could never really get enough of Hercules at all, which was partially why he found a reason to bring Hercules everywhere he went.

Hermes slipped the tiny jar into a small drawstring bag, looping it across his body before tiptoeing as quickly as he could out of the office. Hermes swung the doors open and grinned at the shocked expression on Hercules's face.

"What's that look for? We can go... Oh." Hermes's eyes widened as soon as he realized Cerberus was sitting at Hercules's feet, and a very angry Hades was standing in the hallway.

Hades had very clearly been pulled from bed, only wearing a bedsheet haphazardly tied into a loincloth around his waist. It was one of the few times that Hermes had ever seen him without a single piece of jewelry, except for the gilded string he wore wrapped around his ring finger. Hades's face was twisted in anger, but Hermes could tell it was giving way to meager frustration. The lord of the Underworld must have assumed there were actual thieves in his office. Knowing Hades, he would have been less bothered about any missing material items and more livid that something in his home had potentially jeopardized Persephone's safety.

"Hermes," Hades growled. His voice was low and groggy with sleep, and he pushed his shoulder-length black hair out of his face. "I should have known. Do you want to even try to lie and tell me why you're here?"

"Shit," Hercules cursed, getting both Hermes's and Hades's attention. Hercules gave them an awkward smile and immediately turned around to start petting Cerberus again.

"Well," Hermes cleared his throat, "there's a very good reason for this, my liege."

Hades rolled his eyes. "There always is, if you're the god of thieves."

"Quite right." Hermes's lips pulled into a thin line. "I suppose you want the truth?"

"The truth is probably what will keep me from stringing you up by your sandals outside the gates of hell for a few days. It won't hurt you, but I imagine your pride will suffer to have you as my lawn ornament."

Hermes cringed. He screwed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He leveled his gaze at Hades, pushing his heart out on his sleeve.

"It's for Pan."

Hades's countenance changed instantaneously. The furrow between his brows softened, and the frustration on his face ebbed away. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, as if he couldn't decide what he wanted to say. Hermes's heart started beating faster. Hercules must have sensed the tension, and he stood behind Hermes, placing a heavy, warm hand on his back for comfort. Hermes leaned into it, grateful for the touch. Finally, Hades turned around and started walking away without a word. Hermes stood shocked for a few seconds before he called out after the god.

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