I lay in silence for a moment - the memory of Mino's voice echoing around the small room. Cupid is here. I should be happy. But I can't shift the dread, and the darkness that rages like a tornado in my chest.
My eyes hone in on a dent in the oak beam above the bed as I try to calm the pounding of my heart. I feel unclean; like Valentine's fingers around mine as we held the knife between us somehow corrupted my soul.
We all have stains on our souls.
But no. He didn't touch me. Not really.
It was a dream. That's all.
I unclench my fingers and look at the palm of my hand where the long, thin scar still cuts across my skin.
It wasn't a dream.
What does this scar mean?
Valentine said he was showing me something I failed to see. He said he let me kill him. He said that that night in the cave he gave me something. But what?
I try to think back. I let my mind go over the events of that night - events that I've tried so hard not to think about.
I can almost smell the damp of the cave, mixed with the metallic tang of blood and the salt of the ocean. I can almost feel the resistance of Valentine's body as I plunged the Finis into his heart. I can see the box of cupid hearts that he'd locked up so he could command an army of the undead.
And I remember reaching for the key that hung around his neck...
There's another rap against the door and I flinch.
"Come along, Lila Black. We haven't got all day." Mino's booming voice fills the small room.
I take a deep breath.
"Coming," I call back - hearing the slight tremble in my voice and hoping Mino doesn't pick up on it. I was ready to tell him about Valentine last night, but now something compels me not to say anything. Not yet. Not until I know whether Valentine really is willing to help us.
That's what I tell myself anyway.
I get out of bed. There's a mirror hanging on the wall and I quickly check myself out in it. I look as disheveled as I feel.
I'm still wearing the black strappy top, and skinny jeans I'd worn yesterday, there are light purple smudges beneath my eyes, and my dark hair is a tangled mess down my shoulders. I pinch my cheeks, bringing a bit of color into them, and pull my hair into a messy bun on top of my head.
Then I trudge, barefoot, out onto the mezzanine level.
Did you miss me?
Valentine's gruff voice resounds briefly in my mind; but it's quickly drowned out by the sound of light male voices on the ground floor of the vertical labyrinth like warehouse. I step forward and peer over the edge of the balcony and the talking stops.
Cupid is still dressed in his tux from last night; but his crumpled sleeves are rolled up, and the top three buttons are undone. He is leant against the island in the center of the kitchen, and he looks up when he sees me, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
"Morning, lazy bones," he says. "Get yourself down here."
The scent of coffee beans hits my nose and I notice that Mino, dressed uncharacteristically casually in grey sweats and a black T-shirt is pouring hot water into a cafetiere.
I rub my eyes.
"Coffee." The word comes out of my mouth as a low, almost unintelligible grunt. "Need. Coffee."
"I'm sure that can be arranged." Cupid's eyes glint with amusement as I start to make my way downstairs. "You're really not a morning person, are you, lovebug?" he says.
I offer him a half smile as I reach the ground level, before a movement by the barred windows catches my eye. Mino said that Cupid had brought a friend. I jerk my gaze across the warehouse.
A man with dark skin, dreadlocks, and intelligent brown eyes grins at me as he walks towards me and the kitchen. I give him a smile back. The last time I saw him he gave me back Cal's life thread, and warned me to be careful.
"Charon," I say.
"Good to see you again, Lila." He stops a few feet in front of me.
He's looking much brighter than the last time we met; wearing blue board shorts, flip-flops, and a clean white linen shirt. His eyes look searchingly into mine. Confusion briefly passes across his face and his dark brows furrow. I vaguely recall him looking at me in a similar way back on Malibu beach after I'd killed Valentine.
I open my mouth to ask him what's wrong. But before the words can come out Cupid pushes a mug of steaming hot coffee into my hands and brushes his lips on my forehead. Lightly he pulls me towards the counter in the center of the kitchen, turns me around so that I'm facing Mino, and puts his hands on the surface of the island on either side of my so that I'm enveloped within his hard body.
My pulse quickens a little at the proximity of him; at his heat, and the light scent of perspiration mixed with a light fabric softener. I can feel his chest rising up and down against my back, his breathing deeper than usual. And the strange moment between me and Charon passes as though it never happened at all.
I gratefully take a gulp of the strong, black coffee.
The ferryman of the dead sits on one of the stools beside us.
"What news do you have for us, old friend?" says Mino - sliding another mug across the island towards Charon.
Charon takes it, his eyes holding Mino's for a moment. He licks his lips then shakes his head.
"Dude, you wouldn't believe the trouble that's kicking off down there right now," he says. "There are rumors. Rumblings in the Underworld. They're saying that Pluto, the God of the dead, may soon rise."
The blood in my veins runs cold.
"Which, by the way, is not good thing," Cupid says, his lips close to my ear.
"Yeah...after meeting the Goddess of love, I kinda figured..." I say, darkly. I turn to Charon. "Because of the missing soul?"
Charon nods.
"And I'm in serious excrement if he comes back, believe me. He's going to blame this on me. I'm the only person that's supposed to pass in and out of the Underworld."
I open my mouth to ask him if he knows who, or where, the soul is.
"He doesn't know who it is, lovebug," says Cupid quietly, a hint of defeat in his tone.
"So we have nothing to bargain with the Furies for?" I say softly - dread seeping into my body. "The Furies are going to come back tonight. And they're going to start killing people."
Cupid exhales and I feel his warm breath on my head. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up..."
"The rumors started just after the battle with Valentine," says Charon. "I think the barrier between the living and the dead - the barrier that kept my ship held on the horizon during that whole embarrassing incident..."
"Where you were held captive on your own ship," says Cupid.
Charon shrugs sheepishly.
"Yeah...that... well - I think the barrier was temporarily weakened. A soul must have slipped out."
"A soul important enough to bring back one of the old gods," says Mino thoughtfully, "Could it be our old friend, Valentine?"
No.
Charon shakes his head and takes a sip of his coffee.
"Nope. Afraid not. He's still there. I asked around after him during my last journey. Rumor has it he's sought refuge with one of Nox's children."
"I hate to suggest it...but is it worth tracking down my super evil brother to find out what he knows," says Cupid.
"It'll be dangerous. But I'm scheduled to make another trip to the Underworld this evening." Charon puts down his mug and stands. "To pick up the Furies." He pauses as my stomach clenches. "I'm sure one of my passengers on the way back can be persuaded to make some enquiries."
"Who...who will the passengers be? Who are the Furies going to take to the Underworld."
Charon holds my gaze. Then he shrugs.
"I only know there has been a booking made for three; a human, a cupid, and a being of mythological origin."
"Not good enough. We need to get to Valentine before then." A sharp voice comes from the doorway and we all turn sharply to see Cal stood there, pale-faced and tense - wearing the same, now creased, gray suit as last night.
"Please, come in, old friend," says Mino - a hint of sarcasm behind his otherwise light tone. "Listen in to our conversations. Make yourself at home."
Cal glowers at him. He doesn't move. His silvery eyes lock onto Charon's.
"If Valentine knows something we can't sacrifice three souls to the Furies in order to find him. Take my brother or me across, now. Promise us safe passage back to the living. Let us stop this before we end up with another ridiculous mythological apocalyptic disaster on our hands."
Charon shakes his head regretfully.
"You know I can't do that, man. I have laws I need to abide by."
"You took someone across once," says Cupid.
My body inadvertently tenses.
"Psyche," I say, quietly - remembering what Valentine told me.
Charon looks at me - eyes searching. He nods softly. "That was a long time ago."
He starts to move towards the door.
"The Furies are scheduled to arrive at ten pm on Mailbu beach. After that I'm guessing they'll head to wherever you three are," he says - indicating me, Cupid, and Cal. "If it's not you guys that they want to drag to the Underworld, they'll want you to witness whoever they choose. You were the ones that heightened their fury after all. That's all the help I can offer you right now."
He heads past Cal, pausing in the doorway.
"Good luck," he says before heading out. We listen in silence as his footsteps disappear down the concrete steps outside.
Cal looks over his shoulder, then strides into the room toward us. He stops stiffly by the island in the kitchen. If possible, he looks even tenser than usual with his jaw clenched and a hint of panic clear in the silvery flecks of his irises.
"You were looking through the Matchmaking Service software?" I say. "Trying to hack into the Fates' system to see if there were any discrepancies that could be linked to the missing soul?"
He nods sharply.
"Well? Find anything, brother?" says Cupid. "We could use some good news."
Cal pauses.
"I was unable to get into the Fates' system," he says. "But..."
He pauses. I feel Cupid shift behind me.
"Spit it out, brother."
Cal runs a hand through his pale hair and Mino watches him intently.
"I did find something strange in the Matchmaking Service system."
He looks at me.
"What?" I say.
He exhales.
"I...I looked up Cupid's match..." he averts his eyes, cheeks slightly pink.
"Why, brother?" says Cupid - a slight edge to his tone.
He meets my eyes - ignoring Cupid's question.
"Lila is no longer listed as Cupid's Match," he says. My stomach drops. Cal exhales. "In fact, Lila is no longer in the Cupids Matchmaking Service system at all."