Page 17 of On a Pale Horse
“I’ll go,” Cloris whispered. No doubt witnessing the silent war going on in Katherine’s mind.
Katherine shook her head. “No, I have to go. It’s my responsibility.”
Cloris stood and arranged her dress to fall perfectly down her legs again. “We work together. We’re a team. Besides, Arwan needs you and we all need him here and safe. You stay with him and Hades and I will do the hunting. We have faster ways of travel than the rest of you.”
Katherine swallowed heavily, wanting to tell her friend how much this meant, but she didn’t want to embarrass her. Cloris wasn’t the affectionate type. Like Arwan, she kept her feelings on the inside. What a life that would be. “Thank you. I’ll keep you updated if he sees anything else.”
Cloris gave her a nod and then dragged her phone out, hit a button, and pressed it to her ear. Katherine could hear her talking to Hades. It was one of the very few phone numbers Cloris kept in her phone.
Cloris said, “You have plans tonight? Well, I’m sorry we have to cancel.”
There was a long pause that Katherine couldn’t hear, then Cloris answered. “Well, we can take a rain check. Cancel your plans and I’ll meet you at the house. Wear something you can trudge around in.”
Cloris let out a huff. “I do too own boots.”
Then Cloris let out a giggle. A girly, ridiculous sound Katherine would never have associated with the stoic women she’d gotten to know only too well in the last few years.
Katherine’s mouth dropped open, and she snapped it closed. In all the years the group had been together, she couldn’t recall hearing Cloris let out a laugh like that. She stared at her back, her hair twisted in an intricate arrangement at the base of her neck.
Cloris’ happiness would have been amazing had it been under better circumstance. Maybe not better, more calm circumstances.
Katherine wanted Cloris and Hades to have a normal stable relationship. So far it seemed they had to keep bouncing around chasing Hel, or saving someone's life, and weren’t able to get on solid ground.
Now that Katherine felt what a healthy relationship with someone could be like, she wanted that for Cloris too. Was that with Hades, or maybe Persephone, her off-again-on-again girlfriend? Katherine couldn’t say, but she wanted her to be happy, and Hades, whether together or apart.
Cloris’ voice cut through her thoughts as she continued talking to Hades. “No, I’ll be there in ten minutes. We’re going to Egypt.”
Cloris disappeared and Katherine ran her hand flat over Arwan’s stomach. The urge to press her face there, breathe him in, reassure herself of his safety beat at her. But she didn’t want to disturb him. Instead, she went to her kitchen and started some soup. Caring for him when he woke up would have to be sufficient for her frayed nerves.
Soup made everything better. She untied her long curly hair and gathered it back up in a messy bun. Then she surveyed her ingredients and got to work.
At the back of her mind, she had to wonder, if Cloris succeeded… and Katherine became human, what would that mean for everyone else?
Eight
Cloris
Cloris used the front door of her home instead of materializing this time. Maybe if she made chalk circles on the floor so no one moved the furniture, she might be able to enter once without hurting herself. She slipped off her heels by the door and trekked into the bedroom.
Hades was on the phone but quickly cut off when she entered. She stopped short and eyed him. “Anything I should know?”
He shook his head. “Nope, I told you I’d made plans for tonight. That was just me postponing them.”
The way he was averting his eyes made her think he was hiding something, but she didn’t push him.Theydidn’t push each other like that. “Okay.”
She entered the closet and dug through a box on the floor. Some black cargo pants and a pair of hiking boots were stuffed inside. It was no secret she lived in a uniform. As Death, she figured it was her responsibility to look the part when she arrived to escort souls. The somber black sheath dress was the easiest version of the look she could manage. But it wasn’t going to work for the desert.
She stepped out of the dress and changed into simple black cotton undergarments. Hades cleared his throat, and she caught him staring from the doorway.
Shoving her legs into the pants, she nodded toward him. “You should probably change too.”
He wore a suit and tie in his usual elegant black. His ringlets framed his face in a state of disarray that somehow always looked artful, even though she knew for a fact he never did more than ring his hair out with a towel.
He loosened his tie as he surveyed her. “I plan on it, but I wanted to watch you.”
As usual, his voice registered something deep within her, but she ignored it. He seemed off, as if something were really wrong and he didn’t want to tell her.
“What is it?”
