“I can be this one as often as you like, and you needn’t feel guilty because I’m not actually him,” Lucas said. Helen felt him pull her close and didn’t resist. It was all a dream, right? She ran her hands across his chest and allowed him to kiss her lightly as he spoke. “Or, I can be others. The other one you want so much. Maybe more . . .”
Helen felt the mouth against hers grow fuller and softer, and felt the bare shoulders under her hands thicken. She opened her eyes and found Orion kissing her. Pulling away, Helen wondered anxiously what Morpheus meant by this. He knew her deepest dreams, so why had he turned Lucas into Orion?
Orion pushed her onto her back, and she couldn’t help but laugh when he jumped on top of her with a naughty grin. He was so much fun, and being with him was so uncomplicated. With Lucas, she could be completely herself, but with Orion she could be whomever she felt like being at the moment. The thought was intoxicating.
Orion slid her hands up over her head, pinning her under him. The giddy mood dissipated as quickly as it arose, and Orion’s face grew serious.
Helen suddenly understood Lucas’s last warning. She could not allow herself to be seduced or she would never leave this bed. Although she didn’t want to, Helen shook her head, preventing Orion from leaning down to kiss her. Morpheus took his own shape again and propped himself up on his elbows over her with a boyish sigh.
“You are downright addictive,” Helen said sadly.
She allowed herself to consider what it would be like to live forever in this dream palace with this god. She combed her fingers through his hair, making a midnight tent out of his long locks around their faces, the reverse of what he had done with her sunny blonde hair moments ago.
“But I can’t stay here,” she said, pushing him back and sitting up. “There are too many things I have to accomplish in the world.”
“Dangerous things,” he countered with genuine concern. “Ares has been seeking you in the shadow lands.”
“Do you know why he’s looking for me?”
“You know why.” Morpheus laughed softly. “He’s watching your progress. What you do here in the Underworld will change many lives, including quite a few immortal ones. But for better or worse, no one can say.”
“How did Ares get down here, Morpheus? Is Hades helping him break the Truce?” Helen knew somehow that Morpheus would be honest with her.
“The Underworld, the dry lands, and the shadow lands are not part of the Truce. The Twelve Olympians can’t go to Earth, and that’s the only rule they swore to follow. Many small gods wander the Earth at will, and all the gods come and go from here to Olympus and . . . other places.” Morpheus frowned at his thoughts and then tackled Helen, rolling her onto her back again and holding her in his arms. “Stay with me. I can keep you safe here in my realm, but not outside of it. I see all dreams, you know, even the dreams of the other gods, and I know that Ares is little more than an animal. His only goal is to cause as much suffering and destruction as he can, and he wants very much to hurt you.”
“He’s foul, I agree. But I still can’t stay here and hide in your bed.” Helen groaned, knowing she was probably going to kick herself for this later. “No matter how dangerous it is, I have to go back.”
“Brave Beauty.” The god of dreams looked down on her with an admiring smile. “Now I want you even more.”
“Will you help me, Morpheus?” Helen asked, stroking his shining hair. “I need to get back into the Underworld. Too many have suffered for too long.”
“I know.” Morpheus looked away as he considered Helen’s request. “It is not for me to say whether your quest is good or bad, I can only tell you that I admire your courage in agreeing to undertake it. I hate to lose you, but I love your reasons for choosing to leave.”
Knowing that she might be pushing her luck, Helen decided to take a chance and ask for one more favor.
“Do you know what river Persephone meant? The one I need to draw water from to free the Furies?” she asked. Morpheus cocked his head to the side, like he was trying to recall something.
“Something tells me I used to know,” he said with a puzzled frown. “But no longer. I’m sorry, Beauty, but I’ve forgotten. You’ll have to discover that for yourself.”
Morpheus kissed the tip of her nose and rolled out of bed. He turned back and easily lifted her from the twisted sheets before placing her down on the cool grass with a look of regret. Hand in hand, they walked at an unhurried pace through his palace.
They passed many wondrous rooms filled with fantastical dream imagery. Helen caught glimpses of waterfalls that gushed sparkling liquids of every color, armored dragons atop hoarded riches, their nostrils smoking with barely banked fires, and winged elfin
people dancing with the follow-me lights. But the most spectacular room was a large, twinkling cavern, filled with pile after pile of heaped coins.
Above each pile a large cylinder hovered weightless in the night sky. The cylinders were made out of brick, stone, or concrete. Some seemed to be thousands of years old and were crumbling with moss; others looked newly constructed and very modern. One or two even had buckets hanging from ropes dangling out of the bottoms, which Helen found strangely kitschy.
“What is this place?” she asked in awe. The space seemed to go on and on—so far into the dark distance that she couldn’t see an end to it.
“Ever throw a coin down a well and make a wish?” Morpheus asked. “All wishing wells, past and present, end here in the land of dreams. It’s all a misunderstanding, really. I can’t make dreams come true in real life, no matter how much money people shower me with. The only thing I can do is give them vivid visions of their deepest wishes in their sleep. I try to make them as real as possible.”
“Very thoughtful of you.”
“Well, it doesn’t feel right to take people’s money without giving them something in return,” he said with a sly smile. “And all this could be yours, you know.”
“Honestly?” Helen said with a raised eyebrow. “Your warm bed was more tempting than all the cold coins in the world.”
As if on cue, Helen heard a pinging sound and saw a far-off glint as one of the enormous piles shifted to welcome another shiny wish.