He turned and headed up the stairs—just like that, as if he’d checked Hazel off his “to do” list and had already forgotten her. Happy birthday. Go draw a picture. See you in another thirteen years.
She was so stunned, so angry, so upside-down confused that she just stood paralyzed at the base of the steps. She wanted to throw down the colored pencils and stomp on them. She wanted to charge after Pluto and kick him. She wanted to run away, find Sammy, steal a horse, leave town and never come back. But she didn’t do any of those things.
Above her, the apartment door opened, and Pluto stepped inside.
Hazel was still shivering from his cold touch, but she crep tup the stairs to see what he would do. What would he say to Queen Marie? Who would speak back—Hazel’s mother, or that awful voice?
When she reached the doorway, Hazel heard arguing. She peeked in. Her mother seemed back to normal—screaming and angry, throwing things around the parlor while Pluto tried to reason with her.
“Marie, it’s insanity,” he said. “You’ll be far beyond my power to protect you. ”
“Protect me?” Queen Marie yelled. “When have you ever protected me?”
Pluto’s dark suit shimmered, as if the souls trapped in the fabric were getting agitated.
“You have no idea,” he said. “I’ve kept you alive, you and the child. My enemies are everywhere among gods and men. Now with the war on, it will only get worse. You must stay where I can—”
“The police think I’m a murderer!” Queen Marie shouted. “My clients want to hang me as a witch! And Hazel—her curse is getting worse. Your protection is killing us. ”
Pluto spread his hands in a pleading gesture. “Marie, please—”
; “No!” Queen Marie turned to the closet, pulled out a leather valise, and threw it on the table. “We’re leaving,” she announced. “You can keep your protection. We’re going north. ”
“Marie, it’s a trap,” Pluto warned. “Whoever’s whispering in your ear, whoever’s turning you against me—”
“You turned me against you!” She picked up a porcelain vase and threw it at him. It shattered on the floor, and precious stones spilled everywhere—emeralds, rubies, diamonds. Hazel’s entire collection.
“You won’t survive,” Pluto said. “If you go north, you’ll both die. I can foresee that clearly. ”
“Get out!” she said.
Hazel wished Pluto would stay and argue. Whatever her mother was talking about, Hazel didn’t like it. But her father slashed his hand across the air and dissolved into shadows…like he really was a spirit.
Queen Marie closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. Hazel was afraid the strange voice might possess her again. But when she spoke, she was her regular self.
“Hazel,” she snapped, “come out from behind that door. ”
Trembling, Hazel obeyed. She clutched the sketchpad and colored pencils to her chest.
Her mother studied her like she was a bitter disappointment. A poisoned child, the voices had said.
“Pack a bag,” she ordered. “We’re moving. ”
“Wh-where?” Hazel asked.
“Alaska,” Queen Marie answered. “You’re going to make yourself useful. We’re going to start a new life. ”
The way her mother said that, it sounded as if they were going to create a “new life” for someone else—or something else.
“What did Pluto mean?” Hazel asked. “Is he really my father? He said you made a wish—”
“Go to your room!” her mother shouted. “Pack!”
Hazel fled, and suddenly she was ripped out of the past.
Nico was shaking her shoulders. “You did it again. ”
Hazel blinked. They were still sitting on the roof of Pluto’s shrine. The sun was lower in the sky. More diamonds had surfaced around her, and her eyes stung from crying.
“S-sorry,” she murmured.
“Don’t be,” Nico said. “Where were you?”
“My mother’s apartment. The day we moved. ”
Nico nodded. He understood her history better than most people could. He was also a kid from the 1940s. He’d been born only a few years after Hazel, and had been locked away in a magic hotel for decades. But Hazel’s past was much worse than Nico’s. She’d caused so much damage and misery. …
“You have to work on controlling those memories,” Nico warned. “If a flashback like that happens when you’re in combat—”
“I know,” she said. “I’m trying. ”
Nico squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. I think it’s a side effect from…you know, your time in the Underworld. Hopefully it’ll get easier. ”