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ran
through the doorway, but Riley was in a get- out- of- hell fast
mode, so all I managed was a squeak before he jerked us back to my
apartment.
    "Don't ever do that again- at least not
without a couple of tequila shots or a chocolate moon pie, or both.
Now that I think about it, it will have to be both," I said, bent
over, waiting for my internal organs to shift back into place.
    "You are insane. Do not ever do that again,"
Riley said, though I wasn't really listening.
    "I don't know about you Riley, but I don't
think my body can take doing that again. Right now my muscle and
fat are proportional but one more time with the move the molecule
dance, and I'm scared my fat will be displaced, and not in a
favorable fashion. Now if it ends up in my boobs, we might not have
anything to argue about, but truth be told, my rear-"
    Riley put his hand over my mouth. "This is
important. Do not ever insult Hades again. It is true that you are
immortal now, but that doesn't mean you won't feel pain. Making you
compete in the Olympian Trials was mild compared with what he could
have done. You were very fortunate Persephone intervened. Though
why she intervened and what it means for your future is worrisome
in itself."
    I pushed Riley's hand away. "Maybe she was
being nice," I said.
    "She is a god. They do not do nice."
    "Should I be worried?" I asked, worried.
    "No, not yet, but I would be cautious in the
future."
    Yay for me. "Well, I'm not sorry I called
Hades an asshole. He was being an asshole. God or not, I told
myself a long time ago I would not let anyone, especially any man,
treat me badly."
    Riley shook his head. "You may want to
rethink that when you've been skinned and hung by hooks on display
in Hades' meeting room for the months it will take you to
heal."
    I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe." I didn't
really think so though. Making that promise to myself had been what
I would call a hinge moment. It made it possible for me to shut the
door on some of the more painful memories from my childhood, and I
don't think even horrific torture could make me want to open that
door again.
    I sat down in my orange chair and swiveled. I
always swivel when I first sit down in my favorite chair. It makes
me happy. Who doesn't like to spin?
    Riley was watching me with- if I interpreted
his furrowed eyebrows, clenched jaw and thinned lips correctly- a
somewhat exasperated look on his face.
    "What?"
    "Why aren't you hyperventilating or crying?
You should be reacting in some dramatic display of fear."
    Okay I guess the look was more perplexed than
exasperated. I've always been a little off with emotional body
cues- probably why I suck at poker.
    "I don't know. I asked Carrie if it was all
real, and she said yes." I shrugged- something I was doing a lot of
lately. "I believed her."
    "Why didn't you think she was a figment of
your imagination?"
    "A three headed dog, shaped like a man, with
perfect breasts, dressed like a woman? Come on, I know I got bombed
last night, but even I can't make up something like that."
    "I have served as one of Hades' Assassins for
well over a thousand years. Every soul I have taken has reacted,
most in fear, some with joy, but all have reacted. Other than your
few minutes of cowering in the cave, you have not had a reaction-
it's suspicious."
    "Look, first off I don't really grasp my
predicament. Second, you can't assume that because I'm a woman I'll
handle stress by having a good cry or acting out dramatically,
that's so stereotyping."
    "How do you handle stress?"
    I got up and started walking into the
kitchen. "Chocolate."
    I didn't have any of my stash left, so I
decided to make cookies. Riley followed me into the kitchen. He sat
in one of the kitchen chairs, immediately rocking back, balancing
on two of the legs as he watched me gather ingredients.
    "I love cookies. Chocolate chip is my
favorite-sweet, salty and crunchy." I got out butter, flour, sugar,
semi-sweet chocolate chips and pecans. "I would be hanged if I