“Right,” murmured Seth.
Deacon was standing. “Damn, it’s good to see you. Really is, but why would they send you up here?”
“Because none of the gods will come near me,” Seth answered rather smugly.
“Bingo,” Caleb agreed. “So they got this idea to send me up to take off those things—those bands on your wrists.”
Now what he’d said in the dream—in the prophecy—and a few moments ago made sense. “You . . . you can remove them?”
Caleb extended his hands again. “That’s what they tell me.”
I started forward, but Seth stopped me. “Wait. How do we know that this isn’t a trick?” he demanded. “No offense, Caleb, but they could be using you without you even knowing.”
“Do you really think that?” Alex asked, sounding stunned. “That Apollo would use Caleb to harm his own daughter?”
“Damn,” Luke muttered. “That would be beyond messed up.”
Pressure expanded in my chest as I looked over at Seth. “He wouldn’t.”
His jaw hardened as he stared down Caleb. “How do you remove the bands?”
“I just need to touch him,” Caleb explained. “See, Hades had placed his hand on my head and said some weird, magical mumbo-jumbo. Told me that all I needed to do was take her hands and move my fingers over the bands. They’d unhook.”
“And that’s all?” Seth demanded.
I really couldn’t believe Apollo would agree to anything that would harm me. Granted, I wanted to drop-kick him, but he was my father. He’d weakened himself to unbind my powers.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Seth said in that freaky way that made you think that he was reading your thoughts. “It’s not Apollo I’m worried about. It’s Hades. There’s always a catch with him.”
“Well, there is a catch,” Caleb said.
I stiffened. “What do you mean?”
Caleb glanced at Seth with a sheepish grin. “Hades wants me to put the bands on you.”
“What?” I gasped.
“Oh shit,” Luke said under his breath as Alex stepped forward.
Seth crossed his arms. “Is that so?”
“Yep. I looked at him like he was crazy, because I’m not quite sure how he expects me to put the bands on without you noticing.” Caleb shrugged like it was no big deal. “And I’m pretty sure if Apollo had normal eyes when this was going on, he would’ve been rolling them.”
“Wait a second,” I jumped in before Seth could do something stupid. “You’re expected to free me but turn around and bind Seth’s abilities?”
“Expected to? Yes. Am I going to do so? Nope.”
Alex reached Caleb’s side, tipping her head back so she could meet his gaze. “What will happen if you free Josie and don’t do what they ask?”
“Come on, Hades has to know that Seth isn’t going to stand there and let me slap those babies on him. So, what I was thinking, you could just hit me with a god bolt and send me back that way,” Caleb suggested. “Then, at least I’m not lying when I say Seth stopped me.”
My mouth dropped open.
“What?” Alex demanded. “He is not hitting you with a god bolt!”
“This has gotten really weird,” Deacon murmured.
Seth tilted his head to the side. “Not like it’s going to kill him or anything.”
Caleb nodded.
“It’s still going to hurt!” argued Alex.
“Actually, when you’re dead, it just feels like a quick zap.”
My jaw was now on the ground. “Have you . . . been hit with a god bolt before?”
Caleb snorted. “Persephone and Hades are sore losers when they play Mario Kart or when they lose at anything. I’ve been zapped more times than I can count.”
“Alrighty then,” I murmured.
“But I am here to help you. I can remove those bands.” Caleb twisted toward Seth as he spoke. “Just let me spend a couple of minutes with everyone before you send me back, okay?”
Seth appeared to consider this. “You can have as much time as you want.”
“Thank you.” Sliding Alex a coy look, Caleb grinned. “Told you there was always hope.”
Alex’s lips pursed while Seth’s eyes narrowed. I had no idea what that was about, but Caleb took my hands in his. It was only then that I realized that a dead person was holding my hands.
A legit dead person.
I tried to keep my expression blank as he turned my palms up. My gaze flickered over his shoulder, to the gateway. There was nothing but a dark abyss beyond the doors, but I couldn’t help but wonder—if I walked through them, would I be able to find my mother?