We walked through the moonlit forest, following as Circe kept her hands folded infront of her. I couldn't tell if it was her magic or her dress but she seemed to glide along the dirt path. Jack and Circe talked just out of hearing range, I assume catching up on lost time.
I turned to Andromeda, who looked exhausted, and asked something that had been bugging me the entire walk. "I thought Jack Silver was an only child, he says that in one of his books."
"He is, but that's not what they mean by sister. When he was saved by his mentor, there was a girl he was introduced to and they became as close as siblings to the point that they referred to each other as such. My namesake actually," Andromeda answered.
"Why were you named after her though, I'm sure Selene has many children she could've given your name to," My eyes drifted towards the moon above.
"You're right, she gave me the name because I was the first of her children to be abandoned. The name Rose is Selene's Holy Name, like Neptune or White," Andromeda smiled a bit. "Plus it means that, no matter what, my mater cares about me."
Holy Names, names that are sacred to the gods and aren't handed out to any demigod lightly. Most receive their Holy Name when their godly parent personally raised them, others receive theirs later in life. My sister, Olivia Neptune, was raised in Atlantis her whole life so her last name was changed. Another demigod was Penny White, I never really knew who she was but I knew she lived with Athena and was given her's at birth. Then I think back on Hades, the twins live with him and they've kept their mortal name.
"Does Hades have a sacred name?" I asked.
"Mortem. It's Latin for death, and it's only given after one of his kids have perished," Circe answered. "Or when they return from The Styx."
"Can a Child of Hades return from The Styx?" Leonidas asked.
"Twenty of them have, but after that none of them have. It's a rare ability that's possessed only by his daughters, a sort of gift from the very first Daughter of Hades," Circe smiled.
"You mean the demigod? Kori?" I asked. How did I know that name? That thought came from nowhere, yet it felt familiar.
"No, The Goddess Daughter of Hades, Melinoë. She would wander the earth, bringing nightmares and madness. The Ghost Goddess, they are also trapped here. Regardless of that, after losing her brother, Zagreus, she manifested a power so strong that it echoed across all of Hades' Daughters," Circe smiled looking back at me.
"Reincarnation, the same gift her brother gave," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Precisely, but every time you come back you lose a part of yourself. You can come back once a decade, but in turn you lose bits of your life. It can be nothing, or it can be everything. That is the downside of God-Given power," Circe stopped at the end of the trail.
I looked past the rose gold goddess to see a massive palace made of polished stone, supported with marble pillars. The four stories of the palace were very open with silk curtains over doorways and large walkways that connected separate parts of the property to the main building. The gate was solid gold that had sunken into the ground, with a literal flick of Circe's wrist the gates opened with ease.
We walked past them to a large open courtyard with soldiers walking alongside tigers and lions, as well as nymphs playing in the lake that was surrounded by the walls around the palace grounds. Circe walked through the grounds and into an open room, the grand windows were covered with pink silk that let very little moonlight in. At the end of the room was a small throne with a golden Phoenix above mounted at the top, a symbol of her father. Circe sat down, the room became burdening with energy as she lifted her hand and the curtains opened fully. Torches mounted to the wall burst into open flame with pink hues, Andromeda looked around in awe as Jack's face stayed stern.
"Now, tell me what you need of me Half-God," a smile twisted onto Circe's lip as she spoke the words.
I looked into the eyes of The Goddess of Sorcery, her pink eyes carried intrigue and madness that was almost blinding. "Circe, we seek out passage to The Underworld," I answered.
Circe's smile widened, "And what do you bring me to request such passage."
"We freed prisoners from The Lotus encampment," Leonidas said, looking Circe dead in her eyes.
"What makes you think I care, Son of Ares?" Circe sat up, the way she placed that question and his title was off. What did Leonidas know?
"You're at war, if I had to guess I say with Minerva, war costs time and men. My best guess is that Polyphemus, The Lotus Eaters, and most of The Path of Odysseus feeds into a larger network for her war effort. You're drowning in failed attempts to take the islands back, you've pulled all your forces home because you're afraid Minerva will strike soon. I noticed the fallen armor and shields on the islands we visited, and a Child of Ares knows when a battle happened recently and we definitely know when war is about," Leonidas smiled at Circe, who was now slumped back in her throne.
"Very well, Half-god, then I ask a favor from my most observant friends. Sail to The Ruins of Troy, find The True King of Ithaka and bring him home to me," Circe stood up and walked down from her throne. "Bring my husband home, and you will have your passage to The Underworld."
"Where are The Trojan Ruins?" I asked, looking up at Circe.
"I'll provide a map, but I warn those waters are dangerous. Make a crew of what you can summon, and I'll provide ships to protect The Argo. Be aware Daughter of Poseidon, the danger is easily heard but not easily shaken here. Jack, follow me, we have matters to attend to now that you're under my employ," Circe grabbed Jack's wrist and dragged him out from the throne room.
We all turned away and began to walk back down the hill, looking around at the trees and flowers that surrounded the trail. The moon was high above now, the void filled orb shrouded us in darkened light. Andromeda followed at my side, her eyes heavy with darkened circles like a cartoon character. She dragged her feet as we continued down the the path back to the docks, Leonidas followed behind us watching every ambush point.
"When Jack said he knew an Andromeda Rose you didn't seem surprised, even when there's no mention of her in his books," I said, looking back at Andromeda.
"I purposely gave you the ones that didn't have her in them, I didn't need any questions about me being immortal when I'm so similar to her," Andromeds smiled.
I laughed a bit at the thought, "Maybe you are immortal, maybe that's why you can drink so much caffeine."
"If only," Andromeda sighed and looked up at the moon.
Her eyes emitted a dark glow, silver laced around her eyelids intricately patterning into moon phases under her eyes and across the bridge of her nose. Andromeda's smile widened as her eyes went dark, Leonidas took note and got behind her immediately.
Leonidas gripped the top of her skull and forced her eyes forward, "Not today, Daemon."
Andromeda shook her head a bit and giggled like a school girl, still high off of the rush from the new moon. "Y'know, if it wasn't a prison, I'd like to live here," her smile went back to normal as she wiped the silver markings off. "Now! To the boat!"
Leonidas shook his head and ran after Andromeda shouting at her anything her head tilted up. I took my time enjoying the evening, being in Selene's shade as far from home as I was, hoping I'd be able to return to San Francisco in one piece. I sighed deeply and marched on, we had a big day tomorrow, we had to get to The Underworld.