Morpheus returned to his temple, laid down, and was unable to sleep for the rest of the night. His encounter with Adelaide had shaken him more than he liked to admit. There was a reason she served Hades, and she knew more about the whole situation than she was letting on. Still, Morpheus didn't think she would hurt him. She didn't seem... vicious enough to be a willing participant in Hades's plan.

But what if he was wrong, and she really was working for Hades? Then he'd have the award for being the most foolish god in all of Ancient Greece. Of course, that wouldn't help him much; he'd be dead.

The following morning, people left his temple grumbling. They had many nightmares, since Morpheus hadn't been asleep to dream them for them. How selfish of me, he thought with grim sarcasm. Just this once, people experienced what I do every night. Maybe tonight there won't be so many.

Morpheus organized his rooms in a fervor of impatience. They were already neat and tidy, but he needed something to do. He planned to sneak into Adelaide's house that day, but he couldn't go too early or she would catch him. And another confrontation with Adelaide was definitely something he wanted to avoid.

It was the longest six hours of his life. He wanted to wait until past noon to go there, but waiting that long with no one to talk to and nothing to do was pure torture. Even Hermes failed to turn up. Probably he was still recovering from his ordeal the day before.

Fortunately for Morpheus's sanity, after about four hours, someone did turn up. He was rather surprised when he opened his door and found Artemis, goddess of the hunt, standing there. "Artemis!" he exclaimed. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

The goddess raised her slim eyebrow. Her auburn hair was tied back from her face, her silver eyes as cold as the moon itself. In spite of her average height, she cut a very intimidating figure. "What do you think?" she said. "You've been pestering a girl who is considering joining my hunters."

"Pestering?" Morpheus blinked. "Do you mean Adelaide?"

"No. I meant Hermes." Artemis rolled her eyes. Morpheus still found it disturbing that one of the main twelve gods looked like a fourteen year old girl. "Of course I meant Adelaide! Honestly, Morpheus, you are thicker than my brother."

Since Morpheus knew exactly how thick Artemis's brother Apollo could be, he was offended. "Are you aware, Artemis, that Adelaide is a servant of Hades?"

"Hades?" Artemis inhaled sharply. "Lies."

"She wears the mark of Hades around her upper arm," Morpheus said. Maybe if Artemis hadn't called him stupid he would have broken it more gently, but she had annoyed him. "Isn't that proof enough?"

A frown darkened Artemis's face. "I cannot comprehend why she would make such a deal with Hades," she murmured. "But I would require proof before any action is taken."

"I was going to have a look around her house," Morpheus admitted.

"You were going to break in?"

"Well ..." Morpheus would have put it a better way—probably entering without Adelaide's knowing—but Artemis was in no mood for that. "Yes."

"Then let's go."

For a moment, the full import of Artemis's words didn't hit him. Then his eyes widened. "W-wait a minute! Who invited you?"

"I need proof, and if I find out that Hades is doing something the gods wouldn't approve of—like, I don't know, trying to murder all of us—then I'll help you," Artemis replied. "But in order to do that, we need answers, and Adelaide's house has those. Shall we go?"

Since Morpheus didn't know how to refuse her without making her angry, he nodded. Together, the two of them hurried through the streets of Athens. Morpheus thankfully still remembered the way to Adelaide's home, and they reached it in short order. It seemed to be empty, though Morpheus hesitated. "What if she's in here?"

"She isn't," Artemis said. "Her scent is gone. She was here, but she is not any longer."

Well, that was a relief. It was one less thing that Morpheus would have to worry about, at least. Artemis approached the door, laying her hand on the knob. Then she frowned. "There is someone else inside."

"What?" Morpheus inhaled sharply. "We need to get out of here!"

"Don't panic, Morpheus," Artemis chided him. She whispered something, and the door opened. When Morpheus raised an eyebrow at her, she grinned. "A little tip from Hermes. It does wonders to get to people who poach."

Morpheus had seen what Artemis did to people who poached her prey. It wasn't pretty. He followed her into Adelaide's home, frowning at the tiny and cramped space. Apparently she didn't put much store in cleanliness, in spite of her spotless appearance.

There were only two rooms in the house. The main room had a kitchen, dining area, and bedroom all squeezed into one. It was empty. They did a quick search of the room, but it revealed nothing of any use. Just some old food and a pitcher of water.

Artemis led the way into the next room. Morpheus's eyebrows shot up when he saw it was occupied. The young man's raven hair and dark eyes clearly marked him as a relative of Adelaide's—probably her brother. The odd thing was, his gaze didn't even move to Morpheus and Artemis as they stopped in the door of his bedroom. They remained focused on the wall opposite him, his hands limp by his side. "By Zeus!" Morpheus exclaimed. "What in the name of Greece is the matter with him?"

Artemis knelt in front of him, laying her hands on either side of his face, turning it from side to side. When she stood up, her face was drawn and grim. "It's as I thought," she said quietly. "Hades has taken his soul. He is nothing more than an empty shell."

"Hades?" Morpheus repeated. "Then why would Adelaide be helping him?"

"Are you as dense as you are tall?" Artemis retorted. "Hades probably offered Adelaide her brother's soul in exchange for her service to him. Whether he intends to follow through or not is a moot point."

"Why in the world would she have made such a one-sided deal?" Morpheus wondered aloud. "After all, she can't expect Hades to hold up his side of the bargain, can she?"

"I can, if he swore on the River Styx." Artemis and Morpheus turned to Adelaide guiltily. She looked the same as she had when she had visited Morpheus the previous day, except that trace of humor that was always on her face was gone. "Nobody else can give Aidan back to me. Nobody but Hades."

"There has to be another way, Adelaide," Artemis said.

Adelaide looked bitter. "For a time, I thought I could run away, become one of your hunters. But I can't. I can't leave Aidan. He's the only one I have left in the world."

"Adelaide, if he died, then you need to let him go," Morpheus said gently. He knew all too well the pain of losing someone important to him. "Offering your soul to Hades won't solve any problems."

Adelaide glared at him. "What I do is my business, Lord Morpheus." She somehow twisted his title into an insult. "Not yours. You broke into my house, upset my brother, and question me like I'm at fault?"

Her brother didn't look very upset to Morpheus—mostly just vacant—but Adelaide seemed upset for both of them. Artemis tugged on Morpheus's arm, pulling him towards the door. Adelaide moved out of the way, her dark eyes narrowed angrily. In spite of Artemis's tugging, Morpheus turned back to the mortal girl. "He doesn't have to be the only person in the world for you."

"Get out," Adelaide retorted. The finger she was pointing at the door trembled with contained rage. "And don't you ever come back. Do you hear me? Never."

"I will come back," Morpheus insisted. Why he felt so strongly about it, he didn't know. Maybe he was remembering their parting from the previous night. Or maybe he was simply stubborn and didn't want Hades to get what the Lord of the Underworld wanted. "And I'll find a way to help your brother, without you having to sell your soul to Hades instead."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, god of dreams," Adelaide replied. "Leave."

Artemis yanked at Morpheus's hand, trying to get him to follow her. "I will keep this promise," Morpheus said. "I swear on the River Styx that I will help you."

Adelaide's eyes widened, and Artemis released Morpheus's hand in shock. To swear such an oath was a foolhardy thing. If Morpheus broke his word, he would be trapped in the River Styx for all eternity. "Morpheus, you fool!" Artemis complained.

"Well, Adelaide?" Morpheus said, ignoring her—which was probably a dangerous thing. Artemis could be very frightening when she wanted to be. "Will you accept our help?"

"I—I—" she stammered, obviously taken by surprise. Then she recovered, and that face was back. A little smile lurked at the ends of her lips. "Very well, you insane man. If it truly means so much to you, I suppose you can attempt to help me. Would you like something to eat?"