Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

responded with a bitter tilt to his lips. “You know, I may not be able to lift a car over my head, but that doesn’t mean I’m useless.”
    Helen couldn’t remember Matt ever being so bitter about anything. She tried to explain what she meant, but got strangely tongue-tied. Honestly, she wished he were a little more cowardly. He’d probably live longer that way, but she couldn’t very well say that to him.
    When Helen didn’t respond right away, Matt left the arena with Ariadne following close behind. As they got a few paces out of the enclosed area, Helen heard Ariadne saying something conciliatory, and Matt cutting her off in frustration. They continued talking as they moved away, but Helen didn’t even try to eavesdrop. She was just too damn tired.
    Helen sat down on the sand with her head in her hands. There wasn’t one person she could turn to, even just to chat for a few minutes before she had to face her seemingly impossible task in the Underworld.
    The sun started to set. Another day was ending, and another night in the Underworld awaited her. Helen lifted her head and attempted to find the energy to fly home, but she was so wrung out she could barely focus her eyes. If she stayed there any longer, she would fall asleep, and she didn’t want to descend while she was in the Deloses’ backyard.
    She hauled herself to her feet, and as she did, she felt that strange vertigo again. It was as if a part of the world broke off and turned into a picture while her body moved around it. Helen fell back down onto a knee and tried not to vomit. She saw the sand swim in front of her eyes, and for a moment, she thought she saw it actually move. She held very still and closed her eyes.
    She could hear a heartbeat. And it wasn’t hers.
    “Who’s there?” she whispered, her eyes darting all over the place. She summoned a globe of electricity and held it in the palm of her hand. “Come any closer, and I will kill you.”
    Helen waited a few more moments, but there was no response. In fact, there was nothing but perfectly still air. It was actually quite peaceful. Flexing her hand, she allowed the electricity to dissipate, and a shower of sparks fell between her fingers and bounced harmlessly on the sand. She shook her head and laughed at herself, unable to stop a note of hysteria from creeping in. She was cracking up and she knew it.
    When Helen got home she started cooking dinner for herself and her dad, but halfway through she got a call from Jerry. Helen could tell from the stiff tone of his voice that he really wanted to yell at her for breaking her bedroom window, but since he was calling to tell her that there was a terrible mix-up involving a shipment of spider-shaped balloons at the store and he would be leaving her alone another night, he felt guilty enough to let the whole window thing go. Helen tried not to sound too sullen when she told him she was sorry he had to work late, then she hung up and stared at the half-prepared meal that she no longer felt like finishing or eating. She repackaged what she could and ate a bowl of cereal standing up by the kitchen sink before she went up to get ready for bed.
    Throwing Orion’s jacket over her shoulders, Helen opened her bedroom door. She was about to step inside but her feet stopped where they were. Her bedroom used to be her sanctuary, her place of retreat, but it wasn’t anymore. It was a place where she suffered every single night. And on top of that, it was Eskimo cold. Standing on the threshold, Helen took a deep breath and then let it go, sending a big cloud of steam out in front of her as she did so.
    “Well, Orion whatever-your-last-name-is,” she said to her empty room as she stepped inside, shut the door, and slipped her feet into a pair of rubber boots. “I hope you were serious about wanting to help me, because I’ve never needed help more than I do right now.”
    Of course, Orion didn’t show. Helen spent what felt like a day’s worth of time