by Kristie Cook
His cold, hard glare suddenly frightened her, so she kept her mouth shut, her eyes wide.
“First, I’ve asked the Furies to seek you out. Look for them in the waking world of the living. They can help you solve your parents’ murder.”
“Who or what is a Fury?” She felt faint.
“I’ll let them explain. You could die if I don’t hurry. Let me speak.”
She gave him a weak nod.
“Second, don’t let my brother keep teasing you. He respects your powers but not you, and I don’t like it.”
Therese managed a smile. “Jealous?” She would never be so bold outside of her dreams.
“Absolutely.” He looked deeply into her eyes, his face close to hers.
“Do you want to kiss me?” The air left her body and her mouth flooded with moisture.
“Absolutely.”
She closed her eyes and leaned in.
“Listen,” he said, swallowing hard. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that day you kissed me, and that brings me to the third thing I want to say. Thank you for your affection. Know that I stay away, not because I want to, but because if I don’t, you’ll die.”
Therese found it hard to breathe. “Don’t go,” she barely managed to say. “I want to die. I want to be with my parents. And then you and I could, we could spend some time getting to know each other.” She was really faint now, on the verge of collapse.
He leaned close and took a breath of her scent. Then he clenched his jaw. “You’re not the same when you die. You lose your free will, and that’s what is so attractive about you. It’s what sets you apart from the others. You have a strong will.”
Therese gasped for air and none came.
Than vanished.
Therese heard a loud beeping sound next to her ear. She gasped and gasped, and finally her lungs opened up and the air rushed in, burning her chest. Someone rushed up beside her.
“Mija!” the nurse shrieked. “You okay?”
Therese lay on the hospital bed. Was she awake? “Figment, I command you to show yourself!” she said to the Letty.
The nurse bent her brows. “Mija, what are you talking about?”
“Oh. I thought I was dreaming.” Okay, Therese thought. I’m not saying that ever again.
Letty looked at the oxygen monitor. “Well, what is wrong with this thing? It was beeping like crazy just a second ago, but now it looks fine.” She checked the probe taped to Therese’s big toe. “Maybe it’s come loose. Well, it looks alright. You feel alright?”
Therese nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Well, alright then. Call me if you need me. I’ll be back in a little while with your dinner tray.” The nurse left the room.
Chapter Eight: A Deal with the Gatekeeper
“Why should I do this?” Hades asked from his jewel encrusted throne. The one beside him was empty because Persephone was gone in the summertime. Her absence made Than’s father irritable. This wasn’t the best time to ask for favors.
In fact, the cavernous room of golden walls inlaid with precious stones was usually brimming with bustle as Persephone and Hecate discussed the affairs of the Upperworld and of Mount Olympus. With his mother and her assistant gone, the chamber echoed with the silence of slinking shadows caused by sleeping bats that barely moved and would not fly till nightfall. The nearly vacant castle had not even ghosts to move the air, for all the souls were in their proper places, and even the formidable form of Hades could not fill the room. Hades, who now slouched and picked at his beard, would, in a few months’ time, with the first chill of autumn, sit erect and commanding and proud like a peacock before his mate. Despondence, however, was his only companion until then.
Than spoke with confidence. “Because I can help the Furies find the killer and bring him to justice.”
“They can do it without you. So I say again, why should I do this?” Hades’s voice was not ignited. He sounded bored and unmoved. “You know it’s impossible for Hypnos to disintegrate between two duties. He’d have to take your place.”
Than grasped for ideas. “Hermes at one time conducted the dead.”
“He’s busy with other duties now. He can’t possibly take on your job.”
“Humans can go without dreams for a few weeks while Hip escorts the souls.”
“Why, Thanatos? Dreams are more important than you seem to realize. Humans need dreams to work through the range of experiences and emotions they deal with during their waking hours. Without dreams, they’d shut down, die early deaths, and that’s not how I want to build my kingdom. I want honorable souls. Just souls. The unjust ones can usually learn to be honorable with a series of behavior modification courses, courtesy of your sisters.”
“And Sisyphus? Tantalus?”
“Serve to amuse.”
“Amuse, Father? Are you amused by their suffering?”
“When it’s deserved. I find it both amusing and satisfying.”
Than caught on to a glimmer of hope. Hades was known for saying that life wasn’t fair, but death was. Over the centuries, Hades had made it his utmost goal to level justice at every soul that crossed his path, complaining that Zeus showed favoritism and that most of humankind suffered for it. “You are just, Father, and it is for this reason you should let me go to earth as a mortal and force my brother to take my place escorting the dead. You know that, of the two of us, my brother got the better lot.”
“So it is with me and my brothers. Do you think I chose the Underworld?” He moved his hand above him through the air as if to dismiss the splendid emeralds and diamonds and rubies around him. The golden palace would be a pleasure from which any lesser god would willingly rule, but the open skies and the expansive seas were superior in the eyes of Than’s father. “Don’t you think I’d prefer the sky or the waters? You must learn to accept your calling. Believe me, you’ll be much better off.”
“But you have mom, at least for half of the year. Hip has the company of hundreds, thousands of girls. I can think of no other god, save Charon, who is expected to live a lonely existence without end, and even he finds companionship from time to time in Cerberus, who’s like a puppy to him. Why shouldn’t I have a chance to find a queen? You have the power to grant me this request. You have the authority to make my lot more equal to that of the other gods of my rank. You should do this because you are just and because you can.”
At that moment, Hermes entered the room. “Excuse me, Lord Hades. Should I come back later?”
“No. We’re finished for now. What do you have?”
“Hello, Than.”
Than gave a nod to his cousin but was in no mood for light conversation.
Hermes turned back to Hades. “A message from Poseidon regarding the small colony of white abalone beneath the coast of California. As you may know, the white abalone are headed for extinction, and because this particular colony is underground, Poseidon wants to be sure you stand beside him on his conservation efforts.”
“Of course. He knows I support diversity. How dull of him to send you all this way.”
“Something’s brewing, my lord,” Hermes said. “I think he fears your alliance won’t last.”
“Do you have wind of it?”
“I know nothing yet. I’ll report back when I know something.”
“Yes. Do that.” Hades rubbed at his temple.
Than moved closer to his father as Hermes left the room. “I’m sorry to have burdened you further with my request. I know you have a lot of business to manage.”
“You may think I don’t care about your happiness, son, but I do, and in this matter, you are right. You deserve a chance to find a queen, and I do have the power to grant you this chance. So be it. You have forty days and no more.”
Than’s mouth fell open. “Thank you, Father.”
“Wait. There is something she must do. Remember, nothing in this world is free.”
Chapter Nine: Back Home
Even though Therese felt pretty sure
the saga in her dreams was imaginary, she couldn’t stop herself from getting on the Internet as soon as Carol brought her home from the hospital two days later. She had to use her laptop, though, which was slower than her parents’ computer, because that computer had been taken by the police for their investigation.
Her neck had finally loosened up, and she could walk around without much pain. She could even run up the stairs to her room. She should have played around with Clifford, her little brown and white fox terrier, who was obviously starved for her affection. She should have let Jewels climb up her chest to nestle against her neck as she did most evenings while Therese read a good book. She should have taken Puffy from his cage and allowed him to scamper around in her hair, which she fanned out for him over the bed like a curtain, her arms carefully hovering over him lest he scurry out of reach. The chipmunks were in need of sunflower seeds, the deer their corn, and the wild horses the apples she tossed out behind her house. But Therese put off all these things, usually so important to her, to log on and surf the net for information about the Underworld.
A part of her knew her obsession with her dreams was a distraction. Her brain didn’t want to think about what her house would feel like without her parents in it. Her brain didn’t want her to go downstairs and into the kitchen on Saturday morning and find only Carol sitting with the paper at the granite countertop. As much as she loved Carol, Therese’s brain wanted more.
She googled “Underworld mythology” and was surprised by all the links that appeared on her search results page. She clicked on the first link: “Hades, brother of Zeus and Poseidon, was the king of the Underworld, which he ruled with his bride Persephone, whom he kidnapped and made his queen. Guarded by Cerberus, a three-headed dog, the Underworld was underground and separated from the land of the living by five rivers, one of which was the Acheron, across which the dead were ferried.”
Therese sat bewildered as she read articles describing many of the features about which she had dreamed. Not all the sources agreed on the details, but there were enough commonalities about them and her “tour” that made her hair stand on end: Charon, the old boatman; Tartarus and the Elysian Fields; Lethe, the river of forgetfulness; Sisyphus and his huge rock. Maybe she had read this stuff somewhere before?
A particular passage soon caught her eye: “Thanatos, also known as Orcus and Mors, was the god of Death. The son of Night and twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep), he was believed to be a beautiful young man but, because of his ghastly task, was very unpopular with both man and gods.”
Therese’s heart pounded in her chest. She felt she might be sick. Surely she had read this stuff before? Of course she had, she thought, taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it.
One article depicted Hades and his sons as evil demons. Therese shuddered. Then she clicked on another link. An image of the Grim Reaper, also named Death, tall and hooded with a gruesome face, long, thin hands, one of which held a scythe, made Therese flinch.
Clifford must have sensed her anxiety, because he jumped on the bed beside her, shook his stubby tail, and looked pleadingly into her eyes.
“You want to go outside?” she asked.
He immediately pranced around her room, full of eager excitement, running through the cluster of balloons that were beginning to sag. Puffy hopped onto his wheel and ran with enthusiasm, even though he usually waited to exercise at night. Even Jewels poked her head over the side of her plastic tank to peek at the activity around her.
Therese carefully took her tortoise into her hands and placed her against her chest. “You can come another time, Jewels.” She stroked the shell and then put the tortoise back on its log in the tank with the hot lamp shining.
As she and Clifford went down the stairs—he like a speeding bullet and she a little more slowly than usual—panic gripped Therese’s heart. She had almost forgotten. She had almost expected her parents to be downstairs reading or watching TV. She stopped on the bottom step and looked past the kitchen to the empty living room. Where was Carol?
Therese went to the deck outside, followed by Clifford. Carol sat at the wooden table talking on the phone, her body turned toward the reservoir side, away from the giant elms in back. The sun was just over the lake, heading toward its rest behind the mountains on the other side. The sky was a clear blue, and though it was still a long time till dusk, some of the animals were making themselves visible. There were always the birds hopping from tree to tree, twittering anxiously about this and that. But now there were also the chipmunks scampering around, and across from them, two deer plucked grass beneath the trees.
“Of course, Lieutenant,” Carol said. “We’ll be there.” Carol pushed the end button on the portable phone. “No cell reception out here, I guess.” She waved the receiver. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been land-locked.”
“We’re lucky we get good Internet service out here. We had to use dial up until just a few months ago.”
“Ugh.”
“Did the lieutenant have any news?”
“They want us to come for a line up tomorrow, to see if you can identify the man whose face you saw, you know.”
“They think they got the killer? Already?”
Carol tilted her head to the side. “The man you saw may not be the killer. They think they got him, though. His picture was in their system. They went to his apartment and brought him in for questioning and have enough to detain him overnight. He could be the killer. They don’t know yet.”
“Oh.” Clifford lifted his paws to Therese’s jean-clad shins. “Okay, boy. Let’s go.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just for a walk through the woods where Clifford likes to do his business. We’ll be right back.”
Therese realized as she led Clifford off the back steps of the wrap-around deck that Carol probably would have liked an invitation to join them, but Therese didn’t want human company just yet. She wanted to retreat like she always did to the mountain forest with her dog and the wild animals for company.
Clifford frolicked around in front of her, sniffing this tree and that, as she headed up the mountain through the pines, aspens, and cypresses. A cardinal swept down and landed five feet away on a cypress branch. Therese inspected the feeder on the elm by the back deck. Empty. If she wanted to watch the birds through the kitchen window while washing dishes, she’d need to refill it. She looked more closely at the elm. One of its branches had turned completely yellow. Her mother had told her it had Dutch elm disease and the tree would slowly die if they didn’t cut off the dead branch and treat the roots, but her parents hadn’t had a chance to do anything about it. They kept saying later this summer …
She headed back up the trail after Clifford. She stepped over little round pellets, evidence that more deer had been visiting.
The national forest climbed behind her property for miles, and she rarely ran into another person on her walks. Only five homes stretched the expanse between Lemon Reservoir and the national forest, and the homes were more than half a mile apart. On the end lot on their northern side with twenty-five acres of private ranch land was Jen’s house. It was three quarters of a mile down the dirt road that separated the houses from the reservoir, and Jen’s mother ran the trail rides up through the forest in spring and summer, so, occasionally, Therese could hear them calling out commands to their animals. Usually the woods were quiet, like they were now.
Up ahead, Clifford started growling and barking. Therese caught up with him where he stood crouching in the woods.
“What is it, Clifford? Do you see a deer? You think you’re so vicious, don’t you, boy? But you and I know the truth.”
Therese glimpsed a sudden movement ten feet away that was nothing like a deer. It seemed larger, like a bear, but human. “Who’s there?”
Clifford’s growl grew more intense, and he bared his teeth, backing away toward Therese.
Could a stranger be roaming around the forest?
Or worse, could her paren
ts’ killer be after her?
“Come on, Clifford! Let’s get out of here!” Therese ran, but the dog stayed planted, baring his teeth and growling viciously.
“Clifford, come!” Therese’s heart beat wildly, her throat felt dry, and her body numbed.
Still Clifford growled.
Therese ran over to Clifford and swept him up in her arms. Then, in her peripheral vision, she saw the figure move, closer this time.
“Therese!” It was a woman’s voice, but it did not belong to her aunt.
Therese held on to Clifford and scrambled down the trail to her house, her head and neck throbbing with pain. Her foot caught on an aspen root, and she fell to the ground, hurting her knee and the palms of both hands. Clifford leapt from her arms as she fell, and he bounded back up the trail.
“No, Clifford!” She sprung to her feet and followed her dog. “Come back here, boy! Please! Come!”
From the corner of her eyes, she saw the figure move between two trees. Clifford yelped and ran down the trail, back to the house. Before Therese turned to follow him, she saw a woman wearing a short brown leather skirt and brown knee-high boots. She had pale skin and blonde rogue curls falling from a high bun. Therese thought she saw a bird perched on the woman’s shoulder, but she couldn’t be sure, because Therese had turned around so quickly and ran so fast that she couldn’t be sure of what she had seen. She knew it was a woman, and that was all. A woman who had said her name.
“Call the lieutenant! Call 911!” Therese cried to her aunt, who still sat on the wooden table looking out toward the reservoir. “But come inside! Lock the doors!”
“Therese?” Carol jumped up. “What’s wrong?”
“Come inside! Now!”
It seemed to take Carol forever and a day to follow Therese in through the kitchen door, but when she did, Therese slammed it shut, locked it, and turned the dead bolt, which was not easy because they hardly ever used it. Therese then ran to the front door and did the same. “Check the downstairs windows!” Therese yelled. “All of them!”
“What is going on, Therese! Tell me what happened!”
