Awaken

by Kristen Day

  “The only trees in the Underworld are located in Persephone’s grove. Before she was trapped in the Underworld she was the goddess of spring growth, so it was only natural she have her own grove. The variety of trees is immense, however Willow’s right; it’s mostly dominated by pomegranate trees.” Finn ran his hands through his hair, “Unfortunately, her decision to allow a soul passage is truly her own. She’ll decide based on what she sees within that particular soul.”

  “So that’s it? She either lets you in or she doesn’t?” Carmen attested; clearly appalled at Persephone’s undisputed power. “I think that’s crap,” she said as she crossed her arms in defiance.

  “And it is, but the chances of her denying Stasia entrance are pretty slim. Only the most broken of souls are turned away. Stasia is anything but broken.” He smiled at me, alluding to my declaration several months ago on the beach. No matter the level of his certainty, I still viewed myself as broken. I’ve chipped away at my self-doubt, but I couldn’t be sure if I’d ever live up to the elevated image Finn had of me. I frowned at his handsome face.

  “But I’ll still have to talk to her regardless right?” I maintained.

  “Yes,” he answered simply, with a gloomy undertone I didn’t miss.

  “Excellent.” The prominent sarcasm dripping from my voice had Finn chuckling.

  “She’s not that bad,” he claimed, but I’d believe that when I saw it. He scooted to the edge of his seat and indicated an invisible path on the map that Willow promptly highlighted. “Once you head north and through the grove, you’ll run right into Charon’s Marsh. It’s where he collects the souls and takes them to the parts of the Underworld where Persephone has decided they belong.” A disparaging, crushing feeling settled over me.

  “Wait. Is she going to decide where I ‘belong’?” I asked, holding up air quotations at the word belong. The last person I wanted deciding where I belong would unanimously be the jaded Queen.

  “Your soul will still be technically attached to a body in this realm. You wouldn’t be permitted to enter the parts of the Underworld where body-less souls reside, so you won’t need to worry about that.” I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

  “So tell me again what four sections of the Underworld the body-less souls are sent to?” Phoebe pulled her hair back in determination and tapped the highlighter against her chin.

  “The Asphodel Meadows is where normal, everyday human souls reside. It’s the largest section of the Underworld,” he explained.

  “So…basically heaven?” Phoebe guessed, setting a bowl of roasted almonds down on the table.

  “I guess you could call it that,” Finn grinned at her connection. “It’s an expansive space full of springs and life, definitely the kind of place humans would consider to be heavenly.”

  “Then there is The Vale of Mourning. It’s a section reserved for those who take their own life; commit suicide. Unfortunately the number of souls resting there is much higher than you would imagine.” His face fell in despair for those tragic souls, and I hopelessly fell in love with him all over again. I shook myself, trying to focus. This was not the time to be drooling over him. I needed to remember this.

  “The Elysian Fields is what I’m the most familiar with. It’s where the souls of Gods and Goddesses reside. Namely, your mother,” he watched me knowingly. “There are no words to describe the grandeur and majesty of the Fields.” His features turned wistful and he seemed to smile to himself, as if remembering a fond memory. I wished again that I had the ability to see in to his mind.

  “Finally there is the section called Tarturus.” His eyes flitted toward Phoebe, “Or as humans would call it: Hell.” Phoebe gasped and Carmen choked on her Gatorade mid-sip as he continued, “I’ve only seen it from afar, but it’s not a place you ever want to find yourself. Raging fires and continuous pain follow every soul; torturing it for eternity. But it’s only reserved for the most demented of souls. I don’t believe any of us fall into that category.” He glanced around at his immediate company, then continued, “No need to worry, the rivers of the Underworld divide the different sections, making it impossible to get anywhere without Charon’s assistance. You couldn’t get into Hell if you tried. Metaphorically or literally.”

  “Comforting.” I shook my head in astonishment, but Finn just laughed and popped some almonds in his mouth.

  “So all these rivers feed into Charon’s Marsh; right in the middle of it all,” Willow gestured at the squiggly lines on the map that signified the different rivers. “Which one will Stasia have to find?”

  “There are five rivers in the Underworld,” Finn contended, “They all feed into Charon’s marsh in the middle; which is how he carries the souls to the different sections. The rivers are not to be taken lightly, however. They each shelter secrets of their own between their unassuming banks.”

  “What do you mean?” Phoebe asked, completely entranced.

  “Three main rivers circle the different sections of the Underworld. The River of Fire surrounds Tarturus and-“

  “The River of Fire!?” Phoebe’s eyes widened in fascination.

  Carmen looked at him skeptically, “Is it actually a river of fire?”

  “I guess it would be better described as a river of lava,” Finn shrugged his shoulders, as if a river of lava were no big deal. “Let’s just say you don’t want to fall in it.” He chuckled at himself, but Phoebe’s face paled at his words.

  “The River of Forgetfulness surrounds The Vale of Mourning,” he paused; anticipating more questions. Phoebe didn’t disappoint.

  “Forgetfulness? So does that mean it makes you forget things? Is that why it’s around the Vale of Mourning? So those souls will forget whatever made them kill themselves?”

  “Only if a soul drinks from its water, will they forget. The amount they drink will determine how many memories will be erased. It can be very tempting for those souls who have many memories they’d like to forget.”

  “But if you erase the bad, how will you be able to appreciate the good?” Willow pondered.

  “I have a million memories I’d like to forget, but they also made me who I am. I wouldn’t want to forget them,” I divulged quietly.

  “I agree, but unfortunately the souls of the Vale of Mourning have succumbed to their pain. They are weak and the river is all too tantalizing,” Finn stated.

  “How sad…” Phoebe gushed, as he described the third important river.

  “The River of Unbreakable Oaths surrounds the divine Elysian Fields. It’s also called the River Styx.” He nodded his head at Willow, who quickly turned it a bright neon pink and tapped her chin in deep thought again.

  “So how exactly does Stasia get there?“ she asked studiously.

  “She’ll need to reach the end of the groves, where she’ll run right into the marsh. Following along the marsh to the east, the River Styx will be the first river she’ll come to.” He pointed to the place where the River Styx met Charon’s Marsh on the map. “The mouth of the river meets the marsh in spectacular fashion, creating a large waterfall. So, she’ll need to follow the banks of the river until she can no longer hear the waterfall.”

  “Large waterfall…” Willow mumbled, as she set to changing more of the map to pink.

  “So how does it work? Does she run and cannonball into the river or simply stick a toe in?” Carmen asked, scribbling again in the notebook.

  “She’ll have to completely submerge herself in the waters of the river. But the torrent is extremely strong. Hence the swimming lessons.” He raised an eyebrow at me. Carmen had been tasked with giving me swimming lessons. And I was dead set on putting them off for as long possible. Finn turned his attention to me, “You’ll need to avoid any rocks or boulders, as you flow down river. Then you’ll go over the waterfall; landing in the marsh and ensuring your immortality.”

  “Did you just say I’d have to go over the waterfall?” I asked; dumbstruck and praying I had heard him wrong.

/>   “That’s exactly what I said,” he looked up at me, his face solemn. I could tell he didn’t like this any more than I did, but his resolve had grown into an understanding and acceptance of what must happen. Alternately, my resolve was still crawling around in diapers.

  “Right. Go over massive waterfall. Got it.” I swallowed and tried not to start shaking again.

  “You’ll make your way out of the marsh, and walk west along the River of Forgetfulness. But no matter how thirsty you are, do not drink from it.” He looked at me with intensity, “When you see the groves of Persephone appear to your left, you’ll know you’re almost to the Gates of Horn and Ivory.”

  “The Gates of Horn and Ivory are real?” Willow’s big blue eyes grew impossibly larger. Finn shook his head in confirmation.

  “I can assure you; they’re all too real. And Stasia will need to pass through them in order to get back to this realm…and her body.” My stomach lurched and I held down the queasiness that ensued. I had no idea what the Gates of Horn and Ivory were, but I could only hope they weren’t lined with flesh-eating spiders the size of buses busily spinning webs; perfect for capturing detached souls.

  “Let me guess, there’s a big fire breathing monster she’ll have to slay with her sword in order to get the golden key and save the princess?” Carmen’s eyes darted toward Phoebe who crossed her arms and glared back at her. Finn just rolled his eyes.

  “The only big monster Stasia will have to face is herself.”

  Chapter 18

  “Did you just call me a big monster?” I joked with him, trying to hide the paralyzing fear that had taken hold of every fiber in my body. The three almonds that broke free from the shaking of my hand as I reached into the bowl had betrayed me.

  “The most incredibly, beautiful monster in the world…,” Finn retorted with a smirk.

  “There’s that charming side I just can’t resist,” I teased, and swatted at him playfully. He caught my still-shaking hand and pulled me close, instantly making me feel better. He turned to address my roommates.

  “The Gates are actually ‘The Gate’. Depending on the soul’s integrity, it will either be made of ivory or horns. The catch is that that soul will not be able tell which it is when they walk through it.”

  “So, what’s the difference? Why does it matter?” Phoebe asked curiously.

  “If the gate is made of horns, they’ll pass through without a problem. But, if it’s made of ivory, they’ll be refused exit and trapped in the Underworld to serve under Persephone. Forever,” he declared with finality.

  As I attempted to swallow this newest pill of bad news, a knock sounded at the door. We all jumped out of our skin and Phoebe let out a surprised yelp. Finn just grinned wickedly and his blue eyes sparkled as they shot towards Willow.

  “Oh yea, I forgot to tell you. I invited Liam over,” he shrugged innocently.

  “What?” Willow’s face flushed the same bright pink color of her highlighter. She immediately jumped up and frantically began to clean up.

  “You did?” I couldn’t help wondering what Liam would add to the conversation.

  “You don’t knock. You invite people over. You do realize you don’t live here, right?” Carmen put her hands on her hips and glared at Finn, but he was too busy eyeing Willow with obvious amusement to care.

  “You might want to answer the door.” He unsuccessfully covered up a chuckle as Liam knocked again. Willow shot Finn a warning look and smoothed down her unruly blonde hair. As she opened the door, Liam sauntered into the suite looking quite proper in khaki shorts and a green polo shirt that offset his blonde hair nicely. He also appeared to be extremely nervous. He grinned shyly at Willow, who just stared back at him speechless. An intervention may be in order for those two. At this pace, they might go on a date by next spring.

  “Hey Liam! Come on in and make yourself at home,” I greeted him from my spot on the couch, elbowing Finn as he snickered at the nervous silence hanging between the two of them.

  “What’s up everybody!” He came in to the living room and gave Finn a slight head nod; the universal guy greeting. Willow sat down on the love seat; making room for him. He smiled at her politely and sat down. I caught Carmen roll her eyes at his careful manners.

  “Alright, where were we…?” Finn glanced down at the map and ran his hand through his dark hair once more.

  “The possibility of Stasia getting trapped in the Underworld and serving under Persephone forever?” Carmen speculated, innocently shrugging her shoulders. I put my head in my hands.

  “Which is not going to happen,” Finn’s eyes darkened as he squeezed my arm in sympathy. “As I was saying, once she gets through the gate, her soul will reunite with her body and she’ll wake up.”

  “Will she be immortal?” Phoebe asked quietly.

  “Not yet…she only planted the seed. She won’t become fully immortal until her eighteenth birthday,” he explained.

  “Wow,” Phoebe marveled.

  “So how will she actually get into the Underworld?” Willow asked and I planted a vice grip on Finn’s hand, hoping he wouldn’t give her a detailed account of my approaching departure.

  “That’s why I’ve invited Liam over. I’d trust him with my life, and along with my mom, they’ll be helping Stasia make the switch to the realm of the Underworld.” The switch. I guess that’s one way to describe the ending of my life.

  “I have some experience in that particular field.” Liam inserted.

  “Dying?” I asked, exasperated. Then I realized what I had said. I felt the stares of my roommates as their mouths gaped open in horror.

  “I guess you could call it that,” he glanced at Finn; wearing his discomfort on his face at the same moment that Carmen stood up. I made the assumption that Finn had warned him not to use any words centered around death.

  “Okay, whoa. Back the stinking fruit truck up.” She stared at me, “did you just say dying?”

  “No,” I lied outright. Carmen shot an accusing glare at Finn and then back at me.

  “You have to DIE to get to the Underworld!?”

  “Well-“ I started.

  “Oh my God,” Willow said quietly.

  “You what!?” Phoebe put her hand over her mouth.

  “You guys-“ I tried again, but just as I suspected, they were completely freaking out. As they all started talking at once, Liam stood and held up his hands to get their attention.

  “I can explain everything if you guys will calm down.” Three pairs of irate eyes zeroed in on Liam and I watched as he physically shrank back. “My grandfather created a serum that would allow descendants who don’t belong to the Underworld to enter that realm. It has been in my family for many generations and we continually perfect it. It will be what keeps the link between Stasia’s soul and body strong while she is in the Underworld.”

  “Serum, schmerum. All I heard was blah, blah, blah…Stasia has to die.”

  “Technically, yes. But it has never failed. Natasha has used it many times and has never had any issues,” Liam pleaded.

  “And just how do you plan on killing our best friend?” If Carmen’s eyes could kill, Liam would be the one dying, not me.

  “That’s part of the serum as well. We’ll hook up an IV for Stasia and slowly let the serum enter her blood stream. Once her soul separates, we will monitor the amount of serum within her body until she returns.”

  Although Finn hadn’t completely explained everything that would happen when I ‘died’, Liam’s detailed explanation actually made me feel much better about the whole situation. Especially if Natasha had used it before. She wouldn’t put me in harm’s way.

  “Would we be able to be there? I’d feel a lot better about this if I could be close to her,” Willow told Liam calmly, but I could tell she was holding back her emotion.

  “I think that could be arranged,” he smiled at her.

  “It better be arranged,” Carmen threatened.

  “I definitely want to be there,
” Phoebe’s bottom lip began to quiver. I got up and gave her a hug.

  “If Finn trusts Liam, then so do I - and I especially trust Natasha. They won’t let anything happen to me,” I tried to console them. Finn smiled at me encouragingly. “I need you guys to trust them too.”

  My roommates reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement, but it was obvious they were extremely uncomfortable with this twist in the journey. After Finn and Liam left, we stayed up for a while longer talking; however my bed was calling so I retired to my bedroom before everyone else.

  ~~~~~

  Lightness. A reverie? But where was I? Everything was pitch black. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. Suddenly I felt myself flying though space, tumbling towards an unknown destination. The temperature dropped and I stopped abruptly, landing on my hands and knees. Even though I had no idea where I was, I could see a little better. It was still dark, but my eyes had adjusted enough to see several yards around me. The ground beneath me was hard and dusty, stirring up into my eyes and causing me to cough. The air smelled of smoke and I got the odd sensation that I had been taken to a recently burned forest, void of any life. I wiped the parched earth from my knees and stood carefully, right before something suddenly struck me from behind, sending me skidding across the sooty ground. I wiped my eyes and frantically glanced around, preparing for another attack.

  “Who’s there?” I scanned the blackness around me; finding no one. I heard shuffling feet all around me, but I still couldn’t make out any shapes. My breathing began to come in shallow spurts as fear crept around my heart and entered my frenzied thoughts. I tried to stand, but was pushed from behind a second time, finding myself back on the ground. That’s when she materialized in front of me.

  “You did this,” her ghastly sounding voice came out ragged and forced. Her gray cloudy eyes glared down at me. My stomach lurched at the sight of her sunken skull and hallowed face, beaten and bloodied, but there was no denying who was standing in front of me. My dead foster mother who had been killed by my foster father when he hit her with a baseball bat…seconds before I shot him.