Queen of the Underworld

by Helen Scott

  “Come on, we need to figure out how you can claim this thing so we can stop the battle before it even starts.”

  Nolan appeared next to Hunter a split second later, and when his eyes locked onto me, everything about him seemed to relax by a fraction. I, however, was starting to panic, especially when I saw the blood stains on his shirt.

  “You’re all alive? Safe?” I asked as I looked Nolan over, assessing him for any injuries. I didn’t think the blood was his, but it didn’t hurt to check.

  “Alive? Yes. Safe? That will depend on how everything goes from here,” Nolan said, running a hand through his hair. “Everyone else is fighting the horde on the bridge, but if we don’t figure this out soon, the fight is going to get here regardless, and we might be down some hellhounds and judges.” His voice was somber, not the joking goofball I loved.

  “We’re under attack?” I asked, feeling as if I’d missed days due to the helm.

  They both nodded. “Some Alpha members have defected and are helping us, along with the allies we’ve recruited since we’ve been here, but we are still vastly outnumbered.”

  “Aren’t you, though?” a woman’s voice called out. “I honestly don’t know why you’re trying to fight at all. The only thing I can imagine is that you want a good Norse death, weapon in hand, and either joining my army or becoming my enemy in Valhalla.”

  My eyes snapped to her as she spoke. I knew it was Hel. What I didn’t know was how she’d come into the throne room unnoticed while I spoke with Hunter and Nolan.

  She strode toward the throne like a queen, which made sense since she was actually a goddess, and I almost laughed when her eyebrows rose in surprise, as we didn’t move from where we stood.

  Her black-and-white gown flared out behind her in an elegant circle. Her hair was mostly gray, but one side was definitely darker, while the other side was lighter. It gave her almost an ombre effect, except instead of going up and down, it went side to side. She had carefully styled it so it blocked one of her eyes.

  I wondered if she thought that it hid the partial decay of her body. Her jaw and neck were the most obvious. Thick, red, ropy muscle stood out against the pale skin on the other side of her face and the even paler bone that peeked through in some places.

  She was beautiful in a horrific way. When she stood at the bottom of the stairs, Nolan rushed at her, with Hunter right behind him. Neither of them even made it within a five-foot radius of her before she swept her hand to the side and sent them flying into the wall.

  My heart leapt, and I covered my mouth as they both stayed down. I sent out a distress call through the bond I had with the other guys, and soon after, they all appeared in the throne room. My hounds were transforming and launching themselves at her, which made me want to scream in terror as her hand swatted out again. To my surprise, and I’m sure to hers too, the hounds weren’t as affected by her magic. They stumbled slightly, but they didn’t go flying into the wall as Nolan and Hunter had.

  I knew I would only have a limited window if I wanted to turn this around. The idea I’d had while under the sway of the Helm of Darkness was a long shot, but if it worked, we would have a fighting chance. I tried to send a message begging my guys to stay strong and hold her off for a few moments while I disappeared.

  Shadows swept up and around me, instantly shifting me to where I needed to be. The familiar sensation of ice crept up my spine, and as I opened my eyes, I saw the spirits waiting for me as though they knew I had been coming.

  “We did—you told us,” a woman said.

  “But I only just decided . . .” My mind was spinning before I shook myself to get back on track. “I can bring some of you with me now, but I need warriors. If you want to escape this place, then you will need to fight for that opportunity. The Underworld is being overrun by enemies, and we need to save it so I can get you all out of here. If we don’t, then you’ll be stuck here until the end of time.” I wasn’t trying to sound melodramatic, but it was the truth. Hel and Alpha wouldn’t think twice about these lost souls, if they even knew they were there.

  A quick shuffle of people, and I had a different mass of people standing in front of me. The group was not only larger than the one before, but the people were taller and broader too.

  A man stepped forward, his outfit making him look like an extra from an eighties montage. “We’re totally ready to rumble!” He sounded like a bad impression of Keanu Reeves from Bill and Ted.

  “Okay, then get ready, ’cause you’re all coming with me,” I yelled so everyone could hear me.

  A cheer went up, and I plastered a smile on my face. I might be unsure of what I was doing, but they didn’t need to know that.

  I opened my mind’s eye, the one I used to see my bonds with the guys, and instead of looking inside myself, I turned it to face away from me to focus on the lost souls in front of me. The idea of taking them with me was slightly terrifying, but it was the only one I had, my ace in the hole to defeat Hel’s horde. I pulled a spindle of energy away from my fire and focused all my mental powers on willing it to go out and circle around the crowd.

  When I looked at the energies of all of them and saw them captured within my flame, I sent more energy down my connection, making the flame flare up and grow so it encompassed all of them in a massive orb of fire. I took a deep breath and asked the shadows to help me transport all these souls to the Underworld where they belonged.

  I had never been so happy for darkness to surround me in my whole life. When the throne room came into focus all around me, I wanted to jump for joy, doubly so when I saw the crowd of spirits that had come with me.

  There wasn’t a moment to lose as Hel stood stunned at their sudden appearance. I rushed to Cass’s side, as he was the closest to me.

  “Can you get them to the bridge?”

  He nodded, his dark-brown eyes serious and closed off, so different from how he was most of the time.

  “Take Emmett, Shadow, and Derek with you. We need all the help we can get there,” I said. It was as if I could feel the castle starting to talk to me, as if I had a connection with the very ground I was walking on, and it was telling me we were losing.

  Cass stepped to the side and wove in and out of the group, talking to people as he went. I turned to find Hel glaring at me.

  “You think getting them out of here is going to save them?” she scoffed.

  “They are already dead. They don’t need saving.” I shrugged.

  “Well, they are going to get slaughtered out there anyway.”

  “The fates will decide what happens,” I said, trying to sound calm and serene since it seemed to piss her off. I also wanted to get to the throne, and having all her attention on me would make that harder than necessary, but I didn’t have another choice. All I had to do was keep her talking and keep edging in that direction while Knox stealthily made his way to his battle brothers.

  I couldn’t help but wiggle my fingers a fraction, trying to draw the helm to me. Telekinesis could be a new power of mine, right? All I needed was a little boost of magic to grab the helm, and then once I had it on, I would be invisible. I prayed once more to Hades and Persephone that the lore that Hunter had found was true.

  “Ah, ah. Keep those sticky fingers to yourself unless you want their sleep to be permanent,” Hel said as she gestured to Hunter and Nolan’s forms still slumped by the wall.

  My movement stilled. “Don’t hurt them, please,” I breathed.

  “Hand over the crown and I won’t. In fact, if you relinquish the throne, then I’ll call off my army and let you and your lovers return to the human realm. You should have a few weeks before I make it there.”

  “Please . . .” was all I could manage as thick frost began covering the floor of the throne room, creeping toward my unconscious men. When it reached Knox’s boots, it started climbing his leg as it cemented his feet to the floor where he stood.

  I took a step toward the throne, and she blinked, appearing opposite me when she o
pened her eyes. It was like moving with the shadows, only no shadows appeared. We stood on each side of the throne. The hellhounds that made up the armrests snarled at both of us.

  “Little girl, you don’t deserve this throne. Why don’t you let someone who knows what they are doing handle it? Humans may not all remember me right now, but by the time I’m done, everyone will know my name. Besides, Ragnarok is bound to happen eventually. Why fight it?”

  “I can’t just give it to you!”

  “Sure you can. No one has to know.” She flicked her arm in Knox’s direction, and his body crumpled where he had been standing. As soon as more of him touched the floor, the frost began to creep over the rest of his body.

  “If you kill him, then I’ll never give you the throne,” I spat.

  With just a look from her, the frost stopped covering Knox and even receded slightly. My heart hammered in my chest. I had no way out, no way of fighting her, and if I did, then she would just kill everything I held dear before killing me.

  “You promise you’ll let us go?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “Then take it. I just want my guys safe.” I sighed. I had never felt so out of options, so fully defeated in my life, except for one tiny pinprick of hope.

  She grinned, and it stretched the muscles in a weird way around her face that made me want to turn away. I stood my ground, though, and waited for her to make the next move.

  24

  Poppy

  I watched with bated breath as she reached out and took the Helm of Darkness from the seat of the throne and slipped it onto her head. Almost instantly, a scream tore from her throat, just as when I had put it on earlier. As the scream died, I heard a faint whisper escape her mouth. “Daddy?”

  When she didn’t disappear, I had my doubts that the helm would work on her, but it was my last resort, and I prayed that a goddess almost as old as civilization itself would have more terrors for the thing to take advantage of instead of sharks, spiders, and losing everyone I cared about.

  While she was down, I couldn’t waste any time, though, and rushed to Knox’s side, fire blazing around my hands as I melted the frost. I touched his face, willing him to wake up as I called to him through our bond. The flicker of his eyelids told me it was working.

  “Angel?” he whispered.

  “I’m here, but I need to wake Nolan and Hunter too. I’ll be back in a second.” I dropped a kiss on his forehead and headed over to the other guys, repeating the same move until they were all starting to wake up and gain their bearings.

  “You gave her the helm?” Knox gaped at me.

  “If Hunter’s research is right, then it should make her go mad, which gives us a much-needed reprieve.”

  “What do you think she’s seeing?” Nolan wondered aloud as he rubbed his shoulders.

  “Probably Ragnarok failing and being forgotten, or Odin taking Helheim away from her or something,” I grumbled. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we get her somewhere secure before she comes out of it. Would Tartarus keep her?”

  “I don’t see why not. It’s designed to hold the titans, after all.”

  “Can we take her there through the shadows?” I asked, almost jumping up and down because I knew we needed to get moving. I didn’t know how long the control of the helm would last, and the worst thing that could happen would be for her to take it off up here and have it all be for nothing.

  “I don’t know what that would do to the helm. It could mean that when we arrive, she’s come out of the madness or whatever it is.”

  “Okay so we’ll walk her there,” I said, eager to get going.

  “Knox, go get Megaera and have the hecatoncheire meet us at the entrance to Tartarus,” Hunter said as he walked over to the Norse goddess as bold as brass. “Nolan, you need to stay here with Poppy and guard the throne.”

  “No. I’m coming with you,” I said. There was no way I would back down from this. They couldn’t do or say anything that would make me.

  “Poppy, you need to claim the throne.” Hunter sighed.

  “And you need someone with you who can control the dead and has an army of spirits at her beck and call.” To demonstrate what I had only recently figured out, I raised my hand. Hel repeated my motion even though her eyes were completely glazed over. “All I can say is thank you to Melinoe. I don’t know how far removed I am from her, but at least I have enough of her powers to control the dead half of Hel.”

  “Holy shit,” Nolan breathed.

  Knox chose that moment to show up with Megaera. I waved, and so did Hel’s rotting arm. If I had expected more of a reaction from my hellhound, I would have been disappointed. All he did was raise an eyebrow and quirk his head slightly. I got the sense that he either didn’t care or had already suspected I would develop an ability similar to what I was experiencing.

  “Come on, we need to move,” Knox said as he gestured to Megaera. The fury was different from when I had seen her before. Large black wings spread from behind her, and the skin on her hands and arms had turned as dark as night, while her eyes were a swirl of black and blood red. It was unsettling to look at.

  “I am here to punish the guilty,” her voice growled.

  It seemed as if the Megaera I’d spoken with earlier had left the building and now we were just left with the fury version, so I said, “Well, she’s your girl. Can we take her to Tartarus?”

  “’Tis the place for those who need to be punished and kept secure.”

  “That last one is what we want!” I said, feeling as though I sounded like a crazy person with how peppy I was being.

  “Follow me,” she said as she turned and swept out of the room. It was only the smear that her gown left behind that made me realize it wasn’t just red—it was soaked in blood too.

  Hunter and Nolan each grabbed one of Hel’s arms. “Why do I have to take the gross one?” Nolan hissed at his battle brother.

  “Because I’m older than you,” was Hunter’s witty comeback.

  I shook my head at them while Hel twitched in their arms as they carried her. We quickly caught up with the fury, and our little group wove through the castle or palace or whatever it was called and made our way back to the furies’ cave.

  The whole time, I was tense, expecting agents of Hel to realize that we were taking their queen and come for us, or for Alpha to decide that it was the best moment to try to destroy us. Fortunately, neither of those things happened. We were out of the palace and going down a side road, far away from the bridge. I could hear the screams and shouts of fighting taking place on it and wished I was by everyone’s side, but I needed to make sure that Hel was taken care of first, and then I would happily kick anyone’s ass who came at us again.

  When we finally got to the entrance of the furies’ cave, something was blocking our way. It was massive, and I wasn’t sure how we were going to get through until the whole thing moved. Arms that had been put together in such a way that it looked like a massive rock were all spreading out, and the number of eyeballs looking at us made me think of a giant spider, which after what the Helm of Darkness had put me through, I couldn’t handle.

  I turned to Knox and whispered, “What the hell is that?”

  “It’s a hecatoncheire, a many-handed one.”

  Megaera, who had apparently heard us, turned and, in her weird growly voice, said, “This is Cottus, the striker. He and his brothers, Gyges and Brutus, are the children of Uranus and Gaea. Gyges and Brutus are still on the battlefield, but Cottus is the strongest and fastest, and I thought he would be the most capable of helping us wrangle a goddess. You may hand her over to him now, as he is the one who will accompany me into Tartarus.”

  As Hunter and Nolan released Hel, she almost fell, but one of Cottus’s great big hands shot out and wrapped around her, making her imposing figure look like an ant about to get squashed. He was nothing but gentle, though, scooping her up as though she were a butterfly and he didn’t want to harm her w
ings. He pulled her in tight and wrapped other arms around her, leaving her unable to move even if she did wake up.

  “What do you mean he’s the one going to Tartarus with you?” I asked.

  “I cannot protect you all from the pitfalls and dangers that lay within Tartarus. It is easier if Cottus and I go alone.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I’m going with you. I won’t accept any arguments or protests from anyone. I’m telling you that this is what’s happening.” I looked at each of them in turn as I spoke.

  Something about how I had said it or maybe it was the look on my face, but none of them challenged me. As we proceeded forward and down a long circular ramp, I looked over my shoulder and nodded at my guys, who were stuck staying behind at the top of the ramp. They nodded back, somber and probably unhappy with my decision, but I needed to see this through. Hel had been tormenting me since I’d first found out about everything, and now it was time for her to stop.

  I tried to hide my surprise when I saw what Tartarus was—a stone pit with fires burning here and there, along with rock formations that somehow were the cells that contained those deemed nasty enough to belong there.

  “Follow me, and don’t veer from the path,” Megaera said as we began to weave through the cells. I looked in the first window we passed and saw nothing but darkness. A small light flickered to life for a moment, a single flame at the end of a matchstick that quickly burned itself out, leaving the room in darkness once more.

  Part of me was curious who was trapped inside, but most of me didn’t want to know. The people condemned to Tartarus were the worst of the worst. I turned and moved quickly to catch up with Megaera.

  “Here.” She gestured to the rock formation and a door appeared as though it had always been there.

  I took a second to peek inside. There was nothing except a ledge carved out of the wall that could function as a bed or seat. Nothing for Hel to use to try to escape. My worries eased slightly at the thought.