I was jilted back to the scene as a hushed tone crossed the masses. I strained to see the commotion and I saw a figure in the distance. The crowd was parting and bowing as the figure approached. As they moved closer, I saw it is a woman.
She was dark and exotic and every bit as beautiful as I imagined she would be. Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. I had no doubt in my mind that I was face to face with a goddess.
She was clothed in luxurious grey silk robes. Her brown hair pinned up in a sophisticated up do, an intricate silver crown atop her head. She was carrying a torch and a sheaf of grain.
Her smile was delicate and proper but didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her porcelain skin was flawless and radiant in the candlelight. I found myself entranced by the richness of her beauty. Clearly the guys were having the same reaction, their mouths hung open in awe.
I quickly broke my sight away to look for our captors. Even Wren had the guile to look submissive to her. As she moved closer, everyone bowed down. I even found that we were doing so as well. Regardless of good or bad, she was still a kind of royalty and demanded respect.
It was clear to me that Boone and Jared never expected to meet Persephone in the flesh. They stared on with wonder written all over their faces. I wanted to be jealous, but couldn’t deny her otherworldly beauty. She was simply gorgeous.
As I stood there bowing in admiration, I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen to us. Would we be damned? Would it hurt? Would we still all remain together? The questions were tumbling through my mind like a bowling ball picking up speed. I was almost panicked at the prospective. I was afraid to say anything that would break the enduring silence.
Then, a melodic chant broke from her lips and the crowd followed suit. It was the most beautiful melody I have ever heard and brought tears to my eyes. I was enchanted by its beauty. The tune flowed easily and echoed from the temple walls in a staccato rhythm.
I briefly glanced up at the twinkling sea of stars in the night sky. Tears began to drop at the overwhelming magnificence I was encompassed in. Just being present was a gift to be cherished.
I finally broke away from the night splendor and faced Persephone. She was moving to enter our circle and my heart was beating at a steady thumping now. I submitted and bowed down once more in a show of admiration.
She stopped in front of me and smiled a genuine whole hearted smile. I was glowing from the attention, radiant. She lifted a chalice of jewel studded gold from her altar and raised it in the air while everyone cheered. She parted her lips and took a gentle sip.
More cheering exploded around us. She leaned down and placed the chalice to my lips and I sipped without hesitation, needing her approval. It tasted of tart tangy pomegranate. I bowed down in thanks before she moved to Sam. It was clear everyone else was engrossed by her and they all sip as well, bowing in thanks.
Persephone put the chalice in its place back on her altar and used the torch to light the waxy red candles starting at North and ending at West. She blessed the circle and the melodic chant begins more fervently. Everything around us began to swirl and turned pixilated as the world began to melt away once again.
***
When I came to, I was clearly dreaming. I was in a bed of plush cranberry, my head aloft a pillow of down feathers. The four poster bed was covered by a thin, shear wine colored canopy. I didn’t want to wake from this dream. I felt weightless and at peace.
I looked over and saw a vase of red tulips tinged with silver just like the field from my dream with Jared. I smiled, knowing it is a dream with Jared. My beautiful trinket bracelet of stones rested on my left wrist and I found I was wearing a silk negligée that fit perfectly on my thin form. It was black and lacy. I looked like a sex kitten I decided as I emerged from my cocoon of comfort. I looked in the mirror and giggled.
My bare feet slid to the floor and I wrapped myself in the black silk robe left on the hook next to the door. With a twinge of excitement, I ventured out to find Jared. Gray and ivory baroque wallpaper lined the paneled hallway and tall ceiling. I pulled the handle on the door next to mine.
It swung open easily and I stepped into plush Faberge carpet. My feet sank into the little slice of heaven and I looked for Jared. The bed was filled with a sleeping form and I slipped in beside him, closing my eyes in delight.
I was surprised when the man rolled me over and pinned me down. It was Boone and I was breathless against him. His blue eyes penetrating mine told me that I was not in Jared’s dream. It was Boone’s dream. He clasped my hands above my head and kissed me without abandon, full of passion.
This time, I pushed Jared from my mind and let Boone kiss me eagerly. He wasted no time untying the silk robe and pressing against me.
Our kisses became more fervent and needy. I ran my fingers down his bare flesh and gasp in pleasure. He was very sexy and incredibly irresistible. I wanted him in ways I shouldn’t.
I was about to slip off my sexy little nothing when I heard a knock at the door and we both bolted upright. I jumped up in confusion thinking this was supposed to be Boones dream. Clearly it was not though and I wrapped my robe loosely around myself. I opened the door a crack to see who lurked behind it.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Noel, oh thank god you are ok. I was looking for you,” Jared said from the other side of the door. My eyes grew wide and confused. This was no dream of his or Boones’. This was a nightmare.
“Hey, let me in ok. This place is pretty cool. I love the dream.”
I shut the door a second, taking the time to close my robe tight. Then pulled the door wide open, hoping he was as confused as I was. When he saw Boone though, he didn’t look happy, especially when he saw what I was wearing.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” I said. Ok it was exactly what it looked like, but I had to think of something fast. Boone sensed the panic in me but defiantly resisted correcting me.
I felt my heart warring for them both once again. Boone’s eyes were stormy with desire and possessiveness. He did say he would fight for me. I guess this was only fair in his eyes.
“I thought this was a dream, until I found you two together. Now, I am not sure where we are,” he replied gruffly.
Just then, I found Sam poking her head in the door, taking the spotlight off me temporarily. “Hey guys, are we having a slumber party?”
She was wearing a posh white robe and looked as confused as the rest of us. I only grew more worried. “Guys, where is Autumn?” I asked with an edge of panic in my voice.
All I got were shrugs in response. I threw the door open the rest of the way and ran down the rest of the hallway until I came upon the only other unopened door. I didn’t even knock before throwing it open.
I rushed to the bed to find Autumn sleeping peacefully in her own lavish bed of sea blue. A sick feeling began to take hold inside me. I shook her awake, desperate now.
“What do you want Nells?” she said holding the sheet up over her head, clearly not up yet.
“Get up now. We have a problem,” I said as the others were trailing into the room.
“What?” she replied more vehemently, clearly not waking up to the panic etched in my voice.
I looked around to see the confusion in every ones faces and grimaced. The knot in my stomach doubled as I prepared to break the bad news. Images were resurfacing like a fast forward slide show and I grew pale.
“We are in the Underworld, in Persephone’s Lair.”
Chapter 19: The Underworld
This confession sent Autumn bolt upright and her eyes, once sleepy, were now wide in shock.
“You have got to be joking. Please tell me you are joking,” she said with an edge of panic.
I wrapped my robe to me more tightly in a gesture of being uncomfortable before responding.
“I wish I was joking. This is no joke. All five of us are trapped in the Underworld.”
Everyone’s faces shown their pale expressions and I knew that we were in deep trou
ble.
A tear escaped Sam’s eye and I moved to wipe it with my sleeve. A wet circle bloomed where her wet tears now resided there.
“I am so sorry Noel. I never wanted this for you. I was only trying to protect you. Now it seems I have driven you straight to the pits of hell, literally,” Sam said with sorrow in her voice.
I wrapped my arms around her in comfort. “I love you sis. It isn’t your fault; you did the best that you could. I admire the self-sacrifice just for my happiness. It will be ok, somehow. At least we are together.”
Then Boone chimed in, feeling the tension in the room. “Anyone have a plan D? It seems we are trapped a little far from reach for backup. We are going to have to rely on each other to get out of this.”
“I vote for everyone putting real clothes on,” Jared stated pointedly.
“I second that vote,” I added, my cheeks reddening.
Autumn peered around the room, scanning for anything that might contain something more substantial to wear. It took a minute until her eyes landed on an armoire in the corner.
“Bingo,” she said, hurrying out of bed, grabbing her robe and moved toward the tall wooden armoire.
She wasted no time throwing it open and pulling out articles of clothing. She flipped the tag and winced.
“It is all my size. I doubt it is going to fit many of you. Maybe you all have similar ones in your rooms,” she suggested.
“Good thinking. Let’s all go to our own rooms and meet back here in five minutes,” I proposed.
I hurried to my room, anxious to get away from the terrible triangle I had put myself in. I was ashamed to let my guard down and make such a mistake. Now, I had two amazing guys that I couldn’t seem to let go of. I knew I would have to choose, but cringed knowing it was a choice I was not ready to make.
I slipped back into my room and sighed in relief at the peace I felt now that I was alone and able to think. I craved just curling back up into the plush bed that screamed relief from all my problems. I shook off the desire and scanned the room to find a dresser on the other side of the bed. Bingo.
There were sexy lace bras in every color along with matching lace panties. I found a cute sequined tank and a pair of shorts to wear. Then I picked out a corresponding bra and panty before dressing myself.
Afterwards, I slid on a pair of mule heels that matched and I was relieved to be outfitted in real clothes. The vulnerability I felt just minutes before was gone and a new confidence had taken hold.
There was a vanity and I veered towards it since I still had a few minutes to spare. A massive amount of makeup was laid out for me to wear. I couldn’t resist and quickly put on some. Then I took a second to fix my hair in the mirror and headed towards Autumn’s room, ready for whatever happened next.
Once we all reconvened, I was the first to speak up. Boone and Jared were noticeably not standing anywhere near each other, eyes averted. I could see the smoldering fire just behind Jared’s cool facade and felt a twinge of guilt but knew this wasn’t the time or place to get into it.
“Sam, I have an idea. What about the bracelet,” I said waving my wrist for her to see.
“We can give it a shot, can’t hurt anything,” Sam replied.
Then she stiffened as if she hadn’t thought of something until just now and she turned to Autumn.
“The box, where is it?” Sam asked.
“Safe. No one but me can find it,” Autumn replied, a suspicious look on her face.
“We need to get then box to Mr. Greene. It has a talisman that reunites astral projections to their bodies. It is essentially a form of time travel, getting from one place to another. I had it hidden in that box,” Sam explained.
“That’s a big risk. Are you sure?” Autumn asked, meeting Sam’s eyes.
“I would say this is pretty dire. What could be worse than residing in the pits of Hell? It could be our only out. I say it is the only chance we have.”
I jumped in and agreed, trying to figure out how that would even work. “So we would all have to be in the astral projection, are we strong enough to pull it off?”
“The initial projection would just have to be us and Jared. Later we would have to set a time to meet Mr. Greene to complete it. It will take a lot, but I think we can do it. Just hope that we can survive that long,” Sam said.
Before I could lose my nerve, I nodded in agreement. “Let’s do this before I change my mind.”
Just like before, we sat cross legged in a sort of triangle. Sam was to my left and Jared to my right. I slipped the bracelet over Sam’s wrist and placed my other palm against Jared’s.
As with the first time, it felt like we were being zapped from our bodies, our souls stripped. Everything was zipping by at extreme speeds until we slowed in the familiar office overlooking the Mississippi. Mr. Greene was there, looking weary and bone tired. He still had on the same tailored suit and his tie was slung on in a haphazard manner. A surge of hope flashed through his eyes when he saw us.
“Are you guys alright? How are Boone and Autumn? We tried to stop them, but we were too late. The place was empty by the time we got there. I am so sorry.”
Sam spoke up, all business in her tone. “Listen very carefully. We have one chance and one chance only to escape. There is a box. Autumn has hidden it in a grave. The name on the grave is Rita Kennedy. It is in the Winding Winds cemetery just outside of Buck town in Chicago. You must retrieve it yourself and no one else.”
Before he had the chance to respond, Sam continued. “We will meet back here in twenty-four hours. I will give you instructions and if all goes well, we will be standing there in no time. Now we must go. Please watch your back and be safe.”
Then we were spinning away, as fast as before until we snapped like a rubber band back into our bodies. The aftershock was mild and I unclasped our hands and replaced the bracelet on my wrist.
“So twenty four hours in hell, this should be good,” Jared said sarcastically.
“What should we do now,” I asked.
“I guess we find out what Persephone has in store for us. We need to play along and give no indication that we have any plan of escape,” Sam replied.
“All right, ready or not, let’s go face our judge, jury and executioner,” Boone added with a twinge of dread in his voice.
When we made our way down the hallway and entered into a massive room, it was anything but what any of us expected. Large glass chandeliers hung from the high ceilings. The molded wall panels were tinted in gold and it felt like a place of royalty. We all stood there marveling at the luxury in a place we least expected it.
Then, I began to notice the idiosyncrasies. Each doorway was guarded by a whimsical woman. They were beautiful and hard to look away from. If I had to guess, they would be nymphs.
They were holding torches and I was suddenly drawn into the lore from my college mythology class. These were Lampades, Hecate’s companions in the underworld. I gulped and took a small step back and toward Jared.
Then as the information played like a film reel in my mind, I kicked into gear. “Everyone, don’t look at the torches. Avert your eyes. These are Lampades and the fire from their torches has the power to drive one mad.”
This got everyone’s attention and all eyes turned to me. I tried to form a plan as quickly as possible and began to form the words.
“We must be at the crossroads. This is Hecate’s domain and we have just met her guides. Each door leads to a different place in the underworld. You choose wrong, and you will meet Hades, himself, or the pit of souls.”
“Maybe we should just wait in our rooms,” Autumn said, clearly shaken.
It was Sam who spoke up next. “That would look way too suspicious. We need to continue on. We are already across the rivers and deep into the underworld. I say we pick the left door and just go with it. It is all a gamble and we are clearly here under Persephone’s protection, given what happened at the ceremony.”
“I agree with Sam,” Jared said.
“I agree as well,” Boone added.
“Majority rules, let’s go. There is no time like the present,” I said with false bravado.
The door was arched and etched with gold design. I struggled to avoid the torch the Lampade was carrying just inches from us. She did not say anything or make any move to stop us at least. I twisted the oval door knob and took a deep breath before crossing the threshold and into the unknown.
On the other side of the door, it was dim and scarcely lit. We all made it into the space before Boone shut the door behind him. It was very hot. I made it two steps forward and began to hear the wailing. I suddenly realized we definitely chose wrong. We were hearing the horrifying sounds of damned souls.
Dreamwalker Page 20
