by S. A. Gibbs
The glow from the cocoon behind us made Athena’s sun-drenched skin gleam. “Only those with the required coin can travel to the underworld. Esme’s dictatorship denies all others passage. The ferryman hasn’t crossed the Styx for a thousand years.” She sighed. “Amberleigh, once you take the throne from Esme, you can change the dictum and free these souls.”
What Athena and the guys were expecting me to do—it seemed impossible. How on earth could I be the person tasked with the redeeming of the dead? I was an antiquarian, for God’s sake. The idea seemed ludicrous. Even standing here, the whole place was illogical.
A lone shadowed figure staggered toward us and then slumped to the ground. I stepped forward, and Athena grabbed my arm.
“No further, or Charon will see you.”
“Who?”
“The ferryman.” She pointed out across the ghostly landscape. Even though my eyes had grown accustomed to the diffused light, and the intermittent bursts of color added another dimension, there was nothing there.
I listened.
Waves lapped against the shore. The crunch of sand underfoot grew louder, and then I heard it. The clank of the anchor chain tightening as the ferryman’s boat shifted in the current.
The slumped figure on the sand stood. A wave of rosy light flooded the sky, illuminating his face. I started. Jed! I stepped forward. “Jed!” My heart pounded. Was it him? The man stumbled and fell. I took another step. A stone-stepped path led down to the sand. Athena grabbed my arm. I struggled against her grip.
“Stop it, Amberleigh. He can’t hear you.” A chilly breeze sprang up, and a thunderous crack rent the air. My hands flew to my ears, and I shut my eyes. I stopped struggling. “You’ve woken the ferryman.”
A small yellow light appeared in the darkness. It flickered and bobbed. My heart pounded as it moved closer to the shore. A lantern dangling from the hooked bow of a boat emerged through the shifting shadows, and I took a step back as a silhouetted figure at the helm raised a hand.
“We have to go.” Athena pulled me back. The boat creaked, its hull scraping the sandy shallows.
“No.” I yanked my arm free. “What are you talking about?”
“You left my circle of protection, Amberleigh. The boat’s here to collect you.”
I stared at the fallen man near the path. “I have to know if that’s Jed.”
“Amberleigh, even if it is him, there’s nothing you can do. We need to leave before Charon calls for the obol.”
My hand flew to the coin. Payment for passage to the underworld. I glanced at Athena. I had to get the coin to Jed. Licking my lips, I wiped my clammy hands on my robe. Would she stop me again? I’d have to be quick.
Leaning heavily on his staff, the ferryman hobbled to the edge of the boat. He raised his hand again. I glanced at Athena. She watched the ferryman. It was now or never. I bolted for the path. The sky lit up with an apple-green glow, and I pushed harder to reach the man I hoped was Jed. I glanced back. Athena had started down the path after me.
The man on the sand stood. Jumping from the path, I raced toward him. It was Jed. He turned and shuffled toward the ferryman’s boat. My heart pounded as I ate up the distance between us. Reaching out, my hand swished through his ghostly shape. I stumbled and fell. Jed wandered on. As I spat sand from my mouth, the stranded souls surrounding me continued to move in the direction of the boat. A cold breezed rippled thorough me, and I gasped. Had a spirit just walked straight through me? My whole body trembled. Buffeted by several more ghostly shapes, I struggled to my feet. The sensations rippling through me were overwhelming, and I collapsed onto my knees.
A blast of ruby-red light lit up the sand around me. The beam shining from Charon’s staff created a clear path from me to the boat. The ray thrust back the hapless souls, trapping them behind each side of the glowing red barrier.
“Charon!” Athena stepped beside me. “She’s not for passage.”
He cocked his head to the side, as if studying me, and then nodded. Lowering his staff, the light disappeared, and, as he turned away, the hull grated against the river bottom, and his boat slid back into the water.
Athena pulled me to my feet. “You’ve revealed my hand. Esme will soon hear of our visit. You can be sure of it.”
She yanked me close. The air around us shimmered with golden flecks, blocking out the colorful lights of the aurora, and I prayed we were going home.
Chapter 17
Lucas
Just a little closer. Ryle sprang, and Amberleigh vanished. He landed with an oomph and slid across the hardwood floor, careening into the wall.
Damn it! Mitch and I raced over. Each grabbing an arm, we hauled him to his feet. Ryle’s immortal flame raged in his eyes. He shook us off and stormed across the room to the patio doors. Yanking them open, he disappeared into the night, and the doors rebounded on their hinges.
Athena wouldn’t hurt Amberleigh. She needed her. We all did, but what the fuck! Hadn’t she been through enough already?
Raking a hand through my hair, I took a deep breath. I needed a drink. Mitch had disappeared to God knows where. Undoing the cap, I splashed a shot into my glass. What did Athena hope to achieve by spiriting Amberleigh away? The boundary between earth and the underworld held only torment for the dead. A place of limbo for every soul.
The bottle clinked as I set it down on the marble counter, and I glanced at the clock. Ten past three. They’d been gone fifteen minutes already.
The endless ticking of the second hand echoed in the silence. I downed my drink, and then, grabbing the half-empty bottle, I headed outside, closing the patio doors behind me.
Stepping over Ryle’s ripped clothing strewn on the porch, I headed for the steps leading down to the yard. The cool air nipped at my cheeks, and I breathed deeply, taking in the crispness of the night. Bloody Athena and her meddling ways. Jed’s death had been the pointless result, and now Amberleigh knew why he’d died, but still we could’ve never come this far without the Goddess of Wisdom and War.
Esme’s punishment kept us stranded earthside. We needed Athena’s intervention to provide us with a way to get home. Her constant badgering of Hades to assist his daughter in our plight proved fruitful. He provided us with two options to get Amberleigh across the Styx and into the underworld. A coin and a potion. We’d refused the second. It wasn’t our choice to make.
The full moon cast a ghostly gloom over the yard, and the thought of racing wildly alongside Ryle heated my blood. A gentle breath of wind tousled my hair. Aura, the Goddess of the Breeze, danced tonight, and I smiled, remembering the last time I’d run carefree over our sweet mother earth. The memory brought the fire of the hound inside me alive. I sucked in the frosty air and gazed up at the night sky. Nyx’s inky cloak sparkled with a millennium of diamonds, tempering my ire to a simmering boil. Being out in the elements eased my frustrations. My inner turmoil had been building for weeks. Tending to Amberleigh, after her beating, had set my world in a spin. Her every wince, every tortured movement, had set me on edge, and I’d struggled to keep her at arm’s length and still control the immortal flame burning inside me. I couldn’t let her see the other part of me, not yet.
I tipped the bottle, and the amber liquor flowed into my glass. A drink wouldn’t bring Amberleigh back any sooner, but it took the edge off the infernal wait.
The back fence clattered, and then a thud landed in the yard. Ryle traipsed naked across the grass, headed toward me, the moon lightening his hair with its ethereal glow, his chest slick with sweat. That was one hell of a run he’d had. He sat next to me and raked up his torn clothing, piling it in his lap. I handed him the bottle. Ryle took a swig and then let out a heavy sigh.
He passed it back, and I topped up my glass. “Feel any better?”
Sweat dripped from his hair. He shrugged. “Not really.” Ryle glanced away and wiped his forehead with a piece of his torn shirt.
The patio doors creaked open, and Mitch joined us out the back, carrying two g
lasses. They clinked against the bottle of single malt he cradled in his arm. After passing a glass to Ryle, Mitch then poured himself a healthy measure of the smooth golden tonic. Easing down on the step next to him, he slapped him on the back and grinned. “I’m guessing about now, Athena will have realized Amberleigh’s quite a handful.”
I smiled, remembering Amberleigh’s temper that first time she visited the house. “She’s as hotheaded as her father.”
He nodded.
Ryle threw back the drink in one shot and then stood. “I need a shower.” He went into the house.
Reaching over, Mitch topped up my glass, and we sat on the steps in silence, listening to the sounds of the night while we waited for Amberleigh’s return.
THE LIGHT IN THE KITCHEN dimmed and then brightened. Mitch and I scrambled to our feet and bolted inside.
They were back!
Amberleigh hurried toward me. Her eyes glistened with tears that threatened to overflow. “Are you all right?” She ran into my arms and I held her close. Her whole body shook. My inner flame automatically bubbled to the surface.
“She’s fine!” Athena snapped.
I glared at her.
“Lucas, Jed’s trapped there.” The strain in Amberleigh’s voice tugged at my heart.
“I know, honey.”
“I tried to give him the coin.”
I sighed. “It doesn’t work like that.”
She pulled out of my embrace, and I reluctantly let her go. “What do you mean?” She wiped her eyes. Dare I risk Athena’s wrath by telling her the truth?
“Lucas!” Athena’s glare could stop a man in his tracks, but I ignored her. Amberleigh had a right to know.
“The coin needs to be placed in the mouth before burial. Only then can someone cross Charon’s palm with payment and continue to the underworld.”
“So there’s still time.”
I winced. The desperation in her voice twanged my heart with guilt. Ultimately I wanted her to keep the coin, but what she wanted overrode my desires.
“No!” Athena stormed forward. “The coin is for Amberleigh to get to the underworld. Not for him.”
Amberleigh spun around and faced her. “It’s mine! I can do with it what I like.”
The goddess’s fury burst to life in her eyes. “And what about your mother?” she growled.
Amberleigh took a step back. My body tensed, ready to spring to her defense. On edge, I waited. Athena could end my life with a flick of her hand, if she so chose. Mitch’s heavy panting reassured me that he, too, was ready. We’d get to her this time, before Athena lashed out.
Athena sneered at Amberleigh. “A queen never places one of her subjects above another.”
Amberleigh swallowed. Her hands trembled, and she pressed them against her sides to stop them shaking. What would our fiery vixen do?
“Athena, it’s too late for my mother, but if you let me give Jed the coin, I promise I’ll find another.” Her voice trembled.
“Ha!” Athena thrust her hand up. “Of course, why didn’t I think of that before? How silly of me.” She turned away.
“Please, Athena.” Amberleigh followed her. “Let me help Jed. I owe him so much.”
Athena ignored her plea.
“I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Athena’s head snapped around. “Anything?”
“Don’t make that bargain, Amberleigh!” Ryle stormed into the kitchen, but her answer slipped from her lips before we could stop her.
“Yes.”
“Done!” Athena’s gown billowed and swirled around her, dissolving into a mist of white smoke. She vanished.
I gulped. What had Amberleigh done? If she couldn’t find another obol, Athena would kill her.
Chapter 18
Amberleigh
The guys were pissed at me. Ugh!
They didn’t challenge my choice—well, that’s to say they didn’t harp on it, but their hushed tones and sideway glances irked me. If my fate really did lie with challenging my half sister, Esme, for the throne, I’d probably die trying. At least the coin would see Jed safely across to the underworld.
Two days of plowing through antiquity websites, searching for another obol, made my head thump. How could it be so hard to find one measly coin?
I closed the web browser. Five past seven. Rumple nosed my hand and I scratched his head. He missed Jed; I did too. The funeral director would be here early tomorrow. Even though no one called to tell me they were releasing Jed’s body, his arrangements still needed to be made.
My fingers slipped to the coin. Everything rested on this archaic piece of metal. Did I dare use it to provide Jed with safe passage to the underworld? Wasn’t it fitting the coin should save his soul after it had cost him his life? I had to think. There had to be a way I could give him the coin and still cross the Styx.
I hadn’t wholeheartedly committed to becoming Queen of the Underworld. Who could, in my position? But I refused to turn my back on all I’d been through and seen.
After washing down two tablets, I bid the guys good-night and then headed for my room. My head pounded. Stripping out of my clothes, I climbed into bed. In the darkness, the thumping in my temples gradually eased to a dull ache.
My door creaked open. The light tread of footsteps approached the empty side of my bed. I couldn’t turn over to see who it was even if I’d wanted to.
“Are you all right?” Mitch walked around to my side and turned on the lamp. I winced as the glare sent a stabbing pain ricocheting through my brain. “Sorry,” he whispered and flicked it back off. “Can I get you anything?”
“Some water,” I murmured, waiting for the pain to subside.
He returned a few minutes later and set a glass down on the bedside chest. Then leaning over, he gently kissed my forehead.
I smiled. His cool lips tingled my skin.
“You have a fever.”
I opened my eyes. The lamp out in the hall lit up the room enough for me to see the worry etched on his face. “I’m tired. I just need to sleep.”
“I’ll check on you later.”
I closed my eyes, and listened to his soft footsteps as he left.
Searching for the coin on the net had drained me. I needed to find another one, but what if I couldn’t? What then?
Why did I always have to open my big mouth when I should keep it shut?
Jed—that’s why. He was my family. I loved him.
After I took a breath, I concentrated on releasing it slowly and started thinking things through.
I needed the coin to get to the underworld. Then there was my promise to replace it. Well, I hadn’t actually thought it through before I’d opened my mouth. Somehow Athena had provided me with the coin around my neck. If it could be easily replaced, she wouldn’t have kicked up such a fuss. If I gave it to Jed, how would I cross the river?
Athena had agreed to my bargain. Why? She knew how difficult it would be to find another obol, so that couldn’t be it. She certainly couldn’t kill me, or I’d be trapped with the other hopeless souls waiting to cross, so that was out too.
I rehashed each scenario in the hope I’d missed something. My head thumped. There had to be another way.
I just had to find it.
I WOKE THE NEXT MORNING with a bounce in my step. For the first time in this crazy journey, I had a plan. The weight of indecisiveness lifted from my shoulders. I would choose my own path.
When I entered the kitchen, Ryle looked up. “Coffee?” he offered, raising the steaming pot. Dressed in a suit with his habitual blue tie, he looked officially dashing today.
“I’d love some.” I smiled. Maybe he had a meeting. The other thing I noticed: his demeanor had changed. I sat at the island, and he poured me a cup.
“You look less stressed.” He grinned.
“I feel better.” Stress? Maybe the guy’s aloofness had been in reaction to the way I’d been feeling. The thought took my high down a notch. Ryle must have noticed the sudden change
in me because he touched my hand. I looked up at him.
“What is it, Amberleigh?”
“It just occurred to me: maybe you haven’t been cross with my decision.”
He stared at me with a shocked expression. “Honey, we weren’t angry with you.” He came around the counter and sat next to me. “Athena should never have taken you to the river. We’re supposed to be your protectors, yet we couldn’t stop her.”
I shrugged. “Maybe it’s a good thing I went there. At least now I understand a little more.”
“True.” He squeezed my shoulder. “But you weren’t ready.”
I turned and faced him. “That’s the whole point. I’m not ready. I’m never going to be ready unless I understand and can make my own decisions.”
He frowned.
“I know you’ve tried to tell me before. I didn’t want to hear it then, but now I’m ready to listen.”
“Listening has never been a strong point for you, has it, Amberleigh?”
I turned around and glared at Lucas. Why did he relish irking me so much? Sometimes he could be soft and sensitive and then the next second, brash to the point of being rude. He had absolutely no filter.
He smiled and gestured for me to follow. “Come on, and bring those listening ears with you. The man from the funeral home is here.”
Ryle stood and straightened his suit. “Don’t mind him. I think he’s excited you actually want to know.”
I rolled my eyes. My God, Lucas certainly had a funny way of showing it.
ONCE THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR departed, I curled up on the couch, exhausted. I’d finalize the day once the authorities released Jed’s body.
Lucas gathered up the paperwork on the coffee table, shuffling it into a neat pile. “In reference to your earlier conversation with Ryle. What was it you wished to know?”
Mitch and Ryle sat somberly. “I’m sorry for what happened the other night.” I glanced at each of them in turn, waiting for their reaction. “My only thoughts were for Jed.”
