The Korinniad

by A. K. Caggiano

  He stood firmly between her and the door. “There are other ways. This is the only way to do this.”

  She let herself be spun around. The Erinyes gave her the pin back. “It will last a few moments only.”

  Korinna squeezed the pin in her hands until she thought it would cut into her skin. Then, she thrust her hand out and held her fist just before the woman, staring at her. Without breaking their gaze, the woman opened her hand, and Korinna dropped the pin, closing her eyes.

  CHAPTER XXXIV

  Arms wrapped around Korinna, tight, warm, and remarkably familiar. She opened her eyes, and her mother stood embracing her. No longer dressed in some foreign fashion, her hair no longer done up with big curls atop her head, but in the normal, white chiton she had always worn in loose drapes across her chest and tied at her waist, her hair in soft, dark waves gathered at the base of her neck, her smile warm and inviting and bright. “My Korinna,” she said softly, “My daughter. How I have missed you.”

  Korinna could no longer hold back the tears that had been threatening her all this time. Her body began to shake, and she sobbed.

  “You’ve grown so.” Her mother’s voice was sweet in her ear as she ran a hand through her hair. “How long has it been?”

  Korinna struggled to take a breath, pulling back and wiping at her face. She sniffled, smiling back. “A long time.”

  “Hmm.” She cocked her head and her face changed slightly, a lip upturning. “And in all these years you couldn’t find the time to come and visit your poor, dear mother.”

  Korinna blinked. “What?”

  “What have you been so busy with that kept you from coming to see me, huh?”

  Korinna screwed up her face. Her mother was staring back at her now, disappointment in her eyes.

  The Erinyes chuckled, “You see? Shades can be quite a lot.”

  “Ma,”—Korinna eyed her—“You’ve been kinda dead.”

  “So?” Her mother threw up her hands. “You’ve been running all over creation lately, the war god’s island lair, Aphrodite’s palace, some wild shindig with Dorinthians,”—at the name she spit freely onto the floor—“but you couldn’t make a little detour down to Hades for your own mother?”

  Korinna was thrown. “How…how do you know about that?”

  “I’m your mother, I know everything.” She waved a dismissive hand, and the Erinyes cleared her throat. “Okay, I’m a shade, so I know every—well, most things.” With another look from the Erinyes, her mother huffed, “Let’s just say I know a lot of things.”

  Korinna crossed her arms. “Well, I’m here now, okay?”

  “No, no, I know.” She pat her daughter’s elbow, her voice softening. “Now, are you gonna introduce me to this handsome fella?”

  “What? Oh, that’s Niko, he’s—”

  “Niiikooo!” Korinna’s mother plastered on a wide smile and brushed past her daughter. She slapped a hand on either side of his face and squeezed. “What a cutie!” Then she turned dramatically back to Korinna. “Is he wealthy? Set to inherit a plentiful goat farm?”

  “No, ma, it’s not like that, he’s—”

  “Not rich? Well, is he at least well endowed?”

  “Mother!”

  “What? I’m just looking out for my baby. My baby!” She threw her arms up and embraced Korinna again, mushing her face down against her chest. Korinna huffed, but when she saw how red Nikeros’s face had gotten, she started to chuckle.

  “You know, for someone who says they know everything, you sure haven’t been paying attention.”

  Her mother pulled back with a wry smile. “Oh, honey, yes I have. And I have to say, I sure am proud of how you handled that monster with all the eyes. You know the one.” She snapped a few times, trying to recall. “What’s it called?”

  “The Thing?”

  “The Thing!”

  “Okay, for real, how do you know about that?”

  “Oh, it’s all in my stories.” The woman gestured to the room leading off from where they were. “Course, I guess I don’t know what they actually are when I’m watching em. Oh! It’s a little like meeting someone famous, isn’t it?”

  Confused, Korinna looked to the Erinyes, who pointed back to the far room. “They all have a, oh, let’s call it a magic box.” In the center of a room there was, indeed, a large box, at which all of the room’s seating was pointed. At its top were two dowsing rods, angled like long ears. “It’s their entertainment, but like she said, they don’t know they’re watching their kin, not really.”

  Korinna shifted her weight uncomfortably. There were a lot of things she didn’t want other people to see, but then she had a thought. “The prince! You know Leon, you must have seen him die!”

  “Oh, yeah!” Her mother pressed a hand to her chest. “Last episode, I was so sad for that little princess, she’s so sweet and brave, you know the one.”

  “Phille, right, anyway, you must know where Leon is then, yeah?”

  “Oh, you know there was a really great flashback episode the other week with the angry one and the pretty one—”

  “Ma, I don’t know what that means.”

  “Sure you do, hon, it had, uh, what’s his name, you know, the one with the beard?”

  Korinna glanced back at Nikeros who shrugged.

  “You know, Ziggy?”

  “Zeus?” she asked, incredulous.

  “That’s him! Anyway, he was there, and you know he can’t keep it in his pants, the bastard—”

  “Ma! Focus!” Korinna waved desperately before her. “I’m asking about Prince Leon of Dorinth.” (At that, the woman spit again.) “Nikeros’s brother. The dead guy we came all the way to Hades to find.”

  “Oh, right, right. Yeah, that one, well, hon, he just died in the last episode, and they haven’t gone back to that arc yet, so I don’t know how his story is going to play out.” The woman’s words were confusing, as if she’d slipped into another language. “But you know?” She tapped a finger to her lips as an idea came. “Maybe you could ask the producers.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  The woman gave a little huff and bustled over to a counter. “There’s this address at the end of every episode where we can write in if we have any complaints or suggestions. I didn’t really like how Alanis was treating you last season, so I wrote them. Hmm, let me see, I’ve got it somewhere.” Her mother flipped through a small stack of parchment on the counter beneath a strange device attached to the wall from which a long, coiled cord hung. Eventually, she found the right one and presented it to her daughter. “There!”

  Korinna couldn’t understand the squiggles on the parchment, but Nikeros leaned over her shoulder and with one look, grunted happily, “Better than nothing.” Relieved, she handed it to him. Then there was a hefty knock on the door.

  “Time’s almost up,” the Erinyes warned.

  Korinna suddenly felt shaky and wasn’t able to look her mother in the eye. There was a lot she wanted to say, but it suddenly all drained away. “I, uh, well, sorry I didn’t come to see you sooner.”

  “Oh, hon.” Her mother tipped Korinna’s head back up with a finger under her chin. “You know I didn’t mean—” She took a deep breath and tried to smile. “I’m just so happy to see your beautiful face.”

  Korinna frowned. “I mean, I’m sorry I don’t really go to your grave.”

  “Well, that’s okay, my bones aren’t lonely,” she laughed.

  “I know, I just, I don’t…” The edges of Korinna’s vision blurred, and she felt the room melt away around her, as if she were standing in nothingness with only her mother looking back. This was her only chance, and she swallowed. “Why’d you get rid of me?” She could hear her own voice, but it sounded far away in the darkened space they suddenly occupied.

  “Get rid of you?”

  Bolder now, Korinna squeezed her hands into tight fists. “You sold me to Alanis. If you loved me, if you care now enough to complain to whoever, wh
y didn’t you back then?”

  “I didn’t sell you,” her mother said plainly, “I paid Alanis to take care of you, to teach you, and to keep you safe.”

  Korinna remembered the sound of the coins over her crying, but that had been all. “Why couldn’t I just stay with you though?” She felt how heavy her voice was becoming, as all too familiar words poured out of her: “I just wanna stay with you.”

  Her mother’s tone took a turn, somber and quiet, “Baby, I was sick, and I knew I wasn’t going to be around much longer.”

  “But what about Phryne, and Aspasia, and Lais?”

  “It’s not that I didn’t trust the other girls—they loved you almost as much as I did—but I knew if you stayed with them you’d end up, well—I was afraid you’d end up like me. Sick and having to say goodbye to her little girl much too soon.” Her mother brushed at the tear that had trickled down her face, but Korinna sniffled, stopping herself. It made sense, as much sense as any of her own decisions, and even though she hated it, she gave her a half smile.

  The knock on the door sounded again, this time louder, and pulled Korinna back into the place she was. The odd surroundings were obvious again, and she could feel the Erinyes and Erote in the room with them. “Ma, we gotta go.”

  “I know.” She was nodding matter-of-factly and smiling, the corners of her eyes crinkling in a familiar way. “Now, you go tell those producers they better not go killing off my favorite character, all right?” She winked. “You know that’s you, don’t you, sweetie?”

  Korinna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I kinda figured.”

  “I also really like that Himneros. Sorry, Niko, I know he’s a jerk, but he’s just so handsome, and you should see the trouble he gets into. That’s a different show though.”

  Nikeros covered his face, and Korinna cringed. “Ma!”

  “Okay, come here, give your mother a hug!” She grabbed Korinna and squeezed her close. “You too, Niko!” Korinna found herself suddenly sandwiched between the two.

  “I didn’t know shades were so strong,” Korinna managed to mumble, gasping for a breath.

  “All right, all right.” The Erinyes eased them apart. “My cohorts will take care of this mess, and I’ve got the two of you.” She called to the others at the door who filed in past Korinna and Nikeros, dressed appropriately for the meadows in their blue suits and soft helmets, their skin free of gray coloring, their wings completely hidden. The space between Korinna and her mother grew as she backed toward the door with the leathery-winged Erinyes ushering her away.

  “Wait!” Korinna shouted, “Ma, I have one more question!”

  Her mother raised an eyebrow wryly.

  “Who am I supposed to pick?”

  Her mother’s eyes went wide, and she smiled. “Well, that’s easy, honey, just pick the one you like best.”

  Korinna pouted at her, but her mother only laughed. The other Erinyes were already inspecting the place, one attempting to talk to the woman. Korinna bit her lip but held back the tears. “Bye, mom.”

  “See you soon, hon.”

  “Soon?” she stopped on the threshold, even as the Erinyes tried to push her out the door.

  “Well, not that soon!” Her mother was laughing and sat back in the chair. One of the Erinyes handed her a glass of water.

  CHAPTER XXXV

  There was a metal monster sitting on the road just outside her mother’s home, and the Erinyes walked right up to it and ripped its stomach open. Korinna and Nikeros both stopped short, staring at her, but her hurried gesture to get inside made them move more quickly. It was a cart, they found, only totally enclosed and made of metal on the outside, leather on the inside, and propelled by some sort of magic.

  “How does this move without an animal?”

  “Horses,” the Erinyes said, again ripping apart the front of the beast and getting in, “They’re just very small and hidden inside.”

  When they began to move it was smooth and fast. “There must be a lot of them.”

  “Hundreds.”

  They rode off, and the Erinyes explained that her cohorts in Tartarus and Elysium had already picked up their friends. They’d all be brought to The Rift, as she called it, and would meet at the address Korinna’s mother had given them. “You know, mortals usually want to leave the Underworld at this point.” Korinna could see the Erinyes’s eyes in the reflective surface that hung from the top of the cart. She was squinting back at them as if she suspected something. “I’ve never brought one deeper in. Not willingly, anyway.”

  “We can’t leave without Leon,” Korinna told her.

  “Well, you might be disappointed.” The Erinyes reached up and snapped shut a clear partition between herself and them, separating them from the front of the cart and signaling she did not want to speak to them anymore.

  Korinna sighed and leaned back into the cushion of the cart, glancing through the glass on its side. The neat, little houses passed by at a dizzying speed, their green squares full of asphodel shimmering bright white in the sun. Mesmerized by watching them, her heart was heavy and weird.

  Nikeros’s arm slipped over the seat behind her, resting just behind her head. Korinna held her breath, then without a word, she scooted in closer and rested her head against his chest as his hand squeezed her shoulder. It was nice, too nice, she thought guiltily, and for a second tears threatened to come pouring out again, but she squeezed her eyes shut and instead just listened to the hum of the road and Nikeros’s steady breathing.

  Quietly they traveled through the meadows, the scenery outside changing. The houses fell away, replaced by sweeping fields of white flowers so dense they blanketed the ground like snow. They went over rolling hills long into the day until it stretched on into early evening. Korinna fell asleep at some point, but then woke when the background humming of the metal beast ceased. She was surprised to feel Nikeros’s arms still around her and his head resting atop her own, his breathing heavier.

  He woke then too and quickly released her, and they both pulled away as the Erinyes got out of the cart and opened it for them to escape. They’d stopped in the center of a field of asphodel stretching out in every direction, no sign of life around—dead or otherwise—save for them. There was only a building in the field’s center, this one very unlike those they’d seen earlier. It was square and tall, with a flat roof, and made up of gray blocks. It had no windows, and only a single door on its front, also gray and imposing. Atop the building was a massive asphodel bloom angled off slightly skyward, but it looked unnatural, as if someone had molded it from metal, though Korinna had no idea how as its size was larger than even the biggest treetop she’d seen.

  The others were gathered before the door with two more Erinyes. Andreas was looking stoic as normal, though he broke into a smile when he saw her. Erepho cowered at his side, his eyes wide. Calix and Phille were more relaxed, and Korinna knew exactly where they had all been, but she still hesitated, “How did everyone fare?”

  “Gloriously!” Andreas announced, puffing out his chest, “Though we did fail to recover the prince, I can assure you we triumphed in your name, my love.”

  Erepho glanced over at him, horrified, then back to Korinna. “Songs will be written in your name, my love.”

  Calix took a long, slow breath. “Truly, the only thing greater than eternity in Elysium is seeing your face, my love.”

  Korinna rolled her eyes and whispered to Nikeros, “Is this ever gonna wear off?”

  “Once you make a decision,” he whispered back.

  “Okay, great.” Korinna clapped. “Shall we?”

  Through the door, the space was dimly lit and mostly bare save for a few metal tables covered in stacks of parchment. The floor was strewn with balls of crumpled parchment, and there were splashes of ink stains here and there.

  The inhabitants of the room looked up when they entered, thin and somewhat gaunt. They looked fairly human though the deep circles under their eyes suggested they may have been some kind of
creature that did not require sleep, or just didn’t get any of it. The room smelled of something slightly sweet but stale with a hint of wine.

  “Just passing through,” the Erinyes told them, and they ducked their heads back down and began to scribble furiously with their quills. “You go through there.” The Erinyes pointed to a door at the room’s end. “And you don’t come back.”

  “You mean, like, ever?” Erepho asked.

  The Erinyes tilted her head, her black coils bouncing, but she said nothing.

  Phille again went first, kicking crumpled parchment out of her way. Korinna’s mother was right, she was brave, fearless even, and she hurried after her. Phille wrenched the door open with an ear-splitting creak. It was dark beyond, with only the head of a set of stairs illuminated by the room, leading down. She took a breath and started off.

  With no railing, Korinna trailed her hand on the wall. It was rough and damp and cold, and she could see very little, taking careful step by careful step. The light from behind them fell away, the door creaking closed, and silence rose up to meet them with a gust of cold, wet air. They descended further, feeling the stairs twisting, losing sense of how far they’d gone until they finally reached the end.

  There was light here, but it was dim. The ground was craggy beneath their feet, rough stone and coarse dirt, and the sky was like a moonless, cloudless night, speckled with tiny glints of something like starlight. Fog lay heavily across the ground and shimmered ahead of them, lighting the way.

  Phille turned back to Korinna, her features illuminated from below, sallow and long. The girl was tired, but ever determined. “Okay, now what?”

  Far ahead of them, there was something out across the moor. It came to a peak, a Shadow amongst the shadows, and she pointed at it. “There.”

  Phille nodded, and the two started off. Korinna glanced back at the others who were hesitant. “Well?”

  Nikeros swallowed a lump and rushed to catch up, and the other three relented as well. They could feel the heaviness here, just like she could, and the silence was stifling. She hated hearing her own voice as it felt stilted and loud. Even their footsteps were deafening.