Painted Blind

by Michelle Hansen

  I slumped against the pillows. My body was exhausted, but how could I sleep in a place like this? All around me lay pain and deceit.

  In the high pitch of the ceiling was a mural of a battle with mountains burning in the background. It was the overthrowing of the bandits, the battle that led to the creation of the Underworld. I looked up at the billowing smoke, so real it seemed to reach down to me, and I was so grateful that Eros had sent Titus to prepare me for this journey.

  “You really should sleep,” Thomas offered. When I shook my head, he asked, “Do you mind if I do?”

  “Go ahead.”

  He crawled to the foot of the bed and curled up next to my feet. When he said he slept at Persephone’s feet, I didn’t know he meant it literally. I was willing to bet he was a light sleeper, too. One couldn’t exist in a realm such as this and not have very deep-seated defenses. “No, Thomas.” I leaned against the headboard and set a pillow in my lap.

  “Merciful beauty,” Thomas murmured and snuggled close to me.

  I thumped him on the head. “Just go to sleep, and don’t tell anyone I babied you.”

  I nodded off only to be awakened by the giving way of the bolt on the door. Someone was coming into the room. Thomas was still sound asleep with his hand resting on my knee. I set a hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t awaken.

  The guard who entered the room was the one who was welcomed home last night. His mouth dropped open in surprise when he saw me sitting up and Thomas sound asleep.

  “My lady, Psyche. It looks as if you haven’t slept.”

  “Is it… morning?” Without the sun, how could they tell?

  “The queen is up, if that is what you mean.” He couldn’t take his eyes off Thomas, still sound asleep with his head in my lap.

  I shook Thomas’s shoulder, and he woke with a start. He greeted the guard with a nod. “Are you back in her favor?”

  “I am. She’s awake.”

  Thomas rubbed his eyes. “We’ll be down.” He waited until the guard was gone, then he turned to me with a yawn. “Congratulations. You’ve won your freedom.” As he put on his sash and corded belt, he chattered cheerfully. “You’ll never guess what I dreamed about last night.”

  “You’re a guy,” I said flatly, “Gee, let me think.”

  He ignored my sarcasm. “You and I were walking through a valley full of flowers. The grass was so deeply green, and it was damp from dew. I could feel the sun warming my skin.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’d forgotten how beautiful the sun was.”

  The dream didn’t depress him. On the contrary, it lifted his spirits. Now dressed, he kissed my hand. “You are such a beautiful woman, and it has nothing to do with that pretty face.”

  “I’ll be right back,” I told him. I went to the bathroom to find my own clothes. After he washed them, Thomas hung them on hooks to dry, but they were gone.

  I searched behind the loose cupboard for my satchel. My fingers found the strap, and I pulled it from its hiding place. To my relief, it still contained the coin, my GPS watch and the food.

  “Psyche?” Thomas knocked on the door, then slid it open. When I told him my clothes were missing, he said, “That’s not surprising. The maids would have taken them while we were at the banquet.”

  “Will I get them back?”

  “I doubt it. We should go now. It’s rude to keep the queen waiting.”

  This time Thomas led me through the main hallway and down the grand staircase at the center of the castle. There were no sentries outside the throne room, but when Thomas opened the doors, we found the entire Royal Guard waiting with Persephone. My knees wobbled. Thomas took hold of my hand and led me down the long red carpet to Persephone’s throne.

  Persephone stood. I couldn’t read the expression on her face. Was she angry or merely disappointed? Would she order the guards to take me captive anyway?

  I tried to curtsy, my body somewhat numb. At my side Thomas knelt on one knee.

  “Arise, Thomas,” Persephone commanded.

  He obeyed, and she came forward. The queen took his face in her hand and brought his eyes to meet hers. Persephone turned to me. “My dear girl, I sent you my favorite attendant. Look what you’ve done. Instead of letting him tempt you, you’ve warmed him to the very soul.” She touched my hand. Her skin was like ice. “Now, touch him.” She placed my hand on Thomas’s arm. It was cool, but not cold.

  Thomas trembled very slightly, and my heart ached for him. He had protected me, and now he would be punished.

  I fell to my knees at Persephone’s feet. “Please don’t punish him. It isn’t his fault. I didn’t mean to anger you.”

  She laughed and tugged on my shoulders. “Angry? I’m delighted. You are welcome in my house anytime.” She instructed an attendant to fetch the wooden box. As he placed it into her hands, I noticed the golden lock was missing. She opened the box and offered it to me. “Aphrodite’s reward.”

  Inside the box was a vial of clear liquid. Atop the cork was a rose carved from frosted glass. “What is it?”

  “Ambrosia. Drink and be immortal.”

  I took the box and thanked her, but closed the lid. “I didn’t ask to be immortal. I just want to see Eros again. I’ll take the box and this vial to him, and I’ll let him choose my fate.”

  “That’s a lot of faith to put in a man,” Persephone said flatly. She dispersed the guard, except for Thomas, and bade me to sit with her awhile.

  The only other chair in the room was the king’s throne. “Yes, sit there,” she commanded. “He never uses it anyway.” Thomas stood beside her, and she brought his hand to her cheek and felt of his warmth. “I want to give you a gift,” she declared. “What will you have?”

  “I’d like Thomas to give me safe passage to the portal.”

  “That’s all? I’ll only let him go as far as the river Styx, but your request is granted. Tell me about your journey.”

  I told her how we flew by jet to Nepal and stayed in the city. I wasn’t sure how familiar she was with the modern mortal world, so I tried to explain as best I could. Thomas was absolutely captivated. The world had changed a great deal since he tilled the earth as a child.

  “I’m very surprised that Aphrodite sent Titus to accompany you,” the queen said.

  “She didn’t. Titus abandoned his post. He grew tired of Theron’s jealousy and his punishments.”

  Persephone nodded. “Would you like to trade?”

  Confused, I clarified, “Thomas for Titus?” Knowing I couldn’t lie to her, I had to speak carefully so I didn’t offend her. “Titus has been with me a single week. I’ve only begun to explore his talents. And he’s committed no crime.”

  Persephone gazed up at Thomas, who rubbed her shoulders “The innocent ones stay warm the longest. It took Thomas a full two ages before he went cold.”

  If I understood her correctly, she just admitted Thomas was innocent of the crime for which he was sent here. If she knew he was innocent, why wouldn’t she set him free? Of course, the answer stood right there in front of me. Thomas was her favorite. Knowing he was undeserving of his fate probably made her like him more.

  If an innocent man had been punished for the murder, what happened to the killer? I looked up at the soft light in Thomas’s eyes. I should have known the first moment I saw him that he was innocent. The man who killed Titus’s father had always been free. He’d nearly killed Titus, and he’d nearly killed me.

  To Persephone I said, “You probably wouldn’t enjoy Titus all that much. I’m led to believe he’s not Aphrodite’s best student. If you want the real prize, it’s Theron you’re after.”

  This piqued her interest. “Oh? What dealings have you had with Theron?”

  “I’ve met him after each task. He’s volatile, to be sure, but…” I repeated Titus’s words exactly, so that it wasn’t a lie. “…when he wants to be, he’s as gentle as a summer breeze. At least, that’s what I’m told.”

  She made me recount all my dealings with
Theron from our first meeting at the Fortress. I worried she would find me insincere, so I was as honest as possible. I explained how I was sick from the dust when I went to get the second task, and that Theron had a small feast waiting for me. I told her that he offered me the white fruit if I accepted his bed, and that when I refused, he beat me so severely I could barely call for help.

  She made me recount the story a second time and repeat to her every word exchanged between us. I was embarrassed to tell her that I called Theron a “boy toy,” especially with Thomas standing right there. Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry. He just shook his head and muttered, “Suicide.”

  “So, let me make sure I understand you,” Persephone said. “He offered you the sacred fruit with the condition that you allow him to consummate the bargain?” When I nodded, she asked, “Do you have any idea what you’ve just told me?”

  I shrugged. “He wanted what most guys want.”

  “I see.” She turned to Thomas. “Our guest has been through quite an ordeal, and it looks as if she’s hardly slept. I think you should escort her back now.” She asked what was in my satchel.

  “An Olympian coin and food for the mutt,” I replied. I carefully stowed Aphrodite’s box in the satchel, too.

  “Go, then.” She squeezed my hand in a friendly way. “I look forward to hearing the news of your wedding.”

  When we were out the gates of the city, I asked Thomas what happened the night of the murder, and I wasn’t surprised by the story he told. He had stolen into the palace, desperate to see Aphrodite. She neglected him for months, and he didn’t know why. He went to the palace unarmed hoping to sneak into the upper rooms and catch her alone, but the palace guards were alerted of an intruder before he cleared the main level. He fled down a dark set of stairs. It led into a forge, where Thomas found a man pounding steel into a breastplate.

  Beyond the forge were cave passages. Thomas fled into these, but by then two of the guards were after him. When they caught him, he expected to be killed, but the tall blond guard stabbed the older man, then dragged Thomas back into the forge, where the rest of the palace guards were waiting. They all knelt around the unconscious blacksmith, who had been stabbed in the back three times.

  “I caught him,” Theron said. “Here is the murderer.”

  The trial before Zeus boiled down to Theron’s word against a mortal, and Thomas was declared guilty.

  “Is there any way you could be freed from this place?” I asked.

  “Not unless Zeus himself ordered my release.” Thomas kicked at the dirt sadly. “You know what I would wish for if I could leave?”

  “Revenge on Theron?”

  Thomas shook his head. “I would return to my homeland, grow old and die when it was my time. Death isn’t so bad, you know.” His eyes roamed across the scenes of suffering around us. “It can’t be worse than this.”

  We reached the burning platforms, and the foul stench wrenched my empty belly. Thomas offered me his sash, and I held it over my nose until we reached the giant dog, Cerberus. Once past him, Thomas stopped me. He took the coin from the satchel and placed it carefully under my tongue. His fingers lingered on my lips, and he leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered, “for bringing me back to life.”

  “I won’t forget you, Thomas.”

  I paid the boatman Charon with the coin from my lips. As he ferried me across the river Styx, Thomas stood on the bank and watched me go. I raised my hand and waved good-bye.

  As we docked on the other side of the river, an icy hand reached far out of the water. The fingers were narrow and bony with overly long, broken nails. When I tried to step onto the dock, the hand grasped my foot. The fingernails cut into my skin.

  I jerked my foot away, but the damage was done.

  I looked down at the person in the water, who showed his red-marked hand to the others. They all began to shout in a frenzy. “Red-blood! Red-blood!”

  The sentries turned abruptly, whips in hand.

  “RUN!” Thomas screamed from the other shore. “RUN!”

  Chapter 29

  Both black-clothed sentries started toward me. I jumped from the dock and ran for the giant staircase, where I took the stairs two at a time.

  One sentry pushed the other out of the way and took the lead in the chase. He was faster than me and gained ground with every turn of the stairs.

  I pulled the satchel over one shoulder and used my hands to push me up the steps faster, but I was pulled to my knees. The sentry caught my feet and tried to pull me down to the shore.

  I kicked furiously, freed my feet and left my sandals in his hands. Barefoot, I could move faster. My feet gripped the warm stone. I pulled up the cumbersome dress so I could take longer strides.

  Would the portal still be open when I reached it?

  Both sentries clamoring at my heels, I reached the platform, where cold wind signaled the opening to the frozen mortal world. All that lay between me and freedom were the enormous monsters who stood guard at the portal. I slowed to a walk and started toward the portal, ignoring the guards as I did on the way in. Behind me rose a shout. “Don’t let the girl escape. She’s a red-blood!”

  Now alert, the sentries stepped together so they barred the exit. Each held a long, spear-tipped staff.

  Panting up the stairs behind me was the river sentry. Once he got his hands on me, I would be doomed. Spears were the better option. I moved toward the portal just as the river guard reached the landing. “Grab her,” he commanded.

  One of the monsters stepped from the doorway and swung at me with an enormous paw of a hand. I dove between his legs and slid into the snow.

  Now past the portal, my eyes saw only the stone of the cave’s wall. My skin immediately stung from the cold. I was barefoot in a sleeveless dress, and it was storming beyond the cave. If Titus wasn’t nearby, I would freeze to death in minutes.

  While I couldn’t see the sentries anymore, I could still hear their voices. “Let us pass!” they demanded. “No one will know we left the boundaries of the kingdom. Look! She’s right there. We’ll grab her and bring her back.”

  A second voice added, “We’ll share her with you. When we’ve taken what we want from her, we’ll dump her body in the Styx.”

  Storm or no storm, I got up and ran. Their heavy footsteps followed. As soon as I stepped from the mouth of the cave, I was blind. It was snowing so hard I couldn’t see the tent at the end of the dale. I couldn’t even see the forbidding stone wall around the valley. I stumbled and fell. My body rolled off the slope, and I sprawled into the snow disoriented.

  “There she is! Hurry and grab her!”

  I pulled myself up and staggered forward. The ice under my feet felt like knives shredding my skin. Where was Titus? If I reached the tent, could he save me from the sentries?

  A dark figure appeared before me. It had to be him. I ran harder, only to reach the figure and realize it was a jagged stone pillar. Beyond it, the mountain fell away into oblivion. I had run the wrong way. I wasn’t anywhere near the tent. I was on the outer perimeter, and in this weather, Titus couldn’t see me. Worse, the demons were veiled.

  “She’s on the fence,” the sentry said. They moved closer.

  I rummaged through the satchel for Aphrodite’s box. I couldn’t dodge an enemy that I couldn’t see. Ambrosia would give me immortal eyes.

  The voice that spoke next was just an arm’s reach away. “Come away from the fence, girl. You don’t want to freeze out here. We’ll take you inside where it’s nice and warm.”

  Footsteps crunched closer, but the falling snow was too thick for me to distinguish them.

  “That’s not solid ground under your feet. It’s an ice shelf. Come back to us, and we’ll save you,” the sentry said.

  I could no longer feel my feet or my nose. If it was ambrosia I held in my hands, it would heal my body. It would show me the immortals hunting me. It would possibly save me long enough to find my way to the tent and my boots and
my coat.

  “Grab her now!”

  I put the vial to my lips and drank.

  Icy hands grabbed me around the waist and pulled me off my feet, but the sentry didn’t appear in my sight. He threw me over his invisible shoulder.

  Something was terribly wrong. My lungs constricted, and my muscles flailed into a spasm. I choked. No air came when I tried to breathe.

  The ground moaned beneath the guard and me. He took another step toward the cave, and the ice shook. With a thunderous snap, the shelf gave way. The sentry roared, but it was too late. We fell through the air. Far below and coming too fast was the floor of the crevasse. Mercifully, the poison pulled me into unconsciousness before we landed.

  Eros shouted my name. I wasn’t dreaming, just floating somewhere in darkness, unable to surface, unable to sink. He shook my shoulders, then poured sweet liquid into my mouth. “Wake up! You can’t do this to me now!” More liquid ran over my lips. He gave me another hard shake. “Psyche, open your eyes!” His voice was frantic. “Please,” he begged, “come back to me.”

  I willed my eyes to open, just to please him. All I managed was a flutter that gave me a glimpse of his worried face. I murmured his name as he lifted me into his arms, and I slumped against him, weak and mostly lifeless, as he hefted me onto a wet, furry back that I knew was Pixis. “Get us off this mountain,” he said. The horse’s strides rocked us as we gained momentum and launched into the air.

  I found myself in Theron’s house, but I didn’t know how I’d gotten there. Men were crowded in the foyer and the living room, all murmuring and stealing hungry looks at me. The Hades sentries were there, some with whips in their hands, others wore masks like they did at the gates of the city. Theron paraded me through the throng, his iron grip bruising my arm. When I tried to pull away, he squeezed tighter. He forced me upstairs, and suddenly we were standing on a cliff. Theron dragged me to the edge and made me look down. Eros lay below, his limbs contorted, his body lifeless. Through my mind echoed demonic laughter.