"My, you are a wreck," Bune said. "Let's take her to the baths. Maybe allow her to tidy up a bit?"
The guard just grunted. Megaera struggled to breathe, much less talk. She just scowled at Bune through her matted blonde hair.
The guard followed Bune down the corridor, holding Megaera by the throat. She was turning red, both of her hands tearing at the guard's grip.
Bune led them to an open cell door, then into a small chamber. In the room's center was a small pool of steaming water, its surface disturbed by something huge, with an occasional tentacle that would rise above the water. With a small nod of his head, he indicated the roiling water.
"Totally up to you if you wish to wash up. I'm positive the other occupant of the bath wouldn't mind," Bune said, looking at the whirling water. The Charybdis rose up. A monster with a circular mouth lined with sharp beaks.
Megaera struggled to twist and her eyes rolled as she watched the monster in the water.
"Oh, yes, I see," Bune said smoothly. "Do release her, so she can speak."
The demon dropped Megaera close to the water's edge. She sunk to her knees and gasped for breath. She then glared at Bune.
"Ah, still trying to catch your breath, I see. No bath? Shame, really. But you are in a far better shape than your sisters. When I left them in the garden, both were quiet dead," Bune told Megaera.
Megaera's eyes widened. She rose up, her eyes flashing. As she leapt, the demon knocked her flying to a far wall.
"Good night, Megaera. If you're still here by dawn, we'll talk." Bune smiled as he withdrew and the door slid shut, leaving Megaera with the vision of Bune's laughing face.
She charged at the door and slammed against it, her rage making her flail against the door. She swung around and in the dim light, she spotted the Charybdis raising itself up, its tentacles searching. As one drew close, Megaera stomped her foot, grinding her sandals into the brown tentacle. The questing appendage pulled and twisted, then beat a hasty retreat.
She slid down the door, her head back. She was holding back tears of rage, and she wasn't about to show anyone, monster or demon, any weakness.
<<<>>>
Dan pushed his plate away and sat back. He had no idea he'd been that hungry. His hostess was finished, and Thanatos hadn't touched his plate of cacti.
"Ah, now we take a look at that map," Thanatos said as the servants appeared to cart away the used dishes.
Once the table was cleared, Thanatos unrolled a large sheet of parchment on the table, holding down the edges using their wine goblets.
The trio stood and peered at the map. "This differs from the map you and Hermes drew before I left," Dan said.
"Things change rapidly in the Underworld," Persephone said. She pointed at a large black square almost all the way to the edge of the map. "The cells. This is where we're told that Megaera is being kept."
"I was given a dagger by Tisiphone. It that where I use it?" Dan asked.
"Yes, it'll get you into the prison and into every cell in the building," Persephone said.
"Think of it as a master key," Thanatos added. "The trick is to get you into the area and to the prison unseen by anyone."
"When can I leave?" Dan asked, his voice gruff. "The longer I stay here, the more time Megaera has to spend in that prison."
"I'll have the staff prepare some provisions for you to take along," Persephone said, leaving the dining room for the kitchens.
"I can guide you only as far as the boundary, then you'll be on your own." Thanatos watched Persephone leave, then he turned back to Dan. "My own spies told me that Megaera is being kept on the upper most level and is being interrogated daily by Sorath's right-hand man, the demon Bune. It's urgent you leave as soon as possible. I learned that Sorath has planned his attack on the Furies. My spy said they'd already broken through to the garden again. No word yet on what happened, except that it was another attack."
That shocked Dan. "Already? I thought he was still recuperating from being injured by Gaia."
"He's a tough son of a bitch," Thanatos said. "Once you can get free of the prison cells, I have a way to get you safely out of Tartarus, perhaps even to the surface. Hopefully in time to have Megaera heal Mother."
"I need to leave as soon as feasible," Dan said. "I slept too long, I should have left days ago."
"I agree," Thanatos said as Persephone returned.
She carried a small leather pouch and placed it on the table. She opened the flap and pulled out several bundles wrapped in cloth.
"Basic cheeses, and some dried meat," Persephone said.
"What type of meat?" Dan asked.
"It's best not to inquire," Thanatos whispered.
Persephone repacked the pouch and gave it to Dan. "Thank you. I'll head upstairs and grab my backpack."
He started to leave, then turned.
"I have no idea how to get back to the room I was in," he confessed.
"Follow me," Persephone said, smiling.
In the room, Dan quickly put the pouch with his backpack, and rigged it using some straps he'd packed earlier. He stopped. It felt as if that was only a few hours ago. He turned, Persephone was still in the doorway. Now, Thanatos joined her.
"Let's get going," Thanatos said patiently.
As Dan began to pass Persephone, she put a hand on his shoulder.
"After you find Megaera, do look for my husband," she begged, her lips trembling. "Please?"
"Of course." Dan went on into the hallway. He and Thanatos walked down the corridor. Persephone didn't move until they were out of sight.
She felt a movement next to her hand and saw that Spot had moved close to her and was pushing on her hand. She knelt and drew the dog closer.
It was quite dark at the base of the huge pyramid. Then a small door opened, spilling yellow light onto the ground. Thanatos and Dan exited the Palace and moved at a brisk pace down the well-worn footpath.
As they walked, Dan paused to stare back. At the top, he could make out the slight figure of Persephone keeping watch.
"She does that most every evening," Thanatos remarked. "She misses Hades."
Dan paused and watched Persephone just stand in the gloom of the Underworld.
"Every evening?"
"No, all the time. I swear she hasn't moved in years," Thanatos said, leading down the path. Dan hastened to catch up.
They had hiked several minutes in silence. Dan was never a talkative person, but the silence coupled with the red gloom of the Underworld made him start to ask questions. Just to break the silence.
"How long has Hades been captive?" Dan asked.
"About 20 years, the way you mortals experience time. No seasons here, no way to tell how long it's been, but to her, it's been forever."
"Any idea how Hades was taken?"
"Ah, Hermes hasn't told you the tale? Well, he knows it much better than I do, but someone had set it up. Most likely someone in the Palace. Hermes was tasked to bring Hades to the prison block, there was a report that Sorath had managed to escape. What was missing was that he hadn't actually escaped yet. As Hades opened the cell, another demon slipped the dagger key out of Hades' pocket, and as soon as he was in the cell occupied by Sorath, the door was shut and Hades was closed in his own prison," Thanatos told Dan. "Sorath was greatly weakened, and as you already know, he possessed a mortal and had him kill numerous people."
"Yes, all young women," Dan remarked.
"Which is how you got involved. I was there when your niece petitioned Tisiphone."
"You were there? Right, I understand. You were running the mortuary," Dan recalled.
"Yes. My, ahem, day job," Thanatos said, smiling. "It is the best way to help lost souls find the Furies. But I'm frightened it all may be ending, soon."
"Not if I'm successful in liberating Megaera. And Hades."
"True, we may even have a chance."
"What's he like? Hades. Megaera took me somewhere, and I met a god, Zeus."
"Oh, Zeus is
quite unlike the others. He and his spoiled son still have billions of followers."
"So, he told me," Dan remembered.
"Yes, but Hades is a lot like his brothers. A bit morbid, he had been in a state of misery for eons, all while his brother thrived. I know that stings him." Thanatos shook his head. "He loved to say he only had a handful of temples, but Apollo had thousands. Even more now."
"Any idea who it was? The demon who betrayed Hades?"
"I have my ideas," Thanatos said. He stopped for a moment. "It had to have been someone he trusted. That means it could have been anyone."
Thanatos turned and glanced back to the Palace. It was relatively small now, in the distance.
"When I find him, I suppose he'll want to discover who it was," Dan said.
"I imagine so," Thanatos said. "It won't be pleasant for whoever it was."
Dan looked back. They were a lot further from the Palace than he'd imagined after walking about an hour. The landscape was rugged, gray with areas of black. What looked like people were small standing stones. Hundreds, perhaps thousands. Far in the distance, Dan thought he caught movement, some small figures just drifting around.
"What do the souls do here?" Dan asked.
"They generally just wander around. If they're in the Plains of Judgement, they just mill about, absolutely hopeless."
Dan just nodded. They continued walking, passing around giant boulders and what appeared to be ruins of buildings, columns strewn about.
"We're heading to the north, towards those mountains. There's several areas where souls gather, most are not an issue, but it's prudent to avoid them. A living mortal might create problems," Thanatos mused.
"What type of problems?"
"Possession is one. Some souls miss being human, but they never believed in recycling, so they remain in the Underworld, in a state of oblivion. If they see a mortal, they can attach themselves. Happens a lot when a soul doesn't go to where they're called."
"Where's that?"
"What you'd call 'Heaven', but it's just a section of the Underworld. Asphodel. Those who believe in recycling can choose to wade across the Lethe and go back into a human life."
"Recycling? Is that like reincarnation?"
"Yes, the ultimate in reuse and re-purposing," Thanatos said, looking to the south and east.
"Where is Elysian?"
Thanatos smiled, and they started walking again. "It's the bright area to your right."
"I read about that in a class in school," Dan said, adjusting his backpack.
"Most of the heroes are there, even the heroes from your own era. Were they surprised to find themselves there!"
They approached a small clearing. Once again, Dan noticed more ruins.
"Where there cities here?"
"Hm?" Thanatos said, looking around. "Those?"
Dan walked to a broken column and rubbed at the stone. The gray grime rubbed off easily.
"Those are the souls of the cities that have died through the ages," Thanatos answered. "We'll likely pass a lot of those, and the shades of many, many things that have died. Not just humans die, Dan. Cities, forests, everything that dies eventually ends up here."
"Computers?" Dan said, half-jokingly.
"Yes, of course. They're living entities just as any plant or animal. Spirits inhabit a lot of things you humans build. Computers, cars, electronic devices." Thanatos eyed Dan. He wasn't joking.
"I guess that explains a few things. Like why some people always get cars that break down, or their computers always act up."
"Yes, precisely. I trust you'll act better towards your devices if you ever get out of here and return to the surface," Thanatos said. He stood and looked at the paths. He nodded and took the path to the right. Dan followed, looking at the ruins of cathedrals and temples stretching as far as he could see.
The trail now led them to a small rise. At the top, Thanatos paused. He nodded his head towards the right.
"The mountains that border the edge of Tartarus," he said. Dan looked and saw an immense range of mountains towering in the gloom. The tops were shrouded in darkness.
"The tallest mountain I ever saw was on a trip to Alaska. In an area called the Alaska Range, it was mount Denali. Immense. Those look taller," Dan said.
"They are, and they're your route into Tartarus," Thanatos told Dan. "Only other way in, or out, is via the rock bridge well to our south. As it is, the mountains are another two days' march."
"Two more days. Looks to be quite some ways further," Dan said.
"Possibly three days, maybe more," Thanatos admitted. "It all depends on you. How far you can walk without tiring."
"What about you?"
"Being an immortal has its advantages," he said. "There is a small shelter not far away. You'll stay the night there, get some rest."
"What about you?" Dan asked.
"I don't need rest," Thanatos said, smiling. "But you will drop any moment now, we've been hiking for close to eight hours."
"It doesn't feel like that long," Dan denied. "I'm fine, I can go a lot further."
"Trust me," Thanatos said. He put a hand on Dan's shoulder. "You walked two days passing into the Underworld, and it only felt like a few hours. This place will twist your idea of time and distance."
Dan took a deep breath. Thanatos was right, of course. He was now feeling how tired his legs were.
"Alright. How much further?"
"You can just make it out, those square buildings at the top of the next hill," Thanatos said, pointing.
Dan could barely make out the buildings, they appeared as just another set of ruins, with a few statues on the roofs.
CHAPTER TEN
It took the pair an hour to arrive at the shelter. Dan was suddenly feeling very tired as Thanatos led him to the squat building. On the top was a figure of a man holding a discus, bent over as if to swing and throw it.
"Who's that?" Dan asked, nodding at the statue.
"Herakles. You'd recognize him as Hercules," Thanatos said, walking up to the door. "Give me a hand with this."
Dan dropped his backpack and joined his guide. Together they pulled on the door. It was normal sized door, but thick and heavy, made from copper with a green patina. The door opened with a slight scraping as it dragged across the ground.
"There are some oil lamps," Thanatos said as he walked into the dark building. Dan stayed outside, looking up at the figure. A flicker of light illuminated inside the room. Dan stepped in, carrying his backpack. He rested it on the floor and glanced around.
From the outside, the building appeared much larger, but the room they were in was about the size of a spare bedroom in most any house on the surface.
There was a quilted mat on the floor. Dan inspected it and saw it was used, but clean.
"It's not much, just a place to sleep safely. Rarely used anymore," Thanatos said, holding up the oil lamp. It cast his shadow on the walls, painted in faded mosaics. "It was built ages ago, as you can see. I used to hike down here and sit for hours staring at the stories an artisan put on these walls."
Thanatos indicated a scene of one big man and several smaller men on a shore.
"Here, a scene from the stories about Jason. That is Talos, guardian of Crete. Here he is attacking the sailors from the Argos," he said.
"I remember the old movie from when I was a kid," Dan recalled.
"An actual event, Dan," Thanatos told him. "Talos was the last remaining giant of the older age, and he was vanquished when Medea hypnotized him and allowed Jason to remove a nail from his heel, causing him to die."
"Just like in the movie," Dan mused.
"I will leave you here, as I have a few errands I need to finish. I'll return in a few hours, after you've rested. This place is very quiet, so you should sleep well."
He handed Dan the oil lamp and pointed out the other lamps that were on recessed sconces in the wall. "Use the lamp to light the others, if you wish more light."
He went to the doo
r. "Do not open this door until I return. There may be things out here that will be curious seeing a living mortal, and some of them are rather unsettling, even to me."
"Thanks for the warning," Dan replied. "I brought a weapon, just in case."
"I explained to you that guns impractical in this realm," Thanatos said.
"It's a simple mechanical device, and it uses chemistry to operate," Dan argued.
"Just keep this door shut until I return. If you must relieve yourself, there is a chamber pot in the alcove in the back."
Thanatos pushed the door shut. It closed with a solid thump.
It took Dan only a few moments to relax and fall asleep once he'd inspected the sleeping mat thoroughly. He'd once had a bad experience with a hotel mattress and all the little creatures who'd made that mattress their home. It caused quite a stink in that hotel since it was a highly regarded hotel in Manhattan. Now, he had to be certain there was only one living thing in that shelter, himself.
He'd left his bedroll behind, as there was hardly enough room with Megaera's armor tied to the backpack.
He had no idea how long he'd been sleeping when something made him wake up. He remained still, trying to see what was near him. He'd extinguished the oil lamp earlier and the inside the shelter was as black as a cave.
A slight noise, like a foot scraping across the floor.
He was fully awake now.
"Thanatos?" he hissed. The nose stopped. He sat up and fumbled for this backpack. It wasn't where he'd left it. He fumbled around, reaching out while on his knees.
Then the noise changed. The feet making the scraping noise ceased and was replaced by light laughter.
"Who's there?" Dan said into the blackness.
The laugh stopped, and he heard soft footsteps moving from behind him and to his left. He reached out and felt the air stir as something moved.
His hands finally found his backpack, and he pulled a little light stick out and bent it in half, mixing the chemicals and producing a yellow-green light. He saw a diminutive figure in the alcove, and a pair of eyes watching him.
"Hey! Who are you?" he asked, standing up. He glanced around. The place was closed tight. "How did you get in here?"
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