by Jasmine Walt
“You’re telling me,” Tisiphone mumbled. Her eyes lingered on the spot where Barnabas had died.
I sighed and straightened up from taking a photograph of the underside of the table. “C’mon, we can have a chat with Daedalus.”
She bowed and gestured forward. “You’re the boss, Callie.”
7
I certainly didn’t feel like a boss.
Daedalus was the head of security in the Underworld. I remembered his story. My mom had told me about him when I was a child.
He’d created the Labyrinth that housed the Minotaur. Hades employed him as the gatekeeper to the palace in his retirement.
His office was in a tower that stood at one corner of the palace’s perimeter. I stood outside of the palace, taking stock of my surroundings for the first time since arriving. One side of palace was bordered by the bright, sparkling waters of the River Acheron. The other side was bordered by the murky, dark waters of the River Styx. And Daedalus’ office was perilously close to the River Styx.
I swallowed self-consciously as we neared the guard tower. Styx was there, black and placid, yet I could feel it watching me from underneath that still surface. It was a creature all its own, beckoning me. As if I wanted to go back there again.
I shuddered.
Tisiphone snickered, feeling a bit bolder now that we had left the dining hall. “Are you feeling a pull, Callie? Want to finish the job?”
I sighed tiredly. “Can you stop saying my name like you’re trying to insult me?”
Tisiphone pouted. “But it’s so much fun.” At my glare, she held up her hands in defeat. “Fine, fine, Callie.”
“What’re you doing here?” a gruff voice asked beside me. I turned my head and shrieked in fear. A corpse was talking to us. It was mostly skeletal, with bits of white bone peeking through holes in its otherwise decaying skin. I was looking at a zombie. A zombie wearing a security uniform.
“Daedalus?” I asked weakly. He nodded. Tisiphone looked like she was about to burst from laughter.
Daedalus looked pissed off that I was scared by him. He looked like if he frowned any deeper, his lips might to fall off. I stood my ground and looked at him. We were on the same side, right? I wasn’t about to show him how intimidated he made me feel.
Then again, everything in this damn Underworld made me feel intimidated.
Thankfully, Tisiphone stepped in. “Lord Daedalus, this is detective Callie Saunders. She’d like to ask you few questions about...the incident.” She said it with such reverence and flourish, I wondered if I was still dealing with the same Fury from a few moments ago. I realized then how helpful she would be.
“I know why you’re here,” Daedalus huffed. “All I have to say is, it wasn’t my fault.”
So he was going to be one of those tough guys, who wouldn’t yield information without a bit of a fight. I bristled, trying to calm myself down. Usually guys like this didn’t bother me but he did. It had been a really rough week.
“Is there nothing you can think of that might help me?”
He shook his head.
“Anything strange you remember from the night of September 21st?”
He sized me up and down. “Shouldn’t you have a badge or somethin'?” he grouched. I showed him my SFPD badge. “Pah,” he said. “That don't count down here.”
I scowled at him. I didn’t know it would be so hard to get someone to cooperate, especially when it dealt with the safety of Underworld’s Royal Family. His employer.
On my tablet, I pulled up the scan of the warrant that Hades sent me. Daedalus inspected it and sniffed derisively. “Could be a fake.”
In the background, Tisiphone rolled her eyes. “It's not,” she grumped.
I tried a different tactic. “Don’t you want to find who’s doing this?”
Daedalus snorted. “For that little punk, Plutus?” He grumbled under his breath. “He’s a disgrace to the royal family.”
Obviously Daedalus and Plutus weren’t best buddies. “What about Lord Hades?” His eyes—both the one that was still there and the blank hole where one should be—widened at that and I knew I struck a chord. Tisiphone snickered and I fought the urge to grin at my small victory.
Daedalus stiffened, tilted his head back, and glared up at me, trying to look as imposing as possible. “Of course, I would do anything for my Lord Hades, you—” Tisiphone clucked her tongue in a warning and Daedalus stopped before he called me a bitch, which wouldn’t have gone over very well. He shut his mouth, took a breath, and then continued. “If there'd be anything I'd do differently, it would have been not wasting my time talking with people who're trying to waste my time. So...have a good day Detective Saunders.”
And he stormed off into the tower.
I felt the heat in my cheeks. This reminded me of so many cases I’ve had in the past. There were always people who just did not want to talk during investigations. Sometimes they were hiding something, other times they just didn’t want to get involved.
“Rude asshole,” I muttered to no one in particular. Tisiphone was there to hear me.
She shrugged. “What did you expect?”
“What do you mean?”
She gestured at the door that Daedalus had disappeared into. “He’s afraid. Daedalus was supposed to go to Tartarus for his sins, but he made his case to Hades. He said that he could create uncrackable locks and codes that could protect the Royal Family. So he was put on security duty. And if it looks like someone got in because of him, then he’ll be in deep shit with Hades. So,” she shrugged again, “you can see why he’s nervous.”
I combed my fingers through my hair. Of course, I should’ve realized it. Being almost dead was making me lose my touch. My head began to throb.
“I think I should lie down,” I mumbled.
Tisiphone raised her eyebrows. “Giving up already, Callie?”
“No, I’m just not feeling very well.”
She scoffed. “You’re dead, you don’t feel anything anymore.”
“Almost dead. I’m not dead yet.” I shot her a look and started walking back towards the mansion. All I wanted to do was get back to my room. I left her standing there and wandered back. She didn't follow me, and it was good to be alone and lost in my thoughts.
I knew what to expect now. Apparently, everyone was afraid of Hades, and no one liked Plutus. I was used to being on the Surface where disabilities were treated with care and respect. The rules were different down here. Go figure.
No wonder Plutus was moody. Everyone treated him like an outcast. I had no idea how old he was, yet if he had endured eons of this, well, I’m sure it grated on his nerves.
While I wasn’t going to get anything else out of Daedalus, I knew how to handle him now. My gut told me that he wasn’t hiding anything. He was too terrified of Hades to do anything that might piss him off. At least on purpose.
I knew what I needed to do. I’d make a list of people I wanted to interview and then I’d request files on each of them. I was pretty sure Hades was one hell of a record keeper. I’d profile every suspect and every lead.
Going in blind was never a good idea. Instead, I had to get inside of everyone’s heads, try to access any motives and connections before actually talking to them. Time was ticking on the Surface, so I had to get serious. I had to live and breathe this case, because everything hung in the balance.
And my life wasn't the only one that depended on it.
Movement flashed in my peripheral vision and I turned, too late, to see a black German shepherd puppy streaking towards me. No, not just any German shepherd puppy—a three headed slobbery one that came up to my shoulders. I was about to yelp in alarm when he ran past me and his right head caught a red ball. The other two heads weren’t happy about losing out on the ball and snapped at the right. The right head growled, defending his ball.
I would have laughed at the sight if I hadn’t been so terrified a moment ago. Dogs were dogs, even if they had three heads. Even if they we
re in the Underworld.
“Cerberus!”
I winced, recognizing the voice. I so didn’t want to deal with him right now.
The dog—Cerberus, who I now recognized as the guard dog to the Underworld—howled happily from two mouths and a muffled howl escaped from the one with a ball in it and trotted toward the voice. I watched him and then let my gaze settle on Plutus, who ambled towards me.
I saw something I hadn’t expected on his face.
He was grinning widely, petting each dog head as they struggled to get into a prime spot to get scratched. This was the first time I had seen him completely at ease. If the man I’d met earlier was night, this one was day.
I thought he hadn’t noticed me but he called out, “Hello, Callista,” without even looking over at me.
My cheeks burned. What the heck? Why was I reacting to him this way?
It wasn’t like I was attracted to him. Not much, anyway.
“It’s Callie,” I said. “How did you know I was here?”
“I’ve told you before, I’m a god,” Plutus said. “And even though I’m blind, I have my own way of seeing things.”
I was about to ask him what was so bad about his blindness then, but held my tongue because I was marveling at the way he was treating the puppy. He ruffled Cerberus’s middle head and moved his hand out of reach as the left head snapped at his hand.
“Cerberus,” he warned. The left head whined and the entire dog rolled on his back for his stomach to be scratched. Plutus bent and obliged him. The look on all three faces was that of pure bliss.
“I swear this dog is trouble,” Plutus muttered, with a hint of amusement in his voice.
He seemed relaxed. At peace. This was a side of Plutus I hadn’t seen yet and I felt myself softening. Gone was the arrogant god. He’d been replaced by a playful man who obviously loved dogs.
“Is that the mighty Cerberus of mythological fame?” I asked. “I thought he’d be...bigger. Not that he isn’t huge.”
Plutus threw the red ball with strength that rivaled an NFL quarterback. Cerberus howled happily and clumsily galloped away to fetch it.
“He’s the current one,” Plutus explained. “Hellhounds aren’t immortal. So when one dies, another takes his place.” He frowned, reminiscing, and I regretted my question. “The last one died about six months ago.”
“Died?” I repeated, the homicide detective in me continuing the interrogation. I inwardly winced. I was talking about such a tender subject. Plutus obviously loved this puppy. I wondered if he loved the other one as much.
“Killed,” Plutus said bitterly. His impassive facade was slipping back into place, hiding the easy going man he’d been seconds ago.
“What? I asked, shocked.
“He was killed.”
A red flag in popped up in my mind and my detective instincts took over. I sidled up to Plutus and followed his gaze over to the big puppy, who let out three loud barks that he had found the ball.
“He’s just a big puppy,” I said. “Is he guarding the gates to Hell?”
Plutus shook his head. “He’s too young. Can’t even fetch a ball without getting into an argument with himself.”
I bit back a nervous giggle. The whole thing was ludicrous, a dog getting into a fight with himself. “So no one is guarding the gate at the moment?” I asked. “There’s no giant hellhound blocking the gate and now anyone could get through?”
He turned his head and regarded me with his sightless eyes for a few moments before responding. “We have other measures that are replacing Cerberus at the moment.”
“Like?”
“Daedalus has created a more complex way to get in and we've upped our security.” He frowned when Cerberus pounced on him. “Whoa, boy!” he shouted. I cried out in alarm and grabbed a pair of collars to pull the dog off him. Plutus winced as he sat up. “See? He’s trouble,” he muttered, amused instead of really irritated.
“Plutus!” another voice called.
I turned at the sound of the voice and I blinked twice before my eyes could process what I was seeing. A woman was walking over toward us from the garden. She wore a simple summer dress, with a sunny, flowery pattern on it on it. Her golden hair was pulled back, most of it covered by a sunhat, even though we were in the eternal twilight of the Underworld. She had on gardening gloves and was barefoot. Vines and flowers sprouted up in her footprints behind her.
To say she was beautiful was an understatement. It was actually hard to look at her without blinking too much or instantly dropping into a mental body-shaming loop.
So much for being happy about how death becomes me.
Cerberus whined at her presence, which strengthened my resolve to turn away. I looked at Plutus who sighed heavily. He held a hand for me. “Help me up,” he said.
Wordlessly, I helped him to his feet. He stood, favoring his right leg. “My cane?” he asked. I grabbed it and handed it to him.
The woman was close enough to us by then that I could make out her expression. She looked unhappy, however it did nothing to diminish her beauty. I fought the urge to fall to my feet and bow before her, asking forgiveness for whatever made her unhappy. I stood next to Plutus who seemed bored as he looked at her. Cerberus, however, cowered behind us. He apparently did not like the woman before us.
Therefore, neither did I.
I trusted the opinions of dogs way more than the opinions of humans.
“Mother,” Plutus said stiffly. “What brings you here?”
She stopped and glared at him. Even her glare made her more beautiful than everyone else. I swallowed self-consciously. She looked like she was only a few years older than both of us, old enough to be wise, and young enough to still have unlined skin and glossy hair.
Persephone. The woman who was abducted by Hades to stay in the Underworld for six months out of the year. No wonder she looked unhappy.
“Son,” she said sternly, although her voice came across as a lilting overture and I held my breath, determined not to be swayed by her melodic voice. “Plutus, what did I tell you about being outside the palace?”
“I’m a god,” Plutus said quietly. “I am not afraid of stepping outside.” There was something else in his voice, and I couldn’t quite place my finger on it.
“It’s not you that I’m worried about,” Persephone said.
A look of pain crossed Plutus’ face. It took me a moment to realize why. It wasn’t that she thought Plutus couldn't take care of himself; she was worried that him getting hurt would do something else, damage her pride or something.
“I’m with Cerberus and Callista,” he said evenly. “Nothing is going to harm me.”
I fought the urge to shrink away at the mention of my name, because at that moment, her shrewd gaze fell upon me. It was pretty harsh. I fought not to wither under her evil eyes.
“Callista Saunders,” she mused. “So you’re the detective my husband—” she spat that last word out with such force, her voice cracked out of that lilting melody, “hired to find out who’s trying to kill my dear, sweet Plutus.” The way she said it sure didn’t seem like she thought Plutus was “dear” and “sweet”.
In fact, I got the feeling that she thought he was a disappointment.
“It’s Callie,” I said automatically. I shouldn’t be correcting a goddess, but hell, I was getting tired of people calling me by my full name. To try and make matters better, I held out my hand to shake hers. “Pleased to meet you, Persephone.” I secretly cheered inside. Score one for Callie, who was bold enough to stand up to a goddess.
She sneered at my proffered hand. “Can’t your father do anything right, Plutus?” she asked tiredly. “We need a professional, someone who knows what we're dealing with. Not some...girl.”
“I’m sure Father knows what he’s doing,” Plutus said icily.
She whirled on him. I swear I saw doves sprout from the ground and fly away with beautiful majesty. How could the Goddess of Spring be such a bitch?
&n
bsp; She reached out and cupped her hand to Plutus’ cheek. “If I had it my way, I’d lock you up in a tower and never let anyone hurt you.”
Plutus didn’t say anything and looked straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge her hand on his cheek. If anything, all I noticed was the slightest flush of his cheeks.
“Callista,” Persephone said, without looking at me.
I stiffened. “Yes, your highness?” What do you call a goddess? Your majesty? Your grace?
She glanced over at me. She put up her index finger and held it under my nose. Holy crap, she’s threatening me, I realized.
“You had better find out who is threatening my son’s life,” she warned. Plutus couldn’t hold in the retort that escaped his lips. Persephone ignored him, and I continued to hold her gaze, defiant to my very end. “Because if anything happens to Plutus, so help me...” Her voice trailed off ominously.
“Your godliness,” I said, trying to keep the tremor from my voice, “I was first in my class at the University of Pennsylvania. I’m one hell of a cop and I’ve solved many cases in my time, ones that made twenty year veterans look like chumps. I’m the best chance you’ve got at finding out who is behind these assassination attempts. If there’s any chance of stopping them, it’s through me.”
There. I’d stood up to her. Just because she was a goddess and could turn me into a lily or something didn’t mean I had to take her crap. And from the thin line her mouth made, she wasn’t used to others standing up to her either. She looked so unhappy, her beauty dropped by a notch. But that notch was another small victory.
“You’d better watch yourself, Callie,” she sneered. “I wouldn’t make enemies with a goddess. Especially when you’re dealing with her son.” With that, she pivoted on one heel and walked away.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Plutus bent and scratched Cerberus behind the ears. The dog whined again, happy that the bitch was gone.
“What Mother didn’t mention was that she’d want me locked away because I’m imperfect,” Plutus said softly. “She’d rather have none of her friends see her only offspring like this.”