“I want them home. Now. They were not meant for this place. They are not like you and me in that regard.” My voice was neutral and controlled, but I felt anything but. It was unnerving to see my brothers rendered so helpless by those my father had contained and ruled. In my mind, I had built them up, just as Oz had implied. I thought them invincible, even if I knew that to be false, excepting Sean. It made me wonder how he would have fared under the same assault. Would he have faltered or remained undaunted?
“And I will return them. But first, we must find Hades. The Fields of Oudeis have fallen. I dispatched the souls that were unable to avoid the temptation you and the boys presented, but countless others escaped.”
“What will become of them once they set foot above?” I asked, knowing that his response would not be good news.
“I do not know. This mass exodus is unprecedented. Only Hades may know what the ramifications of his failure could be.”
“I am the failure,” I countered, watching Aery head off toward the Great Hall with Casey in tow, leaving Kierson lying on the opposite riverbank. “This was my doing. I let them out.”
“Was that your intention? To release them once we crossed the Acheron?”
“No.”
“Then it is not your fault. Something about this does not sit well,” he rumbled. “We will soon find out what.”
“Wait!” I shouted at Oz, catching his forearm in my hand. I swallowed hard against the words I did not wish to utter. “Drew . . . did you see him? Could you make him out amongst the others?”
Oz frowned.
“No.”
“Is he—”
“I don’t know, but I can’t imagine that he would have stayed behind to be slaughtered.”
“Drew would have seen our brothers and me and come to our aid.”
“Possibly. But Drew also wanted a way out of the Underworld at any cost—badly enough to risk his soul to the Oudeis in the first place,” he rebutted, though his argument lacked the conviction I was hoping to hear. “Regardless of what may or may not have happened to him, we can’t sit here and speculate about it. We need to go to your father. Now.” There was a harshness to both the set of his eyes and his tone that snapped me back to our reality.
With that, he snatched me up in his arms and flew us quickly over to Kierson before releasing me in order to grab my brother roughly off the ground. I then let my wings erupt from my back and took flight next to Oz and Kierson. While we continued our flight back to the Great Hall, Oz said nothing more. He often had proved dangerous when silent; undoubtedly, he was mulling over the multitude of errors that had occurred leading up to this inconceivable breach. I used the quiet to contemplate just how I could tell my father that my doubt in him had led to the pandemonium I created. The mess he would have to clean up.
There was no other option in the matter. Hades would have to return to Earth with us, a journey he had made only a handful of times in his existence. But I saw no way around it. He needed to corral those he commanded and return them to the Underworld—providing he could.
The King of the Dead was losing control of the Underworld, just as Persephone had warned. Could his crumbling throne be salvaged, or was this truly the end of an era? The end of his reign?
Would I see his kingdom fall?
27
The air in the Great Hall had shifted. The change was barely perceptible; the others did not seem to notice. But to me it was unmistakable. I feared I had set something in motion, though I was loath to admit it. And that was precisely what I had to do: tell Hades that the most terrible of his charges had been let loose upon the world. Again.
I did my best to maintain a modicum of calm while I quickly made my way on foot through the labyrinth of corridors in the Underworld. I needed to locate Hades; a plan had to be made as quickly as possible and enacted without hesitation. The longer the evil I had released lingered in the world above, the more havoc it would create. I did not envy my PC brothers there, neither the ones I knew nor those that remained unknown to me. The task of maintaining the balance between the human world and ours had just been made astronomically more challenging. My ineptitude had failed both them and my father.
When I finally saw Hades emerging from one of his many private rooms, I lowered myself to the ground and ran toward him. Oz and the others were not far behind.
“Father!” I called, an uncharacteristic unease tainting my tone.
“Khara. What’s wrong? You look unwell,” he replied, his eyes filled with concern. His expression was wildly appropriate, though for reasons he did not yet know.
“I have done something. Something unthinkable . . .”
“Tell me, my princess. What could you have possibly done to warrant such distress? I have never seen you like this.”
“The Fields of Oudeis,” I started, watching his concern bleed to horror before I could relay my misguided actions to him. “They are empty.”
“Empty?” he echoed, his voice a whisper while he looked past me in the direction of the realm I had unleashed on the world.
“Yes. I released those that reside there.”
“What?” he choked out, disbelief contorting his features. “Why? How?”
Oz stepped closer to me, flanking me on my right side. Tension rolled off him, his obsidian wings fluttering minutely while he wrapped them around behind me.
“Your power . . . I knew it was failing you,” I said plainly, hiding the surge of guilt that tried to claw its way onto my countenance. “I thought that, if I could contain those that would threaten you most, it would buy you the time to regain all that you have lost.”
His eyebrows rose high, creating creases in his forehead before they slammed down, furrowing as he glared at me. There was hate in his stare. A murderous look I had seen him turn on many over my time with him.
But never on me.
“Khara!” he roared, forcing me back a step into the black down of one of Oz’s wings. It held me steadfast when I wanted to escape. Never in all my life had I wanted to flee anything—a situation, a battle—but especially not my father. Standing before him, facing the brunt of his rage, I wanted to be anywhere but here.
“I feared what would happen—”
“You have undermined both me and my authority!” he screamed, pressing toward me.
“Your authority is failing. You know this. I know you do,” I argued, my voice faltering minutely. Perhaps it was only noticeable to me.
“Silence!” I flinched at his order. Emotions rattled through me, their disharmony making it hard to focus—to think. “I will not suffer your excuses. You betrayed me. You . . . my princess. My beloved one.”
I swallowed hard against the sadness that threatened to escape me at his accusation.
“Father—”
“No!” He lunged at me, pointing a finger heatedly in my face. “I am not your father. That is abundantly clear. No child of mine would ever presume to conspire against me as you and your pet have,” he snarled, turning his hateful gaze to Oz, who remained still at my side. But his stillness was a ruse. I could feel his body coiling, preparing to attack Hades at any moment. Having seen the death he brought to the souls that had attacked us only moments earlier, I did not wish for his retribution to befall my father—even if Hades claimed he was my father no longer. His words were spoken out of anger. He had not meant them.
That is what I continued to tell myself.
“He has tainted you. Poisoned you, just as I warned he would.” I looked on helplessly as the man I had been closer to than any other being turned on me in an instant. “Get out,” he growled. “Take your brothers and this thing with you, and get out.”
“No,” I rebutted weakly. “You need me. We will fix this.”
“I need no one.”
“Watch yourself,” Oz warned, still motionless behind me. “Continue on like this and you will have no one. And where will that leave you, I wonder? Perhaps I’ll do as you ordered and take Khara and the others out
of here, leaving you to your fate.” I turned awkwardly to look up at Oz’s face, as his jaw tensed fiercely. “You seem terribly keen on the idea, Soul Keeper. I wonder, will you keep Persephone at your side as everything you know—everything you’ve ever loved—comes crashing down around you? Upon you?” Hades’ chest pumped wildly, his temper rising dangerously high at Oz’s words. “Well, I guess not everything you ever loved,” Oz continued, taking one purposeful step forward toward the one I had always called Father. “Because I’m getting her the fuck out of here.”
Before Hades could rebut, Oz turned on his heel and stormed out, whisking me up in his enormous wings as he did. They sheltered me and prevented me from looking back at Hades. I do not know what I would have expected to find in his expression other than anger and resentment, and I was better off not having that memory etched into the back of my mind.
No apology I could offer would have erased his loathing, that much I knew. Treachery was the highest offense in his eyes. And in his eyes, that was precisely what I had just committed.
Kierson and Casey fell in silently behind us and followed Oz as he stormed away from Hades, ushering me back out the way we had come. It was unlike them both to be so quiet, but, after Oz’s parting words to Hades, what was left to say? They were still getting what they had ultimately wanted the whole time—my departure from the Underworld. But even they had not wanted it to come at such a heavy price.
When we passed Aery, who had apparently been waiting for us down the corridor, she looked torn. Hades had always been good to her. She was one of his favorites. Since she was not directly involved in the events preceding the escape of the Oudeis’ souls, I could see the debate that waged in her mind as it played out in her features. If she aided us in our return, would she then be a party to our crimes? Would Hades ever allow her to come back home?
The irony was that if things continued to collapse, there would not be an Underworld to come back to at all.
Regardless of the risk to her future, she accompanied us, and when we reached the bank of the Acheron, she looked over to me and gave a wan smile. The heaviness in her gaze was impossible to ignore.
“Are we doing the right thing?” she asked quietly.
“We were given no choice,” I replied simply. Hades had made his desires abundantly clear. We were not welcome there any longer. “You, however, still have time to make yours.”
With lips pressed tightly together, she nodded in resignation.
“I will go with you, but I cannot carry them both at once,” she said, her eyes darting back and forth between Kierson and Casey. Kierson looked much more himself than he had earlier, but Casey was still struggling to recover. I was concerned about him. By then, he should have been doing better than he was. The wary look in Kierson’s eyes told me he thought the same.
“I will take them,” Oz declared, making his way from my side to that of my brothers. Kierson tensed slightly. Casey growled. I think it took what small reserve of energy he had to do so, but that was my dark-hearted brother. He would fight until he could fight no longer. A true warrior, though misguided on this occasion. Oz was not the enemy.
My father was.
“Let him take you, Casey. You have my word that his intentions are pure.” Kierson stared at me as though I had lost my mind. “Perhaps ‘pure’ was a poor choice of words.”
“Ya think?” Kierson replied, shifting his gaze to his black-winged escort.
“Scared, are we, Kierson?” Oz taunted. It reminded me of his incessant teasing at the Victorian.
“Fuck you, Oz. Let’s just get this shit over with.”
“This shit is just beginning,” Oz corrected with an evil smile. The faintest glow came from his eyes as he did. “The real fun begins when we set foot in Detroit.”
“Is that where we are to go first?” Aery asked, mild confusion in her voice.
“It’s a beacon for evil beings. They will go there first, though only few will stay. If you wish to stop them, then we have no time to waste.”
“I will follow your lead,” she said, placing her arm around my waist.
“You all will,” he replied. “Or you will all die, and not by my hand. Hades’ ignorance or arrogance—I cannot decide which it is—has indirectly let the most lethal souls the world has ever known loose on Earth. Souls that the PC are ill-equipped at best to deal with. And if, by some unfathomable means, those souls can become corporeal again . . .”
“We’ll have a motherfucking shitshow on our hands,” Casey uttered, breathing hard after the words—and the strength he mustered to speak them—left his body.
“Precisely. A shitshow that none of you want to clean up. I’m not even certain you could if you wanted to.” He muttered that last sentence under his breath, as though he felt an ounce of concern for my brothers and what they were about to face. “But a way to clean this mess up will need to be found, and soon. So, with that in mind . . .” Oz drawled, his gaze drifting off toward the physical gate between the dead and the living. “Shall we?”
Without awaiting a response, he snatched up the brothers in a flash and flew toward the exit at a dizzying pace. Aery sighed heavily beside me.
“I hope he knows I can’t possibly keep up with him if he insists on showing off the whole way there,” she lamented. “Come on, Khara. You know the drill.”
I did indeed.
I bent over slightly and snaked my arms around her neck from behind her, clinging to her back. Her fragile-looking, transparent wings stuck out from her sides. Her wings attached far differently from mine. They were positioned more laterally, allowing for someone of my build to easily lie between their insertion points without obstructing their motion.
“I’m glad I wiggled my way out of that one,” she said with a wink. “Your brothers are heavy!”
“Hopefully I prove to be a lighter, more comfortable passenger for you than they,” I replied, my hair flying wildly around my face while her delicate wings fluttered at a hummingbird’s pace. Aery was a study in contradictions. Everything about her spoke to her weaknesses—her petite frame, frail-looking wings, and childlike innocence—but they were a ruse. She was strong, fierce, and far more deadly than many would have imagined. More so than many would give her credit for. I had seen on only two occasions what she was capable of, and it was unsettling to say the least. She would be an asset to us once above if she was able to wield her abilities against the souls we released on Earth as she could in the Underworld. If not, she would likely stay and observe the surrounding chaos anyway. She did as she pleased, from all I had experienced, except when working under the direct orders of my father. And without him around, there was no telling what she may do.
Thankfully, she had always taken a shine to me. Something about my unfazed demeanor intrigued her, as though she was trying to find a way into my mind to see what drove it. Historically, her efforts had been in vain. I wondered if my new preponderance of emotions would one day prove advantageous to her in her quest.
I remained quiet for the greater part of our journey so as not to unwittingly unveil some piece of information—some insight—that she could later use against me. Perhaps I was being unfair to her. Though mischievous, she had always been kind. Unfortunately, kindness does not imply loyalty. And, with nymphs, that latter trait could be easily bought. Knowing this made submerging her in the various evils of Detroit seem ill-advised, and yet it was still the plan. With luck, she would either be of use to us or, if not, would willingly return to the Underworld, hoping to evade any repercussions from my father.
By the time I could see the distant Detroit skyline, only one thought plagued my mind. If we were not to have the aid of Hades’ knowledge and power to collect the souls I had let loose, was it even possible for us to return them to my father’s realm? When he had so quickly ordered me out of the Underworld, he said nothing about coming above to address the pressing matter. Perhaps his first concern was stabilizing what remained of his kingdom. Perhaps he did not wish
to abandon Persephone to an unknown fate by leaving her behind with the threat of upheaval looming. Perhaps he truly wished to be rid of me and was leaving me to my fate. His most recent reaction to my departure could not have been more different from the last.
“You really called this place home, huh?” Aery yelled back to me, disbelief polluting her normally cheerful tone. “It’s a wasteland of ugly.”
“Detroit is an acquired taste of sorts. But it does leave a strong impression.”
She laughed.
“That might be the euphemism of the century, Khara. I’m guessing the light of day does nothing to improve it.”
“You would be correct. The dark of night suits it best.”
She laughed again.
“Kinda like you,” she said more quietly, though her words trailed back to me. Then she dove hard and fast toward the ground. The decaying neighborhood that was home to the Victorian drew ever closer. I was nearly there.
That realization was a double-edged sword.
While I felt a certain relief at my return, the old yellow house would not hold the same sense of warmth that it once had. Drew’s absence would leave an undeniable void—one that could never be filled by anything other than his return. And I feared that possibility was not meant to be. Though Persephone and I had succeeded in pulling Drew’s soul into me, he was no longer there; he had been released with all the others when I crossed the Acheron. Without his soul contained within me, there would be no chance for Hecate to pull it forth and restore him to the world above.
That chance was lost forever. At best, we would find him eventually, wandering the Earth, then return him to the Underworld. At worst, he had already fallen victim to Oz’s absolute death. Either way, I had squandered the only opportunity I would ever have to bring him back.
As I set my feet down in the yard that Drew would never see again, a tear ran down my cheek.
28
I stood outside the Victorian, a wash of emotion flowing through me. It could not have been more different than when I originally arrived there with Kierson and Drew. Then, I had felt nothing but acceptance. Now, I felt little more than a deep sense of loss. The twinge of anticipation I had hoped to feel when I looked at the building’s weathered yellow exterior was absent. There was no warm invitation beckoning me inside.
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