by Unknown
So she traced Griffin and I to the entrance of the Greek Underworld. We came out on the shore of a vast ocean which, from what I remembered of the myths of the Underworld, was supposed to be the river Styx. I stood gaping at it, slowly noticing that it actually wasn't simply an ocean but six rivers laid side by side with thin strips of land between them. Beyond the rivers, which I assumed was actually one spiraling river Styx, there did appear to be an ocean. It was kind of hard to see though, even with my enhanced vision.
Then Persephone tapped me on the shoulder and gestured to the land behind us. We were on the edge of a grove of trees, black poplar and willow. They were graceful looking, delicate leaves on a tracery of limbs. The poplars were wide and almost fluffy in appearance. The willows were just as wide but bowed to the ground elegantly. There was a large white rock set near the edge of the grove, looking important, and I wondered if it was a guardian stone like those in Asgard.
We followed Persephone into the grove and past the rock. It failed to do anything impressive, just sat and watched us walk by. So if it was a guardian, it was either really bad at its job or we were on the guest list. A stream ambled by cheerfully and a light breeze played over my skin. The Underworld was quite lovely.
Then we came out of the trees and I jerked to a stop.
In front of us was a line of arches stretching out to either side. Just arch after arch connected to each other like a wall. That wasn't what had stunned me. It was the light. The arches were glowing bright, as if they were filled with fire, a white glow that lit the whole area and made it kind of hard to look at them. It was like staring into the-
“...Sun,” Persephone was saying something I didn't quite catch.
“What was that?” I glanced over to her.
“These are the Gates of the Sun,” she nodded to the structure. “They separate my groves of fruited willow and black poplar from the rest of the Underworld.”
“Those are your trees?” I looked back over my shoulder.
“Yes, do you like them?”
“Very pretty,” I nodded.
“Thanks,” she grinned, a little of the carefree Sephy poking through her concern for Hades. “Come on, we need to get going.”
She hurried us along, across a wide, open, grass field. The grass seemed more resilient than normal grass, bending but not crushing beneath my feet. I could barely even smell it, it was almost as if we were walking over fake grass, and it was too perfect. The blades were uniform, all the same length and the same shade of green. It felt like an artist's rendition of a field. There was the occasional tree and random bush but mainly it was just grass and more grass, stretching out in unblemished splendor.
We'd been traveling for about fifteen minutes when we heard a strange and terrifying cry. It was like a bird, a predator bird, combined with a screaming woman. It raised the hairs at the back of my neck. Persephone's face went cold and she turned toward the sound with angry eyes.
“Prepare yourselves,” she took a firm stance, holding her arms loosely at her sides like a gunslinger. I'd never seen her look so scary.
“What?” My eyes darted over the open landscape. “Prepare ourselves for what?”
“Harpies,” she growled. “Without Hades in charge, the monsters of the Underworld have broken their tethers.”
“Harpies? Tethers?” I looked over to Griffin with a horrifying realization. “I shouldn't have brought you.”
“I can take care of myself,” he pulled a dagger from his boot and I gaped at him.
“That's a dagger,” I shook my head. “Against harpies? You won't stand a chance. Oh screw this,” I started stripping and they both stopped to gawk at me.
“What are you doing?” Griffin's mouth had fallen open.
“I'm a dragon-sidhe,” I said to him as I pulled off the last of my clothes. “Do you know what that means?”
“No,” he whispered as his eyes roamed over me. I admit that I took a certain amount of satisfaction in the way they lingered.
“Well you're about to find out,” I called my dragon up and she rose with a excited roar, lengthening my limbs and stretching my body into a new shape. I felt my muscles grow, adding strength and weight as wings sprouted from my back and burst out in a shining display. Gold scales lifted from my skin, hardening into a virtually impenetrable shield around me. My teeth sharpened and my jaw elongated. Claws burst forth from my new talons and horns formed down my back. All of it happened in a moment.
I saw Griffin fall back, his eyes round, and Sephy smiled up at me in delight. The cries of the harpies faltered and I angled my dragon head up to see a flock of bird-women pulling up short before me. I was surprised to see how beautiful they were. You hear the word harpy and think of something ugly and grotesque. These creatures were anything but.
They had the upper bodies of women and the lower body of birds, with a pair of massive eagle wings sprouting from their backs. Their feet were taloned, dangerous claws extended, but they also held spears and swords in their hands. They'd come looking for a fight but they weren't expecting to find a dragon.
Their hunting calls turned to screeching sounds of distress and they swung around, streaking back the way they came without so much as a swing in my direction. I roared, my dragon frustrated by being denied a fight, and I briefly thought about chasing them. I decided against it. We had more important things to do. Like finding Hades.
I returned to my human form with just a small bit of reluctance and hurried back into my clothes. I determinedly kept my eyes averted from Griffin's face, unsure of the reaction I'd get from him. If I saw revulsion in his eyes, I'd never get over it. Persephone however, came over and gave me a fist bump.
“That was awesome!” She hooted. “Now we know what to do if any of the other Children of Nyx show up.”
“What other children?” I finally glanced over at Griffin. He was staring at me with shocked stillness, his whole body frozen like a deer in headlights.
“Oh gorgons, centaurs, chimeras, and hydras,” Persephone listed casually. “Actually Hypnos, the god Hades went to see, is Nyx's son as well.”
“What?” I gave her my full attention. “How many children did this woman have? I kind of feel bad for her.”
“They're not all really her children. She just birthed the first of each race. Nyx liked to spice up her sex life and it led to some unusual children. I don't think they'll show up after that roar though,” she shook her head. “Predators recognize the sound of a bigger predator.”
“You're a dragon,” Griffin finally spoke.
“Yep,” I smiled hesitantly at him. “You okay with that?”
“You're a dragon,” he said again.
“Okay, we'll talk about it later,” I sighed and nodded to Persephone. “Let's get out of here.”
She led us across the field and up to the banks of a peaceful river. The water was pristine, flowing over a bed of softly glowing pebbles. Looking at it was entrancing and the soft sound of its passage was like a lullaby, making me want to lie down beside it and take a little nap. My cares would disappear if I just had a few moments of rest.
“The Lethe,” Persephone slapped my arm. “The River of Forgetfulness. Fight its pull. What's wrong with you? You should be stronger than this.”
“I just escaped from Morpheus,” I yanked my attention away from the water with some difficulty. “Give me a break.”
“What do you mean you just escaped Morpheus?” Sephy stopped and stared at me.
“Morpheus was the dream stalker,” I explained as I looked up and down the banks for a boat, a raft, anything that could take us across. I had a feeling that swimming through the Lethe wasn't a good idea. “He took me through the Gates of Horn and cut me off from my body. I was powerless. The Squad and the Intare came and saved me. Kirill got me back to the Gates of Horn and I slipped through. I'd only just returned to my body when you walked in.”
“I had no idea,” she inhaled sharply. “I've been waiting for Hades at the palace. D
id you see him there? Was he with the Squad?”
“No but I only saw Trevor, Kirill, and Pan. Kirill was rushing me from Morpheus' bedroom back to the Gate. Griffin was the one who told me about everyone going after me, otherwise I wouldn't have known anyone else was there.”
“The bedroom?” Her voice dropped into an angry tone.
“What did he do to you, Vervain?” Griffin's eyes went hard, his jaw clenching.
“I'll explain later,” I waved their outrage aside, though Griffin's did make me feel a little warm and fuzzy. “I'm okay, let's just get across this river. You got any ideas on how to do that?”
“There,” Persephone waved a hand and a boat appeared.
It was a small boat, graceful and fragile looking, made of white wood and silver. It waited on the bank for us. I guess being Queen of the Underworld had it's perks. Too bad it didn't seem to stop harpies from attacking. We climbed in and before I could even bother to look for oars, the boat moved all on its own, floating gently to the other side of the Lethe. Griffin jumped out and helped us down gallantly. He seemed to have gotten over his earlier shock and was now giving me secret looks of... I don't know what of. He just kept looking.
“Welcome to the Land of Dreams,” Persephone said with a whisper.
I looked around and inhaled sharply. On the other side of the Lethe the world had been bright and sunny. Looking across it had shown much of the same thing but now that we'd arrived, the sun had disappeared and it was full night. I peered back across the Lethe to where we had been and it appeared to be night there as well. What the hell? Or maybe I should say, what in the hell?
“The Land of Dreams is a land of perpetual night,” Persephone explained as she led us forward. “That way, past the Elm of False Dreams, lies the river Acheron and across that is the Vale of Mourning. That's where the sound is coming from.”
I cocked my head and listened. There, just barely on the breeze, was the sound of crying. A lot of crying. It was an eerie backdrop to an eerie place. The night in this land wasn't ordinary, it was filled with moving shapes, odd forms that never fully materialized, and I had a feeling that we were being watched. I glanced at the sky and saw it was full of stars, I even recognized some of the constellations but from what I remembered, they weren't in the right places. Wasn't Cassiopeia supposed to be in front of the Milky Way?
Stars were usually different in the God Realm but by that I mean entirely different. These were familiar constellations set in unfamiliar order. It was strange, like someone had been playing with the sky. I frowned, deeply unsettled though I didn't know why. Then the stars started to fall, plummeting to the ground around us. I winced as Griffin knocked me to the grass, covering me with his body.
“It's okay,” there was laughter in Sephy's voice. “It's an illusion. If you focus on something too long in the Land of Dreams, it'll change.”
“What the hell?” I peered around Griffin's body and saw the fallen stars spotting the landscape around us. “Griffin, you can get up.”
“I, uh,” he was staring into my eyes and at that proximity, I could see the striations of all the different colors in his. It was fascinating and I ended up staring right back. “Sorry. I thought you were in danger.”
“Thanks,” I grinned at him. “I appreciate the help but maybe you could help me up now?”
“Oh!” He rolled off me and jumped to his feet before extending a hand down to me. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” I sent Sephy a quelling look since she was starting to giggle. “So we shouldn't stare at anything, is what you're saying?”
“You could probably stare into each others eyes awhile longer if you wanted to,” she smirked.
“I meant the landscape.”
“I know what you meant,” she grinned. “And yes, you can can look all you want, just be prepared for things to try and entertain you. The land likes the attention,” she waved her hands at the grounded stars. “Kind of pretty, don't you think?”
“Yeah, it is,” I looked over the illuminated patches.
“And helpful,” Griffin added. “I can see better now.”
I shot him a glance, becoming even more concerned about him. It had been awhile since I'd had to function with merely human eyesight. I'd forgotten its limitations. Why had I let Griffin come along? I should have left him and his humanity safely ensconced at Pride Palace. It was too late for regrets though. He was there and we were just going to have to do the best we could. Limited eyesight or not.
I looked around the Land of Dreams as we followed Persephone further in, wary of any possible attack. That's what was truly scary, not knowing if a threat was real. At least in my dreams, I knew everything was pure imagination and I could alter it. There, in the Greek Underworld, I had no power over the illusions and no idea if they were even illusions to begin with.
Where were Trevor and the others? Had they made it home or were they still in that cave with Morpheus? Had they passed this way to get to me? Did they fight the harpies? Maybe that's why the bird ladies had been scouting, they'd already been alerted to invaders.
“There's Hypnos' cave,” Persephone pointed to a mountain range off to the left and we headed over to it. As we walked, the stars lifted from their fallen positions and replaced themselves in the sky. It was beautiful and difficult to ignore. Twinkling lights slowly spiraling upward in a graceful dance. I wanted to stop and take it all in but we kept going until we reached the mountain.
At the base of the mountain was a large opening. A framework of gold curlicues created an arch within the entrance, shining bright against the dark stone. Beneath this arch was a field of poppies which stretched down a slight hill toward us. Flowing out of the cave, down the center of this field, was the river Lethe. It rushed down the mountain silently, the glow from the stones lining its bottom casting enough light to fully illuminate its surroundings.
We walked through the field of bright red flowers, some a darker wine color, heads hanging heavy on their stems. They seemed to sway, sleepy blossoms whose heady fragrance filled my head with confusion. I stumbled to my knees and found Griffin already there, lying on his back with eyes closed and lips softly smiling. He was so beautiful there, golden hair strewn among the poppies, face sweet in sleep, I couldn't resist laying a kiss on his lips before I curled up beside him.
I sank down over him, languid and peaceful until our lips met, then a current jolted through me and his eyes shot open. Pupils contracted within the peacock flash of his irises and he sat upright, bringing me with him. I sucked in a breath, the cloying scent of poppies sticking to my tongue like honey as I searched for Persephone.
She'd made it further up the hill than us but she was swaying on her feet. I jumped up and ran to her, catching her arm. She smiled sleepily at me, halfway to dreamland. I shook her, shouted at her, slapped her across the face. She blinked slowly and focused just barely on me, a brief moment of sanity.
“Hades,” she whispered. “He's just there,” her hand barely lifted, indicating a spot up ahead.
I looked over and saw Hades lying in the flowers just within the cave.
“Griffin!” I shouted. “Grab Hades, I'm taking Sephy out of here.”
“I'm on it!” Griffin ran past me as I lifted Persephone in my arms. I saw him sling Hades over his shoulders in a fireman's carry and follow me out of the poppies.
We got them out quickly and laid them in the safer grass. Sephy was barely holding on to consciousness, her big green eyes rolling. I shook her and laid her over Hades' sleeping form. Angling her face over her husband's, I pressed their lips together.
“Kiss him, Sephy!” I yelled. “True love's kiss!”
Sephy moaned and then her mouth moved on Hades'. A spark flashed between them and Sephy jerked up. Hades' eyes shot open, the fires burning bright behind the glass windows of his brown irises. He looked at his wife and then to Griffin and me. Then he sat up slowly, looking over his shoulder at the poppy fields.
“Hypnos,” he growl
ed. “He wouldn't come out and face me. I tried to go in but those damn poppies.” He looked back at us angrily and got to his feet. “Well you saw what happened. How did you wake me up?”
“True love's kiss, Sleeping Beauty,” I chuckled. “Though the poppy field makes it feel more like The Wizard of Oz. Poppies... poppies,” I said in my best wicked witch voice. “Poppies will put them to sleep.”
“Where do you think Frank got his inspiration from?” Hades lifted a brow at me.
“Huh,” I grinned and glanced at Griffin, then did a double take. He was staring at me again, this time with consideration. “What is it?”
“True love's kiss,” he whispered.
“I brought you back from the grave, didn't I? Of course it's true love.” I teased but his expression remained serious. “It's okay, Griffin. This doesn't have to change anything. You already knew I love you.”
“I'm going to kick that guy's ass,” Hades growled and I turned to find him staring at Hypnos' cave. “Those poppies shouldn't have affected me.”
“He uses them to make Net,” I went to stand beside Hades and stare at the dangerous flowers.
“He what?” Hades turned his burning eyes on me.
“Him and Pasithea,” I nodded and faced him squarely. Fire didn't bother me, in fact, I thought his eyes were quite pretty. “I saw it in Morpheus' memories.”
“Morpheus?” Hades searched my face. “He was the one in your dreams?”
“You got it in one, Princess Aurora,” I grinned.
“You're never going to let me live that down, are you?” He sighed.
“Nope,” I smiled brighter but I couldn't distract him from his anger.
“Net,” he growled. “And right under my nose. They're going to pay for this.”
Hades lifted a hand toward the field of poppies and flicked his fingers out in an brisk gesture. The poppies blackened and crumbled to ash. Then Hades straightened his suit, brushed off his trousers, and walked over the crumbling poppy field, straight into the cave.