Muse Unexpected

by V. C. Birlidis

  Georgia rushed towards the gate.

  “Somebody do something!” Georgia shouted. “Get that thing down before our guests see it.”

  Sophie focused on the gate and as if she were standing in front of it, the object became visible. She let out a small, high-pitched sound, but caught it before it became anything more. Hung on the top of the gate was the lifeless body of a male Hob, its tiny body crumbled and broken, dripping blood down the massive gate and onto the ground. Winnie appeared out of nowhere, as Bennett ran toward the gate carrying the large extension ladder.

  “Neville? Oh, dear sweet Jesus! Neville!” Winnie wailed as she rushed the gate and attempted to climb it. The old Hob’s hands became coated with Neville’s blood and Winnie screamed in horror. Georgia rushed towards her and wrapped her arms around her friend, as Winnie cried hysterically, trying to reach her cousin’s second cousin.

  “It’s too late, Winnie. It’s too late, my love. He’s gone.” Georgia said, trying to hide the sight from Winnie’s view. “There’s nothing we can do for him.”

  “No!” Winnie cried out, crumbling to the ground, taking Georgia with her.

  Bennett sobbed, wiping his tears away with his forearm, as he climbed down the ladder with Neville’s body in his arms. He held Neville close to him.

  “I’m so sorry.” He said, shaking, standing in front of Winnie. “I’m so sorry.”

  Winnie screamed as she took Neville’s body into her arms.

  “They branded him. Those miserable, filthy Olympians branded him a Nothos. Just like they did to my poor Aaron. Oh, God! Why? Oh sweet Jesus, please help us.”

  Sophie shook with sobs she managed to muffle in the folds of her dress.

  This isn’t a fairytale. It’s a nightmare. Please, daddy, I want to go home. I just want to go home.

  She dropped the dress. A surge of emotion raged through her. She tried to control it, but couldn’t. A horrible ripping sound filled her ears and assuming the sound was caused by Georgia’s spell giving way, Sophie ignored the intense pain in her head as whatever small hold Georgia’s spell had on her slipped away and disappeared. Without realizing what she was doing, Sophie threw an energy ball large enough to shatter her new desk into a million little pieces. She stood there, her breath coming in gasps, sobbing, trying to calm herself. She ignored the smoldering pieces of her desk and put her dress back on the dummy. She then began to pick up what remained of her desk, shoving them in the back of her closet where she hoped no one would find them.

  Chapter 34

  Hades knew Persephone was up to something, but he didn’t know what. As he unpacked yet another box of catalog crap, he chastised himself for being so ignorant about what was happening under his nose, in his own kingdom, and he wondered what the hell he was doing.

  I love her, so much. Am I doing the right thing with Saphie? I never know what she is thinking or if she’s truly happy. How long do I have before everything falls apart again like it has done so many times over the centuries?

  If he were to list his one and only weakness—and being the god of the Underworld made it difficult for him to admit he even had a weakness—he would list Persephone as his Achilles heel. He admitted to himself his love was blind. There were moments he loved her so much the very sight of her made his heart pump faster and his desire to have her a ravenous aching that he had to satisfy. Then there were the moments, usually when Persephone was throwing one of her tirades, he wished he could throw her into one of the rivers.

  He pulled out the directions on how to assemble the new CD rack, saw how complicated it was and threw the fifteen page document back in the box. He would get one of the shades to take care of this. He figured any shade that could put together this junk would earn a direct ticket into the afterlife.

  He walked out to the porch and stepped off it, making his way to his campfire. He found the flickering flames comforting, and in the Underworld comfort wasn’t easily found.

  Hades acknowledged his marriage wasn’t perfect and in part he believed the troubles in it might have been his fault. However, he would not take the full blame for his mess of a marriage.

  He glanced at the empty spaces on the opposite side of the campfire and snapped his fingers. Three shades appeared in front of him.

  “Okay,” Hades said to the three. “I’m so glad you could make the time to meet with me. Sorry for the short notice.”

  One of the shades put down its book. “Is this our book club night? I’m still a few chapters behind.”

  “No,” said the second shade. “It’s bridge night."

  “It’s not bridge night,” Hades said. “That’s tomorrow.”

  “Then it is book club. Shoot. Let’s keep our discussion focused on chapters two through four.”

  “It isn’t book club night, either,” Hades said, already losing his patience.

  “Oh, now I get it,” said the third shade. “It’s a ‘how do I deal with Persephone’ session.”

  “Oh, for the love of God. You got me out of the river for this?” said the second shade.

  “Look, I admit I may have built my marriage on a weak foundation, but there are moments when I think it could work. Unfortunately, right now isn’t one of them,” Hades said. “I don’t trust her. Can she be happy with a person who kind of forced her into marriage?”

  “Dear lord, this is going to be a painful session. Can we do book club instead?” the first shade said. “I’d like to reach the end of the Harry Potter series before I cross over.”

  “I could cross you over right now and you’d never know how it ended,” Hades growled.

  The first shade sulked a bit and put away the book. “You were saying you built your marriage on a weak foundation.”

  “Why you are asking marriage advice from me, I’ll never know,” the second shade said, violet eyes flashed and a phantom of a diamond necklace twinkled in the firelight. “I’ve been married so many times I’ve lost count. If it had a pulse, I considered it fair game.”

  “You think you had it bad?” said the first shade. “I was married several times and I think two of them were gay. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the gays, love them. They always bought my records, came to my concerts, and all the drag queens imitated me. Fabulous. It was so flattering, but gays in my marriage bed, not a good thing.”

  “Can we get back to my issue?” Hades said.

  “If I may, Haddie. May I call you Haddie?” said the third shade.

  “No, you may not call me Haddie.”

  “You’re asking me for marriage advice and I’m getting too personal?”

  Hades paused a moment and nodded.

  The third shade began, “Haddie, you kidnapped your goddess wife. You then added a stipulation that as long as she didn’t eat anything during her brief stay with you, you would let her go. You then tricked her into eating some orange seeds.”

  “They were pomegranate seeds,” Hades replied.

  “Doesn’t matter. You tricked her into eating some pomegranate seeds, which I have always thought to be too tart and a very messy fruit, but anyway, she eats the seeds and ends up having to spend half her life down here with you, which she was able to deal with, but since Olympus has been locked away, she’s stuck down here twenty-four seven, three hundred sixty-five days a year. Do I have this correct?”

  “It was her choice to eat the seeds,” Hades said, but after a few seconds, he gave in. “Yes, you have it correct.”

  “Well, I am sorry to say this, but you got what you wished for and if there was one thing my mother told me it was to be careful what you wish for because you may just get it.”

  “Tell me about it,” the second shade said. “I married the same man twice. What a boozer he was, but oh how I loved that man of mine. I don’t mind a little rough around the edges, if you know what I mean.” The shade winked and took a sip of its cocktail before throwing the phantom glass into the fire.

  Hades ignored the comment and concentrated his attention on the third
shade.

  “So what you’re saying is my marriage is doomed to fail?”

  “If you want to save your marriage, maybe you need to start with a new foundation, because the one you have is built on quicksand. But then, maybe you aren’t looking for an honest answer. Maybe you’re only looking for the answers you want to hear?”

  Hades thought about it for a few moments.

  “I’ll see everyone tomorrow for bridge,” he said, snapping his fingers and sending the three back into the river.

  “I thought so,” the third shade said, before it was gone.

  “Honey?” Persephone called from the house. “Were you talking with someone?”

  “You’re back,” he said. “Where’d you go?”

  “Nowhere, silly. I decided to walk along the river and skip stones. You know how I love to tease the dead. I see the CD rack came in. Let’s put it together.”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” Hades mumbled.

  “What?”

  “Coming,” he said and walked back into the house.

  Chapter 35

  Later that evening, Sophie made her way through the back hall leading to the green room. Overwhelmed by everything that had taken place in the last few hours, she was finding it hard to breathe. The green room’s walls were closing around her and she snuck out to clear her head. She was relieved to find the hallway quiet and not surprised to find it empty, considering how everyone was avoiding her. She was sure they didn’t know she knew about poor Neville and she tried her best to play the part of a naïve Muse. She jumped into a room off the hallway and hid behind the door when she saw Georgia coming down the hall with Bennett. When they stopped directly in front of her doorway, she held her breath and peeked through the door crack.

  Even though she felt miserable at the mere thought of poor Neville, her heart still raced when she got a peek of Bennett in his native Scotsman’s kilt and tuxedo dress coat. Bennett’s mask sat high on his cheekbones, making him look like a Scottish superhero.

  I wonder if he’s wearing anything under his kilt? Oh my God, what kind of horrible person am I to get hot and bothered so soon after Neville’s death? Poor Neville. I hate myself.

  “Georgia, you look lovely this evening.”

  Well, she does look lovely.

  “Thank you, Bennett. It’s a shame about the tunic,” Georgia said. “Remember, you are never to leave her side.”

  Sophie frowned and stuck her tongue out at Georgia.

  Bennett nodded and left.

  Qiaohui walked up to Georgia.

  “I love your dress, Georgia.”

  Am I never going to get out of this room?

  “Thank you, Qiaohui. You look beautiful, as always.”

  Qiaohui didn’t wear a mask, but had one painted on her face. She lifted her fan and opened it so she could talk to Georgia behind it.

  “The other Vasilikós suspect,” Qiaohui said.

  Suspect what? What are they talking about? Her damn fan must be made of lead. It’s muffling their voices. Sophie shifted closer to hear better.

  “And you said?” Georgia asked.

  “Nothing, as agreed. But, I don’t know how long we will be able to keep this secret. Her power becomes more and more evident.”

  “After tonight, it won’t matter.”

  “As you wish, Georgia,” Qiaohui replied. “You will always have the backing of the Vasilikós of Asia, as long as you stay true to our agreement.”

  “You have my word, Qiaohui. As the Vasilikós of Greece and Italy rise in power, so will the Vasilikós of Asia. With Sophie’s rise as ruler, and my guiding hand and advice, your Vasilikós will replace Europe as number two.”

  What is she up to? What does she mean by ruler? Nobody said anything about being a ruler.

  Qiaohui closed her fan and walked away. Georgia took a deep breath, checked her hair in the mirror on the wall and made her way towards the green room.

  She doesn’t care about poor little Neville. Mom was right. All Georgia love is power. Why do I allow myself to believe she has any sort of heart? Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. She’s going to catch me out of the green room. Think… She needs a distraction.

  Sophie glanced at the end of the hallway and concentrated on a chair flanking a door. She shot an energy spark from her hand, which bounced off the wall and collided with the chair. The sound of the chair smashing against the wall made Georgia stop and change direction. Sophie hoped it gave her enough time to make it back to the green room.

  Not bad. I guess I’m a natural at this Muse stuff.

  ***

  While Callie circled around her, adjusting the dress here and there and fluffing the skirt, Sophie stood in front of a floor length mirror looking at herself.

  Not bad. Can this really be me? Am I this person and is this now my life?

  Angela handed Sophie her mask and stood smoothing out her own dress. She leaned over and checked out her hair, which like Sophie’s hair, was pulled back into a French twist.

  Sophie playfully pushed her out of the way and Angela shoved back.

  “Girls,” I swear, if you two mess up your hair or make-up, I will kill you.”

  “Way to go, Mom. Debbie Downer.”

  Callie frowned. “I’m serious. Grab the velvet boxes and let’s get your jewelry on, Sophie.”

  “About that, Mom, let me make a suggestion.” Sophie took the choker out of the box. She walked behind Callie and placed it around her mother’s throat. Sophie closed the clasp and stood back to look at her mother.

  “I can’t,” Callie said, but Sophie had moved onto the bracelet, which she placed on Angela’s wrist. “I couldn’t have made it this far without you.”

  Angela hugged Sophie and said, “Thanks for the loaner.” Sophie put on the earrings and comb, checked the mirror again. She pulled out of her dressing table a single strand of pearls and asked Angela to help her put them on. They weren’t real, but her father had given them to her for her sixteenth birthday and the necklace was priceless to her. Once she had it secured around her neck, Sophie told everyone she was ready.

  Georgia walked in and saw her diamond collection dispersed among the women and shook her head.

  “It isn’t worth me arguing about it. It is time. Remember, you are representing this Vasilikós. Do not, I repeat, do not disappoint me.”

  “I’ll do my best, Georgia,” Sophie said.

  “You’ll have to do better than your best,” Georgia said. She glanced at the group of three women. “Very nice. Oh, Sophia, knowing you didn’t have the opportunity to practice in this dress, Bennett will be waiting for you at the top of the stairs instead of the bottom. Now, let’s get this over with so we can get our lives back to normalcy.”

  “Whatever normal is,” Callie mumbled to the girls.

  Georgia and Callie were about to leave when Sophie called her mother back. She grabbed her mother’s hand.

  “Mom?” She was desperate to tell her mother that her dad would be at the ball, but couldn’t get the words out.

  Maybe this moment with Dad should be mine and mine alone.

  Callie started first. “Listen honey, I know I’ve told you a million times how lovely you look, but I also wanted to say how proud I am.” Callie clasped Sophie’s hand in her own and kissed it.

  “Thanks Mom, but…” She didn’t know what to do. She was on the verge of jumping into her new life and on top of everything she was going to see her father, for however long an invitation to this ball gave her. Sophie had left two invitations at the restaurant she had seen Persephone at, hoping she would retrieve them. She addressed them to ‘Saphie’.

  “My only regret is that...,” Callie said, tearing up.

  “Mom, please, don’t.”

  “I wish your father were here. Angelo would have, well, he might have cried a little,” Callie said with a chuckle. “But, he would have been so proud, so very proud, sweetie. But, in his own way, he’ll always be with us.”

  “In his own way,” Soph
ie said, touching her pearls, and deciding this wasn’t the right time.

  “Okay, I have to run. Georgia is giving me the evil eye. Remember to lean on Bennett and don’t trip on your skirt.”

  “I won’t and Mom...”

  “Don’t say it or we’ll both start to cry. I know. Me too.”

  Angela came up from behind and patted Sophie’s shoulder with her gloved hand.

  “Ready, Soph?”

  “Ready, Ang.”

  “I’m thinking my nickname needs reworked.”

  Chapter 36

  Persephone arrived without pomp and circumstance, followed closely by her entourage. She nervously clutched her invitation and the magical sylph scarf. She had almost left the scarf at home, thinking she didn’t need it. She had dipped her mask into the River Styx, which gave it the power to make a person unrecognizable. However, once she had her mask secured to her head, she second-guessed herself and brought her scarf as a precaution. Looking at the extensive security Georgia had created, Persephone was relieved she had. The security was impressive, and had she been a Demigod or a lesser goddess, it would have proven impenetrable. However, she stopped for a moment before entering the first of five checkpoints and covered her head with the sylph wrap.

  The first security detail, which included several herculean-sized men, a few powerful witches and numerous Olympian-sensitive beasts almost made her turn away, but she reminded herself she was Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, Queen of the Underworld, and failure was not an option. A unicorn approached and she stood frozen as the beast sniffed her curiously. She pulled the scarf tighter around her head and watched the creature’s eyes glaze over. In its hypnotic trance, the beast bowed down to her, offering the top of its head for her to touch. She reached over and patted it wishing she had a knife to slit its throat, but her hunt didn’t involve this lowly creature, and she moved on to the next checkpoint. Once in the interior of the ballroom, she told herself tonight was a night that must begin with subtlety.