Heir to the Underworld

by Walker, E. D.

  Hermes smiled reassurance. "Welcome to your new home." He unwrapped her from his cloak.

  She blinked and gazed around her, gasping as she looked up…and up…and up…and…

  "Wow."

  Chapter Fifteen

  Freddy stood with Hermes in the courtyard of a massive palace, ornate and adorned artwork. The palace seemed too big to even conceive of, a colossal, awe-inspiring construction that stole her breath and stung her eyes with its grace, its sheer beauty.

  And the amount of marble it must have taken to construct the place went a fair way toward frying Freddy's brain.

  Many archways led out of the vast courtyard had, each one opening onto different locales. One opened onto a peaceful and serene garden, another onto a choking, fiery pit, another onto a dense gray fog, and on and on until she lost count. More of that godly magic.

  The palace rested on an immense marble platform with broad stone steps leading up. On either side of the staircase perched two groups of statues, each individual figure life-sized and intricately detailed. On one side were arrayed twelve beautiful humans dressed in elaborate robes with various props or animals--a lightning bolt, a triton, a peacock, hay, torches, tree branches. On the other side of the staircase stood several deformed and hideous monsters, snarling and spitting in rage while the humans on the other side gazed impassively back.

  "Incredible," she gasped, awed.

  "This is nothing. Wait until you see Mt. Olympus." Hermes guided her by the elbow up the stairs to the entrance. She gave the monstrous statues a wide berth. They were so detailed--too detailed really, grim and ghastly, and just looking at them gave her creeped out goosebumps.

  "It's perfectly safe." Hermes smiled. "They've been imprisoned in Tartarus for ages beyond counting. Over there." He pointed somewhere to the left of the palace, which was hardly comforting. "Ask Clymenus to show you sometime."

  She looked at the marble monsters, at their many heads, their snake tails, their menacing teeth and over-abundant muscles. These things are for real? She surged forward, wanting nothing more than to be inside.

  But to climb that imposing staircase was no mean feat. She and Hermes were winded by the end. Holding a stitch in his side, he drew deep gulps of air. "Never…have to…come this far…don't…visit much."

  She nodded, a cramp stung just under her ribcage, and her breath came in short, breathy pants as she fought for enough air.

  "You've arrived."

  Freddy jumped at the voice--her heart warming in a brief, guilty rush--and slowly turned.

  Deg.

  Her soon to be brother-in-law.

  Unless a miracle happens.

  It weirded her out to see him wearing one of his tunics in a place where he wasn't a walking anachronism. Striped with two shades of dark blues, his tunic fell to mid-calf and gathered in around his waist. A large cloak of solid dark blue lay draped across his chest to half hide his right arm.

  "Welcome to my father's kingdom." His voice dripped with chill formality, as he avoided her gaze. He was treating her like someone he'd never met, never backed into a tree trunk and necked with to near oblivion.

  The skin on her arms goose-pimpled; she darted a look back at Hermes.

  The psychopomp rocked on his heels, whistling. "Now I've gotten the blushing bride here safe, I'll return to my other duties."

  "Beg pardon, Hermes. Father asked to see you."

  Hermes swallowed, and his voice cracked, "Glad to. Of course."

  Deg escorted her and Hermes inside, chatting with Hermes in Greek all the while. Both gods ignored Freddy, which was fine, because the sight of all the cold stone walls, the arches and antiques decorating her new home was making her ill with dread. This could never be my home…but I haven't the slightest idea how to get out either.

  Freddy passed through an elaborate arch behind Deg. He stopped and beckoned Freddy forward with one hand held out palm up. She reached forward. Her fingers touched his.

  The electric contact shot treacherous little thrills all through her. But his hand dropped as soon as she came forward, and he twisted around to face away from her. "Father, here is my brother's bride."

  She looked up, startled, and found her gaze locked with the Lord of the Underworld. Hades sat at the end of the great hall on a throne carved out of a chunk of ebony. Pale gray robes fell in a long cascade around his bare feet. His hair and beard were curled, and on his head sat a crown of impressive black spikes. An old-fashioned helmet lay at his side and he rested his hand atop it. Hades surveyed Freddy with bland gray eyes. "Welcome, daughter."

  She hesitated then dipped in a wobbly curtsy, hoping she didn't look too stupid even as some corner of her mind told her she probably did.

  "I trust you are well? Your father?"

  You did just see him yesterday. She bit her tongue to keep from saying the thought aloud. Freddy nodded instead, swallowing her queasy stomach down.

  Hades inclined his head. "That is good. Your rooms have been prepared. I hope you and my son will have a prosperous union. The ladies will soon see you about the wedding preparations." The godly lord held his hand high in a salute.

  Freddy supposed that was her dismissal. She swallowed and started to turn, but Deg hissed in warning. She darted a nervous glance his way. He bowed and walked backward out of the hall, indicating through hand gestures for her to follow suit.

  She mimicked him, and slowly bowed her way out.

  Hades nodded to Hermes as he started to leave, too. "My nephew, come sit by my side awhile. Tell me how your father does."

  Hermes winked at Freddy as he passed. Then she and Deg were in the hallway. Alone. Her breath caught in her chest as she waited to see what he would say to her.

  Deg looked around, up, down, sideways--anywhere but at her. His body tensed, his fingers twitched. "I shall find a servant to escort you to your bedroom. You will want to freshen up for dinner."

  That's it? She huffed in pained disappointment, which quickly warped to anger. "Will I? I'm glad you told me." She glared at him.

  He turned back to her, his brows knit, his eyes downcast. "Frederica, I…"

  "What, Deg? What could you possibly say to me?" She crossed her arms, really pissed off now. "I'm excited to hear you explain why you used me, dumped me, and abandoned me to a pack of cutthroats."

  He shook his head and flashed an exasperated look her way before glancing around. "This is not the place to talk. I will show you your room." He caught her by the elbow.

  She jerked her arm away, her whole body flaming with anger, her nerve-ends practically crackling. "Don't touch me."

  He flexed his jaw and narrowed his eyes. He made no reply, except a curt nod as he led her through the palace. She stalked behind him to her room in fuming silence. Deg opened the door for her with cool courtesy then followed her inside.

  Emotions churned within her as she walked into her new bedroom. Anger. Grief. Fear. And a stupid kind of happiness at seeing Deg again. Her stomach twisted, and she trembled from the flood coursing through her. This is all Deg's fault.

  Deg swung the bedroom door shut. "Freddy--"

  That was all she let him get out before she went for him, swinging and punching, her eyes blurring with tears. "You asshole. You lousy, lying asshole." She cursed and kicked, pummeling his chest with her fists, slapping his face, waiting for the savage satisfaction to kick in, but as she continued to beat and at him, the sick ache inside her only worsened.

  His features hardened. Fury crept into his eyes. He caught her fists, and held her away from him.

  Her cheeks were wet, she gasped for breath but she didn't, couldn't stop yelling. "Did you even like me? Was I anything to you but a way to get your sister back? Did you laugh when I invited you to my birthday party?"

  He released her wrists and stepped back. "I have done you wrong. I beg for your pardon." He ran his hand over his face, and the motion drew Freddy's attention to how drawn his face was, how tired his eyes were. He scrubbed at his temples and
turned back to her. "Freddy, I am sorry. I am so sorry. I did not mean for any of this to happen. I did not want…" He sucked in a breath and began again. "I did know who you were, what you were…the first time I saw you. At first, I wanted to use you as a pawn somehow to force Cernunnos' hand."

  Freddy snorted in contempt and used her sleeve to wipe the tear tracks off her face.

  He half-stepped toward her and stretched his fingers out, almost reaching for her, but not quite daring. "But then I realized you did not know. That you were innocent of complicity. Innocent in all things, and my attentions had drawn the Morrígan's notice. It is my fault, everything. Your kidnapping, this…disgusting betrothal." He stalked toward the other end of the room. "I wish I had let the hellhounds kill me in the forest before I pulled you into this mess."

  Freddy's limbs ached, her whole body suddenly clumsy with fatigue. She cast around and slumped over to a short stool. "There were a few other people involved in this mess besides you. Or me." She sank her face into her hands and whispered, "Deg, what would happen if I ran away?"

  He crossed the room in a rush, but again hesitated just shy of touching her. His whole being vibrated like a bowstring drawn taut but not yet released. But his voice sounded flat, matter-of-fact. "I would not recommend escape. You have no knowledge of the Underworld and would quickly lose your way. There are guards and obstacles enough to tangle even the wiliest fugitive."

  "Like what?"

  "The swamps of the Styx. The giant, Hecatonchires. My father's three-headed hound..."

  Freddy swallowed, her nerves fluttering at the dull, hollow look in his eyes. "What'll they do to me?"

  "Bar your way at the least, harm you grievously at the worst. When you are caught, the penalty will also be swift and fierce on you. And anyone who helped you."

  Nervously she wet her lips, still holding hard to her hope. "But if--if I could get past all that? If I could escape somehow. Then what?"

  He jerked her chin up so she had to look at him, and her skin tingled where he touched her. "You know the answer. Cernunnos will take your parents. He will hurt them. Kill them. All supernatural protection will be denied you. Even mine. You will be outcast. Shunned. Untouchable."

  Delighted warmth spread from where his fingertips touched her skin, and she hated herself almost as much as him for that. She flicked her gaze downward, toward where he touched her. "Being untouchable doesn't sound so bad." Freddy, you liar.

  Deg flinched and moved his hand away. He rubbed his fingers against his palm, not looking at her. "The Morrígan will find you. Torture you beyond your worst imaginings. Then, after your body is broken and your sanity is in shreds, then the Phantom Queen might end your misery." He sank to one knee and ghosted his hand over her arm, leaving a trail of goose pimples. "We, all of us ancient gods, teeter on a precipice. A war would tip us into the abyss. We might never rise again. If you leave, the truce between the Greeks and the Celts will be voided. Many will die. Mortals, monsters, and gods. It would be the end of both pantheons. It could end the world."

  She frowned and cocked her head to one side in confusion. "You're telling me I'm better off wed than dead?"

  "Better off wed than chopped into small pieces and fed to a three-headed dog the size of a horse, yes." He smiled ruefully. "Better wed than starting a war that could kill the better part of my people and yours."

  "So, if I try to wriggle free the whole house of gods goes down." She shook her head, dread hollowing out her stomach. "No pressure, Fred."

  He shook his head, started to speak, then seemed to realize there was nothing he could say to her. No comfort left to offer. His gaze, brimming with pain, held hers.

  She leaned toward his nearness. He looked so sad, his face was achingly earnest, shadowed, it made her already heavy heart feel like a ten-ton weight in her chest.

  He frowned and dropped his voice. "Freddy, let us try to unravel this mess. Let me take you to my father. We can explain things to him. Everything."

  Closing her eyes, she coiled into her pain. If only it were that easy. She pushed off the stool and farther away from him, suddenly frustrated by Deg's heartfelt stubbornness. "Hades won't care. He disowned his daughter because he didn't like her boyfriend. What Cernunnos did to me won't matter. Hades isn't going to listen."

  "We could try." Deg reached for her, pulling her to him, and a little zing of excitement thrilled through her. "Let me help you."

  His breath stirred on her face, his fingers were so warm against her skin. The air between them seemed charged with electricity. She looked into his eyes, half-lidded and warm with something that might have been affection. He feels this, too.

  The hot memory of his lips against hers stirred her heart, sending it fluttering. The tantalizing scent of him would probably linger in her clothes and hair, the way it had before, when she had gone around for days afterward craving his kisses like candy.

  She fisted her hands in the fabric of his tunic but looked away. "It won't work. Your dad made his choice already. He won't listen. And I already gave my word to marry Clymenus." She hung her head low and choked on the lump in her throat.

  As she stepped back from Deg, the light glinted off her engagement ring. She cupped her other hand around the band she had only been wearing a few hours. "Polydegmon, don't make this harder for me. Let's stop pretending there are still choices when there are none. Just…stop."

  Deg studied her for another second, then let out a sigh that was more than half groan. He dropped her arm and stalked out, slamming the door.

  Freddy gazed without seeing at her room and tried not to think how nice it had been to hear his voice again, to be near him again. She tried not to think how much she had missed him after he'd left her before.

  Most of all, she tried not to think about how there could never be anything between them.

  Not now.

  Not ever.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Polydegmon stalked down the hallway, glaring into every alcove. Seeing Freddy here, polished and primped to within an inch of her life, looking sad and lost, made something constrict painfully inside him. And now, he had to watch her throw her life away, throw her future away because she refused to let him help her. Because I have already bungled everything.

  For, whatever else had happened, whoever else had compounded the problem, Freddy's misfortunes had begun when she'd met him and worsened from that moment onward.

  Hermes and Polydegmon's father idled outside the throne room chatting.

  Polydegmon joined them, pushing down his gall and pasting it over with pleasantries. "Hermes, I forgot to ask how my mother does."

  The godly herald gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I left her well enough. Although Europe is having the coldest summer in three hundred years. Your grandmother is going mad about Kore's situation."

  "That business is settled," Hades interrupted, his face dark.

  Hermes faltered back a step. "Of--of course. I just meant…"

  Hades turned toward his throne room. "You will dine with us, Hermes. Excuse me, but the Judges of the Dead requested an audience. Polydegmon will bear you company until dinner."

  "Yes, of course, Uncle." Hermes bowed and Polydegmon led his favorite cousin away from the throne room.

  Hermes darted one look back. "Piss and blood. Hades has always been a dour old dictator, but never so curt, so rude."

  Polydegmon grimaced at the memory of his father's recent infuriating behavior. "It's Kore. Nothing's been the same since Cernunnos kidnapped her. Mother's a wreck. Grandmother wants to freeze the whole of Europe into the next ice age in retribution. Clymenus is gloating, and Father doesn't say anything. To anyone."

  Hermes slapped him on the shoulder. "And you get to bear the brunt of everyone's displeasure."

  Polydegmon gave a dismissive shrug. "I could cope with all the family politics. I have done all my life. But Frederica…" He shook his head, plagued by sudden guilt. "She's an innocent young woman who shouldn't be caught in the ma
chinations of the gods. And wouldn't be, but for me. She could be at home in her own world now but for my mistakes."

  Hermes waved that away. "You're upset about Kore. You have to see this solution is all for the best--no messy wars, no real dishonor, and an alliance with an Olympian is nothing to sneer at. The girl is lucky even to be getting that arrogant peacock Clymenus. He is one of us, after all."

  Polydegmon growled in aggravation. Hermes mixed freely among mortals and even he didn't understand what Freddy had lost, what had been taken from her. "Freddy knows nothing of us. In the old days, yes, she would have been lucky to unite with us. It would have been an honor, an elevation from the muck and squalor of common humanity. But now? She knows nothing of the old gods. All she knows is her life back in the mortal realm. High school. Geometry homework, stage crew, fried zucchini, horror movies and homecoming dances. All she knows of the Olympians she's gleaned from books." Polydegmon sighed, rubbing at his temples as they throbbed with guilty tension.

  Hermes stared at him in concern. "I know it's hard to lose your sister in this way, but it will all come right in the end. May take a century or two, but it will." He pulled at Polydegmon's tunic with his fingers. "Eh, boy, take me to the Elysian Fields. I've not seen my first wife in centuries."

  ~~~

  When she thought she might burst from waiting and wondering, Freddy rose and paced her bedroom instead, curiously poking around at the things that had been left for her there. Hers, but not hers.

  Maybe someday this room will be as comfortable as my old one…

  She snorted at the thought, even as a profound ache bombarded the walls of her heart.

  The bedchamber wasn't overly large or fancy. The bare walls were painted a plain cream color. She had a bench along one wall and a short chair by the foot of her bed. A small closet with a silver pot in it set with diamonds and rubies around the rim claimed one corner. After a brief moment, Freddy recognized that this was her chamber pot. She grimaced at the old school bathroom and quickly shut the door.