Heir to the Underworld

by Walker, E. D.

  Polydegmon broke away from Freddy and laughed. "A dainty morsel who wanted to feel like a bride herself tonight." He gave a rough laugh and tucked Freddy against his side, ready to run with her if he had to. Ready to butcher anyone who dared touch her.

  The men laughed and made a few lewd remarks.

  "Let us know if she feels like trying out a few more grooms before the night's out."

  "Ah, no lads. Best of luck, but this one's mine for the night." He waved at them in acknowledgement and walked down the hallway out of the house.

  The group crowed and laughed but let them go.

  She'd started trembling again, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze. Not that anything he could do now would ease her pain. Late. Too late.

  Images came unbidden to him of what Clymenus had done to her. What she had endured because Polydegmon had let this atrocious marriage occur. She will hate me now.

  He wanted to slink back to his chambers and drink and drink until he'd drowned all his thoughts. Unfortunately, if he truly meant to get her out of the Underworld, the night was just beginning. He kept his arm about her for support and staggered out of the house.

  There would be time enough later for him to reproach himself. Time enough to deal with Clymenus, too. Thoroughly.

  He glanced back and stopped in his tracks.

  The Morrígan watched them from the villa's front step. She must have been hiding in the entranceway. She tipped her head and gave him a coquette's grin.

  He half started toward the villa, but she shook her head.

  Good luck, she mouthed and blew him a kiss, waving him on with his bundled burden.

  He didn't like the gloating, satisfied smile on her face. But it would cause a stir if he went back and tried to silence her. Hating it, but seeing no alternative, he turned his face away. He hoped he'd done right. Unexpected gladness flooded him that Freddy remained wrapped in her own world, and had not noticed the brief, unsettling encounter.

  Once the villa was far enough away, he led Freddy into a small shadowed alcove of the garden. "I have to retrieve something if we're to make a try for it. Can you wait here for me?"

  Her hands clung to his. "How long?"

  "I cannot say. Not very long, I hope."

  She seemed to wrestle with herself, thoughts chasing each other through her head.

  Bravery won out, as he knew it must. His fierce young Amazon squeezed his hand once, then let it go and curled back into the shadows. "I'll be fine. Go."

  Taking her at her word, he slunk away toward the palace.

  To commit the greatest piece of defiance he had yet attempted.

  ~~~

  The Underworld's sun set before Deg returned. He was gone for what seemed like months but was really, Freddy scolded her drama queen head, only minutes. When he finally returned, he carried a ball-shaped bundle wrapped in cloth under his arm. As he reached her, he uncovered his bundle.

  Her breath stopped for a second.

  He held out his father's helmet. "It is a precaution."

  She stared at him in confusion.

  "It will make you invisible." Deg pushed the coverings off her head. "My father used it in the war with the Titans. He leaves it in the throne room when it is not needed. No one has tried to take it in five centuries. We have grown careless. Lazy." He set the helmet on her head.

  A fluttering surge spread through her veins. Light-headed, she almost fainted, and she clung to Deg's forearms to steady herself.

  Deg led Freddy out of the row of hedges to a larger path. The helmet seemed to alter her vision, painting everything in shades of black, gray and harsh, stark white. The only pale hints of color came from Deg's eyes, which glowed like headlights.

  Balios waited farther down, chomping at the grass. The horse lifted his head as Deg approached and walked forward, the clop of his hooves a muted crunch through the grass. Deg patted his head and whispered an endearment in Greek. He mounted the stallion and pulled Freddy up in front of him.

  Soon enough Balios took off, trotting through the aching serenity of what Deg called the Elysium Fields.

  Deg fidgeted behind her, shifting in the saddle, tugging at his cloak in irritation. He scanned the surrounding area. Anger burned in him, banked but still fierce enough she sensed it. He hadn't spoken more than a few words to her since he'd come into the bedroom and seen…

  Oh. Her heart hurt as she suddenly understood why he was angry. "You weren't too late, Deg." She chewed her lip and touched his hand. "Clymenus didn't get a chance to do anything. He didn't…hurt me."

  Balios stopped as his reins tightened. Freddy hesitated, then turned. Before, Deg had been stretched taut, tight and furious. Now he had uncoiled utterly, even dropping his reins. He sagged in relief, almost boneless, and leaned toward her. She reached for him, pillowing her head on his shoulder as he crushed her in a hug. "I believed I had been too late," he rasped out. "That--that…" He gulped and trailed off.

  She shook her head violently, willing him to understand, to know he had been in time for her. "No, no. I'm fine. It didn't happen." Her own eyes teared up, her voice cracked with remembered fear. "It didn't happen."

  He tightened his arms, rocking her back and forth. He tipped his head back to the sky. "Praise be. Thank you." He murmured something in Latin or Greek, a low, fervent whisper.

  Freddy sniffed and pulled herself back together. Now was not the time for crying, or consolation. Save it for later. With a gulp, she poked him. "Hey, let's get this train going again.

  He spurred Balios forward then cleared his throat and said, in a light voice, "I am sorry you did not get to see more of this place. It will not seem so to you, but the Underworld is not a dank, dark pit. Not all of it. There is much beauty here, and peace to be found by those who deserve it. I wish there were time to show you more."

  "Maybe you can someday."

  After a long moment passed without Deg saying anything, his silence scared Freddy too much for her to press the point or look back at him. Instead, she leaned against his chest, tilting her head to the stars. Deg edged toward her and, whether by accident or design--probably accident since she was still invisible--his lips brushed her cheekbone. The tingling memory of past kisses stirred in her mouth. The urge to kiss him, to taste his lips again, became a physical need. Maybe that could blot the memory of Clymenus on top of her, touching her--

  Deg turned his face up to be kissed by the starlight instead. "We have our own stars here, you notice. Our own sun, too. But no moon."

  Freddy fought her disappointment, trying to ignore the embarrassment flaming in her gut. Right. Just because he'd played the knight in shining armor didn't mean she got to be his lady-love. Leaning forward so the very minimum amount of her touched him, Freddy looked skyward. "Why no moon?"

  A brief silence fell, and then, "My father cannot afford the electric bill."

  Freddy snorted then lapsed into a companionable silence with Deg as she looked around at the Elysian Fields. Rolling green hills and wildflowers everywhere. There was no reason she could pinpoint why these fields should be so much more beautiful to her than any earthly place. They just were. To see such perfection made her heart ache, but she drank it all in nevertheless, lapped up its wonders and stuffed her eyes full. The beauty of the place was balm to her nerves, her heart, her soul.

  Covering a yawn with one hand, she closed her eyes.

  Deg grunted, nudging her to sit forward.

  She flushed. "Sorry. I didn't--I mean--"

  "Frederica, the helmet was digging into my chest."

  "Oh. Sorry." She sat ramrod straight on Balios' back and changed the subject, "Do you have a plan for how to get me out of here? Or are we winging it?"

  "There is a plan."

  "Um…I don't know the Underworld too well, but…" She looked all around her and back the way they had come. "…from what I can tell…aren't we going the wrong way?"

  "You're right. We are heading deeper into my father's lands. It is very dangerous, but t
here is something we must do in the heart of the Underworld before you can leave it forever."

  "'Kay…" Her only choice was to trust him anyway.

  Approaching a tall hill, lush with greenery and blooming flowers, Deg reined Balios in then hopped off. "Off with the helmet so I can help you down."

  She could probably dismount on her own. She yanked the helmet off anyway, her curls tumbling down her shoulders. Deg's eyes warmed in appreciation, and his hands lingered a moment too long on her waist after he lifted her from his horse's back. But he quickly released her and walked to the rise of the hill, disappearing over the other side. Freddy trudged after him, aching with disappointment over Deg's aloofness.

  She thought she had reached her threshold for beautiful scenery, but as she crested the hill, she reconsidered that certainty.

  An inlet from one of the many rivers of the Underworld spread out below her. Black cliffs fell and kissed powdery white sand. The waters of the river were a deep evergreen, mirroring the stars in their unending depths. The beach smelled heavenly, of blooming plants and brisk air on the water, of freshness and growth and the promise of rebirth.

  She trailed after Deg in a skipping stumble down the hill. When she reached the beach, the sand slipped under her sandals.

  He stood at the river's edge and kicked his sandals off then stepped into the placid waters of the river where they lapped against the shore. His head drooped, and it surprised her anyone could look so bleak in the middle of such splendor. She toed her shoes off, leaving them on the beach, and tossed her skirts over one arm to wade out next to him. The water was warm and tingled pleasantly against her skin, soothing her body and erasing her memories of Clymenus' grasping hands.

  "This is the river Lethe." Deg fell into distracted silence, his brow furrowed.

  She looked out across the water. "Thank you for bringing me here. It'll be nice to have a memory of something good to take back with me Above."

  He smiled, but it seemed forced, bitter somehow. "They did not tell you of the River Lethe in your mythology class?"

  "It was an English class. We did one unit on Greek mythology. The teacher hit the big gods and the major myths and, um, I didn't pay much attention. Didn't know then what I know now." She half-chuckled. Man, that class would be a big help now.

  He tried to smile back at her, but it came out a grimace. His eyes seemed to resist meeting hers. "You know it would be better for you to take nothing from the Underworld. No memories of Clymenus. Or Hades. Your father. Or me. Just forget it all." He shook his head, sighed, and stooped to the water. He collected a little pool in his cupped hands and held them out to her. "Will you drink, Freddy? One drink from the waters of the Lethe will be enough to speed you on your way home."

  Something in his face and the tautness of his muscles made her suspicious. "Tell me what will happen if I do."

  "Nothing you will notice, I promise you."

  "Uh-huh." She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms, so not believing him. "Then promise me if I drink this water nothing will happen I won't like."

  "You do not trust me?"

  She smiled sweetly. "Not much."

  He stiffened and let his hands drop. The water poured with a muted splash into the river. He hung his head and turned away.

  Alarmed, Freddy stumbled toward shore. "What does it do, Deg?"

  "I want to help you forget."

  She advanced in a frenzy, grabbed the front of his tunic and shook him. "What do you mean?"

  "The Waters of Lethe. Drink and you will forget all you have learned in the Underworld. I have power enough to make you forget all about me, the Hunt…everything."

  "Forget?"

  "Yes."

  Is he nuts? Anger jagged through Freddy, sharp and bright as a lightning flash. But Freddy held her tongue and her temper, even as she shoved him away from her. "Why would I want to do that?"

  "I thought it might be easier."

  "Easier?" She was so pissed she shoved him again. He half fell in the water. She stood over him and kept yelling. "Easier how? For who? Easier to lose a whole chunk of my life? Easier to leave myself wide open and defenseless if Clymenus finds me--or worse, Morrígan? Easier to forget who I am, what I am? I must be pretty dumb because I seem to be missing how that would be easier." Freddy splashed away from him, heading back up the hill. Ignorant, arrogant, insensitive son of a--

  "Come back. Frederica, stop. You will get lost without me."

  She stopped, fuming, and pivoted on one heel to glare at him. He might be right about getting lost, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Or him. She stomped back into the water and, when she'd moved close enough, gave him another hard push. "I can't believe you were going to trick me."

  Deg didn't fall again, but when he stumbled he soaked a good portion of his leg and the hem of his tunic. He scowled. "If you would only listen to me. You could go on with the rest of your life unburdened by remembrances of this." He advanced one step toward her, looming with menace. "If I desired it, I could make you drink."

  She recoiled, drawing away from him in horrified fear. "You wouldn't."

  Deg frowned at her at first, but he caved and turned away. "No. By Zeus, love, I couldn't."

  Freddy thought gods couldn't get tired, but Deg's face looked haggard and drawn, nonetheless. The truth sunk in then. He was doing all this for her. To help her. To save her. Even this supremely idiotic idea had had her best interests at heart. Sort of.

  She brushed her fingertips over his cheek. Deg captured her hand and held her fingers to his lips. He pulled her to him in a tight embrace, and Freddy didn't mind the hem of her dress getting wet or that she'd probably freeze. Her heart fluttered in her chest, flooding her body with a sense of well-being, happiness. Which was just stupid with the mess she was in the middle of, but Deg's presence was enough to banish all sorts of ugly from her heart.

  He leaned toward her like he would kiss her, but then shook his head and stepped away. "Come, Freddy. We still have to get you away from here."

  Her lips tingled for the kiss that was never coming, and her arms seemed empty now Deg had moved away from her. He gestured for her to go before him out of the river. She picked her sandals off the sand to carry, waiting for her feet to dry before she put the shoes back on.

  A loud splash made her glance back at the water. Deg had slipped and sprawled now on all fours in the shallows of the river. "You okay?"

  He nodded and stood, one hand clenched in a fist as he pulled himself to his feet. Freddy headed up the hill without looking back again.

  ~~~

  Freddy trudged to Polydegmon's horse, her strides long despite the damp, clinging skirts of her wedding dress. He waited until she had moved out of sight before he tucked a small vial of the river water into the folds of his cloak. That safely accomplished, he hiked back to Balios to join her.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Balios trotted back through the Elysian Fields, but Freddy was too tired to admire the play of starlight and shadow over the land. She drowsed against Deg's chest and he, rather stoically, refrained from complaining about the invisibility helmet poking his chest.

  The sound of Balios' hooves echoing made her open her eyes. The horse had passed out of the open fields and into a massive cavern. She looked ahead to a riverbank and sighed in relief. "Are we almost through?"

  He nodded, but his face remained grave. "We must still pass Cerberus." He said the name weird, not 'Sur-bur-rus' like Freddy had learned, but more like 'Ker-bear-os'.

  Deg reined Balios in, sighed, and pointed.

  A growl, loud and deep, sounded ahead. The sound rumbled through the cavern and rattled in Freddy's ribcage. She swallowed and looked ahead.

  They faced a large dog, massive and muscular as a water buffalo overdosed on steroids. The beast had three heads--all of them snarling in toothy fury. The dog's black fur seemed so dark it was as if a hole had opened in a dog-like sort of shape to suck all the color in, creating a great expa
nse of nothing. The reek of blood and animal filth mixed with an odor of mildew off the river to choke Freddy. A low hiss drew her attention to the beast's hindquarters. Where a tail should be, a writhing green snake wagged back and forth in a hideous mockery of canine delight, its forked tongue tasting the air.

  "You mean that's Cerberus?" Somehow, the drawings in her English textbook had never done this particular monster justice. She gulped in fear. "Will he let you pass?"

  "He lets no one pass unchallenged save my father."

  "Why do we have to go this way? How do you normally get out?"

  He huffed his breath out and rubbed tiredly at his face. "The portals in the courtyard. But those only work for Olympians and psychopomps with their charges. I am not a psychopomp, and you are not an Olympian. This is the only way out for us now."

  The three heads barked in time with each other. Cerberus surged forward. Freddy flinched away, ready to run, before she noticed a strong chain, black and crusted with age, holding him in place. The chain links strained and the dog's muscles bulged beneath its bristly back fur, but he could not reach Freddy or Deg. Thank God.

  Cerberus barked harder, louder, and Freddy slapped her hands over her ears as they throbbed with the echoes of sound.

  Balios shied and bucked. Freddy had to risk deafness to hold on to Deg as he tried to bring his horse under control.

  "It's no use." Deg turned Balios back the way they had just come.

  "What? You're taking me back to Clymenus?" Her voice rose, screeching high right along with her horror.

  "No. I just want to lead Balios to somewhere he can calm down so we can dismount. We shall have to walk. The only way out is past Cerberus."

  Balios calmed once Cerberus' menacing growls no longer echoed around him. Deg reined the horse in and jumped off. He lifted Freddy down then turned back and stroked Balios' noble nose, murmuring encouragement in Greek. Balios nodded a few times and nickered into his face before trotting briskly toward the Elysian Fields.

  Deg sighed and watched the horse go, regret etched into his face. Freddy wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he shook the emotion off before she could. He caught her hand, leading her with an unfaltering stride toward the Hound of Hell.