“What do you need me to do?” I asked, my tone barely above a whisper.
I could do this. I’d agree and then the first chance I got, I’d run.
“Follow me.” Salem stated, letting Fitz go and turning his back to me. Fitz coiled like he was going to strike at Salem’s retreating form, but I rubbed his head with two fingers and when he looked up at me, I shook my head. Salem, oblivious to Fitz’s ire, kept talking. “Before I can explain what I need you to do, I need to explain a few other things.”
He reached for the doorknob to his bathroom door, but as he opened it I realized that instead of tile flooring and a steam covered mirror, I was looking at a library.
It was filled, wall to wall with books. The shelves carved with intricate patterns stretched up towards tall ceilings and that was only the first floor. The center of the room opened up to reveal two more floors, more bookcases filling up those floors as well as lining the walls.
“How did you do that?” I asked, eyeing the doorway as I followed him through it. Yeah, he was an evil kidnapper dude, I understood that, but I would be stupid not to ask how he was doing his door tricks.
“Do what?”
“This was your bathroom.”
“This is a library.”
I narrowed my eyes at his back, “Now it is, but the door… before it led to your bathroom, unless you were wandering through the books with a towel on. Or do you have a shower in here someplace? The steam can’t be good for the books.”
“My doors take me where I need to go.”
A regular Chatty Cathy, this one. He might not want to talk to me, but I didn’t care what he wanted. I didn’t want him to kidnap me or threaten Fitz, so he could deal with a few questions.
“How?” I pressed, following him through the center of the library.
“Not important.”
“Why?”
“Because it isn’t relevant.”
His tone grew clipped with each question I asked. It might not have been smart to try and piss him off, but maybe if he found out how obnoxious I could be, he’d kick me out. Long shot, but I kept up with the questions anyway.
“Why bring me here then?”
“I needed to bring you somewhere I could keep an eye on you until you agreed to help.”
“How long were you planning on that taking?”
“Not as long as it has.”
Oh, come on. “Now you’re just being evasive on purpose.”
“Much like you being annoying on purpose.”
Touché. “I’m just curious.”
“Curiosity—”
“Killed the cat. I know.”
“I was going to say, is a terribly annoying quality in a woman.” He growled, stopping at a large table on the far side of the room before he turned and glared at me.
“Evasiveness is an annoying quality in a man. I’d put it up there with kidnapping and threatening a person’s loved ones.”
He raked a hand through his wet hair and his body stiffened.
“Tasha!” he barked, his voice carrying through the library.
Something above us hit the floor and it was immediately followed up with the sound of shoes on the floor. My eyes followed the sound until I saw a woman appear at the top of the stairs.
The woman that descended the spiral staircase was pretty. She looked a few years older than me, her light brown hair was braided down her left shoulder and strands had fallen out, framing her face. She wore a tight tank top with thick straps, but with her thin build it didn’t look sexy, just comfortable. Her pants were tight on her narrow hips but flared out like boho chic yoga pants she’s oddly paired with heeled sandals. She smoothed out her top, showing off so many rings there was almost as much metal on her fingers as there was exposed skin. Then, she smiled at me.
It was kind and warm, not something I was expecting considering the guy she worked with was a kidnapper and asshat.
“Hello, I’m Tasha.” She said, holding out her hand to me.
“Nyx.”
“It’s so nice to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to help us.”
I shot a look towards Salem, “Well it isn’t like I had much of a choice.”
“What do you mean?”
Holy souls, did she not know they’d kidnapped me?
Salem cleared his throat, looking a little uncomfortable as her curious gaze went from me to him and then back again. She was smart. It took her all of five seconds for understanding to dawn on her.
“You found her and you didn’t explain? You didn’t ask her to help? You what, took her off the street with no warning?”
“Close. The Joshua guy broke into my apartment and drugged me.” I piped up, and Salem glared at me. I didn’t care. I was sensing an ally. Maybe she’d tell them to let me go, or help me get out of here. Either way, I was totally team Tasha right now.
“We didn’t have time. We found out he’d been in my study this morning. My papers on her were missing.”
Tasha paled, but schooled her expression in a blink.
“She has to be willing, Salem. It won’t work unless she is.”
“I got her consent.”
“She doesn’t even know what she is supposed to do.” I said, and it was my turn to glare. “You threatened me for my consent and I don’t know where I am or if I can help.”
If it was possible, Tasha paled even more. Salem just looked frustrated with me.
“I was going to let Tasha explain. She understands far more about it than I do.”
I doubted it. I had a strong suspicion he just didn’t want to talk to me, which was fine since I would rather beat his face into the solid wood table we stood by then have a full-length discussion with the man.
Tasha let out a long sigh, “Fine. Charon went to get some tea and sandwiches with Jane. I’ll fill her in and then you better pray she’s willing to help us, sir.”
Tasha sent Salem a look that said she wasn’t happy, but she linked her arm into mine and began walking towards the far end of the table where piles of books sat. Some lay open, some over the tops of others and some were propped up by closed books.
“What does she know?”
“Our names.” Salem said, and even though I wasn’t facing him, I would bet my freedom he looked guilty.
Tasha spun back around looking like she wanted blood, but as soon as she opened her mouth he held up a hand and—with great difficulty—she snapped her mouth closed.
“I’m sorry Nyx, I thought you’d have more time to get to know all of us and decide to help but it seems we’re just jumping in. You’re a Fury, so I’m hoping this won’t take much convincing because I’m not very good at sugar coating.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“What do you know about Hades?”
“Hades? The blue, sassy antagonist in Hercules?”
Salem scoffed behind me, but I ignored him as Tasha nodded. “Yes. That was one version. Salem is the real version, this is the Underworld and we have a demon problem we need your help with.”
I was where and he was who?
Greek myths? I mean yeah, furies and oracles were considered myths too, but Hades? The Underworld? Was this a joke? Tasha seemed nice, but had I been kidnapped by a group of crazies?
Her apologetic tone and look she was giving me had doubt swallowing any hope I was feeling.
“I know,” Tasha said, reading my silence for the silent freak out it was. “Trust me, I didn’t believe it all when he brought me here, but—”
“Brought you here?
“I’m human but I was dying. Salem gave me a choice and I took it.”
I glanced back at Salem to see his reaction, but he wasn’t facing me. I thought back to what I knew about Greek Mythology. Hades was the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. He was painted as a villain, something I never understood since Zeus was a serial rapist and Poseidon couldn’t go a minute without a tantrum. That wasn’t to say Hades was a good person, but in my opinion, he’d always seemed like the most level headed
of the three. But none of that was real. They were stories, myths. Weren’t they?
“I know I sound like I’m one card short of a full deck, but it’s true. I wish there was a way to prove it without scaring you, but there isn’t.”
Without scaring me? What did that mean?
“The histories you’re thinking about don’t apply. The human myths were built on truth but they aren’t truth. Salem isn’t a god. He was born into the position and took over once his father died. Hades is a title, not a name.”
She sounded like she believed it, but that didn’t mean much to me since I’d just met her. If she was right, did that mean Zeus and Poseidon were real too? Athena, Hera, were they all real? There was no way. I was a Fury. Furies were part of those same myths, and yet, I’d never heard of any of the other elements to Furies, aside from the Oracles. If I had, this might be believable instead of leaving me skeptical.
My disbelief must have shown on my face because Tasha let out a long sigh, “Just a second, I have something that might help.”
She disappeared into the bookshelves and Salem turned on me. “You don’t believe us?” Salem asked, “Is it really so far-fetched considering what you are? What you do?”
“Um, yeah. Short of Percy Jackson strolling through the door and telling me you’re his uncle, there isn’t much you could tell me that would make me think you’re telling the truth.”
“I don’t know a Mr. Jackson, but I don’t have a nephew. I am an only child.”
“Hades isn’t an only child.”
“The original wasn’t. He had brothers and sisters, but my parents only had me.”
“Zeus and Poseidon?”
“I don’t know those names either.”
“In my mythology books they were Hades’ brothers. One ruled Mount Olympus, the other ruled the oceans.”
“More names that mean nothing.” He grumbled, pulling a book from the shelf and thumbing through it absently. I got the feeling Salem didn’t like being in the dark on things, even mythology.
“You’ve never heard of Mount Olympus?”
“I’ve read about the Mount, but not a Mount Olympus. If they are one in the same, I know nothing of it. We’re kept separate.”
“You just know about hell. Got it.”
That statement finally had him looking up at me, “You think this is hell?”
“Um, yeah. I assumed—”
“You’re wrong. This is the Underworld. Hell is tied to this realm, as is the Land of Mists and Duat. We all deal with souls and the dead, so we’re connected. Where each soul goes if they leave our realms, I do not know.”
Hell, I knew of. Land of Mists I think was a Viking thing and Duat I was pretty sure had to do with Egypt. These places, all mentioned in different myths were just the same thing under different names. Or so I’d thought, and I said as much.
“They’re not. The Land of Mists is a crossroads. The Underworld is for punishment before they move on and Hell is for the damned.”
The more he told me, the harder it was to think they were insane.
Harder, but not impossible.
“Okay, let’s say I can wrap my head around that. How do you have a demon problem and how do you think I can help?”
“You believe us?”
I snorted, “No, but I believe you believe it.”
His reaction to my words was strange. I thought I saw a little surprise before the frustration settled on his face.
“Then why ask questions?”
“Because the sooner I understand what it is you want me to do, the sooner I will know if I can actually help.”
Even if that help meant calling the nearest psych ward for them. Plus, the longer they believed I might help, the more time it gave me to plan an escape.
“The demon’s name is Abaddon. He’s stolen something from me and the only way we haven’t tried to get it back is by using a vessel in the form of a snake.”
“How does Fitz fit into this?”
“Tasha found an old text that said a snake is a weakness for demons. Your snake should be able to drain the magic he’s stolen from me. It should also make him vulnerable enough for me to send him back to Hell.”
“And what’s stopping him from coming back after you send him back?”
“I locked the gateway to prevent any more demons coming through.”
“You left it unlocked? Isn’t that begging for trouble?”
“All of us leave the gateways unlocked. Open lines of communication, even in the afterlife, are important. We haven’t ever had an issue like this.”
Tasha reappeared, holding several books, “These are the journals with all the histories of every Hades that has ruled. Their names, birthdays, how long they presided, all of it.” She said, laying them out in front of me.
“You mean their names aren’t all Hades, Lord of the Underworld?” I mocked, remembering the line from the cartoon Hercules I’d watched as a kid.
“Hades is a title, and it’s King, not Lord.” Salem said, his voice clipped.
My teasing had upset his highness. Oops.
“My apologies, me liege.” I chuckled, bowing my head towards him.
“I’m glad you think this is funny.” He snapped, losing the hold he’d had on his temper and pulling one of the journals from Tasha and tossing it in front of me on the table.
The smile I’d worn seconds ago twisted into something bitter. “I don’t think this is funny.” I said, scooting out my chair and standing up. I knew I needed to keep calm, but I couldn’t. “I think this is ridiculous. Who thinks it’s a good idea to kidnap someone so they can spew the impossible while at the same time asking for them to help?”
“It’s not impossible, Nyx.” Tasha said gently, opening one of the books. “You are more than welcome to go through all of these and see for yourself.”
“Because everything you read in a book is true. For all I know you could have written those yourself. You could have been following me and my roommates, seen what we do and concocted all of this to push me into revealing it.”
“I didn’t write these, Nyx.” Tasha said, her eyes pleading with me to understand, and part of me understood just how far fetched my words sounded, but my theory made more sense to me than believing all of this.
“How do I know?” I said, whirling on her and begging her to understand. “I want to go home. I’ve never seen a demon, let alone used Fitz to kill one. I am not going to put him at risk any more than my job already does.”
“Just read these.” She said, her voice soft. “Look at the entry that talks about the snake. Please, just give it a chance.”
“No.” I said, turning back to Salem. “You need me to be a willing participant, something you failed to mention. I am not willing to help you and if you threaten Fitz again I sure as hell won’t ever be willing to help you. Take me home.”
“I can’t. Not until he’s dealt with. I can’t risk him killing you.”
“Why would he want to kill me? I haven’t done anything to him!”
“Because he took information I’d gathered to help Joshua track you down. That was why we didn’t have time to explain. Why we took you the way we did. I am not going to take you home just so he can cross over and take our only shot at getting rid of him.”
“You’re the only one we could find.” Tasha added, “We looked all over, but Furies with snakes for vessels are rare. It was luck we even found you.”
She had done her homework on Furies. There were only a handful that had snakes as vessels each generation. They hadn’t singled me out because they’d seen me reclaim a soul.
Tasha saw the confliction and jumped on it. “Please, Nyx. We are running out of time. He’s getting stronger and we only have one week before we have to wait another month to try again.”
“A week?”
“It has to be done on a new moon.” Salem said, his impatience seeping into each word.
“I have to stay here for a week?”
“It�
��ll be longer if you don’t help us. Like I said, I’m not going to let him kill you. You can help us at the end of the week or you will be kept here until it’s finished.”
So, helping them meant buying into the fact I was in the presence of royalty and his band of merry helpers wanting to rid their world of a demon. A plot straight out of a badly written book, perfect.
Not helping them meant I’d be a captive for the foreseeable future. Iris and Callie wouldn’t know what had happened to me, the Oracles might think I jumped ship and Iris and Callie would pay for it.
I had no good options.
“I wouldn’t even be on the demon’s radar if you hadn’t been looking for me.” I muttered bitterly, hating I only had the two options.
“That’s true.” Tasha said, “We’re so sorry. We all are.”
She was too freaking nice. At least Salem was angry. I could deal with anger, I couldn’t deal with the sweet, wounded look she wore.
“Enough.” Salem bit out. “You don’t believe us telling you? I’ll show you then.”
“No, Salem! Don’t!” Tasha yelled, standing up and rushing over to us, but he had me by the arm and yanked me towards the wall, opening a door that appeared and then disappeared as soon as we’d walked through.
We stood in a cellar type room, made completely of blue stone with veins of silver running through them. Three large arches were built into the wall on the other side of the room. Two held gothic style wood doors and the third had been filled with the same stone the room and archways were made of.
“Choose one.” Salem barked, shoving me into the center of the room.
“W-What?” I asked, rattled by the quick transition he made from frustration to anger.
“Fine.” I’ll choose for you.”
The one on the left flew open and he pushed me through, shutting the door behind him as he said, “Welcome to the Land of Mists.”
Chapter 3
True to its name, there was a mist lining the cobblestone walkway we stood on. It moved across the ground towards us as if it had an interest in the visitors. There was a lake to the left of us that was more algae than water and the trees on the right were some demented form of weeping willow. Instead of leaves, they had only vines wrapping around the branches and draped over the gray landscape. Both the lake and the trees lined the walkway as far as I could see ahead. I thought I caught a glimpse of mountains, but I couldn’t be sure, not with the mist creeping towards me.
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