The lamp on the boat sputtered and went out, and I found myself plunged once more into eerie darkness. Looking up, I saw the silver illumination of a tremendous gate over my head, and I dropped my arms in awe. The boat slowed to a crawl, and I didn’t even try to summon up any more magic. I knew I had just crossed into the Underworld, and my skin prickled.
The boat drifted to a ratty pier and bumped against it. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the edge of the pier and stepped off the boat. The earth felt like it was rocking under my feet, and I waited a moment for everything to right itself. I looked around, nervous.
I had come ashore near a worn footpath, lit with randomly placed torches along the cavern wall. There was no one around, but I felt sure that someone was watching my every move. Turning my head slowly, I scanned the shore, but nothing happened. Still, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and my fingertips tingled. Someone was watching me, waiting to see what I would do.
I sucked in my breath and squared my shoulders. Without looking back at the boat, I began to walk up the path. Whatever was watching me followed: I heard a faint rustling behind me, but I didn’t allow myself to look back. In a few minutes, I would meet Hades, and I needed to come up with a story fast.
The path grew brighter, and I realized that the torches along the walls had been replaced with glowing candelabra and mirrored panels. One of the mirrors looked red, and leaning in for a closer look, I saw it wasn’t a mirror, but a perfectly polished gemstone. The corridor was dripping with diamonds and rubies, emeralds and sapphires, and I felt a chill in the pit of my stomach. What would a god of such wealth need from a Witch like myself?
With that thought, I entered a room that was more like a cathedral than an underground cave. The ceiling soared hundreds of feet in the air and veins of precious metal sparkled up the walls, climbing as far as I could see. Spellbound, I turned in a circle, trying to get a sense of the size of the place. A voice spoke coldly behind me.
“It is not often that the living wander into my throne room.”
I froze, still staring at the ceiling. Whispering a prayer to all the gods I’d ever heard about, I turned slowly to face Hades.
My first thought was that the Lord of the Dead looked sad. His robes blended into the cavern behind him, and at first I couldn’t tell whether he was sitting or standing. But his face! His eyes looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks, and the hard lines around his mouth spoke of a lifetime of sorrows. He rustled, and I realized he had been sitting. Now he towered over me. Gods, he was tall!
I knelt before him, lowering my head. I knew that, with the exception of Hecate, I was standing before a god more powerful than any I had encountered so far, and I didn’t want to do anything to ignite his temper. Looking at the ground, I spoke. I had decided to keep it simple.
“Persephone sent me to you. My name is Darlena, and I am a Red Witch.”
My words echoed off the cavern walls, taunting me. Hades said nothing.
I risked a glance up at his hard, impassive face. His eyes were the only part of him that seemed alive: they glittered as he looked down at me. Afraid that I had made a horrible mistake, I quickly looked down. The silence stretched, and I began counting my breaths, trying to calm the fears that were growing inside me.
“You are younger than I expected.” Hades’ voice was rough and deep, and his words resonated in the empty cave. I kept my head down, but I nodded slightly. “I knew there was much fuss being made over you, but I did not expect such an untried child.”
I clenched my fist at his words, but said nothing. Hades could call me whatever he wanted, as long as he didn’t blow me to smithereens or hand me over to Hecate.
“What do you understand about Red magic?”
Surprised at his question, I looked up. Hades sat back down and leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on my face. It seemed like every god I’d met had asked me that question, and they all expected a different answer. I eyed him, trying to gauge my best response, but his face gave nothing away.
“I know that it’s the magic of chaos,” I answered cautiously. He waited, his stare unwavering, so I continued. “It can be used to cause death, but it can also be used to manipulate love and other less deadly emotions.”
“You think that love is not a deadly force?” His voice grated against my ears, and I paused, feeling trapped. “You will answer me, Witch.”
I swallowed. “I used to think love wasn’t very powerful.” I paused, remembering Justin’s face when he realized I had cast a love spell on him. “Now, I’m not so sure.”
Hades seemed satisfied with this answer: his face didn’t change, but he sat back in his throne slightly, as if he was relaxing. “What have you done since you became a Red Witch?”
I closed my eyes, thinking back to all the events of the previous few weeks. “I have caused harm, and I have protected myself.” I didn’t want to go into any detail, but I felt sure I didn’t have to. Hades had known about me somehow, and I assumed he knew the answers to his questions before he even asked them. This felt like a test of some kind, but I couldn’t tell if I was passing or failing.
Then he asked, “Why have you come here to me?”
Would it be better for me to lie? I didn’t want to tell him that I had started to worry that his wife had betrayed me, but I couldn’t leave her out of my explanation completely. Choosing my words carefully, I said, “Persephone sent me here. She and I had discussed finding a way to use Red magic to create balance, not chaos.”
Hades nodded, and I blinked, startled. I had begun to get used to talking to a man as stiff as a statue. He gestured curtly with his hand, and I felt my legs move without my will, pushing me up off the floor into a standing position.
“Death is the ultimate balance, Witch. Would you seek to cheat me of my kingdom?”
I shook my head frantically. “Never. Persephone and I … I want to find a balance for the living. I would never presume to control the dead.”
“And yet, by your own admission, the magic you work causes death.”
“But it doesn’t have to!” Too frightened to check my words, I plowed ahead. “The first time I used Red magic, Hecate told me I had altered a fated pattern of death. I stopped death once, and I know I could do it again.”
A faint smirk played about his lips. “Are you standing here, in my realm, telling me that you want to prevent death? Doesn’t that worry you at all, Witch?”
He was right; I should have been terrified. I took a chance. “Everyone dies eventually. Does it matter to you if you get their souls now, or in a few years?”
There was silence in the cavern, and I was afraid I had gone too far. Then, all of a sudden, Hades threw back his head and laughed. His eyes crinkled up and his laughter echoed in the throne room. Suddenly, Hades seemed like a badly dressed version of Santa Claus. I stared at him, stunned.
When he finished laughing, he rose. “Little Witch, you are not as foolish as I thought. You are right; it matters not to me when the dead enter my realm. And”—his voice softened—“I know that my wife has often expressed a desire for mortals to live their lives in some degree of peace.” He strode purposefully toward me. “You may stay here as long as you need. But know this: the living do not easily come and go among the dead. I do not know how long I will be able to offer you shelter without some lasting harm befalling you.”
Hades held out his hand to me and I took it, uncertainly. His flesh was thin and cold, and I tried not to flinch. We shook hands once, solemnly, but I couldn’t help wondering whether his final statement had been a warning or a threat.