He turned back to me and laughed. “What could you possibly have to make a deal with? I have you. You’re in my world now. You have nothing to bargain with.”
“That’s not true. You’re swamped down here. We almost never see you because you’re too busy running this place. And I’m willing to bet Persephone is around here somewhere, right?” I looked to Tony for confirmation that my mythology was correct. He nodded.
“Leave her out of this.” Hades’ voice shook the ground, and I grabbed Alex to keep from falling.
“Fine. She’s your wife, and actually the deal has nothing to do with her. Not directly, at least. Though it might give you more time to spend with her, if you wanted.”
Hades narrowed his eyes at me. “Two minutes. Talk fast.”
So, Persephone was his weakness. Good to know. “The other Ophi have a handle on Tartarus for you, but what about everything else you have to do here? You must be going crazy trying to handle it all on your own. Let us help. We could…” I paused, pretending I didn’t have this all planned out already. “I don’t know…maybe help you judge the souls, place them in the proper afterlives.”
“I suppose you want to do this to avoid your own punishments?”
“No. We understand that you won’t allow that. We aren’t asking to avoid punishment. We are asking to simply cut down on the amount of time we spend in Tartarus each day.” I knew the others were cringing at this, but Hades would never entirely release us from punishment. This was the best offer I was going to get us.
“I don’t need all of you,” Hades said. “I already have three judges.”
“Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus,” Tony said.
Damn it, Tony! Couldn’t he have told me this earlier? My mind scrambled to find a new job for us, one that would still keep us in contact with the new souls arriving each day.
“They must be very busy, too busy to judge and take the souls to the proper places. We could do that. Usher the souls into their afterlives.” I looked to Tony, seeing if that sounded reasonable. He nodded.
“That still wouldn’t require the services of your entire group,” Hades said. “I think your two minutes are up as well. Time to return to Tartarus.”
“Wait!” I was desperate. “Just today we found some souls wandering to this gate.” I pointed to the gate guarding the Fields of Asphodel. “That’s how we found it. The souls remember where it is. They might seem mindless and lost in themselves, but deep down that knowledge is there. We stopped some souls from escaping. I think that proves you could use some of us as guards. Here, as well as at the entrances to the Elysian Fields, and Tartarus even.”
Alex raised the corner of his mouth in the tiniest of smiles. I might have just saved us all.
“Who were these souls who tried to escape? Show them to me. They need to be punished.” Hades advanced on the gate. Advanced on Matt.
Chapter 8
Crap! Matt! “No!” I ran to Hades and nodded my head to the side, hoping Arianna would read that as get Matt away from the gate. “It’s not their fault. The souls don’t know they aren’t supposed to leave. They aren’t sure of anything here.”
Hades stopped and faced me again. “You think you know my souls better than I do?” His glare was filled with hatred and the threat of more hellfire coming my way.
“That’s not what I’m saying, but you can’t deny that necromancers know souls really well. I can see what they’re doing, what they’re thinking even.” Totally not true, but he couldn’t prove I was lying. “We could help you control them. They aren’t trying to disobey you, and if we can show them how they are supposed to exist here, things would be easier for everyone, especially you.”
“I can’t help but wonder why this is so important to you.” He walked around me, eying me up and down. “Are you trying to save your friends and yourself from torture, or do you have some other endgame, Jodi Marshall?”
I had to be careful what I said next. The wrong thing could blow this plan entirely. “I want something we all can live with. I’ve seen how Victoria and the others help you. You’re more lenient with them, and I can’t help wondering why, since they caused you so much trouble. Remember the reason you brought them here?”
“Yes, because you made a deal with me: them for your safety. Only you broke our deal, which made your souls fair game.”
“Fine. Well, if we’re talking about what’s fair, then why aren’t you punishing them?”
“Who says I’m not?” Hades smiled and laced his fingers behind his back.
That was it. He was punishing Victoria and the others. “We’re taking turns. When we come to the Fields of Asphodel, you’re busy punishing them. That’s where you go!”
“Very good.”
This was good. I could use this. “Wouldn’t you rather be doing something else? Spending time with Persephone, maybe?”
He stepped forward, getting right in my face. The heat radiating off him burned my skin. I cringed as he practically spit in my face. “I told you not to speak of her!”
“I’m sorry.” The mere mention of her name got him worked up. “I thought you’d be happy about that suggestion. I really didn’t mean to offend you.”
He backed off, and the pain in my face eased. I must have been as red as a cooked lobster.
Alex gently touched my arm. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“Honesty is your only chance, Jodi Marshall.” Hades stared off in the distance. I remembered Tony saying something about the part of the underworld where Hades lived with Persephone. I didn’t doubt that was what he was gazing toward, even if I couldn’t see anything.
“What do you want to know?” I hoped he was becoming more open to the idea of another deal.
“What do you get out of this?”
“I thought that was obvious.” By the way he glared at me, I knew that was a stupid thing to say. I’d just insulted his intelligence. “What I mean is that I’m not looking for anything more than what you’re thinking. I don’t want my friends to be tortured twenty hours a day. If I could lighten our sentence by helping you in other ways here, then I want to do it.”
We all waited in silence while Hades contemplated my deal. It was killing me to watch him think. He narrowed his brow a few times, which meant he was considering something—whether it was good or bad, I didn’t know.
Alex took a step back, pulling me with him. He must have been afraid Hades would turn me down and lash out at us. I was afraid of the same thing.
“I’ve made my decision.” Hades continued to stare off into the distance, avoiding our eyes. It was comforting. I figured if he was about to dismiss my idea, he’d want to see the disappointment on my face. “I’m going to allow this. For now.” He finally turned to me. “You and your friends will be stationed at different places throughout the underworld. As it turns out, I like the idea of splitting you all up. There will be no chance for you to conspire against me.”
Alex grabbed my hand, and I realized Hades would probably send us to opposite ends of the underworld—if this place had ends. Even though I wasn’t planning on staying in this body—not fully, anyway—I wanted Alex to be the one to watch over my body while I was gone.
“Here are my conditions.” He waved his hand and the gate to the Fields of Asphodel opened. He motioned the others forward. I sighed, realizing I was going to have to find Matt all over again. No way would he stay put with no one watching him.
I pulled myself together. “We’re ready. Name them.”
Hades snickered. Apparently, he found my comment amusing. “I hadn’t realized I needed your permission to continue.”