“Sorry. I just wanted you to know we were all listening.” Not a great cover, but it would have to do.
“First, when you are on duty, you answer only to me. You may fulfill the judgments made by my three judges and escort souls to their afterlives, but beyond that, you listen to me.”
“Done.” I’d figured as much.
“Second—and I have a feeling you’ll like this one—for four hours each day, you will report to Tartarus to administer punishment to your former Ophi allies.”
Punish Victoria and the others? As much as I hated them for everything they’d put us through both at the school and down here, I didn’t know if I could put someone through that kind of torture.
“I—I don’t know if—”
“Done,” Alex said.
I turned to him, wondering how he could go along with this. Victoria and Troy were his parents. Yes, they were awful, and Troy had even killed Alex once, but still. “Alex, no, you can’t.”
Hades cocked an eyebrow. “Very interesting. I thought you’d jump at the chance to exact vengeance.”
“We aren’t evil,” I said. “Notice Chase isn’t with us anymore. He didn’t belong. He was consumed by power. We aren’t. Alex is only going along with this because he thinks we have to.”
One side of Hades’ mouth curled up. “Are you sure about that? Maybe your boyfriend has a dark side after all. What’s that expression humans love so much? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I think it is.”
“He’s nothing like them!” My blood was mixing in my veins as the anger coursed through me. Alex wasn’t a monster like his parents.
“Jodi.” Alex kissed the side of my head. “It’s okay.”
“You’re not evil. You never could be. I know why you’re doing this, but I can’t let you become something you’re not just to protect me.” Tears spilled down my cheeks.
“How touching.” Hades tapped his foot. “Now, do we have an agreement on this term, or should we dismiss the deal right now?”
“We’re in agreement,” Alex said. His eyes pleaded with me. I knew we had to go along with whatever Hades wanted if we were going to get out of here, but I hated what this might do to Alex.
“Agreed.” I tried to keep my voice from shaking too much.
“Good. Then my final condition is that none of you will enter the Elysian Fields or the Fields of Asphodel when you escort souls to their afterlives. You are only permitted to enter the place of judgment, which coincidentally is located in the forecourt of my palace, and of course Tartarus, since you will be both administering and receiving punishment there.”
The palace and Tartarus were the only two places we could enter? That meant I couldn’t get Matt from the Fields of Asphodel. I’d be raising my human soul alone.
“I’m sensing hesitation,” Hades said. “My terms are final. I will not negotiate any of them. So, as the humans say, ‘Take it or leave it.’”
I looked around the group, making sure the others were okay with the terms of the deal. I wasn’t going to force them into anything. Each of them nodded back to me. They wanted me to accept. I squeezed Alex’s hand, wondering if this was going to be goodbye for a while. Hades would most likely separate us as soon as I agreed to the deal.
“I love you,” Alex whispered.
“I love you, too.” My voice shook. I wasn’t ready to leave him yet. He nodded toward Hades, waiting for me to give our answer. I reached out my hand, thinking we’d shake on the deal, but Hades laughed.
“I don’t shake hands. Your word will bind this deal.”
No loopholes there. He was going to make me say it. I trembled as I breathed in, and on the exhale I said, “Deal.”
Hades’ grin stretched across his face. “Then I shall send you all to your new stations. Remember, we serve the dead with a smile.” He laughed at his own bad joke, and since none of us were laughing, he waved his hand in the air and sent us all off on our own swirling clouds of smoke.
Alex’s hand was ripped from mine. I hadn’t been able to say goodbye or kiss him one last time. I was thankful that the last words I’d said to him were “I love you.”
I couldn’t see where I was going, and it made me wonder how I was supposed to take souls to their afterlives when the only way I’d traveled down here was by a swirling cloud of smoke. Had Hades set me up to fail again?
I wasn’t surprised at all when I was set down in front of the palace. I knew I’d be assigned here. I wasn’t the guard type. Ethan, Tony, Carson, and—would Hades let Chase in on this deal, or would he honor our decision to leave Chase behind? Seconds later, a cloud of smoke landed next to me.
“Surprise,” Chase said as the smoke disappeared.
My heart sank. I’d been hoping Alex would be with me. As much as I knew Hades wouldn’t keep us together, the naïve little girl in me was still praying it would happen.
“Happy to see me?” Chase moved toward me, but I started up the steps to the palace.
“Don’t talk to me. We’ll escort different souls. As far as I’m concerned, you don’t exist.” I stormed up the steps and to the front door. I opened it just far enough to slip inside and let it slam in Chase’s face. Thank you very much, Hades, you son of a bitch.
The palace was dark. Everything was black and made of cold stone. I didn’t know where to go, so I headed straight forward. Hades had said the judges were in the forecourt, whatever that was. At the end of the entryway stood two tall black vases filled with asphodels. I was so busy looking at them and thinking about how I was supposed to get to Matt that I didn’t notice Chase walk up behind me.
“Pretty awesome. You know, if we play our cards right, I bet Hades will give us our own thrones like that.”
I was about to tell Chase to shut up, when what he’d said fully registered. Thrones. I looked up and saw a narrow little hallway leading to a throne room.
Chase bowed and held out his hand to me. “Ladies first.”
“Don’t even think about touching me. In fact, don’t talk to me either. I don’t need much encouragement to send you flying on your ass with my poisoned blood.”
“Feisty! I like it. This place is really improving your edge.” He winked and had a stupid smirk plastered on his face.
God, I wanted to hit him! I turned on my heel and walked into the throne room. Two of the thrones, the biggest ones, were empty. I guessed they were reserved for Hades and Persephone. The other three thrones were occupied by three guys. Hooded guys. All I could see of them were their hands, draped over the edges of their armrests. Judging by the wrinkles, I figured it was a good thing their faces were covered in shadows.
“I’m Jodi Marshall. Hades sent me to escort the souls to their afterlives once they’ve been judged.” I don’t know why, but I bowed. Why piss off the guys who would ultimately decide your fate? I’d have to face my own judgment some day.
The judge in the middle nodded slightly, and I assumed that meant they accepted my position. I stepped off to the side, not knowing what I was supposed to do. I didn’t see any souls waiting to be judged.
Chase stepped up and waved two fingers in the air. “Hey. Name’s Chase Baxter. My deal’s the same as hers. Just tell me who to bring where.” He didn’t bow.
“You would do well to show us the same respect Miss Marshall showed us,” the judge in the middle said.
Chase mumbled something under his breath, but he bowed and met me at the side of the thrones.
“What the hell was that?” I asked him.
“I thought you weren’t talking to me.” He said it like he wasn’t surprised at all that I was speaking to him.
“I’m not. Forget I said anything.”
The doors of the palace creaked open, almost as if announcing the soul that was walking through them. Funny, but I didn’t remember the doors making any noise at all for me or Chase. An older man walked in. I still couldn’t get over the fact that souls looked exactly like the living. You couldn’t tell they weren’t whole beings with regular bodies. Hell, I’d even touched Matt. I knew there was a word for that. Tony had used it in a lecture once when he was explaining how souls looked in the underworld. Corporeal. It meant they could touch things and be touched in return. They weren’t the same as when we raised them. Something happened down here to make them more lifelike. Ironic.