Chapter Fifteen

Back in my cell, I curled up in the corner, wrapped my arms around my knees, and allowed myself to dissolve into tears. I hardly ever cried; I wasn't that kind of girl. But this situation was too much for my composure, so I wallowed in self-pity and sorrow for a long time.

Well, it could have been a long time. It could have been hours, or it could have been days. Maybe even minutes. I truthfully had no idea and I didn't care. A kind of numbness settled over me. I sat on the cold stones of the floor and stared at the wall.

A steady trickle of filthy water dripped down along the seams between the cement blocks that made up the cell walls.

Eventually, I snapped out of my self-pity. Of course, that was all because of a thought that I had. At least my dad was safe. As long as he was all right, I was happy. If he had been down here instead of me, I would have been much worse off.

With nothing else to do but look forward to my first day as 'eternal servant' to Hades, I decided to get some rest.

An enraged screech pierced the air and chased away any thoughts of getting sleep.

"Psyyyyycheeeeeee!"

The screaming continued, accompanied by the sound of shattering ceramics and stomping feet from overhead.

Another voice joined that of the first woman's and thus began the worst (And loudest) quarrel I had ever overheard.

The sounds of footsteps on the stairs made me glance up.

The young man and woman that I had seen before in the throne room appeared around the corner. They glanced right, then left to make sure there were no guards. Then, the pair sauntered in, looking like they owned the place.

Now that they were closer, I could study them better.

The guy was tall and slim, with dark hair that hung in his face. There were crimson highlights in his bangs. The girl looked very similar, with her dark hair and red highlights. Her hair was about the same length as the young man's. Both dressed in black skinny jeans and black tee-shirts. The girl wore a leather jacket and black combat boots, while the guy had on a studded belt and black Converse. Eyebrow piercings were evident on both of them. They strolled right up to my cell and watched me silently.

I stared back, too emotionally drained to think of anything to say.

The girl spoke first. "Hey, I'm Zaviara. This is my twin, Zander."

I stood and walked closer to the bars. I only needed to take one or two tiny strides because the cell was so small.

"I'm Cassi. I'd say it was nice to meet you, but to tell the truth, I would rather not be here."

Zander grinned. Another crash and a shriek from upstairs made me jump.

"What is going on up there?" I demanded. "Or do I want to know?"

Zaviara shook her head dismissively. "It's only Persephone and Psyche fighting."

"Again," Zander added, rolling his eyes.

"Something about Persephone's beauty cream," Zaviara commented.

"Again," Zander repeated.

We fell silent. The pair studied me, making me uncomfortable.

"Um, why are you staring at me?"

Zaviara ducked her head, smiling in embarrassment. "Oops, don't mean to stare."

"Sorry," Zander added. "You're really the only living human we've ever seen."

"Except for Uncle Nico," Zaviara broke in.

It was a little creepy how they kept finishing each other's sentences.

"The only human you've ever seen?" That was a little hard to believe.

Zander nodded. "We've never really left the Underworld…"

Never? They've lived here all their lives? That must be seriously depressing.

Suddenly, I realized who they must have been. My mouth fell open. "Are you two Hades's kids?"

They nodded. "Two of them, at least," Zaviara noted.

"There are more of you?"

Zander spoke up. "Only three demi-god children, us and Uncle Nico. He's actually our half-brother, but he's old enough to be our father. All dad's other children are immortal."

Hearing Hades being referred to as 'dad' was seriously wierding me out.

A loud crash echoed down from the floor above us.

Zaviara glanced toward the ceiling and then at her brother. "We'd better hurry up before Psyche decides to leave."

Turning to me, Zander stepped closer to the cell bars. "We have a proposition to make, one that will get you out of this dungeon."

Get me out? Really?

I leaned closer. "Anything to get me out of here," I said with vehemence.

He chuckled. "I thought as much. Listen, we've never been out of the Underworld, like we told you."

"Never been allowed to, actually," Zaviara cut in.

"But we've always wanted to," Zander continued.

"Yeah, so we thought you might help show us around, like a guide, if we let you out."

"So, what do you say?" They both looked at me with hopeful faces.

I looked back and forth between them, unsure if there were any more strings attached. "That's it? You just want me to show you around above ground? Nothing else?"

They nodded in unison.

"And you'll get me out of here?" This was almost too good to be true.

"Yep," Zander assured me.

"Awesome! Let's get going then."

Huge grins spread across their faces. "All right, stand back," Zaviara warned.

I huddled in one corner, covering my head with my arms and expecting an explosion of some sort. "What are you going to do?" I asked, my voice muffled.

I heard a click and screeching hinges.

"Uh, you can come out now," Zander said, holding up the key for me to see. "The door's unlocked."

"Oh." I rolled to my feet and followed them toward the stairs. "What's the plan?" I whispered.

Zaviara murmured back as we snuck up the winding staircase. "Well, Psyche has to leave sometime. Since she's a goddess, security isn't as tight for her."

"And, that means what?" I demanded, still not understanding.

She grinned back mischievously. "You'll see soon enough," was all she said.

The three of us crept past the door to Hades's throne room, being careful not to be, ahem, "seen" by his skeletal soldiers. The shouting grew louder as we threaded our way through another hallway. As I tiptoed by an open doorway, an object came whizzing by my head and shattered against the opposite wall.

"Persephone, you are a vain, idiotic woman! You think I stole your beauty cream? Most likely, it was Aphrodite!"

Yikes! That was a close call!

I leaped to the other side of the door, where the twins waited for me. "Do they fight like this often?" I asked in an undertone. Not that I needed to talk so quietly. The two old crones were making enough racket to wake the dead. Er – maybe that wasn't the greatest metaphor.

"Whenever they see each other. And sometimes through Iris message too."

"What's an Iris message?" I questioned.

Zaviara raised an eyebrow at me as we continued to make our way through the palace. "You don't know what an Iris message is?" she asked in disbelief.

"Call me stupid," I replied. "But I just found out this summer what a demi-god is, not to mention that I am one. I'm a little behind."

"We'll just have to show you sometime," Zander broke in. "They're a little hard to explain to somebody who's never seen one."

Zaviara suddenly slipped off to one side and unlatched a door that I hadn't noticed at first.

We slinked through and shut the door behind us.

"There's her chariot," Zaviara pointed out.

The vehicle sat by the front gates of the palace, hooked to two Pegasi, their wings tucked in close to their bodies.

"That's how we get out of here," Zaviara commented, already stealing across the ground.

Zander and I followed, practically crawling on our bellies in the shadows that the walls of the palace so graciously provided. Once at the chariot, we wriggled underneath and entwined ourselves in the various bars and axles that supported the vehicle.

"Comfortable?" I grunted.

"Not - "

" – Really."

"Neither am I, but at least it's better than that cell. Not by much though."

The doors to the castle slammed open, and a figure stalked out. I could only make out the feet of the person because the chariot cut off the rest of my sight.

The chariot shifted as the person climbed into it. With a snap of the reigns, we began to move forward.

"This isn't over!" A voice screeched after us.

Psyche didn't answer as her Pegasi leapt into the air and began to fly.

The ground dropped away at a sickeningly fast pace. My stomach twisted nervously. The fields of Erebus passed by underneath us. A gate stretched across the Underworld, separating the wide fields from a black river, which I guessed was the River Styx.

The chariot descended by the gate for several skeleton guards to examine it before it left. One of the guards leaned down to peer under the basket of the chariot. Slowly, his chin, then his eyes cleared the bottom of it until he was staring me straight in the eyes.

Gulp.

Fire jumped into his gaze and he opened his jaws to sound the alarm, but Zander quickly waved a hand in front of the skeleton's face, snapping his fingers once. The guard's eyes returned to their empty blackness, and he straightened without making any fuss.

Phew.

Glancing at Zander as the chariot took off once again, I mouthed "how did you do that?"

He just winked and rearranged his arms and legs into a more comfortable position.

The Underworld sped by beneath us, receding into nothing more than a bad dream. I hoped I never had to see it again.