A Deal with the Devil
Hell is empty, and all the devils are here. – William Shakespeare
(prologue)
Lily was dying.
Miley looked down her friend, tears stinging the corner of her eyes, threatening to fall. Her best friend was dying and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. The doctors were trying to tell her she was going to be okay, that Lily was going to be okay, but there was no use. The color had left her once pink cheeks and she looked like even the slightest touch would break her. 'That's what Leukemia will do to you,' Miley thought.
On the bed where she was laying Lily stirred. Miley took the girl's thin hand and squeezed it as gently as possibly, afraid it might break off if she squeezed it too hard. She sighed and wondered when Annabel would return. Though she was the younger sibling, Annabel had always been the mature one. For as long as Miley had known the Truscott Twins, Annabel had been the one to keep calm in any and all situations. Except for this one, it seemed. Upon Lily falling unconscious and being rushed to the hospital, Annabel had barely gotten the strength to breathe. Miley had known no stronger bond and now it seemed as though the younger twin was dying, too.
She didn't know if she could handle that.
Sighing, she decided to sit down while she waited for the doctor to come back and tell her what exactly was going on. She didn't need to be told, though. She knew Lily was on her deathbed. The tears she was afraid would fill her eyes were now falling at the realization. She didn't know how long her best friend had left, but she hoped Lily would pull through as she always did with everything. Lily was all she had left. Her parents had left, her brother had left, and any other friends had left. She couldn't deal with Lily leaving her too.
She thought back to when she and Lily had first met. Miley was six at the time, but even then she had been there the longest. Lily and her sister were both her age and new to the orphanage. Both their parents had gotten into a fatal car accident and Lily and Annabel, having no one left, were sent to St. Mary's. Lily had been Miley's first friend and Annabel came later. Soon, they were inseparable. Well, as inseparable as you can get in an orphanage. And now, Miley's dear, dear friend would be leaving her.
She couldn't imagine the orphanage without Lily. She didn't want to. Lily was the only one who kept her sane in that godforsaken place. Who knew what Miley would do without her best friend by her side? If only there was some way she could keep the once lively girl alive. She would even give up her own life. "I would give up my life in exchange for Lily's," She whispered softly to no one in particular. Or so she had thought.
Just then, she heard a noise burst through the small hospital room. She stood up at the sound and looked over at where the sound had originated from. There, she saw a person standing in the corner of the room. At first, she thought it was a doctor or nurse, but she hadn't seen or heard the door open. She then realized it was a stranger who had climbed through the window or somehow magically appeared in her room. And the stranger was now inching towards her, out of the shadows and into the light.
She tried to scream, but no sounds came out of her open mouth. She backed up until the armrest on Lily's hospital bed dug into her back, trying to stay as far away as possible. She looked quickly around her and then back at the mysterious man. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was still open. It took him a moment to notice she was there, but when he did, he ran over and clamped a hand over her mouth. This, funnily enough, earned a scream out of her. She pushed him off and yelled for help, but was once again covered by the stranger.
"Don't scream!" The man huffed, his hand still over her mouth. It took all she had in her not to bite him as she used to when she was younger.
She looked up at him, inspecting him. He looked to be her age, maybe a year or two older. He was taller than her and more toned. He had black, curly hair that was messy – but almost in a good way. The look in his dark brown eyes sent shivers down her spine and it was as if she was feeling bitter cold and warmth at the same time. He sent her a look that told her not to scream, not to resist, and she found herself silently agreeing. When he was satisfied that she wouldn't make any sounds, he pulled his hand away and stepped back.
"Are you Miley Stewart?" The stranger asked, his arms crossed over his chest. Through the black v-neck he was wearing, Miley could see the well-toned muscles that rippled underneath. Quickly shaking those thoughts of her head, she looked up at him with cautious eyes. How did he know her name?
"Yes, that's me," She spoke softly and calmly, glancing around the room for a way to contact a nurse or someone. If she didn't find one soon, she would use the screaming method again. Only this time, she would make sure it would work. The stranger looked amused by her obvious scheming and shook his head.
"They won't be able to come in even if you did find a way to call them."
Okay, that's a little weird, she thought. It was as if he read my thoughts. She looked up at him once again as he started to open his mouth, as if beginning to say something. He shut it as quickly as he had opened it, however, and shook his head, chuckling.
"Who are you?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
She scoffed softly. "You showed up in my – my friend's – hospital room without going through the front door and you're not going to tell me who you are?"
"Nope," He said, popping the 'p.'
"Fine," She sighed, trying to make sense of the situation, "Then can you tell me why you're here?"
He seemed to think for a moment before nodding. "A few minutes ago, you said, 'would give up my life in exchange for Lily's,' did you not?"
Now Miley was officially weirded out. How had he heard that? She said that to herself, didn't she? Had he been in this room the whole time? Shivers again traveled down her spine, but this time she had no doubt they were bad. She nodded very slowly when she realized he had been waiting for her answer.
"Well, Miley Stewart, I am here to grant you your wish."
"Wait, what?" This man is crazy.
He let out an exasperated sigh, as if what he had said had been perfectly normal, something said everyday. And for him, it was. "I'm here to make that happen for you. I am here to take you in place of Lily."
"Wait, you mean like, kill me?" She laughed loudly, partly out of humor and partly out of fear. Was this some kind of cruel joke? Or was she in the presence of a serial killer who liked to play with his victims before he killed them? She hoped in was the first one. She prayed to God the boy was kidding.
"That's right."
She stared at him, gaping. The boy was completely serious. Backing up slowly, she looked at him as though he had three heads. He didn't seem to take this offensively, though. "Alright, I don't know who you are, or what your problem is, but you need some help. Some medical help. And perhaps some time in jail."
He let out another sigh and shook his head. He looked as though he wanted to walk closer to her but he stayed where he was. He wouldn't help his case by seeming like a stalker or making her feel uncomfortable. "I think I should tell you who I am now."
She looked at him with hesitation. She didn't want to know who he was anymore, not really. Not when he was some kind of either seriously disturbed prankster or a serial killer. But she doubted he would give her much of a choice. So with great hesitation, she said, "Alright..."
"You have to promise me you'll listen until I explain anything, and you have to believe me when I say I am not lying to you, okay?"
Again, with hesitation, Miley nodded.
"Okay," He said, taking a deep breath, "My name is Nicholas. Hades, the god of the underworld, is my father. Persephone is my mother. She was a mortal before my father forced her to marry and live with him, and so I am a demi-god; half-god, half-human." He looked over at her to catch her reaction so far, and when she seemed to be listening, he continued on. "My father sent me here to handle your call. We take declarations like that very seriously down in the underworld."
"The underworld as in... Like, Hell?"
"That's correct."
Miley simply stared at the man in front of her. Was he crazy, or was he telling the truth? Something in the way his eyes bore into hers told her he was telling her the truth. Or at least what he felt was the truth. But that was impossible. Gods and goddess were mythology. They didn't exist. They couldn't. Could they?
"You don't believe me."
She flashed her eyes back to his, startled by his proclamation. How did he know? Could he really read her mind? Was that one of his "powers?"
"It's kind of hard to believe."
He shrugged. "Fair enough."
She inspected him once again, as if she was taking him under consideration. "You don't look like a god," She remarked, speaking as though she knew what gods looked like. He simply shrugged again.
"Like I said, I'm only half god. I look human because I'm half human."
This time, she was the one to only nod.
"Look, if it were my father down here speaking to you instead of me, I swear, you would believe him. He has the power to make anyone believe anything, partly because that's just his personality. I don't have that."
She contemplated what he had said and raised her eyebrow slightly. "Then why isn't he telling me all of his?"
His eyes seemed to darken more, if that was even possible, and he shook his head. There was a bitterness to his tone as he spoke. "He had some... Business to take care of and wanted me to handle this." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Look, were you serious when you said it or not?"
It was only then that Miley realized Lily was still in the room with them. She looked over at her pale friend who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. She wondered for a moment why she didn't hear the noises, and then figured it was because she was knocked out. Miley bit down on her bottom lip as a thought crossed her mind: What if she never hears anything again?
"What would happen to me if I was serious? And to Lily?" Her voice was soft and distrusting of her otherwise disbelieving attitude. She didn't really believe him, she told herself, she just wanted to see what would happen if she did.
He visibly softened at her words. "Lily would escape her fate and cheat death, just this once. If anything else happens later on, we can't do anything. There's a pretty good chance nothing else will happen, though. But anyway, we can get her out of this one. She will return to her home in a few days, perfectly healthy. You will travel with me to the underworld and stage your death."
"And what will happen to me once I'm with you, assuming I agree to these terms?"
He thought for a moment before answering. "It's really up to my father and mother, since they are the rulers on the underworld, but you wouldn't have to travel down the river with the other dying souls, seeing as it's not really your time to leave. The others, the ones who do travel down the river, are lost forever because it's there time. Technically, you can't die yet. We could sort out some kind of an arrangement for you." He didn't want to tell her the other part of the deal. Not yet.
Miley again looked at Lily, thinking of what to do. She couldn't believe she was actually considering such a proposition! Then again, why would he offer such things if he was lying? It didn't seem like he wanted to kill her. And like she had said, she would do anything to save Lily. To help her escape her fate and cheat death. Lily didn't deserve to die. Lily had another person to look after, to live for. Who did Miley have? Miley had Lily. Lily was going to die. Miley was her only chance for survival.
She looked back at the stranger, Nicholas, and nodded after a moment. "Alright."
"Alright?" He asked in disbelief, an eyebrow raised.
"Alright. I'll do it; I'll go with you. To save Lily."
He looked surprised, as though he thought she wouldn't have actually ever said yes. "Um, alright then." It took him a moment to regain his confidence and when he did, he smirked slightly. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, Miley Stewart."
It was after that that the world seemed to disappear around her.
This was just an idea that popped into my head during English. We're studying - you guessed it - Greek mythology. I love everything about it, and I have a feeling I'll love writing this story. (: