Part 2
"Apologies for disturbing you my lord," Thanatos barged through the door that led to Hades' private study, "but Campe has just sent word that a prisoner has escaped Tartarus."
Hades looked up from his desk and then out the window towards the darkest corner of his kingdom. "Who?"
"Sisyphus," he answered.
Hades sighed. Sisyphus was not much a physical threat, but he was tricky and conniving. What he lacked in strength he made up for in brains and would most likely be able to convince anyone in the underworld to help him escape. Still, a prison escape from Tartarus, even a small one, might give hope to the rest of those cretins and give them a reason to believe they could break free as well. "Send a search party and bring him back." Hades adjusted his toga and grabbed his crown. "Ready my chariot, send the Erinyes out and put Charon on guard to scan the river, and where is that stupid mutt? Why was his soul not captured?"
"Yes, sire. I will raise the alarm and prepare to join you."
"Send Nyx to check on my wife," Hades commanded. "I want to make sure she is safe before we leave for Tartarus."
Thanatos bowed. "Of course, my lord."
The stallions pawed the ground, anxious for the command to charge. Hades tugged on the reins to still the beasts; he would not leave until he knew Persephone was safe. If there truly was a breach in the Tartarus security, his wife's safety must be maintained. He would not move until Thanatos brought him word of her safety. He did not have to wait long to see Thanatos spiraling down to him from his wife's balcony.
"How is my wife?" Hades asked. "Did you remind her not to worry about me?"
"Sire, the queen is not there."
The mild amusement melted from his face. "What?"
"She cannot be found." Thanatos shook his head. "Nyx is still searching for her now, but she is not in her chambers or the library. No one has seen her anywhere. The entire palace is searching, but no one has seen her."
Hades heart beat faster in his chest. Where could she be? Wouldn't she leave word with somebody if she left? Or take a chaperone? Fear crept over him at the thought of his wife hurt and lost. Their wedding had been just ten days before and Persephone had not learned her way around her new kingdom yet. She had loved the Isle of the Blessed; maybe she had tried to find her way back. Perhaps his queen had wandered back to one of the rivers she seemed so fond of. His eyes drifted over the land trying to think of anywhere else his bride might be, and then his gaze landed on Tartarus. His stomach fell.
"Thanatos," Hades whispered. "You don't think that Sisyphus was released, do you?"
"Released?" Thanatos scoffed. "Who would release him, sire? You and your brother both have condemned him." Hades turned to face him, and the king's thoughts became clear. "Oh no, Highness. You don't suppose the queen is there?" The fear in Hades' eyes spoke louder than his words. "I will tell the servants to keep looking for the queen. Highness, you must get to her before she finds the Titans."
Hades nodded and snapped the reins. The stallions surged forward, and the underworld soon passed him in a blur. The thundering hooves matched his thundering heart and his every thought focused on finding his wife alive. Shades jumped out of the way of the horses' feet as he sped through the fields. He felt the darkness of the depths surround him as he came closer and closer to the edge of the canyon. Hades tugged the reins and halted the animals just on the cliff, sending the chariot spinning and landing him right in front of the steps. Throwing his cape over his shoulder and descended the stairs at rapid speed.
Campe waited at the bottom in a nervous coil, wringing her hands and averting her snakelike eyes to the ground. She could not bring herself to make eye-contact with Hades and slithered into her corner as soon as she heard his footsteps.
"Where is she?"
Campe was surprised by the question. She blinked in confusion and answered, "Who, sire?"
"My wife, you useless worm!"
Campe shrunk back into the shadow. "Majesty, I have not seen the queen down here at all."
"You had better not be lying to me or so help me I will lock you on the other side of that door." He pointed at the ancient barrier. "How did Sisyphus manage to escape?"
"I don't know, sire." She continued to wring her hands and tremble.
Hades' eyes flashed with fury. "You weren't sleeping again, were you?" His voice had grown low and dangerous.
Campe reseeded as far back into the corner as she could but did not answer. Her actions were enough for Hades and he spat in her direction. Hades yanked the door nearly off its hinges and stepped into the darkness. Behind him, he heard Campe sniffle and Thanatos' voice command her to stop whimpering.
Death's personification joined him in the darkness and closed his wings.
"I do not believe she is in the palace, sire."
"That is what I'm afraid of. I don't see any signs of her; how far do you think she made it?"
"Not too far, I hope, Highness."
Hades and Thanatos unbeknownst to them followed the same path the Persephone had followed. Hades threw doors open and demanded information on his wife and her whereabouts, but all replied the same. No one had seen her. If she was down here, Persephone had not opened any doors of looked through any of the barred windows. Their steps were far more confident, and it did not take them much time to find the pool surrounded by lush fruit trees. The man in the middle of the pool was nodding off, and every time he did so the water receded to just enough to ensure that it did not get into his mouth. The trees bowed in his presences. Hades flicked his wrist and the water rose up, splashing the man in the face. He sputtered and came too, a curse rising and dying on his lips in the same instant.
"Your M-Majesty." He was shaking and jagged ripples ran over the surface of the water.
"Tantalus, where is my wife? Have you seen her?"
"No, your highness." A wave submerged him before he had a chance to breathe. Just when he thought he would drown the water released him.
"You're lying!" Hades roared and sent another wave. The king's rage prevented whatever water happened to get inside Tantalus' mouth to quench his thirst, but it made sure that he was deprived of air. "Has she been here?" Hades stopped long enough to give Tantalus a chance to answer. When he did not, Hades balled his fists up and opened his arms Tantalus was pelted with water beyond the point of trying to breathe.
Tantalus tried to cry out for mercy, but wave after wave kept hitting him. Just as the world was beginning to blur and dim, the water finally stopped hitting him. He gulped the air and coughed up water, trying to hide from the glaring eyes of the king. He had just enough to see Hades' spread his arms and felt two walls of water rise on either side of him.
"I will ask only once more, Tantalus. Where is my wife?"
"She was here," he cried in terror, looking up at the wave that threatened him. "She was. I swear she was. The queen stopped for a drink and that tree right there gave her a pomegranate, but I don't know where she went." He pointed behind Hades and Thanatos. "She walked that way." The water subsided, and the pool returned to a calm state. Tantalus whimpered and tried lower himself into the water, but the water receded as it always did.
Hades turned on his heel and stormed away from the pool, Thanatos close behind him. They marched silently down the same corridors Persephone explored not long before. Hades ignored the same screams and moans that had frightened his wife, only stopping when they came to the boulder and the mountain where Sisyphus should have been.
"There are no signs of a struggle," Hades commented.
"It appears that he just walked away." Thanatos inspected the boulder closely and flew to the incline to check for clues at the top.
"If he was truly released, it would explain why the alarm was not raised immediately. Campe would not have known until she made her rounds."
"It's not an escape if permission is granted, I suppose," Thanatos said, "but it begs the question who released him."
"Only Underworld royalty or my little brother have the ability to break the bond in Tartarus." Hades stopped and sniffed the air around the boulder. A faint smell of roses lingered around him. "Do you smell that?"
Thanatos sniffed. "Fire and brimstone?"
Hade shook his head. "It's her. Persephone's perfume. She was here." Finding proof that his wife was in Tartarus made his blood boil. She had deliberately disobeyed him and put herself in the worst danger ever imagined. "I do not wish harm to befall my bride, Thanatos, but mark me. When we do find Persephone she will be chained to her bed until it is time to return her to her mother."
Thanatos chuckled. "Perhaps you should chain yourselves together, so you can always keep watch of her."
That does not sound like such a bad idea either." Hades looked around. "Where could she have gone from here?"
The anger building within him vanished at the first sounds of Persephone's screams. He turned in the direction of the horrified sound and ran headlong into the darkness. He ran as if Hermes' winged sandals carried him. The sounds intensified, and a pulsing light formed ahead of him. A flame shot out at him from the darkness and he covered himself with his cape, sliding in the gravel beneath his feet and falling. This did not deter him; he ran bent over, beneath the fire, and was more prepared for the second flame that lashed out at him. Keeping is cape around his face, Hades saw the flaming wheel keeping Ixion imprisoned. It spun at different speeds and fire shot from the wheel spokes. The wheel traveled in its usual chaotic pattern, only this time something stood in its path. A figure was huddled against the wall, crouched and covering its face.
Hades leaped to his wife just as the wheel shot a tongue of fire in Persephone's direction. The fire scorched his cape and heated the back of his breastplate to an unbearable temperature. Persephone latched onto the folds of his cloak and buried her face against his neck. Gathering her in his arms Hades bolted for the safety of the darkness. She was trembling so violently that she was unable to release the folds of his cape. Hades tried to place her on her feet, but she collapsed the instant he released her. Persephone cried hysterically as Hades carried her out of the darkness and back to the silvery light in Campe's den.
Campe gasped when she saw the queen in her king's arms. "Your Highness," she breathed. "I had no idea—"
"That is apparent," Hades fumed and began to ascend the stairs.
Persephone had calmed down by the time they reached the top. She was able to stand on her own feet, but instantly turned pale and turned her eyes away the instant she looked at him. His face was a frightening contortion of relief and fury. Persephone swallowed and went to turn from Hades, but he grabbed her wrist and spun her around.
"What were you thinking?" His iron grip held her shoulders and he shook her.
She stammered, trying to think of an answer, but he shook her again.
"Do you have any idea the danger you put yourself in? Do you know where you were? Do you?"
Persephone shook her head.
He pointed at the crater. "That was Tartarus!"
Persephone gawked at him. It never once crossed her mind that she had entered Tartarus, but now all the warnings and forbidding made sense. How could she have been so stupid? Now she knew her husband hated her.
"Hades, I'm sorry," she squeaked.
"Sorry?" He demanded. "You're sorry for what, dear wife?" Are you sorry for making me hunt you down and keeping you alive, burning my cloak and myself in the process? Perhaps you are sorry for setting one of the most conniving, slimy, relentless tricksters to ever live free from his well-deserved fate, hmm? Or maybe you're sorry for disobeying the one commandment I gave you." He released her and walked away from her a few paces. "I have given you free reign of my domain. I have welcomed you into my home and my life as a companion for my lonely existence. I have given you my heart, Persephone, and the only thing I asked of you is to stay away from here." He pointed to the canyon. "You are too pure for this place. It will defile you. I forbad you from coming here for your own protection, not to keep any secrets. I am only glad you did not find the Titans before I found you."
"The Titans?" she questioned.
"They are imprisoned in Tartarus for a reason." His voice was menacing. "One of my regal duties is to make sure they remain so, but now I also have to worry about my wife sneaking away and setting them free."
"No! I won't go back down there," she promised. "Never again. Not without your permission or without you."
His sigh expressed his hurt more than words ever could. "If I had known that you would act more like a child and less like a woman, I never would have asked you to be my wife."
His words gorged her like a knife. He blurred in her vision and tears fell down her cheeks. She took a step towards him and felt the glowing hot razor slice through her again when he turned away. Persephone sank to her knees and sobbed. She didn't know which hurt more, the guilt of hurting her husband or the pain that his words inflicted.
