Chapter 15
Hades
I was riding my horse along the edge of Tartarus, deep within the Underworld when I heard the Furies begin to screech. It was a sure sign that those spirits of vengeance were hunting new prey. I ignored them.
Let them do their work, I thought distractedly. But as the wail echoed back to me, it brought with it the name of the Furies' victim. Persephone. Persephone.
I started with surprise. She can't have left, I thought in horror, Haven't I taken every precaution, planned every detail? Apparently not.
I checked to make sure that my sword was at my side, and I silently thanked the Fates that I had decided to bring it with me. I spurred my horse into a gallop, hoping to reach Persephone before the Furies did. There was no telling what they would do when they got to her. I was sure it wouldn't be good.
As I neared the river Styx, Cerberus leapt out at me, barking and growling. When the hellhound saw it was his master, he shrank back with a whimper. I ignored him.
"Charon!" I roared. The old man looked up, fear shadowed in his eyes. "Where is she?"
I leapt off my horse and covered the ground between myself and Charon in two mighty strides. My more massive figure towered over the cowering man by a good two heads. I yanked Charon up by his tattered robe so he was forced to look me in the face.
"M-my lord?" Charon stammered.
"Did she pass by this way?" I demanded. "Did she?" My fists shook the pathetic wretch until his teeth rattled in his head.
Charon gave a jerking nod, gasping for air. I dropped him in disgust.
"I'll deal with you later," I said stonily to the cringing, wheezing man. After remounting, I backed my horse up a hundred yards and galloped at full speed toward the great river. In one bound, the horse cleared it, taking off as soon as he hit the ground on the other side. The clattering of hooves filled the tunnel as we thundered our way to the world above.
The sky was dark with the Furies' wings as they flew around Persephone. Wind whipped around them, and the heavens were heavy with storm clouds. Thunder sounded in the distance. One by one, the three Furies landed on the ground by Persephone's helpless body. Their writhing snake hair hissed, their bloodshot eyes bulged, and their pointed teeth gnashed. Lifting their heavy brass scourges in their clawed hands, they shrieked in triumph. No sound in Earth, Heaven, or Hell could be as eerie and paralyzing. The sound made the horse stop in his tracks.
Before the Furies could bring the fiery scourges down upon Persephone, I whipped my horse forward and charged, shouting commands in the Ancient Tongue as I went. The Furies scattered, screeching and howling. They started to advance on me. Quicker than they could react, I brandished my sword at them.
"We demand blood, and not even you can deny us our prize," they hissed at me. One of them reached her claws out towards Persephone. I swiftly slashed downwards with my sword. The Fury pulled back her hands with another hiss. The sword had missed her by a hair.
"Back away!" I growled. "She is under my protection."
That made the Furies pause.
"Are you taking responsibility for her actions and for her punishment, O Dark One?" The Fury who had tried to grab Persephone moved her head around, snake-like, as she spoke.
I felt an awful sense of foreboding as I said, "I am. You will get your prize. Now go!" As I pointed my sword towards them again, I also sent with it a pulse of pure god-power.
The Furies scattered with a howl. But they slowly retreated, gnashing their teeth, back to their lair. As they left, the storm rapidly shrank until it was nothing more than a few wispy clouds.
Once the Furies were completely gone, I dismounted hastily, rushing to Persephone's side. She was conscious, but just barely. I gently caressed her face. At my touch, her eyes flew open. She stared at me wildly for a moment, then a spark of recognition came to her eyes. She threw her arms around me, clung to my neck, and wept into my chest.
"It all went dark. I couldn't see. All I could hear was that dreadful shrieking, over and over and… I thought I was going to die!" She heaved another sob.
I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do, so I just held her to me.
Gradually, Persephone composed herself enough to speak. "Why did you send them after me?" She asked in a haunted voice.
"I didn't. The Furies act independently from me and follow laws more ancient than I am. Persephone, why did you go? I told you already that you couldn't leave." My voice held no reproach, despite my words. I already knew why she had done this.
Persephone didn't answer my question.
"Hades." She lifted her face towards me. "Please let me go," she whispered desperately.
My heart burned in agony to see the tearstained face of the woman I loved look at my own with such hope. My desire to bring her happiness fought with my desire to have her near me. I wanted to give her anything, but I just couldn't bring myself to give her this.
"I can't."
At those two words, Persephone went limp. I realized with a start that her skin was ice cold. In a panic, I searched for a pulse. There. As soft as a butterfly's wing beneath her skin. I let out the breath I had not been aware I was holding.
I sat back and thought for a moment. I forced myself to breathe evenly to calm myself. She couldn't die, she is a goddess after all, but she was losing strength fast. I didn't fully understand why that would be the case. Even if she didn't eat, her god-power should have sustained her. At least, it should have sustained her in the mere week that she had gone without food. There must be something that I was overlooking. Goddesses didn't just waste away for no reason.
An idea occurred to me. I looked at my surroundings for the first time since I got out here. I hadn't seen the surface since...I didn't even know. I had passed through, of course, but not really looked. Even the time I had visited Persephone, I hadn't been focused on my surroundings.
I had forgotten what it was like, seeing endless, indescribable shades of blue. And the sun...had it ever been so warm on my back? I could feel the deep set chill in my bones loosen and release its grip. My breath came easier. How could I have forgotten? But I hadn't, not really. That was part of the reason why I was so deeply attracted to Persephone. She was warm and gentle, like Spring. Spring had been my favorite season before. The cool, soft air was renewing compared to the suffocating heat of Summer.
Of course. She was pining for the outside. If I - who had barely spent any of my life in the world before being banished under it - had this much of a reaction coming back after three thousand years, then she must miss it even. A wash of empathy came over me.
I touch her cheek gently with the tips of my fingers. Even in her sleep she flinched away from me. I pulled back, stung. It was so strange and confusing. Why had she clung to me so much when I had rescued her from the Furies, only to pull away from me now?
It was almost like she had two sets of instincts: one warning her to stay as far away as possible, the other attracting her to me and the rest of the Underworld. I had seen small evidences of this attraction. Our conversation before this whole mess had begun. Her not pulling away from my kiss immediately. Her questions about my past that Aspasia informed me about. Her choosing to sit by me the first time we met instead of less intimidating gods. But that was just a few moments out of a hundred. The rest of the time, she was cold.
Or maybe that was just the wind. I came out of my thoughts, puzzled. I didn't remember the outside world ever getting quite so chilly. And why were the leaves on that tree turning brown? Was it sick? No, all the trees were like that. There was a strange taste in the air, one I had never experienced before. Persephone shivered in my arms from the crisp air. I needed to get her back to the Underworld where she could be warmed.
I wrapped my jacket around her bare shoulders and carried to her my horse, the temperature dropping noticeably. With my wife in the saddle in front of me, I made my way back into the Underworld.