Chapter 30 – Shade
SHADE
Ifind the river after a short time of teleporting around, and begin to walk the shore. This seems a strange place for murderers. Between the sunshine, the flowers and trees, and the sound of the rushing river, it’s like a strange paradise. Which is exactly when I hear female voices up ahead.
Are these the dangerous beings I’ve been searching for?
My stomach flips. Why am I so nervous? When I meet them I’ll be able to tell if Norbert was lying to me or not. I won’t just drag innocent people to the Underworld, and yet, I’ve learned to be cautious of anyone who wants to use my powers for themselves.
When the voices draw closer, I stand still, just around the bend of the river. A second later, they come into view, two ordinary-looking women. One has dark hair and wears sunglasses. The other is a slender woman with long flaming red hair and dark eyes.
Instantly, I sense in them hundreds of deaths. Hundreds of moments when lives were taken, some deserving of it, some innocent. My head swims with all the moments of death, and I pull back, nearly staggering.
This isn’t what I’m meant for. I feel someone die an awful death, and I avenge them. I don’t search within each person to determine what past sins might qualify them to be dragged away. Only, if these women weren’t immortals, there’s a good chance they would’ve been taken by a shade already.
Not one hundred percent certain. Hades, after all, doesn’t send us after every terrible person.
So why does this feel wrong?
I push the feeling away. If I don’t do this, the gargoyles will have to remain here to continue protecting their people from these women. They’ll never be free. They’ll never have the happiness they so deserve.
I have to do this. For them.
The dark haired woman spots me a second later and stiffens. “You’re new.”
There’s something in her tone that sets me on edge. “Yes, I am.”
“Who are you?” she asks, and I notice that she steps a little in front of the other woman.
“I was brought here to heal,” I tell her.
“To heal?” She lifts a brow. “You do know that’s kind of unusual here. These people tend to stick to themselves.”
I suspected, but didn’t know. “You’re Medusa, and you’re Keto.”
She gives a sharp nod. “Who wants to know?”
“I’m Shade.”
“Shade?” She lifts a brow. “That’s a strange name.”
“Says Medusa.”
She curses under her breath. “Does everyone think my name is so damn weird?”
Keto laughs behind her.
My heart races faster. “You’ve killed a lot of people.”
“So what?” Medusa challenges me.
Keto touches her arm. “Calm down. You remember what it was like when you first came here.”
Medusa shakes her head. “There’s something off with this woman.”
She’s not wrong. “Many of the people you killed were innocent.”
“They were,” Keto confirms, and her eyes meet mine.
Everything Norbert says checks out, so why do I feel so uncertain? I need to stop dragging this out and do what needs to be done.
I take a deep breath and teleport behind them. With hesitating, I grasp their shoulders and teleport to the Underworld, dragging not only their souls, but their bodies too.
The shadows instantly swallow us.
“Where the hell are we?” Medusa shouts.
I draw back from them as they whirl on me. “The Underworld—“
“The Underworld?” Keto repeats, her voice filled with horror.
“It’s where those who murder the innocent belong. I’m sorry. But Norbert was tired of his people living in fear of you. This is what had to happen.”
“People living in fear of us?” Medusa asks, outraged.
“Who? Our husbands? Our kids? Or all our friends at the sanctuary?”
I stare at her. I can feel the many souls lost to her stone stare. And yet, her words seem sincere. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”
“You can’t just leave us here!” Keto’s voice takes on an edge.
“I—“
Before I can say more, a blast sends us flying down the tunnels.
I slam into the walls. Rocks cut my body and my wounded stomach screams in pain.
I’m too panicked to simply teleport away, so I spin and spin, scrambling to slow or stop myself, but fail to do either.
We land near each other, roughly, and my head continues to spin.
I instantly struggle to teleport away. But I can’t.
My eyes flash open. We’re lying on the banks of the Styx river, souls standing all around us.
Along with Hades and his shades.
“Welcome to eternity,” the god says, and his laughter seems to come from all around us.
I turn and try to rush back to the tunnels, but the shades close their circle, cutting me off from my escape. And behind them, an army of their soldiers made of bones emerge from the darkness of the tunnels.
We can’t go back the way we came. But before us is only the god of the Underworld and pain.
We’re trapped.
Medusa turns to me, her sunglasses knocked from her face. Her eyes widen as she asks, “What have you done?”
My stomach twists. What have I done?