1. Chapter 1
Acold breeze drifted across the Underworld. A scattering of snow danced in the winds, playfully meandering across the moonlit landscape of ice and rock, while the bare branches of trees reached up to the night sky like fingers of bone. All was silent across the snow-covered desert; a landscape where no birds dared to sing, and no flowers dared to peek from beneath the blanket of snow. It was a place of silence. A place where magic no longer bloomed. A place of death.
Shadow sighed as he gazed across the barren landscape of glittering ice, sending a cloud of fog drifting into the night time air. So much for being King of the Underworld. His kingdom was nothing more than a wasteland, his home an empty motel, and his company confined to a handful of spirits and a particularly meddlesome poltergeist. He studied the Underworld mournfully, a landscape lost in an eternal winter, where no life would dare to grow. Well, nothing except for one particular desert plant, of course.
Shadow winced as he pulled a cactus needle from his backside, and cursed the gods for his misfortune. He was supposed to be saving lost souls, and helping them move on to the heavens above. But how could he, when no lost soul had visited in centuries? His heart sank as he gazed at the stars above. The afterlife certainly wasn’t what he thought it would be.
A low whine pulled him to attention, while a pair of paws impatiently scratched at his side. Shadow turned as Cerberus emerged from the gloom, his tail wagging like a plane propeller in greeting. With a smile, Shadow affectionately scratched each of the playful pup’s three heads, before the dog lay by his side.
“Well, at least I have you for company, boy. Huh, what’s that you’ve got there?” Shadow grimaced as the dog lay a slobbery bone by his feet. “For the last time, I told you not to go digging in the graveyard. I swear you have one brain cell between those three heads of yours.”
With a sigh, he returned his gaze to the landscape, where faint golden lights shimmered in the center of the darkness. He looked at the rundown motel he called home, and the bramble-covered gardens, where barbed-wire like thorns grew as far as the eye could see.
“I’m not sure how long we can last like this, Cerberus. If we don’t save a lost soul soon, the Underworld will fall.” A plume of fog flared from Shadow’s nostrils in frustration. “But how can we save anyone, when no one has visited us in years?”
Cerberus lifted his heads as a low rumble shook the ground, and barked at his master.
“Don’t play that game with me. I fed you an hour ago.”
But Shadow looked in surprise as another rumble disrupted the silence of the Underworld, followed by the crunch of gravel. If this wasn’t a case of Cerberus’ insatiable appetite, then what was it?
His eyes widened as a pair of golden lights emerged on the horizon. Not just any lights, but car lights. He watched in disbelief as a vehicle sped along the roads, venturing closer to the Underworld’s boundaries.
“What’s a mortal doing all the way out here? The Underworld is certainly no place for the living.”
Shadow watched the car distrustfully as it approached. He glanced at Cerberus as the pooch let out a low whine, and shook his head dismissively.
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, boy.” Shadow’s eyes narrowed coldly at the vehicle. “I’m sure they’ll be gone soon enough.”
But Shadow drew a startled breath as a piece of parchment fluttered through the sky. It soared along the breeze like a paper plane, before it landed snugly into his hands. His eyes widened in shock as he read its contents, while Cerberus cocked his head and pawed impatiently at his side.
“Impossible. This can’t be…” Shadow looked from the parchment, and back to the car. “All this time, we’ve been waiting to save a lost soul. I just didn’t expect it would be… a mortal.”
Cerberus barked in excitement, while Shadow’s face paled. For so long, he’d protected the secret of his kingdom from mortal kind. But now he was supposed to welcome one into the land of the dead?
A bark from Cerberus snapped him to attention. He groaned as the dog gave him a knowing look, and shook his head in protest.
“I’m not being stubborn. There’s just something here that doesn’t add up.” Shadow watched the unusual winds as they danced along the Underworld, and noticed a shimmer of a rainbow sparkling in the distance. With his suspicions confirmed, his grip tightened on the parchment, until he crushed it into a paper ball. “The gods should know better than to meddle where they’re not wanted.”
Despite Shadow’s fearsome demeanor, Cerberus pawed at his master’s side once more, and let out a low whine. Shadow groaned in defeat, knowing that even he was no match to counter the combined will of the gods and the headstrong pooch.
“You really think she could be the one, huh?” Shadow sighed as he scratched Cerberus’ ears, before he returned his gaze to the car. “Fine. Let’s see how long the mortal can last here. Just don’t get attached. Sooner or later, she’ll move on, just like everyone else.”
With a merry bark, Cerberus scampered down the hill, towards the motel in the distance. Shadow returned his gaze to the approaching car, knowing that its arrival meant one thing. Change was coming to the Underworld. But right now, he couldn’t tell if the mortal would be the savior of his kingdom, or would be the source of its destruction.