17. Chapter 17
The sound of hammering and sawing filled the motel. Zoe watched as the Phantom Fiestadores repaired the rotten woodwork, as Misty wallpapered freshly plastered walls, and Cerberus swept layers of dust away with his tail. Little by little, each of the spirits breathed new life into the Underworld Motel. And as the only human in a household of ghosts, Zoe did the one chore that broke every specter into a cold sweat. The vacuuming.
Despite the tedious task, Zoe couldn’t help but smile as she caught Shadow’s gaze from afar. As his eyes sparkled with a golden light, she realized it wasn’t just the motel that was changing for the better. Everything in the Underworld seemed to sparkle with an inner magic that had been missing before. And as her work belongings sat untouched for the first time in years, Zoe couldn’t help but think that she’d changed for the better, too.
“Afternoon, fleshie!”
Spooks burst out of thin air with a gleeful cackle. But his joy soon turned to fear as his coat-tails fluttered into the vacuum, until he was sucked into the nozzle with a sharp cry.
“Dammit, Spooks!” Zoe groaned as she pulled him free from the vacuum bag, only to curse as dust exploded the freshly-cleaned floors. “Haven’t we been over this?”
“Yeah, yeah. No bursting out of thin air, no appearing through walls, and no using you as a fleshie guinea pig for my inventions. But this time it’s different.” The poltergeist plucked Zoe’s laptop from thin air, and gestured to the screen. “Look!”
“Huh...” Zoe peered at the screen, before her breath caught in her throat. “We’ve had visitors to the website!”
“That’s right, fleshie!” Spooks chuckled merrily, before he began juggling Zoe’s laptop through the air. “Soon this place will be filled with spirits, specters and gaggles of ghouls. And finally, I can perform for great crowds once more!”
“I just wish we could know for sure it’s working. I’ve never made a website for ghosts before...”
“Oh, it’s working, fleshie. And I have proof.” Spooks broke into a grin, before he took her hand. “All aboard!”
“Oh, no...”
With a yelp, Zoe was propelled from the motel, before they rocketed towards the maze. A shrill beeping blasted from Spooks’ tunic as they approached Persephone’s Tree, until Zoe turned to him knowingly.
“Is that my tracker?” She narrowed her eyes as the jester plucked the device from his pocket. “I thought I told you to keep your hands off my things?”
“But it’s so much fun to go snooping where I’m not supposed to. Besides, this might be just the thing I need to perfect the Ecto-3000.” Spooks cackled gleefully as they sped towards Persephone’s Tree. “Finally, no audience, living or dead, will be able to ignore me!”
With a merry toot, Spooks deposited Zoe at the foot of the tree, before he soared through its branches, giggling gleefully at every shrill bleep of the tracker. She sighed, and turned to see Misty and the Phantom Fiestadores gather nearby, their attention focused on a small spot on the earth.
“What’s going on?” Zoe approached the group curiously. “I trust there’s a good reason Spooks dragged me halfway across a frozen tundra?”
“There sure is, sugar.” Misty broke into a smile, and pointed at the frozen ground. “Look!”
Zoe peered at the earth, until her eyes widened at the sight before her. Small shoots of green grass punctured the pristine white blanket of snow, emerging after years of their slumber. She looked at each of the fragile blades in wonder, before she shook her head in confusion.
“I don’t understand...”
Zoe turned as a cold breeze swept around her, until Shadow emerged, his arms wrapped around her waist. His eyes gleamed in the light of the sunset, until he plucked a delicate flower from thin air.
“It seems the Underworld is awakening from its slumber.” Shadow broke into a smile as he handed Zoe the flower. “And it’s all thanks to you.”
Zoe drew a startled breath, before she looked at the courtyard once more. She looked at the green shoots of grass, to the slowly melting icicles, and realized Shadow was right. Life was returning to the Underworld.
“Well, I, for one, think this gives us something to celebrate!” Spooks swung upside-down from the tree branches, and flashed the group a wide grin. “How about a lap around the usual track to see who’s the real King of the Underworld?”
Shadow folded his arms, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “And what tricks can I expect from you this time?”
“Tricks? Master, you insult me!“ Spooks shook his head, before he broke into a mischievous smile. “I just thought that since you and the fleshie got to compete as a team last time, then it’s only fair the rest of us can do the same. Isn’t that right, Cerberus?”
Cerberus released a bark of agreement, while the Phantom Fiestadores gave a hearty cheer of approval. But as the ghosts teamed up to compete in the race, Zoe felt her heart sink. Compared to the other competitors, she felt like a weight, chaining Shadow down to the earth.
“You go ahead without me. Someone has to stop Spooks’ jelly parties with the Titans.” She forced a smile and glanced back at the motel. “I should head back and see if we’ve had any more visitors to the website...”
“Work can wait.” Shadow broke into a devilish smile. “Besides, we have a gift for you.”
“A gift?”
“Consider it a thank you for putting this place back on the map again.” Zoe glanced at the group of ghosts uneasily as they broke into a broad grin. “Misty, could you do the honors?”
With a smile, Misty clicked her fingers, summoning a red velvet cupcake into Zoe’s hands. She admired the rich crimson hue of the cake, while her mouth salivated at the generous swirl of cream frosting. But despite the irresistible scent of the cake, Zoe couldn’t help but feel something was amiss.
“I don’t understand...” But Zoe’s eyes widened at the sight of a red berry that glistened within the luxurious frosting. “Is this what I think it is?”
“One pomegranate seed remained from the Spectral Soirée. And after everything you’ve done to help the Underworld, we thought it was only fitting that it belonged to you.”
Zoe’s breath caught in her throat. This was no ordinary gift. Each of the ghosts had willingly sacrificed an evening of life to give this to her. She shook her head in bewilderment, before she met their gaze.
“Thank you, really. But I...” She glanced at the pomegranate seed uncertainly. “What will happen to me once I eat it?”
“Persephone’s magic works both ways.” Shadow’s eyes gleamed in the sunset, until swathes of night filled the sky. “If it turns spirits into flesh and blood, then by the same logic...”
Zoe drew a breath in understanding. “It would turn me into a ghost?”
She paled as she glanced at the cupcake. But despite her concern, Shadow gave her a reassuring smile.
“It would only be temporary, just until the break of dawn. But it would give you the chance to experience the Underworld our way. To ride through the breezes. To harness its powers. To be connected to its magic.”
A flicker of excitement raced within Zoe at the thought of experiencing the true magic of the Underworld. She gazed at the red seed as it gleamed with its inner power, tempting her with its godly gifts.
“Well, what do you say, Zoe?”
Zoe drew a breath, and gazed at the group before her.
“Thank you, all of you. This is the most magical gift I’ve ever been given.” She drew the cupcake closer, and inhaled its rich scent. “Well, here goes nothing.”
Zoe took a bite of the cupcake, relishing the rich taste of the velvety crumb, combined with the luscious creaminess of the frosting. Her eyes widened as she swallowed a mouthful of the cupcake, before she turned to Misty.
“This is good. Really good!“ Zoe’s eyes widened in surprise as her stomach rumbled, and a shimmer of light danced across her skin. “Oh!”
A cloud of mist engulfed Zoe’s vision, until all she could see were the flickering lights that sparkled from her body. Lost in the mists, she felt her senses sharpen, until she could hear the faintest whisper of the wind in the trees, and could feel every caress of the breeze on her skin. She drew her hands to her face, only to blink in bewilderment as their vibrancy faded, until they became nothing more than a translucent glimmer of light. She gasped as her skin shimmered like rays of sunlight on a pool of water, and yelped in surprise as her feet left the solid ground, before she floated in the air.
“I’m... I’m...” Zoe looked at her body in wonder as the mists cleared. “I’m a ghost!”
She let out a laugh of joy, until she somersaulted through the air, as weightless as a feather caught in the breeze. With a cry of delight, she sped across the perimeter of the clearing, weaving effortlessly through the branches of Persephone’s Tree. She’d never felt so weightless, so free. She closed her eyes in concentration, before she disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reappearing beside Shadow’s side moments later.
“This is incredible!” Zoe laughed joyously and drew a breath, only to float upwards against her will. “Although how do you stop yourself from floating away? I feel like a helium balloon with no string.”
“It takes some getting used to.” Shadow rose through the air to greet her, and broke into a smile. “Perhaps I can keep you grounded for now. I wouldn’t want you floating all the way to the moon.”
Zoe gasped as Shadow took her hand in his, feeling his touch for the first time since the Spectral Soirée. It was a touch altogether different from anything physical. A touch that she felt within the very core of her spirit. They held each other’s gaze as they floated weightlessly through the air, until Shadow looked at her appearance in wonder.
“You look even more beautiful in death than you do in life.” Shadow’s eyes gleamed at the sight of her golden body next to the darkness of his. “Like a ray of sunlight sent from the heavens themselves.”
“Okay, break it up you two.” Spooks appeared in a cloud of blue smoke, his bells jingling in the breeze. “I’ll admit that death looks good on the fleshie. But we’ll miss the race entirely if you two spend all evening giving each other puppy dog eyes!”
Zoe glanced at the skies, as the nightly spectacle of lights unfolded in the heavens above. She watched as the ghosts teamed up into pairs and gathered at the starting line. Misty fanned herself as the Phantom Fiestadores eagerly battled for her hand, while Spooks attached long spiderwebs and a sled to Cerberus, like a spectral Santa riding his sleigh. With a grin, she turned to Shadow, to see his eyes sparkle with excitement.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Together, they joined the ghosts by the starting line, and focused on the currents of wind that tore through the landscape. “Ready, set…”
“See ya, losers!”
Spooks chuckled as he dangled a bone on a fishing line and hurled it in front of Cerberus. With a bark of excitement, the dog took off at full speed, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. As the meddlesome poltergeist’s laughter echoed through the landscape, Zoe couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Clearly, some things would never change.
At once, the racers sped from the starting line, until the sky filled with their laughs of delight. Zoe sped after them, marveling at the sensation of the breezes as they propelled her through the sky, until she became lost in the shimmering tunnels of wind. Together with Shadow, she raced through the cactus fields, nimbly weaving between each obstacle, leaving nothing but a trail of golden stardust in her wake.
Onwards they raced, across the Bubbling Bog, where vast geysers of water exploded into the air. Where once, the lake had echoed with Zoe’s screams of terror, now her laughs of delight rippled across the surface. She wove through the watery explosions in a trail of light, until each droplet shimmered with a kaleidoscope of rainbows and the landscape was bathed in a magical glow. With a hearty cry, she reached the shores of the lake, overtaking Misty and the Phantom Fiestadores, until she sped into the final part of the track.
Zoe watched as Spooks’ makeshift sled veered chaotically through the sky, pulled by Cerberus as the dog excitedly chased after the tiny bone. As the poltergeist caught sight of her and Shadow, he summoned his catapult, and launched a maelstrom of cobwebs their way, forcing them to veer from the track.
“Watch out, Zoe!”
Zoe gasped as she veered towards a brick wall at top speed. She braced herself for the impact, only to balk in surprise as she passed through it without a scratch. She drew a breath in shock, checking herself for injuries, before Shadow raised a knowing eyebrow.
“We’re ghosts, remember?” But his eyes darkened as Spooks’ cackles echoed through the sky. “We’ll never catch up to him in time. If there’s one thing I know about Cerberus, it’s that nothing makes him run faster than the promise of a juicy bone.”
Zoe glanced at her surroundings, to find herself in a small graveyard. A group of skeletons played a game of bridge on an overturned gravestone nearby, while the bones of what must have been a wooly mammoth carved through the ground like giant archways. Zoe looked from the giant bones, to Cerberus as he pursued the tasty treat dangled before him, and smiled as an idea formed in her mind.
“Then we’ll just have to use his appetites against him. Follow me!”
Zoe raced through the graveyard, pulling a giant bone from the earth, before she sped into a vast tunnel of wind. She flew across the landscape like a shooting star, her eyes focused on the poltergeist as he careened through the sky on his makeshift sleigh. As Cerberus charged towards a fork in the tunnels of wind, she sensed her moment, and hurled the vast bone across the sky. She watched with bated breath as it tumbled through the air, before a bark of excitement told her that her plan had worked.
“Woah, boy!” Spooks yelped as his sleigh jolted violently. “Where are you going?”
Cerberus veered sharply through the sky, following the path of the bone as it sailed through the sky. The powerful winds plucked it into their grasp, carrying it away from the race course, and further out into the landscape, until the slobbering dog eagerly followed in pursuit.
“No, you silly mutt! You’re taking us the wrong way!”
Despite Spooks’ cries of frustration, nothing could stop Cerberus as he chased the giant bone. The poltergeist howled with fury as he remained trapped in his sleigh, and victory slipped from his grasp once more. As he disappeared on the horizon like a ghostly Santa with a runaway reindeer, Shadow turned to Zoe with a smile.
“You did it, Zoe.”
“We did it.“ Zoe broke into a smile, before she glanced at the motel in the distance. “Now come on. We have a race to win!”
Together, they raced into the shimmering currents of wind, before they were launched across the sky. As they soared together in a blur of light and darkness, their laughter echoed across the valleys and chasms, breathing new life into the frozen landscape. Zoe watched in wonder as the ice thawed in their wake, until green shoots and delicate flower buds slowly unfurled in the presence of her light. As the true beauty of the Underworld slowly awakened, Zoe turned to see Shadow race beside her. She recalled how he had once been as frozen as this landscape, protected behind layers of darkness and ice. But now, his eyes gleamed with an inner light of his own. A light of hope, of renewed pride in the lands he called home. And she realized it was the most magical sight she had ever seen.
With a victorious cry, the pair raced across the finish line. Zoe embraced Shadow, breathless from the race, and watched in wonder as an explosion of stardust filled the air. One by one, the remaining racers crossed the finish line, until Cerberus bounded towards them, his tail wagging contentedly as he carried the giant bone in his jaws. But Zoe looked at the crowd in confusion, as one competitor remained missing.
“Huh, where’s Spooks?”
A sharp cry echoed across the valley, as a dark silhouette plummeted from the sky in a trail of blue smoke. Zoe gasped as Spooks’ makeshift sleigh crashed into a pile of snow, leaving a poltergeist-shaped imprint in the mound. He tumbled out of the wreckage, before shaking the snow from his hat in a jingle of bells, and pointing an accusatory finger at Zoe.
“You… cheated!“ Spooks’ cries of indignation were broken by a violent sneeze from the cold. “Nobody tricks Spooks for a second time and gets away with it!”
“Me? Cheat? Never!“ Zoe broke into a grin as the will-ó-wisps gathered around Shadow’s brow, leaving a crown in their wake. “I’m afraid your jelly party with the Titans will have to wait. It looks like Shadow’s still the true ruler of the Underworld.”
But Shadow turned to Zoe with a smile “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
Zoe looked in confusion as a will-ó-wisp approached. It called to its companions with a melodic whistle, until dozens of the tiny creatures bathed her in their glorious light. Zoe watched in wonder as their bodies flickered with light, until she felt something emerge on the crown of her head. She glanced at Shadow curiously, only to gasp as she saw her reflection in his eyes.
“It would seem I’m not the only one in charge of the Underworld.” Shadow broke into a smile, and took Zoe’s hands into his own. “My Queen.”
Zoe gazed at her reflection in wonder. The will-ó-wisps took flight in a shimmer of gold, leaving behind a beautiful crown nestled in her hair. Its body was woven with the delicate branches of Persephone’s Tree, while ruby-colored buds gleamed like gemstones in its center. She turned to the specters in bewilderment, only for the Phantom Fiestadores to doff their sombreros and for Misty to sweep into a graceful curtsy. Even Spooks lowered himself into an unusually subservient bow, until Zoe gazed at the group in shock.
“I don’t know what to say, I...”
A shrill beep pierced through the stillness of the night. Zoe watched in surprise as Spooks emptied his pockets, sending a small mountain-worth of gadgets, gizmos and knick-knacks tumbling to the earth, until he retrieved her laptop. She studied the screen in confusion, before her eyes widened in shock.
“I don’t believe it...”
“Whatever is it, sugar?” Misty fanned herself as she peered at the screen. “Don’t tell me Spooks has been browsing the adult entertainment sites again...”
Zoe ignored Spooks’ cries of protest, and drew a shaky breath.
“No, it’s not that, it’s...” She turned to Shadow, and broke into a smile. “We have a reservation.”
The crowd gasped audibly, while Misty swooned into the arms of the Phantom Fiestadores. Despite the commotion, Shadow took a tentative step towards the laptop, his eyes gleaming in the light of the screen.
“You mean...”
“This time tomorrow, the Underworld Motel will open its doors to its first guest in centuries. A lost soul, in need of saving.” Zoe’s heart swelled in her chest as hope bloomed Shadow’s eyes. “And with it, magic will return to the Underworld.”
The ghosts burst into celebration, until their joyful cries echoed across the Underworld. Cerberus chased his tail excitedly, while Spooks released a toot from his makeshift trumpet.
“Say no more, fleshie! We’ll have a grand re-opening fit to raise the spirits!” He released a handful of confetti, before barking orders at the group gathered below. “Miguel, sweep the floors! Jose and Javier, prepare the beds! Misty, prepare a fresh batch of Boo-Berry Muffins! And I... I will prepare a show that our guest will remember for the rest of their afterlife! Everything must be perfect!”
The crowd dispersed in a whirlwind of excitement. The motel filled with a flurry of activity as cobwebs were cleared, beds were made, and every surface was left spotless. As the neon lights of the motel sign shone like a beacon across the landscape, Shadow gazed at the sight in wonder, before he turned to Zoe with a smile.
“You’ve transformed this town, Zoe. Just like you promised.” Shadow’s eyes sparkled with an inner light, before he turned to the motel, where the ghosts frantically prepared for their visitors. “Well, I guess we should get to work.”
“Actually, I was thinking we could take the night off. It would be a shame to waste such a magical night, after all.” Zoe broke into a smile as she looked from her ghostly body, to the Throne of the Underworld. “Race you there.”