Page 12 of Dead End (Crossroads Queen #9)

CHAPTER TWELVE

I missed Hestia at breakfast. The morning attendant, Phoebe, informed me that my aunt’s presence had been requested at an early meeting. When I pressed her for details, she said that was all she knew.

“Is that typical to have meetings before breakfast?” I asked. I was grouchy without food.

“No, Your Ladyship.”

“Do you know who requested the meeting?”

“No, only that Her Majesty seemed displeased.”

I stared at a bowl of yogurt and nuts.

“Is something wrong, Your Ladyship?” Phoebe asked.

“Nothing. I just… Not to sound entitled, but we wouldn’t happen to have any blueberries, would we?”

“No blueberries, but I could bring you a small bowl of cherries to add to your breakfast, if that would please you.”

“No, thanks. This is delicious just as it is.” I liked cherries well enough, but blueberries reminded me of Fairhaven, and I longed for a taste of home.

The attendant left the room with a curtsy. I ate in uncomfortable silence. No Nana Pratt rambling about recipes or the garden. No sounds of Ray’s carpentry in the next room. No Claude tapping his gnarly fingers on the table.

No Kane.

I was no stranger to a lonely, quiet meal. I’d spent most of my adult life sitting alone at a table in silence, but Fairhaven changed that. I enjoyed the ghostly hustle and bustle. The steady stream of interruptions by West and others.

I finished breakfast and vacated the table. There were no signs of any attendants in the hallway, so I headed toward the throne room in search of Hestia. Maybe I’d find Cerberus there. The hellhound had vacated his spot outside my chambers before I left.

I didn’t get very far before I encountered the angry aunties, otherwise known as the Erinyes. The trio of deadly furies fanned out in front of me, effectively blocking my path. The Hounds of Hades were among the fiercest supernaturals I knew, and that was saying something.

“Hello again, aunties.”

“We heard you were here,” Alecto said. “Thought it was only a rumor until now.”

It was unlikely they’d attended the early meeting with Hestia if that was their belief.

“We didn’t expect you to come willingly,” Megaera said.

Tisiphone’s teeth gleamed. “And I, for one, was hoping you wouldn’t, if only for the chance to drag you here by the hair.”

“Gosh, I’ve missed your gentle nature.” No small wonder that, as a child, I’d preferred the company of a three-headed hellbeast to the aunties. “Listen, there’s been a change in management. I hope you don’t mind if I set up a time to review your more recent progress reports.”

They exchanged glances. “Hestia still resides here,” Alecto said.

“We’re in a transition period, but with me taking over regular duties here…” I flashed a smile. “Well, I guess that makes me your new boss. On that note, I’d like to talk about Tartarus when you get a chance.”

Meg’s eyebrows lifted. “Why?”

“I have questions that you three are likely equipped to answer.”

“We don’t talk about Tartarus,” Tisiphone said.

“Why not?”

She folded her arms. “Just because we have to go there to inflict punishment on occasion doesn’t mean we enjoy it.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Their discomfort spurred me on. “You know what? Let’s talk about it this afternoon. I’m sure you have a few minutes to spare for the incoming queen of the underworld.”

Alecto was the first to bow. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

I didn’t have a corner office, but I did have a throne room. Posy would approve. The image of her severed head flashed in my mind, wiping the smile from my face.

I forced myself back to the conversation at hand. “Three o’clock in the throne room.”

“Do you mean 1500 hours?” Meg asked.

Right. We used a twenty-four-hour clock in the underworld. Well, I was accustomed to that from my years in London. “Yes, that’s what I meant.”

Alecto looked at her sisters. “We have that thing at 1500 hours, don’t we?”

I didn’t give them a chance to play that game. “Then I’m afraid you’ll have to reschedule. The throne beckons.” I sailed past the trio without giving them a chance to object and continued to the throne room.

Hestia stood beside the throne while two attendants adjusted the legs of the chair.

“What’s going on?” I asked .

“I’ve instructed the servants to adjust the chair for your height. I’ll use the footrest as a step while I’m still here.”

Hestia was a good three inches shorter than I was. “That’s very considerate, thank you.”

“It’s the first of many tasks. I trust breakfast was to your liking.”

“Yes, thank you. I’m sorry you missed it. You were called to a meeting?”

She waved a hand. “It’s over now. I’m focused on other tasks this morning, such as your throne.” Her gaze skated to the worker bees. “Is it done?”

The attendants retreated from the throne with bowed heads.

Hestia gestured to the chair. “Care to try it out?”

It seemed rude to refuse. I climbed into the chair and sat. The seat felt too big and too cold; I wasn’t certain I’d ever get used to it.

“The height is perfect, thank you.”

Hestia gave the attendants a pleased smile. “Well done. You may leave us.”

The attendants took their sweet time as they ambled toward the exit, likely hopeful to overhear snippets of what was sure to be a juicy conversation.

“The meeting was about you, as I’m sure you’ve already surmised.”

“I figured. Someone wants to know what to put in my welcome basket?”

Hestia grunted her amusement. “If only. They’re questioning my decision to hand over authority to you. Imagine! Questioning the authority of the rightful heir to the throne.”

“Who was it?”

Her gaze flicked to me. “I think it’s best that I keep that information to myself for the moment. If I sense it becoming a genuine danger, I’ll let you know. ”

“Is it because of my long absence?”

“No. It seems your humanity is an issue for them. That this version of you was raised in the mortal world. They deem you unsuitable.”

“I would think that’s a benefit rather than a detriment. Who better to rule over the afterlife of human souls than one who lived as one of them?”

“That was my precise argument.”

“But they think it makes me weak.”

“Naturally. When you live among gods, your viewpoint will undoubtedly be skewed.”

I slid off the chair before I walked away with a sore butt. “Thank you for defending me.” I knew it was in her best interest given her strong desire to leave, but it was still good to know she had my back.

“We’re family, Melinoe. That doesn’t necessarily mean something to every god, but it certainly means something to me.”

“I appreciate you, Aunt Hestia. You’ll be pleased to know I’ve scheduled my first meeting in this very room for later today.”

“May I ask with whom?”

“The Erinyes. I ran into them after breakfast.”

“And how were you received?”

I shrugged. “They were determined to get me here. Now I’m here. I guess they win.”

Hestia bit back a smile. “Tread carefully with them, my darling. They’re loyal to the underworld, but you can only push them so far before they push back.”

“Noted.”

“Are you busy now? How would you feel about a tour of the Asphodel Meadows?” She clasped her hands in front of her. “Or would you prefer to start with Elysium? More celebrities there. ”

The majority of souls were placed in the meadows. “Asphodel sounds good to me. Would you like to eat first?”

“I ate during the meeting, but thank you. It lends a certain air of authority when you spew pastry crumbs at your visitors while you lambast them for their ignorance.”

I laughed. “Pastries are the perfect accompaniment for a good, old-fashioned lambasting.”

I exited the throne room with Hestia and walked along the corridor. The interior was illuminated by blazing torches affixed to the walls until we reached the great outdoors. Here the walkways were lit by glowing asphodels, just like the path that led to the underworld gate.

“Fair warning, my dear,” Hestia said. “Asphodel Meadows isn’t the most upbeat place. The souls that dwell there have no memories of their former lives. They’re mere shells of their former selves.”

“Sounds depressing.”

“I suppose that depends on the life you left behind.”

I tried not to think of mine; it was already consuming enough of my waking hours, which reminded me… “Have we received any messages from another realm?”

Hestia gave me a curious look. “Expecting a love letter?”

“Not quite.” What I expected was some form of acknowledgement that The Corporation knew I was here. Their silence confused me. Then again, it was possible they were still recovering from Unas and would be in touch once they had a revised game plan. Although I didn’t look forward to that eventuality, somehow their silence seemed even worse.

Three o’clock rolled around, or 1500 hours, given my current location. I made sure to get settled in the throne room before my guests arrived. I’d only intended to have a single attendant, but Hestia had insisted I keep two guards with me at all times when meeting with my subjects, so now I was joined in the throne room by one attendant, two guards, and three furies. The Erinyes bowed at the foot of my throne.

“Thank you for coming,” I said, hoping to start off on a positive note. The straight lines of their mouths told me all I needed to know about their current excitement level.

“Ask your questions,” Tisiphone barked. “We have work to do.”

I sat in silence until they started to fidget. Finally, I spoke. “As your queen, I’ll decide when to begin.”

Jaw stiff, Tisiphone bowed her head. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I want to know how we decide who gets punished in Tartarus and what that punishment should be.”

“Why does it matter?” Alecto asked.

“I believe I am the one asking the questions.”

Meg stepped forward. “Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus judge the souls together, and then Minos chooses their final place.”

“Thank you, Meg. I’d like to speak with them. Can you please bring them to me?”

“Send Cerberus,” Tisiphone said. “We’re not your hounds.”

She was testing my boundaries again. I had to nip this in the bud. “You’re the Hounds of Hades. It’s right there in the name.”

Tisiphone jerked up her chin. “Hounds of Hades, not Melinoe.”

I was beginning to lose patience. “You’re the ones who came to Fairhaven and insisted that I return to rule.”

Hestia appeared in the doorway. “Erinyes, my darlings, despite your protestations, I think you’ll find that you are, in fact, her bitches. ”

Tisiphone’s face radiated anger and resentment. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

The trio left and I continued to sit on the throne to wait for the judges.

Hestia lingered. “If you intend to keep the underworld from descending into chaos, you’ll need to exert your authority.”

“They wanted me here. Why be difficult now?”

“It’s their way. You’ll figure it out.” With those words, she slipped out of sight.

Gods, I missed Kane. I missed all my friends and acquaintances in Fairhaven.

I missed organic blueberries.

But this was my home now and I had to learn to accept it. Resistance was futile, as any alien overlord worth his salt liked to say. Once the transition period ended, Hestia would pack her bags and go, leaving me alone to rule.

It wasn’t my worst nightmare, but it wasn’t exactly a dream come true either. Despite regaining many of Melinoe’s memories, I still didn’t feel at home here. And the one missing memory that plagued me was how I ended up being reborn in the first place. Why didn’t I remember what happened?

The sound of shuffling footsteps alerted me to my requested visitors. The three men lined up in a row in front of me. The Erinyes didn’t bother to accompany them. Shocker.

“Your Majesty,” the men said in unison, bowing their heads.

“I’m going to need you to identify yourselves. I’m afraid I don’t remember you.”

“We didn’t interact much, Your Majesty,” the man in the middle said. “I am Minos, son of Zeus. ”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at his attempt at posturing. I didn’t care who his father was. Thanks to my previous dealings with the vampire Vincenzo Magnarella, I also happened to know that Zeus was available in The Corporation’s pantry of pantheons.

“I’m Aeacus,” the man on the left said.

“And that leaves you,” I said to the man on the right. He was the tallest of the three with a luxurious head of silver-white hair and a full matching beard.

“Call me Rhad, if it pleases you, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you all for coming so quickly. As part of my transition to the throne, I have questions about how we judge the souls that enter our underworld.”

Minos offered an indulgent smile that immediately got under my skin. “It’s simple, really. They queue up and wait their turn. Each one stands before us, and we decide which section to send them to based on how they lived their lives. Seamless and efficient.”

I thought of the Chinese underworld. “There’s no mirror involved, is there?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Then how do we have all the information we need?”

They stood in confused silence. Finally, Aeacus said, “Your Majesty?”

“How do we know the circumstances surrounding their actions? If a soul arrives who robbed a bank, do we know why they took such drastic action?”

“The circumstances are irrelevant, Your Majesty,” Minos said.

“Not to me. Had he been unfairly fired from his job and desperate for money to save his sick child?”

“With all due respect, that doesn’t excuse the crime, Your Majesty,” Rhad said .

“Maybe not, but it doesn’t necessarily deserve a lifetime of torture in Tartarus either.”

“I’m sure you’ll find the punishment fits the crime,” Minos said. “The underworld is a well-oiled machine at this point.”

“Even so, I’d like to see Tartarus for myself.”

Murmurs and handwringing followed my command.

“The thing is, we don’t actually step foot inside Tartarus,” Minos said, somewhat apologetically.

“But you send souls there to punish them.”

“That’s correct, but once I send them in, I don’t know what becomes of them. That’s up to Tartarus itself.”

“Don’t you ever check, just to see what’s happening there?”

“No, Your Majesty. I’m much too busy with the usual tasks.”

“No one is permitted in Tartarus except the guilty,” Rhad said. “We wouldn’t want one of us accidentally crushed by a rolling boulder now, would we?”

“Depends on who it is,” I said.

Their eyes bulged slightly.

“I don’t recall any of this from when I lived here.”

“Your parents tried to shield you from the uglier side of the underworld,” Minos said. “We have a full schedule of souls today, Your Majesty. Will there be anything else?”

“No, thank you. That will be all for now.” I needed to think. Rome wasn’t built in a day; Libitina could tell them all about that.

Once the judges exited the throne room, I rose to my feet and stretched, grateful for the respite. I found it hard to believe that the judges simply smacked their gavel and sent the souls on their merry way, especially knowing that not all afterlifes were created equal. A memory simmered in my mind; an image of the brutality inflicted upon Kane in hell. I didn’t want that in my realm, not for any reason. Eternal torment left no room for contrition or forgiveness.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon reacquainting myself with my former home. The inner sanctum was relatively quiet as I walked from room to room. There were familiar sights here and there, with memories sprinkled throughout, but none that really stood out. Not the kind of memories I’d created in Fairhaven with Kane and my friends.

No surprise that I found Hestia in the coziest room in the entire underworld. A fire blazed in the hearth. My aunt sat in a comfy wingback chair with a blanket across her lap and a book cradled in her hands.

She glanced up when I entered. “I thought it might be you. How are you settling in?”

“Fine, although I wish all my memories would come back. It might make this whole thing easier.”

She set the book facedown. “All in good time, dear. I’m sure the longer you’re here, the more you’ll remember.”

“Have I ever been to Tartarus?”

Hestia did a double take. “Certainly not.”

“I’d like to see it.”

“Why in the underworld would you want to go there?”

“You took me to the other lands. Why not Tartarus?”

“The other lands aren’t dangerous.” She shifted her weight in the chair. “I don’t understand why you deem it necessary.”

“I want to better understand the process, how we treat the souls that go there. The judges said they never set foot inside.”

“And why would they?”

“To check on the souls they send there.”

“For what purpose? The souls are punished for eternity. What is there to check?” She gave me an appraising look. “Is this your human side?”

“I don’t know.” Truth be told, I didn’t much care. “You don’t have to come with me. Just tell me how to navigate it.”

“I honestly couldn’t tell you. Tartarus runs itself.”

“Well, when was the last time you were there?”

She flinched. “You think I would visit Tartarus?”

“You’ve been the ruler of the underworld. How could you not visit?”

“Because it’s awful.” She shuddered. “I’m the goddess of hearth and home. Can you picture me wandering through a wasteland like that?”

“We torture souls there, Hestia. What if one ended up there that didn’t belong?”

“There are systems in place to prevent that sort of thing. It wouldn’t happen.”

“Wouldn’t or couldn’t?”

Hestia sighed. “If you want to go, I won’t stop you, but I advise against it. Your parents ran the underworld like a Swiss clock. They wouldn’t let any single part get out of sync. I’ve kept things ticking along exactly as they did.” She picked up the book and resumed reading, effectively ending the conversation.

I left the room and found Cerberus waiting for me. All three heads turned in the same direction.

“You want to show me something, buddy?”

The hellhound padded toward a dark tunnel, one of the narrower offshoots I’d yet to explore.

I laughed. “You won’t fit in there.”

The head on the left nudged me forward. He wanted me to enter. Alone.

I looked at him. “Is this a route to Tartarus?”

Six sets of knowing eyes stared at me.

“Got it.” I kissed the nearest head. “Thanks, bud. You’re the best.” I ventured into the tunnel, which only grew narrower the deeper I walked. No wonder Cerberus stayed behind. Even if the hellhound managed to squeeze in at the beginning, he wouldn’t have made it very far.

I sensed I was on a downward slope. This had to be a back route to Tartarus. Based on what I remembered from my lessons, Cerberus guarded the border and kept souls from escaping. The hellhound must’ve had his own path to get there.

The air was dry and acrid. I felt two drops of liquid land on my arm and realized my nose was bleeding. I patted my pocket for a tissue but came up empty. Terrific.

The path twisted and sloped. I was descending to the bowels of the earth and felt every step of it. My thighs would complain later.

The tunnel expanded slightly, and I realized I’d reached the end. There was no light to greet me. Only a gate made out of a substance I didn’t recognize. The gate wasn’t as large as I would’ve expected for a place like Tartarus, which gave credence to my suspicion that I’d taken a lesser traveled path to a back entrance.

I tested the handle. The gate opened without resistance. I wasn’t sure whether it had been left unlocked or responded to my goddess of the underworld genes. My guess was the latter.

I stepped inside and took a moment to get the lay of the land. Steaming pits. Screams of despair. The skin on my arms broke out in goosebumps. This section was nothing like the area I recalled from my dream with Aite. No sign of a hillock, or even a small mountain. That part of Tartarus had been desolate but quiet.

This Tartarus was a literal hellhole.

I contemplated which way to go. No direction looked particularly inviting, as one would expect of a place of eternal punishment.

My gut chose left.

The ground quaked, throwing me off balance. I managed to stay upright thanks to a large rock to my right. Straightening, my gaze swept the landscape for the source.

Brilliant orange flames flickered in the darkness between two enormous boulders. There was something familiar about this place, but try as I might, I couldn’t remember.

I passed between the boulders, drawn toward the light. A mere ten feet from the fire was a monstrous, six-armed giant in adamantine chains. The creature was the size of a city bus. His name slammed into me.

“Enceladus.” Giant. Storm demon. The most powerful of his giant siblings and the offspring of Gaea and the blood of Uranus. Multiple accounts ascribed him one hundred arms, but I knew better.

At least I knew better now that I was standing in front of him. I didn’t recall the creature from my prior life here.

The giant observed me through dark slits. “You know me?”

“I think so. I’m Melinoe.”

The slits tightened. “Don’t look much like the Melinoe I know. Hmm. You smell like her, though. Why is that?”

“It’s a long story.”

“The most interesting ones are. Last I saw you, you were hiding here. Guess someone found you.”

His comment stunned me. “I’ve been in Tartarus before?”

“Only the once, as far as I know.”

“Was I alone?”

“Seemed to be.”

“How long ago was this?”

The giant snorted. “I’ve been here for more centuries than you’ve been alive. I have neither the capacity nor the desire to keep track of time.”

“And I came to you?”

“Only because you saw the fire. I think you’d been wandering for a bit.”

My heart thumped. “Did I say why?”

“Not to me. You and I aren’t exactly on the best terms.” He raised his chains. “The oppressed and their oppressors don’t typically swap secrets.”

The giant tried to make a simple gesture, but the chains yanked his arms back into an uncomfortable position. That was when I noticed the red, raw sores on his wrists and ankles. “How have those chains not rubbed you to the bone by now?”

“You don’t remember? They’re enchanted.” He hesitated. “We both are. The sores heal and start anew. Part of the punishment.”

I let his words sink in. “I have the power to remove your chains.”

“If you sit the throne you do. Otherwise, the power lies with your parents.”

“Not my parents,” I said, without offering an explanation.

He considered me. “Are you the queen?”

“Soon. Hestia has been ruling in my parents’ stead.” The giant didn’t even know who sat the throne. Despite what I’d been told by others, I didn’t realize the extent of the neglect.

“Hestia? Why is the goddess of the hearth ruling the underworld?” His massive mouth stretched into a smile. “Let me guess. Long story.”

“Tell me, Enceladus. Do you remember the reason for your eternal punishment?”

The giant opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again. “No, only that Zeus is the one who condemned me to this place. ”

“You weren’t judged?”

“Not that I recall, but as I think we’ve established, it’s been quite a long time.”

I ran my finger along the chains. “I’m sorry for this.”

“How can you be sorry? Perhaps I deserve it.”

I removed my hand from the cold metal. “No one deserves this.”

Enceladus shifted slightly, causing the ground to tremble. “You are not the Melinoe I remember.”

“What would she have said to you?”

“I do not need to speculate. I can tell you the details of our last conversation.”

I smirked. “Except for when it occurred.”

“True, but that Melinoe did not notice my chains, nor did she show interest in the conditions of my punishment. She was preoccupied with her own safety.”

I placed a hand on one of his. “This Melinoe sees you, Enceladus, and she will not forget. I give you my word.”

He scoffed. “I do not trust the word of the gods.”

I couldn’t blame him. My only recourse was to prove it through my actions and not my words. “I’ll see you again soon.”

He shook his chains. “Why not now?”

“I don’t have the authority. I’m not yet officially queen.”

“I will not expect you.”

“That’s fair.” I walked away from the creature, my thoughts a tangle of ideas and emotions. I’d been here before to hide.

Why?

And who, if anyone, had found me? Maybe Enceladus was wrong. Maybe I’d been sent to Tartarus as a form of punishment. Who would have done that, though? Certainly not my parents. The fact that I’d been able to leave Tartarus suggested it hadn’t been punishment, that maybe I’d been honest with Enceladus about needing to hide.

I was so deep in thought that I lost my way. There was no sign of steaming pits. No screams of despair.

Then I saw it. The black hill from my dream.

Dream Aite’s words floated to the surface. Maybe that’s why you’re seeing Tartarus, a taste of what’s to come for all your bad deeds…

Was that what had happened? Had I been a goddess deserving of punishment?

I started toward the hill, urged by a voice deep in my subconscious. Maybe it was a reason as simple as I’d visited the hill as Melinoe and remembered it, but instinct told me there was more to it than that.

Nothing could hurt me here, I reminded myself. This was my domain, whether I liked it or not. The ground yielded to me. The monsters heeded my call.

I would’ve preferred to feel more comfortable than I did.

Tumbleweeds rolled across my path. I recalled those from my dream, too. The sight of them made me feel I’d chosen the correct route. This area of Tartarus didn’t seem to be in the business of torturing anyone, for which I was grateful. It was one thing to hear it and quite another to see it with my own two eyes. If I intended to reform the realm, I was going to have to buck up and investigate. Nobody else would be willing to do it for me.

Now that I was closer to the hill, I could see it was larger than it seemed. The color seemed to match the gate through which I’d entered; they were likely made from the same substance.

Whispers surrounded me, filling my ears and slipping into my mind. They were soft and inviting, designed to lure a soul to damnation.

They terrified the human in me .

I inhaled a brave breath and continued forward. The whispers grew louder as I advanced toward the hill. Then I saw it. A crooked black line in the rocks, a shade darker than the rock surrounding it. As I inched closer, I realized it was large enough to squeeze through. I didn’t know why I was drawn to it. Any number of creatures could use it as a passage in and out of the hill’s belly. My only consolation was that these creatures would bow to me should I encounter them.

Still, I’d rather not encounter them.

I stuck a foot through the crack at the bottom and pressed forward. I remembered a story of Winnie the Pooh that my grandmother liked to read to me. Pooh got halfway through a cave window in his effort to secure a pot of honey and got stuck there. Wedged between the rocks, I started to laugh.

“Silly old bear,” I said to myself.

I pushed myself through the gap, ignoring the bloody scrapes on my arm and hip and the bruises that were sure to form. They’d heal soon enough.

The stench hit me immediately and I gagged. I wasn’t alone in this cave, whether the other was alive or dead remained to be seen. My money was on the latter, which made no sense when we were already in the land of the dead.

I inched closer for a better look, afraid of what I might discover. I held my breath, in part because of the smell, but mostly out of fear.

Two figures, barely conscious. By the looks of it, they’d been here a long time. Their hair was overgrown, and they reeked of sweat and piss. They seemed to be alone in this tiny cave. Was this a form of punishment? Did we keep souls in agony without releasing them?

Shame on us.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that the taller one was a man. He looked even taller than Kane, who was six-four. His rugged face showed remnants of blisters, as though he’d been scalded a long time ago and failed to receive treatment. I pushed back the second figure’s hair for a better glimpse of their face and that was the moment I knew.

They were teetering on death—except they couldn’t die because they weren’t completely mortal.

They were avatars, inhabited by gods.

They were my parents.