Page 9

CHAPTER NINE

I met Kane at the Devil’s Playground at ten minutes to noon. Dantalion and Josie stood quietly by the door, their faces solemn. The vampire eyed me with a look that I dare say bordered on respect.

“I’d love to snap your photo right now,” I told her.

“Do that and die.”

“Then I won’t be able to complete the trials and save Kane.”

“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”

“Your ice is thawing. I see that tiny bit of frost melting right there.” I pointed to her cheek. She grabbed my hand and shocked me by pulling me in for a hug. It was over in a flash.

“I imagined that, right?”

Josie allowed herself a tiny smile. “Imagined what?”

Dan shrugged. “I saw nothing.”

Kane slid his hand in mine as we walked through the woods to the crossroads. I listened to the birds tweeting and felt the hard pebbles resisting the soles of my boots.

“It’s a beautiful day,” I said .

Kane kept his gaze forward. “Let’s hope it stays that way.”

Lucifer was waiting for us by the two large oak trees that marked the entrance to the crossroads. He wore a green suit that reminded me of the Riddler from the old Batman television series that I used to watch with Pops. The only design detail missing was a smattering of black question marks.

“There you are,” the would-be Riddler said. “I was beginning to worry I was in the wrong place.”

I’d told West to keep the guards out of sight. There was no reason to give Lucifer more toys to play with while he waited for me to return from the trial.

“Hmm. I can see you’re not in the mood for chitchat. Very well then. In you get.” He motioned to the crossroads.

“How will I know where to go?” The number of realms that converged at this crossroads was seemingly infinite.

“It’s quite simple. Keep walking until you find the door with a symbol of a half sun and half moon. Then knock.”

I suppressed a hollow laugh. Nothing about Lucifer’s plan was simple.

“What do I need to do when I get there?”

“Think of it as a fairy tale. Slay the monster. Return home victorious to your charming prince.”

I felt the weight of the weapons I carried. I hoped a sword and two throwing knives would be enough.

“And the creature must die by your own hand,” Lucifer added. “There will be no Night Mallt there to do your dirty work for you.”

My body tensed at the mention of Matilda’s murder of Solomon on my behalf. “I won’t be summoning her,” I assured him. Matilda had rejoined the Wild Hunt as its leader. Even if I’d wanted her help, it would be difficult to get.

I started toward the entrance and felt the tug of Kane’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he said .

I turned to face him. “Don’t.”

“If you hadn’t met me…”

“If I hadn’t met you, I’d still be hiding in the shadows, living half a life. No matter how this plays out, you never need to apologize to me for showing me what’s possible. For giving me hope.”

“Bravo,” Lucifer said, clapping. “Eight out of ten for high drama. More of this, please.”

Ignoring him, I released Kane’s hand and walked toward the crossroads. It seemed strange to feel such apprehension at the very place that was under my protection, but I couldn’t deny that fear had taken root. It burrowed under my skin and crawled through my veins. There was no point in wearing a mask of bravado; as long as I didn’t let the fear dictate my actions, it couldn’t hurt me. It was a feeling and nothing more.

Shadows crisscrossed the tunnel like a trellis, although there was still sufficient light to illuminate my path. I saw darkened archways, entrances to other realms, but no actual doors. Soft light spilled from another archway and my heart skipped a hopeful beat until I realized there was no door. Finally, I found it—a black door marked with the symbol of a half sun and half moon. My fingers spread across the hard surface; I wondered whether one of the Tien-Wang had crafted this door eons ago. I quickly pushed the thought aside. This wasn’t the time for Lorelei’s musings.

This was showtime.

I folded my fingers into a fist and gave the door one hard knock. “I am Melinoe, daughter of Hades and Persephone. Goddess of death and darkness. Bringer of madness.”

The words offered me little comfort. This was Lucifer’s domain, not mine. My influence would be limited.

But not nonexistent.

I clung to that knowledge like a barnacle to a whale. As much as I preferred to avoid my goddess status, I couldn’t right now. For Kane’s sake as well as my own, I had to step out of the shadows and fully into the light.

The door clicked open. Drawing a deep breath, I slipped inside. Unfortunately, for my inner goddess, there was no light available to step into. My heartbeat accelerated, and I practiced a technique recommended by West to calm myself. I felt mildly ridiculous sticking my finger in my ear and tugging down on the lobe, but at least nobody could see me in this swath of darkness.

“If you’re trying to dislocate your ear, you’ll have to pull harder.” His voice was a raspy near whisper, as though it had been eroded by the elements over time.

I froze. “Who’s there?”

“They call me Kumbhakara.”

The name wasn’t familiar. “I’m Lorelei. Some people call me Melinoe.”

“Why two names? Is that typical of your species?”

I sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“I have ten hours left to listen.”

The word ‘left’ caught my attention. “Then what happens?”

“I sleep for six months and wake up for a day. That is my schedule. I assume that is the reason you are here, is it not?”

I highly doubted Lucifer sent me in here to keep an aging monster company during his brief hours of wakefulness. There had to be more to this.

“It seems you have the advantage,” I said. “You can see me, but I can’t see you.” A goddess of darkness shouldn’t have this problem, one clue that I was outside my comfort zone, although—let’s be honest—most places that exceeded the border of the Castle were outside my comfort zone.

A soft glow flickered and expanded until it was large enough to reveal my companion. Coarse reddish-brown hair covered a large body, about twenty feet in length, a sinuous blend of muscle and menace. The hair bristled along his spine like the quills of a porcupine. He rested on his front, propped up by large paws and muscular hind legs that hinted at untold strength and speed.

Slay this monster? Good luck to me.

“You’re surprisingly buff considering your sleep schedule,” I said. “People would kill for your metabolism.”

“Come closer, little one.”

I took half a step. Two slits graced the sides of an elongated head, giving it almost a dragon-like appearance, apart from the hair.

“I expected someone with more meat on their bones,” he said. “A pity. I will require at least two of you if I am to sleep for another six months and survive.”

His words circled the drain that was currently my brain. “Come again?”

The monster crossed his giant paws in front of him. “Are you not my meal?”

“They send you living people as food?”

“Not typically, but I have grown soft in my old age. I thought they might want me to get a bit of exercise. How fast can you run?”

I ignored the question. “Who’s ‘they?’”

“Those who fear me. Those who worship me. I suppose they are one and the same. If they keep me satisfied, I will have no desire to eat them when I awaken.”

Ever so slowly, my hand moved to the handle of my sword. “Is that true?”

The creature shrugged. “No, the truth is I am a vegetarian. Unfortunately it takes a rather lot of gourds to sustain a body of my size, and I only get a short time to consume them. ”

My arm drifted back to my side. “Why not stay awake longer and take your time?”

“Would that I could, sweet child. The curse will not allow it.”

I should’ve guessed. “You’re cursed to sleep.”

“Indeed. I was caught grazing in a field that belonged to a prince. He thought I had eaten his cattle, which was forbidden, so the wicked creature had a wizard secure me here and curse me. The prince is long dead, yet here I remain for eternity.”

“I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

His gaze took in the weapons I carried. “And I can only be slain while I’m awake, which I imagine, is the reason you are here today of all days.”

Kumbhakara was a vegetarian and not inclined toward violence, yet I was expected to slaughter him? Well played, Lucifer. He knew I wouldn’t want to kill the creature in cold blood; it wasn’t my style.

And yet it was my only option if I wanted to succeed.

I released the handle of my sword. “We have a conundrum, friend.”

“I see. Who sent you?”

“No one you know. It’s a horrible game played by an even more horrible demon.”

“Then why participate?”

“Because another life depends on it.”

“Someone you love?”

It was no longer hard to admit. “Yes.”

The creature slammed a paw against his chest. “Then why do you delay? I am right here. An easy mark. I will not defend myself. I shall simply roll onto my back and expose my most vulnerable parts.”

I blew out a breath. “This was Lucifer’s plan all along.” I thought I’d despised him before, but I really loathed him now. “I won’t fight you. It isn’t right.”

“Are you not a brave and powerful warrior? Why not claim your prize?”

My sword clattered to the ground. “I’m not a warrior.”

“Not with that attitude.”

“I don’t want to kill you.”

“If you fail, this Lucifer will kill the one you love.”

“I’m aware of the problem.”

“Is your love for…”

“Kane.”

“Is your love for Kane not stronger than your loyalty to a strange creature you just met?”

“It isn’t about you, specifically. No offense.”

“None taken. I am fascinated by your logic. Continue.”

I told him the whole story of Kane’s torture in hell and subsequent escape, Lucifer’s quest to find him and drag him back to hell, and my role in the twisted game.

Kumbhakara gave me a mournful look. “If I could kill him for you, I would, but this Lucifer sounds far more powerful than I.”

“He is, but thank you. I appreciate the thought.”

“Everyone sees my monstrous form and assumes I am a killer, that surely a creature with my appearance must be prone to the most primal of urges.”

“Lucifer knows that isn’t the case. I have no doubt he did his research.” Which was the reason I wasn’t afforded time to do mine. The demon knew what I would discover, and that I’d find a way to circumvent the issue before I set foot in Kumbhakara’s lair.

“What happens when you leave here without evidence of my death?”

“I lose. Kane goes to hell to be tortured for eternity.”

We sat in silence for a moment .

“Pick up your sword,” he said.

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave it behind. It’s my favorite.”

He pulled a face. “Are you always this obtuse? Pick up your sword and drive it through my heart. It is the only surefire way to kill me. Awake and straight through the heart.”

I retrieved my sword and sheathed it. “No.”

“Then Kane will suffer far worse than I ever have.”

“We would both suffer knowing the price we’d paid to save him. Neither of us would be able to live with it.”

“Kane is like you?”

“I’m a goddess; he’s a demon, but he isn’t like Lucifer.” Not anymore.

Kumbhakara pushed himself onto all fours. “What if I attack you first?”

“You said you wouldn’t.”

“I changed my mind. You are a goddess. Can you adopt a glamour so you look like a gourd?”

I sighed. “Sadly, no.” It would make Halloween costumes much easier. “There will be no slaying today, Kumbhakara.” I glanced at the door. “What do you normally do on the days you’re awake?”

“Feed, mostly.”

“No visitors?”

“Only those who deliver the gourds, although they do that while I sleep because they believe it to be safer. Their ignorance makes them fearful.”

“Would you mind if I stayed with you longer?” The sooner I returned to Lucifer empty-handed, the sooner he’d abscond with the demon I loved. I wasn’t ready to face the consequences of my inaction.

“I would consider it a rare treat.”

“Tell me about the curse. Is there a way to break it?”

“I once believed so, such is the nature of curses.”

“But not anymore? ”

“Not anymore,” he confirmed with a heavy sadness.

“I have a bit of experience with curses,” I said. I told him about Otto and Goran. “Otto seems genuinely content with his fate, whereas Goran seems more resigned.”

“A prince who was cursed,” the monster mused. “The opposite of me.”

“In a sense. I wish I had access to the library from here.” My palm flattened against my pocket, where I felt the hard contour of my phone. “Do you think I can get reception in here?”

“Reception?”

I pulled out my phone and held it up. “I have a library right at my fingertips.” I could try to access the internet, and if that didn’t work, I could call Hailey Jones, the Fairhaven librarian.

“You would use your remaining hours to help me?” Kumbhakara’s voice grew rough with emotion.

“Why not? I’m not eager to admit defeat to Lucifer. Might as well offset the impending bad with something good.”

The creature observed me with a long look. “Are you the goddess of rainbows?”

I snorted. “I wish. Try death and darkness. Ghosts. All the gloom and doom.”

“I do not feel gloom and doom in your presence. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

“Thank you. The underworld is my original home.” I smiled. “I have a dog there; his name is Cerberus. People think he’s a monster because he has three heads with glowing red eyes and his saliva can kill you.” Okay, maybe it was a fair assessment.

Kumbhakara chuckled. “No wonder you have no fear of me when you have a companion like him.” He paused. “You said the underworld is your original home. Where is it now? ”

“The human realm. A town called Fairhaven.” I typed on my phone to see if I could access the internet. A search for ‘Kumbhakara’ yielded a page of results. “Yes! It works.” Terrible service at the Castle, amazing service in a magical realm. Typical.

“You found something about the curse?”

“Not yet. Just a lot of misinformation about you.” It didn’t surprise me; myths and legends changed throughout history, depending on the speaker or writer. “Does your curse have a name?”

“The Sleeping Curse, I believe. That is what the wizard called it, anyway.”

“I hope it isn’t similar to Sleeping Beauty’s or Snow White’s because the odds of securing true love’s kiss in the next nine hours are slim.” Not to mention I couldn’t leave the lair until I was ready to face Lucifer.

“It would not work anyway. True love is a myth,” Kumbhakara declared.

My gaze fastened on his. “Excuse me?”

“The idea of true love, soul mates. Mere myths designed to give us hope, false though it may be.”

“I can understand your cynicism given your situation.”

“It surprises me that someone of your stature would believe such nonsense.”

“I don’t know about soul mates, but true love seems reasonable.”

“I suppose it depends on your definition. If you treat it as a mystical, transcendent concept…”

I considered his point. “No, I don’t. I guess when I think of true love, I’m talking about love that is genuine and runs all the way to your core.”

“In that case, true love is simply love.”

“I guess so.” Never thought I’d be debating the nature of love with a monster in his lair, yet here I was. I continued to read until I reached the end of the results. “There’s nothing about a cure, but that doesn’t mean…”

A mighty roar interrupted me. The force of his breath blew back my hair and caused my skin to pucker with fear. “Enough,” he said in a voice that shook the earth, as well as my bones.

“Why so hangry? I thought you ate when you woke up.”

“I hoped to frighten you into action. Did it work?”

I fixed my wayward strands of hair. “No, but now I know what gourd breath smell like.”

His slitted eyes closed. “I have grown weary of this life. There is no joy. No hope.”

“Because it isn’t much of a life. You need to make the most of the one day you have every six months.”

“The more I sleep, the more I would rather continue sleeping. My bones are tired of supporting this carcass.”

“Why don’t I take you somewhere? Is there somewhere you’d like to see? Something you want to experience?”

“You cannot take me from this place. This realm is my eternal punishment.”

Nice touch, Lucifer , I thought to myself. Kumbhakara’s situation served to reinforce what would happen to Kane if I failed.

“Now that I think about it, there is one thing I’d like to experience,” Kumbhakara continued. “Perhaps you can assist me with that.”

“Anything,” I said.

“It will require your sword.”

I glanced at the sheathed weapon. “You want to hold a sword? It isn’t that exciting, I promise.”

“I have no desire to hold your sword. I would like you to use it against me.”

My mind blanked. “Excuse me? ”

“You are in need of my death, and so am I. In this, we can help each other.”

My brain refused to process his statement. “I’m sorry. I thought we covered that. I’m not going to kill you. I’ll find another way.”

“There is no other way, Lorelei Melinoe. If you refuse, then I will do it for you. Hand me the blade.”

“Nope. Not gonna happen. You don’t even have opposable thumbs.”

His mouth elongated into what passed for a monstrous smile. “I have offered to die for you, yet you point out my flaws. How unkind you are.”

My fingers tightened around the handle. “It won’t work. The rule is that you have to die by my hand. I’m not sure how, but Lucifer will know if it isn’t my hand that strikes the fatal blow.”

“Then hold the handle and point the blade at my heart.”

“I already told you, I can’t do it.”

“Even if I beg? Grant me this simple request. Deliver me to the afterlife so that I may find peace.”

“You have peace three hundred and sixty-three days a year.”

He snorted. “Math is your weapon now, I see.”

“Whatever it takes.”

“Please,” he said.

Birdie’s voice echoed in my mind. Please .

“I now realize your presence is an opportunity. Think of this moment as not for you, but for me.”

“There could be a way to break the curse. I could leave and come back…”

He shook his head, the movement was slow and laborious, as though the weight of his head had become too much to bear. “Please. Grant me the peace I have long been denied. ”

My palms began to sweat as I gripped the sword and aimed the point at his chest.

“You will need your eyes open for this or I might end up with half an ear,” he teased.

I hadn’t even realized my eyes were closed. They popped open and locked with his. “You expect me to watch while I kill you?”

“I expect you not to miss. I assume such precision requires the power of sight.”

My hand trembled. “I can’t.”

“Keep hold of the handle, Lorelei.” His words were as gentle as his paws as they closed around my hands, engulfing them in coarse fur.

Tears pricked the backs of my eyes. “You deserve better than this.”

“I did not deserve the curse that ruined me, no, but how many of us get to choose our moment of death? I consider this a gift from the goddess of death herself.”

His paws guided my hands closer to his chest. I forced myself to watch, to be fully present with him during his final moments. He deserved that much.

“You’re braver than I could ever be,” I said, choking back tears.

“You honor me, daughter of the underworld.” With those words, he pushed against my hands and drove the blade straight through his heart. Blood spurted from the wound, splattering me.

His body grew slack, and his paws slid from my hands. Wincing, I withdrew the sword and tossed it aside. Kumbhakara groaned. He looked so vulnerable, nothing like the monster everyone feared.

I lowered myself to the ground and curled beside his spasming body. I stroked his side, knowing there was nothing I could do to ease the pain. If only I were the goddess of sweet dreams, I could send him off with happy thoughts. Alas, I could offer only nightmares, and Kumbhakara had endured enough of those.

His breathing grew stilted.

“Does it hurt to breathe?”

Slowly he nodded.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could take away your pain.”

“My goddess, you already have.” With great effort, he turned his head toward mine. “Your immortal one is fortunate to have someone who cares for him as deeply as you do.”

“I’m fortunate to have found someone who wants to commit to me, without knowing what new crisis lies in wait around the corner. Too bad the name Calamity Jane is already taken because the name suits me.” Calamity Lorelei didn’t quite have the same ring to it.

His soft chuckle erupted into a coughing fit, causing more blood to gush from the wound. My arm arced around his body, as far as I could reach.

“Please don’t laugh,” I said. “I don’t want to cause you any more pain.”

“And here … I thought laughter was the best medicine.”

“Not for this.” There was no cure for his curse, and there was certainly no cure for this.

His visible eyelid lowered like a curtain starting to drop. If I kept talking, maybe he would stay, although I hated to prolong his pain. It was selfish to keep him with me for the sake of my own discomfort.

“Tell me about the afterlife,” he whispered.

“I can only tell you about mine. I’ve been to Helheim, too, but I wasn’t there long enough to get a real sense of it.” Not that it mattered; Kumbhakara was destined for another plane of existence.

“I want to hear about yours then,” he said. “If I arrive in your afterlife, what can I expect? ”

I let my mind wander to the details of my homeland. “There’s a network of five rivers to navigate.”

“I am not much of a swimmer. This body is not designed for water.”

I smiled. “There are boats to carry the souls. The most important one is called Lethe, the river of oblivion and forgetfulness. The water washes away all the pain and anguish from their past. That’s how the souls are prepped to enter the Elysian fields, hopefully.”

“They sound nice.”

“If you’re in my underworld, the fields are the place to be.” I cleared the emotions from my throat and continued, “The realm is divided into four regions. The Elysian fields, reserved for the most excellent among us, Tartarus…”

“That one I know. It is an afterlife prison for the worst offenders.”

“More or less. Zero stars. Do not recommend.”

“You have spent time there?”

“No, or if I have, I don’t remember it. It’s a separate area in the underworld where the worst souls endure eternal punishment.”

“They are tortured for all time?”

My throat ran dry as I answered in the affirmative. His question took me by surprise. I’d been so busy dwelling on Kane’s torture in hell that I’d failed to see my homeland had its own version.

“It bothers you?”

“I don’t know. I guess now I’m wondering whether the souls deserve to be there.” What if they were wrongly punished, like Kane had been?

A question for another day.

The light began to fade from his eye. “And the other two regions?”

“The Fields of Mourning exist for those hurt by love, and then there are the Asphodel Meadows, where the majority of ordinary souls dwell.”

“I suppose I am fortunate to have never been hurt by love.”

I felt the temperature of his body dropping by the second.

“Tell me more about the fields for the excellent so that I might pretend…”

“It’s a land of eternal sunshine and fragrant meadows to frolic in. No pain. No suffering. Not a care in the world.”

“I…” He coughed again. “I was never much for frolicking.”

Although his spasms had eased, I continued to hold him. “Now I have a question for you, friend.”

“Ask and I shall endeavor to answer.” His breathing was labored now; it was only a matter of moments.

I pressed my cheek against his chest and allowed the tears to spill. “Did you ever experience love?”

“Not until today,” he said, as his eyes closed for the last time.