He gave me a shrug gesture that I guessed was a “how” and a “why” rolled into one.
“A druid spell gone wrong. I need you to tell Hades who I am. Please say something. Anything.”
My uncle’s mouth opened. A moment later, I heard my name.
“Ashlyn. Niece.”
It was no more than a dry, faded whisper. Barely there and hard to distinguish. But it was still there, and I felt sick with relief.
“What am I, Uncle Trammer?” I asked.
“Human. Living.”
“Where do I belong?”
“Earth. Free.”
He didn’t say Uttira, and I ached to hug him for that.
“Gods, I miss you. Why did you leave me? I was so alone there.”
Phantom tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his see-through cheeks.
Rather than answer, he shook his head, and his shoulders slumped. His sad gaze held mine for several beats before he turned and started to retreat.
“No. Wait. That’s not an answer.”
I hurried after him, and several of the nearby souls scattered. He looked at them and frowned.
“Please Uncle. Tell me why.”
He faced me and shook his head again.
“Finished. Rest.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I said.
“Enough, Goddess,” Hades said from behind me. “Allow him his rest.”
My heart broke as I watched my uncle drift to the back wall, the tired stoop of his shoulders standing out until he blended with the other souls.
I hated it. All of it. This room. His inarticulate response to my questions. I was so angry that he’d given up his life, as miserable as it was, for an eternity floating around with a bunch of other dead people in a dank, dark room. This wasn’t rest. This was hopelessness.
Refusing to follow in his footsteps, I swallowed down my grief and turned toward Hades. How did a puny mortal tell a god that his sadistic wife died without losing her life? I opened my mouth to try when what Hades had said finally registered.
He’d called me goddess even after hearing my uncle’s answers.
“You don’t believe him,” I whispered. “Do you?”
“They may be dead, but they still know you are a goddess to fear. They will do or say anything you ask to avoid your retribution.”
I looked back at the cowering souls in dawning horror.
“They’re afraid ofme?”
“They fear you like no other, Goddess.”
I buried my hands in my hair, twisting my fingers around the strands in my frustration.
