Hades put Demetera down and took her hand. “I don't understand it. The banks of the river are empty.”
“Well, there aren't that many believers in the Greek Gods these days, Hades.” I patted his shoulder. “Especially with the Fey coming out of the closet. I'm not surprised things have slowed down.”
“There are always believers, Vervain. And this isn't slowing down—it's a complete stop.” Hades' eyes, out on full display without his usual sunglasses to soften them, were like windows on the fires of hell. The flames flared as he turned and headed down the hallway with his daughter.
“Sorry about him,” Sephy whispered. “He's really upset.”
She led us after the King of the Underworld, his offspring chatting gaily to him and swinging their joined hands, while Princess doubled back to bark at them. I couldn't see Hades' face, but going by the tension in his shoulders, I knew he was grimacing.
We went through the glorious halls of the underworld palace, passing the priceless possessions of a royal god, collected over centuries. But the palace also held touches of Persephone, with several hallways turning into outdoor colonnades that spanned eternally blooming gardens.
At last, we left the palace to find an open carriage waiting for us with a team of black horses that snorted smoke. At the reins was Cerberus, the Guardian of the Underworld. He jumped down to collect the Princess—the child, not the dog—and set her on the driver's perch.
Deme squealed and reached for the reins.
“Not yet, Deme,” Cerberus said and then nodded at me. “Godhunter.” He nodded at my husbands. “Mr. Godhunters.”
I chuckled at my husbands' outraged expressions. “Hey, Cerberus. How you doing?” I took his hand, and he helped me into the carriage.
“Good, good.” Cerberus was nearly as muscular as Hephaestus, but it was proportionate to his tall frame. He was good-looking too, and had the personality of a junkyard dog—loyal to his master but death to anyone who threatened him. It was kind of endearing.
Luckily, the carriage was big enough for all of us, with seats at the front and back. Even Princess the dog came along, sitting on Sephy's lap as if it were her throne. Viper sat with Hades and Persephone facing the front, while the rest of us took the back-facing bench.
Then we were off, Cerberus with Deme on his lap, holding her hands around the reins. The little girl giggled as we circled the courtyard, and rolled away from the palace. The road wetraveled split a grass meadow that rolled down toward the neutral section of the underworld. A valley dipped to the left, a plain to the right, and rivers bisected it all. They were the Elysian Fields. You had to be a good soul to get put there. Not saintly, but truly good.
Our path took us through the fields, ending at the Dividing Road that formed a boundary between paradise and the rest of Hades. Behind us and the palace were even nicer digs—islands where the best of the best souls got to languish in luxury. Only heroes and holy people got to go to the Blessed Isles. Sounded dull to me, but Hades told me they threw the best parties. You'd holy souls wouldn't be interested in such things, but after a lifetime of being good, they needed to cut loose. Plus, heroes were known to party hard.
At the opposite side of the spectrum was Tartarus, down the Dividing Road to our right. You had to venture through caves to get there, so we didn't hear any of the tortured evil souls. The Dividing Road was more than a boundary. This was where judges sat upon thrones to determine where a soul got sent. At least, they usually did.
I leaned over to peer down the road at three figures huddled near the ground. “Uh, are those the judges? What are they doing?”
Hades grimaced. “Playing dice, I assume. They're bored.”
“Holy cannoli,” I whispered. “Are their dice made of human bones?”
Persephone giggled. “No, but they'll love that you asked that.”
A few minutes after we crossed the Dividing Road, we crossed a bridge that spanned the Cocytus River. Knowing what was coming, I hunched into the seat. Even had I not known or missed the distant sound of wailing, Deme going suddenly silent would have clued me in. The rest of us followed her lead, going quiet as we rode past the bent forms of the weeping dead. The Vale of Mourning. It wasn't a punishment, though it felt that way. This was where they sent the souls consumed with heartbreak, leaving them to wail and cry forever. Or until they got over it.
Luckily, we passed the vale quickly and rolled into the Asphodel Fields. This is where most souls went. It was a neutral place—not paradise, but not Tartarus either. Souls meandered about, at peace mostly, but with little to do. I grimaced as we passed an orgy. Yeah, not much to do beyond that.
Next was the Acheron River. Traditionally, this was Cerberus' territory. But he'd been serving his king directly lately. Instead of him, a chimera roamed the shores of Acheron. It lifted its lion head and roared in salute to the King of the Underworld. Hades motioned back absently, his stare scanning the wooded area to our left. I assumed he was on the lookout for Centaurs. He hated them, calling them snotty bastards who liked to swing their giant cocks around. Yes, that's a direct quote. Having met a few Centaurs, I can attest to his accuracy.
Deme was bright and bubbly again, waving at the chimera as we crossed yet another bridge. Her smile didn't falter when the light vanished abruptly. As Princess of the Underworld, she'd been expecting the shift. There was nothing to fear. We had entered the Land of Dreams, where it was perpetually night. The dark landscape spread out to either side of us, the Lethe forming its eastern and southern border. In the distance to thefront-right, the mountains where Morpheus lived rose to loom as a black shadow. It should have been creepy, but it was a land of dreams, not nightmares. It felt peaceful there. Until we passed the elm tree of false dreams.
Shuddering, I looked away toward the southern bank of the Lethe River. Across the river was where the souls arrived. As we drew closer, the sound of lapping water called to me. One step in, and I would forget my entire life—everything and everyone in it. Merely crossing it in a boat separated a soul from the world of the living.
Except there weren't any souls waiting to cross.
“Um, is that dude surfing?” Viper stretched to look around Hades.
Hades sighed.
Deme called out, “Uncle Charon!”
As the carriage stopped, the surfer raised an arm to wave at us as the wave he was riding—a wave that shouldn't exist in a river—turned abruptly and brought him to shore. We climbed out of the carriage as he came out of the water, dripping mind-wiping water.
“Uncle Charon!” Deme broke into a run.
