Hades (32 page)

were both too deflated to discuss what’d happened. Not

only had we possibly blown our one chance at escape but

Taylah had paid the price for it.

I tossed and turned after Tucker left. Soon my pil ow was

damp with tears as I recal ed the sound of the hel hounds

tearing at my friend before dragging her into the abyss. To

make matters worse, we’d been so close to home. Gabriel

had been just on the other side of the portal and I could stil

remember the feel of Phantom’s spongy nose in my hand.

Maybe I should have cal ed out—maybe Gabe could have

done something. But there was no use wondering about

what might have been. The words I’d heard from the

charismatic presenter in the boardroom kept replaying over

and over in my head:
People have never been more in

doubt of their faith
. I cried harder then and not just for

Taylah. I wept because I knew it was true. Humanity had

never been more vulnerable and there wasn’t a thing I could

do about it from down here. Final y my tears dried up and I

fel into a deep and dreamless sleep.

I woke to the sound of urgent whispering. I blinked

groggily, refusing to believe it could be morning already. It

seemed like only minutes ago that my head had hit the

pil ow. Hanna’s wide brown eyes came slowly into focus.

She was peering at me in her usual fretful manner and

shaking my shoulder to rouse me. Hanna’s honey-colored

hair had been wound into a loose bun at the nape of her

neck, but I noticed that a few strands had escaped and

fal en loose. They shone like threads of gold in the

lamplight. Hanna could hardly be cal ed optimistic, but

somehow her presence always had a positive effect on me.

Her affection was genuine and amid al the darkness

surrounding me I knew her loyalty was something I could

rely on. I sat up and tried to look more alert than I felt.

“You must get up, miss!” Hanna said, trying to tug back

the covers. I resisted her efforts, pul ing the duvet up around

my shoulders. “Mr. Thorn is waiting for you downstairs. He

wants you to get ready for an important outing.”

“I’m not interested in any of his outings,” I grumbled. “You

can tel him I’m not going anywhere. Say I’m sick or

something.” Hanna shook her head vigorously.

“He was very explicit, miss. He even gave instructions as

to what you should wear.”

Hanna lifted a shiny, flat white box sitting on the floor

beside the bed and placed it on my lap. I tore off the gold

bow and waded impatiently through the layers of tissue

paper before lifting out a garment unlike any I had hanging

in my closet. Hanna gasped in admiration when she saw it.

It was a vivid cherry-colored gown made of the softest

crushed velvet. With its dramatic bel sleeves and brocade

armbands, it was something you might imagine the Lady of

Shalott wearing. With it came a delicate belt made of rings

of beaten brass.

“It’s beautiful,” breathed Hanna, momentarily forgetting

where it had come from. I wasn’t so easily seduced.

“What’s Jake up to now?”

“It’s for the parade,” Hanna said. She dropped her gaze

and I had the distinct feeling she was holding out on me. I

folded my arms and gave her a questioning look.

“The prince wishes to present you to the people today,”

she final y revealed.

“What people?” I rol ed my eyes. “This isn’t some

medieval kingdom.”

“
His
people,” Hanna explained quietly.

“Why didn’t you tel me about this before?”

“Because I knew you would get upset. This is an

important event; you cannot refuse.”

I hunkered down determinedly under the covers. “We’l

see about that.”

“Don’t be foolish, miss.” Hanna leaned toward me

earnestly.

“If you don’t go wil ingly he wil drag you there himself.

Today means a lot to him.”

I looked at Hanna and saw how fearful she was of Jake’s

wishes being defied. She’d be horrified if she knew about

the trip to the Wasteland. As always it made me wonder

what the consequence of my noncompliance might be. No

doubt Hanna would be held accountable. My resolve

faltered and I threw off the covers, climbed out of bed, and

dragged myself into the shower. When I emerged, I saw

that Hanna had made up the bed and careful y laid out the

gown along with the black satin shoes that went with it.

“He doesn’t real y expect me to wear that?” I asked. “It’s

not a costume party, is it?”

Hanna ignored me. Her eyes were stil darting nervously

toward the door as she hastily helped me into the dress

and hooked it up at the back. Despite being made of velvet

it felt as delicate and weightless as a second skin. Hanna

made me sit while she tugged at my hair to create

elaborate side braids, deftly weaving satin ribbons through

them, before lightly dusting powder on my face and

midnight blue eye shadow on my lids.

“I look ridiculous,” I said irritably, examining myself in the

cheval mirror.

“Nonsense,” Hanna replied briskly. “You look like a

queen.” I didn’t want to leave my hotel suite to participate in

what promised to be another one of Jake’s garish events.

My room was the only place where I felt halfway comfortable

and secure, but a jittery Hanna took me by the arm and

ushered me out the door.

In the lobby there was a smal party waiting for us, most

of whom I recognized from the night of the banquet. When I

stepped out of the glass elevator, the cluster of people

waiting fel suddenly silent as they examined me. I looked

around for Tucker but couldn’t find him. Jake, who had been

pacing agitatedly up and down the lobby, came toward me

looking relieved and approving at the same time. He shot

Hanna a vicious look, no doubt blaming her for our delayed

arrival.

Jake took my hands and held them up in order to take in

my appearance. A smile of appreciation lightened the usual

surliness of his face.

“Perfect,” he murmured. I made no move to acknowledge

his compliment. Jake himself was dressed so formal y in

his gloves and tailcoat he could have belonged to an

eighteenth century portrait. His hair was immaculately tied

back and his coal black eyes were alight.

“No biker jacket today?” I asked drily.

“We must choose our fashion to match the occasion,” he

replied amicably. He was relaxed again now that I’d made

my appearance. “You forget how much of the world I’ve

seen. I can pick and choose my fashion choices from the

last two thousand years, but I find anything preceding the

last century to be a little dated.”

I spotted Asia in the lobby throwing me toxic looks. She

was wearing a slinky copper gown with a plunging neckline

and slits that reached the tops of her toned thighs. Her

pearly lips shone like mirrors as she sidled up to Jake

wearing a sulky pout.

“It’s time we got going,” she said. “You ready, Princess?”

I knew she wouldn’t rat us out to Jake for fear of exposing

herself, but it stil made my skin prickle uncomfortably when

she addressed me directly.

A pink convertible limo was waiting for us outside. The

driver got out and robotical y opened the doors for us.

When we were seated, Jake said something to him in a

language I didn’t understand and he started the engine.

We drove until we came out onto an open road. It was the

first time Jake had voluntarily let me venture outside the

underground tunnels. At first al I saw was a scarlet sky, lit

by ferocious reams of fire. A seething mass crawled across

it, marring the horizon. It seemed almost alive, twitching and

writhing, until I realized it wasn’t a shadow like I thought, but

a swarm of locusts. I’d never seen anything like it before.

We drove as if in slow motion, steam rising from the

pavement. After what seemed an eternity the car final y

turned onto a road, flanked by the charred ruins of various

vehicles. It was a desolate landscape that cal ed to mind

the setting of a sci-fi movie, where the hero finds himself

forced to survive the aftermath of a nuclear war.

I couldn’t say for certain where we were. Other than my

brief and botched excursion into the Wasteland, I had never

been beyond the tunnels. I was puzzling over our location

when through the haze I started to make out bedraggled

figures lining the road. Then I saw the crowd—hundreds,

thousands of them—waiting for us, enveloped in smoke

and ash. A sea of faces turned expectantly toward us,

searching for something. They stared with vacant eyes and

waited. What were they waiting for, I wondered. Some kind

of sign or signal, but of what? I noticed they must have been

wearing the exact same clothes they’d died in. Some wore

hospital gowns or shirts smattered with blood and dirt.

Others were wel dressed in business suits or evening

gowns, but they al shared that withered, vacant look of the

walking dead.

Within seconds the crowd came to life and began jostling

one another for a better vantage point. Their sunken eyes

watched me with a burning curiosity. As if in response to an

unseen cue, they began cheering and clapping, reaching

out to us with skeletal limbs. I shrank back in fear, for once

thankful that Jake was with me. Though I resented him and

knew this hideous parade was his doing, I found myself

drawing closer to him. Ironical y, he was the closest thing I

had to a security blanket in this place and right then his

presence was the only thing keeping me sane.

As the limo crawled along the road the crowd swarmed

around it. I had no idea where we were headed or what

event these souls had gathered to witness, but I did know

that Jake was parading me through the streets like some

kind of trophy. I knew I represented a triumph over the

forces of Heaven. My capture was a coup for Jake and I

could see in his face that he was enjoying every moment.

Suddenly Jake was on his feet in the limo, pul ing me up

to join him. I tried to wrestle free, but his grip was so tight

that when he took his hands away he left two red welts

behind. The crowd seemed to go wild now, clambering

over one another to scramble onto the hoods of cars or

hang out of the charred windows.

“You should wave,” Jake said. “Get some practice in.”

“At least tel me where you’re taking me?” I said.

Jake gave me one of his trademark looks, half smile and

half sneer. “And spoil the surprise?”

The driver made a left off the main road and pul ed up in

front of what appeared to be a junkyard with pylons of

twisted metal. An area had been cleared to erect a

makeshift stage complete with microphones and speakers.

Jake’s bodyguards, wired so they could communicate with

one another, patroled the area. Jake offered me his arm

and I was so overwhelmed by the commotion happening

around me that I actual y took it. He looked smug but I was

too nervous to care. Together we climbed the red-carpeted

steps as if we were A-listers at some Hol ywood party.

Waiting for us onstage beneath a canopy of twisted black

roses were two silver thrones, draped with black mink.

Perhaps in a different setting they might have been striking,

but today they seemed like dead weights, iron manacles

binding me to this subterranean world. I wasn’t feeling too

steady on my feet so when Jake escorted me to my seat,

with a great show of gal antry, I sank into it with relief. A

hush now fel over the amorphous crowd as they waited for

Jake’s address. Even the bats I’d seen flying soundlessly

overhead stopped mid-flight.

“Welcome, everyone,” Jake began. He didn’t seem to

need a microphone. His powerful voice reverberated

through the crowd. “Today marks a momentous occasion,

not only for me but for the entire kingdom of Hades.”

The cheering rose in volume and only died down once

Jake raised his hands to cal for silence. Below us I noticed

the elite of Hades seated in order of rank. Each wore the

same condescending and somewhat sadistic expression

but at the same time managed to be utterly mesmerizing.

The souls seemed terrified and yet unable to tear their

gazes away. I felt a burning hot wind against my cheeks