Triumph of Chaos (Red Magic) (19 page)

Why hadn’t she killed me and been done with it? Nothing made sense anymore. Shaking, I began to climb the trail I knew would lead me to Hades’s throne room. I slipped once, and as I was peeling myself off the rocky ground, I heard a low growl directly in front of me.

Raising my eyes, I came face-to-face with the most hideous creature I’d ever seen, and I almost forgot about Hecate. No myth had prepared me for Cerberus, the guard dog of the Underworld. He looked more like a mangled science experiment than a dog: each of his three heads was different, but all six of his eyes were red. The center head looked like a rabid Rottweiler, while the head to the left was all German shepherd. Worst of all was the head to the right: it was undeniably a wolf, salivating and licking massive, razor-sharp teeth.

He growled again, a strange, mangled sound that came from three throats, and I took a nervous step back.

“Nice doggy. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He bared all three sets of teeth, and I silently cursed my parents for never getting a dog. Maybe if they had, I’d know how to deal with this monster. My stomach clenched when I thought of my parents, and I tried to ignore the sick sensation that threatened to overwhelm me. Instead, I focused on Cerberus.

“I just need to talk to your boss. If you’d let me pass, that would be awesome.”

The Rot cocked his head to one side as if listening, but the other two heads kept snarling. I took another step back.
If I can get around the dog, I should be able to sprint the last few feet to Hades’s throne room.
Calculating the distance, I eyed Cerberus’s teeth distrustfully. I didn’t think I could make it around him without magic.

Magic!
I felt like an idiot. The last time I had traveled here, I’d been able to use my powers, and I fervently hoped that was still the case. I’d learned that the different underworlds had different rules, but I hadn’t even considered using magic. Tentatively, I summoned a small bit of Red magic, all the while looking at the dog.

“Nice doggy. Nice doggy doesn’t want to hurt me, does he?” I threw a small fireball to the left, and Cerberus whimpered and cowered. I began inching around him, tossing fire in front of me to make him pull back. Finally, I had slunk around to the other side of the path.

“That’s a good boy. Stay!” I flung a wall of fire between us and sprinted up the path. I could hear Cerberus howling behind me, but he didn’t sound like he was getting any closer. I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when I crashed into Hades.

His expression was not as soft as I had remembered. His eyes glistened like black diamonds as he looked down at me.

“Well, if it isn’t the troublesome Red Witch. I didn’t think we’d meet again, child.”

I took a step back and lowered my head in a quick bow. “I’m sorry. I came about—”

“Your parents.” He sighed, listening to Cerberus’s yelps down the corridor. “Did you hurt the dog?”

There was something dangerous in his tone, and I shook my head. “I just used fire to distract him. It will burn out.”

Hades muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t hear and then turned with a flourish. “This was a wasted errand, Darlena. Go home.”

I followed him into the throne room. “I want my parents.”

“The dead stay dead, child. Even you cannot change that.”

“Damn it!” I hit the cavern wall with my hand, and I was surprised when the room reverberated from the blow. “I need them.”

“Life is death, child. They died naturally enough: let them go.”

“It wasn’t natural at all! Rochelle blew up the capitol. She murdered them.”

Hades shrugged, and suddenly he didn’t look angry. He just looked like a tired old man. “Thousands of people die because of violence every day. Why should I release your mother?”

“Because I can’t do this without them.” I fought back tears, and Hades’s words penetrated my mind. “What do you mean you can’t release my mother? Aren’t they both here?”

A soft voice interrupted us. “Darlena?”

I paused.
Seriously? Can it be that easy?
I turned around, and I almost burst into tears. Mom was there, all right. She was smoky, transparent, and very obviously dead. “Hi, Mom.” I finally managed to croak.

She reached for me, and it was like cold mist settling on my skin. I tried not to shiver, but I couldn’t help myself, and her face fell.

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m happy here.”

I shook my head. “It isn’t fair. I want you to come back with me.”

“I can’t do that, Darlena. It wouldn’t be natural.”

“I don’t care!” I tried to hug her, but my hand passed through her shimmering form. I choked back a sob. “I just need you and Dad. Where is he, anyway?”

My mother exchanged an inscrutable look with Hades, and he cleared his throat.

“The afterlife has always shaped itself to the beliefs of the individual. Your mother is here because of her deep connection to Demeter.”

“What about my dad?”

Mom reached for me again, and I felt clammy fingers on my arm. “This is my afterlife. It isn’t his.”

My brain refused to listen to what she was saying. “Where is he?” I turned around, half expecting Dad to materialize behind me.

Mom sighed. “Your dad didn’t believe the same things we do, sweetie. He isn’t here.”

I glared at Hades. “Tell me where he is.” My voice was shaking, but I clenched my fists, digging my fingernails into my palms. The pain almost steadied me.

“Lena,” Mom began, but her voice broke.

Hades met my eyes. “Your father never took a patron. He never believed in any afterlife enough to go there.”

I stared at him numbly. “What are you saying?”

“Some souls fade away.”

I shook my head, unwilling to believe it. “You’re lying! You’re just too weak to help me.” Suddenly, my dream of Hecate came rushing back in full detail, and I remembered.
There’s a way to fix everything.
Awe washed over me as I thought of what it would be like to have my life back, and I shook my head again in wonder. “I’m asking the wrong god. If you won’t help me, at least
she
will.” I took a step back, elated.

Mom tried to grab my shoulders, but I barely noticed her icy touch. “Darlena, don’t even think of it! Not after everything you’ve worked for. I don’t mind being dead.” She smiled gently. “It’s very pleasant here. I just wish there were some way I could help you.”

“You can only help me if you’re alive.” I looked over her and stared at Hades. “And if he won’t help me, I’ll find someone who will.”

Hades narrowed his eyes. “You walk a dangerous path, little Witch. Would you so quickly throw away all that you have learned?”

I laughed harshly. “What good is any of it? Everyone I love still ends up dead. I can’t beat chaos: the world is ending anyway, and I can’t do a damn thing to stop it.”

Mom sighed. “Let us go, Lena. Don’t lose focus. You can still beat Hecate and the other Red gods.”

I shook my head, and Mom took a step back, confusion on her face. “Maybe it’s time I stopped trying to beat them. Maybe Rochelle had the right idea after all. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and all that.”

The cavern rumbled, and my mom began to fade even more. She opened her mouth, but Hades spoke first. “Darlena Agara, if you speak the truth of your soul, then you are no longer welcome in my realm. Go now before I am forced to punish you for your trespass.” Hades loomed above me, filling the cavern with his massive godly form. Mom reached out for me one more time.

“I love you, Lena, and I believe in you.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Don’t give up.” She vanished in a cloud of vapor, and my throat constricted.

The ground shook once more and I retreated down the path, still facing Hades. “I’m leaving. But just remember, Hades, you had a chance to stop everything that’s going to happen.”

The god returned to normal size and shook his head sadly. “It is not I with the choice, little Witch. You will be the unmaking of us all.”

I turned on my heel and rushed toward the water, leaving Hades and his throne room behind. Cerberus had vanished, which was a relief, but so had the ferry. And Hecate.

“Hey!” I yelled across the inky water. “Hey! I want to talk to you.”

Nothing stirred. The surface of the water was like a black mirror, perfectly smooth. I pulled out the sphere, trying to see if there was another way out, but it refused to glow.

“Damn it!” I threw the crystal into the river, feeling a strange sense of release as soon as it splashed into the water. For a minute, nothing happened, but then I noticed a faint glow over my shoulder. I turned toward it and spotted a narrow staircase carved into the rock wall of the cave. The light seemed to be coming from directly above it.

I took a deep breath. “I don’t have anything to lose, I guess.” The truth of my statement settled over me, and I felt my anger smooth away. “I have nothing left to lose,” I said louder, daring the cavern to contradict me. Feeling lighter than I had I a long time, I started to climb the stairs.

They were so steep it was almost like climbing a ladder. I jammed my hands against the wall as I climbed and kept my eyes trained above me. If I looked down, I was sure I would lose my footing, and I wasn’t ready to die. Not yet. Not until I found Hecate and got back the last two years of my life.

Her words played in my mind, crystal clear now that the strange fog that had enveloped the dream had finally dissipated. All I had to do was give up Red magic, and the goddess would restore everything I’d lost. I’d be free; I’d have my parents back. My heart started beating wildly.
And I’ll have another chance to make things right with Justin.

I emerged into the watery sunlight on a rocky hillside overlooking the city of Athens. Demeter’s fields were behind me, but the polluted, congested city stretched out at my feet. I smiled and looked up at the sky. “Come and get me now,” I offered, spreading my arms wide. Below me, car horns blared, and a siren roared to life. Then, everything froze.

There was a moment of stillness, and then the ground beneath my feet began to roll. I slid down the hill toward the city, stumbling a few times but mostly keeping my balance. When I got to the street below, it cracked and rippled. Someone screamed, and the ground split again. Everything was in chaos, and in the midst of the earthquake, I started to laugh.

Buildings toppled, the street buckled, and pedestrians ran for cover. “Do it, Rochelle! I won’t try to stop you,” I called out to the crazed air. There was no point fighting against chaos anymore; soon enough, I’d hand over my power to Hecate, and I’d forget I’d ever heard of Red magic.

I couldn’t wait.

The earthquake didn’t last very long, and once the ground stopped shaking I began to walk through the rubble. I called out occasionally, but neither Rochelle nor Hecate came to me. After wandering around for a half hour, I began to feel queasy. Even without any bodies, the destruction around me was eerily similar to the crater left by Rochelle’s attack on my parents, and I started to sway on my feet.

Hurriedly, I sat down on a curb and put my head on my knees. The madness of the morning washed over me, and Hades’s words penetrated my mind. My dad was gone. Even a bargain with Hecate might not bring him back.

“Do souls ever actually die?” I whispered. Just because he hadn’t believed in an afterlife didn’t mean he was gone forever, did it?

I was shocked by my mother’s revelation, and by Hades’s words. Dad had always seemed so wedded to tradition: if anyone would take a patron, I had assumed he would. Although now that I thought about it, I realized he’d never mentioned working with any god. Growing up, I’d always known about Mom’s connection to Demeter, even though I’d never met any gods until this whole Red mess started two years ago, but my dad had never talked about a patron. Sure, he’d spoken at length about the forces of nature and the gods who supported Green magic, but I couldn’t remember a time where he’d ever told me if he worked with a specific god. He’d kept a lot of his magic to himself, and I had never thought to ask where he stood on the whole patron thing.

And now it turned out that he’d never taken one. I remembered something Mom had said a long time ago about Dad being closer to White magic than he was to Green. Maybe his deep connection with spirit prevented him from swearing his allegiance to a patron. Maybe he thought he could work better alone.