“Impossible, but it happened,” Rhadam says. “And you need to watch out.”
Ares is the god of war; I know this from mythology. His name causes my skin to prickle while at the same time making butterflies form in the pit of my stomach.
Shayne stands up. “Tell me how the god of war has managed to enter my domain.” His eyes bore into Rhadam who matches his gaze. “Tell me that.”
Rhadam is silent for a moment while I watch. People getting into the Underworld without Shayne’s knowledge can’t be a good thing.
Finally, Rhadam sighs. “He must have help. Some shortcut in.”
I decide it’s time to enter the conversation. “There are shortcuts into the Underworld?”
Shayne keeps his eyes on Rhadam and doesn’t even blink at the fact that I’m awake. I wonder if he’s known all along. “There are no shortcuts into the Underworld,” he says. “Everyone has to go by Charon.”
Rhadam shakes his head. “Except Ares.”
“How?” I ask.
“Ares is working with someone on the inside; he has to be,” Rhadam says.
Shayne runs a hand through his hair. “I still say it’s not possible. The boundaries should be secure.”
“So this is a real problem?” I ask.
Shayne looks at me then and tries to give me a reassuring smile, but I see how white his face has gotten. “It’s nothing. Just normal stuff going on here in the Underworld.”
He’s lying. The Underworld has issues just like the world above. Maybe the worlds aren’t so different after all. And he really wants me to send Chloe here? “But other gods are getting in.”
“Yes,” Rhadam says at the same time Shayne shakes his head.
“So why now?” I ask.
Shayne’s eyes meet mine. “Good question. Why now?”
I glance at Rhadam whose eyes are fixed on me, waiting. Why would others be coming to the Underworld? I figure the Underworld can’t be much different from any world. “They want control?” I say.
Rhadam nods. “My thoughts exactly. They want control. Ares wants to claim the Underworld for his own.”
“The day Ares takes over the Underworld, I’ll tear his entrails out inch by inch and knit them into a chew toy for Cerberus,” Shayne says.
Rhadam opens his mouth, but hesitates.
“What?” Shayne says.
“You should go to the assembly,” Rhadam says. “Get a warrant out for Ares.”
“I’m not taking my problems to the assembly of gods,” Shayne says. “We’ve been over this.”
“Why not?” I ask.
Shayne turns to me. “Because it’s the ultimate show of weakness. There’s no better way to lose control than to admit you need help.”
I’m not sure if I agree with this logic, but I doubt Shayne wants to argue about it with me. Besides, he’s the one in control here, not me.
He turns back to Rhadam. “Thanks for watching my back.”
Rhadam nods.
And then Shayne reaches out for my fingers and intertwines his with them, rubbing his thumb softly on the back of my hand. “Are you ready?”
“Are we leaving?” Not that I mind. As charming as Rhadam is, the conversation has put a certain chill into the air, even here in paradise. A chill of gods and battles over mythical domains.
Shayne nods.
“I’ll see what else I can find out,” Rhadam says. He looks at me, and his smile from the atrium returns. “Piper, can I just say how great it is to finally meet you?”
I nod, and when he takes my hand and kisses it, I feel like I’m on a stage with a million eyes watching me.
“It was great meeting you, too. Maybe I’ll be back sometime,” I say.
Rhadam nods and looks to Shayne. “It’s a pretty nice place to come visit.”
Shayne actually laughs, and a giant weight lifts off my chest, returning the atmosphere to one of fun. He grins at Rhadam. “Especially if you’re overseeing Elysium.”
Rhadam lets go of my hand. “It’s a hard job, but I sacrifice for the greater good.” And then, once again, Rhadam vanishes.
“So what did I miss?” I ask Shayne.
“Nothing,” he says. It has to be a lie. He must not want me to know. And, of course, this only makes me more curious. I’ll find a way to figure it out.
Chapter 17
Disease
Paradise is perfect, but Chloe is waiting for me. “Are we going?” I ask.
“Almost,” Shayne says, and he leads me down from the hill. I guess he’s still trying to convince me to let Chloe come here. He must know by now it’s pointless. Or maybe he’s just trying to stall for time. If this is the case, I can’t say I mind much.
We walk until we reach a path of manicured greenery. Trees have grown along the sides, forming a tall arbor with a grass walkway below. It slopes downward, and water bubbles in a stream at the bottom. The green is so vibrant, so different from the world I know back above ground. That world hangs on the edge of extinction. And this world thrives. It’s ironic how the world of the living is dying, and the land of the dead is alive.
Shayne grabs my hand, and out of nowhere bounds Cerberus, who knocks into Shayne and sends us both flying. After I wipe my face from Cerberus’s exuberant licking, we get up and stroll down the path, Cerberus leading the way. He stops every so often to snap at a passing bird with one or all of his heads, but either has really bad aim, or isn’t trying all that hard to catch one.
Once we’re out of the arbor, we reach a stream which flows over rocks in a white froth until it clears them and settles into an even flow. To the left is the source of the water—a waterfall cascading down from a small cliff cut into a hill. The sun catches the water, reflecting a blaze of light around the entire valley. Vines climb up the rocks on the side of the falls, creating curtains that bloom with vibrant flowers. Mist hangs in the air above the crash of the water, forming a cloud of rainbows which holds steady even as the mist within it shifts and settles.
With each step I take, I want to move to the Underworld and stay here forever. To have Chloe actually come to paradise. To make it my new Botanical Haven away from the stifling presence of my mom. To live with Shayne forever. I follow him off into the trees, and pretty soon we come to a clearing which is planted with all sorts of orange and purple and electric blue flowers. Saffron yellow. Cherry red. Vibrant colors. Colors I love.
I look at Shayne. “This is your garden?”
“It’s a new hobby. I’ve only been at it for a few years.”
I walk into the center of the garden and look at the abundance of life sprouting out of the Earth around me. “And I thought I could grow things.”
He walks over and joins me. “But there is this one that won’t grow.”
Around me is nothing but life. I smell each plant. I almost hear nectar pumping through stems, feeding them. But then I catch it—the smell of death, here in this beautiful garden. So misplaced that, as soon as I smell it, all other aromas go away. I close my eyes, and begin walking, following my instincts, and pretty soon I find myself in front of a tree which, although still alive, is not in bloom like the rest of the garden. It seems to be coated in a thick layer of yellowish green mucus, though when I reach my hands out to touch it, the mucus disappears. It reminds me of the disappearing mold I’ve been seeing on people back in the outer world. I wonder if both are an illusion that gives some sense of what is inside.
