Whatever it is, I hope it brings her some peace of mind. I know she is fearful of failing us all, and I can’t find the words to take away her fears, but I won’t let her face them alone.
None of us will.
About ten minutes later, Hypnos and Lana return, Lana is wiping a stray tear from her eye. But overall, she is glowing with happiness, which brings smiles to all of our faces.
"I'll tell you guys the details later, but Gaia left behind a journal showing me how to navigate this journey. I found a section about tethers, so I'm confident that I know how to bring Ash back now."
She practically beams at us at the end of her sentence, and Thanatos takes that as their sign to get going.
"Alright, let's get you comfy so you don't fall on your head when I pull your soul from your body," he announces as he herds her from the room.
We trail after them, not wanting to leave her side for a second, even though we can't go with her. We make the short trek back to Ash, and she climbs into the bed, lying down next to him. Grabbing his hand she whispers, "I'm coming for you, baby."
Glancing up to us, she announces, "I'll be back soon, and when I wake up, we'll have him back. I promise."
I know all of us are riddled with anxiety and nerves, but thankfully none of us announce that to her. The last thing she needs is for us to dim her shine and confidence right now.
We need to believe in her.
Thanatos approaches her side and instructs her to close her eyes and relax. "You're going to feel an extreme pulling sensation in your chest. Don't fight it, or I won't be able to strip your soul from your body without causing you immense pain."
Nodding in acceptance, she closes her eyes and announces, "I'm ready."
As his palm hovers over her chest, her back arches almost instantly and she inhales sharply before letting her breath back out slowly, trying to relax into the sensation. In just a few moments, her body lowers back down and stills. A translucent version of Lana seeps out of her, looking peaceful and as if she’s sleeping with her hair floating around her body.
It’s unnerving seeing her physical body lying in bed while her spiritual form lingers just above.
Looking over at us, he nods and confirms that the process has been successful. "I'll protect her. You have my word."
He vanishes with her ghostly form before anyone has a chance to respond, leaving us behind to pray that she and Ash come back to us.
Chapter Four
Lana
I'd describe my soul being ripped from my body as a human sized band-aid with gorilla glue on the underside being slowly peeled from one end to the other.
Decidedly unpleasant.
Floating in the darkness of oblivion, I'm alone with my thoughts as Thanny transports me to the River Styx. It feels like we're there in the blink of an eye, my vision slamming back into me and leaving me gasping with the proverbial blindfold yanked away.
Thanny looks happy as a clam, humming a peppy tune I don't recognize, while tapping his foot in time to his own mental beat.
I don't know if I'll get over the god of death being so...lively. It's peculiar.
He begins walking, and I trail behind him, glancing around and taking in my new surroundings in silence. I'm surrounded by barren landscape, much like I would picture a desert, with rolling dunes of sand as far as you can see to our left. To the right, a river as dark as night runs perpendicular to us, its waters impossible to see into.
In the faint distance, a dock comes into view at the same time Thanny begins to explain, "We're going to meet Charon to get to our destination. Other than Hades, he's the only one who can bring us there, and I'd rather avoid that moody bastard."
This strikes me as odd. "Wait, you're the god of death, and even you don't have access to where we need to go?"
Tutting lightly, he turns his head and shrugs. "We all have our roles to play. My job is to bring the souls to this plane between the living and the dead. Imagine if every god had access to such a vital place—they'd go on a power trip trying to control it. It's better this way."
Approaching the dock, which appears to be made of rotted wood, I look at it warily, not trusting it not to fall out from under our feet.
Wait, does my body even have any weight here if it's just my soul?
Do I actually need to walk or can I just float?
