AllFreeNovel
Share Us
EMILY
Bleak. Dark. The Underworld was everything you’d expect it to be. A lifeless wasteland surrounded us. Dark, looming trees outlined the distance but were too far off and separated by a large river.
The River of the Dead.
Waiting alongside the river was the ferryman—a skeleton in a long cloak, the hood pulled over his skull. And I thought that fae girl looked like the grim reaper. This guy looked like something from a nightmare—assuming he was a guy. He was called a ferryman, and that was my only basis to go by. In actuality, he was a skeleton in a cloak, holding a long oar.
Damn, I wished I had my drawing pad with me.
“Hello,” I said in a cheery voice, waving. Could he see me? He had no eyes, just two glowing orbs where eyes should be. “We need to get across the river. Would you please help us?”
The ferryman didn’t speak but held out his skeletal hand, waiting in silence.
“I think he wants our payment,” Cove said, handing hers over first.
We each placed our token in his hand—each of us giving away a different item of significance. He held out each item for inspection, one by one eating the item after he deemed it worthy.
First was Ember’s item—a coin. When she left home, she had nothing. Sitting at the bus stop, with her last dollar in hand, she found a penny on the ground and said it was the mark of good luck, things to change. Ever since, she’d held onto that coin to remind herself of her struggles, and to always believe it will change. When the ferryman ate it, beneath his cloak was a blue glow that lit up for only a moment before disappearing.
Next, he held out Cassian’s necklace. It belonged to Grace and had been given to her by his father on an anniversary. Cassian told me before we left that he would save his parents’ wedding rings for us. Their rings were something he couldn’t bring himself to give away, so he settled for the next best thing. Even that was a struggle because it was like he was giving away a piece of Grace. When the ferryman ate it, his cloak glowed a dim gray, similar to the landscape.
After that was Griffin’s item. I guess the ferryman would save mine for last. Griffin’s item was a little trinket from Morgan. She’d given it to him when they first became friends, and it meant a lot to him. He wouldn’t tell me just how much, but I knew how close he was with Morgan. Giving that away meant he was finally willing to let go of her and move on from their friendship. A bittersweet move that I was happy he was making, yet heartbroken by his expression when the ferryman ate his object, glowing orange.
Cove’s item was a hairpiece. I had no idea the story behind it, but when the ferryman ate it, he glowed a cosmic blend of blue and purple. Though it was brief, it was beautiful and magical.
My turn. The ferryman held out the small stuffed duck, a toy that was given to me in my childhood by Michael. Ever since his death in the fire at the school—pretty much the catalyst to my new life—I’d refused to look at the duck. Looking at it meant remembering Michael, and he was the only parent I’d actually had.
My true mother and father had been absent from my life, and though Kelly was my “mother,” she was the farthest thing from it. Michael… he was a father to me, whether he was my real father or not. He was always there, and my chest is still heavy from his death. My heart still stung at the thought.
The ferryman ate the duck, a yellow glow emerging and disappearing, like the others.
And that was that.
The duck was gone, and so was the only piece of Michael I’d had left.
The ferryman motioned for us to climb aboard, and we did so with careful steps, not wanting to tilt the boat and land in the river. After all, Cove said the river was made up of souls and touching it could be fatal.
The water was black and murky, and though it looked like water, it was thicker, like oil. Even so, the souls that swarmed beneath the surface were visible and reached out to touch us. I leaned back, away from the water, bumping into Griffin.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me in. His protection was welcomed, as my nerves were shot.
Cassian, Ember, and Cove sat on the board behind us. His arm was around them as they huddled in the center like Griffin and me. It was the safest option, and I hoped Cassian could keep them from harm. Though, I was going on blind faith because I wasn’t willing to risk rocking the boat to turn around.
We crossed the river at a slow pace. The muffled sounds of moaning beneath the surface came from the souls that ached for our life, leaving an ominous energy buzzing through the air. The hairs on my arms, my neck, and over every inch of my body stood on end. Despite the heaviness of death, there was a liveliness in the air. Inexplainable, but present, nonetheless.
In a way, it proves the balance of life. The surprising nature of repeatedly realizing your assumptions about the world were wrong. Because here in this realm, in the Underworld, I’d assumed there was only death. Yet, there wasn’t. There was life, too. Remarkable as it was, it reminded me to be humble. I wasn’t sure why, but it did.
The rhythmic swishing of the water had a relaxing effect, and I laid my head against Griffin’s chest, closing my eyes as the boat swayed gently.
Finally, we’d reached the other side. The ferryman never stepped out of the boat, and a part of me wondered if an invisible string tethered him to it. We disembarked, and he took off in the other direction, back to the shore on the other side of the river.
Though this side wasn’t quite the wasteland, it was void of life—no trees, leaves, or flowers. But there was a cave, and in that cave was a light. With nowhere else to go, we headed toward the light, hoping whoever was there could guide us to the ruler of the Underworld.
We hunched down behind a large rock a distance away, peeking over the sharp edges to scope out the cave.
A tall figure, much larger than a human, hunched over something on the floor. I couldn’t tell what they were doing, mostly because they also wore a cloak. What was with the cloaks around here?
An enormous beastly creature emerged from the shadows, pouncing on the figure. It cried out in pain as the beast tried to get at whatever the figure hunched over. Clawing and slashing at the figure, the beast flung its hairy limbs about—all six of them.
