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“Keep me safe from what?” he asked. “Those things back there?”
Devon had always assumed everything went dark when you died, and the earth took you back, which may have been wishful thinking on his part. He had never thought for a moment that the afterlife would need their own kind of security.
“The indebted souls, yes,” Thanatos replied. “Cerberus and the gates protect the Goddess’ realm from anyone and anything that tries to enter, or leave, without permission.” Devon wanted to ask for more elaboration, especially on the leaving part, but Thanatos continued. “Let’s get you past the gates so they leave you alone.”
When they reached the gate threshold, Devon paused. The air was tense and thick. He put his hand out in front of him and felt some kind of thick liquid between him and the other side of the gate.
“Keep going. It keeps them out but not you. You just have to push through,” Thanatos ordered,
giving Devon a little shove.
Devon was sure that if Cerberus could roll all six of his eyes he would have as he watched Devon continue his struggle through the wall of gelatinous air.
After a moment, and another annoyed shove from Thanatos, Devon fell out to the other side.
His ears popped as if there was a dramatic change in altitude.
The world around him was bathed in a warm light emanating from what looked like a bright red sun, though it seemed abnormally close to wherever they were. It was freezing for having such a closeness to… Earth?
He found himself atop a hill, several roads trailing from his place near the gates. Out in the distance, he could see tiny villages, fields with people moving around, and an enormous castle at the far edge.
Rivers were there, too, though they were flowing at a more sedate pace than the one he had just been on. Not to mention there did not seem to be any dead people wailing along the shoreline.
It seemed like Earth except for the bizarre sun and a feeling of lightness to his body he didn’t
feel when home.
“This is unreal,” he mumbled and Thanatos let out a loud guffaw, making Devon’s head snap
back to look at him.
“You’ve no idea.” Thanatos slapped his hand on Devon’s back and gripped his shoulder. As Devon lifted his foot to take another step, the world—the Underworld — went black.
Chapter 4
Devon stumbled into an entirely different place. When the darkness disappeared, he realized he was now in what looked like an ancient castle’s parlor. He caught himself on the edge of a winged back chair and spun around to face Thanatos. “How in the--”
The man’s dark eyes glittered with amusement. “Take a seat,” he said. “She’ll be with you shortly.”
Devon lowered himself into the chair he’d leaned on. “Who?”
Thanatos sat in a matching seat across from him. “The lady of the house.” He pressed his fingers to his mouth and unleashed a shrill whistle. Devon flinched as the three-headed beast appeared at his side in a burst of shadow, now the size of a normal dog. Thanatos nodded his head toward Cerberus. “His mom… well, adopted mom.”
Cerberus released a low growl in confirmation.
Dread curdled in Devon’s abdomen. He turned his hands over again and again. The three- headed dog stared at him with fire in his eyes, literally.
He noticed his hands looked remarkably different. The skin once tanned from working in the sun now a pale beige and no more scars from handling blades or burns from explosives.
Before he could check his scars anywhere else, he heard the doors to the room open.
A petite woman with honey skin and silver hair walked in. She wore jeans and a sweater that
stated in large letters, ‘Resting Witch Face’. She sauntered into the room with a swagger Devon
would have thought someone the size of a pixie would be unable to pull off. As she came closer, he noticed her eyes looked to be the color of liquid mercury.
“I admit, you’ve piqued my interest,” she said, surprising him again. Her appearance indicated that she’d have a sweet, lofty voice, not the sultry one that came out. She looked barely over the age of twenty, but something deep in his bones told him she was older. Much older.
