“How long will you be gone?” Elpis asked.
“Not long,” Medusa hugged Elpis and left quickly.
The walk to the temple stretched before her, though she knew it was no further than on any other day. Yet this day, Ariston’s broad back did not lead the way. His golden curls did not catch the wind and dance in its currents.
Her eyes burned.
She was alone. She must be strong a little longer. Then she would go with her sisters, eagerly.
But first, Athena would know the truth. The Goddess must know all of it.
###
Ariston could see nothing but flat black water, covered here and there by milky white fog.
His eyes scanned the distant shore. He breathed deeply, pushing against his instincts, his wariness. There was nothing left to fear now that he was crossing the River Acheron, the River of Woe, to Hades’ realm.
Life, his life, was over now – for now.
He leaned over the railing, watching as the boat skimmed the surface of the water. The ship made no sound and left no ripple in its wake. The fog shifted, separating into wispy feathers as the ship cut through it to cross the river. He stood, staring ahead. There was no sign of shore.
A single flickering flame cast jumping shadows upon the deck, serving to heighten the nerves of his ship mates. He pitied them, those souls who wondered at their fate in the afterlife. But he had no plans to accept his fate.
He glared at the ferryman, knowing Charon was nothing more than Hades’ servant. But the speed at which they traveled caused him to let out another impatient sigh. He supposed not all of Charon’s passengers were as eager to reach their destination.
The Underworld lay before him, a promise of eternal life. A life without political dilemma, war, or heartache was his. An eternity of merriment, feasting and pleasure was his reward for dying in battle. Elysium waited.
He knew he should be thankful, or sorrowful, over his death. But he could not be.
He could only think of getting back. He would find a way back to her.
As the boat moved forward, the fog began to thin. Before him rose a fortress, bleak and dreary to the eye. Hades’ house.
The fortress waited on the far side of this blue-black lake, fed by all of Hades’ rivers. It dangled from the edge of a sheer cliff face, a jutting outcrop above the lake’s barren shore. There were no trees, no grass, and no animals. But here, nothing lived. Its desolation did little to improve his mood.
“You’ll find favor with the Judges,” a man spoke, shaking Ariston from his reverie.
Ariston glanced at him, uninterested in passing the time with conversation – especially here. He knew he was not alone on Charon’s boat, but he’d taken care not to note his fellow passengers.
“We’ll have to plead our case to them.” The man pointed to the woman and three children huddled together in the boat. “I am … was but a fisherman.”
“My father is a fisherman,” Ariston said. True, his father was more than that. But his father had taught him how to fish. And he felt the need to offer comfort to this man and his family. “It is honorable work.”
The man nodded. “We shall see. All will be well if we stay together.”
Ariston looked at the man’s family again. The youngest, a small girl, clung to her mother. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut. The other children looked no more at ease. The boy, the eldest, held his head up. Only the slight tremor of his lower lip revealed his struggle.
“What happened?” Ariston asked.
“We were caught in the storm.” The man shook his head. “A storm like none I’ve ever seen. Too powerful for my fishing boat, too powerful for some of Athens’ ships as well, I’d wager?”
Ariston’s hands tightened on the railing of the ship. The wood splintered under his grip, burying aged needles into his fingertips. “It was.”
“It came on us quickly, without warning.” The man shrugged. “It was the will of the Gods, the will of Poseidon.”
Ariston clenched his jaw. Poseidon’s will, indeed.
The will of the Gods was no longer something he revered. But he would bide his time carefully. As long as he was here, in the Underworld, he would play the part of Olympus’ loyal servant – so he might find a way back to her.