Page 89 of Love and Death
“You can, and you will, mortal,” he shouts as Charon guides the skiff back with unusual speed. “Hazel, I was yours—”
The boat rocks wildly beneath me as we race into the heavy fog, the shore, the gates, and Cerberus vanishing behind in both sight and sound ...
And Charon chuckles darkly to himself.
26
HAZEL
The skiff glides across the dark waters, silent as the night, its single lantern swinging from the bow to light our way. Charon’s pole scrapes against the riverbed, stirring up the waters as he pushes us faster through the dark fog.
I grip Cerberus’ gifts tightly in my hand as I cling to the wooden seat with my other.
I wish I could say crossing the Styx this time is easier, but after the catacombs, I find it far worse. The boat creaks and groans, shuddering under us as souls and far worse beings bump and knock against it. I swear I can almost hear them clawing through the boards beneath my feet.
I grit my teeth, my knuckles whitening in fear as my grip tightens on the boat.
“I see you have not forgotten my river,” the ferryman calls out. “It would appear she has not forgotten you either. Hungry, she is, today. Perhaps she will feed on a few souls, yet!”
I make the mistake of glancing out over the edge of the boat as pale shapes rise to drift just beneath the surface, their faces unrecognizable as once being human. Dragging my eyes away, I stare down into the boat as the ferryman’s chortling laugh pierces the darkness, and I flinch, closing my eyes to it all.
I do not open my eyes again until we slam into the shoreline without warning and I’m thrown into the bottom of the boat alongside Death and Eros.
“Docking,” Charon screams, though we’ve already landed. “Everyone off.”
Relief washes over me until I stand to disembark, tucking the ring and key into my corset, and realize I cannot carry Eros or Death from the boat. What was Cerberus thinking?
“Hurry up now, new souls will be waiting,” the ferryman hassles me.
“I cannot lift them,” I admit. “I need help.”
“Tsk, tsk, I am afraid that is out of the question. If you cannot remove them, they shall be fed to the river.”
“You wouldn’t dare—”
“Hazel?” I turn at the sound of my name to find a tall man standing beside the boat, his golden, windswept curls and bronzed skin setting off the sparkle of his blue eyes, even in the lantern light, as he offers me a brilliant smile. “Ah, it isyou! I must admit, I did not expect to see you again.”
“Nor I you,” I say with a small laugh.
“Hermes, what are you doing here,” Charon snaps. “You are delaying my departure with your tittle-tattle!”
“Delaying you? Charon, there are no souls to ferry, yet.”
“I see differently, there are two lying in the bottom of my boat as it is.”
Hermes glances between us questioningly.
“They are too heavy for me to remove,” I explain. “So, Charon is insisting they should be thrown into the river, rather than offering his help.”
“Is that all?” Hermes snorts. “Here, I will help you.”
Leaning into the boat, Hermes pulls first Eros and then Death out and places them safely away from the river before returning once more. He doesn’t offer me his hand but simply picks me up by my waist to lift me over the edge before setting me down on the shoreline.
“Thank you.”
“Of course, you are most welcome,” Hermes responds brightly. “See, Charon, was that so hard?”
The ferryman only grumbles bitterly to himself as he pushes away from the shoreline … only to drift in sight just a few yards away.
