Chapter Fifteen
Soul

Having a purpose to be in the Underworld, beyond being forced into being there thanks to a jealous goddess deciding to have a trial there, made the uneasy feeling I had felt since arriving lessen significantly.  I wasn’t really thinking about the fact that I was in the Underworld, which had been in the back of my mind ever since Aphrodite revealed the fact to me.  I was trying to put on a brave face to make the experience a little easier, but it was hard knowing that you were in the one place all living souls were made to fear.  Thankfully, I did have my watch, because time seemed relative here, but there was really no way of manipulating a piece of equipment that was made to keep time.  Eros mentioned to me once that the gods didn’t really have control over electrical devices – Zeus was the closest, with his dominion over lightning, while Hephaestus liked to use mortal technology in his inventions, but he had no control over them – thanks to the fact that it was something developed long after they lost control over their worshippers.  He teased that they’d have more control over them if they had a god of technology or something, but that, of course, didn’t really matter now.

But it had helped me from not going slightly insane from not knowing how long I was down there.  Charon said I only had the night to complete the task before I was claimed to the Underworld, which I had thought strange.  Persephone said that Hades couldn’t claim my soul, because a piece of it was already here permanently.  But maybe that was a condition – if both pieces happened to remain in the Underworld together for too long, then Hades could claim both of them.  But that made no sense; the whole reason why this mess was started in the first place was because Psyche was immortal, and Hades couldn’t claim her anyway.  If there was a way for her to remain in the Underworld completely intact, I’m sure she would have exploited the loophole already.  No one wants to live with only part of their soul.

But it was sort of strange; as soon as I decided I wanted to see Persephone, that uneasy feeling went away almost completely, like it was only the reason I was there that kept it in me.  Maybe that was why Aphrodite didn’t want me seeking her help; not because she viewed it as cheating.  But because she knew that I’d actually feel comfortable in the Underworld knowing that I was about to see her. She was my friend, after all, and visiting a friend was completely different from being on a quest.  But then again, Aphrodite wasn’t that creative.  She probably was doing it because she wanted to make sure I didn’t have an easy way out.

Once I was out of the chamber – it was still unnerving how they transitioned from scenery to cave without warning – I realized that the soul was only telling me half the story.  Yes, the palace was immediately outside the chamber, but it seemed to be sitting in the middle of a lava lake, the magma bubbling and boiling just feet underneath the floating building.  There was a stone path leading to the palace, but one wrong step, and I would be dead in the most agonizing way possible.  The palace itself didn’t look surprising – it had a gothic, terrifying look, but I suppose that was just expected from the king of the Underworld.  It was so stereotypical that I was almost disappointed when I saw it, before reminding myself I wasn’t there to admire the architecture.

Still, knowing I had to walk on a thin space of rock over that lava lake was rather intimidating.  There was, of course, plenty of room from me to walk on it without worrying about losing my balance and tipping over.  But my body was trained to shy away from hot things that would kill me, so I naturally felt my heart pounding in my chest as I started to make the first tentative steps over.

I wondered, in order to keep my mind off what I was doing as I was crossing, what I would have done if I was doing this as part of my trial.  I had already decided to give up on this particular task, obviously; I had more important things to worry about now.  I released what seemed to be an insane soul, if the lady had been telling me the truth about Psyche.  And Hades most likely wasn’t going to like that.  But the fact that she might be out to steal my life made me a tab bit nervous, I had to admit.  And I was hoping that, on top of an explanation as to what was going on, Persephone might be able to provide a solution for me.

I think Aphrodite was counting on me being far more intimidated by the palace than I actually was.  But then again, I probably would have been if I hadn’t changed my purpose for being there.  As I approached, I realized there really wasn’t a way to sneak in, since there really wasn’t much of a ledge around the building.  The only way to get in and out was through the gate that the path lead to, guarded by Hades’ three-headed dog, Cerberus.  I suppose, since he could only guard one side of the entrance, I could have just tried to sneak by, but it seemed doubtful.  He was sleeping at the moment, but he didn’t really offer me much room to inch my way through.  As it was, one of his six eyes cracked open slightly as I approached, causing him to wake upon seeing me.  I froze, which seemed like a natural reaction, as he took stock of me.

It was so weird to be judged by a dog, which typically didn’t care who a person was beyond their own family.  Either they loved you completely, or they hated you instantly.  There was never any middle ground when meeting a dog for the first time.  But this one stared at me for a moment before one of his heads yawned with one of this weird whiny dog sounds, and shifted to one side so I could pass.

So that meant that the monstrous dog knew who I was, and knew I was welcome there.  I wondered if he knew that I was there for a benevolent reason rather than the one where I ended up kidnapping Adonis?  Possibly; he was judging me after all.  I gave the dog a quick pat as I passed, surprised at how unbelievably soft he was.  I was so tempted to go back and rub the hell out of dog, but I didn’t really think that would help matters.

The inside of the palace was just as dark and dreary as the rest of the Underworld, and I could tell it was set up as a sort of labyrinth, so anyone sneaking it wouldn’t be able to find what they were looking for.  A soul drifted over to me, looking like he was trying to be a person of importance.  Maybe he was, and that’s the reason he got to be a servant in Hade’s palace.  “What is it you seek, child?” he asked in the wispy voice of a soul.

“I wish to speak with Persephone,” I stated, worried that the request might be too forward.

He studied me for a moment, and I wondered if everyone in the Underworld just knew I was in reincarnation of Psyche.  “I shall guide you to her chambers.  This way, if you will,” he stated, and I wondered for a moment if he was going to get me lost.  It didn’t matter; I’d have gotten lost anyway, so I might as well at least say I was misguided.

Once we got into the heart of the palace, the hallways became a little more homely.  They were still decorated predominately in black and red, but the decorations made it a little less frightening.  Portraits hung on the wall of the same two people dressed in various styles of clothing.  Both almost had a solemn look on their faces, but Persephone always looked amused, almost like she was trying not to burst out laughing.  In a few of them, Hades looked just as amused, like whoever was painting them caught them while they were trying not to laugh at each other.  Pedestals stood in varying intervals with busts of various gods and heroes.  One in particular seemed to have his head clean off his neck, and when I found his head laying on the ground next to it, I found the face looked vaguely familiar.  The soul explained to me that the bust was supposed to be of Zeus, placed there as a joke by Persephone, that Hades didn’t like too much.

“He said he liked it better this way, and Persephone’s just left it,” he said, shrugging.

“I take it the brother’s don’t get along.”

“Well, there’s a reason he took the job of as the ruler of the Underworld,” the soul said, looking amused as well.

Still, all that space was a little off-putting.  I probably shouldn’t be one to talk, considering our house only housed a family of five.  But we, at least, would have guests and parties and a reason to need such a large house.  I didn’t think anyone really came to visit Persephone and Hades.  From what I understood, they kept mostly to themselves.  So all this space was mostly for show, because it wouldn’t make sense for a king to live in a two story family home.

Although I had a feeling both Persephone and Hades would probably prefer it.

I have no idea why I thought the soul was leading me to the throne room, because it wasn’t like I was seeing Hades.  I was seeing his wife, so it made much more sense for him to lead me into a rather wide living room, decorated in a contemporary style.  It was so different from the rest of the palace that I thought I had been taken elsewhere.  Persephone had taken care with this room, making it much more livable and easier to look at.  But it made sense that she would be here, because Mom typically entertained guests first in the living room before they decided to move elsewhere in the house, if they even moved.  It was neutral ground – you weren’t quite invading the family’s privacy.  That’s typically why I was okay with Eros in my room; it was my space for him to invade.

I wasn’t that surprised to see Persephone in the room, most likely just relaxing from all her queenly duties, but I was surprised that there was someone else in the room with her.  And that that someone happened to be Eros.  They didn’t notice us at first, since we entered on the opposite side of the room from where they were standing, but we could still hear them.

“Calm down, Eros,” Persephone was saying, looking a little alarmed.  “I don’t know where she could have taken her, but I’ve already agreed that I was going to help look for her.  Freaking out about it isn’t going to help matters.”

“Yes, but she hasn’t taken her where I couldn’t find her before!  Not since she took her the first time.  I’m worried about what sort of trial she’s got her doing.  No one’s there to help her.”

“I’m sure she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself, Eros.  Give her some credit.  This’ll be good for her, anyway; she can prove herself to ‘Dite without any assistance.”

“Persephone, she’s only a mortal.  The things Mama’s got planned for her weren’t meant to be easy for a mortal.  She might not need a lot of help, but she needs some, and the only way we can be together without Mama raising a sink about it is through these stupid tasks.  I want us to be together without anyone questioning us.”

“No one’s going to question it; like I said, freaking out about it isn’t going to help her at all.  There’s not too many places she could be that I can’t find her, so seriously, relax.  We’ll find her; I promise.”

“M’lady, perhaps I could be of assistance in the matter,” the soul beside me said, clearly amused by the situation.

“No, Karpos, I don’t believe this is a matter…Psyche?” she asked when she turned to her servant.  “What in the hell?  How did you get here?”

Eros didn’t even bother with questions.  He merely appeared suddenly at my side, sweeping me up into a crushing and comforting embrace.  I didn’t think I was gone that long.  “Thank God,” he muttered, holding me for a second longer before pulling me away.  “Wait a second; how did you get here?”

“Your mother, of course.  How else would I get here?”

“My mother?  Why did she send you to the Underworld?”

“For a trial, obviously.  I probably shouldn’t say this, but she wanted me to come down to get Adonis for her.”

“That bitch.  I don’t get to see him all that often as it is, considering he spends most of his time down here exploring the various realms in our kingdom.  And she wants to take him away from me?  Oh, I have some words for her…,” Persephone seethed.

“Something happened, didn’t it?” Eros demanded.  “I doubt Mama would be okay with you seeing Persephone and telling her about it.  Because then all she has to do is grant Adonis temporary leave of the Underworld to see her, and you’d technically win.”

“Yeah, that was my only condition; I couldn’t tell Persephone because that would be cheating.  But…,” I faltered, unsure how I was going to explain what I saw and did.

“Were you down here too long and it’s getting to you?  Mortals aren’t really supposed to be down in the Underworld, Psyche.  You have it a little easier thanks to your connection with me, but it’ll still be difficult.”

I shrugged.  “It was, a little, but that’s not why I decided to stop.  I’ve felt uneasy about things before, and it’s never stopped me.”

“Then what happened, Psyche,” Eros demanded of me.

I hadn’t planned on him being there.  It was nice, of course, but it made it a little difficult for me to want to explain.  I didn’t want him to get hurt again.

I glanced at Persephone.  “Well, I came across Psyche, actually,” I told her.

They both stiffened – Eros in shock and Persephone in fear.  “You…you went through the Reincarnation Chamber?” she asked in a small voice.  “You really shouldn’t have done that, Psyche.”

“I had no choice,” I told her.  “All I was doing was walking here, and suddenly I was in it.  Is that what all those souls were, the immortal halves of their souls?”

She nodded.  “We can’t exactly claim them completely, so we had to set up a chamber just for their souls.  They can wander as they want through to various realms so they could visit loved ones, but we were surprised that, for the most part, they kept to their own chamber.  Most of them are still connected with their mortal halves, so they have no awareness of actually being in the Underworld.  But sometimes they sever the connection for a while, and live out their lives here.”

“But they can’t leave the Underworld, right?”

“Of course not, not unless…you didn’t touch her, did you, Psyche?” Persephone asked in a panic.

“Of course I did.  I had to get her attention somehow.”

Persephone looked really panicked now, but she didn’t have a chance to explain before her husband came strolling in, looking irritated.  This wasn’t the first glance I had of him, since I had seen the portraits.  But it was the first time I was seeing him in the flesh.  He was surprisingly pale for a Greek god, which I associated with the deep olive tone of native Greeks.  He was almost literally white, the same color as the computer nerds who didn’t go out in the sun too often.  His hair was black and on the long side, pulled back in a low ponytail that have him a slightly disheveled look.  But the thing that stood out most was the fact that he was tall, standing half a head taller than Eros.  Tall and thin.

But what really got me was that, while he was agitated, he didn’t come off as fearsome.  He was just a guy who happened to rule over the Underworld, and nothing more.  There was nothing to fear from this guy.  “Persephone, what happened?  One of your souls escaped.”

She turned to him, and he stopped short.  “Yes, I was just learning that, dear,” she told him.  “Psyche here accidentally released her.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, glancing at me.  I half expected him to be angry that I was there, but he just gave me a curious look.  “This ought to be interesting.  Pray tell, how did you release her?”

“Um,” I said.  “I don’t know, to be honest.  I was hoping someone would tell me.”

“She touched her,” Persephone snapped.  “You’re the one who came up with the condition that if the two halves came in contact with each other, the one trapped here could be freed.  I told you it was stupid, but you said that none of them would be heroes again, and it would be moot.  What was the point of that condition, anyway?”

“To make them feel better!  If they ever wanted to be whole again, all that had to do was call their mortal forms down, and they could touch and be reunited.  But both have to want it to be brought back together.  I didn’t count on a random meeting, okay?”

“She seemed rather angry with me,” I stated.  “She said I wasn’t supposed to be the one reincarnated.  But I don’t even understand how she’s even there.”

“Yes, I thought you said Psyche had Psyche’s soul.  That’s why I started following her,” Eros said, finally coming out of her stupor.  “So why is she in the Reincarnation Chamber, as you say?  What’s going on, Persephone?”

She sighed.  “I suppose I should have told you this all along.  Psyche was a god, Eros; she couldn’t just die, even if she was reincarnated.  It doesn’t work that way.  If it did, then I think we’d all start to request being reincarnated, just to kill the monotony in our lives.  That’s why it took us so long to figure out a solution; we had to work around their immortality.”

“Basically we discovered that, once a mortal eats the ambrosia, their soul actually picks up a second attribute that gods born as such have as part of their souls already.  It took us a while, but we discovered a way to split their souls,” Hades clarified.

“Split their souls?” Eros asked, glancing at me.

“Yes, they have their mortal souls, the ones they were born with, and their immortal souls, the ones they gained when they ate ambrosia.  Together, they are one and the same, but separate, they can because two different people.”

“We couldn’t split them and then claim their mortal souls, though, because they’re still somewhat connected,” Persephone told us.  So the easiest solution was to reincarnate the mortal soul, and then keep the immortal soul in the Underworld.  The immortal soul doesn’t really have a consciousness outside their mortal forms, anyway, so it seems kinder.”

“So that Psyche I ran into was actually my immortal soul?” I asked, surprised.  “Why would she think I was the wrong one reincarnated, then?”

Persephone bit her lip before glancing at her husband.  “Because technically, you weren’t supposed to be reincarnated, Psyche.”

“What did you do, Seph?” Hades demanded of her.

She hung her head.  “I don’t know what happened, honestly, but Psyche immortal soul actually developed a consciousness outside her mortal body.  She became her own person, and I would visit her from time to time.  Others have done it, Hades, but they are perfectly content to live out their lives where they are.  They’re immortal, after all, made to endure the monotony like we are.  It was because of their mortal souls that they all started to go insane.  But Psyche, on the other hand, started to question it.  She didn’t like being trapped in that chamber, forced to live variously through Psyche’s sight of the upper world.  Psyche’s mortal soul longed for death, but her immortal soul was what was keeping her enjoying the life she had.

“Her immortal soul was miserable, and I hated it.  So when Psyche came down after her last life, I…switched which soul was to be reincarnated.”

“Wait a second; what are you telling me?  I have all the memories of my past life!”

“But not Psyche’s memories, if I’m right,” Persephone said sadly.  “They didn’t quite want to forget their past lives, so they’re able to store their memories in their immortal souls.  That’s what entertains the souls for the most part.  Lethe actually keeps the original memories intact , just masking them until their sent to the Underworld again.  When you split, Psyche kept her memories, and you were given a clear start, such that she has her memories of being with Eros, and you have all her past lives memories.  Unfortunately, given the nature of your soul, they were bound to resurface again someday, even if they’re not that strong.”

“So what you’re saying is that Psyche doesn’t have her mortal soul, but her immortal soul?” Eros asked, looking like he couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

Hades looked annoyed, but Persephone looked sheepish.  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.  That’s the reason she’s so different from the other incarnations, and why she has Psyche’s power of perception.”

“So what does this mean, exactly?  What does being reincarnated with an immortal soul mean?”

“It means that you were actually born a goddess, Psyche,” Hades explained.  “A goddess who perceives herself as mortal, so your godly powers are blocked, but a goddess nonetheless.  Maybe if you never met Eros, you would have grown old and shed your body, but unfortunately now that you’ve been made aware that gods do exist, your soul id becoming stronger, and your abilities will start to manifest themselves.”

“Wait…wait a second.  You’re telling me I’m actually a goddess?” I managed to squeak out.  Eros looked equally as shocked.

“She is?” Persephone asked as well.  “I thought that with her mortal soul here, she’d still be anchored as a mortal.”

Hades shook his head.  “There’s a reason why I only allowed the mortal souls to be reincarnated.  They were made to die and be claimed here.  She doesn’t have that restriction to her soul now, so she’s a full and complete goddess, born of mortal parents, but still born a goddess.”

“Holy shit,” I spat out, unable to help myself.  “I’m seriously a goddess?”

Hades nodded his head this time.  “You’re the goddess of reason and knowledge,” he explained.  “I hadn’t realized what my wife had done, or else I would have stopped it.  You might have thought you were doing her soul a kindness, but really, you were inhibiting her.”

“She just wanted one chance to be with Eros rather than reject him,” she explained.  “I saw how miserable both of them were, and I thought maybe, just maybe, I could do them both a favor by reincarnating her other soul instead.  Eros, after all, was chasing after the wrong soul.”

“The wrong soul?” Eros asked, offended.

She gave him a sympathetic look.  “Psyche wanted you to move on,” she explained.  “She didn’t want you fixated on finding her again, even though she should have known better.  She had always wondered what life would have been like had you not disrupted it, and when she found out have average it was, she wanted it keep it that way.  She never understood why she had feelings for you, anyway, and she used to wonder if it wasn’t an effect of your powers as well.”

“Yeah, when she came to me about splitting her soul, she was complaining about it, although I didn’t understand it.  Does loving someone need an explanation?  So when I did split her soul, I went ahead and took the part that was meant for you, and placed it in the immortal soul so Psyche would stop bitching about it.”

“Oh, geeze, Hades, no wonder she developed a consciousness of her own,” Persephone snapped.  “We were keeping her other half away from her, and that irritated her into developing her own mind.  You’re an idiot sometimes.”

“Wait, she questioned it?” Eros demanded.

Persephone gave him another sheepish look.  “All the time, actually.  It’s an understandable concern, after all; you are the god of love, and you are known for your ability to make people fall in love with you.  She couldn’t be sure if she loved you because you were meant to be together, or if you happened to have hit her with one of her arrows before she saw you.  I know the truth, but I could also see her point of view.”

He turned to me angrily.  “Did you ever question it?”

“What, why I love you?  Of course, back when I first found out who you were.  But I didn’t think it was because you hit me with an arrow or anything.  I just thought that maybe you made everyone around you fall in love with you.  And I sort of question if you love me or just my soul, but I don’t question why I love you anymore.”

He still looked angry.  “You still questioned it, though.”

“Eros, relax. She’s only human.  You’d question it, too, if you were in her position, but the fact that she doesn’t question it now should make you happy.  It makes her far different from your first wife,” Persephone said, rolling her eyes. 

“Especially considering, according to him, I was meant to love you.  I think.”  I glanced at him.  “Or is it the soul I released that’s meant for him.”

“You are, now,” Hades said.  “As soon as I removed that part of her, they were no longer soul mates, which is why she was so repulsed by him.  They weren’t compatible.”

“Would have been nice to know I was wasting my time,” he sighed.

“Well, if you had given up, you wouldn’t have even given Psyche here a second glance, and then you’d still be miserable,” Persephone pointed out.  “He did you a favor.”

“But speaking of Psyche’s soul being released…,” Hades commented.

“I’m really sorry about that,” I said.  “I had no idea that would happened.”

“Its not your fault,” Hades insisted, making me feel only slightly better.  “But the question now is what we’re going to do about it?”

“We?” Eros demanded.  “You’re the Lord of Souls, shouldn’t you be able to retrieve the souls you lost?”

“It’s not going to work that way in this case.  He can’t claim Psyche’s soul, even if it’s her mortal soul, so long as the immortal soul exists somewhere.  And the only person who can keep track of her is Psyche, but her godly powers aren’t really developed yet.  Besides which, I think they sever their connection when they develop their own consciousness.”

“So what’re we going to do?  She said she was going to try to take over my life.”

“Yes, the mortal souls aren’t used to being stuck in the Underworld now, so I imagine she’s do all she can to have something of a life back,” Persephone said, chewing on her lower lip.  “And it doesn’t help that all those lifetimes have made her rather unstable.  Usually I can wipe her memories before she goes completely insane, but I thought that maybe this time, living through you would help calm her down.’

“Apparently not,” I said.  “I was told, though, that she was being driven insane because she was being kept from Eros.”

Persephone shook her head.  “No, you were being driven insane by being kept from Eros,” she insisted.

“Well, actually,” Hades mused, “now that I think about it, even though I removed the love she felt for you, thus making her not your soul mate, the fact remains that they are technically the same soul.  It might not be a strong love, but I think she still feels something for you, and constantly rejecting you is taking its toll on her.”

I glanced at Eros, who looked a little surprised at this information.  I felt my heart drop a little, because I was pretty sure that meant that he was still interested in his first wife, and not me.  I’d be willing to give him up as long as it meant he was happy, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be hard.  “So basically, I’m going to have a half insane soul trying to take over my life?”

“So it seems,” Hades said absently.

“So what are we going to do about it?”

“We can’t do anything at the present moment, because we can’t be sure where she went,” Persephone admitted.  “The most we can do is keep an eye on you, and wait for her to make a move.  Don’t worry, though; I created this mess, and I’ll do what I can to correct it.”

“So you’ll still be my protector even though you were best friends with Psyche?”

“I’m still your friend, Psyche, even if the mantle of ‘best friend’ has been passed on.  The Psyche you released is no longer the friend I knew her as, but you are.  So yes, I’ll still be your protector.  And I’m sure Eros will do the same.”

We both glanced at Eros, but he seemed too lost in thought to notice we were talking about him.  This depressed me even more, since I was sure he was thinking about the possibilities of getting back with his first wife.

There really wasn’t much more that could be done other than send me back where I belonged, back in my own room.  It was still late enough that I was able to crawl back into my bed and pretend to fall asleep, but Eros elected to settle into one of my armchairs to think.  I couldn’t fall asleep even if I wanted to.  Too many thoughts were floating through my head.

I was a little surprised to realize that the one that kept coming to the surface was the one that I was born a goddess.  I didn’t feel like a goddess.  I felt like a normal, everyday girl, to be honest, but that did explain my odd ability to accurately judge someone.  I thought it was just because I happened to have Psyche’s soul.

But, of course, I was also worried about Psyche coming and ruining my life.  I’m sure she could do a lot more damage than my sisters ever could.  And that, in itself, was worrisome.

I think I came down looking a little like death warmed over when I finally ventured out of my room, after a failed attempt to rouse Eros, and Mom and Papa gave me a worried look.  But they couldn’t focus on me at the moment, because Phoebe had come over early to start discussing the wedding with Mom and Papa, since they were paying for it.  It wasn’t like I had an explanation ready for them, anyway.

The camera crew was trained on my sister and our parents when I came down, and I knew I was stuck as long as they were talking wedding crap.  I quickly fluffed my hair and tried to look more awake for the cameras, but they weren’t focused on me, since Penny wasn’t around to make them focused on me.

“Do I really have to invite Nona?” Phoebe was asking.  “I mean, I know it’s polite and all, but she, like, hates me.  I don’t know what sort of Greek curse she’ll place on me.”

“Phoebe, your grandmother isn’t a Greek witch, you know,” Papa said, looking amused.  “But yes, you’re inviting all my family, because it’s polite.  And because I’m paying for this.”

“Okay, but do I really have to handwrite all their invitations?  You, like, have a freaking huge family, Daddy.”

Papa looked about to decline, since he was lucky she was agreeing to this at all, when Penny suddenly burst in through the kitchen.  I had never really seen her there that early, but when she glanced at the cameras and grinned before making her announcement, I knew she was just looking for a way to upstart Phoebe with her wedding planning.

I didn’t like that look at all, and the next words out of her mouth frightened me more than knowing a vengeful spirit wanted to take over my life.

“Everyone, I have great news; I’m pregnant!”

Chapter Fourteen

The Trials of Psyche Chapter Fifteen

Chapter One