Royal Heiress (11 page)

Sensing her fear, Jake whispered, “I won’t
leave you.”

She smiled at him, grateful for his kind
words.

He instinctively walked closer to her.

The light up ahead grew brighter, and by the
time they reached the end of the corridor, they found themselves in
a large circular area where a three-headed dog calmly waited for
new inhabitants.

“Cerebus,” she softly spoke, recalling the
lessons her father had taught her about the Olympians and their
creatures.

The dog’s ears perked up at the mention of
his name, and he went to greet her. He sniffed her hand and sat
beside her.

“Do we wait here or should we go through the
gate?” she asked Jake.

Cerebus barked, stood up, and blocked their
entrance.

She glanced at Jake. “Obviously, we are to
wait for someone to get us.”

Cerebus barked again and seemed to have
nodded at her. Then he went back to her and sat next to her.

“I think he likes you,” Jake replied with a
grin.

“I like him, too,” she admitted and petted
one of his three heads.

The dog smiled in pleasure.

“I wonder why he’s taken such an interest in
you,” he said. “I wonder if he takes a liking to everyone who comes
through here.”

“That is a good question.”

“He doesn’t seem to be interested in me.
Maybe that’s my answer.”

Someone cleared his throat.

Startled, they looked at the entrance of the
gate.

An old man wearing a long black robe and
carrying a long wooden staff greeted them. “I would say welcome to
the Underworld, but this is not a pleasant place to be. Cerebus
seems to like you more than anyone else who’s come down here except
for Persephone. Perhaps he senses something in you he didn’t in the
others. The leaders made him to detect the measure of goodness in a
person’s soul. The people above ground couldn’t stand to look at a
three-headed dog though, so he was confined to guard the entrance
of the Underworld.”

She blinked in surprise. She wondered what
Cerebus saw in her. Then she recalled Persephone’s name.
“Persephone. Isn’t she married to Hades?”

“Hardly.” The man shook his head. “He forced
her down here three weeks ago. Demeter, her mother, is filled with
worry about her but doesn’t know of her whereabouts yet. Once
Hermes returns to the arc and tells her, she’s bound to be upset.
She detests this place so much and hates Hades even more. There’s
no way Hades will get Persephone to stay here.”

Katherine bit her lip. She knew what their
future held, but she didn’t want to reveal it to them.

“Why did he bring her here?” Jake asked. “Did
she have a flaw that the leaders couldn’t tolerate?”

She noted the sarcasm in his voice and
couldn’t help but respect him for how he valued all people, not
just the perfect ones.

“Oh no,” the old man replied. “Persephone is
as lovely as they come. She is so beautiful that even Aphrodite
feels threatened by her. Her mother encourages her work by sending
gentle rains, plenty of sunlight, and warm weather. Hades went to
attend a meeting three weeks ago and happened to see her. Hades is
extremely impulsive, and that being the case, he brought her down
here before she had time to run from him. She was clearly afraid
when I saw her, though she didn’t protest or say a word. She knows
her mother will find her and force him to take her back. As long as
she doesn’t eat anything, she is safe to go back up there to
live.”

“Because if she eats anything down here, she
will be forced to stay here,” Katherine said.

The man looked impressed. “You are well aware
of our customs down here. Even Zeus cannot change this custom, and
he’s the head leader.”

“She hasn’t eaten anything yet?” she
asked.

“No. I don’t expect she will either. She must
be incredibly hungry, but her desire to live above ground overrides
that basic need. It’s not like she can starve since she’s covered
under the Stone of Immortality the leaders hold in their
possession.”

“And Hermes is here now?”

“I just took him to see Hades. I came back
here because I heard the door of the dome chime. It is undetectable
to those who enter, but I hear it every time. It is my job to take
you to Hades. He will decide where you will live down here.”

“We’re only going to be here for a couple of
days. We’re only visiting Atlantis. I refused to put on a veil, so
I came here instead.”

“An unusual choice for someone to volunteer
for this life, even if it is temporary.”

“I didn’t feel like being compared to my
sister anymore.” She shrugged. “She meets the standards of
perfection. She always has.”

“If that is your wish, you may stay at our
temporary lodging. Hades will still want to see you first to keep
tabs on who’s here.” Turning to Jake, he asked, “Why are you here?
Surely, you are allowed to be up there.”

Jake cleared his throat. “I wanted to come
with her.”

“Very well,” he replied. “Please follow me.
We will take the boat down the River Styx until we reach Hades’
mansion. It is black and as gloomy as everything else down here. He
can be difficult to bear with, but he means well. I think the
Underworld brings out the worst in all of us after we’ve been here
for a while. It isn’t easy to be constantly reminded you are not
good enough for Atlantis. Hades was forced to do this job, so it’s
not like he wants to be here any more than the rest of us do.”

She nodded as she and Jake followed him to
his small boat. She was familiar with Hades’ moodiness from her
school lessons. She also knew Persephone was the only one who could
give him joy. Examining her surroundings, she understood why Hades
was so temperamental.

***

Present Day

Ivory Palace

Planet: Olympia

Gaius, Olivia, and Julius landed their
spaceship right at the door of the Ivory Palace, not concerned with
the gods’ and goddesses’ rule that no one ever do so. They had
crucial business to take care of and not much time to spare. Timing
was everything, and if they acted too soon or too late, they would
disrupt the delicate balance between action and consequence.

They stood outside the door and rang the
bell, which chimed beautifully throughout the palace.

Hephaestus led them into the living room
where Zeus, Ares, Athena, Demeter, Hades, and Poseidon were mapping
out a strategic war plan. As soon as they saw the Augurs, they
stopped and turned to them.

“Something else is wrong if you’re here,”
Zeus told them. “We were going to visit you after we created a
suitable plan to get to our replacements before they wake up. We
are aware the Earthlings have discovered Atlantis’ location and are
currently inspecting the area.”

“There is another development,” Gaius
informed them. “The Infer who is currently there has traveled back
into the past with the Queen of Raz, and he intends to change the
course of history. He wants to make sure Atlantis never sank in the
first place.”

Athena gasped. “Do you know how he intends to
do that?”

“Unfortunately, no. However, we have seen
through the Mirror of Time, and he will succeed. In the future, his
action will condemn everyone in the Underworld and every Augur to
death.”

Hades frowned. “Why would he destroy the
people in my domain? They were my responsibility.”

“He doesn’t intentionally kill them. His
decision to keep Atlantis on the map is what inevitably leads to
their deaths. If we allow his plan to succeed, then Atlantis will
still exist in our current day. In the near future, a rebellion
will occur from the Underworlds all over the Earth. The people
there will demand the same rights enjoyed by those above ground,
and in order to put the rebellion down, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and
Demeter will vote to eliminate them. Since every Augur will protest
such an event, you will destroy us first.”

“No,” Zeus argued. “There’s no way we could
be so heartless. The people in the Underworld shouldn’t be put to
death just because they aren’t perfect.”

“Did they even deserve to put in the
Underworld to begin with?” Hades snapped.

“That was a long time ago when we thought it
best to do such a thing,” Demeter softly stated. “We were foolish
back then.”

“Apparently, staying on Atlantis would have
made us worse than we were,” Zeus said.

“But Hades and Hestia voted against such
measures?” Athena asked. “Or were they no longer ruling by
then?”

“They still ruled. The leadership remained
intact,” Gaius replied. “They argued in favor of bringing the
people back up from the Underworld.”

Demeter sighed. “Perhaps there is more heart
in you than I gave you credit for,” she told Hades, her
son-in-law.

He looked shocked by her admission.

“We cannot allow ourselves to do what the
Augurs have said we’ll do,” Zeus decided. “We must stop the Infer
from keeping Atlantis above the waters.”

“He will be harder to locate among the other
Infers, but with the technology to assist us, we can find him and
warn him,” Gaius said.

“In the meantime, we also need to prevent the
people on Earth from discovering the replacements or taking any of
that technology,” Zeus replied. “We cannot let the rest of the
Earth fail as we had. That technology must be destroyed before it
destroys others.”

“Agreed.”

“I have an idea,” Ares said. “The Augurs have
mastered the technology without seeking out their own gain. They
should find the Infer. He will believe them because he knows of
their reputation. Then we will stop the people on Earth in our
current day. Zeus, you are the leader, and you have control over
the thunderbolt you created long ago. Demeter can control the
weather. Poseidon can control the ocean. Hades can release his most
powerful beasts from the Underworld. Athena will provide her wisdom
so we maintain justice in our actions, and I will change our battle
plans as we need to do so.”

Athena’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “There
might be hope for you yet, Ares.”

“That is an excellent strategy,” Gaius said.
“We will leave at once.”

“Thank you,” Zeus replied. “You have been
faithful guardians of our technology.”

Gaius, Octavia, and Julius nodded their
welcome and returned to their spaceship, ready for their next plan
of action.

Chapter Eleven

Thousands of years in the past

Atlantis

By the time they arrived at the hallway at
the top of the arc, Amanda was exhausted. She was in great shape,
but the climb up all those flights of stairs was rough on everyone.
Everyone, that is, except for Pallid, who wasn’t even out of breath
like she was.

“Aren’t you tired?” she panted, wiping the
sweat from her forehead.

“No,” he replied. “Then again, I have the
Stone of Immortality. It does more than keep you immortal.”

“Oh, right.” She saw a couple of chairs in
the library down the hall. She couldn’t believe she and Katherine
were in there two hours ago. “Can we sit down for a few minutes? I
need to rest.”

“All I need to do is check the location of a
certain person. You can sit there until I come for you. I’ll only
be five minutes.”

She frowned. “But I don’t know anyone in
there.”

“You can look out the window and check out
the city. It is bustling with so much activity you won’t be
bored.”

“No. That’s not what I meant.” She lowered
her voice in case any of the people passing by might overhear her,
“I can’t go in there without you. People will think I’m weird if I
don’t have someone to talk to. Friendless people are the saddest
ones around.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re
worried about what other people are going to think about you?”

“Of course. Doesn’t everyone worry about how
others perceive them?”

“I don’t.”

Heat rose to her cheeks. “Fine. I’m not you,
and you’re not me. Still, I don’t want to feel awkward in
there.”

“I think some awkwardness would do you
good.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you
mean by that?”

“I’ve been watching the way you treat other
people in this city, and you seem to think they’re here to serve
you. It’s time you started to look past your own nose.”

“I think of others all the time. I’m the
queen of an entire planet.”

“Impressive title, isn’t it? I wonder what
you would do without it.”

She clenched her jaw, not liking where this
conversation was going. He didn’t even know her. How could he
assume such horrible things about her? She couldn’t believe her
parents spoke so well of him.

“I am going to check on someone,” he finally
stated. “You will sit and rest. I promise you, it won’t kill you to
be by yourself in a crowded room.” Without another word, he
left.

She reluctantly went to the library, acutely
aware that she was the only one there who didn’t have anyone to
talk to. It was the loneliest feeling she’d ever experienced. On
Raz, she was the center of attention. If she wasn’t laughing with
her friends, she was surrounded by men who wanted to marry her. She
missed her world. She sat down by the window and stared out of it,
trying not to appear as pathetic as she felt. She noticed that the
people walking around, going about their business in the city, were
with someone else. They seemed so carefree. She couldn’t wait to
get back to Raz.

“Excuse me,” someone interrupted her
thoughts.

She glanced up in surprise. Before her stood
an attractive man. She smiled, relieved that she could attract
people on this world after all. “Hi,” she greeted, turning on her
full charm.

“Would you please move over a little bit?” he
requested. “I want to see if the book I’m looking for is right
behind you.”