Chapter 52 - Psyche

Charon loomed over us in the small boat. The shademother took her weightless child out of my arms andcradled him while cowering on the floor. “Please,” she cried as she stroked her baby’s withered head. “At least let my son pass on.”

“Charon,” I pleaded. “We had a deal. You promised to help some of the shades in the river. Why not let these be the first?”

He just stood there, motionless. In the darkness I couldn’t read his expressions to gauge what he was thinking.

“Please. For me?” I asked. Seconds ticked by without an answer.

Finally, Charon grumbled, “It’s lucky I like you, or you’d be in the water with them.” But before he was even done grousing, he’d begun pulling the boat forwardagain.

Remembering why I was even on the river in the first place, I bent down to retrieve the wooden box from thefloor. When I leaned over, the mother kissed me on the forehead.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I don’t know who you are, but may the gods be with you always.”

For the rest of the ride, I watched the mother andchild huddle together. Their obvious love was so consuming, I moved to the floor of the boat, just to benearer. In fact, I was so engrossed by them, I didn’t notice we’d emerged from the cave until our boat scrapedto a stop on the shore.

That’s when I heard Eros’s voice calling my name.

Hearing him again was like getting my heart back. My chest had been empty without him and now it swelled. I jerked up and saw him half running, half flying towardme. His arms were outstretched, his lips pulled in a smileso wide it consumed his face.

I scooped the wooden box off the floor of the boat and scurried over the side and onto the sandy shore. Clasping the box tightly in one hand, I ran full speedtoward him.

We quickly closed the distance to each other and I was only a few steps away from launching myself into his arms when I noticed a ribbon of color descending on me. The radiant hues tangled around my feet, tripping me as I ran. I was moving too fast to keep from falling. As I toppled, my chin smashed into the packed sand and thebox skidded out of my hand, bouncing away.

I watched, eyes wide, as the box tipped onto its sideand the lid cracked open. Scrambling on my hands andknees, I scurried to the box, hoping to close the lidbefore any of Persephone’s beauty escaped.

The last thing I remembered seeing was anilluminated fog circle up out of the box as my hands closed around it. The mist swirled around my head, filling my nose and mouth. When I gasped, the mist pulled me under the surface of my own consciousness. And everything went black.

Chapter end