“You left me no choice. I’m going to ask you one final time. An opportunity to live on the surface.” Hades flew higher in the air, spreading his wings. “Will. You. Perform. Your Duties?” His voice boomed, commanding attention and respect. The bass from his menacing tone echoed in my skull.
I sniffed the air. The smell was impossible to ignore. A small table, decorated with a scarlet ornate table cloth, sat in the corner. And resting on top, displayed on a silver platter, was a pile of Cinnamon Bun Oreos. My stomach growled like Godzilla.
Thanatos snarled. “Yes,” he muttered.
“Louder!” Hades demanded.
“Yes! I will return to my duties.”
Thanatos’ essence flowed back into him, billowing in a cascade from Hades’ arms. I eyed the delectable plate of Oreos, biting my lip.
“Go, now,” Hades growled. “You have an extreme amount of work to catch up on.”
Cerberus released his hold, and Thanatos floated into the air with his shoulders hunched forward.
“You are one to talk, Lord of the Underworld,” Thanatos said, pointing at the overflowing river of souls before vanishing.
I reached out for the plate of Oreos. Just one tiny nibble. So hungry. So very, very hungry. The textured surface of the delicious cookie brushed my fingertip, and I picked it up. My mouth salivated as I brought it to my lips.
A hand grasped my wrist, stopping me.
“Stephanie, no,” Hades said, glowering down at me.
I blinked, staring down at the Oreo inches from my lips, and dropped it. “I don’t—I don’t know what came over me. I would’ve been—”
“Stuck here.” He frowned.
I gazed down at his hand wrapped around my wrist. “But you didn’t let me.”
“I told you before I would never let that happen again. She deserved a choice.”
My heart hummed. I let pieces of his floating hair slide through my fingers.
He peered down at me, caressing his cheek against my hand, and closing his eyes.
“I really must get you back to the surface. The Underworld is no place for a mortal. It’s already starting to affect you,” he said, his chin dropping.
“Am I really never going to see you again?”
The tips of his pointed ears drooped. “It’s better that way.”
My sinuses stung, and I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from crying.
“There is one last thing I wish to do for you, however, if you are willing.”
My throat clenched. “Oh? What is it?”
“Your suicide murderer. Remember when I told you I could allow you to interrogate him here in Tartarus? The offer is still on the table.”
My eyes widened. Interview a dead serial killer? This took the idea of Interview With The Vampire and put it on an entirely different playing field. “I don’t see how I could pass that up.”
He gripped my shoulders. “I must warn you—he is a slime of a human being.”
“I wouldn’t expect much less. Will you help me?”
“Help you?” He quirked a brow.
I traced a fingertip over the tip of his ear. “It’s called ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’.”
“I assume I’m to play the role of Bad Cop?”
“Please? As you can imagine, I’ve never been any good at it.”
He dipped his head. “Very well.”
He gave one extravagant flourish with his arm, kicking up swirls of smoke. An irradiating heat slapped me in the face. We stood in the middle of a charcoaled entrance where lava flowed through the cracks. Hundreds of screams, wails, and crying poured into my ears. It was so deafening, I had to clap my hands over my ears. Hades touched my shoulder, and the world silenced.
“I apologize. It’s been a long time since I’ve escorted a mortal in the Underworld,” he said, his tone hushed and soothing.
“Are we—” I slipped my hands from my head. “Are we in Tartarus?”
“Yes. It’s the only area he can roam. We have to conduct the interrogation here. Did you still want to continue?” He delicately turned me to face him.
My teeth chattered, despite the increasing temperature. “I don’t have a choice. I can help so many families knowing this information. I’ll have to get over the fact that probably three feet away someone is getting tortured.”
“I promise you won’t see or hear any of it.”
I nodded, staring up at his stoic expression, a serene glimmer in his gaze. “Let’s get this over with.”
He bowed his head before passing his hand over his face and body. As his hand progressed, he transformed into his mortal guise. The “Sawyer” guise. I cocked an eyebrow.
“They get a false sense of security when I appear like this.”
Well, this was going to be interesting.
In another whoosh of smoke, we were in a room surrounded with sleek black walls. Low lighting pointed at a man with a ball and chain attached to each of his limbs. My heart raced. Earnest Fueller. Across from me at arms-length was the man I’d made eye contact with years ago in the interrogation room. A man I knew was guilty with every fiber of my being. Here he was in the deadly flesh. He looked the same: Balding, average size build, scruff over his chin, broad nose, and bushy caterpillar eyebrows.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of my torture break?” He grunted, the chains rattling together.
Hades remained in the shadows, leaning on the wall with his arms folded. “We need to ask you a few questions.”
It was one thing to be behind the safety of a two-way mirror when looking at a person you hoped to convict. This was another matter entirely. “I only need to ask you a few questions about the murders, and then you’re free to go.”
He snorted, spitting on the ground. “Yeah, because I’m in a hurry.”
Hades pushed off the wall. He stood in front of him and leaned forward until their noses almost brushed. “The longer this takes, the more excruciating your torture becomes. Permanently.”
Earnest gulped.
So far, so good. I expected Hades to start ripping off fingernails already. “How many victims were there?” We knew of seven, but I wanted to be sure.
“Seven. My lucky number,” he said with a smirk.
The tip of Hades’ finger glowed orange, and he poked Earnest’s shoulder with a sizzle. Earnest yelped.
I grabbed Hades by the elbow and pulled him over. “What are you doing?”
His brow furrowed. “He’s a smart ass.”
“But he’s still giving information. The idea is to be the ‘bad’ in ‘bad cop’ when he refuses.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Fine.”
“Your first three victims were inconclusive due to no physical evidence, but witnesses were saying they saw someone who matched your description. Was it you? Alleyways? Rainy nights?”
“Yes,” he clipped, glaring at Hades from across the room.
My nerves dissipated, and I took a step closer. “After the fourth victim, you were pulled in for a field line up. Why was the witness not able to identify you?”
“They needed glasses?”
Hades swiped his hand in the air, and Earnest arched from his chair, gurgling and shaking. I widened my eyes at Hades, and he dropped his hand with a shrug.