Eurydice

7

The boy screamed and clung desperately to me, squeezing his eyes shut as souls spoke to him.

"You have to go, my boy."

"You'll be fine- you're nowhere near as wicked as Callinicus had been."

"It'll be real quick."

He shrieked into my neck, and I stroked his back.

"Ander," I whispered. "You have to go. It'll be okay."

"No Tartarus!" he cried. His little hands gripped my hair almost painfully, and he kicked at one of the men trying to soothe him.

I watched as a servant appeared in the doorway. I didn't like how his dark, empty eyes fixed on the boy. I ran a hand through Ander's hair, saying, "You have to go."

"Don't want to!"

"Ander, please." I reached up and pried his fingers off, ignoring how my heart clenched. He shrieked and clawed for me as I set him down, and I knew that if he could cry, his little face would have been dripping with tears.

My lips quivered. "I'm sorry."

Ander screamed at me, his eyes bugging out when the man lifted him up. He reached out, and I held up a hand. Then he disappeared behind the iron doors.

The old woman patted my shoulder. "You had to. It's all right, my dear."

I placed my hand over hers as we listened, shaking with worry.

The entrance opened again, the room empty.

"Send in Alyssa."

My friend gave a sad smile before hobbling into the palace. Her eyes sparkled, the doors slowly closing again, and I held her gaze until she disappeared.

They kept opening and shutting with every person summoned. We all waited listlessly, holding hands and clinging to each other for comfort.

Then finally, with only a few of us left, it was my turn.

"Send in Eurydice." The voice was monotone, drawling each word as if they bored him.

I gave everyone a glance. It was odd how a group of strangers felt like friends to me, but they were all I had in this gray nightmare. Their faces were lined, tired, and didn't offer any encouragement as I forced a smile.

All my bravery was left behind with the spirits as I went through the doors, hearing them swing shut behind me and then close with little more than a click.

"Approach, daughter of Apollo," the voice said. I turned to the far left of the room, finding a large table atop a dais. It was dark marble, like the white floor, and seated behind it were three silver men.

I came to them, hands twisted in my chiton as my legs threatened to buckle. As I got closer, I could see their weary eyes and how their postures drooped forward. I realized that to them, I was just another soul of millions to judge and send away.

The man in the middle had an enormous, gleaming crown on his head, and I knew he was King Minos. He eyed me, then sighed.

"Where do you think you belong?" he said softly.

I blinked. They wanted to know what I thought? "Wherever you judge is best, sire."

The man on his left chuckled. "Ah, we got another kiss-up, eh, Minos?"

"Quiet, Aeacus," the king snapped. He straightened and fixed his gaze on me, and I shifted on my feet. I couldn't help but think of Ander and pray that at least he had been sent to Asphodel Meadows, a place not nearly as terrible as Tartarus.

Minos' narrow, hawkish face twisted into an amused smile. "Worried about the boy, I see. Oddly, we never see anyone care about another soul when they're being judged. They just think of themselves."

On his right, a thick and burly man nodded. He was nearly half a head taller than the other two, and his meaty hands looked like they could snap a log in half. With Minos and Aeacus hunching over, it was almost funny how the larger judge dwarfed them.

"I agree, Minos," the man rumbled. "That is why I want her in my realm." His voice seemed to engulf me, demanding my attention like Orpheus' music. Thinking of him hurt far more than the snake bite. "Eurydice," the judge said, his intense silver eyes on me. "I am Lord Rhadamanthus of Elysium and I think you would be suitable for my part of the Underworld. You have been far too righteous and kind just to go to Asphodel Meadows for all eternity."

I beamed at him, and the first bit of happiness I felt in this place washed over me like sunshine. I fumbled with my chiton before curtseying.

"Thank you, Lord Rhadamanthus. I'm forever in gratitude to you-"

Minos held up a hand, and the smirk on his face matched his cold eyes. "I think my brother forgets how I'm in charge."

Rhadamanthus glared, setting a large fist onto the table. "I'm Lord of Elysium, Minos, so I can decide who enters my domain-"

"No," Minos snapped. "I am the head judge, and what I say goes. I don't want this half-nymph creature in the land of the righteous!"

His brother shook with anger, and his fist tightened dangerously as he spat, "She is worthy of it! We have all seen her sins, but they are outweighed by her good deeds. She is a faithful worshipper of the gods, and obeyed Apollo even though she knew she would perish!"

Aecus eyed the two sluggishly. He yawned and looked at me, his hand cradling his cheek.

"Why can't she go?" he said softly. "There is no fault in her."

Minos whirled on him, his scowl venomous. "You know exactly why, you lazy pig. She killed the child!"

I stared at him, too numb to blink. "What child, King Minos?"

Rhadamanthus lowered his eyes and leaned back in his seat, his broad shoulders hunched. Aecus suddenly became very interested in the gray table.

Minos smiled horribly at me, and I wondered what other poor soul had seen that smirk. He sat straight in his silver throne, looking triumphant as he stared down his beak of a nose.

"My dear," he crooned, "when you let that snake bit you, I'm afraid that you were with child."

I closed my eyes. It's hard to describe the onslaught of blame and regret that hit me, how a new kind of pain I've never felt before came flooding into my frozen lungs. My eyes begged to cry, but my spirit body wouldn't let them. My heart dared to ask, was it true?

I got my answer when I opened my eyes and found Minos leaning forward with steepled fingers, grinning as he said, "Allowing the serpent to bite you meant killing your own child. And that crime is absolutely, positively, not allowed in Elysium. Everyone agree?"

Rhadamanthus and Aecus exchanged a glance, and nodded gravely. I opened my mouth to say something that could defend me, but I had nothing.

"Excellent, men," Minos said. "Now that we have an understanding, I finally sentence Eurydice to the Meadows of Asphodel."

"Wait, sire," I breathed. A mix of countless emotions welled up in my chest. "Is my child here?"

"You were only a week along," Minos scoffed. "Of course it didn't have a soul yet. But don't worry, my dear; you'll forget soon enough that you had a child in the first place."

He waved a hand, and the white marble room shimmered and twisted, turning darker until only gray filled my vision.