Chapter 16

 

Twenty-four days passed before the next full moon in mid-August, when Charon god-traveled from the Underworld to the hotel in Los Angeles to see Matilda. He had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach as he stood in the hallway at her door. He’d replaced his robes with jeans and a button-down shirt, and now he thrust his hands into his pockets, trying to settle his nerves.

He knew she was home, because it was early morning, and she’d been praying to him as she’d readied for the first day of school for the fall semester.

He lifted his fist and rapped on the door.

“Just a minute!” came her sweet, sweet voice.

The anticipation felt like a bomb in Charon’s chest, ready to explode. Centuries seemed to pass as he waited for Matilda to open the door.

Once she’d finally opened it, she gaped at him in utter shock. His heart seemed to leap from his chest as her face transformed from shock to bewilderment to joy.

She threw her arms around his neck. “Am I dreaming?”

He took her waist in his hands and lifted her in his arms. The feel of her body against him made him laugh with glee. “This isn’t a dream. I’m really here.”

“Come inside before I rip your clothes off in the hallway.”

“The ward.” He set her on her feet and pointed to the sigil above her doorway. “It won’t let me pass.”

“Hold on!” She ran inside her apartment and returned moments later with a pen. “Lift me up, so I can scratch it out.”

With pleasure, he took her by the waist and flew up toward the ceiling.

She laughed hysterically as she kicked her legs like a swimmer. “I should have known you can fly. I suppose you can do just about anything!”

She rubbed the felt tip of her pen over the ward until it was a solid black square.

Hearing a group of mortals coming around the corner, Charon quickly god-traveled with Matilda into her room and closed the door behind them.

“What was that?” she said as they landed on their feet.

“God-travel. Now come and kiss me.”

“I can’t believe my eyes!” she cried. “You’re here at last! It’s a miracle!”

She grabbed his shirt and ripped it open, sending buttons flying in all directions. He laughed as she pressed her lips to his chest and made her way to his bellybutton.

She worked her way back up to his neck, caressing his skin with her lips. A moan escaped his throat as he reached for her blouse and lifted it over her head.

“Oh, Charon,” she purred.

Her full breasts were cupped by a silky purple bra with delicate lace. He reached down and kissed the place where her breasts came together.

Matilda sighed and ran her fingers through his hair, grabbing fistfuls of it. She moved her hands to the base of his neck, and he lifted his face to meet hers.

When she plunged her tongue into his mouth, heat shot through his groin. He lifted Matilda into his arms and carried her to the bed.

“Please tell me you’re here to stay,” she whispered against his cheek as he lay beside her on the bed.

“I’ve found a way for us to be together,” he said before he kissed the tip of her chin. “I want to make you immortal.”

Matilda’s eyes widened, and she sat up in the bed. “What?” She looked down at him, her curly hair cascading across her shoulders and concealing the breasts he longed to see.

He clasped his hands behind his head and sighed. He wished the mood hadn’t changed. “It’s not an easy process, so we need to discuss it first.”

She sucked in her lips as he explained the process of apotheosis, which he had learned from Thanatos.

“You can’t be serious,” she said when he’d finished. “You want to set me on fire and trust that it will work?”

“I have a cup of ambrosia in my room.” Ironically, it was given to him by the very god he hoped to thwart. “I was told by Thanatos that it would work.”

“But won’t it hurt like hell? What if I can’t survive the pain?”

“Maybe you can give yourself a drug to make you sleep through the experience.”

She shook her head. “No way. This is crazy talk. There must be another way. I’d rather bleed to death than be burned alive. Are you sure you can trust Thanatos? Maybe he has a thing against witches and wants me to burn.”

“I know I can trust him. He’s not the devious type.”

She shuddered. “But burned alive? For real? Maybe I can find a spell…”

“We don’t have time. I have to return to my post by the end of the day.”

“The end of the day? Are you serious?”

He heaved a heavy sigh. “I wish I could say I wasn’t.”

“But I need time to think about this! Maybe I don’t want to be a god. Would I still be able to be a doctor and help kids with cancer? Or will I have to live in the Underworld?”

“I don’t know…”

She jumped up from the bed and paced the room. “Do I want to live forever?” She turned to him. “What if we get tired of one another?”

“I’d never get tired of you.”

“You don’t know that.”

Charon frowned. It hadn’t occurred to him that she might not want to be a god.

She gave him a half smile as she went to the bed and leaned down to kiss him. “I’m sorry, love. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“I want you to be honest.”

“I want to be with you—I know that. I just don’t know if I want to be a god. I’ve wanted to be a doctor for so very long. My work is important to me.”

“I know it is.”

“Can’t you leave your job?” she asked. “Why should I have to give up my life? Can you leave the Underworld to live with me?”

“When you came for your mother, you wanted to stay with me,” he pointed out.

“To give her back her life, yes,” Matilda said. “You were a welcome consolation to giving up mine for hers. But that’s impossible, right?”

He sighed. “Nothing’s changed. You’d have to switch fates with her, and you wouldn’t be the same. A soul of the dead has no will and no memories—unless it’s condemned to Tartarus, which wouldn’t be the case with you.”

“Then stay here, Charon!” she pleaded. “Stay here with me. Don’t go back tonight.”

“If a god abandons his duties, he’ll eventually go insane.”

“Oh.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “But maybe there’s a spell that can transform you into a mortal. Maybe it would stop you from going insane. Maybe we could live a nice, long, normal human life together. There’s got to be a way.”

He’d never considered giving up his post, much less his immortality. Even if there was a spell that could manage it and spare him from insanity, he doubted he could go through with it. And yet, here he was, asking her to give up what was important to her.

And none of this changed the fact that her life was now in danger of being destroyed by Zeus.

“But there’s something you should know,” he said.

She sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at him as he explained the new threat from Zeus.

“You’re saying that the big chief of the gods wants to kill me if you don’t do what he says?”

“Basically.”

“Oh, shit.” She stood up and crossed the room to the sliding glass doors that led to her balcony. As she gazed through the glass at the streets below, she said, “What are we going to do?”

He climbed from the bed and went to her, embracing her from behind. “If you don’t want me to make you immortal…”

“I didn’t say that.” She held his hands where they rested against her bare stomach. “I just need more time to think about it.”

He looked over her shoulder at the purple lace bra and the breasts peeking out of it. “Then we need to find a way to protect you.”

“A protection spell…”

“I wonder if Hecate knows one strong enough to ward off Zeus.”

She turned in his arms and reached up to kiss him. “Let’s not think about any of this right now. Let’s be together. After you go, we’ll figure things out. Let’s not waste any more time.”

“You don’t mind missing your first day of school?” he asked with a smile.

She smiled back at him, mischievously. “Come here, you.”

* * *

At day’s end, Charon reluctantly returned home to the Underworld after saying goodbye to his sweet Matilda.

As time passed, she kept him updated on her search for a protection spell strong enough to ward off Zeus.

I found a freeze protection spell, she prayed to him one day. I’ve written this on a piece of paper: “I hereby bind Zeus, lord of the Olympians, from causing me harm, death, and destruction.” Then I put the paper into a Ziplock freezer bag with water and froze it solid. I pray to Hecate that it holds!

Not long after, she prayed: I’ve drawn more protective wards around my door, and I’ve hidden some on the walls near my classrooms and the children’s ward. Around my bed, I’ve placed candles at the four cardinal points with protective wards carved into each of them. I also bought crystals—onyx, emerald, ruby, and black tourmaline, and I wear them in my bra. I pray to Hecate that these things protect me from Zeus!

Charon doubted such magic could affect a god. He’d been able to see though Matilda’s glamour spell on Johnny, after all. But he was appreciative of her efforts and was anxious for Hecate to return to the Underworld. If anyone would know if the spells could ward off Zeus, it was the goddess of witchcraft.

One night, as Matilda lay in bed, she prayed: I’ve been thinking about what it might be like to be a god. I wish I could know if I would be able to practice medicine and continue to work with children with cancer. If I knew I could do that, I might be more willing. Can you find this out for me?

You must think I’m crazy for not jumping at the chance to be a god, like you. But it’s not like trying to decide whether to buy a house or change careers or move to another city. This is a permanent change! I won’t be able to go back! One minute, I think I would love to have power, to fly, and to do other godly things. And I think that, as a god, I might be able to do even more for children with cancer than I can do as a mortal. But I have so many unanswered questions, Charon. Help me, please!

Charon wasn’t sure how he could ask the other gods questions without throwing suspicion his way. So far, he’d been able to count on Thanatos, so he sought his help again.

The next time Than boarded the skiff, Charon asked, “If I were to use the method you told me about—you know, the one your grandmother used for apotheosis…”

Than’s brows shot up. “You’re considering it, then?”

Charon directed his boat through the gates, up the River Styx, toward the Room of Judgment. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“You’ll need to ask my father’s permission.”

“Of course,” Charon said. “But nothing’s been decided yet. Until then, mum’s the word, got it?”

“Got it.”

Charon stopped the ferry at the Room of Judgment. “Would Matilda be required to remain here with me in the Underworld, do you think? Or could she practice medicine up top?”

Than helped the soul from the boat before turning back to Charon. “The apotheosis won’t stick if the new god doesn’t find a purpose.”

“A purpose?”

“A way to serve humanity or the world as part of the pantheon,” he said. “I bring in the dead, you ferry them, Hip brings sleep, Athena brings wisdom…see where I’m going with this? Matilda would need to become the goddess of something, and, depending on that something, she would need to remain here or go up top to fulfill her duties.”

“But she could sleep with me?”

Than gave him a wry grin. “Indeed.”

Than led the soul to be sentenced by the three judges as Charon waited on the ferry.

As he waited, he received another update from Matilda: I made a basil infusion with fresh basil leaves and boiling water. After my shower each morning, I use a cloth to soak my skin with the infusion. It’s supposed to create a protective shield around me from any malevolent action. I pray to Hecate that it works!

When Than and the soul returned to the boat with the verdict, Charon asked the god of death, “How would you feel about delivering another letter?”

“You forget how busy I am.”

“You’re to blame for this, Thanatos,” Charon said. “You set us up, remember?”

“Fine. I’ll deliver your letter.”

Charon ferried Than and the soul to the Elysian Fields, where, as always, he stole glances at Bill and Johnny before continuing on his way.

* * *

In mid-September, at the next full moon, Charon drafted a letter to Matilda. He wrote:

My sweet Matilda,

Before my visit to the Upperworld, I never imagined I would feel this way about another living soul. As I carry out my duties, you are never far from my thoughts.

In a few moments, I hope to find you in your dreams and hold you in my arms for as long as you sleep. But first, I want to tell you what I learned in my quest for answers to your questions.

If you choose to go through the apotheosis, you must find a way to serve humanity or the world as part of the pantheon. You’ll need to be the goddess of something—not of love or wisdom or family, because those are already taken. It must be something unique that you feel called to do.

Depending on your purpose, you may spend your time down here with me or in the Upperworld. Of course, when you need to sleep, you can share my bed, and then you can tell me in person where you like to be touched.

The good news is that the process need not be permanent. If you find you’ve made a mistake in becoming like me, simply fail to declare your purpose, and you will return to your mortal state.

As soon as Hecate returns from Mount Olympus with Lady Persephone, I’ll ask her if she knows of a way that I can become mortal without losing my mind.

I’ll see you in your dreams.

Charon

He folded the letter and left it on his table before he flew to the field of asphodel. He lay among the flowers and went to sleep, and then his psyche went in search of Matilda and her dreams.