Chapter 2

I followed the Reaper through the night. He took me to a forest at the edge of my father's property, which led to a hidden cavern beside an underground lake. Although I had lived here for years, I never knew such a place existed.

"I summoned an entrance to appear," Grismal revealed as though he was reading my mind as we entered the pitch blackness of the miserably cold cavern. "You will not find it again on your own."

"Are we going to the underworld?" I asked, trying to keep my teeth from chattering from the cold. Even if I had chosen to wear layers of fabric on top of my plain black dress, I doubted it would have been enough to protect me from these freezing temperatures. It wasn't a coldness that the human world could comprehend. Grismal noticed my slow movements as I tried to force my body to follow him into the dark depths. To my surprise, he removed his cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders.

It must have had enchanted properties because instantly, I felt better. I didn't expect such a kind act of mercy from the Lord of Death, but I suppose he wanted to keep me alive. Having his female companion freeze to death wouldn't serve that end at all.

"Keep that around you. It will protect you from more than extreme weather conditions. It will keep my subjects from eating you alive. They hunger for the flesh of the living."

Where have I heard that before?

I had lived my life among vampires, although most of them were still partially human. I wanted to snort but dared not to offend my host too much, or he might take back his cloak. Grismal smirked at me. The expression looked threatening on his dangerously beautiful face. Once again, in it, I saw an echo of familiarity. He was, after all, also Orienne's child. He and Blake didn't share any features in common, but one could not look at one without being reminded of the other.

"I remind you of him," Grismal chuckled at my disturbed expression and even more distressing thoughts. "And you can't stand it. You wish I were easier to hate."

"You think nothing of trespassing on a girl's thoughts, do you?" I snapped. I didn't care if he knew that I thought he was attractive. Grismal was right about one thing; I wasn't playing the part of a grieving widow. It was a role that I had little patience for. After all these years and all the tears I've shed for the ones I've lost, I didn't have any tears left to cry, even crocodile tears.

Perhaps, if I convinced Grismal that I harbored soft feelings for him, he'll overlook my lack of grieving. I was, after all, just another weak-willed woman looking for any hard body to lean my sad little head against.

"I could appear in a less pleasing body if you wish," Grismal offered and cocked his head at me. His hair was black as the deepest winter's night, and his eyes shone like two eerie stars. I could see his muscles moving like snakes under the thin layer of fabric that he wore. "If you were anyone else, I would have appeared in a form that would horrify you."

"But you came to me in a beautiful form because you hate your brother," I replied, speaking my thoughts out loud because there was no point in hiding them from Grismal's prying powers. "You want the steal the one thing he values above all else."

"Would that really be so hard?" Grismal asked as the rocks behind him moved to unveil a passageway lit with torches. I assumed the light was for my benefit. Our path led to a massive castle built into the walls of an underground cavern. I assumed he could summon his palace to appear anywhere, just like the doorway to my father's gardens. "Beyond this doorway is my kingdom. It has many names, but you can call it the Mearnox, the City of the Dead."

Grismal gave me his large hand to take. I hesitated only for a second, then thought, "To hell with it," and firmly grabbed his outstretched palm. His hand felt like a bare layer of skin wrapped around an unforgiving rock. Even though I didn't expect warmth, he wasn't cold. Rather, he was both and yet neither. He wasn't a vampire or a demon. He was a god who was trying to appear human. It wasn't a very convincing attempt.

We approached the stone arches that marked the end of the world of the living and the beginning of the world of the dead.

"Tell me this, Melody," Grismal whispered as we crossed the threshold into a palace fit for a god. With every step we took, the rocks transformed into marble and gold until every inch was covered in precious gems decorated to look like clouds and trees. They moved with the summer wind that blew through the palace and seemed to shine with the sun's light. I knew it was all illusion, and yet it was beautiful nonetheless. "What would my brother say if he were here?"

"Perhaps one day you can show him yourself," I muttered.

"No, I cannot," Grismal replied with a touch of sadness. "Because the two of us were never destined to meet. I have courted very few living beings here. Dead souls are the ones that keep me company. They are only shadows of their earthly selves, unable to think, envy, or marvel. Unable to concede that I was always the more worthy of the two of us."

I understood now.

I finally got it.

The truth was more banal than I could have imagined.

Grismal was jealous that the Goddess Orienne loved her human son, Blake, more.

Orienne Tahil, I wish I had known you back in the world of the living. What a blessing it must be to have two sons who love you. I am a mother who is despised by both of my sons.

"You are hard to impress," Grismal remarked as I strolled about the grand hall of his palace. I placed my fingertips against the marble walls, only for the colors to change from a warm milky gold to a frosty, ice blue. So, the walls reflected the heart of those who wandered its halls.

"Do girls often fall to their knees at the sight of a pretty palace?"

"Don't mock me," Grismal remarked with a dangerous glimmer in his eyes. I was no stranger to violent, evil men. Even so, I knew better than to push a monster like Grismal too far.

"It's too bright," I remarked. "You asked me what Blake would say if he were here. He would say he would prefer the truth to the illusion. What does your Palace of Death really look like, Lord Nerazu?"

Grismal chuckled and led me to a room just off to the side of a grand stairwell. It was beautiful inside, just like the rest of the palace. It was furnished with a four-post bed that looked big enough for a family of four. It was carpeted and decorated in red. I've never been fond of red, but evidently, it went with the cream-colored marble that made up the walls. When I touched the walls here, they didn't change colors. Perhaps, Grismal had seen what I could do to his illusions and had made sure I couldn't perform my trick again.

"You will stay here," Grismal commanded. "You are free to leave the palace and explore the underworld but do not stay out for long, or you might never find your way back."

"Wait, you can't just leave me here."

"I have other tasks that require my attention," Grismal sighed as though he was already starting to regret bringing me here. "But if you are looking for a friend to make your stay here more comfortable, I can easily summon one to watch over you."

"But why did you bring me here just to abandon me inside a lovely room?"

"Because, Melody," Grismal laughed softly, "You asked to come here. Now, you will see what it means to rule over the damned."

Grismal motioned for me to follow him to a nearby window. Outside, I saw a forest of dead trees. When Grismal waved his hand over the window, the branches parted, and three figures appeared glowing dimly from the light of my window.

"Mearnox holds the souls tainted with what you call Black Waters," Grismal explained. "Sometimes, the souls are able to move onto the afterlife. However, most of these souls never leave. These are the souls that linger here in my realm for an eternity. Look at the shades outside. You know these three individuals. I plucked their names from your thoughts. Name the one you want as your servant here in my city."

I squinted into the darkness, but even as I did, my body wanted to recoil. This was unnatural. No human should be allowed to see what I witnessed before my eyes. I saw her red hair first. Even in the darkness of hell, it was brighter than the fine furnishings of my bedroom. Allison. She was here in Mearnox. She didn't look to be suffering or in pain. Rather, she seemed lost and expressionless. Beside her were two other souls. One was smaller, with brownish hair. It was Sallen. I hadn't seen her in so many years I barely recognized her.

The final soul was taller than the rest. He wasn't like the other two. He noticed that I was staring. Flipping back a tuft of his brownish-black hair, he looked into the window and seemed to stare right back at me.

It was Julian. I felt my hands grow hot with rage. I only wished I could burn him to ashes with my fire gift again.

"Why is he looking at me?" I whispered at Grismal. "I thought you said souls of the dead were empty and mindless."

"No, not mindless," Grismal laughed. "But they are shells of who they formerly were. Does the sight of your loved ones bring you pain?"

I clenched my jaw and made my hands into fists at my side. It didn't take a mind reader to see that these particular ghostly visitors were driving daggers into my heart. I didn't want Grismal to see me as weak and vulnerable. No, I would not choose Allison or Sallen. I was here on a mission, and it wasn't to dwell on the mistakes of the past.

"Julian Namura, that's who I choose."

Grismal laughed at my choice. He was finding all this horribly amusing. I wondered if he knew all along I would pick Julian.

"So hate overcomes friendship and love," Grismal noted. "You humans are endlessly entertaining. Very well, Melody, you can have him."