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Zoe drew a startled breath. “Really?”
“After Charon’s betrayal, I always thought I had to protect the Underworld by myself. I shut out the world in the belief it would strengthen me. But I was wrong to think I could do this alone.” Shadow surveyed his kingdom, gazing at the fields of flowers as they slowly awoke from beneath the ice. “Since you arrived in the Underworld. you’ve awakened its magic. You’ve found a way to save us, to save me. And this kingdom needs its Queen.”
Zoe’s heart stirred as she gazed at the beauty of the kingdom below, urging her to stay in this magical land. But despite the pull in her heart, one doubt remained in her mind.
“But what would I do here?” Zoe sighed as she looked at the motel beyond. “Everyone has their place here. You help lost souls reach the afterlife. Misty has her saloon. And Spooks, well, he just causes pandemonium wherever he goes. But I’m just a mortal in a land of the gods.”
“Well, there is one vacancy we’re yet to fill. We still need a Ferrywoman of the Underworld.” Shadow broke into a warm smile as he spoke. “And I can’t think of anyone better suited to the role.”
Zoe balked in surprise, before Shadow spoke once more.
“Think about it, Zoe. You could use your mortal technology to connect us with lost souls. And with your camera, you could share the beauty of these lands with the entire world.” Shadow glanced at the neon sign of the motel below, which flashed like a beacon in the night sky. “I know we’re not the most usual of workplaces. That most mortals wouldn’t take kindly to the resident poltergeist placing spiders in their bed, or having the abyss of Tartarus on their doorstep. But I promise, if you choose to make the Underworld your home, we could build something truly magical together. That is, if you want to stay here, with me?”
Zoe gazed into Shadow’s eyes. Where once they had brewed with darkness, now they gleamed with a spark of hope, like stardust shimmering in the velvety depths of the night sky. Her brain tried to find the right words to say, to convey the depths of what she truly felt. But what her words couldn’t capture, she found that her body could.
As the playful spring breezes danced through the air, Zoe drew herself to Shadow, and pressed her lips to his. She dissolved into the kiss, marveling as the sensation traveled through her spectral body. It was as if she could feel the pressure of his lips within every fiber of her being, until her heightened senses stirred longingly for his touch.
With every touch, every caress, Zoe thought of how much her life had changed since meeting this man, this god. Of how he had helped her see the beauty in the world, when she’d been lost in the darkness. Of how he had shown her the magic in life, when she could only see the mundane. Of how he had made her feel more alive, here in this land of death, than she’d felt in her lifetime. And as their kisses turned to longing touches, Zoe knew that she never wanted that magic to end.
Their bodies met in a dance of light and darkness, each touch magnified by the power of the magic within their veins. Beneath the starlight, their spectral bodies merged, dancing and twisting through the air like leaves caught in a gentle breeze, until every kiss, every caress, every sensation was shared. It was a dance that went beyond their physical bodies. A dance that entwined their two souls into one. A dance of everlasting love, that neither death nor time could sever.
As the golden rays of sunrise emerged on the horizon, Zoe and Shadow drifted hand-in-hand through the breezes, and into the valleys below. They passed fields of delicate flowers, their buds unfurling to the morning sun for the first time in years, and sparkling rivers fresh from the melting ice. Zoe smiled as she surveyed the Underworld, returning to life after years of being lost within the darkness. And she knew that soon, its magic would be restored forever.
As the golden rays of the sunrise touched her skin, Zoe’s body slowly returned to her mortal form. She felt the weight of the breath in her lungs, and the rush of every blood cell in her veins, as her mortal sensations returned. With a final flash of light, her spectral body became mortal flesh, until her feet returned to the earth once more.
“Jeez, flying lessons really take it out of you, huh?” Zoe yawned wearily, and stretched her aching limbs. “I feel like I’ve used every muscle in my entire body.”
Zoe swayed on her feet, like a toddler learning to walk again for the first time. Compared to the freedom she’d just experienced, her mortal body felt too ungainly, too cumbersome, too full of aches and pains compared to her spirit form. Shadow chuckled softly as she stifled another yawn, before he drifted along the breeze to join her.
“You should get some rest.” He comforted her with a kiss, like a cool breeze on a warm spring day. “Even the Ferrywoman of the Underworld needs her sleep.”
With a lingering kiss, Shadow drifted along the currents once more, surveying his magical kingdom as it awoke from its slumber. Zoe’s heart stirred at the sight, forever changed by their magical night together. She gazed at the beauty of the landscape, and relished the floral scent of the spring breeze. But despite the beauty, her gaze lingered on the lone road that led to the mortal world, and the city in the distance. And she couldn’t help but wonder if she was truly ready to leave that world behind forever.
Until mortals can learn to see the magic in the world again, they’ll be doomed to drift through life. To become just another lost soul, lost in the darkness…
Unease settled within Zoe’s heart as she considered Shadow’s warning. If it hadn’t been for him, she would have become just another lost soul, destined to drift through life and death. Or, she thought with a shudder, her fate could have been far worse. She glanced at the depths of Tartarus in the distance, recalling the wails of the damned, imprisoned by nothing more than their mortal greed. She chewed her lip, while her mind tossed and turned with her looming decision. It was one thing to be the ferrywoman of lost souls, but she couldn’t help but think that someone should help the living, too. To remind them of the magic in life, before it was too late.
As another yawn escaped Zoe’s lips, she sighed, knowing that she’d never resolve matters of the afterlife without sleep. She cleared up the remnants of the party and returned to the motel, taking one stumbling step after another as she tried to adjust to her mortal body once again. As she arrived at the motel, she looked in wonder at the freshly made guest rooms, each awaiting their first visitors. Gone were the cobwebs, the peeling paint, the thick layers of dust, replaced with a cozy and inviting space fit for the snobbiest of specters. As the sunrise illuminated the gilded cover of the guest book, Zoe smiled, knowing that in just a few hours, the first visitor would arrive. And once a fresh signature sat on its pages, the Underworld would finally be saved.
Zoe groaned as a series of chimes pierced the air, cutting through the stillness of the dawn. She strode past streamers of colorful bunting and opened her laptop, to see dozens of bookings roll in. Clearly, there was no rest for the Ferrywoman of the Underworld. She poured herself a fresh cup of coffee as a steady stream of will-ó-wisps fluttered to her laptop, each one announcing the impending arrival of a lost soul.
A buzz filled the air as a will-ó-wisp knocked into her laptop, before dizzily flying off into the distance. Her laptop flashed, filling her screen with new windows and pop-ups. Zoe closed each of them down, before pausing as her files from Chthonic Power Solutions remained on the screen. She paled as her report of the Underworld appeared, its scathing words haunting her with the truth of her past.
Sometimes to find a location’s true potential, one must dig deep - quite literally. A prime location for drilling; certainly no one living would mourn its loss.
Zoe closed the browser window with a shaky breath. So much had changed since she’d written that report, it was like reading a journal that belonged to another person entirely. She closed each of her work files, vowing she would never reopen them again. She might not know what her future held, but she could guarantee one thing. She most certainly wouldn’t be spending it at Chthonic Power Solutions. Not when she had so much living to do.
An email popped up on her laptop screen, pulling Zoe from her thoughts. She glanced at its contents in surprise, until her breath caught in her throat. She read it once more, her eyes darting between the jumble of words on the screen. Chthonic Power Solutions. Drills. No Delay.
Zoe’s heartbeat quickened, while her mouth turned dry. In an instant, she pressed the dial button on her laptop, until a thin, bony figure filled her screen.
“Ah, Zoe, finally!”
“Mr. Gravesend, I’ve just seen your email. But I don’t understand...”
“Why, I haven’t seen readings like this in decades, Zoe! You’ve finally found the source of the power.” Mr. Gravesend’s eyes gleamed in the low light of his office. “And what a power it is indeed!”
“But I told you, there’s no power for Chthonic Power Solutions here. And I didn’t take any readings...”
