Chapter 353

Tony…floats.

He blinks in and out of consciousness, seeing flashes of the world beneath, between, and around him. Sometimes he’s awake for a few moments or more, and then he starts to panic – because where…where is he?

Where is he in space, in time but also…where is he? His body? His…his mind?

His wolf? Tony panics, searching for him -

But something like a soft hand comes to stroke over his brow, and he relaxes, and his eyes close and he’s gone again.

Floating still – almost aimless, but always drawn by some current towards some…place.

“Oh no,” says a voice, cheerful as a spring morning, soft and lovely as a running stream. “I’m not done with you yet.”

The yank is physical and Tony gasps as something pulls him by the back of the neck, almost as if he is a pup being pulled up by his scruff.

He spins and then, somehow, is placed on his feet…

Even though there is no ground.

Tony takes a moment to steady himself, his arms spread wide at his side, finding his balance. Next to him, his wolf taps anxiously from toe to toe, looking up at him, whining with fear. Tony gasps and laughs to see him there, incredibly grateful that he’s back.

But still – where…

And who…

What just happened? He tries, so hard, to remember anything – who he is, his own damn name -

“There, that’s better,” says the dulcet voice.

Tony snaps his head up, his mouth falling open when he sees…her.

That magnificent woman he saw before. The Goddess. She smiles as she studies him, her arms crossed.

“You’re all right, boy,” she says, laughing a little. “I pulled you out of that river of souls. You’re steady.”

“Out of…what?”

She gestures down and Tony turns his head to look off of some stark cliff that wasn’t there a moment ago and sees – indeed – a strange gossamer current of air, all brown and grey and beige, and floating in it…forms. People. All asleep, or half awake, like he was a moment ago.

“Where are they going?” he whispers.

“To the Deadlands,” she replies, and Tony looks back up at her, his stomach sinking. “In the Underworld.”

“Ah, shit,” he mutters, slipping his hands into his pockets.

The Goddess’s smile grows and she laughs a little.

“So I’m dead?” he asks, his mouth twisting in disappointment.

“I’m sorry, my boy,” she says, turning her head and looking at him like she means it. “But yes, you died.”

Tony sighs, hanging his head for a moment, and as he does he sees that he’s just like those other souls in the river below – bodyless, transparent, half-formed.

Nothing more than a ghost. Sadness sinks in him that it’s over so soon. There’s just…a great deal he never got to do.

Did he ever even have a mate? God, if he did…what would she have been like?

“Fortunately or unfortunately, Anton,” the Goddess says, drawing his eyes back to her, “there will be no waiting in the Deadlands for reincarnation for you. No, I’m not done with you yet.”

He straightens his shoulders, staring at her, wary. “Pardon?”

She grins. “I am very grateful, boy,” she says, “for what you did for my granddaughter, saving her like that. It was very valiant. But I’m afraid my other granddaughter has gotten herself into quite a bit of trouble.”

“Who?” he asks, staring at her hard, trying to remember.

The Goddess clicks her tongue and steps forward, pressing her fingertips briefly to his forehead. “There,” she murmurs. “That should be better.”

Tony gasps as his whole life comes flooding back to him, all the way up to the most recent memories. Ariel – shoving her behind him – that punk kid coming at him with a knife -

Tony groans, his head hanging for a moment as he realizes what happened.

“Did Ariel live?” he asks, his teeth gritted.

“She did,” the Goddess says, calm and serious. “You saved her, Anton. But now we have to concentrate on my little firecracker.”

“Juniper?” Tony asks, his eyes going wide as he leans forward to stare at the Goddess in disbelief.

She nods.

Tony stands sharply, suddenly suspicious. “Wait, so Ariel just got attacked by her schoolmate and is facing the entire Atalaxian army with no one to cool her down if her fire rages out of her control…and you want me to go help…Juniper?”

The Goddess grins, pleased and entertained, and eagerly nods again.

“Holy crap,” Tony murmurs, running a shocked hand through his hair. “What the hell did she get herself into?”

The Goddess laughs, a light and tinkling sound. “Oh, Ariel’s getting all the attention right now, but my Juniper…” she sighs, shaking her head and looking into the distance almost as if she’s proud. “Wait until the universe sees what she’s about to stir up.”

“Oh god,” Tony sighs, dry.

“So, will you help?” the Goddess asks, cheerful and hopeful, turning her eyes back to him.

“Do I get to be alive again?” he asks, gesturing down at himself.

“Nope,” she says, shaking her head. “You’ll be a ghost. But…” she purses her lips and then snaps her fingers.

Tony gasps as his body instantly becomes more substantial and his mind clears even further. He looks down at himself and is shocked to see that he is all blue and white and…well, slightly sparkly.

“And…” the Goddess says, snapping again.

Tony’s wolf poofs away to stardust, which drifts towards Tony’s chest and comes to settle there, warm and shimmering. Tony groans as he feels it, his wolf returned to him, where he always was. The relief is immense.

“Thank you,” Tony murmurs, pressing a hand to his heart, his wolf howling happily inside, pleased to be returned where he belongs.

“I’m sorry it cannot be more,” the Goddess says, considering him sadly. “You are a ghost, but you’re blessed now. I’ll send you to Juniper to be her handmaid.”

“Her…her what?” Tony asks.

“Handmaid,” the Goddess says, laughing. “The situation that Junie is in is quite tricky – there are lots of rules, but I found a loophole to get her some help. It’s traditional in the Underworld – royalty is allowed to bring their servants’ spirits to aid them in the afterlife.”

“But I’m a boy –“

“Oh, gender is such an outdated construct,” the Goddess says, sighing dismissively as she steps forward, a bright blue ribbon with a note attached to it suddenly in her hands. She loops the ribbon lightly around his neck. “We can’t call you a handmister, can we? Now, off to the Underworld with you –“

“Wait, the Underworld?” Tony gasps. “Is Juniper dead?”

“No,” the Goddess says, smiling at him. “And it’s your job to keep her that way. Alive, I mean.”

“But how –“

“Oh, it won’t be hard,” the Goddess says cheerfully, tying the ends of the blue ribbon into a little bow. “Juniper is very capable. Just be…she doesn’t…” the Goddess shakes her head, looking away as she searches for the right words. “Juniper does not yet understand who she is. There is a great well of power that dwells in her heart and it frightens her. It makes her different from everyone in her world, which in turn makes her angry at everything, and she strikes out at it all.”

The Goddess sighs and again looks into his eyes. “Just be kind to her, Tony – she needs…she needs someone ruthlessly in her corner, even when she tries to push them away.”

A small smile takes Tony’s lips.

“Yes,” the Goddess says, her expression matching his. “Are you starting to recognize some of yourself in my taciturn little Princess?”

He sighs but doesn’t answer, looking away.

“Help Juniper recognize her true dark majesty,” the Goddess says, putting a hand on his cheek and turning his face back to her. “And I will be forever grateful.”

“I will do my best,” Tony says, sketching out a little bow to the deity before him.

“Good boy,” she murmurs, patting him on the head.

Tony laughs a little, confused but accepting it.

“Now,” the Goddess says, reaching out and tapping him on the nose. “Be a good pet and hurry to her side.”

To Tony’s shock he suddenly shifts into his wolf, still made of that blue and white and glittering light but his human body gone. He only has a moment to stare in shock up at the Goddess before he vanishes away.

And when he takes his next breath, he’s somewhere very, very different.

And there’s a girl, laying on a black marble floor, her dark hair spread out in a circle around her head, her face…god, her face so similar to Ariel’s, if not a bit paler, her bruised-rose lips turned down in a perpetual frown.

Slowly, Tony pads forward towards her, peering down into her face, terrified that he might be too late –

That she might not even be breathing.