Tartarus Thief | ONC 2021 [ROUND 2 WINNER]

Chapter 14

With her head down, eyes stinging with unshed tears, Vita let the Erinye push her into Tartarus.

Her heart burned with longing and despair as they walked past the lava stream. It was over. After all she'd been through, she had finally screwed up so bad that she had lost him forever. She would never see Barny again.

And yet, as they approached the crumbling buildings, she knew that if she could do it all over again, she would not hesitate to make the exact same choices. Leo would have her soulmate back, and that was worth an eternity of damnation.

"Vivi!"

Her heart leaped at the sound of his voice. She turned her head to see him struggling against the guard, until she cracked her whip and hit his leg. He cried out in pain and collapsed.

"Barny!"

She turned to help him, but the Erinye held her wrists too tight behind her back. The whip cracked again behind her and his scream tore through her soul. "Let me go! Barny!"

Red-hot tears now rolled freely down her cheeks, burning like little drops of fire. She struggled, but the Erinye shoved her in the back so hard she fell to her knees.

"No! Barn–"

"ENOUGH!"

A sudden silence filled the fiery hallway of Tartarus. The Erinyen hesitated as Persephone stepped between them. Her head high and her nostrils flaring, she took in the scene, glaring at the guards. Vita froze, not bothering to wipe the tears from her face.

The Erinye who still had the fountain pen in her hand stepped forward. "This has nothing to do with you, Queen Persephone. Let us do our job."

"Your job?" Persephone scoffed. "You're sending this girl to Tartarus. Since when is Judgement part of your job? Did my husband not hire Rhadamantus, Minos and Aeacus for that?"

The Erinye faltered. "Judgement is not, but punishment is. We carry out Lord Hades' orders."

"She ran loose around the Underworld." Persephone narrowed her eyes. "Do not punish an innocent because you failed to do your job."

The snakes hissed in anger at the Queen's words. "She stole from Lord Hades!"

"No, she did not."

The Erinye gasped, a drop of blood rolling from her widened eyes. "You stole from him? How dare you?"

"If my husband wants to lock me up in his Underworld, he should not expect an obedient wife."

With a disgusted scoff, the Erinye said, "Lord Hades will hear about this."

"I'm sure he will," said Persephone, turning on her heel. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to fetch their records, I will escort them to the Hall of Judgement."

She walked away, leaving a grumbling Erinye behind, face smeared with the blood that dripped from her angry eyes. As soon as the guard let go, Barny ran up to embrace her.

"I'm sorry," Vita whispered in his neck. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." He let go and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "You are selfless and wonderful and that's exactly why I love you so much."

With a chuckle, she pecked his cheek. Hand in hand, they followed Persephone to the exit of Tartarus.

"By the way," Barny whispered. "How did you get the Queen of the Underworld to help you?"

Vita put her hands in the air and mouthed, "I don't know!"

Persephone opened the charred door with a flourish of her hand. "Judges!" she called. "A moment, please."

White-robed souls stepped back to let her through, a few bowing to her.

She approached the judges' desk and said, "These two souls need to be judged anew. Their records have changed quite dramatically as of late, as new information has come to light."

The bearded man in the middle flared his nostrils and stood up. "With all due respect, my Lady, we do not change our judgement. Our decisions are final. Such are Hades' rules."

"Well," Persephone smiled, waving Vita and Barny over, "perhaps we should adjust that rule. People change, even in the Underworld. But that is a matter for later."

Red crept up the judge's neck and he pinched his lips together. "My Lady, I urge you to –"

"Minos," Persephone interrupted him sharply.

The door behind them opened and an Erinye with two scrolls in her arms entered the Hall. Persephone beckoned her to join them.

Minos took one of the scrolls and scanned through it. "I don't see anything in here to change my mind."

Persephone lay a hand on Vita's shoulder. "This girl was to be sent to Tartarus. Is that where you believe she belongs?"

"Tartarus?" A frown crossed his face as he skimmed the text again. He jammed his finger on the paper and said, "There. We sent her to the Meadows."

"Exactly," said Persephone. "However, the Erinyen decided she needed to be punished for stealing. What is your assessment?"

Minos turned to the lowest part of the scroll and peered at the written lines. Then he passed it on to Rhadamantus and Aeacus.

"The Erinyen are correct: stealing from the Lord of the Underworld would normally lead to being sent to Tartarus. However, there is more to these records. She has sacrificed herself and given up on her own desires for the benefit of another soul. Such a selfless act could get her into the Elysian Fields."

Vita's heart leaped. The Elysian Fields? They couldn't mean that, could they? All she'd done was help out a friend. Besides, she wasn't even sure she wanted to go to Elysium, if Barny was sent somewhere else.

The judges shared a look and nodded at each other, before Minos spoke up once more. "Considering both the bad deeds and the good, we deem this soul, Vita Morrison, worthy of the Asphodel Meadows."

Persephone's eyes lit up as she smiled at Vita. "Wonderful. Now, how about this one?"

With an annoyed sigh, Minos picked up the second scroll. Before he had a chance to speak, Persephone said, "This man was sent to the Fields of Mourning, because he'd lost his life shortly after meeting his soulmate. Now, his soulmate is here. Surely the Fields were not meant to keep people apart?"

Minos' frown deepened as he flipped through the records, the top half of the scroll falling to the floor as she studied the lower half. "I don't understand. The Fields of Mourning are only for those who cannot be with their soulmate even in the afterlife. If she wasn't in Tartarus, why was he sent to the Fields?"

Persephone smiled sweetly. "Yes. There seems to have been a little mix-up. No matter. With the information you currently possess, what is your judgement?"

Minos eyed her warily as he passed the scroll to his colleagues, but he said nothing. Vita held her breath while Rhadamantus and Aeacus scanned the records. Barny took her hand in his, but she kept her eyes on the judges, afraid that if she looked away, everything would fall apart around her.

When Minos opened his mouth to speak, Vita knew that this moment would decide the rest of eternity. It was in their hands whether she'd spend it with or without Barny. Whatever conclusion they had come to, it would dictate her entire afterlife.

There were no do-overs this time. No reincarnation and trying again in another life. Just one chance.

"This soul, Barnabas Fletcher..."

Vita's heart stopped. She squeezed Barny's hand.

"... is deemed worthy of the Asphodel Meadows."

THE END

[Story completed at 20.500 words.]