My Kingdom, My Wife, and the Darkness

Part 4

Their whispers pushed me on to the level of my throne room and other voices became apparent. These voices were neither whispering nor welcoming. The one speaking sounded infuriated. It was a voice that I recognised. I drew the shadows close around me and entered, sticking close to the side of the wall. The three Kindlys were sitting atop my throne and as I entered Alecto turned her head in my direction. She searched a bit, but finding nothing, turned back to the matter at hand.

The "matter at hand" filled me with great anger. Upon my throne sat one who had once been a ghost, a servant of mine. He looked rather solid as did my throne which was now pure gold instead of its usual black. Nearby him a golden table stood with a golden box upon it and it was from the box that I could now discern the whispers of the dead were coming from. Across from the ghost that was ghost no longer sat my brother's messenger, Hermes. He was tall, even seated, though not as tall as I. Beside him leaned his entwined staff, present as ever.

"You are alive again, is that not enough?" Hermes asked. The Golden King's face was red with rage.

"I wish the title. I wish to have power." he snapped. The same voice that condemned the masses to their doom. I had not elected him as a judge, although I had never bothered to remove him as much as I disliked his harsh voice and irate attitude. Now, however, it was the condemned who roamed free and the others who existed inside a jar on the Golden King's table. Did he have no sense of honor or dedication? Those deemed worthy were to be punished too? There was none now to judge him and his actions, to keep a keen and approving eye on him. Much like my brother: he was the top of the chain banded together by the lesser chinks that bore the weight.

"Remember you are in my realm now. Do not anger the king of the Underworld, Hermes." the ghost said.

"That would not be wise." I agreed. I said it softly, almost a whisper, but loud enough for the desolate and empty place we stood in. Hermes looked over and his eyes widened just a fraction before he nodded his head in welcome. The Kindlys, too, looked in my direction and Alecto gave a screech of surprise. The ghost king, however, did not immediately see me.

Following the Messenger's glance he cast around the room, brows furrowed deeply.

"Who dares to speak?" he called out, a grating sound.

"Who dares to keep the dead silent?" I asked, stepping forward so that the movement would help him see through the shadow's concealment. He stared at me a moment, mouth half open. I waited for him to think of something to say, but it didn't seem to be one of his current priorities.

"Welcome back King." Hermes said pleasantly. The Kindlys, not knowing what to do, shifted back and forth on the throne. The ghost king made no move.

"I see things have been going well in my absence." I said.

"There is no replacement for your Lordship." the messenger said. I nodded my acknowledgment and walked closer to the ghost king.

"But you're gone! You're not supposed to be here! You were removed by Violence!" he whimpered. I frowned down at him. I didn't remember any kind of fight during my disappearance. But then again, I didn't remember anything at all. What violence had there been? What did he know about what happened? Hermes seemed to take pleasure in his pathetic noises, so different from his stern commanding tone of moments before.

"I'll be on my way Lord of Shadows, my master must know of your return. Quite unexpected, but in good time." Hermes said. He turned to leave.

"What happened?" I asked. Hermes stopped. I stared at his back and at the snakes twirling around his staff.

"We are not yet sure. Your brother is working very hard on the mystery, as he has been since your disappearance." the messenger said after a pause. Then he disappeared to the stairway. After a moment I reverted my attention to the the ghost king.

"What do you know?" I asked him.

"You were taken by Force..." the ghost king said.

"As will you be." I said. I gestured to the Kindlys and without hesitation two of them clawed on to the writing man and fluttered off. I would question him later- there was much to be done first. Alecto flew to perch on my shoulder but I waved her off.

"You seem to have been in a good position." I said as I came to my chair and Changed it out of its golden state.

"I was just waiting for you, Lord. Keeping your realm from harm." Alecto rasped.

"And that's why the dead are all in here?" I said, picking up the jar with the voices of the dead in it.

"We did the best we could; The Golden King and Snake Man always standing around watching." Alecto screeched. So ready to turn back to me now that I was back. I had no doubt that she and the other two were wholehearted advocates for the ghost king's rule when he seemed to have the power. I put my hand to the lid of the jar and turned slowly.

"Where is my wife?" I asked Alecto as I turned my wrist. That was the real question I had been longing to ask, and though I did not show it, my stomach clenched in anticipation for the answer.

"She disappeared not long after you did." the Kindly cawed. I breathed out sadly. It was no better than I expected but much less than I hoped.

"Was her mother here?" I asked. Alecto thought.

"Yes. She was." was the reply. Good. She was probably at my brother's palace then. I gave the jar a final tug and the lid came off. The dead swarmed out. It was like a sudden surge of water shooting out of a tube and dripping out at the same time. The souls were in the jar and then, in the matter of a few seconds, they were out and the room was packed even as the souls pushed to make it out of the doors. A circle formed around me where the souls didn't dare get too close.

"Free." the swarming dead whispered, "free from the prison of the Golden King and the Snake Man."

And then it struck me and I remembered what Alecto had said earlier.

"How long has Hermes been here?" I asked the Kindly.

"He's been in and out since the day you left. Helped the Golden King to keep the place." Alecto shrieked. Here since the day I left. And as the souls rushed past I recalled the odd things the ghost king had said: "you were removed by violence", "you were taken by force". Seeming to make no sense... unless.

"Has Bia been here too?" I asked. Alecto thought for a moment and then nodded.

"On the day of your disappearance." she said. Bia, the servant of my brother. Even I knew little of her, but I knew that she did the majority of my brother's dirty work. It was she who had lugged the Firebringer to the rock to torture him under my brother's command. Often she was called his Force or his Violence.

Finally the last of the dead streamed out and the room stood cold and empty again. I Changed the jar back from gold and went to fix the table.

"Bia." I murmured to myself. Then as I reached for the table I noticed the jar I was holding. Now in its wooden form I could see clearly what it was and where I had seen it before. It was the box that had been given to the Firebringer's family, the bottle of all the evils of the world. It was Pandora's box. It was my brother's box.