Chapter Eleven
What's in a Name?
Uncle Karl was probably trying to make me realize who I was, way back then. And Mom and Dad protected me. Before Aunt Daphne died, we used to spend at least six weeks every summer in Wyoming. Since then, we never stayed longer than a month, and either Mom or Dad were with Uncle Karl all the time.
How could I have forgotten what I did to Aunt Daphne—what Uncle Karl made me do to her?
What else does he plan on making me do?
I realize how helpless I am. I’m stuck all alone with Uncle Karl—except for Eric, anyway. And he’s no protection. If my uncle didn’t care that his wife was collateral damage, will he care about what happens to his son? I’ve got to get out of here, somehow.
The problem is that Uncle Karl knows a lot more than I do—more about my parents, more about what I can do and what I can’t. I’ve got to learn more.
I power up my computer and google Pluto and Persephone and Karon, desperate to learn anything I can. I read over the names of the gods and goddesses. They had Greek names and Roman names. We studied mythology when I was in grade school, so some of them sound vaguely familiar, not just Pluto and Persephone.
I frown. Persephone is a Greek name, but Pluto is a Roman name. In Greek mythology Pluto is actually named Hades, like his kingdom. I remember really struggling with all the weird names back then. Dad came in to check on how I was doing with my homework, and he laughed at the two lists I was supposed to memorize.
“How can the same god have two names, and why do I have to learn both of them?” I complained.
“Blame humans, not the gods,” Dad told me. “The Greeks came first, and the gods told them their names. But then the Romans came along, and they didn’t want to use the Greek names—they wanted to give the gods their own names. Every civilization has done that—renamed the gods. It doesn’t matter what name humans use, though. The gods know who they are.”
I can remember him grinning at me as he said, “And there’s nothing wrong with having more than one name, after all. You can choose which name you want to use on any given day.”
I think I grinned back at him. I know I thought it would be fun, choosing which name I wanted to be called. Maybe what Dad meant was that he had chosen to be called Pete, or Pluto, instead of Hades. It’s got to be confusing to have the same name as the country you rule.
I blink tiredly at the computer monitor. I’m actually starting to buy into Uncle Karl’s story. One of the websites says that Pluto is supposed to have power over mining and minerals and precious ores. I think of that lump of rock Dad always said was some precious metal. And Dad always traveled a lot, sometimes unexpectedly. Was he passing out death on those trips?
Persephone’s mom was a goddess named Demeter. She was really into growing things, and she got all weepy when Persephone married Hades, or Pluto—or my dad. So Persephone spends part of the year in Hades with her husband and part up on earth with her mom. That’s why we have seasons. I think of Mom and her flowers, and the blue ribbons she always won for them. Persephone—or Sophia.
I try to tell myself that it could all be coincidence. After all, Mom stayed with us all the time. Or was that just because Dad had been living on earth?
And then I think of the drive to Uncle Karl’s house, and how we pass over Haydee’s Creek. That’s one coincidence too many. Did Uncle Karl look for that? Did he rename it? Or has it always been a true path from earth to the Hades underground?
But the most important question is, if Uncle Karl is telling me the truth, how can I get my parents out of Hades and back in Montana with me?
– End Chapter Eleven –
