Chapter Seventeen
Lifeline
I don’t want to kill Eric. Even being on the receiving end of his fists, I feel sorry for him without Dad’s voice in my head reminding me to feel that way. Karon has a lot to answer for...
But if I don’t do something, Eric’s going to inflict some serious damage.
Where are my parents? They’re supposed to get here today. I try to will Dad to drive faster as I strain to listen for the doorbell. Now—soon—would be a good time for it to ring.
I make myself ignore the blows and roll, hard. Eric and I tumble down the pit’s slope until the screen is almost close enough to touch. I don’t know if this will work, but I’ve got to try something before I give in to what Karon called my destiny and kill my cousin.
With all my strength, I wrench myself free from Eric and hurl myself at the screen. I see my arm passing through into the picture of Mom and her flowers, and relief sweeps over me. Then, as the rest of my body follows, I feel Eric’s hand close around my ankle.
Terrified that he’ll pull me back into the pit and finish the beating he started, I kick at his fingers, trying to force my way through to safety.
And then I’m lying on the driveway pavement, panting and aching everywhere. I close my eyes and feel the sun on my face, and wish the whole summer so far could be some sort of nightmare.
“Mort?”
The voice sounds very small and shaky, and almost on the verge of hysterics. I open my eyes fast and struggle to prop myself up on my elbows. Eric is huddled, half on the lawn and half on the driveway, hugging his knees to his chest and looking terrified.
Feel sorry for him, I remind myself, when the idea of taking advantage of his shock to land a few punches of my own crosses my mind. “It’s okay, Eric,” I say. “You’re safe here.”
“But where are we?” His voice still sounds small.
I look around, and think how we always go to visit Eric and Uncle Karl. They don’t come to our house. Maybe Dad and Mom never wanted them here, or at least never wanted Karon.
“We’re at my house,” I tell him. “Look, Eric, if I explain, will you just listen and stop hitting me?”
“Is my dad here?” he asks, his voice still shaking a little.
I hope not, I almost say, but catch myself and just shake my head.
“How did we get here?” he whispers. “What did you do?”
I wish I had some aspirin. I sigh and ask, “How much do you know about mythology, Eric?”
He shrugs, barely moving one shoulder. “I want to go home,” he says, a little more firmly.
“Are you going to stop hitting me?” I stand up. “If you won’t, I’ll leave you here.” I don’t mean that, of course, but he did say he was going to kill me.
“You can’t do that!” He struggles to his feet, but he doesn’t clench his fists. Instead he puts them on his hips. “Why won’t you tell me what happened with my dad?”
“I was trying to, but you wouldn’t listen.” When he doesn’t challenge me, I add, “That’s why I was asking what you remembered about your mom.” I look around and find my digital lifeline. If he freaks out, I can always make a dash for it. “You were right that your mother’s death and my parents’ deaths were connected. The connection was your father.”
Eric shakes his head. “No. No way. My dad—Dad didn’t have anything to do with anybody’s death.”
“That’s why I asked you what you knew about mythology,” I try to explain. “Your dad—well, he’s special. He’s not an ordinary person. He told me that Karl is just the name he’s using here. His real name is Karon.”
Eric isn’t saying anything. He’s just watching me out of the corner of his eye. I can’t tell if he’s listening, or if he thinks I’m crazy. I could understand either reaction.
I take a deep breath and finish, “Karon is a Greek god. He’s the ferryman who takes the dead into Hades.”
Eric bursts out laughing. “Are you and Dad trying to play some kind of joke on me? Dad, a Greek god? You believed him?”
“How do you think I came through the screen, Eric?” I demand, insulted by his finding the situation so hilarious. “Your father always told us not to go near it. That was because he knew it could do this, serve as a portal like this. And he was waiting until he could teach me.”
“Why you and not me?” Eric asks, maybe remembering that this all started because he was jealous of his father spending time with me.
I take hold of my lifeline and tell him. “Because Karon’s brother is Hades, or Pluto—the ruler of the Underworld. That’s my father. I’m Death’s son, and your father wanted me to start learning how to do my job.”
I swallow, and add, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice, “That’s why he arranged that accident that killed my parents, so he could train me without their objections. That’s what that huge TV screen is for. But first he had to prove to me that I really was the future Death. He’s been trying to do that for years. That’s why he got me to kill your mother.”
– End Chapter Seventeen –
