deliver both those men to her. Of course, once she had what she wanted, her deal was complete, and I called in her contract. A nasty business—I had to transform myself into a serpent to finally get the job done. After that, I vowed never to make an asp of myself again!”
“Who else sold their souls?” Shar asked, seriously interested. She didn’t really believe him, did she?
“You’d be surprised at the number of people who’d like to make a deal with me. Take a look around—they’re not hard to pick out,” Hades replied smoothly. “Rock stars and petty actors with no real talent. Multi-billionaires with no common sense and too much greed. How do you think people like that manage to achieve anything?”
“Hades plays Mephistopheles, is that it?” I interrupted boldly. “Look, I don’t know who you are … or what you are, but we—”
Suddenly, a circle of flame danced all around us, and we huddled closer together.
“Please, Margaret, don’t make me resort to parlor tricks. But let’s get back on topic. You killed an innocent man.” He grinned sardonically. “And if I heard you correctly, you both said that you would do anything to make this situation go away. I’m here to oblige you. I’ve never seen such natural talent!”
“Talent for what?” I asked.
“Think about what happened. You met that young man tonight, and you made quite an impression. He was going to take both of you to a music venue, yes? You saw what you wanted and wasted no time in engaging him. And then Sharisse”—he turned a lascivious grin on Shar—“not to be outdone, moved in, and all she had to do was smile. How could he stay away from either of you? He was completely enchanted. You lured him to his doom, and he happily followed!”
“Nooo,” Shar stepped in. “We only talked to him for a couple of minutes over a slice of pizza.”
Hades wagged a finger. “Oh, no no no! You two did much more than that. You were a duet of connivance. The fact that you don’t realize just how beguiling you are makes you even more perfect. I have an offer you can’t refuse.”
“I’m not selling my soul,” Shar declared dramatically, fingering the small gold cross dangling around her neck. “I’d rather die!”
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want your soul. I want your service. You two will be my new Sirens.”
The Fine Print
“Your what?” I asked.
“Greek Mythology, Shar,” whispered Meg. “The Sirens were these bird women who sat on the rocks and sang. Sailors couldn’t resist them, so they crashed their ships and drowned.”
Meg and her occult studies. Who knew they would come in handy? She could converse with psychos.
“Hello? That’s a fairy tale—the stuff they make a TV series out of!” It’s not real. It’s not! I refused to believe it, but the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that I was kidding myself. I turned to Hades.
“Fine. Okay, let’s pretend that you’re telling the truth—hypothetically. Why would you need new Sirens? What happened to the originals?”
Hades shook his head sadly.
“Once Odysseus sailed past without succumbing to their call, they threw themselves into the sea and drowned. The same thing happened when Jason and the Argonauts resisted them. They didn’t take rejection very well. So I kept replacing them. I need a steady workforce.” Hades grinned and I felt sick all over again.
“You mean, they died ??” I was only seventeen and not liking what I was hearing.
“Every profession has its risks.” He straightened his immaculate Jerry Garcia—signed—tie. “No one’s immortal but us gods.”
“Get to the point,” Meg said. “What would we have to do?”
“Oh it’s easy,” he purred. “You two will bring me a specified individual who executed an agreement with me, which, shall we say, is about to expire. You lure him to an underworld portal which will send him to Tartarus, my kingdom. In exchange, I will undo this terrible tragedy and you’re off the hook. A one-shot deal. Simple, no?”
“Too simple,” said Meg. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. What happens if we can’t do it?”
Hades looked sideways at us and grinned with a sly smile.
“If you fail, you must reside with me. In the Underworld. For all eternity. And I’ll have another job for you—taking care of my pets.”
“Pets?” I asked. “You have pets?”
“The hell hounds,” he winked. “And they do so love a game of fetch. Especially Cerberus.”
“What do they fetch?” I chewed my bottom lip.
“A