Persephone smirked at Zoni's discomfort in the realization she would really have to actually kill.
The goddess tilted her head, her eyes flashing with amusement. Seeing the blood drain from Zoni's face, Persephone let out a light, melodic laugh and waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh, lighten up, darling! I was just kidding," she said, though her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "You don't necessarily have to get your hands messy if you're squeamish. You can choose to kill them yourself, or just let their own condemnation kill them. Once they are branded, the universe has a funny way of balancing the scales rather violently."
Zoni swallowed hard,. "So... they would automatically die once I do my part? Once they confess and I brand them?"
"Yup," Persephone popped the 'p' with a cheerful grin. "The moment they become citizens of Hell, their lease on earth is terminated. It's very efficient. Is that the only question you have?"
Zoni let out a long, shaky sigh. She looked toward the horizon, where the black river stretched into an infinite void, and spoke in a small, hollow voice. "Yeah. I just... I just wanna get back to earth."
If not for Persephone's supernatural hearing, she wouldn't have heard Zoni's words. The goddess softened for a second before Zoni straightened her back, her gaze hardening.
"But what if I kill them myself?" Zoni asked, her voice louder now. "What's gonna happen... um, with legalities and all? I don't want to spend my second chance sitting in prison for taking out the trash."
Persephone's smirk returned, wider this time. "Don't worry about the mortals and their little laws. They will become cold cases. Evidence will disappear, and witnesses will forget. You'll never be linked to their deaths."
Zoni nodded slowly, sliding a stray lock of hair behind her ear. The fear was still there, but it was being rapidly overtaken by her thirst for vengeance.
Persephone assessed her, walking a slow circle around the girl. "I know you'll do good, Zoni. You have the heart of a survivor, even if it stopped beating for a moment. Once you get back, try to stay alive until Adin comes." She smiled. "He's our page boy. He'll be sent to give you your tools and training. He won't be long."
Zoni gave a small, tired smile. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good," Persephone said, checking her nails absentmindedly. "Oh, by the way, I should probably mention that it's currently the year 2030 on earth."
Zoni's eyes almost popped out of their sockets in shock. "What?! 2030? How?!"
Persephone giggled nervously, tapping her chin. "Time moves way differently here." She pursed her lips. "Is that too late?"
Zoni opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out due to her shock.
"Oops. We were having so much fun chatting, I suppose I lost track. My bad."
Zoni felt a wave of nausea. The thought of Jack and Mia probably still being alive and enjoying her money made her anger rise. "You have to fix it. Please! I can't go back to a world where they've already won for almost decade."
Persephone sighed, rolling her eyes playfully. "Fine, fine. Don't be a buzzkill. Let's take you back a little back." She scratched her head, thinking. "Um, before you foolishly gave that bastard your kidney should work fine. Off you go!"
Before Zoni could even say thank you, the air dissolved. The red gown, the black river, and the towering gates of Hell vanished, replaced by a suffocating darkness.
Zoni opened her eyes.
The first thing she smelled was bleach and antiseptic. The second thing was a sharp, nagging ache in her arm. Looking around, she realized she was on a hospital bed. She was dressed in her own casual jeans and a sweater, but someone had thrown a thin hospital scrub on top.
Her arm was connected to an IV drip, and the steady beep-beep-beep of heart monitors filled the room. There were all sorts of machines around her, humming as they monitored her vitals.
By her side, a man was backing her, his white lab coat stark against the clinical walls. He was huddled with a nurse, whispering over a clipboard. When the man turned around, Zoni's heart stopped for a second. She immediately recognized him.
Dr. Phillip.
He was the surgeon who had performed the "transplant" in the previous life. Great shock took over her body, followed closely by a boiling rage.
Persephone had actually done it. She had sent Zoni back to the very day she was doing her final check-up before the scheduled surgery.
Bloody hell, she was really back on earth.
Dr. Philip noticed she was awake and beamed at her with a fatherly warmth that now felt like acid. "Ah, Zoni! You're awake. Just a little reaction to the sedative, nothing to worry about."
He stepped closer, patting her hand. "I was just telling the nurse here that you are doing a truly great deed by donating your kidney to Jack. Not many people have that kind of courage."
Zoni stared at him, her mind racing. He went on, blabbing about how Jack was a "wonderful man" and how "lucky" he was to have a partner like her.
As he spoke, the veil was gone. Zoni could now clearly see what a crook and evil person Philip was. In her previous life, she had found out much too late that he was Mia's uncle.
The "kidney failure" had been a lie. The "emergency" had been a lie. Everything had been a grand, well-orchestrated scheme by Jack, Mia, and this phony surgeon.
I was the most naive girl in the world, Zoni thought, her hand itching to slap him. Instead, she almost slapped herself for ever believing a word that came out of his gutter.
"So," Dr. Philip continued, oblivious to the storm in her eyes. "The blood work looks perfect. We'll have you in the theater in forty-eight hours. Just a quick procedure, and Jack will be back to his old self."
"I bet he will." Zoni said, her voice sounding raspy.
"Yep. Any questions before we discharge you for the day?" Philip asked, scribbling something on his chart.
"None."
"Okay. Just remember: no heavy lifting, plenty of fluids, and try to keep your stress levels down. We want that kidney in tip-top shape."
"Of course you do." Zoni whispered.
"Huh? Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."
"Nothing. I said thanks, Doc." Zoni replied in a cold voice. "I know exactly what needs to be done now."
Dr. Philip smiled one last time and left with the nurse.
Zoni sat up, her head spinning. As she swung her legs over the side of the bed, she felt a crinkle of paper against her thigh. Tucked under the sheets was a heavy, yellowed parchment. Her heart hammered as she realized what it was: Her copy of the contract with Persephone.
She pulled it out, her fingers cold as she reread the bold, terrifying header.
✠ THE ETERNAL COVENANT ✠
Between the Sovereign Guardians of Hell (Hades & Persephone) & The Resurrected Soul, Zoni Peters.
By the spilling of breath and the breaking of the veil, thou art bound. In exchange for the light of the sun, thou shalt walk as a reaper in the garden of the living. Thy life is no longer thine own; it is a debt to be paid in the currency of the damned.
I. THE HARVEST
Thou art anointed as a Soul Collector for the Halls of Hades. Thou shalt hunt the putrid and the sinful among the mortal coil. When the stench of their transgressions reaches the heights, thou shalt:
• FORCE THE CONFESSION: Tear the truth from their lying tongues until their sins are laid bare.
• THE BRAND: Mark their fleeting spirits as eternal property of Hell with the Mock Cross.
• THE REAPING: Sever their tether to the world of light. Kill them, that their essence may be dragged to the dark.
II. THE MECHANICS OF SUSTENANCE
• LIFE CRYSTALS: Thy pulse is a borrowed thing. Thou shalt be sustained only by the consumption of Life Crystals. Thy potency and the gifts of the Void shall flourish only in proportion to the souls thou harvesteth.
• THE MESSENGER: Adin, the Page Boy of the Silent Realm, shall descend to provide thy training and the Unholy Tools of thy trade.
This pact is woven into the cosmos. It is bound upon the heights of Heaven and the depths of Earth. It can never be broken, nor unmade, save by the hand of Zeus himself.
Zoni sighed as she read the last line.
Beside the paper, tucked into a small fold of the mattress, was a thick roll of cash. She counted it quickly. $1,000.
She deduced it was meant to last her until Adin arrived.
She didn't waste another second. She tore the white scrubs off, revealing her clothes underneath, grabbed her bag, and headed for the exit.
The moment she stepped through the hospital's sliding glass doors and into the afternoon sun, she winced. The light was blindingly bright, and the heat felt more intense than she remembered.
She felt like a human, but something was off. Her senses were dialled up to eleven. She felt human, but not... human enough.
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a small compact mirror and gasped. Her face... it was hers, but perfected. Her long-standing acne was gone, her skin looked like baby's skin, and the dullness that had plagued her during her months of "worrying" about 'whose name shall not be mentioned', had vanished.
She looked like she was nineteen again, radiant and whole.
Is this Persephone's doing? she wondered. Am I a vampire?
She checked her reflection for fangs and waited to see if her skin would smoke in the sunlight. Nothing. She didn't hunger for blood, and the sun didn't burn. She was something else entirely.
What was it that Persephone called it?.. A Soul Collector.
She raised her hand to hail a taxi. As the yellow car pulled to the curb, a memory flashed in her mind. It was a memory of this exact day in her previous life.
Today was the day, she realized. In three hours, she was supposed to find them at the cafe.
In her past life, she had caught Jack and Mia together at a small cafe on the edge of town. She had been heartbroken, but they had manipulated her so easily. They told her Mia's mum was deathly sick and Jack was just helping her "figure things out." They had made her feel like a jealous, crazy woman for even questioning them.
"All lies..." Zoni whispered, a dark chuckle escaping her lips.
"Where to, miss?" The driver looked at her in the mirror.
Zoni leaned back, a predatory smile spreading across her beautiful face. "BonBon's Cafe on West Linton Street, Sir."