Free Hades by Alexandra Adornetto Page A

“Can we move this
    along, please?”
    Larissa shrugged obligingly and bent down to look me
    directly in the eye. “You wanna know who we are, dol
    face?” she asked. “We’re the door bitches.”
    “Excuse me?” I was taken aback.
    “We man the entrance. Nobody gets in or out without our
    say-so.”
    “But seeing as you’re a VIP,” El iott jibed, “you can go
    right on in or should I say down ?” The pair shared a
    conspiratorial chuckle.
    “And what if I don’t want to?” I said defiantly.
    El iott raised a quizzical eyebrow and waved his hand
    vaguely behind me. “Honey, can you see any place else to
    go?”
    I had to admit he was right. Surrounding the al eyway was
    nothing but an oppressive swirling blackness, the kind that
    looked capable of devouring you. There was only one path
    with one door at the end of it. Only one direction any of us
    could take. As much as the idea of going through those
    doors made me feel queasy, I knew it couldn’t be as
    dangerous as wandering through the blackness alone. I
    didn’t know who or what was out there. I stil didn’t even
    know where I was. I felt Jake’s warm breath behind my ear.
    “You’l be fine,” he murmured. “I’l look after you.” It was
    strange how they al waited to see what my decision would
    be. As if I actual y had a choice.
    I squared my shoulders and stepped forward with
    bravado I didn’t feel.
    Larissa bared her teeth in a smile before grabbing a tight
    hold of my wrist and turning it upward. Her grip was cold
    and claw-like, but I tried not to flinch. She held my wrist
    faceup as El iott pressed something down on the inside. I
    braced myself to feel pain, but when I looked, he’d only left
    an inky imprint behind. It was a stamp of admittance in the
    form of a smiley face.
    Larissa pressed a buzzer and the heavy doors slid open.
    Jake ushered me into a vast carpeted foyer where flights of
    narrow corkscrew steps veered like a labyrinth in several
    directions. There was no time for closer inspection as he
    steered me swiftly toward the central steps. The pumping
    music grew louder once we started our descent
    underground. The sound was so overpowering that I looked
    hesitantly back toward the open door. Larissa appeared to
    read my mind.
    “Too late to change your mind, sweetheart,” she said.
    “Welcome to our world.”
    Then she slid the heavy doors shut behind us.
    I fol owed Jake down the narrow stairwel until it led to an
    open dance floor, where a throng of bodies was pressed
    together, fists pumping the air and heads thrashing to the
    beat. The dance floor was a checkerboard of colored lights
    flashing on and off. I was surprised to see people of al
    ages on it. The sinewy, leather-clad limbs of the elderly
    contrasted sharply with the firm, exposed flesh of youth. I
    was startled to see a few children there too. They had the
    designated task of clearing the tables and refil ing drinks.
    The one thing that united them al —young and old alike—
    was the vacant expression they shared. It was as if they
    were only physical y present and some vital part of them
    had been erased. They were like sleepwalkers, consumed
    by mechanical movements that were only interrupted long
    enough to down another shot of liquor. Occasional y under
    the masklike faces I detected a darting eye or nervous
    flicker, as if something dire were coming. The track playing
    was a computerized dance number made up of a single
    line that was repeated continual y: “I’m in Miami, bitch.”
    Light flashed across the polished concrete floor, casting
    shadows across the bodies moving in sync with the
    rhythmic beat. The mingled scent of cigarettes, spirits, and
    perfume was overwhelming.
    I’d never stepped inside a club before so I had no point
    of comparison, but it looked surreal to me. The ceiling was
    il uminated by a myriad of tiny lights and the wal s were
    lined with red velvet so they looked like upright couches.
    Scattered around the perimeters