I pushed aside a few old clocks, thinking I was wasting my time. No pun intended. My knuckles bumped against a wooden box. I fished it out of the rubble and wiped off a thick layer of dust. I inhaled sharply when I recognized the design on the lid. Doves. This was the box that Hades gave me before our wedding. It contained Ambrosia at the time, his wedding present to me. It was empty now and true, it had been over 2000 years since I last laid eyes on it, but I was certain it was the same box.
I tried to remember where it had ended up. I brought it to my mother’s house, to give her half of the Ambrosia. Then what? Did I bring it back to the Underworld with me? I think I did.
The box survived because it was God made, but that didn’t explain how someone could retrieve it from the Underworld. Or why.
“I’m afraid I’ve misplaced the book,” Harris said, reappearing from the back.
I stepped into the aisle and held up the box. “Where did you get this?”
His smile faded and the old man sighed. “Oh, Persephone, I wish you hadn’t found that.”
“I never told you my name.”
He grinned at me, then his mouth grew wider and wider until the skin split and fell away. My heart began to race. I watched as it shucked off the human skin and unfurled its tentacles. Not a man at all, but a demon.
I placed the box back on the shelf and pulled out my knife, knowing it might not be enough.
“Okay, slimy. Let’s go.”
*
A Long Time Ago
Hades
“The prophecy states…”
“I don’t care what the prophecy says, the idea that there is a weapon on this earth that can kill a God is ludicrous,” Zeus said.
I took a breath, trying to rein in my temper. Zeus never listened to anything anyone had to say. He was so arrogant, but then he had gotten the best deal when it came to dividing up power. He gained dominion over the sky, Poseidon over the waters and I was left with the dead.
I once believed that I got the worst deal, but over time I realized that my role as guardian to the dead, suited me. I preferred to live in solitude, or I did in the beginning, before Persephone.
“It was written long ago. Don’t forget, brother, there was a time when we didn’t exist, and that time will come again.”
Zeus glared at me, his ice blue eyes boring into me. “You are taking the word of an oracle, a mortal.”
I started pacing the throne room. How could I make him understand?
Poseidon sat at the banquet table, across the room, watching us both. We three brothers couldn’t be more different in looks. Zeus was golden haired, Poseidon golden brown, while my hair and eyes were black.
“Have you nothing to say?” I snapped at him.
Poseidon glanced at Zeus before saying, “I think I have to agree with Zeus. There’s no proof.”
“Fine, bury your heads in the sand. I know it’s coming and I am going to be ready for it.”
I stormed out.
Returning to the Underworld, I was still furious with them. I had to protect Persephone. Ever since I had fallen for her, I had changed. My first thoughts were always of her.
Heading deep into the Underworld, I paid a visit to the demon’s pit, a huge cavern with a hole in the ground which ran all the way through the Earth. Demons were creatures formed of greed, violence and misery, but it was through them that I first learned the term God killer.
“Show yourself, you vile creature,” I demanded, looking down into the pit.
A shape formed out of smoke and the demon looked up at me. “You summoned me, Master,” it said. It used the term in jest, I was not their master, I was their jailer. They were deemed too dangerous to remain on Earth, upsetting the natural order. This demon had a name – Chamos. It liked to play on mortal’s fears, slowly driving them mad.
“I found the oracle’s scrolls, I know the prophecy is true. Tell me more about the God killer.”
“Why would I do that? What do I get in return?”
“Tell me or I will have you tortured,” I said coldly.
The smoke changed and it appeared that the creature was grinning at me. “I am in eternal torment already. Your threats do not frighten me.”
“I need to know what this weapon is,” I said.
“And I need to be free.”
I fell silent for a moment. “No. I will never set you free. I’ll find another way.”
As I walked away, the creature started to laugh, growing louder and louder, the sound echoing off the cave walls.
I flicked my wrist and the laughter turned to screams.
3
Tentacles. I hate tentacles. Especially when they are throwing me around a store. I ran at Harris, knife raised, but he whipped a slimy tentacle at me, catching me in the chest. I flew across the room, crashing into the shelves. They broke under my weight and I landed badly on broken pottery. I could feel the shards cutting into my flesh. Ignoring the pain, I picked myself out of the debris and launched myself at it again, aiming for the center mass. From the look of it, it was a demon, escaped from the Underworld when Hades fell. There were a lot of creatures down there, without Hades to keep them locked away, most of them had probably escaped back to Earth. Some could disguise themselves as humans, while others could possess them. Either way they were disgusting, vile creatures. The smell alone from Harris made me want to vomit.
A tentacle whipped me across the face and I felt the skin split open. I put a hand to my cheek, to find it dripping with blood. That is going to leave a mark.
In retaliation I drove the knife into the tentacle, pinning it to the counter. Then I realized that I had lost my only weapon. Time to improvise.
Ducking another tentacle, I hopped the counter, grabbing the teapot on the way. I tossed the contents at its one eye and it roared in pain. I used this to my advantage to start punching it relentlessly. My hands sank into its soft flesh, sending blue goo flying.
It back off, using its tentacles to keep me at bay, morphing back into to something vaguely resembling human. It was still covered in slime though and it had only the one eye in the center of its forehead, no nose and a gaping mouth. “You fight dirty! I’m not surprised, I heard many stories about you over the years.” The voice was more high-pitched than the old man’s had been. I couldn’t believe I fell for his disguise, but unlike a glamor, he had the ability to change his shape at will.
He pulled away from me. “Why are you really here?”
I lowered my fist. “There’s a power source here. I need it.”
Leaning against the counter, I winced as pain shot through my side. It was never going to heal at this rate.
“Whatever you are looking for, it isn’t here. Your little friend was here too. Eris, is it?”
“It was. She’s dead.”
He chuckled. “I’m not surprised. I know why she wanted it, she wanted to resurrect Ares. The Gods are dead, and they will stay dead. You are a relic, you shouldn’t even be here.”
“Well it is an antique store.”
That horrible grin again. “I won’t help you find it.”
“But you know what it is, don’t you?” I said.
“Maybe,” he said, slithering away from me.
“Help me out here, is it bigger than a bread box? Smaller?”
“Smaller,” he said.
“I’m sure we can work out a deal. Tell me what I’m looking for.”
“A bargain with the Goddess of Death. Interesting.”
“I’m not the Goddess of Death.”
His beady eye was studying me. “Hades may have controlled Hell, but you, Persephone? All that power went to your head. I know about your little reign of terror, even in the darkest recesses of Tartarus, we heard about your exploits. It’s how you earned your name – bringer of death.”
He was right. I don’t like to think of those dark days but shortly after I became a Goddess I lost my mind. The power, no one can prepare you for it, how it feels. You are invincible, immort
al, and bit by bit, humans stop seeming important. Their lives don’t matter as much anymore. It was worse when I was away from Hades, he was the only one who knew how to keep me in check. There was another reason why I was acting power crazy, a reason I didn’t discover until later.
As Goddess of the Spring I had dominion over new life, flowers and plants would blossom when I returned to the Earth. I was worshipped by humans and that made things worse. I started to crave it. One spring, I was visiting a temple dedicated to me. I overheard a man complaining about leaving an offering to me. He didn’t see the point in honoring a new Goddess, of wasting what little food he had on the likes of me. The slight did not go unpunished. For miles around the temple, all the vegetation began to die. I let it die. So many people suffered because of me. People died because of me, including the man. His son was in a bad way too, but he was stronger than his father and he managed to survive. When my mother discovered what I had done, she was ashamed of me, but it didn’t stop me.
Finally, Hades had to drag me home and lock me away for my own good. I felt so much guilt afterwards.
“Then you know what I am capable of,” I said, trying to hide the waver in my voice.
“What you were capable of. I have a better idea. Beg.”
“What?”
“Beg me, and I will consider telling you.”
I felt anger build inside me, this pathetic creature wanted me to beg? It was nothing more than a pus filled bug. It was beneath me, there was no way in hell I would beg it for information.
“Fuck you,” I replied.
“Then you can die.”
The tentacles reappeared, but I was ready. I had been eyeing an old sword on the wall. It was rusted but it would do the trick. Lightning fast, I grabbed it and faced him. Harris wasn’t going to go down easy though. One of the tentacles whipped out and jabbed me in the wound on my side. I doubled over in pain.
A tentacle wrapped around my legs and I was yanked into the air. Hanging upside down, I watched in horror as Harris’ mouth opened wide to reveal several rows of teeth. He started to lower me toward them. I still had hold of the sword. Its foul breath hit me and I gagged. When I got close enough, I stabbed him in the throat with it. He let out a strange gargling noise, before dropping me on the floor.
Getting to my feet, I retrieved my knife and before he could recover, I jammed the knife straight into his eye. His whole body start to quiver and shake.
“Uh-oh,” I muttered as I realized what was about to happen. I tried to jump the counter again but didn’t duck in time to avoid being spattered by blue goo as he exploded.
Sinking to the floor, I wiped goo off the back of my head and shook it onto the floor. Yuck.
Demons were so disgusting, but they were also dumb, hungry creatures who took what they needed. Why would one disguise itself as an old man to run an antiques store of all things? There had to be something here that it was protecting. I got up, trying to ignore the pain in my side.
The back of the store contained a small office, a kitchenette area and a restroom. The office was small with only a desk and a filing cabinet. I stood in the room, wondering where he would hide something valuable.
“There,” I whispered when I spotted it. The back wall. I could see an outline like a door in the wood panelled wall. It wasn’t immediately visible to the naked eye, not if you weren’t looking for it. I ran my hands over the wood, searching for a handle. When I found none, I pushed on it and it popped open. Beyond it, I discovered shelves of artefacts from back in the day. A lot of them. Pottery, coins, jewelry, some of it I even recognized. The bastard had raided my bedchamber in the Underworld. The items were overflowing onto the floor, it would take weeks to go through it all. I did a quick sweep, but nothing jumped out at me.
“Damn hoarder,” I muttered.
What was I going to do? Someone would come into the store eventually, looking for Harris. Perhaps the demon had chosen his persona well. Who wouldn’t be concerned if an elderly man went missing. I needed a long-term plan, time to go through all of this without looking suspicious.
After I locked the front door, I pulled out my cell phone which was miracously still intact, aside from a crack up the middle of the screen. At least it still worked. I’d rather live my life without one, but I have to admit I do like Googling. Having all the power at your fingertips, well I confess it gives me a rush. Not as much as being a Goddess, but it was a close second.
Scrolling through my contacts, I searched for Jean-Pierre, my money guy. You would be amazed at the interest you accrue over several centuries. I had to keep willing the money to myself every few decades.
“Persephone, haven’t heard from you in a while. How’s Buttcrack, Nowhere treating you?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s fine. Listen, how quickly can you free up some money?”
“Depends. How much do you need?”
“I’m not sure. Enough to buy a store. I’ll send you the details.”
“Okay, don’t really see you in a customer service role, but whatever. Let me know how much the owner is asking for it.”
“The owner…died recently. No other family. Is that going to be an issue?”
“Well, it won’t be easy. Depends how much debt he had and other factors. It could take months, maybe longer.”
“I don’t have months, I need it now.”
Jean-Pierre sighed. “So what you need is something that gives you at least temporary ownership of the store. I know a guy. If anyone contests it though, it might not hold up in court.”
“I just need access for a few weeks, max.”
“I’ll get back to you.”
I’ve learned that it’s better to at least look legit or people start digging and I have a lot to hide. Jean-Pierre was on the run for tax evasion when I met him, on vacation in Barbados. He doesn’t have a problem dealing with matters that aren’t strictly legal and he has good instincts when it comes to where I should invest my money. I’m not totally stupid though, he only has access to one of my accounts, just in case he tries to do a disappearing act with my money. I don’t fully trust him, but he has helped me out a lot in the three years I’ve known him.
Before I started looking at the artefacts, I needed to clean up all traces of Harris. If anyone asked I could pretend he left town and I was watching the store for him. The question was, did I open up or not? There might be less questions if I stayed open, he didn’t seem to get a lot of customers anyway.
Tying my long dark hair back, I unearthed the cleaning supplies and got to work. The goo was sticky, but it easily dissolved in bleach. I scrubbed until my arms ached, but finally the place was presentable again. The shelves would need fixed, but I could worry about that later. For now, I stacked them up in the corner, salvaging the antiques that had survived the fight.
Now I just needed to decide what to do with the skin. It was so gross. I lifted it gingerly and was stuffing it into a trash bag when I heard the door open behind me.
I whirled around to find a teenage boy behind me. He was tall with glasses and he was holding a key.
“Who the hell are you?” I said.
“I could ask you the same thing. Where’s Mr. Johansen?”
“He’s not here anymore. I’m the new owner,” I blurted.
“What? Gone where? He wouldn’t just leave without telling me.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Gavin, I work here. Mr. Johansen has me help him with inventory.”
Shit. An employee? I wasn’t expecting that.
“Well I hate to break it to you, but you are no longer employed. I will make sure you get a generous severance package, but I do not need your help.”
“I didn’t get paid to work here, I am a history major, Mr. Johansen was showing me the ropes. Did he leave a number where I could reach him?”
I shrugged. “Sorry, no.”
Gavin narrowed his eyes at me. “I’ll be back.”
He left the store in a hurry. I never thou
ght that Harris would have anyone working for him. Stupid. I doubted he was going to take my word for it that Harris was gone, he would try to contact him. I sent a quick text to Jean-Pierre asking him to send the documents as soon as possible. I just hoped that Gavin was human and not another demon, although demons had a hard time working together, so it was unlikely.
Worried that I was running out of time, I relocked the door and headed into the hidden room to start my search.
*
A Long Time Ago
Hades
“The Gods will fall at the hands of the God killer,” the woman rasped. She sat at the table, eyes rolled back in her head.
Hiding my true form under a glamor and wrapped in a cloak, I sat across from her.
“Tell me what it is, this God killer,” I urged.
The woman flinched and blood began to pour from her nose. “It is hidden, I cannot…”
She cried out in pain and the connection was broken. She slumped over the table, breathing hard.
“What did you see?” I asked, grasping the woman’s hand.
Her eye widened in horror. “You! By the Gods, there is so much terror in your future.”
I quickly withdrew my hand, feeling true fear for the first time.
I threw a few gold coins on the table and left. Despite her dire warning, she hadn’t given me anything useful.
Another wasted journey.
I had been scouring the land for another oracle, one who could shed light on the God killer. Mystics, soothsayers, even witches. Not one of them could give me the answers I needed, although most of them repeated what the woman had said. The Gods will fall at the hands of the God killer.
I originally believed it to be a weapon, but what if it was a person? There were so many demigods, most of them courtesy of Zeus, what if one of them grew strong enough to kill them?
The strongest by far was Hercules, but he had no reason to want his father dead. Hera on the other hand? Well, she hated that boy.
Raising Hell Page 2