Heart of the Serpent: Hades' Carnival, Book 5

by N. J. Walters

  She changed her hair color often, depending on her mood. She was slender but strong, and there was no duplicity in her, which was one of the reasons he’d been drawn to her so long ago. It was also one of the reasons they hadn’t lasted. She didn’t understand his need to come out on top and his willingness to do whatever it took to obtain it.

  Persephone sighed. “It took some doing, but I convinced Zeus to let you go back to your own realm.”

  Hades hid his surprise. That she would do this for him had to mean she still cared for him. Not that it mattered, he reminded himself, but maybe he could make use of it. “Why?”

  She shrugged. “Your demons are getting unruly. Left to their own devices, they might actually break out of Hell and create all kinds of havoc.”

  Now that made more sense. His brothers and the others wouldn’t want to deal with a demon uprising. They were lazy, content to play their small games and enjoy their pleasures. Only he could control his demons.

  “But, Hades,” Persephone cautioned, “don’t make the mistake of thinking they aren’t watching you. Push them too far and the others might drain all your power, throw you into Hell with your demons and seal you all in there for eternity.” With that final warning, she disappeared, leaving the door to his prison wide open.

  Hades strode to the opening and stepped out into the hallway, half expecting a trap. When nothing happened, he smiled and opened a portal. The black circle swirled, growing larger with each passing second. It took a lot of effort to create the portal, something he would have done without thought only weeks ago.

  Damn the Lady of the Beasts and her warriors.

  Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he persisted. When the portal was wide enough, he walked through it, sighing with relief as darkness surrounded him. When he stepped out of the portal, he was in his private quarters in Hell. The moment he stepped out, the entire realm shuddered and his demons became aware that he was home.

  He smiled, knowing many of them were fearful. Such a lovely emotion, and it fed him, making him stronger. Some of them had been very naughty while he’d been away. He’d deal with his unruly demons later. Right now, he had more pressing business.

  He went to his throne, frowning when he noticed the dust on it. He waved his hand and the grime disappeared. Hades sat and savored the moment before turning to face the mirror on his left. It was special, magical. It allowed him to see into other realms for one hour of every day.

  “Show me the serpent.” The glass rippled and a scene appeared. He was just in time to watch Mordecai kissing a woman. And not just any woman, but one of the females who’d help defeat him. As he watched, Mordecai released the woman and sent her away. Hades could all but feel the longing of the serpent to claim her.

  He rubbed his hands together. Really, this was too good. He couldn’t have planned it better himself. The woman disappeared inside a house, but Mordecai remained outside. Hades was surprised when he shifted into his serpent form. “Impressive.” He’d seen the beast before, but it was still quite an imposing sight. Unlike his fellow warriors, Mordecai had power and wasn’t afraid to use it to get what he wanted.

  That could be a problem. Hades couldn’t harm Mordecai because the curse was broken. But the serpent could hurt him.

  He waved his hand and the image winked out of existence. Hades rose from his throne and walked to the antique golden sideboard. He picked up a crystal decanter and poured himself a drink. He lifted the glass and swirled the amber liquid around the goblet before taking a sip. Smooth and perfect. Just as it should be.

  It would be a challenge, but how sweet would it be if he could kill the woman and steal her soul. He might not be able to harm the warrior directly, but Hades knew that hurting the woman would crush the serpent.

  Hades laughed and then called for his demons to attend him. As though several had been waiting just beyond the door for his command, they hurried in. He crooked his finger toward the first one. He’d take their power for his own. Yes, it would kill them and the power would only be temporary, but it was better than nothing.

  And he had plenty of demons.

  Chapter Three

  Jessica closed her eyes, tipped her head back and enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine on her face. It was a beautiful day in Jackson Square. It had been three days since she and Mordecai kissed in the garden, and she could still taste him on her lips. She touched her fingers to her mouth and almost groaned when they tingled with remembered arousal.

  “You okay?”

  She opened her eyes and smiled at Sabrina. Her friend was now immortal, and how strange was that? But she still came to the Square several days a week to sell her paintings. She’d stopped reading tarot cards and working behind the counter at Café Ledet so she could be home with her handsome warrior every evening, but she still continued to paint and sell her art. Jessica was glad. It was selfish of her, but she’d miss Sabrina if she wasn’t here. The two of them had sat side-by-side for several years selling their wares.

  “I’m fine.” Jessica straightened her display even though nothing was out of place on her jewelry table. “It’s just warm today.” There was no way she was talking about the kiss to anyone. It was too personal, too private. Plus, it wasn’t likely to happen again. Not with Mordecai avoiding her like she had the plague.

  “How about I go buy us some lemonade or an iced coffee from Tilly’s place.” Their friend Mathilda Ledet—Tilly to her friends—owned and operated Café Ledet, which was conveniently nearby.

  “Lemonade would be great. I’ll watch your stuff for you.”

  “And maybe sell a painting or two,” Sabrina teased.

  Jessica only smiled. She often sold more of Sabrina’s work than the artist did herself. Jessica had a way with people. It was a gift. Too bad it didn’t seem to work on Mordecai. And she had to stop obsessing about the man.

  “I’ll do my best,” Jessica told her friend. Sabrina laughed and headed off toward Tilly’s place, leaving Jessica alone. Well, not alone. There were always plenty of people and other vendors around. But Jessica felt very much alone in the crowd.

  She sat on her folding stool and watched the people come and go, some of them hurrying, others meandering with no specific destination. She wondered what Mordecai was up to. She had no idea how he spent his days but knew he kept busy. He’d invested heavily over the years and oversaw a vast fortune. Just the idea of it boggled Jessica’s mind. She was busy enough just trying to run her small jewelry business. She couldn’t imagine the logistics involved in handling and investing billions of dollars.

  A tall, blonde woman in a business suit stopped by her table and perused the offerings. Jessica forced herself to forget about Mordecai and pay attention to her customer. Daydreaming didn’t pay the bills. “How are you today?” Jessica asked as she stood.

  The woman smiled. “How much for this necklace?” She pointed out one but made no move to pick it up.

  Okay, so the woman wasn’t chatty. No crime in that. Some folks liked to get right down to business, especially if they were in a hurry. “That one is sixty dollars.”

  “Hmm.” The woman looked at a few more. “Can I see it?”

  “Absolutely.” Jessica picked up the necklace and held it out to the woman.

  The blonde reached out but didn’t touch the jewelry. Instead, she ran her fingers over Jessica’s exposed wrist. Under her breath, the woman muttered some words in a language Jessica didn’t recognize.

  She jerked back her arm, but it was too late.

  A burning sensation engulfed her wrist. She dropped the necklace. It bounced off the table and landed on the pavement. She grabbed her injury with her other hand and held on. Tears filled her eyes as the pain worsened.

  The blonde smiled and it wasn’t a particularly pretty thing to see. No, it was sly and vicious. “Hades sends his regards.” With that, the woman turned on her four-inch heels
and walked away, leaving Jessica in utter agony.

  The pain heightened, and Jessica was afraid she was going to pass out. She concentrated on breathing in and out, one slow breath at a time. She was in big trouble. Hades was supposed to be powerless and imprisoned. But obviously the god had a long reach.

  Jessica tried to chant a healing spell, but the pain made her catch her breath. She heard someone call her name, but it sounded as though it was coming from a great distance.

  “Jessica?” She managed to raise her head and found Sabrina watching her, concern on her face.

  She opened her mouth to reassure her friend, but nothing came out beyond a low moan of pain.

  “What happened?” Sabrina’s arm came around her. “Sit down.” She eased Jessica down onto the folding chair. It seemed like it was a long way down. Jessica doubled over, still clutching her arm, trying to breathe through the pain.

  She heard her friend talking to someone in the background but only heard one voice. The phone. Sabrina must be on the phone to Arand.

  “It’s okay,” Sabrina told her. “Everything will be just fine.”

  Jessica didn’t want to disagree with her friend but knew she was mistaken. Whatever Hades’ minion had done to her wasn’t good. Gritting her teeth against the burning in her wrist, Jessica made herself remove her hand from the injury and study it. It wasn’t a big mark, just a small burn. But instead of being red, it was as black as midnight.

  “What’s that?” Sabrina asked. “How did you get it?”

  “Hades,” she managed to get out through her clenched teeth.

  “What?” Sabrina yelled. Then she was back on the phone talking quickly with someone. Jessica was locked in her own hell and unable to make sense of anything. There was a flurry of activity around her and Jessica realized that Sabrina was packing up their stands and storing their gear for transport.

  Jessica closed her eyes, bowed her head and concentrated on trying to breath through the pain. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the air around her shifted and changed, becoming denser and more charged. She knew without looking that Mordecai had arrived.

  “Let me see.”

  Jessica opened her eyes to find him kneeling in front of her. His dark hair shimmered like silk in the sunlight. His black eyes were filled with concern and banked anger.

  She licked her dry lips and tried to speak, but nothing would come out. She raised her arm, wincing as the pain shot up to her elbow.

  “I’ve got you.” His deep voice calmed her, soothing her like a cooling balm. The minute he touched her, the pain moved from critical to manageable.

  He gently removed her hand from her injured wrist so he could see it. He cursed beneath his breath. “How did you get this?”

  “A woman,” she began.

  Arand suddenly appeared. “We should take this back to the house. I don’t like being exposed here. I’ve got the car waiting at the curb.”

  Mordecai didn’t waste any time. He lifted her into his arms and started toward the vehicle. Jessica caught a glimpse of a stony-faced Arand walking next to him, carrying her belongings. They were attracting quite a lot of attention. And why wouldn’t they? Both immortal warriors were gorgeous in a dangerous way, both exuding an animal magnetism that had every woman around them very aware of their presence.

  “Don’t look at them,” Mordecai instructed. “Concentrate on me.”

  With pleasure. It was too bad she was finally fulfilling one of her fantasies—being carried by Mordecai—and she was too ill to really enjoy it. Her stomach roiled and she swallowed hard, afraid she might throw up on him. And wouldn’t that add to her misery.

  The car was waiting at the curb. Sabrina was already in the front seat. Arand threw her belongings into the trunk and slammed it shut. Mordecai eased into the backseat with Jessica still clasped in his arms.

  She was glad he didn’t release her. There was something about being in his arms that helped lessen the pain. Car doors shut and then they were moving. The city passed in a blur. She stopped looking out the window as it was making her nausea worse.

  “Someone tell me what the hell happened?” Mordecai demanded.

  Jessica gave a small laugh and then groaned in pain. “You answered your own question. Hades happened.” Her voice was shockingly weak. She felt almost faint.

  “You said a woman did this?” Sabrina prompted.

  Jessica nodded and licked her lips.

  “Here.” Sabrina passed Mordecai a bottle of water. He held the open bottle to her lips and let her have several sips.

  “Stopped to look at jewelry. Tall. Blonde.”

  “Take your time,” Sabrina told her.

  “Asked to see a necklace. I held it up for her to take. Instead, she touched my wrist.” Talking about it was making the small burn throb. “Pain. Fire. Said Hades sends his regards.”

  Mordecai swore long and lurid. Jessica wasn’t sure she’d even heard some of the inventive combinations that came out of his mouth. It made her want to laugh in spite of the dire situation.

  The car came to a stop. Jessica peered out the window and heaved a sigh of relief, grateful to be home. Mordecai pushed open the back door and climbed out. Sabrina ran ahead, but before she could reach the door, Phoenix opened it.

  “What’s going on?” the red-haired immortal asked.

  “Hades.” Mordecai’s succinct reply made his friend swear.

  Mordecai eased past him and carried her up the stairs to her apartment. He didn’t have the key, but that didn’t stop him. With his immortal powers, a lock was nothing.

  Jessica was sweating profusely by the time he laid her down on her bed. By then Stavros had joined them, looking as concerned as the others. “Tilly,” she managed to get out. “Call Tilly. Danger.”

  “Shit.” Sabrina turned to Phoenix, but the warrior was already on his way out the door.

  “I’ll get her,” he promised.

  “Don’t bring her back here. She isn’t safe either,” Mordecai reminded them.

  “I’ll protect her.” With that final pronouncement, Phoenix strode away.

  “I thought Hades couldn’t attack us.” Stavros paced the bedroom, obviously distraught.

  “He can’t attack us.” Mordecai removed her shoes and tossed them onto the floor. “Nor can he attack the women who released us from our captivity.” He grabbed the cashmere throw off the end of the bed and spread it over her.

  Jessica was shivering from the cold but burning up at the same time.

  “But while Jessica and Tilly both helped us defeat Hades, neither of them is exempt from his ire.” Mordecai sat next to her on the bed and eased her injured arm onto his lap. “I should have thought of this. But I honestly thought Hades would be too busy with his own problems to bother with us.”

  “Shit.” Arand raked his fingers through his hair. “What do we do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Mordecai’s stark reply sent a frisson of fear down her spine. “What is it?” she asked. “You know what this mark is, don’t you? You know what it means?”

  He nodded.

  “Tell me.” She had to know.

  “A death mark.” Mordecai’s words fell with the force of a hammer on an anvil, shattering her hope for an easy solution.

  “What exactly is a death mark?” Sabrina asked. She sat on the other side of the bed and pushed a stray lock of hair off Jessica’s fevered brow.

  “Exactly what it sounds like.” Mordecai wrapped his long fingers around her wrist just above the mark. The pain didn’t disappear, but at least her stomach didn’t feel like it was going to turn inside out any longer. “Unless Hades removes it, Jessica will die.”

  “How long do we have to find a way to fight this?” Sabrina demanded.

  “I don’t know. Hours. Days. There’s no way to know.” Mordecai
’s voice hardened. “But we’ll fight it, fight him.”

  “We need to make her more comfortable.” Sabrina slid off the bed and returned a few moments later. She placed a cool cloth on Jessica’s forehead. The relief almost made Jessica cry.

  “She has a fever.” Mordecai gently stroked his fingers up and down her arm.

  “She can also hear you,” Jessica pointed out. “I may be sick, but my ears are working just fine.” She needed to think. There had to be a way to fight this. She pushed upright in bed.

  “You need to lie down,” Mordecai told her.

  Jessica shook her head. “I need to get a cool shower, change into something that isn’t covered in my sweat and I need to think. I’m a witch for goddess’s sake. I can fight this.

  “Let me help you.” Sabrina offered her hand, but Mordecai eased the other woman aside.

  He lifted Jessica off the bed and carried her into the bathroom with Sabrina close on his heels. He carefully set her on the counter. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”

  She stared into his dark eyes and drew on his strength. “Thank you.”

  He closed his eyes and heaved a deep breath. “Don’t thank me. You wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for me.” With that, he turned on his heel and stalked from the room. Sabrina closed the door behind him.

  Mordecai wanted to descend into the fiery depths of Hell, find the vindictive god and beat the crap out of him. Only knowing he’d have no way out and that would leave Jessica even more vulnerable stopped him. Anger the likes he’d never experienced engulfed him. Smoke actually began to rise from his skin until he took several breaths to calm himself.

  The last thing anyone needed was for him to burn the place down around them. He needed to find control. He’d finally found his way into Jessica’s bedroom, but it was under circumstances he could never have imagined. The space reflected Jessica’s personality. It was bright and airy, filled with books and chunks of semi-precious stones and other treasures. Several plants stood in a stand by the window, lending their fresh scent to the air.