“I will look into that.” Mumbling his words, he stood and faced Hades. “I promised to protect her. I gave my word to Lucifer.”
“I know. Your promise will remain intact. I will merely escort her back to Mammon. His madness has deepened. I’m unsure if his brothers can control him much longer. As his current affliction is partially my fault, I will endeavor to fix it. And you, my dear Seer, you are the balm for his soul.”
Isabelle got to her feet quickly. The idea something was wrong with her demon sat heavy in her stomach. She paused for a second. When had he become her demon? She knew when—it had been the second he had touched her, when she looked into his eyes and seen something familiar. She had been his from that moment. And he had been hers.
“Is he okay? Please, I need to know he’s okay.” Hades raised an eyebrow at her and Isabelle felt like she had committed some grievous faux pas. Leaning in to Apollo, her voice low, she whispered, “Am I supposed to kneel or something?”
“For future reference, Seer, I have excellent hearing. And no, I do not wish you to kneel. Despite my best efforts, time has brought with it changes to decorum in the human world. As much as I miss the old ways, I will not force them upon you.”
From the tension in his shoulders and the haughty way he held his head, it was clear this annoyed him greatly. It had to be hard for a god like him to acknowledge the world around him had changed. Isabelle found she couldn’t dislike the Hades. He was stuffy, old school, and far too arrogant for her taste, but she got the distinct impression he wanted to do right, he was trying to change and change was rough on him. Hades frowned as she came over and sank to her knees before him.
Hades stared at her, shocked. The look on his face was clear. Why was she kneeling? Hades crouched down to her level, where he took her hands and pulled her so she was standing again. Isabelle felt a low, pleasant hum from him. Yes she definitely liked him.
“Thank you. It was…” He struggled to find the words. “…kind…of you.” He smiled, and she got the feeling he didn’t smile much. Isabelle realized then she could read him. Not like she could humans, but she’d gotten a sense of his mood. It was almost automatic to respond in a way that soothed his spirit. Was she starting to believe she was this Seer they kept talking about? She could sense the god felt calmer, more grounded from just one action. How had she known he needed that? She had just followed her instincts.
“You’re welcome. Please, Mammon—how is he?” Isabelle frowned a little, was that guilt in the old god’s eyes? He dropped his gaze from hers for just a second, but when he looked back at her, they were filled with a level of solid determination. She was sure he had made some decision concerning her. She just hoped it was a good one.
“Not well, I’m afraid. The news you’d been taken did not come from the most concise source. As such, he descended further into the madness that lives within him. Come with me Seer, and I will explain all.”
Isabelle nodded and turned to Apollo. He stared at her like she had grown a second head. She thanked him for his help but was pulled into a bear hug by the Greek god of the sun. Laughing, he released her, his grin wide.
“You’re incredible, Isabelle. I hope we meet again soon. Call on me if you ever have need. Just summon me to you by name. I will answer.”
Nodding she returned to Hades’ side. He seemed confused, yet calmed by her presence. She wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing or not, but time would tell.
“Apollo, bring my boys to me. If they won’t come, tell them I have the Seer. That will make them obey.” Isabelle opened her mouth to ask why they wouldn’t come when asked, but didn’t get the chance. Hades placed his hand on her shoulder, and the world around her shifted.
The opulent decorated penthouse vanished, only to be replaced by the rustic décor of a hunting lodge. She swayed a little, a strong hand at her elbow steadying her.
“Give it a second. Your mind needs to catch up with the flash.”
The god Hades released her, and she sank down onto the closest object, a large cream couch sitting before a huge open fireplace. Blinking, she took in the dark, vaulted wooden ceiling. One wall was nothing but wood and windows. Standing slowly, she made her way over to take in the scene—a large glittering lake bordered by majestic mountains and lush green trees. Where on earth was she now? She’d better be getting air miles for this.
“We’re in Alaska. I much prefer my solitude to the city. Unlike my relations, I have no desire to live among those I must judge and deliver to the next world. Hello, my love. I missed you.”
He missed who? Isabelle turned to face the god. She was shocked to see a small woman standing beside him, nearly dwarfed by his sheer size, but she radiated power equal to his. Her smile was open, and her hair cascaded across her shoulders in long waves of strawberry blond. Her eyes shone with a mesmerizing mix of green and blue. Moving forward, she took Isabelle’s hands in her own. A sense of happiness washed over Isabelle. This had to be Persephone.
“I’m so pleased Hades finally got out of his study and brought you here. I hope he was polite and not too forceful. He has been known to forget his manners when it comes to company.”
“Seph, my love, please don’t embarrass me. I do have an image to uphold.”
Isabelle smiled. The great big bad god of the Underworld, famed for his rage and temper, keeper and judge of souls, looked like a scolded schoolboy. It was totally and utterly endearing.
The woman waved him off, pulling Isabelle with her to the couch. Persephone continued to clutch Isabelle’s hands in her own. She totally ignored her husband, her concentration focused on Isabelle.
“Pay him no mind. He is not as bad as people say, well not anymore. I think ‘mellowed’ is the term currently in vogue. Modern times have been hard for my kind and harder still for him. He’s stuck in his old ways. It would be easier to get blood from a stone than to make this one change.”
Isabelle heard the groan from Hades and hid her smile behind her hand. His wife was utterly amazing—she shone with love for her husband. This was the kind of true love every girl dreamed about when they read romance novels.
“So, let me see if I have this right. Your name is Isabelle, and you’re a Seer. Empathic abilities if I am not mistaken. You have met your destined mate, for the second time…”
“Wait, whoa. What do you mean ‘second time’?”
Persephone turned her gaze to her husband and raised an eyebrow at him. Isabelle knew she was missing a huge piece of this puzzle. Hades scowled at his wife, but clearly he knew he had lost the battle. Groaning again, he took a seat across from them, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips. Persephone nodded, eyes on her husband as she talked.
“If my dear husband here had just let things be five hundred years ago, then we wouldn’t be in this mess now, would we?” He kept silent, glowering at his wife. “Would we, my love?”
Huffing, Hades relented, “Please don’t bring it up, Seph. You know how I get when you are with your harridan of a mother. I’m hardly the most forgiving of men at the best of times. When you’re gone, forgiveness and mercy are foreign words.” Isabelle looked between the two. Clearly this was a sore subject. The goddess sniffed and turned her gaze to Isabelle, ignoring the plea in her husband’s voice.
“You, my dear, have met Mammon before. About five hundred years ago. If Hades had left well enough alone, you would have been mated to Mammon then, not reborn into this time. But my husband decided to teach his son a lesson. Locking him away because he didn’t blindly follow the orders given to him.”
Isabelle turned her gaze to Hades. He returned her gaze. She had to remember the man she saw now with his wife, wasn’t the man he was required to be when acting as Lord of the Underworld. Unsure of whether she should speak, she bit her tongue and dropped her gaze.
“Speak your mind, Seer. No harm will come to you. I swear it.” Persephone’s voice was more alluring than Apollo's any day.
“What did he do that was so bad?”
Hades looked away and sighed he ran his fingers through his short hair. “Five Hundred years ago, a Seer came into her power. A pretty little thing, possessing more of the seven Seer gifts than had been seen in generations. By the 1500’s most of the Seer bloodlines were gone. Battle for possession of the few women who remained was fierce. I found one…” His eyes locked on her. “I found you.”
“Me? I don’t understand.” His words rang with truth. Despite her fervent wish to deny them, something deep inside remembered.
“You were a ladies-maid to Queen Anne Boleyn of England. She was Henry VIII’s second wife. Back then the Ottoman Empire had taken Greece from the Romans and our power was in freefall. Finding you meant I could shore up my defenses against anyone who might seek to usurp my throne. I sent Greed, Mammon, to collect you and bring you to me. He failed, refusing to fulfill his duty. I…lost my temper. I punished him in a way I saw fit, at the time.”
Isabelle heard Persephone clear her throat, and she raised her eyebrows at her husband. He winced and let out a sigh, leaning forward in his chair to continue. Isabelle felt him then; his barriers were down. Unlike mortals, his emotions were controlled. Still, he didn’t like admitting he might have been just a tad excessive in his punishment.
“I sent him to the Pit. A dark place in Tartarus. It’s where I send souls I want to forget about. The demons there have peculiar proclivities. They like to skin the prisoners.” Isabelle could hear the blood rushing in her ears. Hades, his own father, had sent him to that place? Tears burned her eyes, she stared down at her hands, gripping them together so tightly in her lap her knuckles turned white.
“How long?” She was amazed her voice sounded as strong as it did, because inside she was weeping for her demon and the suffering he had endured.
“Five hundred years.”
Unable to remain seated, she shot to her feet, nausea rolling through her stomach. Everyone had made mention of Greed’s incarceration, but no one had explained it. No one had the balls to tell her he had been locked away in darkness and pain for half a millennium. Because of her. Because of a version of her.
She wanted to rage, shout, scream, to beat some damned sense into the god watching her. Pushing down that desire, she swallowed hard, keeping her eyes to the floor. “Please excuse me, I would like some fresh air.”
“Of course, Isabelle. The door is right over here.” Persephone stood slowly. Isabelle nodded to the goddess and turned on her heel heading towards the exit. The moment she was outside she broke into a run.
Panting hard as she reached the fence line and closed her eyes. Isabelle sucked in deep breaths of the cool Alaskan air, the chill making goosebumps rise on her skin. Hades words kept ringing in her head. Five hundred years in darkness, five hundred years being tortured. How could anyone go through that and come out whole on the other side? Simple answer was you didn’t. Greed was damaged, she could see it in his eyes. He had an emptiness to him as if life had no meaning and the despair was so all consuming it made each day a struggle.
She wanted to scream at the injustice he’d suffered, but wouldn’t solve anything. She closed her eyes. Her future, once so clear to her, were now laying in tattered pieces around her. You could either fight against the flow of the water pulling you along, or you could adapt and let the raging torrent of fate deliver you to its destination. The only thing she hoped was she could be strong enough to help him, she wanted to be the light that guided him back. Her soul had marked him as hers, therefore Isabelle would do everything in her power to guide him from the darkness.
She didn’t hear Hades as he approached and jumped a little as he draped a long coat over her shoulders. Silently, Hades leaned against the fence, no doubt waiting for her to speak. Only one thing kept circling her mind.
“Is this my fault?” Isabelle pulled the warm coat around her, sliding her arms into it. She kept her eyes downcast, staring at the rich grass. In a week or so, white snow would cover the green in its wintery blanket. Odd the things your brain comes up with, when you’re trying not to think about the fact you may have caused the man you love five hundred years of torture. Wait…love? Yes, she loved him, with all his damaged, tarnished pieces, they fit together, she felt complete with him.
“Of course not, it was I who punished him. Despite what the books will tell you, Seer, we gods do make mistakes. Mammon, was one of mine. I could make up excuse after excuse as to why I locked him away. The truth is, everything was falling around me. People had stopped worshipping me. Yet they died by the thousands every day and still expected someone in the Underworld to be there, waiting. As the new One God gathered more power, I worried for my position. We all did. Persephone likes to tell me, ‘Hades, sometimes you’re so dense, it’s a wonder you manage to get out of bed in the morning, let alone dress yourself.’ Losing the Seer was a setback I had not foreseen. I could not have predicted he would be bound to you. Thus, I handled such a revelation rather poorly.”
Isabelle couldn’t stop her snort of derision; he was the Lord of Understatements. Turning to him, she took a slow breath, determined not to let the anger she felt cloud her words.
“I want to help him. He shouldn’t have to stumble through the darkness alone.”
Hades smiled and nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. “I am pleased to hear you say that Isabelle.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“We should return to the house. If the Malakhim found you once, they will do so again. My home is shielded, so sensing you will be difficult for them, although not impossible.” The Seer nodded and made her way back to the lodge. Hades watched her go. His sons would soon be here, and Greed wasn’t going to be in a talking mood.
Following slowly behind her, his mind wandered to the Malakhim. He hadn’t been informed by Apollo of the reason the Seer was taken. He figured it was so they could have her power, but something felt off. He made a mental note to ask the human about it, when she wasn’t so pissed at him.
A flash of brilliant light lit up the lodge, signaling the arrival of Apollo. The bestial roar indicated Greed was indeed with him and his brothers had clearly lost control of him. Hades took in a deep breath. This was hardly going to be a pleasant family reunion. He just hoped not too much damage would occur to his home. Persephone really didn’t like mess.
Isabelle saw the flash lighting up the house. The roar of rage had her breaking into a run. Bounding up the stairs, she yanked open the door. Greed was on the floor, five of his brothers literally pinning him down. Asmodeus hovered in his mist form, solidifying into a male who looked like Hades in build and face. She guessed this was Persephone’s desired form. Speaking of the small woman, she was standing, hands on her hips, staring down the men.
Greed struggled under the weight of his brothers, his voice hoarse as he spoke. “Where is she? If he’s harmed her, I will tear him apart!”
Apollo moved away from the dog pile of demons on top of Greed to stand beside Persephone. Clearly he knew when it was best to make a hasty retreat.
Hades entered the house behind Isabelle, staring at the scene before him. He must have caught the end of the threat, because Isabelle heard him sigh. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he moved her to the side and stepped into view.
“You can try and tear me apart, Mammon, but that would be a mean feat. Especially considering your female is alive and well, watching you act like a beast.” Greed’s feral eyes locked on Hades, the realization sinking in as his gaze found Isabelle.
The fight left him in a rush, his eyes echoing his inner disgust at his own actions. Turning his face away from her, it was clear he didn’t want her to see him like this. He remained silent as his brothers, one by one, slowly released him. He pushed himself to his feet and turned his back to the room, refusing to look at anyone, even Isabelle.
“Now, seeing as everyone is calm—well, calmer—let us please have a civilized conversation, without the mess and breaking of my furniture.” Persephone stared each demon right in the
eye, and every one of them looked like scolded children. Isabelle had to admit this little woman had some power if she could render even Lucifer into embarrassment.
Hades went to his wife, kissing her temple. The whispered words he spoke only for her ears made a blush cover her cheeks. Isabelle couldn’t help but admire their love. Turning her gaze to the brothers, the five she had met and the two new additions lifted their gazes to her, waiting.
Isabelle’s eyes locked on Greed as she moved toward him. She felt like she hadn’t seen him for a month. He looked haggard, pained. The dark bruise on his cheek had clearly come from someone’s fist. He kept his gaze lowered as she approached him. Shaking her head, she reached out and touched his bruised cheek gently. His eyes lifted to hers, the pain within them a stark comparison to the rage she had seen only moments before. He was scared she had just witnessed the terrible madness within. Now he was terrified she would turn and walk away.
She wasn’t going anywhere, about time the stubborn ass learned that. His breathing was deep and steady, his hands in fists beside him, as if he were restraining himself from grabbing her. Isabelle realized she didn’t need her empathy to read him. She could see his desires in the shifting green of his gaze and the tight control he maintained over his body.
The room remained silent. She should have felt self-conscious with all eyes trained on her, but the only thing that mattered was removing the frown from between his eyes. Stroking her fingers over the purple mark on his cheek, she looked up, a small smile on her lips.
“You look like hell.” The demon blinked at her and dropped his gaze quickly, as if suddenly realizing he was a total mess. Torn shirt, unshaven, messy hair. Frowning, he ran his hand down his shirt, clearly agitated. God she hated seeing him like this. It was as if he were silently berating himself. Lifting her hands, she stilled his movements. His eyes jumped to hers. His gaze heated, his hands curling into fists. She knew he was torn between pinning her to the nearest wall, pulling her into his arms or having an emotional breakdown. She knew, because she felt the same way about him in this moment.
Greed's Charity (Seven Deadly Sins Book 1) Page 12