21
“Where are we going?” Keirah wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to whisper, but she did. Currently, she was behind Seph, as the goddess led her through the labyrinth that was Hades’s mansion?, place of residence? She wasn’t sure what to call this place, except that it resembled a high-end luxury hotel where famous people lived. Her eyes tried to take in her surroundings, but she was too focused on where they were going than anything else. Although there were some interesting paintings that hung in the hallways she definitely wanted to check out later on, when she had the time. When she knew what was going on with Noir.
“Just follow me,” came Seph’s reply.
Keirah pushed her brow together at the abruptness of it. She didn’t believe Seph was the abrupt type, but then again, she didn’t really know Seph as well as she thought.
When they reached the first floor, Seph led her across an empty room, which was as big as the living room and kitchen combined in her mansion back in Onyx, and through a curtained door. There were voices coming from the room, but Keirah couldn’t see anything, not yet. It was too dark. Seph seemed to know exactly where she was going, however; she walked with her head held high, and didn’t need to reach out in order to make sure she was going to trip or run into something. Keirah tried to emulate Seph’s confidence, but she couldn’t help but reach out in front of her and try to predict if anything was there.
All of a sudden, Seph stopped to the point where Keirah nearly ran into her. If she didn’t have blonde hair, Keirah was certain she wouldn’t have seen the goddess in front of her.
“Wait here,” she instructed, and disappeared through a doorway Keirah couldn’t see.
“Wait, where–”
But Seph was already gone and when Keirah tried to find the door she had gone through, all she could feel was the flat surface of the wall. She clenched her teeth together in frustration and tried not to let a growl emit past her lips. Her fingers curled into fists and she couldn’t help but pound against the wall she leaned against. All she wanted was Noir. She didn’t think it was that difficult to at least tell her where he was and how she could get him back. She didn’t like being toyed with or led on; she didn’t like playing games. She had gone back and forth between Lucas Burr and Henry, and now that she was finally where she needed to be, she wanted answers. Something. Keirah didn’t want to wait around anymore.
Suddenly, Seph popped her head into the room, taking Keirah by surprise. “He’ll see you now,” she told her, and stepped back so Keirah could walk through.
Keirah hesitated, not because she was nervous, but because she couldn’t see where she was going. She refused to ask Seph for help, and instead, started to walk slowly where the goddess was. She strained the muscles in her arms to ensure they wouldn’t reach out in front of her and make her look like some kind of fool.
“Who is he?” Keirah whispered once she got close to Seph.
Seph smiled in a way that didn’t quite fit her face. It was a smirk, and her face was too nice, too angelic, for something as devious. “You’ll see,” she said, and once Keirah was past the doorway, she shut the door and started to lead Keirah down another hallway. This time, however, there was light–candles flickering–and Keirah could make out where she was going much more easily. Of that, she was grateful.
The hallway led them to a room similar to rooms in every historical drama Keirah had ever seen that featured royalty: it was a throne room. There was a man sitting in a high-backed chair dressed in a suit of all black overlooking the empty room. The chair itself was elevated on stone steps, giving him an even higher position to look down from. It made Keirah feel small and, for the first time since she started looking for Noir, shy.
Seph walked out in front of the man without a problem. “I have a girl here to see you,” she told the man. “Well, woman, technically. On earth, she’s an adult. But a young one.”
Keirah watched as the man’s entire demeanor softened once he rested his dark blue eyes on Seph. A gentle smile touched his face and made him look more approachable than Keirah thought was possible.
“She’s a breather,” Seph added before walking back towards Keirah and beckoning with her hand for Keirah to go stand in front of him.
“A what?” the man asked, but not because he was confused by Seph’s diction. Rather, he was surprised that someone like her was down here.
His dark eyes flashed on her and Keirah felt herself gulp. She couldn’t help it; the man was intimidating, and when he looked at her–his demeanor was suddenly hard and defensive, his eyes calculating and suspicious–she felt as though he could penetrate right through her. Who was this guy?
“Go on,” Seph encouraged Keirah. “Tell him. You came all the way down here. You might as well try and get what you came for.” She stepped back, leaving Keirah alone to take the brunt of the man’s stare.
The room was hollow and cold, empty and void of anything and anyone. There was nothing but his throne and the dark, stone steps the occupied the room, except a royal blue rug underneath her feet. Probably for those that knelt for him. Also, because it appeared to match the throne’s furnishings. Other than that, there were no windows, no doorways that Keirah could see. She couldn’t even tell which direction she and Seph had come from because everything looked the same to her.
Looking up at him, Keirah realized it was an easy place to get lonely, and she wondered if perhaps he had ever felt that way. The possibility made him seem more human, and she felt herself relax in his presence. She took in his appearance, and found that he was young and attractive. His hair was dark auburn, his eyes dark blue, and his jawline was chiseled. The suit he wore molded to his stocky body, emphasizing his broad shoulders and long legs – Keirah put him at six feet two at least. It was clear he didn’t trust anyone besides Seph, and he played everything close to the vest. He was cautious. Keirah could respect that.
“My name is Keirah Shepherd,” she began, not quite sure how to introduce herself. “I’m here because I want someone. I was sent here by both Lucas Burr and Henry.”
The man’s brow perked when he heard Henry’s name, but other than that, he gave her no other indication that he was affected by her words.
“Tell me more about yourself, Miss Shepherd.” The man’s voice was low and controlled, deep but soft. When he spoke, he didn’t need to be loud; he had the kind of voice that people quieted down for in order to hear whatever he had to say.
“I’m eighteen,” she continued. “I guess you could say that on earth, I was a student, a good student, until I was kidnapped by a man – I guess an Excom. He took me and never really gave me back.”
“And you want revenge?” he guessed, which sounded odd coming out of his mouth. If Keirah had to assume, she would say the man before her almost always knew the answer to anything. Guessing from him was just… hinky. It didn’t sound right.
“No.” Keirah shook her head.
“You want to forgive him, so he can go to Heaven?”
“No.”
The man sat back in his throne. Though his face was still passive, Keirah could detect a hint of confusion tickling his brow. “Then what do you want?” he asked.
“I want him back.”
Now, his face showed complete surprise. “Excuse me?” he said.
“I’m in love with him,” Keirah said, yet again. Each time she told someone the truth about Noir, the truth about her feelings for him, she noticed her voice get stronger. She wondered if that would be the same if she ever were to tell Commissioner Jarrett. He would be so disappointed in her… She didn’t even want to think about it.
But the man before her was not Commissioner Jarrett. In fact, she still hadn’t officially been introduced to him just yet.
“Who are you?” she asked, without thinking. Another flicker of surprise shadowed his face, and she couldn’t tell if it was because he was addressed so informally or if it was because she didn’t really know who he was. She didn’t want to be rude, especially s
ince this man could be her ticket to Noir, so she amended, “I apologize. As a breather, I don’t know who you are. Since you’ve agreed to see me, I wish to know just whom it is I’m speaking with. If that’s all right with you.”
His face returned to its normal stony state, but he did not smile. “I believe breathers know me as Hades,” he told her, “but here, I am referred to as Haye.”
“I came up with it,” came Seph’s voice, filled with pride and a smile.
Haye softened once again and gave her a nod of acknowledgment. “You did,” he told her. He turned back to Keirah. “I run Purgatory. I decide if a particular soul is worthy of Heaven or deserves to go to Hell. I decide how a soul is to repent. I decide punishment. I decide everything here. I dictate where people go and what they do. I have never personally met a breather, however.” He leaned forward. “You want this Excom back, you say? Why?”
“Like I said before, I’m in love with him. My life is different, empty, now that he’s gone. I want to be with him.”
“Do you think you’re the first soul to come to me with a request like this?” Haye asked, arching his brow. His back was straight against his chair as though he had been practicing perfect posture his entire life. “Everyone wishes to be reunited with their loved ones, Miss Shepherd. It’s what makes death easier to come to terms with, to not go through something as transforming as death by one’s self. Sometimes, souls choose to remain in Purgatory until their grandchildren or spouse or best friend has also arrived. Sometimes, it’s groups upon groups of people, waiting for others to cross over. I can only allow so much before Purgatory gets clogged with souls and becomes less effective, whereas Heaven and Hell are both so grand, waiting for those worthy enough to fill the space. I cannot allow it for an Excom.”
“But why?” Keirah knew it wasn’t her place to question him. As a ruler, his word was law, and questioning the law could be seen as an act of treason. She wasn’t at home anymore, and the laws she knew could not help her. She didn’t know how things worked down here, but she knew she needed to be careful with what she said or else it could affect her. Maybe not now, but when her time came and she had to come to Purgatory, not as a breather but as a soul who needed to be guided on the correct path.
“Why, what?” Haye asked. He wasn’t used to having his authority questioned.
“Why can’t you allow it for an Excom, specifically?” she asked. “If neither Hell nor Heaven wants him and he’s condemned to a prison on earth–whether that’s the Arctic or a desert–why can’t you release him back to where he’s supposed to be?”
Haye opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He wasn’t quite sure how to answer that, and Keirah had to bite back a smirk to hide her triumph.
“Why was he sent here?” he asked her, completely throwing her off. He seemed like he genuinely wanted to know, as though the thought hadn’t crossed his mind until that moment. “How did he end up dying on earth?”
“He saved my life,” she explained. “I was going to get shot and he threw himself in front of me in order to protect me. If he were human, I’m certain he would have died. And I thought he did. Except, his body disappeared rather than crumpled to the floor, lifeless. I assumed that it was one of his games, that there was a way to find him. And I was right. I just didn’t think he ended up here, and I didn’t know what he was until after talking to both Lucas Burr and Henry.”
“Lucas Burr sent you here?” He exchanged a look with Seph, but Keirah couldn’t quite make it out. If she had to guess, it was a look of confusion but not surprise.
“He told me where to go,” she said. “He shot me and I ended up here. I’m not sure if that means I’m dead on earth or what, but Seph called me a breather so I assume I’m okay.”
“Burr has his own powers.” A pause. “Did he tell you who he was?”
“Burr?” Keirah shook her head. “I haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t care. I just want Noir. I want him back. I want to see him. I want to know that he… exists.”
“You know what he is and yet, you still travel here of your own choosing, to retrieve a man so vile that neither Hell nor Heaven wants him? That hasn’t swayed your heart or your mind? It hasn’t at least put some doubts in you, if this is really the best being you should be around? You don’t question your feelings or look for the logic in them?”
“Why should I, when I know what I want?” Keirah asked. She didn’t know if she was winning him over, but she had a feeling as long as she answered all of his questions as honestly as she could, he might reward her with something. “My feelings haven’t changed. And before I make any judgment, I want to speak to him first in order to hear what he has to say. But I fell in love with him knowing what a terrible, psychotic person–Excom, whatever–he is, so just because you have a different name for it doesn’t mean my feelings are going to change.” She took a breath. “I came all this way to see him. I don’t know how it works down here, I really don’t, but if there’s any way I can get him back, bring him back with me to earth, I’ll do it.”
Haye was silent for a long moment. Keirah tried to read his face, but it was, as before, indecipherable. She pressed her lips together in a gentle line, and without comprehending what she was doing, held her breath.
“I will take your request into consideration,” he said after another moment. “Seph, if you would so kindly show Miss Shepherd back to her room. I have a lot to think about.”
Keirah nodded, though inside she wanted to fight and scream and demand he give her an answer now. Instead, she allowed Seph to lead her away, all while reassuring herself that he would think about it, and that was the best answer she could hope for right now.
22
“All right!” Andie called, looking across the green patch of land that separated her stables with the forestry. “It’s tag football, unless I tackle you, okay? Since I’m the girl, I get to start.” She paused for a moment, as though she was trying to think of something else, but when she was satisfied she had nothing more to say, she nodded once. “Any questions?”
“Yeah,” Gabe called back. “Why are we so far apart? Do you really think you can outrun me, Andie?”
“Have you been smoking recently?” she asked him, arching a brow she knew he couldn’t quite see. However, her posture was enough for Gabe to recognize that she was challenging him in some way.
“My smoking habits are none of your concern,” Gabe said, tossing the football lightly in the air before catching it.
“Well mine should be,” she retorted with a smirk, “because I’m going to be smoking you!” She chuckled at her joke despite the fact that she knew it was lame.
“Oh hoh,” Gabe said in a low mocking tone. “Good one.” He tossed the football up in the air and caught it once again before slapping it with his open palm. “Are you ready?”
“I’m always ready, baby,” Andie said, clapping her hands together. She bent her knees slightly, leaning forward while keeping her arms dangling between her legs. She narrowed her green eyes waiting for Gabe to throw the football. He ran a few steps before tossing the football into the air.
Unbeknownst to Andie, Jack was nearby, heading over to the stables, knowing Andie was probably goofing off with Gabe. He had come to know Gabe within the past few weeks, and though he was still (if even more so) protective of Andie, he had gotten used to the guy. This didn’t mean he liked Gabe, or anything of the sort–especially considering who his father was-but he could tolerate the kid. When his jade green eyes caught sight of what was going on, his lips curled up and he stopped, choosing to lean his shoulder against the nearest tree and finish watching them play football.
Andie caught Gabe’s catch with relative ease, surprising Jack a bit. He always knew Andie liked to play sports, but didn’t know she was actually good at them. Actually, that wasn’t completely true. Upon getting to know her, he knew she played basketball in middle school as point guard. But football? He continued to watch with amusement as she started to run
down the field. She managed to dance around Gabe, who seemed already out of breath, before whizzing past the field goal line.
“Whew!” she called, throwing the football on the ground. Then, much to both Gabe and Jack’s amusement, proceeded to do a victory dance which included swinging her hips dramatically and moving her arms in a circular formation. When her eyes caught sight of Jack, she jumped up, a brilliant smile touching her lips before running over to him. When she reached her boyfriend, she was slightly breathless, but the excited sparkle never faltered from her eyes. “Did you see, babe? I scored a touchdown!”
“Yes, I saw,” Jack said, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist before picking her feet off the ground. He glanced over at Gabe, shifting his weight in one arm so he could regard him for a moment. “Do you mind if I borrow her for a few moments?” he called.
“Nah,” Gabe replied, waving his hand almost dismissively. “I’m getting tired of her anyways.”
“You’re just upset because I smoked your ass!” Andie pointed out. She looked over at Jack, studying him before slipping out of his grasp so she was free to walk alongside him. “Hey,” she said, her voice normal as she slipped her arm through his. “I’m glad you’re here; I wanted to tell you something.”
“What?” Jack asked, turning his head to meet her eyes before refocusing them back in front of them. He had seen Andie converse with him so intently that she would trip over herself or run into a tree one too many times, so he was always wary to keep an eye out for her.
“I got a call from Lucas Burr today,” she told him, but before she could elaborate on the call, Jack cut her off.
“Oh,” he said, feigning disappointment save for that eager smile on his face. “Did he have to cancel?”
Andie pushed on his shoulder playfully before rolling her green eyes. “No,” she told him, though she was quite amused at his antics. “Actually, the only time he could make a reservation at Dorsia’s was tonight.”
Sacrifice: Book 3 of The Dark Paradise Trilogy Page 16