“What happened?” Hyacinth extracted a jelly filled confection from the box and bit into it with relish. “I thought you and Joe had reservations at that new restaurant on the river last night.”
“We did.” Cyndi groaned and placed a hand gingerly over her stomach. “Take my advice -- don’t eat the seafood alfredo.”
Hyacinth giggled. “Duly noted.” She polished off the donut and returned to the balloons, curling ribbons and humming to herself while she worked.
Cyndi squinted her eyes and took a few steps in Hyacinth’s direction. Hyacinth looked up and met Cyndi’s eyes, barely able to suppress a smile.
“Girl, what happened to you?” Cyndi circled her like a shark swimming around a seal. “You’re positively glowing. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear ...” Cyndi clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling a squeal. “You got lucky last night!”
Hyacinth tried to look nonchalant. “Hardly. I was in bed alone by 10:30.”
Cyndi cocked her head. “Well, something sure as heck happened between Jay Leno going off and Matt Lauer coming on, because you obviously got laid.”
“I didn’t, I swear.” She averted her eyes, hiding her face behind a gigantic purple balloon. “Jay and Matt were both safe from my advances.” She snipped a length of ribbon and tied it to the balloon. “I guess I’m just exceptionally ... well rested.” Memories of her dream surged to the surface, heating her body instantly. She could recall every microsecond of the encounter with a clarity that would make her wet if she continued with that train of thought.
“If that’s what rest does for you, I must need a new mattress.” Cyndi shook her head.
“Did you call Laura Peterson with the estimate for her wedding?” Hyacinth changed topics, hoping to divert her friend from the truth -- she’d finally found sexual fulfillment in the arms of a man who didn’t exist.
“No, I was just about to take care of it. Do you have the worksheets on that?”
Hyacinth pointed to a folder on Cyndi’s desk, mentally sighing with relief when her partner picked up the cordless phone and began to dial. As much as she loved Cyndi and enjoyed her company, she didn’t really want to talk. She wanted to relive every moment of the dream, to recall his scent, his touch, his voice, his promise they’d be together again.
She cut another length of ribbon and glanced at her watch, wondering if she could sneak home during her lunch hour for a nap.
* * * * *
“Why do you summon me, my son?” The voice of the ancient witch spoke to Hades through the mist surrounding her apparition.
Hades fell to one knee before her. “Ancient crone, wise one, I seek the help only you can give me.”
The sound of the hounds that always accompanied Hecate penetrated the thick white mist in front of him. Hope spiraled through his heart. She always sent her hounds in first, before she appeared herself.
“What do you require of me, oh king of the Underworld?” Her voice carried with an authority that would be the envy of the rulers of many an empire.
“I seek the location of a woman in the upper world.” He bowed his head, remembering the mutual dream of passion he’d shared with her last night. After that, nothing could keep him from her, if he had to claw his way to the world above and comb every inch of it on foot until he found her.
The mist began to part, and the figure of Hecate appeared, hounds at her heels and a raven on her shoulder. Her wizened face revealed wisdom and strength, and her bent figure in its black and violet robes had the regal bearing of a queen.
“The woman is to be your new queen, as Persephone has decided not to return.” Her gray eyes met his, and silent understanding passed between them.
“I knew you would be aware of my plight, as you are Persephone’s guide when she journeys back and forth between the worlds.” He stood up, keeping a respectful distance from her. “You’re aware that winter cannot come until a new queen has been crowned.”
Hecate nodded. “My daughter, Circe, has found the woman fated to reign beside you?”
“She has, but refused to tell me the woman’s name or location.” He let his mute pleading extend from his heart to hers.
Hecate took a small leather pouch from her belt and opened it. Reaching inside, she filled her hand with strips of yew bark and cast them onto the ground. Bending slightly, she seemed to divine meaning in the pattern they made on the rock floor of the crystal chamber.
“The new queen’s name is Hyacinth.” She peered down at the bark again. “I will send my raven with you to lead you to her.” Hades opened his mouth to thank her, but she stopped him with a hand. “On one condition.”
Hades bit the inside of his mouth with impatience. “Anything, wise one.”
“The only way you can bring her below will be by force, as you did with Persephone.” The witch heaved a rusty sigh. He knew her affection for his former wife. Persephone had become like a daughter to her. “I wish there was another way, but alas ... there isn’t. She will be frightened.”
“But, my lady, she and I have already met in a dream.” He let the newly discovered name of his beloved course through his veins, letting it resonate with his heartbeat. Hyacinth. Hyacinth, his beautiful flower.
“It matters not a wit.” The witch glared at him contemptuously. “A woman captured is a fearful woman. You will resist your urges toward her until she’s a willing participant.”
“Of course,” he murmured, recalling Hyacinth’s face contorted with the pleasure of her release.
“If she wishes to return to her life in the world above, you will allow it.” A clap of thunder punctuated her words. “You will not hold her here against her will, no matter the consequences to yourself, or the world above.” Her eyes turned the cold gray of steel. “Am I understood?”
He knelt before her again. “You are, my lady. I shall follow your conditions to the letter.”
“Very well, my son.” She grasped his arm and steered him to his feet. “Make ready your chariot for the journey to the upper world. My raven will go before you and take you to your queen.”
Chapter Three
She missed him.
Hyacinth frowned as she straightened up her worktable. She’d drunk warm milk, taken a bath scented with lavender, and employed every other sleep-inducing trick she knew, but to no avail. When sleep finally came to her the previous night, it had been dreamless. The face of her phantom hadn’t appeared.
She longed for his touch the way the parched grass outside longed for winter’s cool. For all the good it did her -- she might as well wish for the moon. Apparently, the dream had been an isolated occurrence, one she couldn’t replicate at will.
She nicked her hand with her wire cutters and winced. So, this is what sexual frustration felt like.
She finished putting away her tools and gave the floor a quick once-over with the broom. Cyndi had taken off early, leaving Hyacinth to close the shop alone. She hadn’t minded seeing Cyndi go. The question in her friend’s brown eyes was impossible to miss. Cyndi knew something was up, and Hyacinth had no intention of telling her what that something was.
She closed out the register, checked the lock on the service door, and switched off the lights. After a final check on the flowers in the refrigerated case, she flipped the sign on the front door over to “Closed” and let herself out, locking the door behind her.
The days had grown shorter, reflecting the time of year in a way the weather had failed to do. Hyacinth paused in the parking lot, wishing for a cool wisp of fall air. It was almost Halloween. She was ready to watch the leaves change into their usual spectrum of color, to drink cider and carve pumpkins. She’d had enough of summer to last a lifetime.
Mulling over the odd weather, she shuffled over to her two-door economy car, unlocking it with the remote control hanging from her key ring.
The bird stopped her from getting in.
A raven, as black and glossy as midnight incarnate, sat on the metallic blue hood of her car, looking at he
r with eyes as alert and intelligent as those of any human.
Expecting it to fly away as she approached, she edged closer to her car. The raven continued to stare at her. It was almost ... almost as if it knew her.
She shook her head. Maybe the bird was ill or injured. Normal birds didn’t sit on car hoods, letting humans come within inches of them. She briefly thought of news reports about West Nile Virus infecting local birds during the summer.
“What’s wrong, little guy?” She circled the front end of her car, trying to inspect the bird from a safe distance. “Did you meet up with the business end of a hungry cat?”
The raven let out a piercing cry. Hyacinth covered her ears with her hands as it continued to shriek.
Suddenly, the ground gave a vicious shudder. She screamed, staring in shock as her car vibrated against the pavement. The raven continued his dirge, lifting himself from the hood of the car to circle the air above her.
What the hell was this? An earthquake? In Pennsylvania?
The entire parking lot was rent in two as the ground tore itself asunder. Hyacinth screamed and fell to the ground, staring in horror as the mouth of hell seemed to open before her.
Flames shot out of the massive crack in the earth, smoke as black as the raven’s wings and pools of molten lava pouring from it like an open wound. She was going to die. Her mother’s face flashed through her mind, the sound of her father’s voice. She’d be with them again any minute.
And then the heads of four black steeds emerged from the crevice in the ground, seemingly immune to the fire and its effects, leaping over the ruby streams of lava and pulling a golden chariot behind them.
She stood up on knees that nearly buckled. Before she collapsed again, a heavily muscled black-clad arm reached out from the chariot and pulled her in.
Air left her lungs as if she’d been punched. Before she had time to catch a glimpse of her captor, the chariot turned and sped back down into the earth from whence it came, with her holding on for dear life.
* * * * *
They raced through an underground tunnel, a tube of rock, illuminated only by the torches held by the footmen clinging to either side of the chariot.
Hyacinth coughed, trying to clear the film of dust and dirt from her lungs. She pushed hard against the steely arm holding her, but she might as well have pushed against granite. He held her fast to his side.
“Let me go!” She shouted to be heard above the horses’ thundering hooves. “Who the hell are you?”
Without further hesitation, her captor released her and turned her to face him.
She sucked in a breath.
It was him.
She had to be dreaming again. Nothing this fantastical and frightening could be real.
“It’s real,” he murmured, as if he’d read her thoughts. “I’ve come for you, my darling. Just as I promised I would.”
This was so not happening.
“I don’t know who you are, or where you’re taking me, but people will look for me, and you’ll get caught.”
“No one will ever find you. I’m taking you to a place few of the living have ever seen.” His onyx eyes burned into hers, and a flame crept over her cheeks, remembering what they’d shared a few nights ago in her hazy, half-dream state. Or had it been a dream at all? She felt her grasp on reality slip away like sand through a funnel.
She shook off the flush of arousal and fixed a glare on her face. “I demand some answers here.”
He clutched her close to him as the chariot rounded a sharp corner. “All in good time, my sweet. All in good time.”
* * * * *
The chariot stopped short at a massive iron gate with spikes at the top of every bar. It was embedded in the rust-colored rock interior of the tunnel, and fastened with a black lock and heavy chain.
A cluster of creatures unlike anything Hyacinth had ever seen clustered around the outside the gate, wandering around in a daze.
“Graiae.” Her captor pointed to the swan-bodied beings with the faces of elderly women. His arm brushed against Hyacinth’s breasts and sent an unwilling shiver through her. “They guard the entrance to my kingdom.”
She eyed the steel-colored hair of the half-human, half-fowl women. It was obvious where they got their name. “Your kingdom, huh?” She didn’t bother to hide her sarcasm. “You’ve sat through one too many role playing games, buddy.”
He threw back his head and laughed, surprising her with the rich, vibrant sound. “I assure you, this is no game.”
“Then explain why you’ve dragged me into this sewer, or whatever it is.” She pushed his arm away again, shocked at her own boldness.
“I’m afraid to disappoint you, but we’ve not come to a sewer.” He pointed to a footman. “Jason!”
The well-built young man hopped down from the side of the chariot and ran through the crowd of clucking Graiae to unlock the gate with a gem-studded silver key.
“Welcome to the Underworld.” He bowed to her with a flourish.
“The Underworld?” She grabbed hold of the chariot seat as the vehicle rolled through the open gates. The Graiae jumped nervously out of its way. “As in Greek mythology?”
“Greek, yes.” He bent his head down to hers. She caught a whiff of his unforgettable scent. “Myth, no. This is very much real.”
His nearness had her brains too scrambled to remember her own name, much less the finer points of ancient Greek studies. “That makes you ...” She sought to retrieve the correct name from her mental cache.
“Hades,” he supplied. “King of the Underworld.” He lifted her hand to his perfectly sculpted lips and kissed it. “And your eternal slave.”
Trying to ignore her body’s reaction to the touch of his lips, she forced herself to focus. “What would the king of the Underworld want with a florist from Harrisburg?”
“To make her his queen.” He released her hand, dragging his fingertips across her palm and setting off a chain reaction of heat inside her. “His bride.”
She tried to digest that bit of info as they reached a second gate, this one guarded by the most hideous dog she’d ever seen.
“Cerberus,” Hades called out in a booming voice. The dog looked up at them, his red eyes glowing in the darkness of the tunnel. Catching sight of the king, he lowered his three heads to the stony ground in submission.
“Good boy.” Hades reached down and stroked the dog’s short brown fur. “Good dog.” He tossed down what appeared to be a dog biscuit, which Cerberus caught between his clawed paws.
“Don’t tell me that’s the family pet.” Hyacinth looked on in semi-horror as the dog devoured the biscuit, tearing at it with his fangs and lapping up the crumbs with a blood-red tongue.
“Cerberus is a loyal servant of the crown.” Hades snapped his fingers at the other footman. “Nicus!”
Nicus, just as handsome and buff as Jason, leapt down and ran to unlock the gate. “He’s friendly as a newborn pup, once you get to know him.”
“Who, Nicus or the dog?” She bit her bottom lip and tried not to laugh.
“They’re both nice fellows, but I’d prefer you to ignore Nicus’s considerable charms and notice the dog instead.”
“I think I’ll take your word for it when it comes to Cerberus’s good qualities.” She braced herself as the carriage rolled through the gate, and she drew a deep breath. She had to get to the bottom of this. “What did you mean with what you said about your queen?”
“You are my fated bride.” He spoke as if this were the most natural thing in the world to say. “The seers revealed you to me, and I had to find you.”
She stopped him with her hand. “Wait a minute. What about your real wife? Persephone, isn’t it?”
“Persephone and I are no longer together.” He spoke without the faintest hint of emotion in his voice or face.
Trying not to fixate on the fact that she was discussing a failed marriage between two mythological deities, she pressed on. “But what does any of that ha
ve to do with me? I mean ... I’m just a florist. I like to watch Seinfeld reruns and Nick at Nite while eating TV dinners.”
“You’re not ‘just a florist.’ You’re beautiful, and passionate.” She blushed at his words, remembering the passion he’d evoked in her. “You’re the only woman who can reign beside me.” He eased back against the chariot seat with the air of having settled the matter.
Not so fast, she thought. “What if I don’t want to reign beside you?” She turned on the seat to face him. “I didn’t agree to any of this, and right now, you’re no better than a common kidnapper.”
He chuckled. “You must admit that nothing about this situation could be called common.”
She went on, ignoring him. “You’ve taken me against my will, away from everything I know. I have a life back home --” She stopped herself. Did she really?
Was there anything in her life, other than her work and Cyndi, worth returning to?
He studied her face like a hawk scouting prey. She quickly arranged her features into a scowl of rebellion. Of course she had a life worth returning to. She wasn’t about to sign on for an eternity as some ghoulish queen of the undead, or whatever it was that he had in mind.
“You were saying?” A note of steely resistance entered his voice, and for the first time, she realized just whom she was dealing with. A deity and a sovereign, older than time itself.
But did that give him any excuse to take her captive?
“I was saying --” She cleared her throat. “-- I want to go home. I don’t want to stay down here with you.” Her gaze swept the dismal gray landscape they were crossing, devoid of color or foliage, save for the black hued cypress trees dotting the hillsides. No, this could never be her home, not this colorless world.
“You find my kingdom lacking.” It wasn’t a question.
She didn’t want to insult him, but she had to get out of this mess. “It’s just not to my taste. I’m used to the world above, with its sunshine and rain and seasons.”
Hotter than Hades Page 3