by D Wills
His arms tighten around me but not in such a way as to look like he’s holding me against his will. His fingers open up and curl around my shoulder and hip. I don’t think anyone will have noticed, but I have. He’s holding me to keep me. He knows Allana’s about to take my place. “She’s lying,” Luca shouts over at them. Hades slowly looks up from Allana to him. “Excuse me?” he politely requests. “Allana can’t help you, neither of them can, only Eros can do it.” Allana throws him a look of contempt. It must be true, then. She must not be able to do it to Gods yet either. “Is this true?” Hades questions Allana, an angrier edge coming through. “No,” she answers confidently. “I share all the same powers as Eros, I promise.” She doesn’t take her eyes from me and Luca as she tells him this. “Allana, no. I’ll stay. Honestly, you can’t do this.” “Very well,” Hades throws his hands up to the sky, “you may take her.” He gestures towards me, “And you,” he stares into Allana’s eyes, “will be here forever.” Luca is forced to release me, and I run to where Allana is standing. I fall into her as her arms wrap around me. We sink to the floor, both of us crying with no control. “Please don’t do this. You don’t know what they’ll do to you here, please don’t!”
Allana takes hold of each of my hands. “You have everything you need with Josh, and he will protect you and love you like you love him. There’s no hope for me. I love a man who will never want me. I never had a chance. You do.” She pulls me into her embrace. “Go, please, and live the life I never could. Please, for both of us.” She releases me but holds my face in her hands. “For me, Acacia. I can’t live up there anymore. Every time I look into Eros’ eyes and see the emotionless look he gives me, it makes me want to die. I’ll never be what he wants, and that kills me every day I have to live without him. The worst they can do to me here is kill me. I was never alive anyway, so what difference would it make?” I can hardly see for the tears blurring my vision. She signals for Josh. I feel his arms circle around me, pulling me away from Allana as Hercules rushes to stand where I was. “Just make sure she gets back safely.” Hercules slowly shakes his head. “Don’t do this,” he whispers. Allana shakes her head back at him, and I hear her quietly whisper, “Don’t try to hang onto what could never be. “Enough,” Hades shouts, his voice filling the room. I watch as he raises his hands towards Allana. A fog encircles her waist at Hades' command. He throws his hands towards Luca, and Allana is wrenched from my grip into the open arms of my Luca. “The trade has been made. You have ten seconds to leave this palace, or I will have Cerberus track you down and rip you all to shreds.” Josh pulls me towards the door. I search for Luca frantically. He’s already gone, taking Allana with him. Hercules looks to the floor, trying to pull himself together, but he can’t hide the devastation in his eyes. He charges towards Josh and me. He kicks through the door behind us and runs through. Josh pulls me along as I still try to break free from his grasp to get to Allana. I can’t let her stay here, I can’t let them kill her. What if she was lying and she can’t make Gods fall in love? Hades will kill her, and she won’t resist. But what if she can? What if she makes Persephone love him, and there is a war? It would mean the end of all of us. Once Josh gets me through the door, I see Hercules waiting on a giant white horse which shimmers in the peculiar light. It has wings made of pure white feathers. Each one looks the size of me. It distracts me momentarily from all pain and confusion as I absorb its majestic beauty. I no longer feel part of what’s happening as Hercules reaches out to take me from Josh and I'm passed between them like a doll. Josh hops on the horse behind me, and I rest against his chest. His warmth feels unfamiliar compared to Luca’s iciness, and it causes the part of my heart torn away from his to fire up and ache. Part of me wishes it would fire up and burn until it burns out, then I wouldn’t feel anything for Luca, and our betrayal wouldn’t hurt. I ache with the guilt from what I have done. I bury my face in to Josh’s chest and his arms stroke down my hair, soothing me, attempting to provide me with a comfort I'm a long way from deserving. Hercules shouts orders at the horse, which is far too nondescript a word to do this astounding creature justice, and it gracefully lifts up into the air. I take one look at the palace which is no longer my prison, and no longer a place I wish to call home. I see the turret that hosted my affair and surprisingly spot Luca standing against the window. I force myself to look from him, and my eyes fall upon Persephone in a window further down. Her eyes have returned to stone, and she silently shakes her head. It must be true, then. Allana can do it, and Persephone knows her time is limited. I’ve failed her. She will be forced to love Hades and the war will soon begin. “We need to go back,” I beg them. “We will,” Hercules states angrily, “and we’ll be taking Eros with us. He ends this or I’ll be the end of him, I don’t mind which.” Josh moves his hand to my face, brushing my hair from my cheek. “Are you ok?” he whispers. They are the same words spoken to me by Luca not more than twenty four hours ago and they drag up more emotion than I can cope with. I just stare at Josh, afraid to open my mouth for what might escape. His face appears more defined and stronger now, and his skin has the faint iridescent glow of Olympus. “You’re a God” I whisper back, acknowledging the only revelation I feel may be the easiest to cope with. “So are you,” he replies. I've never even registered that I’d have that explaining to do. I close my eyes. “I never meant to lie to you,” I begin, but he shushes me. “I know, you don’t need to explain. Once we’re home, we’ll talk. You need to rest so you can help us figure out how to get Allana back.” Josh holds me tightly against him as Hercules flies us effortlessly across the fields and over the punishment grounds. Yes, we will have a lot to talk about. I try to close my mind to all my feelings while I attempt to detect any animosity between Josh and Hercules. After all, if Josh is a descendant of Herculean blood, that means he is a relative of Hercules. If he is Zeus’ son, he would be Hercules' brother, but if he isn’t that means Hercules is his father. I close my eyes, praying for sleep so I can wake up from this nightmare, but all I see is my betrayal of Luca, Persephone’s anger and Allana’s sacrifice. Each one flashes up in my mind like a still from a silent movie. Then a final frame appears, but it’s empty. It’s for me to fill and I’ll only fill it by saving Allana. With my eyes shut, my hearing is heightened. I can hear the screams of the Furies' victims along with cracks of their whips, I can hear the ping of the bows of the dead hunting in the fields, but worse than that, I can hear the lonely cries of Allana. I don’t know, Allana if you can hear my thoughts from this distance, but we will be back for you. The minute I think that, I will it to be true, but my heart begins to throb and I know I’ll also be coming back for Luca.
I just haven’t figured out the reason why yet.