by S. E. Babin
We were hoping she'd at least listen to us before she lost her mind again, but my luck was also very bad these days, so who knew what was going to happen?
She came to less than an hour later. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, she became belligerent. She refused to listen to any of us. But especially not Rafe.
"Betrayer," she hissed at him, bearing artificially whitened teeth at him. It was a sharp contrast to her yoga pants and white tank top.
Rafe had the grace to look chagrined. "By helping her, you're helping the world."
She snorted. "Really? And why should I care about this world? It never did anything for me."
Rafe's gaze sharpened. "What do you mean?"
"No one helped me. My mother thought I was a monster. I had to learn how to use my power on my own. This world hasn't done a thing for me, so why do I care if it burns?"
I was slightly taken aback by her zealous attitude. "You don't want to live?"
She turned her frosty gaze to me. "I've never lived. You're going to have to kill me to get me to cooperate."
"This is your chance to do something good for the world," I told her.
Hermes came up beside me. "You're going to have to try something else. Her altruism button is broken."
I tried to threaten her. She shrugged and bared her throat.
I pleaded with her and it was met with stony silence.
I cried and she didn't even flinch.
Rachel was hands down the most cold hearted person I'd ever come across and that was saying something considering I'd been among the immortals for most of my life.
I brought my magic to life, cradling a piece of it in my hands.
She grinned then. "I welcome death."
The magic sputtered in my hands.
With a head jerk, Rafe summoned me to his side. "We could force her."
I sighed. "Someone has done this woman a grievous wrong."
"How far are you willing to go, Aphrodite? Would you kill a defenseless person to help your cause?"
"She isn't a person," I snapped.
"She's still innocent," Rafe reminded me.
"That's a minor issue."
I ordered everyone out of the room. Rafe was resistant to the idea, but Hermes took him by the elbow and led him out even through his protests. Pretty soon it was just me and Rachel.
"What is it that you want?" I asked her.
She sat there in the chair, still tied up and stared at me like I was an idiot.
"I don't want anything. All I ever wanted was to be left alone."
"My husband is trapped there. Alone. He's been tortured every moment of every day."
"And why should I care about this?" Rachel snapped.
Stone. Cold.
"We have a child together. One he will never see if I can't get him back.”
Rachel didn't even blink. If I ever needed to see an example of a sociopath, the woman sitting in front of me was the textbook definition.
I nodded. "I know you feel like you've been slighted by your kin. It's very possible they had no idea you needed help."
She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Did you ever ask?" I said gently.
Her gaze tightened then. It was the first real, non-angry response I'd gotten from her. So she hadn't asked.
"I'm going to let you go," I told her. "But I will make it my life's mission to ensure you receive no angelic or immortal support. When you go, you will walk forever alone. We could have helped you. But you refused to listen. Refused to bargain. You blamed everyone but yourself. So am I done, Rachel. Once I release you from your bonds, you and I are finished. Do you understand that? Never will we come to your aid. Never will you darken my doorstep. Never will you darken my husband's realm. Because when I get done with Heaven, I plan to make sure nothing left over from God is still standing. This is my solemn vow." I leaned closer to her, so close, I could see the fear in her wide blue eyes. "I suggest you stay far, far away from us. Because if I get a whiff of you or your magic again, I will hunt you to the ends of the Earth. Are we clear?"
Her throat worked and the sharp tang of terror clung to her skin.
She nodded once.
I clicked the chains off with a quick burst of magic and forced her from the room.
When she was gone I sank down onto the edge of the bed. I was officially up shit creek. I had no nephilim. No key.
The door opened and Rafe stepped back in. His gaze lingered on me, but there was no longer any disappointment in his expression. It was full of both pride and regret.
I sighed, stood, and walked out of the house. No one tried to stop me. I found myself at Hermann Park, sitting on one of the benches watching several kids play on the playground equipment. Draco was safe with Artie at the hotel for now.
What was I going to do? How was I going to fix this?
A cool burst of wind spread familiar magic across my skin. Hermes was here. I leaned my head against his shoulder. "Am I going to be okay?"I asked him.
His breath hitched and he was silent for a long time. "If you aren't okay, we will be not okay together. Okay?" I smiled against his shoulder.
We both got up and walked back to the hotel. Neither one of us bothered to use magic. The day was too beautiful and we were both exhausted.
16
When we stepped back into the room, my best friend was teaching my son to juggle. I stared at them both, surprised, because I had no idea Artie knew how to juggle. And more than four balls too. I watched my son catch on to it way too quickly. He burst into laughter every time he dropped one of them until soon enough, he was juggling five balls with ease. I couldn't sense any magic being used so he seemed to just possess incredible coordination. I knew if I tried I'd drop every single one of them on my toes, so I contented myself with watching the lessons until both of them got too tired to continue.
When they were finished, everyone gathered into the living area to chat.
"Where do we go from here?" I asked. "Our house in Asheville is gone. The farmhouse is toast. We aren't safe anywhere."
Someone cleared their throat. "The Underworld. We will be safe there."
I glared at Hermes. He knew exactly how much I wanted to go there.
He shrugged, and didn't look even a little bit repentant. "You know it's true." His arms was slowly healing from the Hellfire, but he still cringed every time he moved it.
"I don't care if it's true," I snapped. "It will be confusing to Draco."
Draco looked at me. "I know he isn't my true father," he said. "My true father is trapped in Heaven fighting to keep hold of his power and sanity."
I groaned. "I wish you were still a baby," I muttered. Then I said, "Et tu. Brute?"
"Hermes is right. They won't be able to reach you there. It is the safest place."
Rafe nodded his agreement. "But I do not know if I can enter."
"What do you mean?"
"Hades warded the Underworld to our kind."
A horrible thought occurred to me. "Does that mean Draco won't be able to enter?"
Rafe looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure. I would think the wards would be adjusted enough to recognize his blood, but I'm not sure."
"We need to try," Artie said.
As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. I had a duty to keep Draco safe and if it meant going to the place and dealing with the deception God had left behind, then I would do it. "Fine. Let's go," I said.
During my first trip to the Underworld, we all had to technically die. However, I'd been with Hades long enough now to know the ins and outs of traveling in his realm. We didn't have to die this time, but the journey wasn't one of the most comfortable ones I'd ever been on.
The first mistake came when we reached the edge of the River Styx. In the past I'd been able to walk right in to the Underworld and straight up to Hades' private quarters. When I tried to step through this time, I was met with an invisible barrier of solid wall. I could not pass through no matter how hard I tried.
Charon, the gatekeeper and guardian of the river made no move to assist or interfere.
"Charon, let me enter."
"Only the dead are allowed to pass," he said.
I crossed my arms against my chest. "Are you telling me you don't remember me? At all?"
The guardian's eyes glittered. "Things are different. And yet they are the same."
Great. More cryptic immortal BS. "Are you going to let me in or not?"
Just when Charon was about to open his mouth, probably to deny me, a spectre appeared in front of us. I gasped in surprise and felt my chin wobble when the spectre took on a human form.
"Mom! Oh thank the gods. Are you okay?” I rushed toward her and stopped about a foot away. Something wasn't right. The threads holding her here were beginning to fray. I wasn't sure how much time she had left.
My mother's gaze softened as she saw us. She held up a long white finger and pulled Charon over to the side. I could hear their whispers but I couldn't make out the words. When she was finished, Charon dropped the barrier and motioned for us to step onto his boat.
"Hades will be furious with me," he said once the last of us were on, but he didn't sound particularly concerned. I guess when you were a cursed being forced to shuttle the dead for eternity, not much rattled you.
"If I have anything to say about it, Hades will be different by the time I'm finished."
He rowed us in silence for awhile and when we reached the edge of the water, he tipped his head. "Good luck, Mistress Aphrodite." His gaze lingered on Draco.
I winked at him. "You turkey. You knew who I was the entire time. You used me for leverage against my mother!"
"She's a handsome woman," he admitted which made me choke a little. "And it does get pretty boring down here."
He smiled at us and turned his attention to getting his boat back across the river to wait for other travelers.
I knew it was a long shot, but I couldn't help but be annoyed that I couldn't get into Hades' private quarters. So I resorted to knocking and a very flustered and pissed off Persephone answered the door.
My heart pounded in remembrance of our last dealings with each other. She wasn't the nicest woman, but she wasn't exactly evil yet either. She'd gotten tied up in dealings that were way above her pay grade which made it miserable for all of us.
But I couldn't help but be a wee bit jealous because Persephone was beeyooteefull.
Her anger quickly turned to confusion, especially when Hades sidled up beside her and asked her if she was expecting company. I held a hand up before it became a game of who was on first.
I ignored my sweaty palms, my heated face, the longing in my soul as I looked upon the man I'd sworn my heart and soul to, and stuck only to the facts. It was the only way I was going to make it through this.
But I didn't start off slow or with minimal information. I dove right in with doomsday prophecies.
"There's a war coming," I pronounced. "And you are responsible for it."
Persephone let out a long, tinkling laugh. "I thought insanity was bred out of the Olympian bloodline after that dreadful incident with the nymphs."
Hades' gaze sharpened on me. "Tell me the meaning of this."
"Let us in," Hermes demanded.
Persephone scoffed. "None of you are gaining entrance here."
Hades bent his head and whispered something in her ear. With a long intense glare leveled straight at us, she nodded once and left us standing there. She didn't offer for us to come in.
Once she had left, Hades took us all in, nodded as if coming to some kind of internal agreement and opened the door wider. "Let's go into the study."
I followed him as if I had no idea where I was going, let alone had spent most of my time in here with him. I ignored the tightening of my belly and the aching of my heart, even when he sat across from us, with his ankle crossed over his knee and stared at us with those heartbreaking icy silver and blue eyes. A quick squeeze on my shoulder broke the spell on me, but Hades' eyes missed nothing. They narrowed infinitesimally, but he didn't call me out about it.
Instead, he took a deep breath. "Tell me everything."
I pressed my lips together to keep from sobbing, but I knew if he was going to allow us to stay here, we would need to be honest. That much I knew about my husband.
And so I opened my mouth and laid my soul bare.
When I was finished, you could hear a pin drop in the room.
His shoulders shifted slightly. "Well," he said, his voice huskier than usual. "You do not look like my type."
The tension in the room burst like a soap bubble. I let out a surprised bark of laughter, and Hermes and Artie wore wide grins. The only ones not smiling were Rafe and Draco. Rafe was probably still nervous about being here, especially since Hades hadn't yet acknowledged him even though we all waited for him to.
"She's like a piece of moss that won't stop growing and spreading. Eventually you just realize you like the way it feels," Hermes said.
But Hades wasn't amused, and even though he was partially joking with his quip about me, part of me knew he was serious. I wasn't really his type.
"I am happy," he insisted. "My wife is currently carrying my heir."
"Once upon a time, your wife left you," I told him. "Do you remember that?" I wasn't sure why I said that. Of course he wouldn't remember.
Hades scoffed. Just like I knew he would. "She has never left me." But something shifted in his gaze as if my remark had hit a little closer to home than I was comfortable with.
Could it be. Could the Persephone here be pregnant with Michael's baby? Were the timelines skewed?
My gaze skittered over to Artie's. She thought the same thing.
Holy crap. So that's what God could be up to. Placing Michael's child in the Underworld. Persephone was either in cahoots with him or was extraordinarily stupid to have let her pregnancy secret slip. Or both.
I had to bite my tongue. This made me feel better knowing it was within the realm of possibility for Draco to be the only heir, but it did make the situation worse.
"How far along is she?" I asked him.
"Six and a half months," he said automatically, as if he were used to answering that question over and over.
He could see the look in our eyes.
"What?"
"No," I said both to him and my friends.
Hades' look went cunning. "You're at my mercy, Aphrodite. I can withdraw my invitation and cast you out of here in a moment. Tell me what it is and you will be allowed to stay."
We were locked in a stare down for a moment or two before I nodded. "Fine. Give us your word and I will tell you of our suspicions."
Oh man. How in the world was I about to tell an omnipotent god he'd been bamboozled by a blonde-headed hussy?
Hermes touched my hand and stepped forward. "Let's have a walk," he said to Hades.
The two gods stepped out of the study. Rafe, Artie and I all let out collective breaths. The one main thing I hadn't told Hades about was Draco. If he knew, he wasn't letting on. At least not for now. None of us said anything and the silence stretched on for a few minutes until it was broken by shouts and something that sounded suspiciously like a frying pan crashing against metal.
Less than five minutes later, Hades rushed back into the room looking haggard and stunned. He's followed by Persephone screeching up a storm. Out of thin air, Hades produces enough money to make the lottery council look bad and thrusts it at her. "Just go shopping! I’m sorry we startled you. Hermes was merely making a terrible and inappropriate joke about my taste in women. Of course you’re prettier than Abby!”
Persephone took the money, gave me an evil glare and misted out of Hades' study in a soundless drift of air.
He turned to us. "Tell me what I must do."
17
My husband was full of secrets. I already knew this, yet I'd never pressed him too much because I figured he'd reveal all eventually. At any given time, Hades knew exactly how
strong the gates of Heaven were. If they were ever to weaken or their strength to ebb or flow, he would know about it. He thought it could be used to our advantage because he thought God would underestimate how far I'd be willing to go to get him back. It was weird talking about himself in the third person, but we figured it was easier that way.
Hades' gaze kept drifting back to our son and I could sense his discomfort. I knew he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t bring himself to. The atmosphere grew even more tense.
"Don't ask," I finally whispered.
He asked anyway. Draco can't stop staring at him in rapt fascination.
"We look alike," Draco said. "It was hard to tell in the dreamwalks we took. He's in a lot of pain."
I shut my eyes as my heart ripped even deeper in my sorrow.
Hades blinked. "This is all so damned unbelievable. You and I had a child together?" He shook his head. "It just seems so sudden."
"We love each other," I said quietly. "Fiercely."
Hades exhaled. The man I knew was there. But he also wasn't. This man didn't love me. Not yet.
"Well. Let's fix this. Soon. For our sake."
And that was what led to a super awkward dinner with a super pregnant Persephone. I had to admire Hades' stellar acting skills. He was forced to pretend he had no idea the woman he was with was pregnant with an evil archangel's baby. And then he had to pretend to like the reconstituted mashed potatoes Persephone slapped on his plate for supper was the best thing he’d ever eaten. Totally painful. And yet kind of amusing.
The next morning, I stumbled into the kitchen only to see my husband. Wait. My not husband standing shirtless at the stove making breakfast. Just like he had for me countless times before. Before I could stop myself, my arms were wrapped around his waist and my nose was against his shoulder breathing his scent in. Hermes and Artie walked in just as Hades froze. I stiffened and abruptly broke apart from him, apologizing profusely.