by Sarah Bale
Ares watched me with a smile on his face.
“What?”
“You look bloodthirsty. I approve.”
I slid the sword into the sheath at my waist. “Let’s go.”
I had no idea what had happened in Tartarus, but I knew one thing – nobody fucked with my husbands and got away with it.
17
AUBREY
Tartarus was what nightmares were made of. Literally. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to follow Ares through he iron gates with two ominous gargoyles perched on top. But the ground continued to rumble and I knew deep down that my husbands needed me.
Ares turned. His face clouded with uneasiness. “Aubrey- if I act different or not like myself, please do whatever it takes to subdue me or get as far away from me as possible. I don’t want to hurt you.”
His fear drifted off him in waves and made my knees quake.
“I promise,” I said.
He stared at me and then nodded his head once as if deciding my answer was good enough. Holding my hand, he led the way through the gates. The gargoyles bowed as we passed. I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn’t. The further we went the more I knew this place was truly hell.
Spirits, if they could be called that, roamed around caught in their own personal torments. One held a rope around his neck and jumped from a ledge over and over, but never achieved his goal. Ahead, a woman pushed a child into a river. My breath caught in my throat. She was drowning the little boy!
Ares’ hand clamped around my wrist. “Do not interfere. You will get hurt. They only see what their punishment is and cannot be stopped.”
The boy’s legs flailed and the woman laughed gleefully. But then she slipped on a wet stone and fell into the water. The boy was able to free himself, but the woman was not as lucky. I watched in horror as she was the one who drowned, choking to death on her own vomit.
Ares’ voice sounded far away. “We can’t linger here, Aubrey. If we do we will lose ourselves. The spirits will lure us into their purgatories.”
I nodded and closed my eyes, letting him lead me. The spirits became restless as we passed and it was hard to ignore their screams and moans. And my imagination was my worst enemy as I pictured every foul thing possible. Murder. Rape. Torture. Starvation. Suicide.
I cried out, “How much further?”
“We’re almost there.”
Fingers scraped at my flesh until it felt like barbed wire was cutting into me. Ares hissed and jerked his arm away from me.
“Get away! Stop!”
I opened my eyes. Ares batted imaginary fiends away. His expression was frantic as he looked around, swinging at the air.
“Ares, listen to me. It’s not real. There’s nothing there.”
He shook his head. “You’re wrong. I hear them. The voices of the ones I killed in battle. They want me to pay for my sins.”
I said, “Let me get you out of here. I’m going to touch you.”
Slowly, I reached out and linked my fingers through his. He flinched at the contact.
“It’s just me, Ares. Just listen to my voice. Nothing else.”
He nodded and I led him further into Tartarus. I no longer felt the fingers digging into my flesh. Now I could hear the voices of the spirits I didn’t help growing up, telling me how awful I was. I couldn’t begin to imagine what Ares was hearing. His eyes were closed and tears streamed down his face.
Ahead there was a river. We had reached Phlegethon, the river that surrounded the deepest levels of Tartarus. The ground rumbled beneath our feet and I stumbled. Gas fumes were heavy in the air and I coughed, choking on the thickness.
Ares blinked as if coming out of a daze. “We reached Phlegethon?”
I nodded.
“Then we are close.”
“How do we get across?”
His face was grim. “We swim.”
The river was literally covered in fire. Like flames burning on the freaking water.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m not.”
The ground shook again and a dry wind whipped past us. Closing my eyes I tried to reach out the Hades and Hermes. Still nothing. I knew in my gut what I had to do.
“Will it hurt?”
“It will be the worst pain you’ve ever felt in your life. We have no choice but to give into the agony.”
I nodded. “I’m ready.”
“I’m not.”
Hand in hand we walked down the stony banks until we were at the water’s edge. The fumes were thicker here and I coughed.
“One last thing. Do not put your head beneath the water. You will not come up if you do.”
Well shit. There went my plan of just diving in and swimming across.
I nodded and stepped into the water. A scream worked its way up my throat and out my mouth and I jumped back to the bank. Gods! My leg was bright red and blistered.
“Ares, there has to be another way.”
He gave me a look and stepped into the water. When it was up to his shoulders he finally cried out in pain.
“Aubrey, you must come now.”
He was waiting for me and it wasn’t fair to make him suffer. Inhaling, I ran into the water until I was treading. The pain I felt was indescribable. My skin felt like it was melting from my bones. Was it?
Ares held out his arm, which was bright red. I swam until I could touch him. He pulled me forward and together we made our way across the fiery waters.
Halfway across I began to tire. It was like someone had sucked every last ounce of energy from my body.
It is a trick. Don’t give in.
I’m so tired, Ares.
Aubrey! Listen to me. Just keep swimming!
A giggle left my lips. Just like the movie. There was a spark deep inside and I realized my tiredness was just a trick. But as I began to awaken, my love was starting to give in.
“Ares! Tell me about the first time you saw Aphrodite.”
His eyes were hooded with sleep. “Don’t remember.”
“Okay, tell me about the moment we bonded.”
“Can’t.”
I tugged on his hand. “Listen to me, you fool. We’re almost to the other side. But I can’t do this alone. I need you!”
I gasped as I felt another spark. I pulled his hand again and was able to propel him through the water with me. Holy crap. Where had that burst of strength come from?
Ares head tilted downward and I pulled him flush against my body.
“You listen to me you stubborn man. You can put your head anywhere other than the water. Got it?”
He nodded and pressed his forehead against mine.
Why won’t you just let me go?
“Because I love you.”
His eyes came into focus as if I’d awoken him and he lifted his head.
“Shit. Aubrey! Forgive me.”
I brushed his long hair from his face. “There’s nothing to forgive. But we need to hurry.”
We reached the other side of Phlegethon and climbed from the water. The air wasn’t as thick on this side, but I wanted to get as far away from the river as possible. The further away I got the less my skin burned.
“Wait!” Ares called out. “We’re close to the entrance to the caves.”
That is where Hades kept the worst offenders of the Underworld.
Ares swallowed. “My father is in there, too. He is the most cunning being I’ve ever met. If he is involved then I fear we won’t make it out of this cave alive.”
His fear hung around him like a cape made of black smoke. Odd. I’d never seen something like that before.
I said, “Ares, we need to find Hermes and Hades. And figure out who Vedah is working with. If it’s your father then we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
The aura around Ares changed to a dirty gold with large slashes of black. Scared and hopeful? I could live with that.
I looked around. “Which way do we go?”
“The cave entrance hides it
self. I don’t know where it is, but when we find it, we’ll know.”
I snorted. “Why do I feel like an Oracle made that up?”
This got a smile out of him.
“Should we split up?”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
I took his hand into mine. “Then let’s find this entrance.”
He led us to the right and we walked aimlessly around. Something in my gut tugged.
“Let’s try this way.”
With each step that we took the sensation on my stomach increased until we reached an ebony tree. I gasped. This was it!
“How did-”
I shushed him and touched the tree. The ground shook and an opening appeared in the trunk of the tree. Ares stepped through first and I followed. The entrance closed as soon as I was inside.
“Well, guess there’s no going back now.” My voice was shaky.
“Lucky for us there’s only one path and it leads only one way.”
I held onto his hand as we made our way down the path. Everything around us was pitch black except for the dimly lit stones beneath our feet, guiding our way. It was like a twisted version of the yellow brick road.
“What if they’re not here?” I asked. “Or what if they were hurt?”
Several more thoughts popped into my mind, but they were too terrible to say out loud.
Ares cursed. “The river Acheron must branch off through here. I, too, am having thoughts of despair.”
“Well, that’s good to know. I thought I was sensing something awful.”
He replied, “Each river serves a purpose, but in Tartarus everything is amplified. The hate, the fear, the woe - all of it.”
Ahead, there was a scream of agony. The hairs on the back of my neck rose.
I whispered, “Ares, what was that?”
“I don’t know, my sparrow.”
“Was it a trick or do you think-”
There was another scream followed by a deep moan. My skin tingled. I knew that moan.
“It’s them!”
I took off and Ares came after me.
“Aubrey, wait! We can’t just run up to them. Can’t you feel the magic in the air?”
I stopped and closed my eyes. Sure enough there was a hint of something in the air.
“Whose magic?”
“It’s old.”
“Vedah? Your father?”
He replied, “It doesn’t feel like my father.”
“So Vedah.” I asked, “How do we do this?”
“I’ll go first.” He cut me off before I could speak and said, “I’ll go first because I’m a God of War. This is what I do. You will follow and wait for my signal. If this is a trap, run.”
“I have no intentions of running.”
He brushed his lips against mine. “You have to promise you will, though. Your powers are untapped. There’s no telling what would happen if they ended up in the wrong hands.”
I caught a glimmer of his thoughts and shuddered. Me, tied up, as my flesh was ripped open with a jagged blade as the life was drained from my body. And then his thoughts shifted to an event that happened long ago.
I gasped. “That’s what they’d do to get my powers?”
His eyes widened. “You saw that?”
“Yes.”
“Gods, I didn’t mean for you to see that.”
In his thoughts, I could see the only time he’d witnessed powers being stripped from a new God. The poor man was held down while a figure in a hood sucked the power and energy from him. When the power no longer flowed freely, the hooded figure used alternative methods of extraction. Apparently torture and mutilation was the quickest way to get results.
Ares stood by, unable to help as an invisible force held him still. This went on for hours until the man finally gave up. The last of his powers left in a whisper of smoke.
“I understand your concern now. I will run if it’s a trap.” I paused. “Who was he?”
A pained look crossed Ares’ face. “He was an uncle. My father did that to him. That is why I couldn’t intervene. It was supposed to be a teaching moment since I was a God of War.”
Unease crept up my spine. “Does this feel like your father? Is he here?”
Ares shook his head. “No. His power was different than this. This is sloppy and dangerous.”
All the more reason we needed to hurry and find Hades and Hermes.
Ares said, “I agree. I’ll go first.”
He crept forward leaving me in the dark. All around me I could hear sounds that made my heart beat faster. The scent of death was all around and I feared I’d be next. There was a flash of light, as quick as a blink, and the hairs on my neck rose. I saw everything clearly. We were surrounded by a green mist that filled our heads with false fears. Everything around me was fake. And that meant Ares was walking right into a trap.
“Ares!” I yelled. “Stop!”
“You’re too late, Aubrey.”
That voice! I spun and cried out.
“No!”
“Yes.”
Then everything went black as something hard made contact with the back of my head.
18
AUBREY
“Aubrey, open your eyes,” a familiar voice begged.
“Please, little flower. Wake up.”
I blinked and flinched as something bright blinded me for a moment. Everything hurt. I reached to touch the back of my head and discovered my arms were bound. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as my fight or flight instincts kicked in.
I was in a cave.
Each arm was bound to the wall by shackles.
To my right was Hades.
To my left, Hermes.
“Where’s Ares?”
“Oh, thank Gods,” Hades said. “I was so worried when they carried you in here. You were so pale and limp.”
“Where’s Ares,” I asked again.
Hermes replied, “He wasn’t brought in with you. Maybe he got away.”
“He was ahead of me on a path. And then I saw… oh god, do you know who’s behind this?”
Hades’ face was grim. “I do now.”
“How is this possible? I thought-”
“I don’t know how this happened unless it was through Vedah’s powers. She is the only one who could pull this off.” His eyes searched mine. “You have to find a way out of here. Do whatever it takes even if it means leaving us behind.”
Fear wrapped around him like it had been with Ares, but there was also pink. Love? Joy bubbled through me. He loved me! Oh Gods, I couldn’t wait to tell him the feeling was mutual. There was also blue mixed in with his fear. Hope?
“What is it, light of my life?”
I turned to Hermes. He was surrounded by pink. All love from my husband.
“This is going to sound nuts, but when I look at you I can see what emotion you’re feeling.”
Hermes eyes lit up. “That’s good. Is that the only power you’ve noticed?”
“Only that I was able to hide my thoughts from Vedah earlier.”
“Oh, that’s even better. If we’re lucky your powers will come in-”
There was rattling as two beasts drug Ares into the cave. They reminded me of monsters made of clay with something slimy oozing from them. Ares was bound by chains of brass and his face was bloodied and bruised. He looked like I felt.
“I’m going to kill you fuckers when I’m free,” Ares spat out.
One of the beasts kicked him in the side and he crumpled to the floor in pain.
It said in a gravelly voice, “Shut your mouth, War God. You’ll be taken care of soon.”
The two creatures left, and Ares moaned as he sat up.
“Are you hurt badly?”
His eyes met mine. “Thank Gods you’re alive. When I heard you scream I feared the worst.”
Hades said, “We don’t have time for this. We need a plan now, brother.”
Ares squared his shoulders. “They’re planning on draining Aubrey�
��s powers and then killing us. They think Vedah will be here soon, so they must not know she’s-”
The hairs rose on my arms. We were being watched.
“Careful, husband. The walls have ears.”
He nodded once. “Right. Our plan is simple. Free Aubrey.”
I began to protest, but Hermes said, “I agree.”
Hades met my gaze. “Me too.”
“But… what about you? I can’t just leave you when-”
My voice broke as tears filled my eyes.
If I leave you three, you will be killed.
Hades closed his eyes. I will give my life a thousand times over to see you safe.
As would I.
And I.
I shook my head. I won’t let you.
Little flower, you don’t have a choice. Not in this. When you are freed you must get back to the palace. The spirits will help you get to safety.
Hermes smiled. And my friends above the surface will make sure you find Zeus or Poseidon.
Ares nodded. You are strong enough to survive this, sparrow. You just have to believe in yourself.
A sob escaped my lips. This isn’t how our story was supposed to end!
Hades’ voice was low. “That may be, little flower, but as someone very wise once said to me, Greek tales are full of woe. And the balance must be kept within the world.”
He was using the words I’d spoken to him.
I swallowed the despair in my throat. “Then I will do whatever it takes to live and keep the balance.”
“Well, isn’t that sweet.”
I jumped as the source of my torment walked into the cave with the two beasts.
“I hate to break this love-fest up, but it’s time for Aubrey to die.”
My entire life I had wondered why I was different. Why was I able to see the dead when no one else could? Now I knew why – it was because everything happened for a reason. The Fates knew this, which is why it was I, Aubrey Davies, who had brought the traitor into the Underworld.
He turned and smiled at me. “I see you’ve finally caught on.”
I squared my shoulders. “I have. Christian.”