It sounded to Rees like his nephew exercised bad judgement in his approach to the prickly God of the Underworld. His jealousy of Persephone was well-known and Orpheus could literally seduce a stone with his song.
But Rees had never been in love…at least not with the grand passion the legendary lovers had experienced. He couldn’t judge his nephew’s behavior, nor could he empathize with the God of the Underworld.
Calliope set her glass down and stared out the great arched window. “They are to be forever star-crossed, it seems. I will continue to grieve for his absence from my life.” Tears shimmered in her eyes, and Rees clasped her hand. She clung to it.
“I wish I could help, Calliope. I wish there was something…”
She shook her head. “This is not your battle, nor is it mine. As long as Hades and Persephone live in disharmony, others will suffer. Not even Apollo can sway him. They love, but…”
“They do not trust.” Rees leaned back against the plush chaise. “I am sorry.” It was ironic that the discordant couple wreaked such havoc in the lives of others.
A tear trailed down her cheek, but she smiled. “I came to visit you, not to be a burden. Yet once again, you see deeper than the surface.” She watched the colorful parade of people. “How do you suppose they go on? I mean…eternal happiness is such a sweet promise, but do they have ambition?”
Rees felt rather defensive of his people, yet he also recalled his similar thoughts. “I suppose they’ve earned their peaceful eternity. And who’s to say, perhaps the promise of rebirth is Paradise to those who choose rebirth.”
Calliope continued to gaze out at the sunny street in all its perfection. “I have heard,” she said, “that Aphrodite’s son has caused a significant commotion on Earth before his latest adventure.” She glanced at him, a mischievous smile brightening her face. “Eros has always been one of my favorites of the younger gods, but he certainly is a free spirit. He’s revealed his true appearance and his wings. I suppose Aphrodite is afraid the major gods will find out.”
“Really? This wasn’t his first transgression?” Rees relied on his sisters to pass him the gossip of the worlds outside the Elysian Fields. “I suppose Aunt Dita is livid. Do you think she’ll send a member of her agency to apprehend her son?”
Calliope burst into laughter. “I suppose it’s not out of the question, after all, Ares is bound to be livid. If he gets hold of the boy first…” She sobered quickly. The God of War had a monumental temper. He had little time or patience for Eros, even when the young God of Lust was on his best behavior. Which he rarely was. “I sympathize with Aphrodite…I really do. The situation she’s in with Ares and their son is difficult, to say the least. I do not envy her.”
“Calliope, Eros has long been an adult. This childish behavior is calculated to draw his mother’s attention and his father’s ire.” Rees stood and walked to a wall decorated with maps of Earth. They were enchanted, changing as rapidly as the cities and countries in the human world altered. “Why would he do something so risky? So absolutely selfish? Revealing himself that way threatens to expose us all.” He hid his smile. “He’s behaving more like the baby Cupid.”
Calliope laughed, and then broke off when a shimmer of power flooded the room. Rees turned, momentarily stunned at the vision who’d appeared in his studio.
Aphrodite walked slowly, gazing at the frescoes on the walls, elegant fingers trailing along the rough marble of an unfinished statue. In her wake, an ominous man drifted, his dark presence a contrast to the sunny studio. He skirted the room, always seeking shadows. Zagerus, the son of Hades and Persephone. Abruptly recalling their earlier conversation, Rees swallowed hard and stood up straighter. He flushed, though, as he always did in the presence of Aphrodite.
“Aunt Aphrodite.”
Her luscious lips curved though her eyes did no smile. “Rees.” He leaned forward, accepting her kiss. “How’s your mother?”
“ Mnemosyne is well. She spends her time dashing between Hades and Olympus these days. Most of the dead prefer to forget and be reborn.”
Aphrodite nodded, though he could see she was distracted. He glanced over at the man who now examined Rees’s collection of lutes. “Shadow, it’s good to see you again.”
His smile was white in his dark face. “And you, Rees. It’s been far too long since we met.”
Indeed. The last time they’d met had been on one of Rees’s brief trips out of the Elysian Fields, when he’d waited upon Hades. He turned back to Aphrodite.
“Aunt, what can I do for you?” His heart beat a little faster, but he glanced at his sister, who stood up to greet her friend.
Aphrodite didn’t answer, but simply linked her arm with Calliope’s and strolled through his studio. “Rees, this is all your own work?”
“Most of it is mine. My students’ gallery is at the front of the building, where it’s accessible to the public.”
“You are very gifted.”
Yet he was so very…bored. He’d become a parrot creating an echo of reality.
“I was born into a rather inspiring lineage.”
She laughed and turned to him. “Rees, sometime ago, you expressed your interest in becoming a hunter for the Aphrodite Project. Of course, I think you really meant that your skills as a researcher might be useful, but I wonder…she paced, glancing at Calliope, who let her arm go and stepped back.
“I’ll leave you alone.” She was obviously curious, but neither Rees nor Dita stopped her. She smiled at Shadow and then winked at Rees, and he knew she’d be back as soon as his guests left.
He turned his full attention to the goddess. He’d known her for longer than he could remember, but every time he saw her felt like the first time. Her pale golden hair was in a sleek updo, her face was immaculately made-up. She wore a pale grey suit that didn’t seem particularly exceptional, beyond the fact that it was simply perfect and quite unusual here in Paradise. Ropes of pearls cascaded down the front of her suit, in colors of white, silver and pale blush. As always, he longed to paint her…or fuck her.
She politely ignored his erection.
He breathed, quickly recovering his calm. “You appreciate beauty?”
“Of course I do, but beauty comes in many forms.” He followed as she wandered his gallery. She finally stopped before a painting...one that wasn’t complete.
“There is no beauty here.”
He stood at her shoulder, gazing at the rough image. “That belongs to a student. To him, it’s very beautiful.”
The man in the portrait appeared weathered and wizened, his face a leathery network of lines and his smile revealed a gap in his yellowed teeth. “This is a portrait of the artist’s grandfather from his final life. He was one of the few people who truly loved and nurtured young Aubrey.” She looked at him in question, so he continued.
“Aubrey repeated a cycle in life after life. He was born into wealth sometimes, poverty other times. Regardless of his form or circumstances, he suffered a lethargy that was ultimately fatal.”
“Depression,” Shadow murmured.
“Yes, that’s what he called it. Every time, he took his own life, and every time he entered Hades, he chose to to be reborn. He was determined to overcome his affliction.”
Aphrodite pulled the stool before the painting and sat, gazing at the portrait.
“In his final life, he was born into a wretchedly poor family in America…in New Orleans. His family were musicians; they entertained tourists out on the streets. Aubrey was born very ill and blind, yet with the ability to make music. Somehow, the tradeoff worked. He lived a short, but happy life. And when he comes here to paint, he shares the faces of the people he loved so dearly in that last life.”
“How could he know their appearances since he was blind?”
He didn’t answer, waiting as Dita gazed at the image, and he saw the dawning of understanding. “I forget…we don’t only see with our eyes, and you’re quite right. There’s more to beauty than what one sees.�
� She smiled, and to his surprise, her ocean-blue eyes gleamed with tears. She blinked, and they were gone.
“Rees, you once expressed interest in working with my security company. I have a job for you.”
She didn’t ask, she simply accepted that Rees would accept. Unlike many of the younger gods and goddesses, he was not overwhelmed by her presence. After all, he’d grown up with Aphrodite as his adopted aunt. And if she’d taken his acceptance for granted, she wouldn’t have come to him dressed in the formal business wear of the current era, nor would she have brought Shadow. She was uncertain.
He looked at her, smiling slightly. “You have your choice of many skilled hunters; your son Hermaphroditus among them. Unless this job entails research or teaching, I’m not sure…” He trailed off, thinking of that vague sense of ennui that plagued him.
She flushed slightly and rose from the humble stool on which she’d perched. “I cannot dispatch my son to hunt his brother.”
The words hit like a kick to the chest. “Eros. You would have me hunt Eros.” He was embarrassed by how his heart leapt.
“It isn’t a hunt, precisely. He won’t be hard to find. After all, the paparazzi are with him every moment.” She spoke waspishly and wouldn’t meet his eyes. She then frowned at him. “How did you know…”
“I have a computer.”
“So you saw Eros’ turn on the catwalk.” Shadow’s voice was as dark as his visage.
Aphrodite ignored her companion. “He’ll respond better to you than to Shadow or one of the others, simply because you aren’t a hunter. Not like them, anyway. And you’re sensible. Responsible.”
“Thank you so much, Aunt Dita,” he murmured, not so much flattered as…dismayed. Had he become so sedate and predictable? “It seems your son might find me too dull to bother with.”
She reached out, stroking his arm. “No Rees, I don’t mean that. You might have the ability to ground him. He needs to return to Olympus until this scandal has passed.”
“Won’t questions arise if he simply vanishes?” The spot where her hand rested tingled, and when she moved, he was grateful.
A look of annoyance briefly overtook her lovely features. “I suppose you’re correct. But that’s why I came to you, Rees. He needs to withdraw from the high profile life he’s leading now. Ideally, he should return to Olympus. If that isn’t possible, then perhaps he should retire from this modeling business…or…or something.”
“Understood.”
“And if he won’t retire, perhaps a dose of common sense will help.”
Dita began walking through the studio again, this time with more purpose in her stride. “I’ll arrange for transportation, money, cell phones and such. I understand it’s been quite a while since you’ve been on Earth.”
It had been how many years? Fifty? A thousand? Maybe longer. “I’m sure I can adapt. We do monitor life there and I’ve had the opportunity to learn the workings of computers and the internets.”
“It will be a culture shock, Rees. Things have changed fast the past few decades. Part of the reason this got so out of control is because of the instant technology they use now. As soon as Eros spread his wings on that runway, dozens of people took photos with their phones. Within minutes, his image spread over the world.” She paused, as though thinking. “We’ll put you in the past in order to establish an identity and to give you time to adapt. Chronos owes me a favor. Or six.” She started walking again.
“Does anyone know the truth? About the wings?” He walked beside her, his mind humming. If he was at all like his mother, Eros would be a magnetic man, not only beautiful, but charming and charismatic as well. Again, he wondered why she’d chosen him to help with this job.
“Hopefully not. But I’ve got people monitoring the tabloids and TMZ. If anyone suspects, it’ll show there first.” He didn’t bother to ask what TMZ was. He’d find out soon enough.
They reached the front of the building, where the public studio buzzed with visitors. The foyer hummed with music and light played over the various creations of his students.
“Rees, I know this will be difficult, but there’s one more thing. You will have to masquerade as human. If he knows you’re immortal, he’ll be instantly suspicious.”
“As human?” He looked at her in bewilderment, and then cold fingers of uneasiness began to brush at his skin. “No powers, then.”
“And no ambrosia. Just enough to sustain your life. I’m sorry, but it’s the only way. If you can’t--”
“I can.” It wouldn’t be easy, and he’d suffer from the lack of proper nutrition, but he’d survive. The idea of going out on his own, without the gifts he took for granted appealed to him. He might find out who Rees really was.
“You’ll be monitored. Shadow will keep you supplied with the essentials you need to survive. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
He smiled happily and for once, his heart didn’t race because Aphrodite was the goddess of sex, but because he was excited about life. He finally had a challenge!
“I know you won’t Aunt Dita.” This time, he leaned in to kiss her cheek and Aphrodite looked almost relieved.
“I’ll be in touch as soon as I arrange things with Chronos.” She took a deep breath, as though a weight had left her shoulders.
As he watched Aphrodite walk away, Rees grinned. She could simply have vanished, flashing herself back to her yacht or a penthouse somewhere on Earth. Instead, she enjoyed the art on display. When she came to another painting by Aubrey, she paused, smiling gently.
He pushed his hand through his longish, admittedly messy hair. It wasn’t often that a lesser god taught one of the major players something about life.
He’d make sure Aubrey knew that Aphrodite admired his work.
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Belinda is an award-winning, top selling author of romance in several genres, including paranormal, and science fiction/space opera, with the occasional foray into urban fantasy, westerns and whatever else hits her brain.
A graduate of the infamous CSU Chico, she managed to graduate from the notorious party school without once getting drunk, arrested or appearing in a “Girls Gone Wild” video. Her degree was in history and cultural anthropology.
Belinda lives in far Northern California with her family and a scurvy pack of Siberian Huskies and piratical Salukis, with a immortal Chihuahua named Squirt overseeing them all.
Her hobbies include travel, gemology and soap making. Her hobbies do not include cleaning the house, watching TV or following the wise teachings of Marie Kondo.
Arcada 2: Silver/Steel, Second Edition
Copyright © October 2019 by Belinda McBride
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