Finding Paradise (The Gods of Oakleigh Book 1)

by Juanita Kees

  Hades threw back his head and roared. The ground shook and shivered beneath their feet. “Bring it on.” He raced forward.

  Jax pushed Arian back into the crowd of souls behind them and surged towards Hades, meeting him halfway. Steel clashed against steel and fire raged around them, building into an impenetrable wall. As they fought, Arian turned to the souls she had raised. They had begun to regrow their bodies.

  “Quickly,” she called to the ones who’d wholly regenerated, “help the water faeries secure the castle.”

  “Yes, my queen,” they chorused and set off for the drawbridge.

  With a growl of pain, Jax flew out of the wall of flames and landed at her feet, battered and lifeless, blood leaking from his side.

  “No,” shouted Arian, pain tearing through her. She dropped down at Jax’s side. Fear and emptiness gripped her, ripping at her heart and eating into her stomach. Jax could not be dead. She loved him, loved him more than anything else in the world.

  Hot hands fisted in her hair and dragged her to her feet. Foul sulphur breath grazed her cheek. She retched. The hand tightened, stretched her scalp until she thought he’d rip off her hair along with the top of her head. She eased her sword to her side as he laughed in her ear.

  “It’s the end of the road, Queenie. Today you die and Paradise is mine to rule. I need somewhere quiet to escape to since hell is so full these days. Your little world is perfect. How about we do a deal, huh?”

  “Fuck you,” she spat.

  His blade touched her throat, nicking it deep enough to bleed. Her blood fell green on the red dirt. “Such spirit. Your grandmother had the same. I had to beat it out of her. Quite a pleasure, really. I’m going to enjoy sending you to the same fate … after I’ve had a little fun with that delectable little body of yours.” He ran a gnarled hand down her side and cupped her bottom, pressing a wet kiss into her exposed neck.

  “Never. You killed the man I love. Now I’m going to kill you.”

  Hades chuckled, an annoying soulless laugh. “Jax never loved you. You Earth people are so gullible with this whole love thing. He used you, sweetheart. That whole Mykonos thing? It was all a lie. Zeus sent him to guard you. The horny bastard couldn’t keep it in his pants so he pretended to have the hots for you. There, he could do his job and screw you to the wall while he was at it. Such bad behaviour for a royal — no-one will respect you now. It could have worked out well really. Being married to the Queen of Paradise would entitle you to certain privileges … like how, if something had to happen to you, he’d inherit your queendom. Quite convenient, isn’t it? How does that make you feel, My Lady Arian?”

  Her eyes watered and her lips trembled as the pain of Hades’ grip tore into her skull and his words pierced her soul like shards of broken glass. She fought against the thoughts Hades sought to imbed in her mind. No, Jax loved her. She knew it. She’d seen it in his kiss, when they made love … and even if he didn’t — God help her — she loved him more than life.

  “He’s a god, Arian. His magic knows no bounds. Rumour has it he’s had more women than Zeus himself … and that’s a lot. He’s dead now, and this time he won’t rise.”

  His taunts buzzed in her ears, fed her rage and pain. Bile crept up her throat as she chanted St Patrick’s Prayer, her only defence against him.

  I bind unto myself today

  The virtues of the starlit heavens,

  The glorious sun’s life-giving ray,

  The whiteness of the moon at even,

  The flashing of the lightning free,

  The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,

  The stable earth, the deep salt sea,

  Around the old eternal rocks,

  So may it be.

  Hades howled in agony as white light engulfed him. He spun away from her, stumbling into a pit dug by her people as their souls regenerated, setting the perfect trap. As he fell, Arian wiped the blood from her neck. She looked down into the tight round hole and found him wedged securely, head down, bum up.

  Victory warred with loss. She looked across at Ajax’s body, a bloody warrior in death. It no longer mattered if Hades was right or wrong about him loving her. Jax had died a hero, not a coward. As her heart shattered, she gripped the hilt of her sword and raised it high. With a roar of victory, she drove the blade into the devil’s arse. Then she wept.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “He’s awake, Your Highness.”

  “Thank you, Rhoswen. I’ll see him for a moment and then bring him to the balcony, please.”

  “Of course, Your Highness.”

  As Hades lay trapped in the pit, Arian had tended Jax’s body, dressed his wounds and cleaned him up. The sight of him lifeless was more than she could bear, his skin cold and clammy to touch.

  Even Hades’ hint at betrayal couldn’t kill what she felt for him. If the devil was right, she’d let him go but she couldn’t leave him dead. So she’d closed her eyes, laid her hands on his heart and her mouth on his lips then breathed into him all the love she felt.

  In battle you bravely fought,

  Honour to yourself you brought,

  The war is won,

  Your time has come,

  Step into the unknown,

  For you have grown,

  In honour, trust and love,

  Now I release you from your past,

  To begin a new life at last,

  So may it be.

  Now, a week later, with Hades in the cells waiting for collection by Zeus, Jax was alive. He’d share the moment of victory with her as was his due when she made her first address as queen, then he too would leave with Zeus. She would nurse her broken heart while she rebuilt Paradise and Jax would return to Earth having being cleansed of the guilt and failure he carried on his shoulders.

  Gran had always said that if you truly loved someone, you set them free. If they returned to you, it was meant to be. Deep in her heart, she hoped Gran was right because without him she would never be whole.

  She pushed open the door to his suite. He lay battered and bruised on the bed. Dark purple marks bloomed around his ribs and kidneys, and the gash in his side was red and raw where Hades’ sword had torn into it. Gone was the bronzed hue his naked skin had held so well, and in its place was a canvas of abrasions in varying shades of blue.

  “Arian ...” he breathed, his eyes filled with sadness. “I failed you.”

  His words echoed around the empty chambers of her heart. “You didn’t fail me, Jax, you saved Paradise.”

  He shook his head and groaned, his eyes closing against the pain. “No, I let Hades get to you.”

  In tune with his mind and body, she felt the extent of his agony and torment with every breath he drew and every word he groaned. True Chieftains never failed — something Jax believed in more than love. Would his infernal pride always control his heart? “And I set you free when I gave you back your life. Zeus will arrive later to take you back to Oakleigh.”

  “What about you?”

  Arian lifted her chin against the sadness threatening to overwhelm her. She too had her pride. “This is my home now. These people need me. You won, Jax. Freedom is yours.”

  “What do you mean?” He pushed himself up on his elbow, wincing as he did. “I love you, Arian. My life is where you are.”

  If only that were true her soul would be complete. Whatever sparked between them could not carry the label of love, because lovers didn’t lie to each other. She fought through the tightness in her throat.

  “You can stop pretending. I know the truth. I know that Zeus employed you to be my bodyguard and that you pretended to be interested in me to serve the purpose. Go home, Ajax the Great. Go and celebrate your victory, your freedom. You are a brave warrior and you have earned your soul to keep. The Shield of Achilles is yours.”

  She turned away as tears stung her eyes, shoulders stiff, spine straight, hoping she looked like the regal queen she’d accepted she was.

  The moment she’d stepped on Parad
ise soil, she knew she’d truly come home and although she’d commit to her reign, her heart would always be in another time, another place with the same name. The weight of disappointment and heartbreak dragged at her feet as she left the room and the only man she’d ever truly loved.

  Closing the door behind her, Arian made her way down the corridor to the balcony. She adjusted the crown of wildflowers on her head and smoothed the layers of her aqua silk dress, then stepped through the great oak doors and into a riot of applause and chants. As she waited, she waved at the crowd. She caught a movement behind her and she knew Jax was there. She closed her eyes against the pain that tore at her, knowing they would soon be separated.

  In silence, he stood beside her in his chitoniskos, his breast plate cleaned and polished, the Shield of Achilles on his arm. God help her, he was damn sexy in uniform. A surge of love and pride swept through her. The heat from his body warmed her chilled one and she wanted to turn into his side and bury herself there. She couldn’t. He’d earned his freedom and she no longer needed protection, so instead she addressed the crowd.

  “Good people of Paradise, your life, your land and your hopes are renewed once more. Praise be to Zeus that Ajax the Great could fight by our side and send Hades back to hell.” She spread her arms wide. “Many of you sacrificed your own lives in battle and it is my pleasure to have restored you to the living once more. May we go forth in peace.”

  As the crowd applauded, the sky darkened with a storm and, on the heels of a lightning bolt, Zeus’ chariot descended. Arian shook her head. If it wasn’t for the skill of the harpies, the chariot would topple at the speed he landed.

  He climbed out of the chariot and was led up to join them on the balcony.

  “Arian, dear child, you did it. The place looks beautiful. The sun is shining, the grass is greener than it’s ever been and the flowers are blooming again.” Zeus kissed her cheeks. “And Ajax … I thought you were dead?”

  The muscles in Jax’s cheeks flinched as he tightened his jaw. Arian could no longer feel what he was feeling. He’d closed his heart and mind to her.

  Zeus’ eyes narrowed as he studied first Jax then Arian. He shook his head but said nothing.

  “Hades is waiting in the cells below, Zeus. When you are ready to leave, I will have him delivered to the chariot. He’s having a little trouble walking.”

  Zeus chuckled. “I always said he was a pain in the arse.”

  Arian’s lips twitched. “You are so bad. Come, let’s have a drink to celebrate our victory then you can be on your way.”

  “Are you not accompanying us back to Earth? Paradise can surely spare you for a day or two now they’re no longer under threat? I thought you’d like to see the Hellenics kick some Demon Dodgers arse.”

  “Call off the match. It’s no longer necessary and I have no need to see it either. Hades had control of his mind, not that it excuses his behaviour prior to these events. Humility was never his strong point. Craig McMahon no longer means anything to me because I will not return to Earth. My people need me. They have been without leadership for far too long.”

  “Your Highness, if I may say so, your people will be happily feasting and drinking to your success for days to come. They won’t even know if you pop out for a few days to celebrate with Penny and the rest of us. Besides, the match is for a good cause. I have no reason to call it off. If I do, the charity won’t receive the funds it so desperately needs for research. Could you, as queen, deny a child the right to a cure?”

  No, what remained of her heart wouldn’t allow it. In her selfishness, she’d forgotten the true reason behind the match. She did miss Penny, and perhaps if she did go back for the football match she could bring Penny back to Paradise for a while. But spending all that time in Jax’s company, knowing she loved him with all her heart and he didn’t love her in the same way, would be more than she could bear.

  “Why don’t you leave Electra here for me and I’ll get there in time for the match? I would like to get to know my people a little better before I leave again, if only for a short while.”

  Zeus looked between Ajax and Arian. “You two have to be the most stubborn beings I’ve met, not to mention blind, but we’ll do it your way. I will take Ajax and Hades with me now. Jax, you have a game to play. We need to make sure you’re well-rested.” He looked squarely at the two of them standing so close together yet so far apart and shook his head. “Blind, I tell you, blind.”

  ***

  Strapped to the front of the chariot, Hades swore revenge with each jerk and twist of the journey to Earth. Jax ignored his taunts, his mind with Arian in Paradise. Zeus was right, he was blind. Victory was bittersweet without her. Yes, he’d lied, pretended his interest at first, but somewhere between Paradise Beach and Oakleigh he’d lost his heart. His mistrust of women had diminished as he’d grown to know Arian for the tender-hearted creature she was. Not once had she tried to deceive him or betray him. Even though he’d failed to save her from Hades and she had proven herself a warrior in conquering the evil that had taken hold on Paradise, she’d shared the triumph with him, held him up a hero. He didn’t deserve an iota of that pride.

  Waking up with her in his bed had made his soul more resilient, his heart softer. With each touch, each kiss, he’d grown stronger, his heart beat more regularly. Coming back to life felt damn good but owning a soul without a heart was useless. She’d completed the restoration of his body and mind, making him whole once more. He should be happy he’d achieved his pardon, his goal to live again, yet all he felt was emptiness without her by his side. Without her, he may as well be dead because this sure as hell wasn’t living.

  All he needed to do was win the football game, a battle with no purpose except for one-upmanship against a vain and weak enemy, but a battle nonetheless, if only to quiet the press and teach a man a lesson in humility. One he’d learned himself only hours before.

  Ownership of the Shield of Achilles no longer mattered. He’d found a treasure far more valuable, and had lost it through his own ignorance. He’d fought and lost battles over women before on Olympus. None had left him feeling as bereft as he was without Arian. The stakes were higher this time. Suffering the humiliation of another failure would be minimal when measured against thousands more years without her.

  McMahon would fight dirty and he was prepared for that. The battle was no longer over Arian, it was a matter of pride and teaching the snivelling twit a lesson.

  “It’s for a good cause. Not even on Olympus is there a cure for cancer, so the event is an important fundraiser.” Zeus interrupted his musings. “You need to mentally prepare for the battle ahead. The game of football is as strategic as any battle you’ve fought before — attack and defence — except the weapon was a ball not a sword and shield. A single point has to be fought hard for, the moves planned carefully around the opposition’s game play. Odys will have your back at all times, just as he had at the Battle of Troy.”

  Yes, he could always count on Odysseus, something he’d lost sight of at the Battle of Troy and hadn’t needed in the fight for Paradise. There Arian had his back. Greed was an unforgiving taskmaster and he’d let it rule his head. In one last selfless deed, he would give this match his all for charity and for Arian, who deserved so much better than an egotistical footballer or an arrogant god in her life. Then he’d walk away to wander the land as he had for the last two thousand years, his soul empty and his heart lost, until he died a mortal.

  ***

  Zeus sat in the first row behind midfield, Helen to the left with Ermioni between her, Arian and Penny. He settled in with his smartphone ready to tweet the game — #thechallenge. Wearing the Hellenics supporters' guernsey, he knew he fitted in perfectly with the crowd. He shivered a little as someone large settled into the seat on the other side of him and heard Helen’s sharp intake of breath. Not good.

  “Hades, how’s your arse healing?” he said, sarcasm weighing heavily in his tone. “To what do we owe this displeasure? D
idn’t I warn you to stay away?”

  He looked at the being on his right. Hades was suited up for business rather than leisure. The expensive suit and jet-black hair, sleeked back, did little to soften his harsh, angular features. He smoothed the carefully manicured goatee on his chin with long graceful fingers ringed with gold. Zeus understood how women fell for his dark handsomeness, not knowing the evil that lurked beneath until too late.

  “Nothing sulphur paste won’t fix. It’s great for sealing open wounds. Burns like shit but it gets the job done.” Flicking a speck of stray ash from the lapel of his jacket, he grinned. “I’m here to claim the soul you’ve kept from hell. I have waited long enough, caused enough of a kafuffle.”

  “I should have known you were behind the media crap. How did you coerce Craig McMahon into going along with your little farce — staging the proposal, picketing outside the courthouse, the WAGs’ Twitterfit?”

  “Mortals are so vain,” said Hades, smoothing a hand over his gelled hair. “McMahon’s ego made him an easy target. He’d do anything for a spot in the proverbial limelight — so bloody boringly predictable and so damn easy to take control of.” He studied his neatly clipped nails, blew on the tips, and polished them against the lapel of his jacket. “So … when can I take my boy home?”

  “You’re too late. The healing has begun.” Zeus brushed him off with more confidence than he felt.

  “I am never too late. He’s given in to the darkness already. It won’t be long before he takes his own life again. I can wait.”

  “Stay away from him.”

  “Come now, don’t be like that, old man.” Hades chuckled, the sound holding no warmth or humour. “The Faerie Queen is very pretty. A lot like her grandmother.”

  “Leave Arianrhod out of this. You had no right to steal her fey and you won’t take Arian’s either.”

  “What woman can resist my charms? I keep myself well, unlike some who have grown … podgy and comfortable.” Hades cast a pointed look at Zeus’ belly.