by Amanda Carol
“Enough.” Hades’s voice booms in the room, causing us all to flinch. “Great. Now that I have your attention, please enlighten me as to why you’re here.”
I take in a breath. “I know you must know what’s going down topside.”
Hades nods.
“Athena stabbed my boyfriend with the Soul Blade. I’m here to get him back.”
Hades studies me for a moment. “I see. Well, I can’t help you.”
My heart drops through the floor.
Bennett scoffs. “Excuse me? We didn’t just go through that tunnel of hell to be told that you couldn’t help us. You’re full of shit.”
My tear-filled gaze turns to Bennett. His back is tense and he’s clenching his jaw. Hades steps up to him, as if trying to scare him, but Bennett doesn’t submit. He meets his stare, and after a few tense moments, Hades laughs.
He actually laughs.
“Nephew, you told me these two were fighters. You were right.” Hades turns away and walks over to a cabinet.
He opens it up to reveal knives of all different shapes and sizes, along with some vials with different looking liquids in them. Bennett and I look at each other, both seriously confused with this whole situation.
Hades grabs something, then shuts the cabinet.
“Frank!” he shouts.
The door opens from behind us.
Oh. My. God.
Bennett gasps from beside me, reaching for my arm to steady himself.
A satyr has walked into the room. The top half is man, but he’s got horns coming out of his head, and an animal-like nose. The bottom half is all goat.
“Go down to the Fields and grab the soul from the blue cottage,” Hades commands, handing a triangular-shaped vial to him.
The satyr named Frank bows his head, then quietly exits the room.
“I have so many questions,” Bennett breathes.
I lift a brow. “You named him Frank?”
Hades looks at me like I’m stupid. “No, of course not. I would assume his mother did.”
Bennett lets out a breath, still staring at the door. “So many questions.”
Ares rolls his eyes. “Bloody hell.”
Hades ignores them and walks over to a dresser. He opens the top drawer and picks up a tiny box.
“How’s Abby?” he asks, his back still facing me.
“Abby is fine,” I tell him.
“Good.” He walks back over to me. “Give this to her.” He opens the box, revealing a silver bracelet with a black charm. “It’s my gift. To help you in the fight against Isabella. The black piece is from my helmet. If Abby can channel her power, it will help make her invisible, and if she practices, she can even cloak someone else with her.”
Luna said that Hades truly cares for Abby and that he would do anything to protect her. Now, judging by the look on his face and this gift, I whole-heartedly believe it’s true. Not that I didn’t believe her before, but it’s hard to believe something to be true if you don’t see it with your own eyes. Speaking of which, as I study him, I realize that he and Abby share the same eyes.
I take it from him. “I’ll make sure she gets it.”
He smiles at me. “Thank you.” He turns to Ares. “You didn’t answer my question, nephew.”
“Right. Well, it seems as though we’ve run into an issue with your wife,” Ares explains, walking over to the bed and sitting down. “You see, I was visiting dear old Dad on Mount Olympus, and you know how Demeter and Hera like to gossip. Turns out, one of them let it slip that Persephone got her hands on a new and shiny dagger and that Athena was here recently.”
“Persephone!” Hades roars, storming out of the room we are in.
We quickly follow him back into the party room. Persephone is perched on a barstool, watching Dionysus shove his tongue down the woman in the red dress’s mouth, his hands gripping her hips as he fucks her on top of the bar. I look away and find the other two women dancing around the room, sharing a bottle of booze. Aphrodite walks over and kisses Ares, then shimmers out of sight.
“Dionysus, get your tiny dick out of Clotho and take the party somewhere else,” Hades commands, slamming his hand down on the counter.
“It’s anything but tiny,” Dionysus comments, still thrusting, but then he finally pulls out of Clotho and helps her down off the bar. “Atropos! Lachesis! Come with me.”
Right. Those are their names. I knew they were weird-sounding. The other two women stop dancing and run over to him, but then they turn slowly and look at me and Bennett.
When the three of them stand together, side-by-side, a golden thread dances its way out of the blonde wearing white. She must be Lachesis, the one that dispenses the thread, giving life. As it moves and circles around Clotho, the dark-haired woman in red, she spins the thread. Finally, it wraps around the wrists of Atropos, the sister who cuts the thread, signaling a person’s death.
Clotho winks at Bennett. “Don’t worry. We’ll be seeing you again real soon, Benny.”
“Oh, yes. You aren’t going to believe what fate has in store for you.” Lachesis nibbles on her bottom lip, twirling her blonde hair in her fingers and checking Bennett out.
Atropos flips her auburn hair behind her shoulder and looks at him with bedroom eyes. “Such a shame this one is spoken for.” Her eyes flick to me. “Oh, we know it’s not you.”
Bennett laughs nervously. “Ladies, ladies. I. Am. Single.”
“Not for long,” the three sisters sing-song in unison, then spin around, dragging Dionysus along with them back into a dark room.
My eyes widen, and I look up at Bennett.
He points a finger at me. “No!”
I laugh as he walks over to the bar and pours himself a drink.
“I don’t know what it is about his tiny cock that just keeps those three coming back for more,” Hades comments, shaking his head.
“Pretty sure it keeps them coming,” I answer, causing Bennett to choke on his drink.
“I wonder if he’ll ever stop screwing around with fate?” Ares asks, and if I’m not mistaken, he even laughs as his own pun.
Hades rolls his eyes. “For the gods’ sake, the both of you, shut it.” He turns around and faces Persephone, who hasn’t moved. “Where is it?”
Persephone lifts a brow, but her smirk gives her away. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play coy with me, darling. I know you have it. Now, where. Is. It?” Hades grabs a fistful of hair and yanks her head back. “Don’t make me extend your time down here in the spring.”
Persephone’s eyes grow wide with terror. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, but I will if you don’t tell me where it is right now,” Hades says through clenched teeth.
They seem to have a glare-off, and then Persephone caves.
“It’s hidden in the armoire,” she whispers.
Hades lets go of her hair and caresses her face. “See, now? That wasn’t so bad. Why don’t you be a dear and go fetch it for me?”
She pushes him off her, hops down off the stool, and storms off. Ares shakes his head and follows her. Seeing him with Persephone makes me think about Luna. He’s different when he’s around Persephone then when he was alone with us.
Curiosity gets the best of me. “Do you love Leuce?”
Hades turns around so fast and is covering my mouth before I even have time to blink. “Do not speak of her here. Persephone doesn’t know about her or Abby, and I’d like to keep it that way. If my brother ever finds out…”
He trails off as his silver eyes take in my wide ones. He lets me go, and let out a breath.
“Yes,” Hades whispers, after a few moments.
A sad look crosses his features. Part of me feels bad that he has to keep his daughter a secret.
Ares walks around the corner with the dagger in hand. “Got it. Meet you both back at the Compound.”
He shimmers out, leaving us here. Again.
The satyr named Frank finally retu
rns and hands the vial to Hades.
He starts to hand it to me, but then pulls it back. “I have rules. Rules that need to be followed. If I give you this, then I want something in return.”
“What’s your price?” I ask, staring at the vial holding Hunter’s soul.
Atropos comes out of the room in nothing but a black lace bra and panties.
Bennett chokes on his drink. “Oh, fuck me…”
He downs another shot of alcohol, and I just shake my head.
“No deal. You will hand that over to them,” Atropos commands when she gets closer to Hades.
“That’s not how this works.” Hades lifts a challenging brow.
Atropos scoffs. “Do you really want to go up against one of the Fates? Me, especially?”
The muscles in Hades’s jaw tick as he glares at her.
“Hand it over,” she repeats. “This is not what fate has in store for Hunter. You need him and you know it.”
She pauses, then looks over at me, holding out her hand to Hades. After a few tense moments, he reluctantly hands her the vial containing Hunter’s soul, and she then holds it out to me. I snatch it out of her hand quickly before Hades can change his mind.
“Consider this free of charge,” she tells me.
“But what about—” Hades says after I take the vial from her.
“Don’t worry. His choice remains the same.” Atropos glances at Bennett as she walks away, leaving those words hanging in the air.
After the door shuts behind her, Hades turns his attention back to me. “Abby is the only one who can reunite his soul with his body, and he won’t heal on his own, so you will need your brother to heal him.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“Let’s get you two topside,” Hades says as Bennett comes over.
“Wait!” Bennett shouts. “Frank, do you have a man dick or a goat dick?”
Frank looks at him. “I have a—”
All of a sudden, Bennett and I are standing right in front of Declan and Abby. I grab onto Bennett to steady myself. I think Hades just zapped us out of there, and now I’m annoyed. If they can do that, then why didn’t Ares just zap us down there? We could have saved so much time.
“Oh, come on!” Bennett shouts. “I was this close to an answer!”
“Benny,” I say when the world stops spinning. “Let it go.”
“But…but!”
I laugh. “Just let it go.”
Bennett sags his head in defeat, and I glance over at Declan and Abby, who are sitting down by the crypt and staring at us with identical wide-eyed expressions.
“What?” I ask.
“We literally just watched you walk in there not even thirty seconds ago, and now you’re here.” Declan stands, coming over and giving me a hug, followed closely by Abby.
“But we were down there for what felt like hours,” Bennett answers after Abby hugs him.
I shake my head. “It doesn’t even matter. We have to go. I’ll explain everything on the ride back.”
Declan grabs his bag, and I spin and start running through the crypts back to the car with everyone close behind me.
I open the link to Hunter. I’m bringing you home.
While we’re on the road, I tell Declan and Abby what they need to do when we get back to the Compound. They’re the only ones who can save Hunter now. Declan is speeding down the road, and they are clear for it being this late at night. Then a familiar feeling washes over me as every hair on my body stands on end.
I glance over at Declan. “You feel that?”
He grips the steering wheel and looks in the rearview mirror. “Yeah. We’ve got company.”
I turn in my seat. “There are two SUVs following us, each filled with six vampires.”
“Each?” Abby clarifies, turning her head to look out the back window.
“You’d better step on it, Dec. They’re gaining on us,” Bennett comments.
Declan steps on the gas, but our car is no match for theirs. The SUVs keep getting closer, and soon, they’re right beside us, one on either side of the car.
“Shit,” Declan curses.
“Bennett, hand me my bow,” I command.
Bennett turns and grabs my bow and quiver from the trunk.
I nock an arrow and look at Declan. “You ready?”
“Absolutely. Everybody, grab the ‘oh, shit’ stick. It’s about to be a bumpy ride!” Declan commands, then slams on the brakes.
I dig my feet into the floor to brace myself as I roll down the window. Once we’ve stopped, I climb out and open the link to Bennett.
Have arrows ready, I tell him, aiming my arrow and releasing it.
It hits its mark, shattering the windshield of one SUV. I reach down in the window, and an arrow is placed in my hand. I quickly nock it up and let it fly toward the other vehicle, once again hitting my target. Both cars swerve and stop as Declan speeds past.
I reach down again, and Bennett hands me another arrow. I take aim and release it, hitting a vampire directly in the heart. I keep it up until we’re far enough away, then slide back into my seat.
“I just bought us some time, but we need to hurry. I know I killed three, but they’re still going to follow us,” I tell them. “When we get to the driveway, Bennett and I will jump out and stall. You two need to get back to Hunter. He should be your only focus.”
“What about you?” Abby asks, fear lacing her tone.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m about to warn the pack,” I assure her.
Hey, Knox, we’re headed back, I say through the link. Being chased by vampires. Grab the pack, but make sure Abby and Declan get back to Hunter.
You got it, Knox replies.
I close the link. “Knox is bringing backup.”
Declan nods, but doesn’t say anything. I know he would rather be fighting with me, but this is bigger than that. This is Isabella trying to distract us again, but she can send all the vampires she wants. I’m done playing games and letting her toy with us.
I remove the vial from around my neck and turn to Abby. “Save him, please.”
“I will,” she whispers. “I promise.”
I let go of the vial just as Declan turns down the driveway.
“Be careful,” Declan pleads, slowing down.
“We will.” I give him a small smile and reach for the door handle.
“Peace out!” Bennett shouts, jumping out of the car and rolling into the woods, shifting into his wolf.
I put the quiver around my back and throw the bow out first, then jump out, rolling into the fall. I watch as Declan and Abby speed off down the driveway.
I can sense the vampires getting closer, and I smile. Time to show these suckers what I’m made of.
I go to stand in the middle of the road and wait. Bennett’s red wolf comes over and stands next to me, head hung low and baring his teeth. I hear howling and the sounds of wolves running down the driveway. Knox’s brown wolf comes over and stands on the other side of me. The other Alphas surround us, while other members of the pack slink off into the woods, their eyes glowing brightly in night.
Four SUVs turn down the driveway, their headlights shining down on us.
I open the link to Bennett. I’m sensing at least twenty of them.
That’s chump change. We’ve got this, Blondie, he tells me.
Oh, I know we do. I shut off the link.
I summon the fire element and bring my hand up, repeating what I said in the tunnel. “Fire bad.”
Then I throw it at one of the SUVs with so much force that the car flies into the air and explodes.
Kaboom! Bennett shouts in my head.
One down, three to go. All right, Benny, you lead, I command.
Bennett howls, then takes off toward one of the vehicles. I see the pack divide out into groups and head toward each SUV. I grab the bow and start shooting off arrows; I take at least five down before I realize I’m all out and that there are more vampires headed this way.
; Knox, how many are left? I ask running and collecting all my arrows out of the dead vampires’ bodies.
I’m shooting them, piercing their hearts, and the wolfs are ripping their heads off.
I’d say about maybe ten, give or take a few, he tells me.
Well, get ready. We’re about to get more unwanted company. I pick up my last arrow.
I counted as I went, and I only have about fifteen. Once I run out this time, I’ll be killing the vampires the old-fashioned way. The good news is that the wards are working, which means that I was right in trusting Luna. The Compound is safe, and I hope that Abby and Declan are doing as they were told and saving Hunter.
A vampire tackles me from behind, and I fall to the ground. I quickly get to my feet and search for my bow, I find it but as soon as I lunge to get it, a vampire kicks it out of the way.
I narrow my eyes. “Rude.”
I bring my fist up and connect with its jaw. I punch him again then spin around, kicking him in the jaw so hard that I heard it break.
It stumbles back a few steps. I reach for my dagger, saving my arrows for when we really need them. I glance up and spot Oliver’s beige wolf.
Oliver! I get his attention.
He turns, his glowing eyes narrowing in on the vampire as I stab it, stunning it with silver just long enough for Oliver to run over and rip its head off.
More cars turn down the driveway. I know this should make me nervous, but I’m fine. I’m confident in this pack.
My pack.
I’m bringing you home.
I hang on to her words, fighting for every breath.
I’ve managed to slowly make my way back into the cabin, but darkness surrounds it. I don’t hear the ocean anymore. I don’t hear the waves crashing. The flames in the fire have dwindled down into nothing but embers. I can’t even feel my body anymore. The only thing that’s loud in here is my mom singing the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” to me. She keeps telling me to hang on just a little longer, but with each passing moment, it gets a hell of a lot harder to take in a breath.
My chest is bleeding, and I gave up trying to stop it.
All of a sudden, something feels like it’s being ripped out of me. I scream, gasping for precious air, but my lungs burn from every intake of breath. My chest feels like it’s on fire, but it’s cold to the touch.