by Ali Winters
“Who?” a familiar voice asked and the scent of cologne she knew all too well filled the space between them.
Nivian froze. Then, slowly, she pulled away, hardly daring to look into his face. “Kain?”
Green eyes sparkled down at her, accompanied by a dimpled smile that set her heart racing. Dirt was smudged across his face, making the bruises look worse than they were. A little beat up, but… he was okay!
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, his hands gliding over her hair, her face, her arms. “I knew you’d come for me.”
“Kain…” Nivian reached up and stroked his face, the tips of her fingers brushed along his skin. He was just as warm as she remembered. “Is it really you?”
Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away, sending them sliding down her cheeks. Nivian threw her arms around him, pressing her lips against his. She kissed him with all the words she never had a chance to say, with all the feeling she never thought she’d have the chance to show him. And he returned it with all the same fervor.
Kain wrapped an arm around her waist, the other tangling in the hair at the nape of her neck.
She pulled on his shirt, trying to press him into her as if they could become one person. She couldn’t get close enough to him.
After a moment that was far too short, Kain pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. He kissed her once on the nose, but after a moment, the smile slipped from his lips and he turned from her to look over his shoulder. “Nivi, you have to get me out of here before it’s too late.”
She followed his gaze but saw nothing. Kain took her hand and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist, then twined his fingers through hers.
“I have to talk to Hades first, then we’ll leave,” she said and started leading him up the hill.
He pulled back. “No, he won’t let me go. Talking to him will only trap you here as well.”
Kain tugged gently on her arm. Nivian chewed on her lip for a moment, then nodded. She could bring Kain back and only a few hours would have passed. There would be enough time for him to rest and readjust before they’d have to perform the ceremonies.
As they neared the fork, Nivian slowed him to a stop.
“Wait, Kain,” she said in a hushed voice. “Camira might still be there.”
Kain’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Nivi, she’s been destroyed.”
“That’s what I thought, too, but… she survived somehow.”
“Then we’ll take care of her.”
“Kain, wait—”
“Don’t worry, Nivi.” Kain caressed her cheek with his knuckles. “I’ll protect you from her, but we’ve got to go now.”
Nivian’s brow creased. Take care of her… She wrenched her hand from his. “What do you mean by take care of her?”
“Nivian, we don’t have time for this. I’ll destroy her if I have to.” Kain held his hand out, urging her to take it.
In truth, she wanted nothing more than to do so. But while Kain and Camira had never gotten along, he’d never expressed such cold feeling toward her… toward anyone.
What has this place done to him? Nivian wondered. Is this the price of death the Moirai spoke of?
Nivian took a step away.
She had to talk to Hades, even if Kain thought it was a trap. The Underworld had changed him, it had taken away something unique to him, and she wanted it back.
“I’m sorry, but I have to talk to Hades before we leave…”
Kain’s hopeful expression faded and he dropped his arm back to his side. “Nivian, he’ll trap you here. Please, just come with me.”
“I’m sorry, I have to. Wait here for me, I’ll be right back.” Nivian turned and ran.
Kain’s heavy footsteps followed. “Nivi, stop!” he yelled after her.
Nivian looked over her shoulder, but he was gone. She slowed then stopped and turned around.
“Kain?” she called out, surprised to find her voice shaking.
There was no trace of him. Had she only imagined his voice?
Nivian’s stomach turned leaden as unease poured over her. A shiver ran through her and she wrapped her arms around herself, glancing about.
Something felt very wrong.
With another shudder, she continued up the mountain, turning around the bend and screamed.
Kain lay on the ground at her feet, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth with a nimbus of scarlet around his head, growing larger by the second. His chest had a large burn across his heart, the flesh raw and exposed.
Her hands shot to her mouth and she dropped to her knees as her vision swam.
“Kain?” she croaked. How could this have happened? He was fine a moment ago.
Nothing made sense.
“Kain!” she cried, shaking him. “No, no, no!” She couldn’t watch him die all over again. She wouldn’t.
Nivian shot to her feet and ran up the mountain, her heart shattering all over again as she left Kain, dying on the ground. She would tear the god of the Underworld to shreds and make him give Kain back.
A precipice loomed ahead and a large dark figure waited with his back to her.
“Hades,” she said as she came to a stop before him, panting and breathless. But when he turned, the three faced man stood before her. Nivian’s heart lurched in her chest. She looked around not understanding why he would be here when he’d promised Hades would be awaiting her.
Shapeless forms skirted around her and the soft song of a gentle river filled her ears. She was at the bottom of the mountain by the river again.
“W-what was that?” Nivian didn’t want to spend another second in such a sick and twisted realm. A crack sounded in her ribcage.
She’d had Kain and had left him. She had failed because she listened to the stupid beast standing before her with his angry, wrinkled face.
“Go,” he said, venom dripping from his voice. He pointed toward the same direction as the last time, but in its place, a wrought iron gate as wide as two city blocks, and twice as high, stood.
“Are you Hades?” Nivian demanded.
“Go now,” he growled in a voice more beast than befitting the human form he held, three faces or not. “Or be destroyed where you stand.”
Only a Hunter had the ability to destroy a Reaper. It was what she’d been told as long as she could remember. But in that instant, she knew it was wrong, that whatever monster lurked beneath the guise of this frail, old man could do it. And it would be so much worse than anything a Hunter was capable of.
She sidestepped away, not taking her eyes off him for a second. She reached up to push open the gate, but it moved before she could touch it, just wide enough for her to slip through.
Not wasting even half a second thinking about it, Nivian crossed the threshold and the gates slammed shut behind her with a deafening clang.
Nivian jumped at the sound but let out a deep breath.
“You do not belong here,” the rich, almost sensuous, voice sent shivers down her skin.
Nivian wished people would stop telling her that. She raised her gaze up thick, black robes that burned with embers along the edges, up the long, narrow body, and up to the face of a god she was never supposed to meet.
Everything about him was new to her, yet she knew him instantly.
Long, jet-black hair fell all the way down to his waist in a dark braid slung over his shoulder. He had up-tilted ebony eyes, which captured the light as glinting stars, and smooth, darkened skin.
Everything about him radiated power and strength. Hades commanded respect and obedience with just his presence.
Nivian licked her lips, her mouth suddenly parched. “I know.”
The corner of his mouth tilted up as if she’d said something amusing.
Hades lifted his arm and suddenly they were standing at the edge of a large, rotund balcony without a railing, overlooking a vast city.
Tall, sharp buildings that looked as if they were made of blackened bone stretched out across the
long valley. The ground rumbled, then a distant volcano erupted.
“What is this place?” she asked, awed. Even the shortest building put G.R.I.M. Headquarters to shame.
Volcanoes spewed molten fire, lighting up the realm, and rivers twisted and flowed, winding side by side and spiraling around a lake as large as an ocean in the far, far distance.
“Welcome to the City of the Dead,” he said. “I suppose, congratulations are in order.” His voice was thick and icy, holding the very hint of a threat.
Nivian turned to meet his gaze.
Sparks flashed in his eyes and she knew hers glinted in response. Hades’s chin lifted slightly as he took her in, and the smallest smile graced his lips.
TWENTY
NIVIAN
“CONGRATULATIONS?” NIVIAN SCRUNCHED up her nose.
“Yes,” he said, begrudgingly.
“What do you mean?”
“You have bested my Cerberus.”
Nivian looked over her shoulder as if she could see the path she’d taken up the mountain. She had heard of the beast, but she’d seen no such thing while there. She turned to face him again, shaking her head. “No, there wasn’t a three headed dog.”
Hades let out a booming laugh. “He is a beast of many forms.”
“The old man?” Nivian asked dumbstruck.
“Yes,” he said, looking down his nose at her.
“So… none of that was real?” Her mind was sluggish putting the pieces together. Old man… three faces… Caspian… Camira… Kain. Nivian’s nostrils flared.
Another volcano erupted in the distance, rattling the ground beneath her feet.
“If you had let the Reaper take your head, it would have been very real. But otherwise, no.” Hades frowned down at her. His eyes narrowed as he studied her every movement, almost as though he, too, were trying to figure something out. “You look—”
“Are you kidding me? Why would you do that?” she snapped at him. Her fists clenched tightly at her sides. Nivian wanted to punch that smug look off Hades’s face.
“… Familiar.”
“Who does that to someone?” she demanded, ignoring whatever he was talking about. Tangling her hands in her hair, she pulled, pacing back and forth. “That is… sick.”
Hades closed the distance between them and gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to look at him and stop her ranting. “Why do you look so familiar?”
“Oh brother, don’t be so melodramatic with the girl,” a sweet, female voice said.
They both turned to look at the newcomer. Long green hair flowed down her back, pink flowers scattered along the tresses. She wore a long, gossamer dress that billowed out at the slightest movement. It looked to be made of spider silk with countless drops of dew along each thread, glinting in the warm orange light of the Underworld. The paleness of her dress only enhanced the flawless mahogany of her skin. She looked as if she were born from the flowers of trees.
“Why are you here, Kore?” Hades huffed. He straightened and stepped away from the Reaper. There was a lightness to his voice, betraying the fact that he didn’t seem to mind her company. “You shouldn’t be here for a while yet.”
“Oh calm down.” She waved off his concern. “I’m just visiting, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Kore crossed her arms and leaned against the threshold to the balcony. “Go on, tell her what she wants to know.”
Hades closed his eyes for a long moment as if trying to stamp down both amusement and annoyance then brought his attention back to Nivian.
There was a weight to his gaze that was impossible to ignore. “Tell me, how exactly did you find the entrance to my domain?”
Nivian licked her lips. “I found hints in books?”
“Is that a question?” he asked, raising one brow. “That is not all there is to it. You knew to bring the eye of the Tome of Fate.” Hades reached out and lifted the leather cord around her neck with his finger, exposing the glinting jewel.
She shook her head, then whispered, “No. I-I talked to the Moirai, too.”
“You what?” He let his hand fall back to his side and looked at her with a slackened expression.
“Oh this is getting good,” Kore purred.
Hades growled at his sister—a warning to stay silent.
Nivian took an involuntary step back at the sound. The heel of her boot teetered dangerously on the edge of the balcony.
“How did you figure out the Moirai’s location? You’re just a Reaper, not even the Fate Keeper.”
Dropping her chin, she inched away from the ledge. “It wasn’t really that difficult once I asked the Tome—”
Hades let out a loud laugh and threw his head back. “You are a curious little thing, aren’t you? Come.” He waved at her to follow as he walked inside through the elaborate room at the top of the tower.
The ceiling was domed to a high point, the pillars made of thin and jagged volcanic stone. Large arched windows that circled the room looked out over the City of the Dead.
Hades stopped in the center of where the black and ash gray design of the floor seemed to point toward him. “It seems that you are more than you appear to be.”
“I am to be the next Fate Keeper,” she said with all the confidence she could muster, as much to convince him as she tried to force herself to forget the endless string of doubts clawing at the back of her mind. As if the thought of becoming so didn’t scare the life out of her, as if… she wasn’t putting it at risk standing in front of the god.
“Do you know what Cerberus’s job is?” Hades asked as he started to pace back and forth before her.
“To guard the gates of the underworld,” she hedged.
“To put it simply, yes. His job is to test those who dare trespass in this realm to see if they are worthy of my time. Coming down to the Underworld is almost unheard of for those who have not passed on.”
“That’s what that was about? To see if you would even bother with me?” Her complete shock over going through something so horrible just because Hades didn’t feel like being hospitable made her bold.
He nodded matter-of-factly. “Now that you have my attention, tell me why you’re here.”
“I made a mistake and I need to fix it. The fate of the balance depends on it.”
Hades’s eyes darkened as if they were sucking the light from around them. Her vision dimmed. He sauntered closer, casual, yet there was something predatory about his movements. “What kind of mistake could you make that would risk the fate of the balance? And how exactly…” Hades spread his arms wide. “…will your presence here fix anything.”
If she told him she wanted to take Kain home, would he help her or stop her? Though if she even tried lying, she was willing to bet he’d see right through her.
Strands of Nivian’s hair lifted and dropped as Kore ran her fingers through. “Your hair is so odd, why would they design you like this?” she asked curiously.
“I’m not sure, I think it was a side effect…” Nivian muttered as heat rose to her face.
“Fascinating…”
Nivian ignored the goddess and turned her full attention back to Hades as Kore continued to play with her hair.
“I sliced the life thread of someone who should have lived.”
The doors behind Hades burst open with a clang. A man with golden armor that shimmered like the tongues of fire lived within the metal, entered. Thick chains were wrapped around his torso and draped over one shoulder. He lifted the helmet obscuring his face, freeing long reddish, gold strands of hair.
He crossed the room, heading straight for Hades as if no other in the room existed.
The armored man paused at seeing Nivian, as he ran a hand across Hades’s shoulders with a gentle caress, then placed a kiss on his cheek before taking a seat on the throne on the inside wall.
“I was wondering if you’d show up, Prometheus,” Kore said, joining him and sitting on the arm.
“So what did I miss?” he asked.
She leaned down and whispered into his ear.
“And you expected to walk in here and take a soul that belongs to me as if you were doing nothing more than plucking a leaf from a tree?” Hades’s asked, incensed.
She had. But she couldn’t admit that out loud. Nivian struggled to find the right words, the ones that wouldn’t be a lie or insulting to him.
Instead, she said, “He was supposed to be the next Guardian of Life. And… we… no one else can take his place. Without him, the balance will self destruct.”
“And how is that my problem?” he asked coolly. “It seems to me that I would gather many more souls all at once.”
Nivian pulled in a breath and held it. She couldn’t allow herself to break down in tears. It was the first time it felt possible that she might fail.
Everything rested on the god’s shoulders and, in that moment, he didn’t seem to care as long as he got what he wanted. More death.
She willed her voice to remain steady. “Then what?” she demanded.
Hades looked taken aback. “Excuse me?”
“Then what? You have the souls of all the Hunters and humans all at once. Then what will you do? Once they’ve crossed over to the Underworld, you’ll have nothing to do for the rest of your existence.”
Kore and Prometheus snickered quietly in the background, but neither she nor Hades paid them any heed.
Hades took her in, then after a while, a small smile formed on his lips. “Well,” he said finally. “It seems you have me there.”
Nivian could hardly believe her ears as she stared at him, her jaw hanging.
“Go back now to the realm of the Reapers and I will give you what you want most,” he offered loud enough for the two in the back to hear. They leaned forward, watching her to see what she would do.
He would just give her back Kain? Something about his offer set off a warning in her veins. “What do you mean?”
“If you turn back now, I can restore your fractured memories… or if you wish to continue, you can surrender them to the river where they will be completely destroyed.”
She had wanted her memories more than she was willing to admit, and to know that regaining them would have been possible, twisted her gut.