Asphodel (15 page)

“I just thought you’d be angrier.”

He smirks. “At this?” He shakes his head. “You sneaking in to the control room is nothing that would make me mad. Besides, you haven’t even seen my real temper. And that’s something I hope you’ll never have to see.”

Vivid flashbacks of our moment in the hall resurface. If that wasn’t real temper, then he’s right, I don’t want see it.

We walk down the hall and arrive at the front doors to the palace. Hades yanks open one of the large cast iron doors. “Well how is she?”

“Who?” I ask, puzzled. “My mom?”

He nods.

“She looks much better.”

“Good. Then we can get going without you being distracted.”

I smile, excited that he has another surprise in store for me. “Where are we going?”

“Now I’m sure you know I’m not going to tell you.”

The vast wasteland of the underworld lies in front of me and sucks all the joy out of me. It makes me feel like the Grinch minus Christmas. All I need is a village full of tiny people with sloped button noses and oblong hairstyles to terrorize. Stay or go. Stay or go. If I stay down here with Hades I’ll consumed by an eternity of dull, drab grey skies, thick smog, and sadness. There is nothing happy or joyous about death. It may put an end to a person’s suffering especially if they have a fatal disease, but what if they didn’t lead a good life? They’d suffer during their life and they’d suffer forever after they died. And what if I have to aid Hades in giving them their final judgment? I’m not sure if I can handle that.

There is still a part of me that wants to stay. I glimpse at Hades next to me and a small smile curls on his plush lips. My insides crack and fizzle like I’ve just swallowed a mouthful of pop rocks. The affection I feel for him grows as each day passes and he’s the only reason I’d consider staying. And I don’t know if that’s a good enough reason.

“Come here,” he says softly.

I creep closer like a starfish on a sandy beach being lured back into the ocean by the tide. Hades is the water and as soon as he touches me my tentacles will come alive. I want to be suctioned to him, to latch on to him as long as I have to. He pulls me close and I inhale his musky scent. A smell that I hope I’ll never forget; whether I stay or go. He covers me with his arms. I feel warm. He’s my down comforter. He’ll never let me freeze. “Close your eyes,” he tells me.

Time whirls around us. We’re in the middle of a cyclone. Spinning in circles and despite the dangerous situation I know I’ll be safe. He will always keep me safe. He clutches me tighter to his chest, the muscles in his arms clench and for a brief moment I feel like I belong here. Wrapped up in a tangle of his limbs for all of eternity.

Then he releases me and part of me aches. I ache in spots where his fingers just were. The spots throb like fresh bruises and won’t quit until he puts pressure on them. Rushing water whooshes and fills my ears and I spin around thinking he might have brought me to a beach or something. Depression sails through me like a Jet Ski bouncing around on waves when I realize we’re back at the dock on the Styx.

The brownish green water splashes against the dock and I center on fog that hovers above the water. Hades senses that I might be upset and brushes his fingers against my face. “You look upset,” he says in a voice full of gentleness. “Is something bothering you?”

I can’t understand why his touch feels cold yet warm at the same time. “Is it always so bleak and depressing down here?”

“You get used to it.”

I feel like I’m glancing at plains of misery, an up close and personal version of what death is supposed to look like. “I don’t think I could ever get used to this,” I say. “I’d miss the sunshine too much. I’d miss watching things live.”

Hades drops his hand from my face. “Just wait,” he comments. “There is so much more of the underworld that you have yet to see.”

The ferry appears next to the dock and Charon hangs over the side. “Master,” he hisses. Hades takes one hand and Charon takes the other as they help me onto the boat. My eyes dart across the rows of wooden benches until I center on the wooden bench in the back right corner of the boat. I sit down as Hades appears on the bench across from me. Then Charon begins working the oars as I stare off into the choppy waters of the river of death.

Fifteen minutes into the ride and I can feel Hades eyes on me. He’s staring, a thoughtful look in his eye. “So why did we have to take the ferry?” I face him. “Couldn’t you have just whisked us there yourself?”

“Yes,” he says, still penetrating me with his gaze. “But then I don’t think the shock value will be as good.”

“Shock value?” He smiles and my heart picks up beating rapidly. “You know you should do that more often.”

“Do what?”

“Smile.” His smile is beautiful, clouds parting during a thunderstorm to reveal a sliver of sunshine.

He smiles wider. “I’ll try to.”

I look away bashfully as heat rises in my cheeks. I’m at a loss for words. Truthfully I just want to stare at him. I want to feel the tiny smolder I get in the pit of my stomach every time I look into his eyes. Instead I play it off casually and nod toward Charon. “How come he knows where we’re going?”

“He’s the captain of the boat. We wouldn’t be able to go anywhere if he didn’t know where we were going.”

“Oh.” I look down, feeling silly. Embarrassed I play with my fingers and apparently Hades thinks my attempt at being coy is funny because he starts laughing.

I don’t think it’s funny. In fact his laughter makes me angry. I stand, wagging my finger, prepared to give him a piece of my mind when the boat rocks and I topple over, tumbling to the opposite side. Just when I think I’m about to go overboard and land in the murky waters, Hades catches me, clutching onto my waist tightly. I turn my head, awkwardly and my lips are centimeters away from his. Any slight movement and they’ll be touching. His eyes dart across my face, searching, studying my features. He’s trying to figure me out.

Bewildered, I steady myself sitting up, and try to make a joke, “Nice catch.”

As I turn to walk back to my bench he whispers something. The soft words are barely audible, but I’m pretty sure I made out what he said. I could have sworn he said, “Come back.”

I pirouette and gawk at him. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.” I know he’s lying.

“No, I heard you. You said something.” He said, “Come back.” I am sure of it.

“I think you are hearing things. I didn’t say anything.”

I narrow my eyes trying to keep a straight face. I’m actually flattered that he wanted me to stay in his arms. Right now that’s the only place I want to be. “You said something. I have excellent hearing, you know.”

He glances out into the waters of the Styx. “Perhaps you heard a soul whispering into your ear.”

I know all too well about the souls down here and their activities. “Maybe.”

A smile curls on my lips as I sit back down. Maybe he’s trying to seem aloof on purpose. That way if I do decide to go back to earth, he’ll be able to mask the amount of pain he’ll feel when I leave. If he feels anything for me at all. He said he did, but he could be lying about that too. Hades is the ultimate illusionist; I know he’s a pro at masking his emotions.

He moves over, sitting down next to me. I jump, startled by his sudden arrival. “Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine. I just didn’t expect you to come over here.”

“Do you want me to move?”

“No,” I answer, lacing my arm through his. “Stay.” His skin is freezing, but I don’t move my arm. We’re a linked chain welded and melted together. Not even a pair of needle nose pliers can tear us apart.

From the way he’s looking at me, I can tell he’s holding something back. He studies my face again, reaching out to graze his fingertips over my cheek, but at the same time the boat stops and that’s when I feel it. It travels down my neck and shoots through my skin like a piercing wail blasting through a person’s eardrums. I turn slowly, using my arm to shield my face as the brightness burns in my eyes. “Is that what I think it is?”

Hades nods. “Yes.”

It’s sunlight. I close my eyes and bask in the warmth. I think of the beach and spring and the smell of wildflowers and suddenly this place isn’t so dark and gloomy after all. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Because I knew how much you’d enjoy it.” 

“Is that sunlight?” I squeal in delight.

“Yes, that’s sunlight. This is the only place in the realm of the dead where it shines,” he answers.

I don’t even bother to open my eyes. “What’s this place called?” My voice is full of curiosity and excitement.

Hades rests his chin on my shoulder. “This is the place where the truly good mortals and hero’s go after they leave earth. This place is called The Elysian Fields.”

I open my eyes, staring out into potentially one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in all of my five thousand years living. I shoot up out of my seat, running toward the exit. I’ve spent enough time down here, drowning in darkness. It’s about time that I step out of the shadows and into the light.

Persephone

A
n overwhelming sense of joy floods through me as I run my fingers over the long swaying grass in the Elysian Fields. Hades assured me that there was actually a city several miles away, but visiting the city would be a different trip for a different day.

The sunlight bleeds through my pores, spreading through my entire body. It’s like an infection I want to keep eternally. I turn, letting a gust of wind tousle my hair as a light floral smell creeps up my nostrils. I inhale deeply as freesia and daffodils invade my nose and remind me of a meadow behind my house back in Oregon. The enticing scent—for some odd reason—reminds me of the day Hades took me.

Thinking of Hades has me wondering something; where is he? I haven’t seen him since he brought me here and I’m both hurt and angry that he isn’t here sharing this beautiful scene with me. Pivoting, I scan the field. He’s not even lingering off to the side somewhere watching me like he usually is. It’s like he’s vanished into thin air—another one of his annoying parlor tricks. I sprint through the field and call out for him, “Hades!” I push aside plants, look under rocks, search behind a slew of the various trees, but can’t find him anywhere.

I run harder and faster, desperate to find him. When Hades first took me, I swore to the God’s that I would loathe him for the rest of my immortal life. But things have changed. My feelings for him have changed. Now I miss him when he’s not around. I want to be near him at all times. I’m finally able to look past his cold demeanor and find warmth in him. His smile makes me want to smile. His icy touch makes me shiver in a good way and I want him to hold me, touch me, and kiss me. I want to be wrapped in his arms for the rest of eternity and that could only mean one thing: I think I might be in love with him.

I know what he is; the pied piper of death and depravity, playing his flute as an army of the dead trails behind him. I’m in that army marching in line and I will follow him anywhere.

I’ve never been in love before, so I’m not one hundred percent sure how to classify the way I feel about Hades, but it has to be love. It just has to be. The incessant longing, and fire smoldering inside of me like the crackling embers in a fireplace has to be love.

On the boat earlier, was the first time I recognized a growing adoration for him. Right after he caught me and saved me from falling over the edge. Gazing into his eyes, I knew that I couldn’t leave this underworld without him. I won’t leave this world without him.

Panic hits me like a marble column. I still can’t find him and he’s not answering me when I call out for him. I’ve been running for what feels like years and there is no sign of him. Tears swell in my eyes and a gaping hole burrows into my heart. The hole stretches and expands like a black abyss and suddenly I feel like I can’t breathe. Why would he leave me out here all alone when he knew I’d enjoy it so much? Wouldn’t he want to share this blissful experience with me? Looking over my shoulder, I pick up speed, charging forward and smack into what feels like a wall. I hit the wall hard and fall backward onto the ground.

A gentle breeze whips around me and the sunlight burns into my eyes, blinding me. For the first time ever, in my immortal life I loathe the sun. I loathe it because I can’t see what I ran into. I squint as my eyes adjust to the light and a hand appears inches away from my face. Taking the hand, I hoist myself to my feet and Hades stands in front of me, eyeing me oddly. He’s curious, but his look softens when he gazes into my eyes and a nervous tingle flutters around in the pit of my stomach. My cheeks burn from the sun and from anxiety and I’m not sure how to speak to him. Somehow everything about him felt better when I was thinking and not acting on my feelings. It was also easier when I disliked him. Now all I can do is gawk. All I can do is stand here gazing at him adoringly like a lovesick fool.

All of a sudden a volt of anger snaps through my like a loose wire. Why do I always have to be the one who’s speaking her mind? I’m sick of doing all the talking. Why can’t he just open up to me? Why can’t he just tell me how he feels?

“You should watch where you’re going?” he says in a somber tone.

“I’m sorry for running into you,” I manage, trying to keep calm.

“It’s fine,” he booms. His voice is seductive, deep and beautiful. “What exactly were you doing?”

The comment makes me snap back to reality. “Excuse me?”

He cocks his head to the side. “Were you looking for something?”

Yes, you. That’s what I really want to say. Instead, I put on a bright smile and lie. “I was just enjoying the sunshine.”

I’m not sure if he can tell whether I was being truthful or not. Then a tiny smile spreads across his lips. “I’m glad you like it here.” He turns abruptly and walks in the opposite direction.

Where is he going? An instant pain shoots through my heart. “Don’t leave,” I utter, softly. I don’t know if he heard me, but at this point I don’t care.

He stops, his back still facing me, and peers casually over his shoulder. “Did you say something?”