Scarlett's Letter (Touched by a God #1) (3 page)

Scarlett could hear the voice of the hysterical woman but there was nothing in her mind that recognized the voice.  The voice sounded familiar.  The shrieking did not.  Her body was frozen except for her tear ducts, which seemed to be working just fine.  Her voice box was in working order because some part of her working brain recognized that she was the one screaming like there was no tomorrow.  She hadn’t recognized the being that had torn through another being or the one that commanded said injured individual to leave. 

What had she been pulled into?  Her brain was working overtime trying to process all that had just transpired.  She didn’t know what to do with any of the information.  So she screamed and cried and screamed some more. Those two things appeared to be the only things that she had the ability to put into motion as a reaction to having her mind…what?  The only thing that she could think of was a signal being scrambled and that was just what she was feeling.  Her brain was scrambled. It was going to take a miracle to get her right again.

Unveiled (4)

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Beginning of harvest, Hell/hades realm: Hades

Hades knew he needed to calm her.  He also knew what he was going to share was going to do more damage to her fragile psyche than good.  He’d heard her begin to scream and something ripped inside him.  His entire being began to vibrate with the need to punish.  Her screams weren’t ones of pleasure.  He would have been present for those.  No, those screams were screams that spoke of a soul shattering fear.  He knew those types of screams well.  Many of the dead begged and pleaded to not have to face the destiny that awaited them in the wastelands or the rivers of death.  They’d chosen their lot in life but couldn’t handle what was given to them in death. 

Each of those souls believed they held the key that would allow them to bargain their way out of their fate.  In the end, each and every one of them accepted the fact that there was nothing that could be done to get them out of the place their soul would rest.  Well, “rest” was a relative term because their souls did not rest when the crossed into his realm.  Their fate was eternal damnation and Hades took pride in delivering such.  If they didn’t want what was waiting for them there then they should have thought about that before their exits from the land of the living.   It was a dirty job but someone had to do it.  Not many would get so much enjoyment out of someone else’s misery.  It was his gift and his curse but he’d fully accepted it.  The pain and torment that was emanation from his Rouge was not something he was willing to accept. 

The fact that her screams matched the ones that he heard from those that were sentenced to spend eternity in the Netherlands of Hell made him want to bring forth screams of his own.  He knew exactly where to find her.  She may not have felt the connection but he did.  He could feel her mind’s confusion.  He could sense the pain of her not knowing what was coming.  The worst were the tremors that accompanied her pain.  She was trembling with fear. 

Hades called on his ability and appeared next to her.  The blaze of the fire that announced his presence was bright enough to illuminate her face.  He was able to only glimpse the shock then pain of awareness that washed over her before fear became the dominate emotion that crossed her face.  She was now fearful of both of the monsters in the room.  Carnus was stalking her as his intended prey and his fire consumed him.  He heard himself issue the command and felt when the scythes dropped into his hands.  He didn’t call the weapons to him.  They just appeared.  In the next moment, Carnus lost both of his arms and Hades took pleasure in knowing the pain that the punch demon would endure having the demigod healer assist him with growing the limbs back.

When she slid down to the ground and began rocking, he knew that he had to do something.  The something that would need to be done would probably push her further off the cliff.  Her very fragile state was precarious at best.  She probably wouldn’t handle what he had to tell her, but he went for it anyway.

“Rouge, my time with you hasn’t ended.  So you won’t be able to wish this situation away.  I could pinch you right now and you will not “awaken” as you believe.  You will find yourself still here with me.  I wish that I could ease you into this so that you won’t “weird out” or “freak out” or whatever the popular phrase is these days.  I didn’t want you to be like the others.  FUCK! This is bullshit! I am a fucking god! I shouldn’t be acting like some simpering idiot,” he paused, calmed the all consuming heat within then took a breath before continuing.  “In a nutshell, I wanted you.  I saw what I wanted and did what was fucking necessary to get it.  As a god, I battle, fight, kill! It’s what the fuck we do.  I might have scared the ever living shit out of you but you eventually needed to see what life with me includes.  I admit that it’s a slew of shit to deal with, but I’m not letting you go Rouge.  I’ve had you, felt you quake above and beneath me and you carry with you what is mine.  I’ve waited eons to have this and I will do what needs to be done to keep hold to it.”

There. He’d said it.  He was completely honest.  It came out a bit harsh.  If he was being truthful with himself then there were better ways to have shared the admittedly shocking news.  Hades needed that wow factor to pull her out of the stupor that she would’ve remained in. He could tell her mind was trying to make sense of the words that he’d shared.  Her face was flooded with tears and she trembled.  He wanted to go to her.  He knew that he could be a cruel, vindictive bastard.  How could he be the ruler of the Underworld and not be?  For her, he wanted to be something else.  In that moment, he cursed his inability to be able to comfort her.  His base reaction was to scare her out of the crying frenzy.  He needed her coherent enough to realize the truth of her situation.

“What is it that you want from me, Aides?” she spoke so low that he’d almost missed it.

He didn’t miss the anger that was at the root of the question though.  It seemed she was coming around and the fear was moving to anger, possibly aggression.  Now, that he could comprehend.  He could deal with that. The next step was to get her to the place of acceptance because, let’s face it, they were warring against a clock.  He was at least.  She wasn’t aware of the time constraints.  He was going to remedy that now. 

“You are a descendant of a Patterson female.  Your line was chosen as one of the few bloodlines that was touched by a god to be allowed to carry the child of any of the chosen descendants of Cronus.  There are only a few of us with the ability to procreate. We have a window of time that is the best time to make the attempt. I was
fortunate
enough to have a group of my family members decide to punish me by further hindering the process.”

She stood then.  Her purposeful stride captured his attention as she moved to stand before him.  He was stunned by her beauty and her ability to have complete control over herself that he didn’t see the movement of her hand.  The crack of the punch held more of an impact than the actual punch itself.  Her cute little fist might have had an impact on a mere mortal, but it did nothing but infuriate him.  Part of him found it amusing.  The predominate part of him wanted her head on a platter for even attempting to mar his face. 

“You are the most insensitive dumbass that I have ever come into contact with if you think for one moment that I am going to accept that bunch of garbage that you just spouted, which, by the way, I don’t believe for one moment.  You expect me to believe that this is reality and what, exactly?  You’re some god that has the ability to call me to you because of my ancestry.  If you didn’t want to see me anymore then fine, but come up with a better explanation than I’m fucking crazy!”

The last part had been screamed directly at his face.   She then went on to mumble about “macho machinations” and “archaic assholes” every time her eyes found his.  He was going to enjoy proving to her that what he said was truth. It was her truth and something that she was going to have to accept. Hades looked down at the bearer of his first born child and smiled a devious smile.

“You believe that I’m not what I told you I was?” Hades chuckled to himself.  “We shall see what you believe after.”

He snatched her up, holding her at his arm’s length.  He bent his head so that he was looking directly into her eyes.  The power that was all his own moved through him and he reveled in the knowledge that she could feel it coursing over and beneath her skin.  She may not know it or understand what it was that she was feeling but he was present in her blood.  He enjoyed the possessive feeling that overtook him because of it.  He felt like purring like a lion content with having made a conquest or having captured his prey.  He had the woman that would be at his side for all eternity in his grasp.

At her gasp, he knew that she felt the heat of the fire that would never burn her.  It always started in his eyes, some shit about them being the “windows to the soul” or something like that.   It was something that was second nature to him now, but he could tell that she was less than settled about being so close to the manifestation of his ability.  Once it settled in his feet, he could travel to wherever his mind could think.  It used to be the case until his brethren decided to limit is ability, all because of his attraction to Persephone.  Mind you, he was informed beforehand that she was off limits to all the other gods, but that was like dangling chocolate in front of a pregnant woman and telling her that she couldn’t have it.  He’d had a need at the time and his need overruled all of his other basic thoughts.

He and Persephone had been a fairly toxic couple.  Every odd was stacked against them that could be stacked against them.  His defiant nature and her rebellious need to be away from her mother was enough for a time.  When it started to affect his leadership capabilities, he ended it.  After she destroyed a good section of his home, she agreed and left.  He thought then what he felt for her was the closest he would ever feel toward the feeling of love.  Love wasn’t his thing.  It was why he was punished.  What was to be Persephone’s future had been completely altered because of their being together.  It was something the leaders, his cousins, had foreseen and were awaiting for quite a time.  She vehemently refused to be a pawn in their game.  To this day, they blamed him for her not uniting with the one that she was supposed to be with. Hell, he couldn’t help it if his shit was that good she kept coming back for more.  Hades inwardly chuckled at the thought.  In all actuality, what they didn’t know was that Persephone had always been strong willed, stubborn.  She knew what she wanted and refused to allow anyone else to make decisions for her, even him.  If she chose not to do something, then it was because
she
had made the choice.  Before she left, she’d told him that they’d spent so much time together that she was going to go and be a “free agent” for a time.  It was the last time that he came into direct contact with Persephone and the last he felt feelings for another being.  

Hades hadn’t been wrong about much of anything in his lifetime.  He openly admitted to himself that what he’d felt for Persephone was the equivalent of having lustful thoughts for another powerful being.  The feelings he had for his Rouge took those feelings, stomped them in the ground then reshaped and molded them to be something altogether new to him.  He and Scarlett appeared before the gates of hell and he held tight to her.  He instinctually knew that he was going to have to hold tight to her while he allowed the souls to enter.  Cerberus stood before him and whimpered its displeasure at being near the human.  His pup and most trusted soldier didn’t care for them because one of them had scarred his eye during an epic battle half a century ago.  Its large three heads turned and growled in her direction.  Hades raised an eyebrow at the pup.  He stood five feet at one century old.  His pet sat down before him but chuffed at the fact that his owner still held the human near.  One of the heads tentatively sniffed her way.  The confusion over the smell of her was evident in their wrinkled brow.  He patiently awaited his pet’s recognition of his second owner.  The pup bent down and scooted forward, whimpering again.   Hades nodded his approval as one of the heads nuzzled her dangling hand.  She drew back at first then looked at him.  Her hand automatically went to his head and rubbed behind his ear.  The tail went crazy and Hades couldn’t fight the smile that overtook his face. 

He quickly schooled his features when he saw her head move to return her gaze to his.  Her playful smile changed as quickly as his own had when she looked at him again. 

“Okay, you can do some kind of sleight of hand magic and evidently drugged me to see three heads on that dog.  I’ve seen nothing that says that you are…”

Yeah, that was what he thought.  Her brain was going to continue to rationalize the truth until the souls and demons moved.  He knew that she wasn’t going to be able to keep quiet for long.  There was something innately insolent about her.  She didn’t know how to keep her curious nature to herself.  She also didn’t have control of her temper.  His Rouge was one that would go off on you, then think about later and call you to apologize.  He’d been witness to it through the looking glass of his table.  It was his only way to see the human realm.  He had command of the lands in his hands, but he couldn’t see it for himself.  At least that is what he allowed his brethren to believe.

Hades had an ace in the hole.  The only one that knew of this ability was his brother, Poseidon.  It was a trick they used when they were younger.  The combination of using that ability and the shared secret was what bonded them during that time.  Those days were some of the only occasions that they’d gotten along.  He would use it when he found that he was bored in his own space.  His mind often drifted to those times and he would escape from his “prison” for a short time.  When she was near, this place was almost bearable. 

He hated to acknowledge the fact that she’d made him into somewhat of a stalker.  As she was called to him, he was called to her.  His blood pulsed anew with her nearness.  It was how he knew that she was the one, that and the mark that was in the shape of his symbol on her left outer thigh.  It was in the shape of the pitchfork like staff that he and his brothers usually carried.  It was often depicted as Poseidon’s weapon of choice when stories were shared and movies were made.  His staff only had to prongs on the end, Poseidon’s held three. 

His eyes slid over to his Rouge.  The time he spent bedding her was time that he relished.  This was the first time that he’d ever felt like that for any of the women that he’d bedded over the years.  Her line had been filled with beautiful women.  Elegant and gorgeous, every last one of them had been.  Not one had given him urge to decapitate a most trusted demon.  Not one had ever had him practically begging to be near her.  Not one had ever had him so needy that he wanted to immediately be in between her thighs and remain there for as long as he possibly could.