The Thousand Year Curse (The Curse Books) (31 page)

All I can pick up is Charon telling Ari that he is finally getting his chance and that it is his time. I don't really get what he means. Ari pays Charon with the second disc and they hug saying their goodbyes. Ari waves as the boat leaves and then comes back over to my side.
 

"What was that about?" I ask him once he's next to me.

"Just saying goodbye. I rarely see him and doubt I'll see him again." He tells me as we start walking along the final leg of this journey.
 

The gates ahead of us are three times the height of the Field of Punishment. They are pure black with hardly any space between each of the poles. It is almost like there is a dark cloud over them, warning people to stay away.

"No matter what happens just remember that I'm here for you, okay?" Ari stresses to me, lifting my hand to his mouth. He gives me a kiss and trails them up my body to my mouth, giving me the confidence I need to push through this final encounter.
 

"I know you are." I say as we waltz up to the gate. There are no locks or buttons to press. Instead Ari just goes right up to the gate and pushes it open. We slide in and then Ari shuts the door. Why it is so easy to get in?

"It's meant to let people in. The hard part, for most people, is getting out." Ari warns me.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

hades isn't friendly

There is a whole new dimension inside of the dark gates. The place is enormous. The black gates go around the entire area. In the middle is a huge castle made of black stone. There are spires traveling high into the sky also hauntingly black.
 

The ground is all dark gravel and rock. There is no sun in the sky but oddly enough it isn't pitch black. In front of us are two huge doors leading inside Hell, two stories high at least.
 

Before we open the doors, I grab onto Ari's shirt and pull him into me for one final kiss. It's almost sad, like we know everything is going to change in a few minutes. It's a perfect kiss for the moment. He deepens our touch and I moan into his mouth when his hands roam over my body.
 

"What the hell!" Somebody roars, tearing us away from our loving embrace as if we got shocked. We both look around to see where the voice is coming from but I can't see anything. I turn towards the castle and spy a figure standing in the doorway, their face shielded by the darkness.

"Ollie?" I shriek at him, recognizing his body shape. "What are you doing here?" I ask, sprinting towards him. I wrap my arms around his neck not even thinking about it.
 

"What are
you
doing here?" He asks, pushing me off of him. I take a step back facing Ari, pleading with my eyes for him to help me out but his face is unreadable.

"We came down to find my mom." I try to explain but my voice comes out child like and frightened.
 

"Your mom?" He questions me, taken aback.

"Yeah. I want to find her." I explain to him.

Silence ensues and I can tell everyone is freaking out in their own heads. The tension in the air is palpable. I can feel it slivering around me like a snake, suffocating my lungs.
 

"And in between getting down here and lying to me, you thought hooking up with him was a good idea?" Ollie bites out at me, barely able to look me in the eyes. I step back from Ollie unsure of what he is going to do as he eyes Ari aggresively.
 

"It wasn't like that!" I plead with him on the verge of tears.
 

"What exactly was it like?" He asks me and I'm unsure of how to answer him. It's all so confusing to me. I can't articulate what I am feeling. I screwed up and I get that. I can't help these feelings though. It's not like I'm choosing to fall in love with the both of them.

"It just happened. I can't explain it." I say, feeling awful.
 

"Can we just go figure out her situation and get the hell out of here?" Ari cuts in to the conversation, pushing past both me. He gets in front of Ollie and stands there, their eyes dead locked.

In a split second, Ollie pushes him down on the floor and jumps on top of his fallen body. His fist slams into Ari's face over and over again splashing blood outwards. I rush to their side, grabbing onto Ollie's shirt.

I try to pull him back off Ari but his shirt rips in my hand and he lunges forward, landing another hit square in his jaw. I look down at Ari to see if he's moving and he's just taking punch after punch, not moving a single muscle to stop him.

"You're going to kill him!" I scream out of Ollie hitting him on the back to get his attention off Ari. I'm genuinely scared for his life and would rather have Ollie attack me than kill Ari.

"Get off me." Ollie bites out, still pinning Ari down.

"Get off of him first!" I yell, pulling his arms off Ari's broken and beaten body. Ollie walks away in huffs, stomping his feat and unclenching his fists. I hold back tears as I bend down towards Ari's lifeless body.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, cradling his head in my hands. He doesn't saying anything but his chest moves up and down so I know he's alive.

"He's fucking immortal. He's fine, Ryder." Ollie says pulling me up. "Can we talk?" He asks me, his eyes now soft blue and gentle. The difference between now and just a few moments ago where he turned into that monster is unreal.

"Sure." I mutter, letting him take me away from Ari.

"I don't get what you see in him. That guy is a sad excuse of a man and he's manipulating you. Don't you see that?" His voice is so hard it leaves me scared and shivering.

"You don't know him." I say, my voice small.

"Oh, I do more than you do right now, Ryder."

"No you don't." I lash out, hating the way Ollie is talking to me. Both of us eye each other, neither saying a word. I'm so upset with Ollie but really, I get it. He saw me kissing someone else. I just wish he would understand that I don't have much control over my emotions right now. I can guarantee it's because of this curse.

"Will you come inside with me?" I ask Ollie hoping that we can clear the air, move forward, get some answers and then get out of here. Once we're back on earth, I can try to sort out my feelings.
 

He doesn't say anything instead he takes my hand in his clenching it too hard. He pulls me against his chest, gripping me tight. He takes my head back in his hands and gives me a passionate kiss. It's all wrong though. It seems spiteful like he is trying to say 'screw you' to Ari and me. I will not be used.
 

I pull back from the kiss, turn and see Ari, now fully awake and back to normal health, staring between us. He looks pissed but more so, hurt. I look back at Ollie with his smug grin across his face and slap him.
 

The sound echoes around the castle as silence takes over between us. Ari rushes over to me retaining me from hitting Ollie again. He tries hard not to touch me anywhere inappropriate. For once Ari is actually considerate of other peoples feelings. Ollie reaches up touching the spot that I hit him and looks at me bewildered.
 

"That kiss was bullshit. You did it to piss Ari off. You used me." I screech at him. I pull away from Ari and walk past the two guys and into the castle of Hell not scaring if they follow.
 

Immediately after getting in the castle, a sense of de ja vu washes over me, remembering it from my dream. I am on the bottom floor near the stairs that I walked down. I know that if I keep walking forward I will hit that big dining room. I am hoping that Hades will be in there like my dream.
 

I walk through the doors to the big room and am disappointed when it's empty except for a small fire crackling in the fireplace. There is a long table down the middle. The floors are wooden and the walls are dark. There are candles against the walls that are dimmed down, creating an eery atmosphere to the room.
 

"Who are you?" A voice booms out towards me. I glance around but I can't see anything in the dimly lit room. I keep moving around the dining room, searching for the voice.

"What do you want?" The same deep voice calls out again. The noise right behind my ear. I jump back in fear, searching for the owner of the voice.

"Get out!" The voice screams out making me bend down as it sounds as if it's directly above me.
 

I start to turn around and run when I collide straight into a body. I push off thinking it must be Ollie or Ari but it is neither. It is him. The man I have been looking for.

"Hades." I whisper in disbelief.
 

"In the flesh." He responds. He looks much scarier in person. His giant height creates dark shadows as he loom over me. His hair is darker than before but looks to be damp. He smells of burning wood and something acid like. He smells kind of like how vodka tastes—bitter and burnt.
 

"I'm Eurydice." I say, holding out my hand towards him formally.
 

"I know." He states, looking at me harder, refusing to touch me. His eyes go up and down my body at least two times before he walks around me in a circle, studying me. "It's true. You have God's blood coursing through your veins." He drawls out as a statement.
 

"I do." I say very simply. He looks pissed. He opens his mouth to say something to me but shuts it as my boys walk through the door. Ollie first then Ari trailing behind. They walk right up to me and stand on either side, their faces hard yet expressionless.
 

"The whole gangs here. I have to say, this is a first!" He says delightfully clapping his hands together manically. The smacks echoing through the room.
 

"I want to know who my mother is and I want you to end this curse." I demand acting brave. I decide to be like Ari, straight forward. I need to say what I need to say and move on.
 

"No. And um, no." He states dismissing me as he walks away out of the room. The way he walks pisses me off. He is so cocky that it's annoying and grates on my last nerve. He has every reason to be. I mean he is the ruler of the Underworld but still.
 

I follow close behind him. "Please just help me. I don't want to have this curse anymore. It's gone on too long." I plead with him, as the boys follow close behind.
 

"Why would I end the curse when the game has just changed?" He questions with amusement in his voice. He smiles back at me but continues to walk towards the other side of the room.
 

"What game? This is my life!" I complain, making him stop his retreat.
 

"Ah, but in this life you shall have to choose." He tells me, simply winking towards the boys standing a few feet behind me.
 

"Choose what?" I ask no one in particular. He looks at me, tilting his head to the side, willing me to understand. It sinks in. In my previous lives I have loved both Ollie and Ari or one of them. I never have had to choose who I want to be with since I die so early. Now I have five hundred or more years to be with one of them. I can't love them both. I know that.
 

"Who is my mother?" I ask him point blank. I need something.

"How would I know?" He asks back. The look in his eyes tells me differently, though.
 

"Can't you find out or something. Please. At least give me this answer." I am begging him now, my hands clasped together. I am praying that he gives me something to work with. This trip can't be worthless. I risked everything.
 

"Eurydice, I have grown to like you over the years but you're overstepping." I grab Hades hands and both boys tense up behind me. They lurch to come over and remove me but Hades gives them a look, halting them in their spot. I continue to hold onto Hades hands.
 

"I'm begging you. You won't uplift the curse and I respect that, for now. At least give me a clue to who she is." I keep holding his hands, pleading with my eyes. I don't want to walk away empty handed.

He looks like he doesn't want to answer, but I think my desperation wins him over. "She is one of the twelve. Look for the owl. Hermes will escort you and relay any messages from now on. Do not come back here alive or you will regret it." He warns us before whistling, walking into the depths of his home. I don't follow him and neither do the boys.
 

A small man with white, gold hair enters the room bringing a cold air with him. A large smile washes over his face and I return it, not knowing what is going on. The boys come closer to me, protectively.

"I'm Hermes. I can lead the way out, no problem." He says animately. He seems very excited and friendly and oddly giddy. It takes me off guard, sending millions of goosebumps over my body. Something isn't right with him.

"Eurydice." I say in welcoming. The boys stay silent, refusing to speak with him. Hermes smiles anyway and starts leading us through winding staircases and hallways. After taking a staircase down, we're in what looks like a basement.

"What's this area?" I ask out into the hollow room.

"I don't think you want to know." Hermes says, smiling back at me like the Cheshire Cat. I glance into one of the open doorways and spot a man lying down on a metal bed. I stop in my tracks to try and decipher what exactly I'm seeing.