Raising Hell

by S. K. Gregory

  Raising Hell

  Gods of Chaos

  Book 1

  Copyright © 2018 S K Gregory

  All Rights Reserved

  My name is Persephone, yes, that one. Two thousand years ago, the Gods fell at the hands of the God killer, but my husband, Hades, saved me by stripping me of my God powers. I fled while my family died and I have carried the guilt ever since.

  Two weeks ago, my old frenemy, Eris showed up in the small town of Bedford where I live. She was searching for a way to raise a God. Her first choice – Ares.

  We fought and I defeated her, but not before she smashed the bottle containing the Elixir needed to raise the dead. I managed to salvage some of it, but will it be enough?

  Now I am searching for the power source hidden in the town, a power that could reunite me with my husband or my mother, Demeter. I don’t want to choose, but that will come later. I need to find what I am looking for first.

  One thing is for sure, small town life is no longer boring. Time to raise a little hell.

  1

  I walk slowly through the meadow, my hands trailing through the rows of flowers in bloom all around me. The smell is intoxicating, and I breathe it all in. The sun is shining, the sky clear. I close my eyes, feeling completely at ease. This is my domain.

  A dark shadow blots out the sun and I open my eyes to find my own twin standing before me. She is clothed in black, which matches her eyes. Where I have a crown of brightly colored flowers on my head, she wears a crown of thorns. Night has fallen behind her, while I still stand in the daylight.

  “Make a choice,” she says, her wicked eyes gleaming. She grabs my arm and wrenches me toward her.

  I feel the cold as my body leaves the light, melding with hers. As I melt into her, I watch as all the color fades away and I am left in the darkness…

  The howl of a hellhound woke me. For a moment I don’t know where I am, then it slowly comes back to me. I’m home, in my two bedroom chalet in Bedford. My bedclothes lie on the floor, which explains why I feel so cold. I close my eyes for a second, wondering what the dream means. Probably just a stress dream, but the images linger in my mind.

  Another howl echoed through the house. “Okay, Cerberus, I’m coming,” I called. My three headed mutt was currently housed in my garage. Once the guardian of the Underworld, he was now confined in a box. I’d be howling too if I were him.

  I squinted at the clock, it’s only 5am, still dark outside. Another howl. What the hell is up with him? Was someone trying to break in?

  Swinging my legs out of bed, my feet touched the cold floor and I shivered. I would be glad when winter was over. I like the heat, although the Underworld, contrary to popular belief, is quite cold.

  I lifted my knife from the nightstand, the one my mother had gifted me on my wedding day. It had come in handy over the centuries. The blade is damaged from overuse, but it has saved my ass more times than I can count. It’s also a little piece of her, something I can carry with me wherever I go.

  I really didn’t want any more unwelcome visitors, especially after Eris and her chimera buddy nearly killed me, two weeks ago. That was a blast from the past no one needed. She swept into town, searching for a power source to revive her old lover, Ares. As far as I knew she only had the one creature on her side, but maybe I was wrong.

  Heading downstairs, I opened the door to the garage to check on Cerberus. He was sniffing at something through the garage door. Throwing his heads back, he howled again. His huge frame nearly reached the roof.

  Shit, something is out there.

  Picking my way through the path of half eaten chew toys which litter the floor, I stroke one of his heads to calm him. I could open the garage door, but that would only alert whoever was out there. I wanted the element of surprise.

  Leaving him to howl, I moved quickly, back through the house toward the side door. There was a thump as my big toe connected with the coffee table in the living room and I stopped, swearing under my breath. Hopping on one foot, I waited until the pain subsided.

  I was once an actual Goddess and I was still foiled by a coffee table. How humiliating.

  Pissed now, I was hoped there was an intruder, so I could kick the crap out of them. But to do that, I needed actual shoes. Fumbling in the dark, I found my boots near the front door. I slipped them on and opened the door. A cold wind hit me, making me shiver violently, as it cut through the long sleeved top I had worn to bed. Ignoring the cold as best I could, I moved as silently as possible down the steps and around to the edge of the house.

  The front of the chalet had a security light with a motion detector, it was currently lighting up the snow. It did go off sometimes if an animal happened by, but since getting Cerberus back, animals gave my place a wide berth. Not surprising given what he was.

  Standing in front of the garage was a large stag. It seemed completely unthreatened by the noise Cerberus was making.

  Curious, I stepped forward. It turned to look at me, then slowly walked back into the trees. It was either brave or stupid.

  A memory of Artemis came to mind. She was the huntress after all. When I first became a Goddess, Hades encouraged me to befriend her, but she was a loner who preferred the company of animals to people. Not that I could blame her.

  She took me on a hunt once, showed me how to use a bow. At the time, I felt sorry for her solitary existence, but now I understood it. When you live forever, you eventually watch all the people around you die. The other Gods didn’t count. There was always fighting between Hades and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, in particular, but none of them really liked each other. I never had any siblings, so I couldn’t understand how they could hate each other when no one else could understand what it was like to be a God.

  Of course since Hades gave me a potion to strip me of my Godhood, I was no longer immortal.

  Leave me and save yourself.

  He took that choice away from me, making me drink the potion without telling me what it was. It took away my powers, my immortality, but I still had longevity. I’ve aged a little over the past two millennia, but I still look young. I can be killed, if someone tries hard enough. I imagine one day I will die, but it could be a long way off.

  I was happy to live out my remaining centuries, if that’s what I had left, in solitude, but Eris had changed everything. She found a way to resurrect a God. If I could find the power source she was looking for, I would have that power too. I thought of Hades and my mother, Demeter. If I was forced to choose between them, who would I bring back?

  I couldn’t think about that now. First, I needed to find the power source, then I needed to work out how to use it and then I needed to figure out where they had fallen. Choosing was far down my list of impossible tasks.

  I headed back inside and switched on the coffee maker. Since I was up, I might as well stay up.

  Switching on a few lamps, I poured myself some coffee, before moving to the far wall which was covered in my research. I had removed several pictures from the wall to accommodate it. They were propped against the bookshelves that lined the far wall. I’m used to moving around a lot, so I try to travel light, but I always make sure that I take my book collection with me.

  After Eris met her end, I went to her hotel room to see what was there. I discovered a map of the world hidden in her suitcase, along with some questionable outfits. Eris had marked different spots on the map, spots where she believed the Gods had fallen to Earth. Hades wasn’t on it, nor my mother. Ares though, she was certain he had fallen close to Bedford, within a fifty mile radius at least. How she came to this conclusion was beyond me, but knowing how obsessed she was with Ares, I had little reason to doubt it.

  I really should have kept her alive longer to find out what she knew,
but once again my impulsive nature got the better of me. And my anger at being beaten by a second rate nymph at best.

  It didn’t matter, I was putting it together myself. The liquid from the vial she had smashed could only be one thing. The Elixir of Life. It was rare even in my time, only a few healers knew how to make it. It could revive a person on the brink of death, but I’m sure it worked differently on a God. Combined with this power source, it must have the power to resurrect them. I just had to find it.

  I lifted the flask off the table, it once held bourbon, but now it held hope. I carried it with me when I left the house. There was no way I was going to risk losing it.

  I had added my own map to the wall, a map of Bedford. There was a red pin in every house except half a dozen of them. They were the residents I had checked and eliminated from my search. None of them, as far as I could tell, had any power or any connections to the Gods.

  The next name on the list was Harris Johansen. He owned a small antiques store in town. It opened at eight, so I had a while before I could visit him. According to the information I had gleaned, he was 73 years old and a widower. His wife died nearly fifteen years ago. Clark said he kept to himself.

  Dan Clark, the local deputy, had been helping me narrow down my list. Not that he knew what he was doing, I pretended that I was interested in getting to know the locals. I think he thought I was using it as an excuse to see him. He had already asked me out, but I had turned him down. It wasn’t like I could have a relationship anyway. Not ageing tends to raise questions and I was trying to bring my husband back from the dead so…

  Each morning, he would meet me in the local diner for coffee and we would talk about the town. Clark was a nice guy, I guess. For a cop anyway. Lately though, I don’t know, he seemed…I think he wants more. He asked me if I wanted to grab dinner with him and since then I had been avoiding him. I wasn’t trying to string him along, I just needed information and he was pretty much the only person I spoke to in town. I’m not great at making friends, I don’t form attachments. What is the point when I will outlive them all? I made that mistake early on and the more people I lost, the harder it became.

  At least I have Cerberus. He’ll never die on me.

  So was that to be my life? Alone with just a dog for company? Better than being an old cat lady, I suppose.

  No, if I had any say in it, I would figure this out and get my life back.

  Harris Johansen. I would check him out today and get through the list in the next couple of days. One of them was bound to be who I was looking for. After Harris there was a woman called Alex Pond and a man called Elias Tinker. Neither of them were particularly interesting on paper, but that didn’t mean they weren’t hiding something.

  Draining my cup, I turned away from the board, feeling a twinge in my side. Lifting my shirt, I peeled back the bandage to check it. A clear liquid oozed from the wound. It really should have healed by now. Damn you, Eris.

  She had shot me with an arrow from the crossbow of Athena. It had only nicked me, but it was the most powerful weapon I knew of. It just needs more time to heal. I cleaned it up and put on a fresh bandage.

  When eight o’ clock came, I checked on Cerberus before heading into town.

  Bedford was a small town, only 10,000 residents. I’ve moved around a lot over the last few centuries and I normally stick to big cities where no one would notice me, but Bedford, I don’t know, I just felt drawn to it for some reason. Considering what happened with Eris and the potential power source, maybe it wasn’t as coincidental as I thought. Not that I believed in fate or anything like that. Hades used to say that everyone has their role to play. I believe we make our own path. Otherwise we are all slaves to fate with no real power.

  Bedford was the kind of town where everyone was too interested in their neighbor’s business, which I guess was useful to me at this point in time, but I tried to avoid people as much as possible. How long before they started asking questions about the strange recluse who never aged?

  I found a spot to park near the Sheriff’s station. I kept my head down as I powerwalked by, just in case Clark spotted me.

  The antique store was called Treasures Past. Judging from the peeling paint and the dirty windows, I doubted business was going well.

  A bell jingled above the door as I entered the store and I immediately started coughing when I was hit by a wave of dust. Someone needed a cleaner – stat!

  “Hello,” I called. I took a few steps forward, the floorboards creaking under my feet.

  The store was dimly lit, the shelves jammed with objects. A long wooden counter ran along the back wall, but there was no sign of Harris Johansen or anyone else for that matter.

  “Is anyone here?” I called again.

  “Only another old antique, I’m afraid,” said a creaky voice.

  He appeared from behind the shelves. He was short, only 5’3, bent and wizened, wearing an old brown cardigan and round reading glasses. He looked like a kindly old grandfather.

  “Mr. Johansen?”

  “That’s me. How can I help you?”

  “Uh, well, I’m interested in any antiques from Ancient Greece.”

  “Ancient Greece. That’s quite an unusual request.”

  “Yeah, I’m a history buff. I love Ancient Greece. I know it’s a long shot, but would you have anything from that era?”

  “Most of my things are Victorian at best,” he said, waving a hand at the shelves.

  “Oh. Well, never mind.”

  “Don’t rush off just yet. Let me make some tea. I would love to talk to you. And I had a delivery of items today, maybe something will catch your eye?”

  I didn’t want to sit around drinking tea, not when I had two other people to check, but there was something about him. It had been a long time since I took the time to just sit and talk.

  “Sure, that sounds great.”

  2

  “Ancient Greece was a fascinating era. Full of adventure, intrigue and danger. What made you fall in love with it?” Harris asked.

  We were seated at the counter and he had brewed some tea. He had an old fashioned teapot which I thought suited him. There was a layer of dust on it though as there was with everything else in the store. I guess he had trouble with the upkeep given his age, but when he spoke, he seemed more like an excited kid than an old man.

  “Well, I guess I always imagined what it would be like to live there,” I said.

  “An exciting prospect, although I would certainly miss little luxuries like flushing toilets.”

  I chuckled. I’ve lived through every invention mankind has come up with in the past two millennia, some good, some downright scary. Things have definitely improved, but sometimes I miss the simple life I lived with my mother. We tilled the land, grew our own food. I mean I wouldn’t turn down Chinese takeout, but people had no idea how easy they had it nowadays. Everything you could ever need, delivered straight to your door. It was insane.

  I sipped at the tea he had given me. It was quite strong, Earl Grey, I think. I’m more of a coffee person.

  “I particularly like the myths about the Gods,” I said.

  “Oh yes, that Zeus was quite the ladies’ man,” Harris laughed.

  Ladies man was being kind, he was a dog. Zeus even came sniffing around me once. He left with a bloody nose and a limp. Obnoxious jerk.

  He tried to catch me alone, when I was back on Earth, coming to me disguised as a human. A farm boy. I don’t know why he thought that would appeal to me. I guess because I used to live on a farm.

  The boy was handsome, with golden locks and a great smile, perhaps if I had been single, and human, I would have given him a second look. As it was, I was too preoccupied with my new duties as a Goddess. I took it seriously, I didn’t want to disappoint Hades.

  “You are a true beauty,” Zeus said. “I must have a kiss.”

  I laughed at him. “Do you know who I am?”

  “The Goddess of Beauty?” he said, flashing m
e a grin.

  “Nice try. I think you should move along,” I said, trying to get by him.

  “Not without that kiss,” he said, grabbing my arm.

  When I couldn’t get my arm free, I realized he wasn’t a human.

  “Get off me,” I snapped.

  Zeus morphed into his true form, laughing at my distress. That’s when he found out the hard way not to mess with me.

  That was the God way of thinking though – see, want, have. Well he wasn’t having me. I don’t know why Hera stayed with him, I would never betray my husband like that.

  “I think the Gods represent the flaws in all of us,” Harris said. “They were powerful but also vain, arrogant creatures.”

  “Can’t argue with that. Have you ever read anything about a God killer?”

  He rubbed his chin as he thought. “A God killer? Well, they said that no mortal weapon could kill a God. So if something like that existed, it would have to be extra special. Where did you hear the phrase?”

  “I was doing some reading and it was mentioned. I mean there is no real evidence of what happened to them.”

  “Well, they were myths. But with most old beliefs, they were replaced with new ones and the old simply faded away.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” How could I explain it to him? He thought we were talking about imaginary beings. They didn’t fade, they were brutally murdered.

  “The idea of a weapon that could kill the Gods is an interesting one. Give me a few minutes, I’ll consult my books, see if there is any mention of a God killer.”

  He headed into the back of the store. Not wanting to sit idle, I took a walk around the store, checking out the items he had on display. Most of it was old vases and ornaments. Nothing particularly noteworthy. I held onto a few things from the old days, but over time I had to sell them to survive. I was a lot better with money now, I knew how to invest. I had no idea how much I had accumulated, it was divided between several different accounts across the world, but it was a lot. Money was only important to me in that it helped hide my identity. I didn’t live extravagantly, my car is a ten year old Ford. The house was rented. My only vice was expensive shoes, but a girl has to have her Prada.