*
A Long Time Ago
Hades
“What do you mean Apollo is missing? Where could he have gone?” Athena said.
“I don’t know. He disappeared early this morning, there are reports of mortals seeing him fall from the heavens,” I said. It was starting, I knew it. The God killer was starting to pick us off. How long before we all fell?
One of Athena’s soldiers ran into camp. “Mighty Athena, we have just received word that Dionysus has fallen. He has been killed.”
Athena turned to me, fear in her eyes. “You were right. What do we do?”
“As the Goddess of warfare, I was hoping you would have the answer,” I replied.
Athena gave herself a shake. “Right. Okay, we need to figure out where the God killer is. He may be able to take down a God, but if we all descended on him at once, we could bring him down.”
“Where was Dionysus when he died?” I asked the soldier.
“In the woods with the nymphs.”
“Of course he was,” Athena said rolling her eyes. “Summon the others, we will start the search at once.”
We headed for the woods where we met with Artemis. This was her domain and she would lead the hunt. As we moved through the trees, I could barely control my anxiety. We were close to catching the God killer, but what if he got us first? Persephone would be defenceless.
“Do not lose your nerve, Uncle,” Athena said, holding her sword at the ready.
“Promise me, if we…”
“Ssh,” Artemis said, crouching low. We followed suit, ducking behind some bushes. Ahead of us lay a clearing and in it was a young boy, no more than ten years old. He had light brown hair and wore a burgundy colored tunic. Was he lost?
“That is a child,” Athena said.
Artemis shook her head. “That is no child, it is something else.”
She was right, now that we were close to him, I could sense a darkness emanating from him. What the hell was he? Could he be the God killer? It seemed absurd.
“We should attack,” Athena said. “Now while we have the element of surprise.”
“I assure you, you do not,” the boy said.
He smiled at us, beckoning us to come closer.
“The mighty Gods, hiding from little old me,” he said.
I strode forward. “Who are you?”
“Oh that’s right, I look a little different. You and I are in the same business, Hades. You guard the dead and I deliver them to you.”
“Thantos,” I said. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be off, hovering over mortal’s deathbeds?” Thantos was little more than a messenger, but he had a superiority complex.
“No, I am here for a reason. Can you guess what it is?”
I was getting angry. We didn’t need to be wasting time with Thantos when we had more pressing matters.
There was a gasp from behind us. I turned in time to see Artemis explode as she was stabbed from behind. As she expired, the clearing was lit up in a brilliant white light.
I heard Athena scream her name before barking orders to the others. I stood frozen on the spot as Thantos leaned over her, capturing a small ball of light which floated free.
“No,” I whispered. “This isn’t happening.”
Snapping out of my stupor, I looked around for the God killer, but couldn’t see him. Where did he go?
“Athena, did you see what he looked like?” I yelled over the chaos.
“No! He came out of nowhere.”
A ghost. We were dealing with a ghost or at least something that moved like one.
Persephone. I was going to run off, to check that she was safe, but Athena grabbed my arm. “What are you doing? Move!”
We spread out, working together as we tried to find the God killer. We searched for hours, but he was nowhere to be found.
11
Clark
I stared at the tattoo on my arm, regretting getting it and not for the first time. I considered getting laser surgery to remove it, but I couldn’t afford it on my salary. Besides I meant what I said, it acted as a reminder to me of what I was and what I had become.
It sure scared Persephone off though. Carlisle was still out to get her. He hadn’t been able to track down Harris Johansen yet. The old guy refused to live in the 21st century, with no cell phone. If he wanted to disappear, he could. I couldn’t imagine Persephone murdering him.
Switching off the light, I lay down in bed, trying to sleep. I had the early shift tomorrow.
They’re dangerous. They’ve killed people.
Persephone’s words came back to me. I knew how dangerous the cult was, better than most, even my friends. Sure, they went along with it, got the tattoos, but I was the only one of us who had ever seen the inside of one of their communes.
I befriended one of the leaders, wanting to learn more. They were always eager for new recruits. He told me that the only way I could ever be accepted, could ever truly be a member, was to offer a sacrifice to Ares himself. A human sacrifice.
I was in a dark place back then, what he was saying actually made a kind of sense. If I had ultimate power, I could change my whole life. I wanted it, I wanted it so badly that I followed his instructions. I picked up a hitchhiker, a few miles outside of town. I drugged her, tied her up and brought the girl to the others.
When I told them my plan, they thought I was joking at first, that the girl was playing along. They soon realized I was serious. It took a lot of beers and some persuasion, but they finally agreed to it.
I closed my eyes trying to block out the images. The girl woke up as we were preparing the knife. There was tape over her mouth, but she screamed anyway.
“Do it, man,” Greg had urged me. They were willing to take the rewards, but I had to do the hard bit.
I thought I could do it, I honestly thought I was ready to take an innocent person’s life, but when she looked up at me, her eyes full of terror, I realized what I was doing.
Panicking, I freed her and told her to run. The others laid into me, screaming at me for not doing it and more importantly, letting her go when she would go straight to the cops.
I didn’t care. I was horrified at what I had done, even willing to go to jail if I had to. The police never came. I don’t know if she never went to them or they didn’t believe her, but we got away with it. I got away with it. I made a vow from that day that I would make amends, that I would change and get away from the cult for good.
*
I drove along in the dark, wishing I could turn my lights on, but I didn’t want Haley to know I was following her. Or rather her Uber driver. A light snow was falling, making it harder to see. The road twisted all over the place. I lost sight of the car and when I turned the corner, I just caught a glimpse of Hayley disappearing into the treeline. The Uber moved off.
I stopped my car, waiting a few minutes so Haley wouldn’t hear me.
As I stepped out of the car, my high heeled foot sank into the snow and I realized that this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. My feet were already frozen.
I hurried to the spot where Haley had disappeared at, hoping I could see her house, but all I saw was darkness.
I wanted to follow her, but there was no way I could hike through the woods in these shoes. Not if I wanted to keep all my toes. I tried to memorize the area. I would go home and change into better clothes, then I could try and find her house. The drive home took longer than I thought it would. The snow was getting worse. If I got lost, I could end up freezing to death and no one would find me. I should wait until first light and then go looking for her house.
Glad to get in from the cold, I dressed in jeans and a red flannel shirt. Some coffee soon warmed me up.
I sat on the couch, too wired to sleep. I’m sure the coffee wasn’t helping, but I needed it.
What could I do to keep myself busy? I didn’t own a TV, you could waste an entire lifetime sitting in front of one of those things, besides everything was a repeat
nowadays. Back in the day, I used to play the harp. It was old fashioned, but I enjoyed it. Cerberus hated it, he used to howl when I played in the Underworld. Which reminded me, I needed to let him out. I opened the garage door and let him into the main house. He immediately started sniffing at everything.
“Hey, boy, how was your day?” I asked, scratching him behind the ear. He whined and rolled over onto his back.
Just before my marriage to Hades, he invited me to meet his family on Olympus. I remember walking into the huge banquet hall, in awe of it all.
It was decorated in gold, with a huge table filling the hall. Zeus was seated at the head of the table. He didn’t bother to greet us, simply nodding his head at Hades as we entered.
I felt like a trophy wife at the time with Hades showing me off. I know he didn’t view me like that, but he was also pretty pleased with himself for marrying me.
Hera, the beautiful wife of Zeus, regarded me with distain. No doubt, she hated all women since Zeus had trouble keeping his hands to himself.
“What did you do as a mortal?” Hera asked.
“Um, I helped my mother on our farm. It was small, but it kept us fed.”
“You worked with your hands. Like a man,” she said.
I felt my cheeks flame as Aphrodite started to laugh. That blonde bimbo found my embarrassment amusing. I felt inferior to these beings. I was inferior to them.
“Persephone is a skilled harp player,” Hades said.
“Really, well by all means,” Hera said, motioning to a harp in the corner.
My cheeks flamed. “Oh no, I couldn’t,” I said, looking to Hades for help but he urged me on.
Moving slowly, I sat at the harp, feeling their eyes on me, waiting for me to screw up.
I took a breath and allowed my hands to move over the strings. I faltered, stopping and earning a giggle from Aphrodite.
I looked to Hades. He smiled encouragingly. “It’s okay,” he said.
Nodding, I started again. As I moved through the song, I felt more confident. I forgot about the others, playing only for Hades. He applauded loudly when I was done, even the others begrudgingly applauded.
It was then that I realized that Hades would always support me, that he was there for me. I think I fell for him that day.
As the first rays of sunlight hit my house, I left the house. I drove back to the spot where Haley had been dropped off. The snow was about two feet deep, but it was a lot warmer now I had my boots.
Haley’s tracks were long gone from last night, but I started walking and after about ten minutes, I could see a house through the trees.
As I got closer, I could see her truck parked outside. The house was a log cabin which made me reconsider my own house. I would love to live this far out, but I guess I lost out. There is nowhere for Cerberus to live, I thought.
The front door opened and I ducked behind the truck. Where was Haley going this early? She was going to find me lurking and call the cops. Should I stand up? Pretend I’m lost and get her to invite me inside?
I peeked around the side of the truck, but Haley wasn’t at the house. Where was she?
Standing up, I turned around and something hit me in the face.
12
A slap to the face woke me. I opened my eyes to find myself propped against the truck and Haley was glaring at me. That chick has some arm, my face was killing me.
“Why are you following me?” she demanded.
“I wasn’t,” I said, trying to raise my hand to my face, but I discovered that she had handcuffed me to the handle of her truck. “Is this really necessary?” The snow was melting through my jeans and my ass was half frozen. I got to my feet, wiping off the back of my jeans.
“That depends. Why are you following me?”
I could lie, but what was the point?
“I wanted to ask you about the Cult of Ares.”
Her eyebrows nearly left her forehead. “Are you kidding me? That’s why you’re here? I thought you were some crazy stalker. Why me?”
“I heard that you were into all that once.”
“Who told you that?”
“Dan Clark.”
Hayley snorted. She leaned against the truck and pulled a packet of cigarettes from her pocket. She popped one in her mouth, lit it and took a drag before answering me. “That dick? You know he was a member too?”
“Yes.”
“He was the one who started talking about them. What has he been saying about me?”
“Nothing really. I saw the tattoo and he said that a few of his friends had them too.”
“So? That doesn’t explain why you’re stalking me. I’m not a member, I can’t help you join.”
“Believe me that’s the last thing on my mind. I’m looking for something. An object associated with Ares.”
Hayley took another slow drag of her cigarette. “You mean that amulet thing?”
“Uh, maybe. What does it look like?” An amulet? That could be what I was looking for.
“Old, metal, with red stones. Weird writing on it. Probably Greek.”
That could be it. “Do you have it?”
“No, haven’t seen it in about ten years. Ask your boyfriend, he might know.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said. I held up my hand for her to unlock the cuffs.
She hesitated. “You know you really need to work on your people skills. Next time, just ask, don’t act like a crazy person.”
“Noted.”
She unlocked the cuffs. “Do yourself a favor, stay far away from the cult. I thought I was twisted until I heard about them.”
I rubbed my wrist. “Look, I know you don’t like Clark, but…is he a bad guy?”
She considered my question. “He’s a hypocrite.”
“Did he ever hurt anyone?”
She scowled at me. “You mean did we ever hurt anyone?”
“I’m not trying to catch you out here. I just want to know what I’m dealing with.”
“Like I said, ask your boyfriend. And stay away from me.”
Well she didn’t deny it, so maybe I was wrong about Clark? Why was he a hypocrite? Because he became a cop? Or was it something else? I had time to think about it as I hiked back to my car. My face throbbed from where I was hit, and the cold air wasn’t helping any. I was tempted to go back and kick her ass, but she had been useful, and I was acting like a maniac. I could admit that. At least I knew what I was looking for now, even if I was no closer to finding it.
I arrived back at the car and got inside, immediately blasting the heat. I checked my face in the mirror. With the scar from the tentacle, I was starting to look like an abuse victim. I guess I could always blame Cerberus on being too boisterous. That and a lot of make-up.
I sat for a few minutes, letting the car warm up. I was running on no sleep; the heat was lulling me to sleep. I had two choices – I could go home and take a nap, or I could go snooping at Clark’s place. I knew the answer, but my body wasn’t going to thank me for it.
I rolled down the car window, cranked the radio and drove back to town.
*
A Long Time Ago
Hades
“What you are doing is insane. We need all the Gods we can get if we are going to stop him,” Athena said.
I stared at the vial in my hand, the vial that contained Persephone’s safety. “He has killed over half the Gods already. We still don’t know what he looks like. I won’t let her die with the rest of us.”
“How do you know it will even work?”
“It will work.”
“If the prophecy comes to pass, she will be alone. Are you willing to doom her to that?”
“I know you think me a fool, but I love her. I want her to have a chance. Is that so wrong?”
“No, but give her the choice or she will hate you forever.”
“At least she will be alive to hate me.”
13
As I skulked outside Clark’s house, I had to wonder when my life t
ook such a wrong turn that I was staking out houses and stalking people. A call into my tech guy had gotten me the address. Clark wasn’t listed since he was a cop, so it took a minute for him to find it.
Clark lived in a small two bedroom, a few miles from the station. I hoped he didn’t have a dog. He had never mentioned one and he certainly didn’t take to Cerberus, although few people did. Ironic really, Cerberus was the only one that liked me, every other dog seemed to view me as a threat. They would growl at me as I walked by.
It was mid morning and I knew Clark was already in work. He might not even have the amulet. I was grasping at straws, but the person who had it must live in town or Eris wouldn’t have been looking for it here. Haley didn’t have it, so that only left Clark. I put my head in my hands, I really was a crazy person. It didn’t stop me from getting out of the car though.
I admit I was more than curious to learn more about Clark. I hoped he wasn’t another liar, I’ve had enough of them.
Sneaking up to the back door, I peered through the glass. The place was surprisingly neat and tidy.
I tried the handle, but of course it was locked, he wasn’t stupid. As I was trying to jimmy the lock, I noticed a blinking light. An alarm? Damn it.
Okay, I couldn’t get into the place myself, but I’m sure I could get Clark to invite me in. For dinner, maybe?
I waited until lunchtime, when I knew Clark would head to the diner for something to eat. I casually bumped into him.
“Hey, Clark. How’s it going?”
“Uh, good. How’s the store?”
“Oh. Fine. Gavin is a pain in the ass.”
Clark chuckled. “Yeah, he’s a bit of a weird kid.”
“What’s the jail time for beating him around the head with the cash register?”
“Me, personally, I would let you go considering how much you’ve suffered, but I think the courts would disagree.”
I grabbed a spare fork and grabbed a piece of Clark’s apple pie.
“Help yourself,” he said.
Raising Hell Page 6
