Hades: Modern Descendants

by elda lore

  I splashed water on my face and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes looked brighter. My cheeks paler. I’d lost weight in only a few short days, and yet I strangely was not hungry. I brushed my teeth, feeling a slight tingle to my hands, but dismissing it. I wiggled them to loosen the sleepy sensation and combed my fingers through my hair, fluffing it, strangely hoping to look fresh for Hades. I returned to his room to find him sitting upright, his elbows on his knees, his hands covering his face. As I stared, he ran a hand through his thick hair, then held his hands cupping the base of his neck. His focus was forward and I could see the outline of the scar along his hairline. I gawked unabashedly.

  “I was cut.” He didn’t look at me. “One night I wandered the woods and ran into a gang of kids.” He sat straighter, rubbing his hands on his jean-covered thighs. “I should have turned and ran, but I was mesmerized. The laughter. The camaraderie. I imagined fun being their experience.” An infinitesimal shudder vibrated over him.

  “They caught me.” My breath held. Without him telling me more, I knew the rest of the story. I could envision the cut. I could hear his scream. I imagined the pain. My heart ached and my hand covered my chest.

  “They were high. Thought I was an apparition.” His palms flattened against each knee. His breath hitched before he continued. “It took two to hold my arms. One sat on my knees. The last sliced me to see if I’d bleed.”

  Do you? I wanted to ask, because my blood boiled with hatred for those who hurt him. Despite the coloring, Hades appeared human. But his cool skin brought about several questions. He breathed. He ate. He slept. But was he alive? Or was he a walking dead? His existence, like the underworld, remained a conundrum to me. I couldn’t move, although an urge to rush to him, comfort him, wrap my arms around him returned the tingle to my hands.

  “Black oozed out of me. A kid holding my arm puked on me. It was the leverage I needed to break free. The knife got my lip when I spun out from under them.” His tone turned spiteful and bitter. “My eyes burned with the vomit, but I swung out. My fists connected with flesh and cracked bone. I wished to hurt them.” Shaky fingers combed through his black locks. The motion trigged my movement. I stepped toward him and knelt by his feet.

  “I’m sorry,” I muttered weakly, knowing my words did nothing to sooth the pain, the memory.

  “They were repulsed by me.” He shook his head slowly side to side. “I could have hurt them. Fate is on my side. I could have….” His eyes pinched shut. His hands clenched together, fisting on his thighs. His knuckles turned deep blue from the squeezing pressure.

  “I don’t believe that. I don’t believe you would have killed any of them.” I spoke softly, adding words to his mouth, trying to soothe as I would to one of the lambs on our farm. “I don’t believe you’d ever hurt someone without reason.” My fingers shook as they reached for the side of his face. A trembling index traced the outline of the crescent from brow to jaw. His eyes opened sharply with my touch, then drifted closed. His face leaned toward the pressure of my finger. I repeated the motion, stroking firmer, pausing to brush his hair behind his ear. His face turned into my palm and I cupped his cheek. My thumb stretched to outline the curve of his lips. He kissed the pad of my thumb.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. His lips rose slowly and the sapphire eyes burned bright. He held my gaze for a moment before speaking. “Let’s do something today. Let’s make our own fun.” His hopeful request sparked my heart. An infectious smile spread to meet his.

  “Okay.”

  Level Two:

  Sloth

  [Hades]

  The Game Room was located on the second level. A variety of rooms housed this floor, but I figured this one would be the one she could relate to best. Couches scattered informally, formed small seating areas centered around televisions with gaming consoles. Most areas were filled with men lounging lazily back against the cushions, legs outstretched, fingers clicking rapidly on the controller, as they stole cars and took women without concern. Females filled their fair share of seating spaces, concentration intense as they blasted criminals and creatures. With a hand on the small of her back, I guided Persephone to an open sectional near the back corner. Turning on the television, we watched quietly while the games loaded.

  Persephone’s eyes roamed the room, no doubt taking in the appearance of everyone. Grey skinned, thick bodied, and dark clothing appeared uniform throughout. A low hum of grunts, groans and disappointment filtered around the room but no steady stream of conversation flitted among the collection of people. They intently watched the screen before them. Her neck twisted back to the screen. The options appeared: Grand Theft Auto. Assassin’s Creed. Warcraft.

  “Which one would you like to play?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know.” Her eyes narrowed to read the list then widened.

  “Is that what they are playing?” Her tilting head implied the room.

  “I guess so,” I said, pressing play on the controller for the game I thought would be least offensive. The first scene involved a man stealing a car. Innocent enough. Then he took a woman on the corner and…

  Persephone gasped. Her eyes looked away.

  “What?” My brow pinched. “Isn’t this what people your age do all day?”

  “My age?” she snapped. “I’m twenty-one, not thirteen. I don’t play video games.”

  “You don’t?”

  “How old are you?” she asked, pinching her eyes in my direction.

  “Why don’t you play these games? I thought that’s what kids did.”

  “Kids?” Her voice squeaked.

  “Yeah, young humans.”

  Her eyes narrowed to near slits. “I wouldn’t know. I work. I study. Or I read.”

  It was my turn for surprise.

  “You read?”

  “Yes, regardless of you thinking I’m a kid,” she bit the word. “I like to read. Books with lots of words, too, not just pictures. I may be blonde but I can handle it.” Her lips twisted, suppressing a smile. Was she teasing me? I didn’t understand what she meant about being blonde. And as for a kid, it was the wrong term to use. She was slender, but her body was very womanly.

  “How old are you, again?” she asked nonchalantly, but I ignored her the second time. I had a better idea than spending time watching a video screen where crimes were committed. Turning off the set, I took her hand as I stood and tugged her from the couch. I pulled her from the room while she playful pleaded: “Where are you taking me?”

  Once inside the elevator, her smile spread. “Where are we going?” She giggled nervously. It wasn’t the full belly laugh which flew through my room; it was more a rustling of fall leaves and the sound sprinkled over me. Her bark eyes sparkled with excitement.

  “You’ll see.” Her smile grew contagious and I responded with my own.

  --

  “You have a library,” she squealed, running to a shelf. Her finger trailed the spines as she paced slowly past volumes of old tomes and aged manuscripts. Her steady wander grew slower and slower as she neared my favorite section. My breath caught when she stopped. Her index finger reached the top of a book and pulled it forward. Reverently, her other hand held the delicate binding and she opened to the middle.

  “Everyone has their fate, and the more people try to deny it, the more trouble they get into,” she said then paused.

  “Fate decides who comes into your life, your heart decides who stays.”

  She laughed. “Shakespeare didn’t say that.”

  “Nope.” I smiled. “He said, I still will stay with thee,

  and never from this palace of dim night, depart again.

  Here, here will I remain with worms that are thy chambermaids.

  O, here will I set up my everlasting rest

  and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars

  from this world-wearied flesh!”

  She stared at me, her eyes alight despite the dark bark color.

  “Oh, Romeo,” s
he exhaled, her chest rising after the release of breath.

  “Oh, Juliet.” I swallowed, preparing for what I’d say next.

  “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

  It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night

  Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear—

  Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.

  So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows

  As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.

  The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand

  And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude hand.

  Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight,

  For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.”

  What truth those words of Shakespeare spoke for Persephone burned bright to me in a world of darkness, reminding me again of a firefly. Her beauty glistening, she gleamed like a jewel. I longed to touch her as the fool Romeo desired of his Juliet because I hadn’t seen the likes of any being like her before.

  “Hades,” she breathed. “You have Shakespeare memorized.” Her tone expressed her appreciation. Her hand rose to her neck and her cheeks flushed.

  “Well, I’ve had a lot of time.” My lip tweaked on one side. A grin responded from her.

  “And how long would that be?” She tipped her head, raising one eyebrow, fishing for my age again.

  “Too long, I’ve waited for this moment.”

  Her face fell. “Was that Shakespeare?” She looked down at the book and flipped a page.

  “No. That was me.”

  Her lips twisted, but the smile won the war and spread. She didn’t look at me but a peek of pink painted her cheeks and my breath caught at the color.

  --

  We lazily remained in the library for several hours. It was night to me and eventually I tired, but my focus didn’t stray from reading with her my favorite play: Romeo and Juliet. Fickle Romeo, you fool, I cursed. I’d read this play enough to have each part memorized. He loved a girl and lost her out of fear. Then Death, that evil slayer of dreams appears and I can relate too well to the despair. With each passage shared, and line read, I knew I’d never part from Persephone. While she was our prisoner, my heart was the one trapped.

  We sat side by side and shared the ancient volume. Our thighs brushed, our shoulders touched, and at times, she’d playfully reached over me to see if I read the lines correctly. She tried to be serious when she read a line meant for a man, but my laughter couldn’t be contained. Her tough guy voice did not fit her physique.

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “No,” I struggled to suppress the chuckle, threatening to continue.

  “You are.” She swatted my arm and drew back.

  “I’m sorry,” I guffawed, quietly.

  “I haven’t heard you laugh before.” Her voice softened as she twisted to rest her arm along mine. “You have a nice laugh. It lightens your face.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean.” She contorted her face to look stern and pouted her lips. Using her false male voice, she spoke. “You look so serious all the time.” Her expression broke into a grin. “And the laughter makes you look younger.” She paused. “How old are you again?”

  I rolled my eyes, knowing I couldn’t tell her. “How old do I look?”

  “Twenty-three, twenty-four.”

  That sounded like a good age. The truth would freak her out too much.

  “That sounds right.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “I am not.” The tenor of my tone rose.

  “You are. When you lie, your eyes turn this cloudy color. Not so blue but more like a pool with dirt.” Her body shifted to face me.

  “Well, that sounds disgusting,” I teased.

  “Okay, more like a lake and then someone plopped in a handful of sand.”

  I twisted to face her. “That still sounds awful.”

  “Well, just tell me the truth and I wouldn’t have to try to describe this. I’m not Shakespeare.” Her hand slapped her thigh. I leaned forward.

  “You’re cute when you get frustrated.”

  She gasped. That open mouth begged for mine, and I leaned closer.

  She swallowed and licked her lips. My mouth watered in response.

  The magnetic force pulled us together while our wills fought the urge. I longed to feel her lips against mine…

  “Hades.” The sharp call of Mina made Persephone and me jump, springing apart like guilty teenagers. I swiped a hand through my hair and adjusted my hips to allow for the strain in my jeans. Persephone sat like a stone next to me.

  “Your father wishes to see you, child.” Her smoky voice rasped. Her eyes volleyed from Persephone to me. “He’s in his office. Why don’t I show Persephone around a little bit while you go see him?”

  I eyed her suspiciously, but stood nonetheless. I turned to offer Persephone my hand. I enjoyed touching it. The slight brushes and tender taps prickled over my hyper aware skin and I lit up over her. I didn’t want to leave her.

  “Hades,” Mina barked. “He’s waiting.”

  Escape

  [Persephone]

  Mina escorted me from the library after Hades’ exit. As if she read my mind, she educated me on the workings of Hades Emporium. A resort to humans on the outside, a parallel life of sorts dwelled beside the hotel for those no longer living.

  “He brought you in through the Cave of Decision,” she explained in her smoky voice. “I don’t know how you passed without giving in.”

  “Giving in to what?” I inquired.

  “The seduction. The call of those lost souls wailing. The ones waiting to be claimed.”

  “Claimed for what?” My throat caught with fear and I fought the lumpy need to swallow. My left hand tingled with that prickling sensation, like it was falling asleep.

  “Claimed for the greater depths of hell or to pass to peace.”

  I turned to look at my tour guide, who ignored me as we walked forward.

  “Is it like a purgatory?” I questioned.

  “Yes, something like that.” Her voice croaked and I shivered. I shook my hand in frustration. The tingling pricks were not dissipating with each shake.

  “What’s wrong with your hand, child?” Her pinched gray brow was almost comical. She looked very much like an animated character from a Tim Burton film.

  I raised my hand and then dropped it to my side, hoping to increase the blood flow.

  “Just feels like it’s falling asleep.” I shrugged, attempting to wiggle my fingers. She stopped us with a hand to my forearm. Her haunted eyes questioned mine.

  “This is not good, child.” Her haunted eyes questioned mine, filling with concern. “Where all has he taken you?”

  I explained I’d been to the stores on level one and the game room on level two. Her ancient lips pursed. Her head shook in disappointment.

  “Mina, could you help me? Could you tell me how to leave?”

  “Leave, child?” Her hollow eyes opened wide. “Why would you want to leave Hades?”

  “Mina, look at me. I don’t belong here.” Mina’s eyes skimmed down my body. She knew the truth, apparent as the missing nose on her face. I was not one of them.

  “What I see is a beautiful creature who makes my Hades happy. What is belonging, dear? Hades wants you here. I would never steal that happiness from him.” She smiled slowly, empathy in her eyes for my loss, but pride for a man whom she clearly loved like a child. Her expression shifted and puzzlement crossed her face.

  “Have you eaten since you’ve been here?”

  I shook my head. “Strangely, I haven’t felt hungry. Almost like I don’t need to eat. Isn’t that silly?”

  She nodded once, a knowing crease to her highbrow. Something beeped at her side and Mina quickly pulled forth a small gadget similar to a phone. She pressed on the screen and frowned. “I probably shouldn’t leave you alone.” Mina glanced at the device in her hand. “But I don’t think he’d approve if I took you wit
h me.” She muttered more to herself than to me. “Do you think you can get yourself back to Hades’ room? He’s just under the penthouse level.”

  I nodded, without giving away my hesitation. I wasn’t certain I could find my way through the darkened hallways and winding alleyways. But a glimmer of freedom sparked in me. I hadn’t been alone outside Hades’ room. My heart wasn’t getting the memo to remain calm, and it raced with hopes of escape the moment I was finally by myself. I forced a smile at Mina, attempting to reassure her I would find my way. She spun away from me, and I waited until she turned down the corridor we exited moments ago. Then I twisted in the opposite direction and ran.

  Left at the end of the torch lit hall, I sprinted down another passageway. Coming to a dead end, I looked one way and then the other. Hearing noises from the right, I choose left again and skimmed along the wall, continuously twisting my head back to clarify the noise was behind me and not ahead. While adrenaline coursed through my veins, sorrow filled the pit of my stomach. Hades and I had a nice time in the library. He was actually rather pleasant, and the more time I spent near him, the less his appearance repulsed me and a strange attraction grew. His tender eyes as he read Shakespeare. Emotion behind each word as if he spoke them just for me. To me. Each delicate bump of thighs or knock of arms throughout our time, felt like flint and stone. An ember sparked. But I had to get home. I did not belong in this bizarre place in an alternate world, as Mina described. I wanted to go home.

  Hoping to find the elevator bank ahead, I picked up my pace while my fingers trailed the rough walls. The texture reminded me of an ancient castle or an old dungeon. The darkness caught up to me despite the flaming torches and I turned the next corner without slowing to check my direction. My carelessness slammed me into a hard substance: solid, large and malleable, a creature of sorts who smelled like rotten food and festering garbage, stood before me. I swallowed back the bile in my throat as my head craned up and up to take in the massive size.