“I played it safe for years. I had the perfect woman. I never loved her, which was the ideal situation. We fucked and we fought. It was satisfying, until I stupidly threw it all away. Even when I told this woman that I was single, she still didn’t throw her arms around my neck and kiss me,” Hades stammered.
Snickering, Miguel patted his arm. “Fucking and fighting is the best way to do it. What else is there? It’s miserable when you love them and they leave you. She didn’t take your money, though senhor?” He seemed truly surprised that the stealing of money hadn’t been part of his tragic story.
“If only she had taken my money, it would have been easier. I was nearly stabbed for breaking up with my longtime girlfriend, Katarina. Thankfully, she didn’t know the true reason for our sudden break-up. Don’t get me wrong, we broke up every other week just for something to talk about, but this was different. She even tried to use the good knives, the serrated ones with the prong things on the end, the ones we use when interrogating someone we really don’t like,” Hades said, smashing his face against his hand. He leaned his elbow against the solid wood bar to keep his head propped up.
“Yes, I know of that blade,” Miguel nodded. “She must have been really pissed at you.”
Hades snorted. “She has always hated me, that’s why it work out so well. I never had to be involved in her life. This other girl, she’s different. She’s the girl you don’t mind spending an eternity with.” He waved his free hand to emphasize how long eternity felt like.
He picked up one of the shot glasses and stared into the bottom of it. He felt as empty as the glass and he had no idea how to fix things. He wasn’t the hero. He was the tyrant who spilled the blood of the wicked to teach them a lesson. He was the asshole who yelled at her, even when she was trying to help. Shit, she had done more good in Hell than he had in the last three hundred years. She was the bright, shining spot in his bleak world. All the Fallen responded to her fair approach to things. Even the hateful Sebastian had shown her respect after the battle with the false gods. That had certainly been a surprise. Even Michael had been kind to her, according to something Malcolm had overheard. The Sword of God had torn off a piece of his own tunic and wrapped her wound. The fucker had demanded her head so often; it should have been his battle cry, and yet he had gone out of his way to aid her.
Yes, she had definitely fucked up his entire life, yet for the life of him, he still didn’t know why he cared for her. By all rights, Lucifer, who claimed that she was the love of his life, should be the one hunting for her, though technically he was here searching for his dreaded Harpy, not looking for Lady Black. Regardless, he didn’t see the Angel of Darkness prowling the streets and knocking in heads to find her. What an asshole.
Father’s comment came rushing back to him in his delirium. Father was surprised that Hades had survived as long as he had without someone by his side. Was Father implying that He knew Lucifer was doing a shitty job as ruler of Hell? He certainly hoped so, not that he wanted the job. Did Father know that he had been doing his best to run Hell in spite of Lucifer’s antics? He wasn’t sure. Father liked to be cryptic with His speeches, which often annoyed him, but Father wanted them to figure out their own problems after a subtle push in the right direction.
He crossed his arms along the edge of the bar and put his head down. He ignored the bartender who was asking if he needed the number of a cab. Instead, he thought about Lady Black’s long black hair and her startling blue eyes. Why did he care about one of the most feared creatures ever created? He had feared her once, when she had used her power to throw him through his throne after he tried to kiss her. He should have never forced himself on her, but admittedly, he had been overwhelmed by her beauty. Lucifer had taken away her ashen appearance and allowed her immortal splendor to blossom. The bastard only cared about what he could take from her. Lucifer wanted her power to cleanse his mind and purge the evil from his heart. Did he want the same? Was he so mired in darkness that he wanted to claim her in the same way Lucifer had and cleanse himself of his wickedness? He didn’t think so. He liked who he was, most of the time, at least when he wasn’t being mean to Lady Black. He usually hated being mean to her, but feared what would happen if Lucifer ever found out how much he cared about her.
He imagined the look on Lucifer’s face if he ever learned the truth. Murderous wouldn’t begin to describe it. They would have to invent a new word to explain how much hatred could occupy one face.
Hades burst out laughing. He so wished he could tell Lucifer that he cared about Lady Black…except he would use her real name, the name that was forbidden to be uttered by his mouth. Fuck Lucifer for cursing him. Maybe Lucifer had cursed him because he somehow knew that they would be romantic rivals.
He wiped his nose and snickered. Romantic rivals indeed. He was cruel to Lady Black and she barely tolerated him because of it. Lucifer had broken her fucking arm and yet she still loved him. What did it take to please this woman?
Hades sat up so quickly that the room spun. Miguel graciously caught him again before he slid off the sticky stool.
It suddenly dawned on him that Lady Black had never once said that she loved Lucifer. He often heard her whispering the affectionate words to her Nachtghuls, but she never said it to Lucifer. It was possible they said it to each other in private, since Lucifer was not one to show affection in front of others, but Hades doubted it. Son of a bitch. She didn’t love the Angel of Darkness. He had never considered that before. It’s true that she had forgiven Lucifer on multiple occasions for acting like a lunatic and betraying her, but she had never spoke of her love for him. In fact, during their last private conversation, he was the one who tried to convince her to forgive Lucifer, yet again, for the incident in Portland. What would she have done if he hadn’t made her see Lucifer’s perspective on things? Shit! Had he shot himself in the foot by offering her advice on her love life?
Hades shook his head and wanted to cry when he realized that he wasn’t good enough for Lady Black. If she couldn’t love Lucifer for all his heinous crimes, she could never love the Angel of Punishment, though he still considered himself the Angel of Endurance. He was a villain and villains didn’t get the girl.
Hiccupping, he shoved his hand into his pocket and conjured up some mortal money. He had no idea if he had the correct denomination or even the correct currency for the time period, but he slapped the money down on the bar and nodded to Miguel.
“Good luck, Senhor. I hope that you get the girl and that she never steals your money,” he waved.
Hades smiled at him. “Thank you, Miguel. I hope that you don’t use this to seek vengeance against the woman who stole your money; otherwise, we will be seeing each other again,” Hades slurred as he kicked a gas canister next to Miguel’s stool.
“We shall see, Senhor,” Miguel said indifferently.
With a half-salute, Hades walked out of the bar into the warm evening air. He breathed in the smell of something pungent and headed in a random direction that his feet demanded they take. A few blocks away from the bar, he realized that he didn’t know where he was going. He stopped to look around, and nearly stepped on someone standing behind him.
“Master,” said the creature he had forgotten to search for in her ancient Greek accent.
“Celaeno,” Hades muttered before he fell forward and passed out on the ground.
Chapter 9
Viktor stared down at his sleeping beauty. He had tried to wake her a few times in the middle of the night to speak with her, but she was in a deep sleep. The tear stains on her face were painful to see. He had caused this. He wasn’t sure why she had so easily accepted that they were lovers in their past lives, but her anger and sadness had been real. Perhaps she felt a connection to him or remembered him in small ways. She certainly hadn’t fallen in love with him during the last day after all the terrible things he had done to her. No, whatever she felt, it had come from a place deep inside of her. He knew this because he felt the same wa
y when he saw the devastated look on her face. He had severed whatever connection they once had and she now hated him.
He had given her time to calm down and work through her feelings before searching for her, though he admitted that he was more afraid that she would hit him if he approached her too soon. How had he made such a mess of things once again?
He had broken his primary rule, which was the problem. He had trained himself not to think about all the wonderful things they had shared and only focused on the negative. It was easier not to care about her when he recalled the fights and the pain they caused one another. In a moment of loneliness and weakness, he had thought of her and inadvertently summoned the demon. How the demon knew that he was at his most vulnerable he couldn’t guess, but it wouldn’t have taken the demon long to figure out how to lure him into making the deal. Thinking back, he wasn’t even sure why he had agreed to the deal. One moment he was telling the monster no and the next he was shaking hands with him. Had he been tricked? It’s true that he wanted his memories taken from him on some level, but he didn’t believe that he was so spineless that he would blindly enter into a contract with a creature he loathed and knew not to trust. So why had he entered into the agreement?
Regardless of the reason for his cowardice, he was stuck. The demon said that he if he failed, he wouldn’t like the consequences. He wasn’t sure what fate would befall him, but he wasn’t looking forward to finding out.
With the love of his life despising him and a demon who would undoubtedly make him suffer, he did the unthinkable. He thought about her, all the versions of her. He allowed the floodgates to open and he bathed in the happiness he had once felt by her side. He threw away his reasons for keeping her far away from his heart and embraced his love for her. Her beauty had inspired sonnets and her laugh was like a gentle breeze. Even when acting coy, she always looked at him with wonder and awe. His heart soared whenever he was with her and shattered when she was taken from him by some tragedy. He cherished every moment with her because he knew it could be their last, yet they still found time to disagree.
The stubbornness that had caused her to fight back and run from him at the hotel was a trait he knew very well. No matter the face, she always had the same willfulness in her eyes when she was about to start a fight. Though he had stormed out on her a few times over the years, he would always return with a bouquet of wildflowers to smooth things over. There was never a time when she didn’t accept them.
How could he explain to her why he needed to forget her when they shared such a deep affection? How could he explain what it felt like when she was torn away from him or worse, he was unable to reach her because something stole her away before they had a chance to rekindle their love in a new life? Would she think him a coward or would she understand that everyone had their limits? Everyone had a breaking point where they could no longer endure any more misery. Sadly, he had reached his limit. Would she ever be able to forgive him for such a deceitful act?
He should have called for the demon and allowed him to take her away in her sleep, but he couldn’t. Selfishly, he needed to explain himself in hopes that she would understand why he had made such a terrible deal for one second of bliss and find a way to forgive him.
∞
Hades tried to roll on his side, but his bed was intolerably stiff. His eyes burned and felt like there were shards of glass in them. Swearing never to drink again, he reached around for his pillow, but his hand found something hard covered in coarse material. It was possible that Katarina had slipped into his bed while he was asleep, but they were still feuding. The familiar stench of death told him that he was in Hell, but his bed didn’t feel right. It was possible that he had passed out on the dais after taking a beating from Lucifer, which happened more than he cared to admit. Unable to remember any recent fights, he finally opened his eyes to see what he was touching. Lying next to him less than six inches from his face was a rotting corpse. The gruesome sight still wasn’t enough to confirm his location until he saw the blinding sunlight.
He sat up in a rush and looked around the sun soaked area. His stomach rebelled against him for a moment, but luckily, the alcohol still in his system settled and created a sharp pain in the back of his skull. Where the hell was he?
Shaking himself awake, he got to his feet and looked around the unfamiliar area until he realized that it was vaguely familiar. In fact, it mirrored a location he had recently visited with a number of distinctions including a multitude of rotting bodies, a large metal security fence and patches of grass and dirt that had been scorched by fire. It took him a moment to discern that the distinctive smell of Hell Fire was permeating the area, despite this not being Hell. His brain bounced around a few theories until his fuzzy memory finally sorted itself out enough to remember the final details before he had passed out. Celaeno had found him. Presumably, she brought him to her new lair.
“Master is awake,” said a gravelly voice.
Hades turned to watch Celaeno hobble up the porch steps of the farmhouse to reach him. She ungracefully bowed and lowered her eyes to show her respect. When he raised his eyebrow questioningly at her large poncho, she looked down to figure out why he was confused. She nodded slightly and pushed the poncho over her head. Her large black wings and feather-covered body were revealed as her mortal face contorted into the hideous mortal/bird hybrid face he loathed. Her beak was still bent at an angle and her left eyelid sagged over her black eye. She flapped her functioning wing to smooth her feathers while her left wing hung limply at her side. He tried not to remember the reason for her disfigurement, but it was difficult to forget.
“I visited the cattle ranch where I left you and found that it was abandoned. I want to know where the livestock went. I want to know where the men in charge of the ranch are. Lastly, I want to know what this place is and why everyone is dead,” he said curtly, ignoring the stench from the bodies in the warm morning air.
Celaeno lowered her head and averted her eyes. “They are all gone,” she said meekly.
He tapped his foot on the wooden porch. “I left you enough food to last you a good twenty years. It has only been ten, so I ask you again, where are the livestock and the men who ran the ranch? I made sure that you were taken care of so that you didn’t have to hunt and could avoid situations such as this,” he said as calmly as he could, while pointing to the carnage in front of him.
Shrugging, Celaeno looked toward the fields. “They are gone,” she replied in the same quiet voice.
Hades looked to the sky for divine inspiration and the patience to continue the conversation. “Do you remember what I told you? I need you to be strong so that you can heal and continue your search for the Destroyer,” he stated, trying to refrain from yelling. He grimaced when his hazy brain figured out why the air smelled like Hell Fire and the ground was scorched. Lady Black had most definitely been here.
She nodded and flapped her wing excitedly. “Celaeno did as you asked, Master. The cows were foul tasting, but Celaeno ate them as Master wanted, but they did not help Celaeno heal. Nothing helped to heal. For years, Celaeno tried to gain strength to hunt the Destroyer, but it was too hard. Celaeno failed, until now. Come. See. Celaeno has an offering for Master. Celaeno found a way to kill the Destroyer,” she said hopping up and down.
Hades’ breath caught in his throat as he swore. He knew his harpy was cunning, but it appeared that she had surpassed his expectations and managed to capture the Bringer of the Apocalypse, despite her handicaps.
He nodded and motioned for her to show him the surprise, while he thought up a convincing lie to keep the Destroyer from removing his head for conspiring to kill her.
Walking toward the barn, he thought up at least six different versions of the truth, but ultimately decided to take his beheading with dignity. Lady Black would never believe anything he told her. In some small way, he was relieved that the truth was finally out and he no longer had to carry the burden of keeping Celaeno a secret from everyone.
<
br /> Celaeno tugged at the barn door and showed him her prisoner. When he saw what Celaeno had done, he was forced to take a step back. The icy blue gaze of Death was upon him, which meant that he was dealing with a completely different problem than anticipated, though equal in its ability to put a hangman’s noose around his neck. Somehow, his harpy had managed to capture two of the deadliest Predznak and the Nachtghul most likely to bite him, which was far worse than capturing the Destroyer. Realizing that he had to negotiate with Death and Fear, who would refuse to kill him quickly, unlike Balthazar or an angry Destroyer, there was only one course of action left.
Before Alazar could open his mouth, Hades grabbed Celaeno by her puffy shoulders and turned her until she was facing him.
“Celaeno, you have done a marvelous job. Master is proud. I am unhappy about the deceased ranchers, the men who replaced them and the soldiers who came to shoot you, but you have more than made up for it by bringing me the Destroyer’s pets,” he said brightly. “Master is very proud of you, Celaeno. You are very clever for capturing them.”
Celaeno’s beady black eyes perked up for the first time in centuries at his praise. Her happiness made him feel even worse for his mistreatment of her over the years.
“They smell like the Destroyer. The bleeding one must be a consort,” she said excitedly.
Hades nodded, but refrained from agreeing with her observation, not wanting a mental image of Liam and Lady Black together.
He did his best to ignore the building rage on Alazar’s face and stuck to his plan. He was grateful that both Predznak were bound; otherwise, he would have been overwhelmed with the need to end his own life only to become afraid of doing so.
Staring intently at his harpy, he did his best to portray his approval of her handiwork.
“You have served me well, Celaeno. Come to Master and receive your reward,” he said, holding out his arms.
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