by S. E. Babin
Marie was not liked by many, but I found her to be charming and naive, a dangerous combination for a woman in power. I also found her brilliant. Not only had she figured out how to make a luscious cake before baking was at the height of its popularity, she’d also managed to rig up a temporary oven using stones. Most of the cakes back then were dense and dry. Pound cake was just beginning to find its popularity, but Marie managed to take the best of chocolate and make it into a beautifully moist cake.
Hades’ soft footsteps stilled as he stopped by my side. I opened the box carefully and pulled out a scrap of paper Marie had given me so many years ago.
Hades sucked in a breath as he realized the treasure I held in my hands. “Abby, is that -?”
I nodded. “I was fortunate to salvage this from the fire that destroyed my last home.” I gazed up into his silvery eyes. “This and my ambrosia. A few smaller things, but this was one of the more important.”
“My goodness.”
“Yep.” I studied the cake recipe for what felt like the thousandth time and smiled. I liked Marie and was saddened to hear what happened to her. She was a woman who was ill-trained from birth to take over the position as Queen.
I couldn’t make the cake like Marie had, but I still liked to pull this recipe out and look at it over the holidays. But the basics were close to modern day baking. She was a woman ahead of her time.
“Want to help me bake a cake?” I asked Hades.
He bowed. “Whatever the lady demands.”
“Good. Grab the buttermilk and eggs out of the fridge?”
Hades went to do my bidding, which was always a nice feeling, and I gathered the rest of the things close together next to the mixer.
Baking a cake with the devil was probably the most fun I’d had in weeks. He was quite well-trained in the kitchen and his sense of humor occasionally dry as dust. We cracked a few jokes, made fun of each other a little bit, then finally got to the serious task of making the cake.
Less than an hour later, I pulled it out of the oven to cool.
While the morning started off terrible, the day had gone on to be pretty darn good. I untied the apron from my waist and pulled it over my head. I stretched my arms high and yawned. Cooking was exhausting, but it was a good kind of tired. Hades tossed his apron onto the counter.
“I had fun today,” he said.
A grin spread over my face. “Better than the day to day monotony of soul gathering?”
His answering smile grew. “If chocolate is involved, anything is better than soul gathering.” He leaned over and took a long whiff of the cake. “What kind of icing?”
“Mmm,” I mused. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Chocolate cake was so versatile I could use anything. “What do you think?”
A thoughtful look crossed his face. “When I was very young, before I became to be the person I am today, I used to know a woman - a mortal - named Helen.”
I held my breath. Was Hades really telling me a story? Sometimes he was so closed off. I dared not speak.
“Helen was an older woman with many children and a few grandchildren. Her smile was soft and she smelled…of baby powder.”
A smile pulled the side of my mouth.
“She owned a bakery in the middle of London and I stopped in one day on one of my first trips of Earth running errands for my father.”
His expression darkened for a moment. I couldn’t imagine what kinds of errands someone like Hades’ father would want him to run. “But the smell coming from outside of it was heavenly and so I disobeyed my father’s order to come straight home. Instead, I went inside.”
I took a step closer to him because he was speaking so softly.
“There was a slice of chocolate cake as big as my head inside of the case. Ms. Helen saw me eyeing it and offered it to me. I had no money other than the drachma, but when I tried to hand it to her she pushed it away and bade me take it anyway. I finished the entire slice of it and can still remember the way the chocolate burst across my tongue. The icing was tangy yet sweet.” He smiled. “Glorious. When I asked Helen later about it, she told me it was a simple cream cheese icing her mum had given her.”
“Cream cheese it is, Hades.”
“Indeed,” he said, his memories still in the London bakery from all those years ago.
Chapter 9
I handed over a beater filled with icing to Hades. The look on his face made me press my lips together to keep from laughing. He looked like a kid in a candy store. Well, not exactly. He looked like a really hot guy who had never experienced the joy of homemade frosting before. He took the beater from my hand and stared at it.
“What do I do with this?”
I snorted and took the other one and held it up to my mouth. “As long as this -” I held up the beater, “is detached from this -” I touched my stand mixer, “then you get to do this.” I licked the side of the beater and tasted the frosting.
His silver eyes went molten. “Can we share?”
I snorted, but couldn’t stop the blush from coloring my cheeks. “You have your own.”
Hades licked the other beater and shut his eyes in pure sugar bliss. “Just like I remember,” he murmured and promptly polished all the icing off of it.
I would never be able to get this sight of Hades and this beater out of my brain. Never. Ever. I cleared my throat and turned to the bottom of the cake left sitting on the stand. With a practiced hand, I scraped some of the icing and filled the top of the bottom layer with it. Hades lifted the top portion of it and set it on my layer. Moments later we had a perfectly iced cake and tension in the air so thick between us a match would have set the kitchen on fire.
I stepped away from it and gestured to the cake like an overexcited hand model. “There! All ready for tomorrow.”
One dark eyebrow rose. “Everything all right?”
“Yes,” I squeaked. “Excuse me for a second.” I spun out of the kitchen and hauled myself upstairs like my tail was on fire. I made it to my bathroom, flipped on the light and groaned at my reflection. I had flour on my face, hair coming out of my hastily arranged bun and waving around my head like I was a psych patient, and my cheeks were fire engine red.
“Not a good look, Abs.”
I screeched and spun around. Clotho lounged on my bed wearing one of her typical broom skirts and a satisfied expression.
“Why must you continually try to terrify me?”
She grinned. “I don’t think I have to try very hard. It just comes naturally.”
“Maybe try being a little less natural?” I offered and bent down to splash cold water on my face.
“You like him, don’t you?”
“He’s married,” I said. I was getting good at dodging unwanted questions.
“I am aware of his marital status,” she said. ‘You avoid my question.” She sat up and arranged her skirt around her thin knees. Her long hair spilled across her shoulders. Clotho looked like a teenager up to no good.
“In just a few weeks I’ll be on the hunt for his errant wife.”
“Avoidance!” she exclaimed in a sing-song voice.
“Shut it,” I growled.
“Do you not think someone like Hades may be good for you?”
“He’d be terrible for me. One thing I’ve learned in my time is attraction does not a good match make.”
Clotho gazed at me thoughtfully. “But does it always make a bad match?”
My lips thinned and I straightened. The fire in my cheeks had calmed some but my hair was still a hot mess. “Why are you asking me this? We both know it can go nowhere.”
Clotho’s eyes began to spin with silver.
“No! No. No. No.” I wanted to scream in frustration. The last thing I needed was a prophecy!
I tried to head out of my door but it slammed shut with a massive gust of wind. When I tried the door handle, I drew my hand away and hissed in pain. “You little witch,” I grumbled as I blew on my burned digits. Clotho had effectively trapped
me in here.
“The path between Heaven and Hell is a fine line,” her voice rang out in a monotone.
I sighed. I knew who Clotho was. I appreciated who she was. But it didn’t mean I liked being on the tail end of her prophecies.
“Heaven and Hell, yes, yes.” I waved a hand at her. “Continue on and tell me Death is at my door and everyone I love will die.”
Clotho didn’t miss a beat. “There are two paths. One is right, one is easy. You must take the one that causes you pain. You must release those you love. You must learn to wait and not react. There are things buried deep underneath the surface. You will unearth them.”
I sat beside her on the bed. She remained frozen, trapped in her premonition. I stroked her hair and waited it out.
“Persephone -” Clotho paused.
I sucked in a breath as I waited to hear. “Persephone…?”
“She is -. Stay away. Stay away!” Clotho reached over and grabbed my arm, her nails digging into the tender area where my wrist met my hand. Her head bent and her breath came in angry gasps. “You. Will. -”
Clotho sat up abruptly, shaken out of her prophecy through her own shock. She turned her gaze to me. “Die.”
I reared back in shock. “What?”
A shaky hand rubbed over her face. “Abby, you are prophesied to die.” Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at me in horror.
Unease burst in my stomach. “Well,” I said, trying to stay calm. “Sometimes these are just guidelines, right?” I chuckled but I wasn’t finding anything funny right about now.
“Sometimes.” She reached over and took my hand. “But this time I didn’t see a thread that let you live.”
I swallowed hard. “Well, that’s a happy story, Clotho.” I took my hand away from hers and stood. “Is the door going to set me on fire if I try to leave?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
“You can’t help it,” I said and left the room, my hands clasped together to keep them from trembling.
As soon as I was out of the room, I leaned my head against the wall and took a long, slow trembling breath in. So I was supposed to die soon. That’s an awesome way to begin my first Christmas. Couldn’t wait to eat the ham.
I sighed. I couldn’t tell anyone about this. It would just endanger them. I needed to figure a way out of it and then make sure I stayed alive long enough to avoid the prophecy. Clotho’s commandments didn’t always come true, did they? I thought back. Most of the time she’d given me vague choose the right path omens and, so far I was still here. This time was a little different. There was a definite you’re going to die vibe and she’d actually come out and said the words.
I was going to die.
Awesome.
A few feet away, a door clicked open and Hermes poked his head out. “Abs?” he asked, curiosity written on his face.
I plastered a smile on and wiped the stricken expression from my face. “Hey. How’s Zeus?”
I wasn’t sure if there was an update yet, but I knew if anyone knew it would be him.
Hermes shrugged. “Mostly the same. The wound is closed. His breathing remains regular. Now it’s just a wait and see.”
“Did Asclepius say when he would wake up?”
A head shake. “The doc isn’t the most talkative guy.”
“I think I’ll pop in to see him,” I said.
He gave me a curious stare. “Go right ahead,” he said after a moment.
I peeled myself away from the wall and headed down the hall to where Zeus was.
I cracked open the door to peek in, but there was no one else but him inside. I stepped in, shut the door behind me and settled myself into the chair beside the bed. Zeus was still in the same position we’d left him in, and the wound in his chest still glowed with our combined magics. In short, nothing had changed.
I pulled a soft blanket over me, tried to clear my mind of its swirling thoughts and stared at the person I’d had such a challenging relationship with over the last several months. I snorted quietly. Who was I kidding? Zeus was always a challenge and Hera was usually trying to kill me. The irony of the fact they were both in my house seeking shelter did not escape me.
“I’m going to die,” I whispered to Zeus. “Or at least Clotho tells me so.” He was the only one I could tell because he was the only one not awake. Therefore he couldn’t relay this information to anyone else. It was a win - win situation. I could get this off my chest, and he was a willing participant in the conversation mainly because he couldn’t move.
“It’s a prophecy thing,” I went on. “Something with Persephone and Hades. She didn’t get far enough to tell me who was going to kill me.” I chuckled. “Of course not because that would mean I could be a little bit prepared before someone tries to knife me in the back.” My voice trailed off. “Or mutilate me. Or poison me.” I sighed. We were hard to kill so they’d have to try harder than that if they wanted to take me down but I didn’t want to live my life tiptoeing around everywhere.
I lifted my knees up in the seat and rested my head on them. “I would very much like not to die, you know? I finally have a home. Some friends. Things.” I blew out a breath.
Silence was all that came from Zeus’ end.
“Of course you would remain silent now,” I grumbled. Not that I wanted to him to wake up right this second, but it would be nice to hear some of his sage, sarcastic wisdom right now.
I sat there for several more minutes, thinking about what would happen if I died before I realized why did I care? I’d be dead. Then I’d just be a soul floating around Hades’ realm. Maybe I could take over Tillie’s position and serve tea to his visitors.
“This is turning out to be just a stellar Christmas.” I sighed and stood up. There was more prep to be done and I wanted to make sure I finished decorating the house this evening.
I gave Zeus a mock salute and shut the door behind me softly.
All of my errant visitors gathered around the living room and stared at me expectantly as I made my way downstairs. I stalled at the bottom, my right foot raised in the air poised to take the next step.
Hera looked worse for the wear but she sat next to Hermes, her elbow resting on the couch and her head cocked to the side. Hermes was still giving me the look that told me he knew something was up but he wasn’t going to pry about it yet. Clotho’s was trying very hard to keep the stricken look from taking over her entire face. Artemis couldn’t help the grin on her face and Hades stared at her in consternation.
I don’t think he got her. But if he hung around he’d get used to her.
“The tree!” Artie shouted and wiggled in her seat. “We have to put up the tree!”
“Right,” I said and stepped onto the wooden floor. I hadn’t forgotten about it, but I didn’t know if I was in the right frame of mind this minute to start it.
But the sun had gone down and a soft snowfall whirled around the windows. I opened the front door and took a peek outside. We were in the middle of the mountains so it was a little colder here, but there was no other place that looked quite this much like Christmas. Tall pine trees dusted with snow stood proud against the light pinky dusk of the sky’s background. Snow danced in the air. I took a deep inhale and smiled in spite of myself. I left the door cracked open and turned to face everyone.
“Who wants hot chocolate?” I asked.
A chorus of cheers rang through the air.
“Hades, you can’t put the star on first,” Artie said, annoyance creasing her brow as she reached up to try to take it from him.
“Why not? You should work from the top to bottom. I am tallest so it makes sense.”
She pinched the area between her brows and groaned. “It makes zero of the sense. Give it to me.”
Hades held the star out of her reach. I sat on the couch sipping my hot chocolate, amused. He winked at me as she jumped up to wrest it from his fingers. But while Artie was no small woman, Hades had several inches on her in height and she looked
like a kid trying to grab a piece of candy from him.
Hera sat next to me with a long length of thread and an enormous bowl of popcorn. She didn’t look to be in the mood for festivities, but I gave it to her anyway to keep her busy and to keep her mind off on her husband upstairs. Her tongue stuck out from between her lips in concentration and she hadn’t spoken in half an hour, content to just weave popcorn on the thread.
Hermes on the other hand, sat on the floor, cursing up a blue streak as he tried to untangle hundreds of feet of white lights. “Why can’t I use magic again?” he whined.
I licked whipped cream off my thumb. “Because it’s Christmas and this is part of the joy.”
“This is not joyous,” he said and glared at me from above the massive tangle.
“Oh, I so disagree.” I held my cup up in a salute and grinned.
A sharp crack of violet magic snapped me out of my reverie. “Artie!”
She gave me a mulish look.
“We don’t attack the Lord of the Underworld over a tree topper.”
“He won’t give it back!”
Hades looked thunderstruck that Artie had attempted to subdue him with magic, but just as soon as that expression crossed his face, his chest began to boom with laughter. “This. I see why mortals love this so much!”
I chuckled. “Fighting is common, yes.”
“Just give me the star, Hades!” Artie shrieked.
Hera looked up from her popcorn, aggravated with the commotion. With a wave of her hand, she whipped the star from Hades’ hand and gave it to me.
I stared at her open-mouthed.
“They annoy me,” she said and went right back to stringing popcorn.
“Gods above and below!” Hermes exploded. He tossed the lights across the room and stood. “Is there more hot chocolate?”
