Descent into Desire

by Marie Medina

  * * * *

  Poseidon watched his wife Layla sleeping. What had started out as a massage to soothe her muscles after a workout had turned into very intense lovemaking. Layla still hadn’t fully adjusted to the immortality Zeus had granted her, and she tended to sleep far more than anyone else in Olympus. He loved watching her sleep. Besides the titillation of knowing exactly what had worn her out, watching her sleep reminded him of how much she calmed and soothed him. He had a very bad temper, and his mind tended to resist shutting down. Her ability to make him slow down and savor everything, especially her, was one of the characteristics he loved the most about her.

  He pulled himself from his thoughts when he felt someone on the beach above. He and Layla had moved to one of his underwater retreats when it had become obvious Demeter wasn’t going to let the sun come out again any time soon. He looked above in his mind. It was Hades. He couldn’t help smiling. This might be interesting.

  He kissed Layla on the forehead and watched her for a moment as she snuggled closer to his pillow. He headed up to the surface.

  Hades looked down at the waves. He didn’t smile when he looked up and saw Poseidon coming, but he didn’t look upset or displeased either. He’d taken his shoes off and stood ankle deep in the water.

  “I see you’re keeping the ocean warm enough. You can hardly tell it’s freezing out here,” Hades said.

  Poseidon walked up to stand beside him, also keeping his feet in the water. “Yeah. It’ll keep you warm no matter how cold it gets. I learned I could do that the last time Demeter did this. All the fish were getting stuck.”

  “Nice. Fertility goddess killing sea life.”

  Poseidon laughed. “Didn’t kill them. They just got stuck. Animals don’t die here.”

  “Ah. I’d forgotten.”

  He was tiring of the small talk, especially as he knew Hades hadn’t forgotten that fact at all, but he kept it up anyway. “How old’s that pup of yours?”

  Hades almost smiled. “Good point. I guess I always thought Cerberus was different.”

  Was his brother stalling? “Would make sense. You’re pretty different.”

  Hades didn’t reply, and Poseidon rolled his eyes.

  “What’s wrong? What’s going on, besides the trouble you’ve brought on yourself?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. Persephone seems happy. She’s become friends with Hypnos, and Cerberus follows her everywhere most of the time.”

  “She likes that thing?”

  Hades paused and gave him a warning look. “He’s a dog. A big one, but in the end he’s just a dog.”

  “He’s bigger than any hound in the mortal world, plus he has three heads and a dragon’s tail. He starts wagging and he can clear a room.” He found the warning glance encouraging. If he could annoy Hades, maybe he could get him to stop being cryptic and tell him what was wrong.

  “She likes it down there. She likes the freedom of being able to do what she likes and go where she wants to.”

  “I’m not surprised. The mortal world can only be so stimulating after a while.”

  “I like mortals.”

  “I’m married to one, so I obviously wasn’t putting them down.”

  “She’s a goddess now. She’s different.”

  “She was mortal when I fell in love with her.” He could admit though that Hades did like mortals more than most of them did. He was around them so much.

  Hades sighed. “I suppose it helps the Underworld isn’t what she was expecting.”

  Poseidon wasn’t sure what he meant. The nature of the Underworld wasn’t a mystical secret. “You saying she was expecting fire and brimstone? No wonder she was pissed you didn’t chain her up and have your way with her right off, if that’s the image she was working from.”

  He watched his brother’s reaction, and the mildness of it surprised him. Hades looked down and bit his lip, but then said, “Yes, she was expecting something along those lines. Demeter kept her just that sheltered.” After a few moments, he asked, “Where did you hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  Hades bit his lip again. “The other part.”

  Poseidon managed to suppress both a laugh and a remark about Hades biting his lip like a nervous teenager. “Hera. Zeus gleaned as much from his conversation with her. She was angry because she was expecting a very different experience from you. Seems now though that she’s happy you made that choice for her. I admire you. I couldn’t resist staying away from Layla for even twenty-four hours once I’d seen her.”

  Hades smiled. “Layla is lovely.”

  Another smile. Good sign. “She is, but you prefer blondes.”

  “I prefer a particular blonde.”

  Poseidon smiled. “Seems so.”

  “You’ll like her once Demeter can’t control her and you actually get to talk to her.”

  “I’m sure. Zeus likes her, and you know he doesn’t like silly women.”

  “Are there really any women he doesn’t like?” Hades’ tone almost took on a note of humor. Almost.

  Poseidon pretended to consider. “I can rephrase that. He doesn’t have conversations with silly women.”

  Hades fell silent again.

  “If you and Persephone are fine, or at least getting along well, why are you standing here acting melancholy?”

  “Just a mood lately.”

  Poseidon was tempted to push him into the water. “You’ve had this mood before. Contemplating the mysteries of the universe again?” Maybe his teasing was a bit cruel, but Hades could be annoying on this point. Poseidon had problems seeing why a god would question his own existence or place in the cosmos. It didn’t seem very god-like.

  “There’s nothing wrong with wondering about these things.”

  “Doesn’t seem healthy to me.”

  “I’ve been tossing a few theories around. Persephone likes to talk about issues like these. She asks lots of questions and keeps an open mind. And she’s not afraid to tell me what she thinks.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad to hear it.” Now go having meaningful discussions with her and leave us out of it! He kept his thought hidden, trying to be patient.

  “The thing is that’s what I need. I like the fact that I have something to do.”

  Poseidon had no idea what Hades meant. “What is that, exactly?”

  Hades looked puzzled, but then he laughed. “Sorry. I should start from the beginning, shouldn’t I?”

  “Yes. Please do. You’ve completely lost me.”

  “I like Persephone taking an interest in how the Underworld runs and how it works. I was thinking about that. You and Zeus don’t do anything. Zeus makes decisions, and we all used to have a closer relationship with the mortal world, but up here there’s nothing that has to be done. In the Underworld, everything would stop without me.”

  “So we’re lazy oafs?”

  “No, of course not, but I’d hate it if nothing and no one depended on me. I’m not on a schedule or anything, but I can’t ignore any of my duties for too long.”

  “That’s your answer then. You were ordained for the Underworld because that makes you happy.”

  “That’s not an answer. It’s an idea.”

  “What are you looking for then? Why there’s an Underworld? Why there’s an afterlife at all? Men and women have souls. They’re eternal beings. They have to go somewhere.”

  “The Titans left. Why are we still here? Men don’t need us.”

  “The Titans left Olympus. They didn’t fly off to a different galaxy or another dimension. Maybe, from the mortal point of view, we did leave. We withdrew. By the time the Romans were in power, we were just figureheads. We’d become ideals. Most people would have fallen over in shock and horror if we’d tried to talk to them. They certainly would these days. A man who says God spoke to him has a fifty-fifty chance of being believed. Some guy says he talked to me and everyone is going to call him crazy.”

  Hades shrugged. “Maybe not. Lots of people are turning back t
o older ways.”

  “They don’t know anything about the older ways or whatever you’d like to call them. They wear natural fibers and eat tofu and buy reusable bags and read self-help guides written by people with five SUVs who just want their money.”

  “That’s unfair! A hundred people like that don’t matter if one person finds peace and a better way to live. Not everyone is a fraud, you know.”

  Poseidon stared at his brother. “I didn’t mean any offense. I guess I’m cynical. The last mortal I encountered was a rich asshole who treated my girl like shit and practically raped her the last time they spent the night together.”

  Hades looked out across the water. “I know you didn’t, and I can understand that part. I was getting to my point, if slowly. I think, with Persephone by my side, I won’t wonder about these things anymore. I’ll be complete.”

  While Poseidon understood that feeling of completeness very well, he thought Hades shouldn’t get his hopes up. “You think so?”

  “I can’t be sure. It’s not a bad guess.”

  “So all this time you’ve been missing your soul mate? That’s the great cosmic void in your soul?”

  “The great cosmic void in my soul?” Hades repeated.

  Poseidon rolled his eyes again. “Layla likes poetry. I can’t help it, but it does convey my meaning. You’re not upset you didn’t have a mother or father to love you, and you’re not ‘lost’ because the Titans or the primal gods never told us our purpose. You’ve been longing for someone to love. Someone who could choose to love you.”

  Hades nodded slowly. “Maybe. It doesn’t sound half bad.”

  “It doesn’t. You thinking of running it by Persephone?”

  He shook his head immediately. “No. Not yet. Maybe some day, if she stays.”

  “That seems to be taking care of itself.” It started to snow. “But still, I kind of wish you hadn’t trapped her down there. You could get this over with sooner. Now she’ll keep thinking it over until her hundred days are up. You know? She won’t feel certain she wants to stay until she’s actually able to leave.”

  “Maybe not. Tomorrow she’s going to watch me judge the dead. She’s very interested.”

  “Expecting many tomorrow?”

  He nodded. “Hypnos has been leading them to the Valley of Dreams. They don’t know they’re dead yet while they stay among mortals who are dreaming. They won’t know until I’ve taken them into the heart of the Underworld by way of the Acheron.”

  Poseidon felt a chill run up his back, despite the warmth flowing through him from the sea. “You know, I’m glad it’s forbidden for us to go down there. I’m sure it’s pretty, but it sounds very creepy. One great big mind-fuck everywhere you go down there.”

  Hades laughed loudly. “I suppose I was meant for the Underworld since my brothers are such wimps.”

  “Wimp or not, I prefer having a dolphin to having…whatever Cerberus is.”

  “He’s a dog!” Hades made a face. “You two have a dolphin? I thought you had a cat Hera gave you?”

  “We still do, but Layla named a couple of dolphins, so now they’re always around.” Poseidon crossed his arms. “Laugh all you want.”

  “Oh I will.” Hades turned and walked toward the cave behind them. The cavern was a dead end to all of them, but for Hades the walls opened up to take him back to the Underworld. “I’m sure you’ll keep up with the gossip.”

  “Count on it.” He looked down into the water and then down the beach. Far away, he saw someone sitting on a rock. Someone very thin with lots of curly blonde hair.

  He hadn’t seen her in a long time, and he had started worrying like everyone else was. He began walking, and when he was close enough he yelled out to her. “Aphrodite!”

  She jerked her head up and jumped. She’d been staring down at her hand. She stood and looked at him, but then she bolted away.

  He stopped, but then he thought for a moment and dove into the sea. He’d catch her faster this way, and she wouldn’t be able to see him. Everyone around him was acting strangely, and at least with Aphrodite he felt he might be able to get a straight answer.

  * * * *

  Aphrodite fell face first into the sand as the giant wave crashed over her. She sputtered and spat as she wiped the sand off her face and coughed up salt water. She couldn’t stand up though because Poseidon was on top of her.

  He stood and extended his hand. “Sorry. You didn’t seem to want to talk, but I do.”

  “Sure Layla would approve?”

  “My wife’s not your biggest fan, but she knows anything we had going on ended when I met her. Being best friends with your daughter-in-law probably helps her trust you though.”

  Aphrodite sat down on the sand. “What do you want?”

  Poseidon looked down at both her hands. She wasn’t concerned because she knew he couldn’t see the ring Hephaestus had given her.

  “I want to know what’s wrong. You have no reason to worry about Hades, I’d say, and by now you should be over what happened with Ares, even if you aren’t quite back in Hera’s favor yet.”

  “I’m not likely to win it back any time soon.”

  “I see. There must be something more then. All that could add up to a ruined day or week, but you’ve been distant a bit too long.”

  “Everyone notices when I stop fucking every man in sight, it seems.”

  “That’s a little unfair. No, it’s very unfair. No matter what has happened, we love you. You don’t like being alone, but lately you’re avoiding everyone. That’s what we’ve noticed.”

  “I know.” Aphrodite thought quickly. She needed to distract Poseidon. He wouldn’t let her go until he felt he’d done something to help. “I went looking for Hestia recently. I couldn’t find her.”

  Poseidon thought for a moment. “I have no idea where she is. Why did you want to see her?”

  Aphrodite pulled her legs up against her chest and patted the sand beside her. Poseidon sat down.

  “We’re alike in some ways. She feels as useless as I do. The home is a very different thing these days. The hearth has been replaced by the microwave. Domesticity isn’t very domestic. It’s very rushed and busy and impersonal.”

  “Not always. People still make it all work in the end. They make time for each other. Parents can’t help it when they both need to work.”

  “And get married three times and shove their kids back and forth.”

  “You’ve expressed this before. Why get worried now? I prefer a world in which people can divorce and have another chance at happiness. Your own son is divorced, and he’s found happiness with someone who’s also divorced. I’m divorced. You complain about this all the time. It’s one of your pet peeves maybe, but it doesn’t upset you like this. Not usually.”

  Aphrodite wanted to cry very desperately. “This is why I ran away from you. You’re too smart and far too good at seeing things.” A few tears fell, and she pushed them away.

  “It’s really this bad?”

  Aphrodite tried to smile. She’d already told Alala, but she couldn’t tell Poseidon. He would tell her going to Hera and revealing all was the “right” thing to do. His own ideals of morality made him overbearing at times. Something else had been bothering her. Maybe if she told him about that she’d be able to keep her secret and get his help. It was worth a try.

  “Apollo and Daphne. I want to fix my mistake.” It wasn’t a lie. She really did want to do something.

  “How? Daphne refused to let you lift the spell.”

  “If I can convince Zeus she doesn’t know what’s best for her because the arrow has poisoned her soul, he might say yes.”

  “Is it true?”

  “No. It would happen if we broke the spell keeping her a tree though.”

  “She’s said she wants to stay as she is. It won’t work.”

  “Her father must miss her. Maybe he could say something.”

  “He would’ve done it by now.”

  Aphrodite drew s
wirls in the sand between her and Poseidon. Not her best plan, but he seemed to believe this was what she’d been so upset about. “There has to be a way.”

  “Is this why you wanted to see Hestia?”

  She jumped at the chance to explain that away. She didn’t want him to suspect she’d wanted to see Hestia for any other reason. She especially didn’t want him to know she’d been wondering if she and Hephaestus could really live together happily. “Yes. I thought she might have a different perspective.”

  Poseidon looked doubtful. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  Hestia was responsible for the “proper” ordering of the home and the family. Aphrodite didn’t need someone to confirm Hephaestus loved her, as she was the only one who had that power. She needed someone to confirm what was right. She already had a family, her son and daughter-in-law. She and Ares were not meant to be, even after having a son together. Hera was the goddess of marriage, but going to her was the last thing Aphrodite could or would do.

  “I think it’s logical. Daphne being a tree separates a family. Her father’s alone. Apollo will never have a family because he loves her.”

  “Okay, I can see that. Why not petition Zeus to remove the spell from Apollo?”

  “The arrows were forged together. It’s impossible.”

  “Will Daphne really object? Would we notice if she did?”

  “We can’t lift it while she’s a tree.”

  “Did Hephaestus make them? Perhaps he’d have an idea.”

  Aphrodite nodded slowly as if she were thinking about it.

  “Are you two still not talking? I know he rarely talks period, but surely he’d talk to you.”

  “We talk,” she replied quickly. “It’s just awkward sometimes. He probably can’t do anything, but I’ll ask.”

  “What if he shattered the molds he made the arrows with? Didn’t something like that work before?”

  Aphrodite considered this. “He set Prometheus free by destroying everything he used to make his chains with. Zeus would probably remember because it pissed him off for months.”

  “That’s what I was thinking of. You have to admit it didn’t look like Zeus would ever let Prometheus go.”