by Sue Allerton
“I like hanging out with you too, but I need to go see my mum” he protested in a neutral voice, trying not to show his annoyance. She sighed and pouted as she went and sat back down on the sofa, leaving his coffee on the side.
He left the apartment and his spare key with Molly. He wondered if Eris was watching him.
He didn’t tell his mum he was on his way. He wanted to surprise her. When he got there, there was a black Mercedes parked outside the house. He walked in and the dogs jumped up at him. His mum was sat on the couch, with her legs tucked underneath her. She had a mug of tea in her hand and was playing with her hair. Opposite sat an older man, late fifties with dark hair, greying at the temples. He had a prominent jawline and wore dark jeans with a white shirt tucked in with an open collar. They both turned to look at Axel. His mum jumped up and hugged him tight. The man stood and held his hand out for Axel to shake. He shook his hand and looked to his mum for an introduction.
“I didn’t know you were coming, what a nice surprise” she beamed.
“Thought I’d surprise you” he grinned and she hugged him again before breaking away quickly and taking hold of the man’s arm and pulling him forward gently.
“This is Marcus, he’s a friend” she smiled lightly and the two exchanged a friendly ‘hello’. A few moments later, Marcus had to leave, he had things to do; apparently.
Axel watched as the two exchanged an awkward goodbye. He went to kiss her on the cheek and she turned her head so he got a mouthful of hair. The two laughed slightly before she shut the door. She sat down and smiled as if nothing had happened.
“So…who’s Marcus?” he asked with a smirk, she was quiet for a moment.
“A friend?” she answered, her voice was shaky.
“Mum, we never spoke about you moving on before. It’s okay, you know?” he said gently and took her hand in his. Her eyes welled and her breath caught in her throat.
“I love your father, I always will. I miss him every day. I’m lonely here, I know I have the dogs but it’s not the same. Marcus is a gentle man, he’s kind and in some ways he reminds me of your father. He lost his wife before too; we both carry that burden of being a widow. I don’t love him, not yet; I think I could though” she explained. Axel leant forward and hugged her. She cried into his shoulder. He knew it was hard for her. But he was glad she was moving on. He didn’t want her to be alone and he felt bad that he couldn’t be there with her. She was strong and kind, she would never admit that she needed a man in her life; she didn’t. If she wanted to make things work with Marcus, he saw no reason why he shouldn’t be happy for her. When he watched the two laugh together, he saw a spark in Marcus’ eye, he saw the way he looked at her; not quite the way that his dad had, but he cared for her a great deal.
“I think…I want to scatter their ashes” she muttered; Axel smiled. He had thought it for years, that they should scatter the ashes. He never brought it up because he knew his mum needed time. They got ready and drove in the car, the urns resting on her lap. They drove to a large lake a few miles away; surrounded by green, rolling hills. It was a bright day: the sun shone on the grass and illuminated the beads of dew like millions of diamonds.
They walked up one of the hills and sat at the top; looking down on the sparkling water. They didn’t say anything. Helen cried as the ashes floated away with the breeze. They sat there for a while silently. Helen was cuddling into Axel’s side, sobbing. As the time went on, the tears dried and she sighed, happily.
“I think I’ve been needing to do that for a long time” she muttered with a smile on her face. Axel tightened his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the top of her head.
“I’m proud of you” he told her and she began to cry, again. He laughed gently and they headed back to the bottom of the hill where a greasy burger van had pulled up for the tourists. They grabbed a couple of burgers and coffee and wandered around the lake.
Chapter 13
He got off the train at his stop a few days later. Molly had been texting and calling nonstop asking when he was going to be back. He began ignoring her after a while. He wanted to spend time with his mum and not be interrupted every five minutes.
As he was making his way through the train station, Detective Kavanagh stopped him. He said nothing, just held onto Axel’s arm and walked out of the train station.
“What’s going on?” Axel demanded, they were walking toward a black car with the badges taken off.
“Nothing to worry about, Mr pace. I just need to talk to you, we have a lead on the bodies and I want to know whether you have seen them before” he explained
“Can you not just show me here?” he protested, Kavanagh glowered at him.
“The file is at the station” he said calmly and opened the car door. Axel sighed, he had no choice but to get into the car. Kavanagh was lean and long legged, he would catch him if he tried to run and then arrest him.
Once inside, he noticed the car didn’t have any door handles on the inside. There was a metal fence separating the front and back seats so he couldn’t see out of the front window or what was going on in the front seats, the windows in the back were completely blacked out so he couldn’t even see out of them. He felt trapped in a box. The engine purred to life and they were moving.
“Where are we going?” he asked, he could feel his heart begin to race in his chest and his breathing became erratic. He was starting to worry, he didn’t know where this man was taking him, he seemed different. Not as serious, he seemed a lot more careful and smirked a lot more. The radio came on and muffled out his shouts as he banged on the metal trying to get an answer. Nobody replied to him and he couldn’t hear anything over the music. Was he being kidnapped?
Eventually the car stopped. Axel was sweating and his hands were slick from where he had been fidgeting. The door opened and he stepped out. They were at a large industrial port. Containers were stacked high all around them and on the far side he could see a huge luxurious ship. It looked out of place being in an industrial port. A car pulled up to them. A sleek, black Bentley pulled up and the driver, dressed in black got out to open the back door. He held out his hand and a tall woman wearing a long black dress stepped out from the car. She glanced around before setting eyes on Axel. She smirked when she saw him and sauntered toward him gracefully, swinging her voluptuous hips from side to side. She was curvy but beautiful. She wore heavy makeup and had a black fur wrapped around her shoulders. Her long dark hair was braided and pinned up around her head, making a crown like shape on her head.
“You must be Axel” she said in a low, sultry voice. She held out her hand for him and he hesitantly shook it. She laughed lightly and pulled her hand away from him.
“And you are?” he asked and she raised an eyebrow, he got the feeling she wasn’t used to being spoken to in such a tone.
“That doesn’t matter at this point. Tell me Axel, are you seeing someone?” she asked as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and started walking toward the Bentley.
“I can’t see how that’s any of your business” he replied absentmindedly, she stopped and turned to him as a fire danced behind her eyes.
“I like you, Axel. You have spirit. Come” she said before turning to Kavanagh who was stood by the brown car, staring in fear.
“That will be all, thank you” she smiled a dazzling smile and held the hand of her driver as she dipped her head into the car. Axel looked around. He noticed men dressed completely in black with black helmets stood around in the shadows. They were all armed. He had no way out. He had to go with her. A lump formed in his throat as he got into the car. It was cold. Too cold. The leather seats felt like ice beneath him and he shivered.
The car purred gently as they drove back the other way, toward the ship. They drove less than a few minutes and stopped near a large set of stairs leading up toward the deck of the ship.
She began walking holding onto her drivers’ hand for support as she climbed the steps in ridiculously high
heels. One of the armed men prodded him in the back, hard. With the barrel of his gun. He couldn’t hear anything over the relentless drumming of his heart. He took each step one at a time, he thought about running; but he knew he wouldn’t get far if he did.
The inside of the boat was all wood and pale carpet floors with wood finishes on the surfaces. The woman sat down on of the black leather sofas and gestured for him to sit across from her. A maid handed her a martini glass of clear liquid. She took a generous sip and closed her eyes as she moaned gently.
“Damn, that girl really knows how to make a drink. Would you like one?” she asked and he declined politely. She smiled at him and he fidgeted with his hands in his lap. He was more nervous than he had ever been.
“What am I doing here?” he asked, trying not to show how scared he was. She watched him for a moment and circled the liquid in her drink before taking another sip.
“It seems to me that one of my associates has taken quite a shine to you. It’s shocking really, she is no ordinary woman as I’m sure you can agree” she said slowly with a seductive voice. The way this woman moved reminded him of when he saw Eris through the window of the coffee shop, when she walked slowly with a queen like posture and her hips swaying.
“I’m guessing you mean…Elise?” he asked, he didn’t want to use Eris’ name. He didn’t know who this person was and he didn’t want to give away too much. The woman chuckled slightly and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again they were amber flames.
“I know her by a different name, Eris” she whispered as she took another sip of her drink. He knew then that the woman in front of him was no ordinary woman. She was a Goddess. But which one? He remembered the stories from his book.
“You’re putting the pieces together. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Nyx, the Goddess of darkness. Pleased to meet you” she sniggered as he stared at her blankly. What was he supposed to say to that? He said nothing. She laughed a loud cackling laugh before looking at him with raises eyebrows.
“Why am I here?” he asked again and she softened her face slightly.
“Why do you think you’re here?” she asked and he was quiet for a moment.
“Leverage?” he suggested and she smiled a wide, dazzling smile.
“That is a good idea, but wrong. I don’t know how much you know of our plans, it’s plain to see how much Eris cares for you. I’m simply trying to keep you safe. I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire and Eris being upset. She means a great deal to me, as I’m sure she does to you” she told him
“So why all the armed guards?” he questioned and she glanced around.
“This is a very big and expensive boat, people would be looking to steal it or cause harm to me or my help, it’s for security. You can leave if you want to. I just thought I would offer my help to you. Besides, you’re practically family” she explained, he glanced around the room and didn’t see any armed guards as he would have expected. He felt as if she was lying and he didn’t trust her. She was not like Eris. Eris may have been the Goddess of chaos but she had a heart, she was good and if she could fall in love, that proved she was more human than the creature in front of him.
“Is that it? You want to keep me safe?” he asked suspiciously and she nodded once.
“You haven’t known Eris very long, I don’t suppose she would have told you much about herself. She’s a very temperamental being, things get to her. I’ve never seen her like this with anyone and that means a lot considering how long we’ve been on this Earth. If something was to happen to you she would destroy the world. She wouldn’t mean to do it, but she is so powerful that she wouldn’t even know what she was doing” she explained. He had a feeling it was Eris who made that mess in the street. If it was and she had that much power, what else was she capable of? He knew he was playing a dangerous game. He was just a human and yet he kept company with a Goddess. Nobody would believe him if he told them. How could they? It was completely insane. That kind of thing shouldn’t happen. He sighed heavily, he wasn’t going to leave the boat. He believed Nyx that she wanted to stop Eris destroying the world, but he didn’t believe it was to keep him safe. He couldn’t shake the thought of them wanting to use him against Eris. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what he could do. He was just a human, he had no chance against the likes of Gods.
Later that night he was shown to one of the many rooms on board the ship. It was luxurious, the bed was so soft that he wanted to sleep as soon as he sat down. The chairs were expensive material of creams and polished wood. There was a TV hanging opposite the bed and he flicked it on, not knowing what else to do. He opened the window and leant out. The night was bitterly cold and the wind rushed by as the ship rocked about while it powered through the ocean. The ship seemed too big to be luxurious. He felt there was something more than meets the eye. But he didn’t know what. She was a Goddess; he didn’t know what kind of powers she possessed but surely she could cloak something to make it look like something entirely different than what it was.
He didn’t sleep. Morning fell over the ship and he was summoned from his cabin. Nyx was waiting on the deck. It was freezing cold. Axel pulled his collar up around his neck and shoved his hands in his pockets for warmth.
“Where are we?” he asked loudly over the sound of the bellowing wind.
“That’s not important. We’re waiting for someone” she answered. A few minutes went by and they stood in silence on the deck of the ship. The boat began to shake, rocking from side to side quickly. Some of the guards and ship hands lost their balance.
The ocean churned and moved quickly. There was a loud pop and the ocean swirled up into a cyclone. At its peak was a man. Axel thought he was mistaken at first, seeing things. But the man moved closer and the water seemed to place him gently on the deck of the ship. Nyx squealed and walked briskly to him and held him tightly. He was a tall, muscular man with long black hair down to his waist and a long beard hanging down his chest. He had piercing grey eyes that were almost white. His skin was pale and his chest lay bare as he wore only a leather strap over his shoulder which held his sword at his hip. In his other hand he carried a pitchfork, a tall thing bigger than him. It was not like any other pitchfork he had seen. It was silver with engravings in it, Axel couldn’t make out what the engravings were, all he knew was how they shimmered in the sunlight. They embraced on the deck for a few moments before breaking apart.
They whispered for a couple of minutes. The man glanced over at Axel and looked disapproving. He followed them inside and they sat down. The man and Nyx both had a drink. They regarded him with quiet suspicion. He just sat there, quietly.
“Allow me to introduce myself, I am Hades. You look scared, I can smell it on you. There’s really no need to be scared. Despite what the stories say, we’re actually quite nice” Hades joked with a wide smile.
“We would like to let you in on our plans” Nyx said after a long moment. Hades looked at her with a wicked glint in his eye before turning back to Axel.
“Yes, we know how much you care for our Eris. She’s been the main voice in all of this, actually. She’s quite a clever little girl” Hades said with a fondness to his voice when he mentioned her. Axel’s cheat twitched at the mention of her name. He wondered what would have happened if he never agreed to go out with her. Would he still be in the same position? He didn’t know, but it was hard to regret anything with Eris when he knew what she was like. Since she had told him who she really was he seemed to want her even more.
“What plans?” he muttered and Hades clapped his hands once, spilling his drink all over the floor.
“Fantastic” he exclaimed as he jumped from the chair and began pacing around the room.
“It’s a very exciting plan, I think you’re going to love it. So! We want to combine the worlds. Not the kind of worlds you’re thinking of right now, I mean the living world…and the undead” he said in a low, excited voice. Combine the worlds? He couldn�
�t wrap his head around it. Nor did he want to, he didn’t want to be there, listening to any of it.
“I know what you’re thinking…no, I really do. Have you ever lost someone? What am I saying of course you have, your father and brother, yes? Well, what would you give to see them again, what would your mother give?” he questioned as he knelt beside his chair. He felt like a child having a pep talk from a crazy child. He didn’t answer, it would mean everything to both of them to have his dad and brother back.
“I understand it’s an overwhelming thought. But imagine if it happened, how happy would your mother be? How happy would all the people who have lost someone be?” he said in a sympathetic, sad, almost mocking tone.
“We’re supposed to lose people” Axel said as he turned to Hades, he stood from his chair and walked around the room. “That’s life, we’re born, we live, and we die. That is how it’s supposed to be. How are we supposed to go on if the living and dead are combined?” he asked and Hades pondered that for a moment.
“You’re a smart one, I’ll give you that. I understand how it may not make very much sense at the moment. But think, everyone who dies, you wouldn’t be hurt anymore, nobody would be hurt anymore. There would be no more disease, no more death, no more heartache and misery. It seems crazy, that’s because it is. But until a few days ago you didn’t believe in Gods. And now look at you, you’re on a ship with two Gods and bonking another! Does a part of you not even remotely believe this could work?” he explained enthusiastically. He couldn’t disagree with that. It was crazy, the whole thing was crazy. He didn’t know if it was all real or if they were just pigments of his imagination.
“So, how would it be?” he asked and Hades eyes shined brightly.
“The dead people, they will always be dead, we won’t take that away from those who are living. The dead would do the dangerous jobs, they would be your protectors, what better is it to have an army that cannot die? Of course it won’t be every single dead person. Could you imagine? The world simply wouldn’t be big enough. It would be the strongest and bravest, but we like you. We would like to bring your father and brother back, not just into the realm of the living, but back to life. I do not have this power very often. It has taken a lot to build this much strength. Do not take this offer for granted” Hades explained. He could have his father and brother back, his mum could have her husband and son back. He didn’t trust Hades or Nyx, but he knew how much it would mean to him and his mum to have their family back together.
