Finally, they abandoned the beaten path. Hades motioned to an outcropping of boulders that stood as tall as a building on the edge of the foothills. He walked up to the smooth, grainy surface and flattened his palm against the stone face.
“You brought me out here to watch you pet rocks?”
He wore his grin in his voice. “Your lack of knowledge and insight into my gifts insults me. My brother, Zeus, commands air and all its elements, my brother, Poseidon, commands water. Our sister, Hestia, is fire’s mistress. Tell me, Pure Soul and wiccan extraordinaire, what lies under my command?”
His finger traced lines over the rock with great deliberation, and Riona noticed a trail of light in the wake of his motions, before runes took shape on the stone’s surface.
“I’d say if your siblings have water, air and fire covered, that leaves only the ground,” she posited, watching with growing amazement as the runes he carved began to form words.
“Not just ground. Stone, clay, even the gemstones born of time and pressure in the bowels of this planet... They all obey me.”
Hades pulled back his hand and blew over the carvings. As if inlaid with awakening neon lights, the figures began to flicker in response.
“Enter here, those who seek Hell.” Riona read the words aloud.
Wide-eyed, he turned on her. “Dee taught you to read our tongue?”
“Believe me, if Dee intended to teach me anything involving tongues, it wouldn’t be reading.” She pointed at the letters, trying to trace over each in turn. “It’s in English. See? Enter... Oh, that’s weird.” As her finger landed on a rune, its hue shifted. No longer did the words fall effortlessly into her head. Instead, a jumble of patterns appeared beneath her touch.
“Beyond this door lies a cave,” Hades continued. “He will meet you there.”
“Wait, who? And I’m going in alone?”
“I cannot accompany you. To do so would cost me my life.”
“Whoa, just a Minnesota minute. Is it dangerous? You’re immortal. If it would kill you to enter, what’s it going to do to me?” She attempted to swallow the lump lodged in her throat. “Is there, at least, modern plumbing? I don’t pee in pits! Just what in the hell is down there?”
“Precisely the right question to ask.” His head cocked to the side, and his gaze was laced with curiosity. He looked like a confused puppy. “You’re a very interesting human, Riona. I see why Steph has grown so enamored of you. I guarantee that you will not be harmed as a result of your entry. What happens when you choose to use your abilities once an opportunity is provided, I cannot say. And sadly, no, there is no plumbing. I believe one of your kind would suggest just ‘holding it.’”
“Easy for you to say. You didn’t drink the nectar of the gods all through dinner.”
He motioned her forward. “Up the passage to the cavern at the end. I will wait here. Let’s try to be back before dawn. Steph shouldn’t awaken till midday, but others will and gods love gossip.”
“Wow.”
Red flushed through his cheeks, making the former Lord of the Underworld appear amazingly humanlike. “Six times. Even for me, that’s impressive. I wanted to make an indelible impression.”
“Well, I’m impressed.” With fretful fingers, Riona reached out. She gasped when, instead of granite, her hand sank into the surface, and a cool mist surrounded her fingers on the other side.
“It’s an illusion. Now, on with it. If Persephone wakes early and discovers us gone, she may assume I’ve stolen you to have my way with you, and neuter me before I have time to explain.”
She took one step into the boulder, but paused midway, turning back. “Could she do that?”
He laughed. “It grows back, but that does not mean I enjoy the experience. I appreciate some vigor in the pursuit of bed sport, but even I have to draw a line at castration.”
A drip of water laid down a measured tempo. Everything around her felt damp. The pitch black and uneven tunnel floor made it impossible not to stumble. Riona wished for light, and to her surprise, a soft, luminous glow drifted before her like a free-floating torch as she advanced. After a few minutes, the back of her calves burned, indicating the path was going downhill. A chill on the surface of her skin managed to induce a shudder.
She had no idea how long she’d been walking when her own shadow emerged from beneath her. Her magical disco ball skirted along the ceiling of the passage before it shot up, ending at the pinnacle of a stone dome.
“What in the hell?”
Soon, her eyes were full of tears. The oval room in which she found herself had walls carved in delicate, intricate, and elegant geometric patterns, encrusted at spaces with jewels, and intertwined in gold. Runes, not unlike the one Hades used to reveal the passageway door, covered a band of marble that encircled the circumference of the room, but the letters were too far away from where she stood to make out. Her light sailed up to the ceiling taking shelter behind a blown glass chandelier, made to look like bunches of grapes. This place was beauty made solid, a pinnacle of artistic perfection. Like the Al Hambra, Taj Mahal, and a 1930s Hollywood premiere, all rolled into one.
“I must’ve died,” she said to herself, half-believing it might actually be true. “I’ve died and gone to Heaven.”
The voice that answered her made her realize how wrong she was.
“No, Riona, you haven’t died. And I assure you, Heaven makes this place look like a Calcutta bus station.”
Riona caught sight of Azazel leaning against a marble pillar, and felt certain of one thing: Persephone didn’t have to castrate Hades. Riona intended to decapitate him the moment she got out of there.
If she ever got out of there.
He must have sensed her flight-or-fright instincts kicking in. Azazel lifted his hands and held them up in a sign of amity. “Calm down, sweet cheeks. I have no reason to hurt you. Besides, you’re still contraband.”
“You!” She pointed at him with rage, her sword hand flying out instinctively. Right then, she became aware that she even had a sword hand. If only she had a sword to go into it. Too bad the Angelic Blade lay thousands of miles and another dimension away from her. “What are you doing here?”
“Hades sent a dispatch that you were in need of guidance. I am here merely to guide, my young padawan.”
“One, I’m so going to kick your ass for invoking George Lucas. How many times do I have to tell you demon scum: Star Wars is a human-only alliteration. And two, I asked for someone who can help me understand what being part angel means, not how to recruit hellions, or corrupt college coeds, or change the expiration dates on milk jugs.”
How he managed to reach her so quickly, she’d never know. One thing became apparent to her in that moment of her thundering heartbeat however: if a Grigori truly wanted to kill her, there would be no contest. It could snap her neck before she’d ever have any hope of stopping it.
He trailed a finger over her cheek, leaving a line of scorched flesh that burned from the inside out. She hissed as the pain backhanded her senses, only to be chased immediately by a carnal flicker.
Great, now she was a masochist, too.
“Lesson one: an angel’s touch can pull temptation to the surface of a mortal and burn it away. Yours is so near the surface, it is easy to draw. Tell me, young one, been window-shopping for forbidden fruit lately? I mean, besides that rendezvous you had with Marc?”
Faltering under his attention, she heard the explanations rushing from her lips. “I thought he was Jerry. If I’d known it was Marc, I would have... Will you stop doing that!” Her fingers latched onto his hand, throwing it away from her face. She felt the flesh mending itself immediately. “Tell me how you got here or I’ll...”
Amusement lightened his expression. “Or you’ll what, sister? You’re in Hell; this is the dominion of the fallen and we are the masters here.”
That almost sent her running in the other direction, but what Azazel said hooked her.
“What do you mean? I thou
ght I was in Olympus. And don’t call me sister.”
“You’re right. You’re actually only a half-sister, aren’t you? Though I’ll let you in on a secret, it’s only a metaphorical relationship. To think I’d have any DNA in common with a mortal...” His lips pulled back in disgust, but the next moment, relaxed into his customary, haughty sneer. “This throne room,” he motioned to the ceiling, the walls, and the exquisite mosaic floor beneath their feet, “is where Hades once presided as king. Just as a gate in Athens allows one to pass from the mortal world to Olympus, so too, does the one you just came through open into Hell. Officially, it’s sealed, but Hades and I... Let’s just say, we like to keep the lines of communication open.”
“This is Hell?” Looking over her shoulder, Riona tried to decide if she should run.
Azazel’s finger pushed into her chin, turning her head back to meet his intense gaze. For the first time, she became aware of how deeply filled with emotion and conflict his brown-black eyes were. He understood her hesitance, and perhaps, was disappointed by it, but a trace of hope flourished at the possibility that she might stay.
She decided to see if she could take advantage of his chatty mood to get an answer to the question she really wanted most. “Did you know he was my father?”
She knew she didn’t need to clarify.
“Of course.” His thumbs stroked over her cheek. “Michael and I have been plotting your existence for a very long time. And let me tell you, keeping that secret from Lucifer was no easy task.”
“But I don’t understand why.” Riona felt her objections to his presence waning as she realized the wealth of information the Grigori must possess. “If I’m supposed to be some sort of tool, wouldn’t the devil be his strongest ally? What would have happened if Lucifer succeeded in seducing me? What if I slept with Marc while he was still human?”
“As with any great war, we have contingency plans in place. And we had some practice goes at this. Let’s just say, you weren’t our first effort to create a transient being. You, however, were the first whose birth was foretold by prophecy, so we must have done something right.” He shrugged. “I guess you could say, we had faith in Big Boss’s intention for you.”
“So what? I have... siblings?” She didn’t know why, but the idea of family beyond her verbally abusive mother and handful of cousins, aunts and uncles she never even met sent a thrill rushing through her.
His smile faltered. “You are your father’s only begotten. The others...” His voice tapered off, and she couldn’t decide if the look that flashed for a moment in his expression was remorse or regret. “Is this really what you came here to discover, Riona? If you want to research your ancestry, I hear there’re websites for that.”
Her eyebrows rose. “No, I need to learn angel magic. But from a fallen? Can you teach me stuff without it being, you know, evil?”
He chuckled, backing away from her, pacing with his hands held behind his back. “I’m not evil. Just vindictive.”
“Small difference.”
“Huge difference,” he assured her. “Evil destroys good for no other reason than that it can. I only strike down that which I feel has wronged me. The things an angel can do are neither intrinsically benevolent, nor malevolent. How you choose to use your abilities determines whether you act without sin.”
“So at least, you admit you are a sinner.”
He scoffed at her. “We all are. Even your precious Council of Seven. Enough, I’m not here to give you lessons in philosophy.”
“Then teach me how to port the right way.”
“My, aren’t we demanding?”
“Yes, we are. Guess I got it from my father. Now, teach me. I’ve done it twice since I’ve been in Olympus, but had no idea how. Once I meant to, but I didn’t end up where I expected. Once, was by accident, and I ended up somewhere very... inappropriate. Seeing as angels aren’t really welcomed in Olympus, I’d kind of like to keep the accidental ones from happening again.”
He nodded. “Explain to me the circumstances.”
“Today, I was trying to port through my bedroom wall, just to see if I could. When I eventually did, I ended up in Hades’ library. And the other time...” Both her fists and her insides clenched from the memory. “I did it in my sleep. I woke up in his bedroom.”
“Interesting that both times you went to Hades.”
“Don’t look at me like that. Hades has a pretty face and an awesome physique, but I don’t shop in that store anymore.”
“Boldly spoken for one who has not even yet consummated her marriage.” He grinned. “Which, by the way, means you’re not yet truly married.”
“Don’t be stupid. Jerry and I have slept together dozens of times.” She omitted saying, sometimes in the same night, and the last time almost a year ago.
“Not since your vows were exchanged. If you’ll forgive the pun, you haven’t yet officially sealed the deal. If I were you, I’d get on that right away. You never know what sealing a bond consecrated by the heavens can do for your sex life. Or what it can reveal to you about each other. I have a feeling you’ll be very, very surprised.”
She was about to ask what when he abruptly cut her off.
“Were you dreaming when you ported in your sleep?”
Her mumbled reply was too low for even his ears, and Azazel asked her to speak up. The answer she shouted echoed off the walls and managed to turn her redder than a baboon’s butt.
“It was a sex dream!”
“Oh, don’t be embarrassed. We all have them. Or, well, we would, if angels ever slept. But you’ll be happy to know that your question lies in your answer.” She stared at him perplexedly, so he continued. “You ending up in front of Hades is coincidence. You’re a flesh-bound archangel, little sis. Or at least, enough of one in the ways that count. Flesh doesn’t meld well with our nature. Flesh is an entity that wants, and eventually needs.”
She’d suspected as much, hadn’t she? “Are you saying I ported into Hades’ room just because I was horny?”
“Divine body, trashy tongue.” His head cocked to the side. “But in essence, yes. You have perception that you cannot even begin to fathom. During your bubble bath nap, your body sought out the closest potential subject to provide what it needed, i.e. the nearest male body. With the second occurrence, I’m willing to bet at some point, your concern turned from where you were going to how you could get there. Porting, dear girl, is your body realigning to a place where your needs can be met. Hades for sex. His library for knowledge. To port, you just have to figure out what you need, and abandon yourself to it. You materialize where the need can be met.”
“So if I were really hungry for sushi, I would just think about my need to taste sushi, not the sushi bar, and I’d be taken there?”
He rolled his eyes. “The power to cross all dimensions on the face of the Earth, and she wants to use it for California rolls.”
“I was just citing an example.” The realization of what he said hit her a second later. “Hey, I never said anything about the bath.”
A Cheshire cat grin widened across his face. “My brother has the most amazing mirror that shows a mortal when they’re contemplating sin. Since I couldn’t see the details of your dream, and because you called out Marc’s name when you arrived...”
“Okay, I get it!” Even she was startled at the venom in her words. Azazel blinked back his surprise as she took a deep breath and tempered out her emotions. “But I don’t get how that is contemplating sin. I was asleep. It’s not like I was consciously thinking of cheating on my husband.”
One of his eyebrows lifted. “Because it reflects your heart. You’re already so close to tiptoeing over the borders of your own moral right truth. You’re bound to slip soon if you’re not careful.”
“That and Bobby Brown staging a successful comeback are pulling the same odds. I might have a few white sins on my record, but I’m not going to fall. And I’m certainly not going to be a tool for my father to work out his o
wn daddy issues.” She anchored her hands on her hips and huffed. “This was a bad idea. There’s no way for you to teach me anything without being a huge dick about it.”
“And there’s no way a Pure Soul would actually be willing to wield the kind of magic I could teach you. You’re right. Let’s just call the whole thing off. I’m sure you have no interest in finding out how you’re the key to saving humanity, or anything.”
Azazel turned on his heel and marched across the room to a place where the arch of the ceiling opened into an entry that twisted further down into the mountain.
“Wait a minute, what?”
He paused, looking back over his shoulder. “FYI, sis, I’ve seen this show before. There’s a rapture coming. Zeus saved some of his Nephilim by being scrupulous. If you’re willing and able to use your angelic abilities to pull a few dark tricks, you might stand a chance at saving some of your mortals. Do you want to learn?” His shoulder bobbed as he turned towards the exit and walked. “No? I understand. Being a savior, it’s not a simple thing to do.”
She didn’t connect her desire to the ensuing action for the briefest of moments as Riona’s body evaporated and reformed directly in Azazel’s path, blocking his escape. A sinister sneer spread across his face.
“What a quick learner you are.”
“I am. Now tell me what you’re talking about.”
He clicked his tongue. “That information is currently embargoed by your daddy.”
“And do you always do everything Pa Mikey tells you?” She could hear the taunt in her voice and was more than aware of her playful and inviting posture.
“When the Prince gives a command, I obey.”
“Prince?”
He actually laughed out loud at her. Azazel reached up and twisted one of her ginger curls around his finger. “Don’t fret, dear, little half-human. Monarchy doesn’t work that way with our kind. The ability to court fealty and loyalty determines who becomes sovereign, not who your momma and papa are. Besides, if you know anything about your angel anatomy, we don’t really have genders in our realm. Or bodies.”
The first fact was old news, but the second... Well, didn’t that just beat all? It would have to wait for another time though.
Hex Goddess (All My Exes Die from Hexes Book 3) Page 12
