“So her mother, Demeter, had Persephone murdered by the gods?”
Darce remained quiet as he picked up a small crystal bowl from the cart. I watched as his fingers began to move through what I recognized as blood-red pomegranate seeds.
“Her spirit has slipped in and out of this earthly plane many times already. And now… you.” He glanced over me. “Though, you’re not exactly what I expected…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, wrinkling my nose as I continued to watch his hand. “I’m…” But what was I? Normal? Young? A woman of my generation…? American? Perhaps normal wasn’t exactly how he’d describe the Persephone he knew. After all, she could change the seasons and bring relief from the cold winter. At least her gift was actually beautiful, and so was she apparently. It was the reason why the God of the Dead had been tempted to capture her in the first place.
“You’re not what I expect a God to be like either,” I retorted, lifting my gaze back to his. “Why don’t you just call yourself Hades? Why Darce?”
“If I called myself that, more humans than just you would look at me queerly. I want to blend in. It gives me something to do. While my brothers have a vast share of the world—the universe—I wanted to explore the human realm. After you’ve been around death for so long... living can be quite a curious thing.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
“So you haven’t always been Darce?”
“I’ve had other names. Appeared differently over the centuries.”
I stared at the food in front of me and felt my stomach twist. Suddenly, my entire appetite was lost.
“If you’re not going to eat, I think it’s time for you to get some rest,” Darce said and gestured to the bed. “It’s been a long day. For the both of us.”
“You sleep?” I asked, raising a brow. “You’re a God and you sleep?”
Darce didn’t respond. Instead, he turned and crossed the room to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning, Summer.” He didn’t leave me any time to respond or argue. I suppose if I were him, I wouldn’t have either. He closed the door behind him, leaving me in the large room alone.
Chapter 9
In a haze of a swirling mist, Darce extended his long hand out to me. His fingers curled open, revealing his palm. As my gaze drifted over his form, I realized Darce didn’t exactly appear the way I was used to. He looked different. Darce was paler. Translucent, even. While he was cloaked in darkness, his clothing reminded me of the evening sky. Small crystals lined his sleeves and shoulders, and rained down over his chest. He flashed a grin as he gazed at me with his dark, speckled eyes.
I couldn’t resist the urge to smile in return.
The way he beckoned me without words—enticing me to take his hand. I lifted my fingers, realizing just how creamy white they were. I noticed the sleeve of the gown I was wearing; the dress was a rich, deep green fabric, held together by brown ribbons and ties. In that moment, I realized the body I was staring at was not my own. But Darce was smiling, and my heart was pounding like a drum in my chest. I liked the way he made me feel. The way the hairs on my arms rose as he reached for me. My entire body longed for his touch. It was as if I had known him—known him so intimately. There was a pleasurable joy in his dark eyes. As soon as my fingers closed over his cold, damp hands, we were suddenly shrouded in darkness. The darkness was thick, like mud.
“My love….” He murmured warmly. I could smell the sweet tang of cedar and jasmine as he drew closer to me. “Take… Eat…” Darce offered, spilling several seeds into my hand.
“Stay with me.”
I lifted my fingers to my mouth and placed a seed onto my tongue. But as I began to swallow the red seed, I could feel my mouth begin to flood with blood. Pools of the red liquid spilled from my lips, and spilled down along the length of my neck. Darce continued only to stare at me and smile.
“I’ll find you,” he promised. “I’ll find you.”
I jumped up with a start. I was almost sure I had shouted out in my dream. But as I gasped for air, I didn’t hear a sound come from the other room. Surely, if I had, Darce would have come to see what was the matter. But as minutes ticked away, all was silent, except for the distant noises coming from outside. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, and I could hear a sort of ringing in my ears. And even as I blinked, I could once again feel the pools of blood oozing from my lips. My eyes wandered to the nearby clock on the nightstand.
The red numbers flickered 3:03 a.m. A slight shiver darted down the length of my spine as I pulled the comforter up around my shoulders. It seemed unusually chillier than I remembered before falling asleep. Had the air conditioner come on by accident? In all of my experience staying in hotels, the rooms were almost always colder in the middle of the night—and itchy sheets were hardly warm or comforting.
Reluctantly, I pushed myself from the bed and crept towards the wall to the thermometer. I pressed a few buttons until I saw the heat signatures begin to rise. All I had wanted was warmth. Just as I turned on my heel to go back to the bed, I saw a shadowy figure dart from the corner of the room, to the other side of the nearby wall. It happened so fast, I barely had the chance to understand what I had just seen. I paused, scanning the darkened room carefully.
Was I dreaming?
Another shiver rippled throughout my body. Closing my eyes, I shook my head and sighed. I was just tired. So much had happened. That had to be the reason I was seeing things. Mom... Dad...my stomach tightened as I struggled to catch my breath. They were gone. I was never going to see them again. As I opened my tear-filled eyes, I moved back to the bed but smacked into something...solid. I tilted my chin up to look at the obstacle in my way, amazed by how tall it was—then I realized it was no wall I had ran into.
My eyes widened.
In front of me stood a dark, silent figure with black, stringy hair. It hung over their shoulder, flowing almost seamlessly into long, dark robes. The figure turned its face, and I screamed. In place of eyes, it had dark, empty sockets swirling with darkness, like smoke. The creatures face was twisted—their lips were large and curled upwards, their nose—gone. Its skin was missing in large clumps from the neck down.
“Oh my God—” I cupped my hands over my mouth, shaking to the bone. Everything about it was horrifying.
Then, as if in response, the creature’s thin lips spread wider into a more menacing grin. Like the Cheshire cat, its mouth existed without reason. A dark liquid spilled out—as if it were about to scream. I froze up, petrified by fear, with a scream caught in my throat. Suddenly, I felt arms grasp me from behind. I thrashed against its hold until I heard Darce against my ear.
“Come with me!”
I didn’t hesitate as his hand wrapped around mine and pulled me through the bedroom door. Another figure emerged from another pitch black corner—twisted and groaning. Its hands reached for me, and I screamed again. I had seen plenty of horror films, and I knew from experience how this was going to end. Darce pulled me against him as he moved us swiftly towards the main door. More figures began to appear—their long fingers stretching for us... for me.
Finally, Darce pushed me through the door and closed it behind him. The hotel hall was deathly still, the only sound was the quiet buzzing of the lights overhead.
“We have to leave.” Darce turned and urgently grabbed my hand again.
“Leave? And go where?” I asked as I tumbled behind him.
“I wasted too much time here. We have to return—”
“Return?” I cut him off sharply. “But I thought this was your hotel? Isn’t this your home or something?”
“It is my hotel,” he replied. It didn’t make sense then, unless he meant somewhere else.
“Do you mean the Underworld?” I was alarmed by my own question. He couldn’t possibly mean the Underworld, River Styx and all? Darce didn’t respond as he continued to pull me down the hall. He was focused, too concerned with the task at hand, which was getting the hell out
of there.
I glanced over my shoulder, back at the hotel room we were leaving behind. All of my things… My parents’ things… I was going to be left with nothing to remember them by. A lump of sorrow clogged my throat. Darce paused only as we reached the set of elevators and only spoke as the metal doors closed behind us.
“Darce, please! What were those things?” I could barely catch my breath long enough to ask the question.
“Souls,” Darce muttered. “They were souls.”
“S-Souls?” The image of the boy actor, huddled under a comforter as he whispered softly, ‘I see dead people’ flashed in my mind. Had I really just seen the dead? It definitely wasn’t anything like the specters on Celebrity Hauntings.
“I once told you that I’m the keeper of souls. If I’m not there for a while...things get complicated.” His voice drifted to silence as the doors opened again, revealing the main lobby.
“What about my things?” I hissed as he strolled out of the elevator. I remained, leaning on the support bar. “I can’t just leave my—”
Darce gazed at me hard with his dark eyes. My body moved without warning. I wanted to scream as I realized what was happening again. I wanted to shout and curse at him, but my lips tightened. No one was behind the desk—no one was around at all. Twisted company excluded, it was as if we were the only two people in the entirety of the hotel. As soon as we crossed over the threshold, my lips suddenly grew lax, and I had control over my body once more.
“I hate you!” I shouted, stopping dead in my tracks.
“I’m not a huge fan of you either,” Darce snapped as he turned to face me. “But here we are.”
“I’m not going with you,” I retorted, shaking my head as I crossed my arms tightly.
“Yes, you are,” he replied and quickly grabbed me, tossing me over his shoulder. I was mortified. I slammed my fists against his back and tried to wiggle out of his grasp. How dare he?
“Put me down!” I shouted more loudly. I hoped I woke the entire neighborhood.
“Stop!” He commanded and squeezed my legs gently. “It’s obvious that I can’t leave you here, Summer. But I cannot stay. Duty calls. So you’re coming with me.”
“I’m not going to some underground hell just because you think I’m part of your mythology.”
It was clear that Darce was going to ignore me. I tried to push myself free, tried to kick and fight, but his grasp remained firm and strong. He walked down the street, only passing a few homeless onlookers. Their toothless grins indicated they assumed we were merely quarreling lovers having a spat at three in the morning. Lovers my ass.
“Aren’t you going to take your car?” I spat quietly, moving my hand to pinch his skin. I heard him hiss, but he continued to walk.
“No need,” he replied and adjusted my weight on his shoulder. I groaned as his shoulder dug into my spleen.
“I’m not a sack of potatoes,” I snapped. “You can put me down.”
“I don’t trust you,” he admitted. “It’s just easier this way.”
“Is this what you did to Persephone too then?” I sneered. “Tossed her over your shoulder and called it a day? This isn’t wooing, Darce. This is kidnapping!”
Darce paused and then I felt his fingers pinch my calf.
“Ouch!” I shrieked and swatted at his shoulder.
“Persephone wished to go with me,” he replied. “Don’t let the human’s version of the story fool you.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I muttered.
“You don’t believe in anything, remember?” He retorted. Yeah... He might have got me there. I had told him I didn’t believe in the Greek Mythology. While I knew everyone had their own religious beliefs, I hadn’t ever delved into Hellenism. I looked down, catching a glimpse of his butt. Geez, Summer. Get it together. He’s a God, of course he has a tight rear.
“Whether you believe me or not,” he continued, “I have to return to the Underworld. If souls are already slipping back to this realm—”
“Are they bad?”
“Not all... but some,” he replied sharply.
“Was that soul bad?”
“What do you think?” He asked solemnly.
Yes. It had to have been bad.
There hadn’t been any eyes. Patches of skin had been missing or were peeling free. The black liquid oozing over its curled lips was a keen marker. I grimaced just thinking about it.
“Please, put me down,” I swatted at his back again. “I won’t try anything funny.”
“Not until we get to the portal.” There was no room for negotiation by the sharpness in his tone.
“Are you just going to walk all the way?” To wherever it was that he was going.
“Not exactly,” Darce replied as he tightened his hold on me.
“What do you mean not exa—” But I paused as a strange sensation washed over me, as though I were suddenly being submerged into water. The site of Athens became shrouded by night, and dissolved into streaks of fast-moving lights.
“Darce?” I called out, lifting my head to peer up at his face. Everything around us was moving so fast. Darkness enveloped us, until I was almost sure there was nothing left in the world. And with a snap of his fingers, everything paused.
The roar of the sea was so close. I could almost taste the salt on my tongue as I parted my lips to speak. Darce shifted my weight, moving me until his hands held my waist and then carefully lowered me to my feet. The hint of electricity jolted through me from his touch. The same sense of familiarity I had experienced in my dream. The moment was forgotten though the second I laid eyes on the beach.
It was hard to make everything out clearly in the night sky. Though, just off in the distance, the sea glistened underneath the moonlight. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. As waves gently lapped against the sandy shore, I stared in wonder at the sea. It almost seemed to shimmer with glowing particles. If fairy dust was truly a thing, I imagined it would look just like that.
“Tenarus,” Darce said softly. “This is where the ancient town of Tenarus once stood. Now, it’s nothing more than a small fishermen's village.” There was a sort of disdain laced in his voice as he turned towards a field of large stones.
“How did you do that? How did you…?” I asked as I followed after him. The jagged rocks and rough grass underneath my bare feet caused me to flinch. I had forgotten all about shoes. He came to an abrupt halt, standing in the middle of a large circle of stones. Under his feet lay a large slab of stone, detailed in what appeared to be a beautiful mosaic. Much of it was destroyed, but there was enough to admire. It struck me then that it was the same mosaic he had shown me back in the apartment. A shiver of fear ran along the length of my spine.
This was real. All of this—was real.
“I’ll strike a bargain with you,” I found myself whispering. Darce’s eyebrow rose with curiosity.
“A bargain?” He slid his hands into his pockets. “Isn’t it a little late to be trying to deal your way out of this?”
“You made it pretty clear that I didn’t have a choice in the matter, remember? Despite ‘always having a choice’.”
“You’re right,” he replied curtly.
“If I’m going with you... I want something in return.”
He snorted as a faint smirk flashed on his lips.
“What is it that you want then, Summer?” He took a step towards me, removing a hand from his pocket to lift my chin. He was trying to distract me—maybe even get out of making any sort of deal with me. And if he continued to keep looking at me with those dark eyes of his—he might have won. Maybe.
“I’ll go with you,” I muttered under my breath. “If—and only if—you promise I can see my parents again.”
“What makes you think I could even reunite them with you?” He asked, tiling his head.
“Didn’t you say you were the keeper of souls? You keep them, don’t you? My dad is dead…”
“It doesn’t work like that. Not exact
ly,” he replied. His dark gaze softened. I could tell he was contemplating my offer carefully. Perhaps he saw the need in my own eyes. I needed to see dad again. Even if only for a moment.
“And if I do,” Darce continued, “If I allow you to see them... you understand that you’ll stay for as long as I wish for you to, correct?”
I nodded begrudgingly, shaking off a second wave of shivers.
“I understand,” I said. “I’ll stay for as long as you wish.”
“Forever.”
Now he was pushing it. He raised his brow as he waited for my reply. With a sigh, I crossed my arms.
“Forever,” I mumbled.
1784
Venice, Italy
* * *
Hades peeled the extravagant, white mask from his face as he gazed at Celena from across the ballroom. Other guests flitted about the room, dressed in their regal attire and suited with an off-white wig on their heads. The majestic melody played by the violinists in the corner filled the room with a twinge of excitement. Several guests had moved onto the dance floor, spinning in unison to one of their newest group dances.
But Celena stayed close to her mother.
Perhaps it was wise for how beautiful she was. The men in the room gazed at her with a salacious lust in their eyes. And Hades wanted to burn them all. He could see through the powdered wig, the heavy rouge, and the several layers of petticoats and fabric...
Celena was Persephone.
The city of Venice was surrounded by nothing but sea, which led to his discovery of her once more. She had known him first as a stranger, someone she bumped into regularly on the narrow lanes between market stands. He caught her wandering eye more than once. The faint light of curiosity veiled in her bright blue eyes could not be mistaken for anything but his Persephone’s. She always was a curious girl.
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