Blinding Night

by Chantal Gadoury

  “If we continue to meet each other like this,” she said after their third encounter, “the city of Venice will talk, my lord.”

  “And what would they say?” He asked, raising a brow.

  “Of your attempts to seduce me, naturally,” she said, biting her lip. Despite her innocence, Celena enjoyed enticing her male suitors—him included. He brought a hand to the curve of her cheek and trailed the pad of his fingers down the length of its softness to her lips. Hades flashed a smile. In all of her lifetimes, this was perhaps her most virile.

  “Have I succeeded?”

  Celena turned her lips into his fingers and brushed a swift kiss across his skin. It was so gentle, it sent shivers up his arms and down his spine. She saw his expression and laughed.

  “A woman can play this game as well, my lord.”

  He felt his body come alive to her tender tease. Celena was like a fire. She encompassed all of Persephone’s wild beauty and sexual prowess. He knew her, every inch of the Goddess he fell in love with was there. He could see it in the curve of Celena’s hips, the delicate set of her shoulders and porcelain skin. He had no doubt that her passion was just as fierce as his own. After all, Persephone had been his match in every way.

  He savored the fantasy of finally feeling her warm flesh pressed against his own. He wanted to hear his name on her tongue as he brought her to the edge of desire. It was a deep longing he held onto and the moment Celena invited him to her bed, he would go. In the meantime, he would have to play her games and wait until that day came. Then, before he had the chance to respond, Celena disappeared into one of the shops. She glanced over her shoulder only for a brief moment, grinning like a pleased cat.

  Hades kept his hard gaze on Celena through the dancers, and then to her mother—who appeared to be distracted by a group of other women. She was the judgmental sort, always picking at other women and silently shaming them with her disapproval. It was that same disapproval that tore him away from Persephone. One day he would make her pay. One day he would have his revenge on Demeter for what she had done to him and his bride.

  For now, his focus was on his long-ago bride. Celena caught his eye and lifted a silk fan to her reddened cheeks. He watched as she sashayed across the room, a suggestive and playful look on her face as she approached him. A servant passed by, offering two glasses of wine. Hades took them both and dismissed the servant with a slight nod. Celena took the flute he offered with a delicate show of her wrist.

  “To the most beautiful woman in Venice,” he murmured. She grinned as she clinked her glass against his. Celena tipped the glass back, all while Hades admired the view of her throat and low-cut gown. The red fabric exposed the tops of her breasts, and moved down snuggly over her waist, until it billowed out into a full skirt.

  “A woman in such a gown deserves to be seen,” he declared.

  “You can look, my lord,” she said, raising a brow. “Have your fill and perhaps, after the ball, you can have seconds as well”

  Taking her hand, he whisked her onto the dance floor. They moved in unison with the group of guests around them. At times their hands would touch, his palm would brush against her waist...their eyes would meet. The game they played with one another was feral. Their seduction was intoxicating. If anyone else in the world had existed, he suspected they would not have noticed. He could not drink enough of her to be completely satisfied. He wanted more. He needed more.

  And she knew it.

  In the dark hours following their dancing, they caught their breath over another glass of wine. They escaped from the crowd, from her mother, in a fit of laughter and drunken stupor. Celena led him to her room, discarding her red silken gown as quickly as possible, until he stepped in to pull the strings of her corset loose. Her hair fell into ringlets around her shoulders as she pressed herself close to his chest. She brushed a teasing kiss with a breath against his lips and pushed him onto the bed. Her cheeks flushed a pleasant shade of pink that reached all the way down to her budding chest as she turned and hid herself behind the curtains of her bed.

  He licked his lips. He could almost taste the lingering hint of desire on his tongue. He wanted nothing more than to get lost in the warmth of her.

  “Tonight, I am a goddess!” she announced, peeking at him from behind the shade of a gossamer curtain. He felt himself smile. She didn’t know that she already was a goddess.

  “And what shall I call you this night?” He asked huskily.

  Celena emerged with a crystal bowl of pomegranate seeds. “Persephone.”

  His heart crashed into his stomach like a heavy wave pummeling into the shore. She offered him the bowl, her eyes twinkling in the candlelight. She didn’t know, did she? Her expression was playful, teasing. She certainly was not serious.

  “And so you are,” he whispered breathlessly.

  Celena’s smile curled mischievously. She leaned back into a plush pillow, cradling the bowl of seeds against her body like a child. The juice surrounding them was almost a blood red. It was chilling.

  “Just like the story,” she said with a dazzling smile. “The dark lord offers the spring bride a seed, keeping her bound to him.”

  “Indeed,” he said, raising a brow. “Do you wish to be bound to me?”

  She picked a seed from the top and pressed it to his lips.

  “My lord, perhaps the question should be... Do you wish to be bound to me?”

  “I invite it,” he growled and took the seed from her fingers.

  With a laugh, Celena opened her mouth and Hades placed one ripe red seed on her tongue. She closed her lips around his fingers and lifted her blue gaze to his.

  “With this,” he purred. “You’re mine.”

  But as she swallowed, her cheeks burned a darker shade of pink. She opened her lips, hands flying to her throat as she silently gasped for air. The bowl of pomegranate seeds spilled between them like the Red Sea. Her bulging eyes darted to his

  “Celena?” He cried, grabbing her shoulders tightly.

  She tugged on the choker of pearls wrapped around her neck, scattering them to the floor. Her body collapsed into a fit of seizure. Hades pulled her close until her body stilled and the choking sound of her breathing died. Her skin was pale and her heart had stopped.

  For the first time since she had disappeared, Hades felt the crushing weight of grief bear down on him. He cried out her name, over and over, desperately trying to revive her; but she was gone. An ocean of tears and pomegranate seeds lay between them now. He could barely hear the sound of the door opening above his muffled sobs, and perhaps that was by choice. Nothing mattered now.

  Not even Demeter in her flurry of silk and jewels.

  “What have you done?” her mother’s voice was sharp, agonized by the body in his arms. “Murderer!”

  “We know who the true murderer is,” he growled, darting a menacing glare towards her.

  A rush of guards came through the door and all his grief was forgotten. He would have to go now, escape again until another century when she might return to him.

  Chapter 10

  I half expected the ground to begin to shake, for the skies to grow dark and stormy, and the land to divide as soon as I had muttered the word, ‘forever.’ I expected only the fantastic and theatrical. Blame it on the fact that I had seen way too many Hollywood movies. Instead, Darce took a step back and knelt; brushing his fingers over the slab of stone before us.

  As his fingers trailed over the mosaic, I watched with wonder as the stones began to glow and shake. The large stone rose up, revealing an empty, black pit below. It grew larger and larger—a vast, dark hole that seemed to have no end. From across the pit, Darce’s face was calm—normal even. The roar of the waves could still be heard in the distance, and the sky was still full of speckled stars.

  The stone hovered above us and Darce quickly gestured to the darkness.

  “Ladies first.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m no
t jumping into that.”

  “Did you truly think I’d be so uncivilized in asking you to jump into a large, black hole?” He teased as he snapped his fingers. The stone overhead descended into the pit, and then almost magically—stretched into a winding path. As it changed in length, I realized Darce was creating a staircase. Each step glowed brilliantly, illuminating the path down into the darkness. I tried to tell my legs to move. I willed myself to go. But even as I tried, I felt frozen in place.

  I felt utterly helpless.

  “Better?” Darce asked with a chuckle as he lifted his hand for mine. I braced myself for his power—his ability to move me against my will again. I even squinted my eyes as I waited for the impact. But I remained in place. As I opened my eyes again, Darce was watching me with a curious gleam.

  “Summer?”

  “I thought you were going to force me to move,” I explained softly.

  Darce clicked his tongue and strolled around the hole until he was by my side.

  “I can’t exactly force you to go against your will,” he said and took my hand. His words confused me. Hadn’t he been pushing me to go along with him all this time? Hadn’t he been the one to insist I must go with him? Darce interlaced his fingers with mine as he gently pulled me along to the set of steps.

  “It’s really this easy? You create a hole in the ground and... we just go into the Underworld?” I asked, biding my time to come to terms with what was before me.

  “Nothing is as ever as simple as you humans think it is,” Darce replied.

  “Why can’t you just blink us down into the hole?” I pointed down the set of stairs. “Wouldn’t that be easier?”

  “I can’t do that. There is a way to enter your world, just as there is a way to enter mine. Though, the way for the living—or rather, the souls who had once been living take a far different route than I.”

  “So my parents didn’t have to jump into some pit?”

  Darce rolled his eyes and tilted his head towards the path.

  “I suppose when your time comes, you’ll find out,” he muttered under his breath. “Now, come.”

  Darce took the first step and gently tugged on my hand. As I lowered my foot onto the first step, I turned to glance over my shoulder. Would this be the last time I’d ever see my world? Would this be the last time I would ever again admire the night sky?

  “Goodbye world,” I muttered under my breath. I heard Darce chuckle.

  “Don’t be so morbid. It won’t be the last time.”

  “You said forever,” I replied quickly.

  Darce didn’t reply. Instead, he began to descend the staircase into the darkness below. Just as soon as we had submerged ourselves beyond the entrance of the pit, the ground above us covered over the night sky. We were left to a deafening silence, with only the steps as a guiding light.

  “Would this be the time to admit that I’m afraid of the dark?” I added, tightening my hold on his hand. His laughter rumbled around us.

  “There’s nothing to fear. I’m right beside you, Summer.” His warm lips touched the top of my hand and I felt myself blush. He started forward again, leading me farther into the deep depths of the earth. My stomach twisted the farther we went and sweat dripped down my back. The moment I realized the walls were growing closer around us, the harder it was for me to catch my breath.

  “Almost there,” Darce said softly as he squeezed my hand.

  “To the Underworld?” I scoffed.

  “No, to the river,” he corrected.

  I paused on one of the steps, pressing my free hand onto the dirt layered walls.

  “I think a part of me is waiting to hear the grand overture to an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical begin to play,” I murmured as my voice echoed around me.

  “The what?” Darce turned to look at me; his brow raised.

  “Never mind,” I said with a smirk.

  It felt like the winding staircase would never stop. We were descending into the deepest depths of the world. My legs were starting to feel like jello. I remembered a time when my parents had decided to vacation near an old historic lighthouse on the coast of Rhode Island. Dad and I had climbed every single step up to the very top, while my mom remained at the bottom and waved up to us. When we came back down, I was almost sure my legs were going to fall off. Tears filled my eyes at the memory of my dad’s smiling face.

  “Hang on, Sunny! We’re almost to the bottom!”

  I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and sniffed back the rest of my tears. Just as I was about to take the next step, my foot slipped and I fell into Darce’s back. His strong arms grabbed me tightly against him as he slowly exhaled.

  “Careful,” he said softly. As he shifted me back to my feet, I noticed we were on solid ground again. The winding staircase glowed behind me.

  “Now what?” I asked, glancing all around me.

  “We continue on by boat,” Darce explained as he strolled towards what appeared to be a wide river. A small boat floated on the surface, tied to a small stake in the ground.

  “Is this where I’m going to see spirits floating in the water? Are they going to try to hoist themselves into the boat?”

  “Clearly, you’ve set some high expectations of the Underworld. I’m afraid to disappoint,” Darce replied. “Of course, if you wish to see watery souls, I can certainly arrange that.”

  I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. Instead, I crossed the small distance and slipped into the boat quietly. It was old—surely much older than any boat I had ever seen in my life. The intricate carvings of the wood were refined and classic. I held onto the side as Darce stepped in, and began to push away from the dirt landing.

  “And you travel this way, each time you go?”

  “To the human realm?” He asked, dipping the oar back into the water. I nodded silently.

  “I don’t leave the Underworld often,” he replied with a shrug. “But when I do, yes. There is only one way in and out.”

  “You don’t visit your hotel often?”

  “Isn’t that what a hotel manager is for?” He asked, raising a brow. Touché. Again.

  I pulled my legs up to my chest as I leaned back against the railing of the boat, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. I recalled the story of Orpheus—a man who traveled to the Underworld in hopes of saving his wife. He had been warned by Hades not to look back until he and his wife were no longer in the Underworld. But Orpheus turned back, only to watch his wife disappear forever. Was the story true? Had Darce truly been so cruel? A shiver ran up my spine as I tilted my chin and skimmed over the outline of him.

  He looked me over curiously and said, “You look as if you want to say something.”

  “No.”

  “No?” He snorted as he pushed the oar into the river, moving the boat forward into the darkness. I was almost sure he had muttered something about ‘that’s a first.’ Sounds of water rippling echoed all around us. I glanced over the edge of the boat. The crystal water was so clear. I was tempted to slip my fingers into it, but I feared I might touch a floating soul or a corpse underneath the current.

  I shivered and hugged my legs closer.

  The pull of the water seemed to grow stronger the farther we went along, almost to the point that Darce no longer needed to put too much effort into his rowing. The cavern walls around us began to glow a soft hue of blue, holding my attention hostage as we moved faster through the current. I held onto the side of the boat for leverage as picked up more speed.

  “Darce?” I called out over my shoulder. “I-Is this supposed to happen?”

  “Just hold on tight!” He replied with a chuckle.

  If I hadn’t been sure we were deep below the earth, I would have thought we were on a crazy water-ride through Hell. There had to be some hidden electrical device that Darce was using. I mean the boat had to be on some guided rail. This couldn’t be real—could it?

  We slipped by stone walls, adorned with ancient carvings—many of which I could barely make out in the
dim, hued light. Seamlessly, the walls began to form into ancient pillars, resembling the ancient temples in Athens.

  “Brace yourself,” Darce called from behind me. I peered over my shoulder just as he sat down. He dropped the oar into the middle of the boat, and held onto the side tightly.

  “Brace myself?” I shouted over the roar of the water. “Why?”

  “Just brace yourself!” He demanded. “Now!”

  The boat felt as though it were about to plunge. We had reached the crest, and now were surely going to fall into oblivion. It began to dip, and I clung onto the old wood with a shriek. And then suddenly, we were falling. Me, Darce, and the entire boat. I was almost sure we were going to fall into nothingness and disappear forever. I would slip from existence at the hands of Hades’ crazy theme park ride. The boat would more than likely, upon impact, explode, and I would go with it.

  I squeezed my eyes shut at the thought of plunging to my own death.

  Just as I was sure my stomach was in my throat, the boat splashed into calm waters. Behind us, the echo of an enormous waterfall filled my ears. My entire body shook from fear. As I opened my eyes, an entirely new world opened up before me. In the distance, I could make out strange, white statues in the lapping water. They looked normal from afar, despite their strange curvature, but the closer we came, the more disturbing they really were. Instead of a crumbling face, the stone skin of the statues peeled away to reveal a second layer beneath it; a skull.

  Had they once been people? What had happened to them?

  My gaze drifted to the other side of the boat. Off in the distance a grand marble entrance came into view. Large pillars held up high ceilings, resembling brick and mortar. At the tops of the pillars, I could make out intricately carved leaves curling around strange gargoyles. Their faces flickered with light and shadows, illuminated by thousands of candles in ancient candelabras. They were everywhere, dancing beside the entrance with a welcoming glow.