by Melody Rose
Zeus, my thoughts hissed with disdain.
Before I could react, Hermes jumped into the air. With a quick flip and a kick of his heels, the wings on his shoes came to life and fluttered furiously as they lifted him into the air. Like a bullet, Hermes propelled forward and hurled the lightning bolt in one swift motion.
I raised a hand in an effort to raise the bolt, but it wasn’t fast enough. Blinding pain sizzled through my nervous system as the lightning bolt slammed directly into my chest. Persephone wailed as I cried out in pain and collapsed onto the ground, my entire body spasming from the thousands of volts that coursed through me.
“Hades! No!” Persephone screamed as she dropped down beside me. She reached out and wrapped both hands around the bolt on my chest, then recoiled when the lightning singed the delicate flesh of her palms.
“S-stop!” I shouted through the pain.
“No! I have to help you!” she said as she glared over her shoulder to where Hermes hovered behind her. “How could you do this!? Help me get it out!”
Hermes shook his head with a frown as he flew closer to Persephone. “I can’t. I have no choice, my lady.”
I glared at Hermes through the pain as I mentally strangled the little bastard. I had been on good terms with Hermes for years, but after this, he was going to be lucky if I didn’t rip him apart limb by limb and feed him to Cerberus while he was still conscious enough to watch. I yelped at the pain of the lightning as it burned through my veins.
Persephone turned back to me with tears welling in her large lavender eyes as she asked, “Hades, what do I do?”
The sound of the desperation in her voice broke me. I wanted nothing more than to hold her and reassure her that I was fine, but the pain that ravaged my body was too overwhelming for me to overcome. From behind her, Hermes dropped back down onto the ground and took Persephone’s arms into his grasp. A blinding fury turned my vision red as she screamed and struggled against him.
“Let me go! Please! I need to help him!” she pleaded.
“I’m sorry, but I need to bring you back whether you want me to or not,” Hermes replied.
He glanced over to me and offered me an apologetic frown as he placed a hand under Persephone’s chin. With a small nod, Persephone went limp and silent in his arms.
“NO!” I snarled through clenched teeth. “LET HER GO!”
Silent as the dead, Hermes hoisted Persephone over his shoulder and vanished. Tears stung in my eyes as I struggled to wriggle free from the lightning bolt, but to no avail. I was only wearing myself out with every movement. Before I could succumb to the pain, I let out a sharp whistle for Cerberus. As his answering howl shook the underworld, I fainted.
27
Demeter
Zeus, Poseidon, and I stood in a half-circle around the main hall of Zeus’s temple as we waited impatiently for Hermes to return from the underworld with my daughter. I was positively terrified to see the state in which my daughter arrived from that place.
Had that monster hurt her? Was she going to be okay when she arrived? There were so many things he could have done to her while she was trapped down there with him. I just wanted my baby girl to return to me in one piece. I took a deep breath and forced myself to stand still, lest I begin pacing again. The first time I had started to pace, Poseidon had scolded me for driving the tension in the room up to an overwhelmingly unbearable level.
What the hell did he know? Poseidon didn’t understand what it was like to be a concerned parent. Neither of them did. Zeus and Poseidon were more interested in being big-shot playboy’s than they cared about their own children. I, on the other hand, had made it my life’s purpose to make Persephone my sole reason for existing in the world.
Without her, everything in my life seemed dark and grey. Where there was once warmth and light, cold and darkness had taken its place. I was lost without her near me.
Perhaps my ultimatum had been a little extreme. But if I hadn’t thought of doing things this way, my daughter would still be trapped with that monster. Zeus rolled his eyes and groaned loudly as I anxiously started to shuffle from foot to foot.
“Would you just relax already? He’ll be here. You’re driving me up the damn wall already,” he hissed irritably.
“He’s right,” Poseidon agreed. “Hermes has only been down there for about an hour. If you can’t stand still and just wait, then go home. We’ll call you when he gets here.”
I curled my lips back in repugnance as I took a small step forward. “No. I’m going to wait right here until he shows up with my daughter. I already lost her to Hades once, and I don’t plan on leaving her side again after this.”
Almost as if in response, a bright light flashed in the room, and Persephone hit the ground before the three of us screaming. Hermes appeared beside Zeus with a frown and gestured to my wailing child. “I did what you wanted.”
Zeus smiled broadly as he slapped Hermes on the back proudly. “Thanks, kid. Now get back home and rest. I’ll send you a gift basket for all your hard work within the hour.”
Hermes rolled his eyes before he took one last look at Persephone. I could see that the boy was troubled as he watched her sobbing hysterically on the floor. His turquoise eyes met mine, and his frown deepened. I smiled and gave him a nod before I whispered my thanks. With a small, disapproving shake of his head, Hermes vanished again.
“Well, there we go,” Zeus said as he gestured towards Persephone. “Safe and sound. And don’t bother to try to phase out of here, Persephone. It’s pointless.”
I rushed towards my daughter and knelt down beside her quickly. Persephone continued to sob as I placed both my hands on her cheeks and lifted her gaze to meet mine so I could better examine her beautiful heart-shaped face. “My darling, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Persephone slapped my hands away from her and scooted herself out of my reach. “This is all your fault! You did this to Hades! How could you, you evil bitch!”
“Oh, wow,” Poseidon whistled with amusement. I narrowed my eyes up at him as I crawled towards Persephone once more, hoping to give her a much-needed embrace. But my daughter did not feel the same way as me. Instead, she reached out and shoved me away from her.
“Don’t fucking touch me. I want to go back home. I need to make sure Hades is okay!”
“Persephone!” I cried as I fell onto my bottom. “What’s gotten into you?! Your home is here with all of us! What has that monster done to you?!”
“He made love to me,” she hissed.
Zeus and Poseidon shared a surprised look as I felt my stomach drop. No, no, no, no, no! Please tell me this isn’t true! Hadn’t I taught her better than this? Why would she so willingly give up her virginity to such a beast?!
It was then that I realized that my daughter was dressed only in a dark t-shirt with eyes swollen from her tears. Enraged, I crawled towards her for a second time and took a firm grasp of her chin.
“You allowed him to soil you?” I whispered in disbelief. Persephone snorted through her nose at me as she came to stand.
“Of course, I did. That’s what happens when you love someone. But you know all about that, don’t you, Mother?” she replied venomously as she looked pointedly at Zeus. My cheeks burned a bright red as I jumped to my feet and backhanded my daughter with a huff.
“You insolent little girl. How dare you take that tone of voice with me?” I snarled.
Persephone glared at me through the loose strands of her dark hair as she placed a hand on her cheek. “I’m taking this tone because I’ve had enough of you, you crazy bitch! I’m tired of you treating me like a prisoner. Hades and I love each other, and I plan on spending the rest of my life with him. Whether you agree with this or not is not my problem. Just know that you’re going to regret taking me away from the underworld.”
I stared at my daughter incredulously as I mulled over her words. This person who stood before me couldn’t possibly be my daughter. My child would never speak to me with such lo
athing and disrespect the way this one did. What happened to the sweet young maiden who would run into my chambers when she was afraid of the thunder? What happened to the innocent babe that would braid flowers into my hair as she hummed a sweet lullaby? This girl…. I didn’t recognize her at all.
Hades had truly ruined my precious girl with his darkness. Even now, I could see that her once luminous lavender eyes burned like amethyst in the sconces around us. I glared at the reflection of my face in her eyes as it instantly reminded me of my youth. My daughter was following in the same path that I had chosen for myself when I was her age. If she continued to follow this route, she too would be just as miserable as I was.
Did she not understand the loneliness and hopelessness she would feel once Hades had had his fill of her? And what if he implanted his seed? What was she going to do with herself then? Hades would cast her and her child aside just as Zeus had done to us. I couldn’t allow her to suffer these hardships. I needed to keep her safe! Was there truly no way to alter this course of her destiny?
Curse the Fates; the cruel bitches that the three of them were.
“I will never approve of your… union with Hades. What you have done has cost you everything, and you don’t even see it yet because he has blinded you with his primal urges,” I said as I took a step towards the unrecognizable woman before me.
Persephone allowed her hand to fall from her cheek as she scoffed. “Stop that. Hades didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve all treated him like a pariah for so long, yet none of you has ever stopped and taken the time to get to know the real him. Least of all his own brothers! All you have done is hurt him over and over again and laughed about it afterward. Right now, he’s lying down there, all alone and injured! I am in love with him, mother. He is my soulmate. I demand you send me back.”
From behind Persephone’s shoulder, I watched as Poseidon stiffened uncomfortably at her words. I raised a brow before I stepped past Persephone and marched towards him. “What is it?”
Poseidon glanced at Persephone, then asked, “What did you mean by ‘soulmate?’”
Persephone straightened her back and stuck out her chin defiantly before she answered. “Our souls are connected by the Thread of Destiny. He and I are meant to be together.”
I whirled towards her furiously before I turned back to face Zeus. His face was impassive as he crossed his arms over his chest and took a deep breath. What the hell was Persephone talking about? What was the Thread of Destiny? I had never heard about this before this very moment. However, I could see that both Zeus and Poseidon knew about this all too well.
“What are you two not saying?” I asked.
Poseidon peered over at Zeus before his eyes met mine. “The Thread of Destiny is something even the Fates can’t mess with. Once the soul of a god is bound to their mate, the bond can’t ever be broken or tampered with. My soul is tethered to Amphitrite’s, and Zeus is tethered to Hera. If they’re really bonded like this, then Hades is going to be more than a little fucking pissed when that bolt wears off.”
I felt my body go numb almost instantly. Hades wouldn’t possibly be stupid enough to come to Olympus just to take Persephone back again, would he? It would be foolish to face the odds of him dying in a domain where his powers would be weakened just for one woman. Still, the look in Poseidon’s eyes wasn’t reassuring in the least.
“Well, with the threat of Hades still great, we need to move Persephone somewhere else. Where can we go?” I asked, feeling terror creeping up my spine.
Zeus rolled his eyes before he replied, “Well, she can’t stay here. I’ve already done my part. Now Hades is going to be even pissier than he normally is once that bolt wears off. If I had known about this destiny bullshit beforehand, I would have told you to figure this out on your own. But now I have a huge fucking target on my back.”
Persephone chuckled behind me as we deliberated over our options. “I told you you’d regret it. You have no idea how strong he is.”
“We could always hide her in my temple,” Poseidon suggested. “The water will mask her scent. If we keep her here, that puts everyone on Olympus in the crossfire… including Persephone. At least if she’s with me down there, I can send her up with the sirens and drown Hades myself.”
“You do realize that Hades is going to look in our temples first, don’t you?” Zeus snarled, running a hand through his chin-length silver hair. “Persephone said it herself. We treated him like a pariah his whole life. Do you think he’s not going to use this as an excuse to come after us now? We just declared open season on ourselves.”
“There has to be somewhere else he won’t think to look,” I replied.
“You can’t run from him forever,” Persephone giggled.
The three of us fell silent as Persephone continued to giggle to herself. I was starting to feel the sharp ache of defeat welling up in my heart as each recommendation was shot down. Soon, Hades would come to Olympus, and he would destroy all of us just because we couldn’t figure out where to take her where Hades couldn’t follow.
“I think I’ve got it,” Zeus said with a smile.
“Do tell,” Poseidon replied.
“We can’t keep Persephone here or in the ocean, right?”
“Right,” Poseidon said with a nod.
“Well, we can take him to The Olympian instead. Eros has special lower levels that he uses for clientele with more… interesting tastes. I say we take her there. It’ll keep all innocent bystanders safe but give us the opportunity to get rid of Hades.” Zeus smiled broadly, feeling pleased by his plan.
I nodded in agreement. This sounded perfect. At least there, we would protect Persephone at all costs, and Hades wouldn’t be able to find her. “Okay, take her. Let’s make this quick before he arrives.”
“NO!” Persephone screeched as Zeus made his way towards her. “You can’t do this! I’m not going with any of you!”
I had had enough of this foolish child already.
Before Persephone could resume howling like a banshee, I waved my hand in an arch towards her causing a green puff of spores to manifest suddenly around her face and head. Persephone’s eyes widened with panic before she could stop herself from breathing the spores in deeply. My heart lurched in my chest as my daughter’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she collapsed onto the ground in a heap.
Forgive me, my love. This is for your own good.
“Thank God,” Zeus sighed as he waltzed towards Persephone's unconscious form and lifted her gently off the floor. “She was driving me nuts.”
As Zeus held Persephone cuddled to his chest, I smiled. This was the first, and possibly the last, time that I had ever seen Persephone in his arms. It warmed me to see him being so caring and gentle with her. Deep in the coldness of my heart, I felt a familiar tingle of love for this man. I still missed the taste of his lips and the feel of his skin against mine.
How I wished that he had been there for our child for her entire life. But alas, it was not meant to be. I needed to let go of him and move on. It had been long enough. I sighed to myself as I shook the thoughts away and manifested a pale pink dress onto my daughter’s limp body. Much better, I thought to myself approvingly.
“Hold on,” Poseidon said as he came around his brother. He stared down at Persephone and placed a hand over her before a small wave of water appeared on the crown of her head. Slowly, Poseidon ran the wave throughout the entire length of her, washing my daughter’s body clean.
“What was that for?” I asked once he finished. Poseidon smiled over to me, albeit weakly.
“It’ll mask her scent for a little while. At least until we can deal with Hades,” he explained. He turned back to Zeus. “You’d better go. I’ll clean up here.”
“Yes, sir,” Zeus said mockingly before he vanished. I took a shaky breath as Poseidon knelt down to the ground and held his hands over the marble floor where Persephone had once lain. He was cleaning the ground of her scent.
I wrapped my
arms around myself as I watched him. Even though Persephone hadn’t been gone long, I already felt a longing in my soul for her return. And yet I knew that we needed to do this in order to keep her safe. If I couldn’t cut the cords of destiny, then I would just have to settle for the next best thing.
“You should leave too,” Poseidon said, disrupting my thoughts. “Hades will be here any minute. You should lock yourself down tight.”
I nodded and turned to leave, then paused. “Thank you, Poseidon.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he replied flatly.
28
Poseidon
I waited for Demeter to leave before I let out a breath. I wasn’t looking forward to what was going to happen next. Even though we had taken the proper precautions to keep Persephone safe, Hades would still know where to go looking for her.
First, the lightning bolt would have been a major hint that Zeus was involved with the retrieval of the girl. As Zeus said, we already had huge targets on our backs. This would only strengthen our older brother’s resolve in his quest for blood and vengeance against us. Secondly, my scent masking, while undetectable to most, wasn’t going to fool Hades easily. The process left behind a faint scent of an ocean breeze.
Zeus was the lucky one. He wouldn’t have to deal with Hades’ rage. I, on the other hand, was going to have to take it upon myself to destroy our brother once and for all.
I finished masking the scent in the room and sighed, then climbed to my feet. Part of me was hesitant to do this. While I may have been cruel and indifferent to Hades over the years, he was still my brother; I still cared for the man. The thought of his blood dripping from my hands filled me with guilt and pain.
But Hades had become a vastly different man after our father had spat him back out. The little boy that I remembered being so willing to protect and care for me had been reborn with empty eyes and a broken spirit. I had tried to tell myself that perhaps my brother has suffered post-traumatic stress from the entire ordeal. But as the years went on, my brother never recovered.
