by Gillian Zane
After our time together, I sat up and let my legs dangle in the warm water. The sun had finally set, but was beginning to rise again. There was never night in this world. The stars didn’t shine, only one, a bright star that rose above the mountains.
“We have to prepare, Drake. If she catches us unaware, it could have a fatal outcome.” He joined me on the edge, his hand lightly touching my thigh, his feet spinning circles in the water next to mine.
“I know, I wanted to delay it a little bit, though. I can’t think about the possibility of losing you again.” He draped an arm around me and I leaned into his touch.
“You won’t lose me. We have to win this one, Drake.”
“Is that hope?” He laughed, teasing me because of my usual fatalistic approach on life.
“Maybe a bit,” I smiled.
I hadn’t tried to manifest while I was in this realm, but when I thought about my tablet and that it should be here with me, there it was, lying on the pier, it’s glass face glinting in the rising sun. I picked it up, it’s weight so light in my hands.
“What are you doing?” he asked, a frown pulling at his handsome features.
“I know my identification number. I can see which god or goddess cooked me up.”
“It doesn’t matter, Cassie.” But he didn’t look away because he liked a mystery just as much as I did. He liked the truth way too much to let things go. He also knew that we needed the knowledge. We needed to know what Persephone held against me.
I opened the tablet and called up the database of the dead, now that I knew what to look for from my time in the Hall of Records. I typed in my identification number, my file appeared on the screen. I scrolled to where it said parentage and dropped the tablet into the water in shock.
19
Celestial Divorce Proceedings
The soft plink of the water was the only sound that penetrated me in my shock. Drake had been looking over my shoulder, and he sat next to me frozen as the implications of my lineage slammed me over and over again.
This was not true. It couldn’t be. There was no way.
Screaming from the shore drew our attention. That and the pelting of rain on our skin.
We manifested ourselves into clothes. They tickled at my skin, an unwelcome change to the perfection of nudity. Then we were running to the house. The grass beneath our feet was cool and wet from the rain. It had never rained here before. Ever.
A panicked Lethe was in the house, hiding from the rain. She was a sea of fabric and jingling vials as her pacing caused the house around her to bend and contract as if controlled by her movements.
“You have connected yourself to the servers of Afterlife. You accessed the files. She knew you would look for them. She knows where you are hiding. I never thought. I am so sorry,” her words poured forth from her mouth like a waterfall.
Drake clenched his fists, and I turned around in circles waiting for the threat to appear. She knew where we were. What did that mean? Would she hunt us down? Surely she had bigger fish to fry than me and Drake.
“How do you know this?” Drake asked.
“The halls rumble with the rumors of her play for power, Anisia heard, she came to me.”
The name sent prickles down my spine. I had a bone to pick with that woman.
“Why didn’t you tell me that my mother was Anisia, your daughter? You’re my grandmother!”
“There were many things I wanted to disclose to you, my darling, but knowledge, once discussed, becomes the property of others, and I made a pact. I could not be the one to shed the secret.” She looked away. “You are not supposed to exist. All she has done is whisper the truth and they sided with her.”
“Why? I’ve done nothing, I was only born!”
“You are the child of the God of the Underworld, who is not supposed to reproduce. He chose the daughter of Oblivion and the demigod son of death himself. A daughter of a daimon and a goddess to make a union and create a child with. A child that would be born part human, with all the strength and weaknesses of life. We never even spoke of it to your father…we hid you the moment you were born. The less that he knew, the better. My daughter was a fool to bed him, but her decision to hide you was the smartest thing she has ever done.”
“My father,” I choked.
“Hades,” Drake said his name like it was a curse.
“Blessed Gaia.” Lethe’s eyes were looking behind me, and I turned to see what she was staring at. The beautiful red sunset that Drake and I were appreciating only moments ago was gone, replaced with dark ominous clouds. They rolled over the mountains like a beast devouring the sky. A storm was coming. A powerful storm.
Lightning struck the lake, shedding bright piercing light across the depths. Within the light, I saw it. A boat on the water. It wasn’t powered by anything that I could see. A man stood at the helm, almost bigger than the boat himself. He wore black robes that flapped in the wind and he used a stick to guide himself to the shore. Behind him, perched on the bench that spanned the boat, sat Drake’s mother. From here I could see the smile that stretched across her face when she spotted us.
“Here she comes,” Drake hissed.
We made no move to run as Persephone’s boat docked at the pier. The dark robed man held his hand out and she took it, letting him escort her off the boat. She produced two gold coins that twinkled from out of nowhere and flipped them to the man. He slipped them in the folds of his robe then turned the boat around and departed just as fast as he had appeared. We made no room as she walked toward us. She was alone. There were no signs of allies with her.
Maybe she failed. Maybe she was here to make amends. Maybe I was a chicken.
“I come in peace, son.” The last part said like she had rehearsed it, only grimacing slightly over the familial designation.
“That is hard to believe, mother.” Drake said the word like it was an insult.
“You wound me, Drake.” She looked my way and there was no hiding her hatred. She wore no glamour. She stood three feet taller than Drake, the full splendor of her status on display. The lights of her aura hurt my eyes and I could barely focus on her.
I looked away, and I heard the satisfied inhalation of her breath as she took my looking away for weakness. It probably was a sign of weakness. How could I defeat her if I couldn’t even look at her without getting dazzled?
“What do you want?” Drake asked her.
“For you to come back and work for me.”
“I’ve heard that you’ve had your holdings taken away from you.”
“Lies. Spread by that half-breed Overseer slut. She has no power, she’s only trying to get her own control,” Persephone sneered. I could feel her eyes on me again. I could feel her glare as she accused me of the sins of my father, and mother.
“I won’t work for you, find another bastard offspring,” Drake said confidently. I was impressed at how he stood up to her.
“I have gathered allies. They are ready to put me in place, over all of Afterlife. I am the one with the worshippers. I am the one who is still relevant in this godless time. I have thousands of nature worshippers that dance naked at the solstice, praising my name, begging for the change that I bring!” Her voice was loud. It echoed through the mountains and slammed into us.
“You’re still only a Class C,” I spoke up; surprised I found the will to speak, because she was right. Persephone was still worshipped, and it was evident in every molecule of her being. She had power. Real power, not siphoned and distributed by departments like Karma. But when you broke it down, she was still only a figment of a human’s imagination.
“Who asked you? Is this what holds you back, Drake? This half-breed bastard child of my cheating husband? She’s part daimon, spawn of that freak Thanatos who destroys everything he touches. How could you want something like this? I shall be rid of her for good. I’ve done it before. You’ll be a good plant. I’ve done that before, you know? I still love a sprig of mint in my tea every now and again.”
I felt it as her power coalesced around her. I felt it reach for me and tickle my edges. It wanted to lift me up and take me in. I couldn’t let that happen. I wrapped myself in my own power. I used everything I had left, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t hold her back if she was determined.
I heard her laugh. It was the sick little twitter of an entertained goddess.
“That’s enough, woman,” a male’s voice called from everywhere. I felt Persephone’s power recede, and I pulled mine back in relief. My entire body felt the telltale effects of being drained. A man and woman walked from the house. They held hands, his slipped lightly into hers. It was the woman from before. The woman with eyes like mine. My mother Anisia. The man she walked with, I recognized. His eyes found mine, and I felt the same trepidation I felt all those nights ago when he had shown up at my doorstep for a reading.
“I will say when I’ve had enough, husband,” Persephone hissed.
“Your power is not great enough to pull this kind of move. You and I both know this, stop engaging like the spoiled child you are.” the God of the Underworld stood glaring down at his wife. His mistress, or girlfriend—whatever you wanted to call her, glared at the other goddess along with him.
“My power is great. I have thousands of worshippers, and it grows stronger daily! You will not be able to stop me, especially now with the allies I have by my side.”
“If you speak of my brother, I’ve just left his realm. He advised me that he only told you he’d help you because you made him uncomfortable and he wanted you to leave. You were making his mermaids question their immortality,” Hades laughed and it boomed, slamming into the cliff faces across the lake and ricocheting back to us.
“No! He promised me!” Was Persephone pouting?
“Never trust the promise of a man who spends his eternity playing around in seaweed.”
“It doesn’t matter, I have more. They’ve all promised me.”
“They won’t move against me, woman, not for a spoiled goddess like you,” Hades said quietly. “And you forget that proclamation I sent to you last week.”
“Oh, your ridiculous divorce decree? Got it, and I didn’t want to stay married to you either,” she laughed.
“Then it’s mutual,” he laughed and a bolt of lightning struck close by, making me jump as the accompanying blast of thunder rolled through the valley.
I looked at Persephone as she lost some of her shimmer, some of her height. She looked around nervously like she could feel herself diminishing. She held out her hands and a look of horror crossed her face.
“What is going on?”
“We are not married, so you are not tied to the Underworld. Your mother is waiting for you,” Hades smiled.
“What? No, this can’t be. My mother! I can’t go back to her,” Persephone whined.
“You shall join your mother in the fields, where you belong, Persephone. Your time in Afterlife is over.” As if to reinforce his statement, thunder boomed again.
The God of the Underworld has spoken. And he was getting a divorce. How charming.
20
What’s behind door number two?
Drake and I stared like nosey spectators as the gods and goddesses argued, a circling argument that never ended. Persephone hurled insults and Hades fired back, but his insults came with a lightning bolt, which I thought was rather odd since his brother was actually the god of the sky, and wasn’t he the one with the power of lightning?
It became obvious quite quickly that Persephone didn’t possess even half the power that she thought she did. Her allies had all dried up, false promises to make her leave. After she lobbied her final ally, and he turned out to be a dud, Persephone embraced her fate and disappeared. She would be joining her mother in the fields. The goddess of the crops once again, no longer ruler of the dead.
“Cassandra.” My name on his lips pressed against my chest and pushed darkness at my peripheral. I tried to meet his eyes, but he was too much. He was light and darkness, he was everything and nothing. How did my mother, who was only a demigod, handle a relationship with him? He was so much, but there she stood, looking at me with those eyes, nothing reflected out of them. I didn’t know if I meant anything to her, or if I was just a product of an imperfect union with a hugely perfect god.
“Hades.” His name slipped like fire off my tongue, and I felt Drake slip his hand into mine. I squeezed it to let him know everything and anything, but mostly thank you.
I squinted again at the god, and it must have been enough for him to realize what he was doing to me.
“Pardon me,” he said with a chuckle, and then there he stood as the man I remembered. The man who came to my shop and asked me for a reading. My father. The God of the Underworld.
“So, I’m really…” I indicated to the two of them, and their nod was synchronized, kind of creepy but their eyes were both soft and somehow familiar.
“We are your parents. Our union was unexpected, the child, also unexpected. But as the path unwinds, it becomes clear that it was meant to be.” Hades’ words were like chimes on the ears, but I understood. Even the gods couldn’t predict the future.
“Is this over? Will anyone else come for me, for us?” I wrapped an arm around Drake.
“It will always be an issue if you stay in Afterlife,” Anisia said, looking to the god at her side for confirmation.
“As long as I remain in control, she shall be safe. I would like you to consider coming back to the realm, taking your rightful place as my offspring in the world that I control. There is no better place for you to be. And him, as well,” He nodded at Drake to reinforce his certainty. But for me there were too many what-ifs. The other PTBs wouldn’t like that Hades had a child, especially not with another higher up in Afterlife. If they gave me some kind of position, that had nepotism written all over it. But still, the offer was flattering.
“You want me to work for you?”
“Both of you,” Anisia said looking to Drake.
“I do not hold your parentage against you, son.” Hades’ eyes found Drake’s and then fell to our joined hands.
“Uh, thanks, I guess,” Drake said.
“You are not obligated. There are millions of places like this one. This is Lethe’s domain, but there are others. One that might be a lovely place to spend a time or two,” Anisia said, granting me the first glimmer of a smile.
“No pressure or anything,” I muttered.
“I would like you to join me, but I understand it will be a constant upheaval. There will always be gods and goddesses that will want to get to me, and they might go through you,” Hades said with a small frown marring his perfect features.
“Do we have to make a choice now?” Drake asked.
“No. Take your time, but not too long,” Anisia finished for her partner.
Hades made a gesture to the land next to us. A table appeared in the clearing and on it sat four vials, like the vials Lethe had given me and I had never taken. There were four of them, two a golden color, and two a dark swirling blue.
“The blue will take you to Afterlife, the gold will place you in a small realm like this one,” Anisia said. The pair nodded, Hades’ eyes holding mine a little longer than Anisia’s.
“Goodbye. I hope to see you again, daughter,” Hades said.
They turned and began walking away, up the hill back to the house, their hands still joined like a normal couple on a stroll.
I tore my eyes from their retreating figures and looked at the vials. If I had to choose at this moment, I wouldn’t know what to do.
“I wonder how much time we have.” Drake mused.
“I don’t care,” I responded. I squeezed his hand and he looked down at me.
“What do you care about, Cassandra?” he asked.
“That when we do choose, we both choose the same one.”
“You took the words from my mouth,” he smiled.
“I want more from that mouth of yours,” I smiled back.
“Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.” he vowed and he put that mouth to work. No matter how many times he kissed me, I never had enough. No matter how many times he laid me down and claimed me, it wasn’t enough. It would never be. I could never have enough of Drake. Because, finally, I didn’t feel alone. I would never be alone as long as I had him by my side. No matter what decision we made. No matter what path we took, as long as we did it together it would bearable.
The question still haunted us, the decision we had to make. What could we live with? We whispered our questions to each other as he held me, as he took me again, ravishing me with his mouth, punishing me with his teasing touches. He was everywhere and perfect, fitting inside me as if he was meant for me. We could have this forever. This moment. Over and over again.
“Would we be happy without a challenge?” we asked each other.
“Would we be okay under the pressure of Afterlife?” It always came back to ‘we’. He used it, I used it. It was always we. Because that’s what we were. A we. A unit. Eventually our whispering trailed off. We knew we had dragged it out long enough.
We manifested our clothes back on, except for shoes. I didn’t want any shoes, and Drake followed suit. We walked out of the house, down the soft grass to the little table that sat exactly where Hades had left it. The vials were undisturbed.
I looked at Drake.
“I love you.”
He smiled a little smirk. I had said it first. It was a win for him. I shot him a glare.
“I love you, too.” My face softened and I felt a little flutter in my chest.
“You ready?” I asked. He nodded.
“On three. One. Two…” Our hands shot out and came down on the vial of our choice. I looked at his hand. The vial he held matched mine in color. We both let out a nervous laugh. I pulled him to me, kissing him excitedly on the lips. He pulled away before it could deepen and we got distracted again.
