Hades’ Daughter (The War of Fate)

by Charlotte Carol

  I start the engine up and pull out of my space and join the groups of people trying to get out of the lot. I tap my hand on the steering wheel along with the beat of the song on the radio as I rest my arm on the door and my head on top of my hand.

  Earth isn’t what I expected it to be. All I see all day every day are the same walls, and I am bored already. I would never admit it to my dad, or even Kyle, as they would take it that I don’t want to continue with my time up here. For the first week I was up here, the idea of school, and finding what it was all about, was appealing and interesting; however, its repetitive nature has me wanting to get out and do something else.

  I can finally pull out of the parking lot and onto the road, making me sit up straighter and press down on the accelerator, wanting to get home.

  ***

  I stand in front of the standing mirror, looking at the outfit I have on. I decided that I would choose my outfit for tomorrow this evening, as I can’t be bothered to get up early tomorrow to do it. My eyes travel over my reflection again, deciding against this one.

  I walk through the open door to my closet, sifting through the rest of my clothes. I find a white, lace Cami which crosses at the back, and I pair it with ripped jeans. I put them on before searching through the mess of shoes covering my floor for a pair of white heeled pumps. I slip them on and walk back out to check the finished product in the mirror for the third time.

  However, before I can get to the mirror, I am scared shitless to find someone sitting on my bed. My first instinct is to attack the threat. I run over and pull the threat, who happens to be Hunter, up by his neck. Once I register it’s him, I loosen my grip.

  “How did you get in here?” I shout.

  “The door was unlocked. That’s not a safe thing to do. Any creep could come in Newbie,” he chastises with a shrug.

  “It looks like they have, yet another thing to add to my stalker file,” I mutter, letting go of him and stepping back. I don’t bother locking the door because I could take on whoever decided to try their luck.

  “Wow, you’re strong and fast,” he comments, rubbing his neck. His hand slows to a stop, his eyes traveling over me. “You’re hot as well.”

  I turn and go to my previous destination. I look at my reflection again, and a smirk comes to my lips. I have to admit that I agree with Hunter; I do look pretty hot in this. I’ve found my outfit for tomorrow. I walk to the dressing table near my closet and pick out a pair of silver hoops and a long necklace, laying them out.

  “What are you doing here, Oldie?” I ask Hunter as I walk back into my closet to change into something comfier. I push the door closed as I kick the shoes off.

  “I was bored,” he answers.

  “So you decided to come and annoy me,” I state sarcastically.

  “Yep,” he responds as I hear a drawer being opened.

  I roll my eyes.

  “I don’t know what you think I will do to help with that boredom.” I walk back out of the closet, now in much more casual clothes. I see that Hunter is still looking through drawers.

  “Make out with me?” he suggests as he opens yet another drawer, looking up at me.

  “Buddy, if you come within an inch of me, I will make sure that no woman wants to make out with you ever again,” I tell him, moving to close the drawer he has opened.

  “Okay, no to the making out.”

  “Good choice. What about a film?” I counter, moving to the selection of DVDs my dad supplied, under the TV in my room.

  Hunter moves until he is standing behind me, looking over my shoulder. I pick a random one, which looks good, waiting to see if Hunter has anything to say about the choice. When he doesn’t complain, I put the disc in.

  “Want popcorn?” I ask as I walk to the door leading out of my room. I hear his confirmation as I walk out of the room. I put the popcorn on to cook, drinking a bag of blood while I wait.

  I am just putting the popcorn in a bowl when I hear the theme music of the film starting. I wipe my mouth and my teeth once more as I rush up the stairs.

  I launch onto the bed next to Hunter, passing the popcorn to him. I turn my attention to the screen to see a street of houses at night. I quickly get immersed in the story, every so often reaching for a handful of popcorn. When I do, I get a glance of Hunter. Sometimes he is focusing on the film, but for most of the time, he is watching me. His expression is guarded, meaning I can’t work out what he is thinking.

  Halfway through the film and after the hundredth time I caught him watching me, I finally decide to ask him.

  “What?” I ask, placing a kernel in my mouth. He looks like he’s thinking of something before asking me seriously.

  “What are you?”

  The piece of popcorn nearly falls out of my mouth as I process what he is saying. I was stupid to attack him; he witnessed something that no normal human could do—run at speed in heels. Luckily, I wasn’t the fastest I could be.

  “Pardon?” I choke out.

  “You’re super fast and strong, like inhumanly so,” he says.

  I tense up and wait for him to start screaming at me that I am a monster, an abomination, but it doesn’t come. I gulp, going to respond, but he beats me to it. “Are you a vampire, or something?”

  I close my eyes as I look away from him.

  “Yeah, or something…”

  He laughs, but when I don’t join in, he asks for clarification.

  “Wait, what—you’re being serious? I was just joking. No, wait you can’t be something like that. They don’t exist, do they? What’s the or something?” he rambles.

  I slump, the tension leaving my body. He was only joking.

  “No, they don’t, you idiot. The or something being a human,” I tell him, stressing the last two words.

  Hunter guffaws, resuming stuffing popcorn into his mouth.

  Someone is only going to find out if you tell them. They can have all the theories they want, but unless you confirm them, they are just that—theories. If they were to tell someone their theories, no one would believe them. Humans would find it hard to believe a story about a real supernatural being.

  “You had me going there,” he says, nudging my side.

  So did you, I think as I try and get my focus back on the film in front of us, my mind running from what just happened. I let out a laugh at the stupidity of the situation. I relax back into the bed, my heavy breathing from the nerves of someone finding out calming down. I need to be more careful and think about my actions now that I am on Earth. I dodged a bullet there, but I may not be so lucky next time.

  Chapter 16

  The Date

  I place the necklace over my head, completing the outfit for my date today. I had to drag myself out of bed this morning, as my mind kept going over what happened with Hunter last night, after he left. Luckily, the rest of the film went by without any more awkward questions, and he promptly left when it ended.

  I glance at the clock and see that it’s 10:30. I bring my flat-iron out, working on straightening my hair before pulling it up into a sleek ponytail. I put light makeup on and make my way downstairs to have something to eat before I leave.

  Once I have finished the blood and had something normal to eat, it is time for me to make my way to the park to meet Reid.

  When I pull into the parking lot, I check myself over again in the rearview mirror before opening my door and exiting into the bright sunshine. The clock on the dashboard of my car tells me that it’s just gone eleven o’ clock, the time that Reid said he would meet me. After locking my own car, I walk through the others and past smiling families sitting and playing on the grass, enjoying their day at the park. I stop under a tree, leaning against the trunk as I look for Reid.

  My phone begins to ring. Wondering if Reid has tracked down my number using his ways, I take it out of my pocket only to let out a disappointed and confused sigh. My dad’s contact photo, a baby devil with a pacifier in its mouth, glares back at me. I answer it, bringing it
up to my ear.

  “Daddy!” I exclaim, faking brightness, hoping he doesn’t know about the date.

  “Don’t ‘daddy’ me. What is this I hear about you going on a date?” he asks.

  I groan. I’m going to kill Kyle.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I answer innocently, still looking for Reid as I talk.

  “Where are you now?” he asks, seeing through my act.

  “At the park.”

  “Doing what?” he asks.

  I look around and see the nearest family throwing a disk to each other.

  “Playing Frisbee with a nice family I met.”

  “Mm,” he hums as if he doesn’t believe me. “Dressed like that, I don’t think so.”

  My mouth falls open as my hand loosens around my phone, causing it to slip out and fall to the floor. I look frantically around the park, knowing he must be here.

  I find him standing near the swing set, his phone on his ear, and a hand in the air waving at me. I can see the smug grin he is wearing from here. I snatch my phone up from the ground before stomping toward him.

  “What are you doing here?” I whisper harshly.

  “I have come to see my lovely daughter,” he tells me with his stupid grin still on his face.

  I let out a laugh.

  “Ha. Yeah, and I’m the queen of England,” I respond sarcastically.

  He eventually gives me the truth. “Kyle told me about my daughter going on a date, so I have come to check that he is worthy of her,” he explains as if he were talking to someone else.

  I shake my head at him.

  “Dad, he’s the leader of a gang. I hardly think you’ll disapprove.”

  His eyes light up as he pats me on the cheek. “That’s my girl.”

  “See. So, now that you approve, can you go? He’ll be here soon.”

  “Oh,” he says with a pout, “but I want to meet him…”

  “Scar?” Reid asks from behind me, and I spin to face him. I motion to my dad to leave with my hand hidden from Reid by my body.

  “Hi!” I greet him as I hear my dad chuckle before leaving. I’m surprised that it’s easier than I expected. I thought my dad would complain and insist on being introduced.

  I bring my attention back to Reid, who is wearing a dark gray shirt which doesn’t fail to hide his muscles, a pair of dark jeans, and a pair of aviators covering his blue eyes. I see that he is returning the appreciative look.

  “Like what you see?” I ask, smirking.

  “Very much,” he replies, his lip turning up slightly at the edge.

  “What do you have planned for us then?” I ask.

  He lets out a chuckle, sounding like it doesn’t escape his lips often. I guess you have to be serious if you are a gang leader of one of the most notorious gangs around.

  “I want to show you something,” he says as he reaches for my hand, pulling me behind him and back toward the parking lot.

  “What?” I ask as he maneuvers us between the cars until we come to a stop by a black bike.

  “You’ll have to wait and see,” he replies, a smile in his voice as he picks up the helmet on the back. He turns, passing it to me. I look down at it and then up to Reid who is now straddling the bike, watching me expectantly.

  “Shouldn’t you have a helmet as well?” I ask.

  “Nah, I’ll be alright. We need to keep your pretty face pretty anyway.” He taps me under the chin, and I scoff at him as I bring the helmet up.

  “You would be surprised at what this ‘pretty face’ can take,” I mutter snidely as I shove the helmet down onto my head.

  He snorts as he extends his hand for me. I roll my eyes as I push his hand away, gripping onto his shoulders instead as I kick a leg over the machine. I edge forward, wrapping my arms around his waist. He shakes his head as he kicks down on a lever to start the bike.

  “Hold on,” he calls over the roar of the bike as we pull out of our space and the parking lot.

  I turn my head to look through the visor at what we are zooming past. We stay on the main roads, leading us to a highway which we ride on for about twenty minutes before turning off onto a quieter road, which leads to a dirt track. We ride down the dirt track, following it through trees until we finally stop at a dead end.

  “We’re here,” Reid says. I sit back from him, placing my feet down onto the dusty track. Maybe white shoes weren’t the best idea.

  I look around, my eyebrows rising involuntarily.

  “This is what you wanted to show me? Was this just all a ploy to get me alone so you can kill me?” I joke.

  Reid gets off the bike, causing me to balance it as I watch him. He lets out a dark chuckle before turning around, his gun now in his hand inches away from my face.

  “Shit. You’re too good for me,” he mutters.

  I can feel how intense his gaze is even though I am unable to see it.

  I contemplate for a moment if I would be able to steal his bike, but he seems like a good aim and quick on the trigger. I know that I am probably being stupid to even try and take the gun from him, but if I were to be shot, it’s not the end of my life.

  I act quickly, turning the gun and the situation around, so I am now the person aiming the gun. My finger twitches over the trigger, waiting for him to do something that would allow me to shoot him.

  “Whoa, don’t shoot!” he tries to placate me. “I was just playing along.”

  My grip on the gun goes slack, allowing Reid to take it back. He was kidding! It was all part of the joke.

  “Don’t be so serious next time! I was ready to kill you,” I chastise, hitting him on the arm.

  He lets out a laugh.

  “I’m going to keep you. You didn’t react badly to a gun being pointed at you.”

  “Does that happen a lot around you?” I quip, half curious to the answer as I accept his hand to help me off the bike. His palm warms mine as he begins to rub his thumb over the back of my hand.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but it’s a little walk until we get to our destination,” Reid comments as he begins to pull me after him.

  “I’ll survive.” I sigh jokingly.

  He pulls me through two trees and onto a path that I missed when we first arrived. To be honest, I was preoccupied with the gun being aimed at me.

  After a short walk, like Reid said, we come to the top of a hill that slopes to a secluded beach below.

  The turquoise sea is sparkling in the bright sun, the waves lapping at the light sand. I look around and see that we are the only living things in sight. I don’t have a lot to call beautiful and rarely use the word, but this is stunningly beautiful. I turn to Reid, a grin on my face.

  “Wow. How did you find this?”

  “We were once on the run from the cops, and this is where we ended up.” He starts looking at the scenery. “Now, whenever I need somewhere to escape to, this is where I come.”

  I move my eyes off Reid’s handsome face and look back around. I can see why he does; it’s so peaceful here. You could be here without fear of anything or anyone finding you.

  “Do you trust me?” he asks.

  I press my lips together, watching him. Do I? He threatened to shoot me, even though it later turned out to be a joke, and I know nothing about him. However, my gut has me nodding.

  “Okay, close your eyes. No peeking,” he instructs.

  I hesitantly let my eyes flutter close as I feel Reid take my other hand in his. He tugs gently, letting me know he wants me to walk forward. We move down the gentle incline of the small hill until I feel my feet sink into something soft. My mind wanders back to the Styx Lake at home at the familiar feeling.

  I stumble through the sand in my heels, Reid righting me every so often when I lose my balance. A small smile comes to my lips as he makes us turn around something. A few steps later, we stop. He releases my hands, and I feel him step back.

  “Open your eyes.”

  I do so, blinking at the onslaught from the
sun. Through squinting eyes, I see what Reid has led me to. A few feet away from a big rock is a blanket lying on the sand, a wicker basket on top. “I know it’s corny, but what else can you do at a beach…” Reid says, worry creeping into his tone.

  My eyes zoom to him, trying to hide the surprise that I feel at the insecurities I see on his face.

  “It’s perfect,” I tell him, giving him another big grin.

  I have never been on a date before. Yes, I had been with other demons as I grew up but never actually went on a date. There is not really much that you can do in Hell date-wise. Maybe joint hunts, but that’s not really date material. It warms my usually cold heart to know that someone has gone to this extent to do this for me.

  I bite my lip as I watch Reid bend down to open the basket. I know that this date will be memorable.

  Chapter 17

  You’re a Weird Chick

  I stare into Reid’s eyes, a slow smile forming on my lips when I see that Reid is struggling.

  After Reid has emptied the basket of the food it held, we both sit down and start to work our way through the feast silently. At some point, an unannounced and unplanned staring contest starts.

  I giggle when I see Reid’s eyelid twitch as his eyes begin to water. I feel sorry for him because I have an advantage, as I can go for a long time without needing to blink. I continue to stare him down, and I am surprised to find that it takes another minute before he finally gives up with a groan as he looks away to blink rapidly.

  “I win,” I sing.

  “You had to be cheating,” he rationalizes, trying to comfort his bruised ego. I bet he doesn’t get beaten by girls very often.

  “How can you even cheat at a staring contest?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me because you were the one doing whatever you do to cheat.”

  I laugh and tear off a bit of my sandwich to throw at him.

  “Hey!” he shouts in objection, tearing his own piece of sandwich off to throw back at me. I giggle, taking a bite of my own. His eyes glint in amusement as he watches me.

  “So…did you like my invitation?” he asks with a smirk gracing his lips.