by Vivi Anna
Hades raised his leg and put it into the water. He flinched. “It’s cold.”
“It will help you cool down,” Nemo explained.
“It’s too cold. I don’t wanna.” Hades stepped out of the tub.
“You’ll feel better once you’re in, I promise,” Leucothea coaxed.
“I’m not going in. It’s too cold.”
Kat sighed. “Hades, you’re acting like a child.”
He scrunched up his face in indignation. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Am not.”
“Are, too.”
“Am not.”
“Are, too.”
“Am not, infinity.” Then he stuck out his tongue.
Kat shook her head. “Just push him in.”
“Oh, no, we can’t do that,” Nemo objected. “That would be a shock to his system. Who knows what would happen.”
Kat stood up. “Fine, I’ll do it.” She rushed at them and pushed Hades.
Pinwheeling his arms, Hades teetered backward toward the large tub. As he reached out for purpose, he found it in Kat. Grasping her shirt, he pulled her down with him. They landed with a tremendous splash. Water spouted everywhere and over everything, including Nemo and Leucothea.
As they submerged, Kat lost her breath. The water gripped her with its icy tendrils. She felt as though there should be steam coming off them, like a hot frying pan under a water tap.
They both came up spewing water and obscenities.
“Fuck! I told you it was cold!” Hades hollered.
“Don’t be a baby,” Kat said through chattering teeth. She sat up so she was not pressed intimately against his naked body. So that no part of her touched him, she moved to the other side of the tub and pulled up her legs. She was too acutely aware of his fine physical form.
“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not naked.”
“I know.” She made the mistake of smiling.
Hades grabbed her legs and pulled her forward. She quickly went under the water. As she bumped the back of her head on the side, the leather strap on her eye patch broke.
When she resurfaced, spurting water, and rubbed at her face, she instantly noticed the absence of her patch. She glanced down in the water and saw it floating on top. She glanced up at Hades. He was staring at her. Pity shone in his wide eyes. Kat grabbed the patch and scrambled out of the tub.
“Kat!” Hades pushed up.
Nemo put a gentle hand on his shoulder and pushed back down. “Your body temperature is still high. You can do no one any good if you don’t get well.”
Hades shivered but sunk down into the water.
“She will forgive you,” Nemo affirmed.
“How do you know?”
“Because I have three wives.”
Leucothea rushed to Kat’s side. “You need to get out of these wet clothes.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said as she shivered uncontrollably.
“No, you won’t. You will die. I have seen it happen.”
Kat looked down at Leucothea’s innocent face. “Fine, but I want privacy.”
Leucothea nodded and rushed over to the wall. She picked up a folded, thatched divider and brought it over to Kat’s bed, setting it up around them so they could not be seen.
Kat’s whole body shook violently. She could not stop her shaking. With Leucothea’s aid, Kat removed her wet, sopping clothing, slinging them over the divider to dry. Leucothea took the broken eye patch from Kat’s trembling hands.
“I will fix it for you.”
Kat nodded, too tired to do much else.
“But you should not be ashamed of your marks,” Leucothea proclaimed. “You are obviously a mighty warrior, and you should display your battle wounds with honor.”
“I am no warrior.”
“You are modest. But the gods did not send you to us if you were not.”
“Leucothea, mind your tongue,” Nemo chided from behind the divider.
“My apologies, Nemo.”
Leucothea wrapped Kat in a large wool blanket and laid her down on the bed. She rushed away and returned with a teapot and two cups on a wooden tray. Steam rose from the cups.
She sat down next to Kat’s bed and lifted the cup to her lips. Kat took small, tentative sips. The tea was hot, strong, and tasted mildly of herbs. Kat did not enjoy the flavor, but she knew the brew would help her. When she had taken the last sip, she could feel the warmth spread in her body. Her shakes quieted to mild shivers.
“Who are you people?” Kat asked.
“We are the Nerieds, the People of the Ocean.”
“I didn’t know you existed.”
Leucothea smiled. “And I did not know of your existence. But now that you are here, we can know of each other.”
“Leucothea, help me with the giant,” Nemo asked.
She bowed her head to Kat and scrambled out from the divider to help Nemo with Hades. Kat heard the water slosh as Hades was helped out of the tub. She saw shadows pass behind the divider as they walked him to the next bed. Kat moved slightly to glance down past her bed. She watched as they laid Hades, also wrapped in a wool blanket, down on the bed. He was shivering worse than she had been. Leucothea crouched down and offered him the same tea.
Kat could feel her eyes grow heavy. Her body had stopped convulsing and she almost felt normal. The skin on her face and hands still felt raw and sore, but with time she knew that would pass. She closed her eyes and let herself drift into the warm embrace of the dark behind her eyes. The sensation felt just like floating on water.
13
T he dark. It was all-consuming. Oppressive and ominous. Not a pinprick of light shone through.
Hades stood immobile in the dark. His own heavy breathing invaded his ears. He felt like the dark was touching him, caressing him in his most secret areas. He shuddered with revulsion from the intimate touch. Tendrils of panic wrapped themselves tightly around his stomach and chest and squeezed him in a vice like grip. He could hardly breathe.
An unpleasant odor invaded his nostrils. He knew the smell. It was metallic and sharp. He took a step forward in the pitch dark and his foot slid on the floor. He knew if there was light, and if he looked down, he would see the ground slicked with blood. His gorge rose.
He knew where the blood came from. He had been here before.
Hades took another step forward. As his feet slipped he reached out for purpose. His hand found something solid and cold and he grasped it to stop from falling. The object moved under his firm hold. Suspended from an unseen ceiling, it swung back and forth.
He moved to get a better grip and his hand slipped over something congealed like jelly. Hades flinched, sensing the nature of it. Bending over, he violently retched on the floor.
Laughter echoed throughout the dark. A strange and hollow sound, menacing and mocking.
“Welcome back, Hades. Do you think you can save her this time?”
Spotlights flashed on, illuminating a dank and empty room made of cement. Under the light, a figure hung by his or her hands from a chain suspended from the high ceiling. Other bodies hung suspended around the room. Each with their own blood pools beneath.
The figure in the spotlight was naked and definitely female, from the flare of hip and round buttocks. Her back was slender but roped with muscle. Weeping, angry welts marred her skin. She had been whipped numerous times. Blood pooled beneath her swinging body.
The body began to swing around.
Hades closed his eyes. Although he already knew who it was, he didn’t want to see. He opened them just as she turned to face him.
Kat.
More crimson slashes marked her chest and belly. Blood slowly dribbled down her legs.
Hades moaned. “No!”
Kat’s eyes opened. She smiled at him. Tiny pointed fangs peeked out between her swollen lips.
“Save me,” she whispered.
Hades bolted from his sleep and sat straight up in his bed. Trying to
calm himself, he took in two gulping breaths. Cold, stinging sweat dripped into his eyes. He rubbed his hands over his head and face, hoping to erase the images.
They still lingered viciously in the dark recesses of his mind.
He swung his feet around and off the bed to glance around the room, remembering where he was and what had happened. His eyes rested on Kat, who slept in the next bed. Still swaddled in the wool blanket, she seemed to be at peace. He turned away and buried his head in his hands. At least he knew one piece of the puzzle. The woman he had been dreaming about lay a mere two feet away.
He raised his head and looked around at the other beds. He glanced briefly at Damian, who still slept, and rested his stare on Darquiel. She lay on her back, her hands inactive on her chest, appearing dead and already cradled in her coffin.
He wondered, not for the first time, if they were being led into a trap.
“Oh, you’re awake.” Nemo entered the room, a tray in his hands.
“Where the fuck are we?”
“And lucid. Thank the gods.” He set down the tray on a nearby table. “We weren’t sure if you would regain your senses.” Nemo handed Hades a cup of steaming tea. “Drink this and I will tell you all you wish to know.”
Hades glanced fleetingly into the cup. The liquid was brown and thick. He sniffed it. The smell was horrid, like rotten fish. Putting the cup to his lips, he drained it in two big gulps.
Nemo’s eyes widened in surprise.
Hades handed him back the cup. “Talk.”
“What do you remember?”
“Baking.”
“Well, we found you on the outskirts of our village, in the grove. How you even managed to survive that long in the wastelands is beyond me.”
Hades glanced briefly at Kat.
Nemo caught the look. “A formidable woman, to say the least.”
Nodding, Hades’s attention returned to Nemo. “Where is ‘here’?”
“You are in the Neried village of Atlantis, on the pacific side of the ocean. I am Nemo, the tribe’s Chieftain.”
Leucothea entered the room and smiled. She stood next to Nemo. “You are awake.”
Hades studied her, taking in her pert bare breasts and shiny pale skin. “How is it you can walk around exposed to the sun? Are you mutants?”
Leucothea flinched as if struck and gasped aloud.
Nemo put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right.” He patted her reassuringly. “Yes, Hades, we are mutations of sorts. Our ancestors came from the ocean when the land was submerged after the Great War. They learned to survive in the harshness of the scorched Earth, so near to water that could not be consumed or used to grow vegetation. They learned to harness the ocean, and adapted to its environment. Our bodies now have a natural ability to cool itself from the inside out, and we can swim underwater longer and faster, like a porpoise.”
“Is that why you’re shiny? Like a fish?”
Nemo brushed a hand over his arm. It came away wet with a jellylike substance. “We developed an ointment that protects us from the blazing rays of the sun.” He reached out toward Hades with his slick hand.
Hades flinched and pulled away from his advances.
“It also heals already burned skin.”
Hades halted and brought a hand up to his face. He touched his cheeks and chin gently. They were sore. Flakes of skin were already peeling away. He looked up at Nemo. He could tell the man was an honest one. It showed in the way he held himself, and in the way the girl regarded him. He was obviously revered as a leader. Hades would have to trust him. If they were to get well and continue on their journey, he had no other choice.
Hades nodded curtly. With care, Nemo rubbed the cool ointment onto his face. The moment the substance touched his skin, he felt relief. His skin no longer throbbed. He could move his jaw without fearing his flesh would crack open.
“Bring some for her,” Hades said, motioning toward Kat.
“We have enough for everyone. Except you will have to put it on your other female yourself.”
Hades glanced quickly at Darquiel and then back to Nemo. “What are you scared of?”
“She is unclean. Just having her in our midst is insult enough. We have done all we will to aid her.” Nemo motioned to Leucothea. “Bring the ointment and treat the other two.”
“Yes, Nemo.”
“I will leave you now to rest.”
“I have other questions.”
“They will have to wait.” Nemo turned and walked out of the room.
Hades watched as Leucothea smeared the clear ointment on Damian’s face, hands, and any skin that had been exposed. He moaned in his sleep but did not wake. She then went to aid Kat.
“Why are you afraid of the girl?” he asked her.
Leucothea continued to smooth the gel over Kat’s face and didn’t meet Hades’s gaze. “The Dark Dwellers raid our village. They take our people from us. Those people never come back. We know what is done to them down in the darkness. Last time they came, Kele, one of Nemo’s wives, was taken.”
“How long ago?”
Leucothea shrugged. “Maybe a moon turn ago.”
She turned down the blanket off Kat’s shoulders. As she pulled out Kat’s arms, Hades caught a glimpse of Kat’s breasts. They were pale, round, and perfect. He closed his eyes and sighed. In his mind he still saw them torn and bleeding.
When he heard Kat moan, he opened his eyes and watched as her eyelids fluttered open. He stared into them, both green and white, without looking away. She was the most breathtaking woman he had ever seen. And he silently feared for her and for himself.
“What did I miss?” Her voice was raw and hoarse.
Hades smiled at her. “Nothing yet, darling. The party’s just starting.”
Kat rolled onto her back and stretched. Her limbs and muscles were stiff and sore but relatively workable—surprising for what they had been through. She reached up and touched her face. It felt tingly and cool.
“What’s this shit?”
Leucothea stood and put her hands on her hips indignantly. “It is not shit. It is a salve I make that helps soothe and protect the skin.”
Kat put up her hand in defense. “Sorry. No offense intended.”
The girl lost her indignant look and smiled. “No need. Most people are scared of what they do not understand.”
Kat glanced at Hades and cocked a brow.
He shrugged. “Don’t ask me, I just woke up, too.”
“How long were we out?”
“Eighteen hours about,” Leucothea answered.
Gathering the blanket to her chest, Kat sat up and swung her feet around to set them on the wooden floor. She closed her eyes and bowed her head a moment, still feeling dizzy and off balance.
“How do you feel?” Hades asked.
“Like I got too much sun.”
He chuckled. “Me, too.”
“I will get you both something to eat. Your strength will come back, gradually.” Leucothea turned and left the room.
Kat touched her face again. “Is this why they are shiny and pale?”
Hades nodded. “It blocks the sun’s rays. They also have a natural ability to cool themselves from the inside out.”
“I wonder if they’ll give us some when we leave.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Kat gazed around the wide room. It looked like a hospital, with the beds lined up along the wall; the tub in the corner; and tables lined with bowls, small cylindrical containers containing different substances. Nothing Kat could identify. She supposed that was what this place was, the village hospital. But with the thatched roof and the wooden walls, she imagined this place more likely on the beach, like a holiday cabin.
“Where are our clothes?” Kat asked.
“Don’t know.”
“Our weapons?”
“Don’t know that either.”
Kat eyed Hades, her brow lifted in question. “We’re at a disadvantage.”
&
nbsp; “That we are.”
“I don’t like being vulnerable.”
“Neither do I, but there’s not much we can do about it now. We were in no shape to disagree yesterday.”
“There’s a scalpel on the table over there.” She motioned to the small table by the open window.
“Leave it, Kat. These people are no threat to us.”
“How can you be sure?”
“They rescued us, nursed us, and now what—they want to harm us? Makes no sense. They could have left us to fry.”
“Maybe they want something from us.”
Hades looked away from her. He was hiding something.
“Hades?”
He rubbed a hand over his head. “It’s possible we are here for a reason.”
Before Kat could question him further, Leucothea returned with a food tray. She set it down on the floor between the beds and sat down beside it. On the tray were slices of some kind of fruit. The sweet smell wafted up Kat’s nose. Her stomach growled in desperate response.
Leucothea smiled and handed both her and Hades a small clay plate. “These will help you heal.”
Hades touched a thin orange wedge. The corners of his mouth lifted. “It’s an orange.”
“Yes, we grow them in abundance.”
Kat picked up a wedge and sniffed it. The smell made her mouth water. She had never eaten an orange before. She had heard of them and had seen pictures in a book when she was a child. But her family had never had the kind of money that was needed to buy such rarities.
She put it in her mouth and bit down. Sweet, tangy juices squirted on her tongue. Closing her eyes, she savored the glorious flavor.
“I had an orange once,” Hades said as he chewed slowly on a piece, staring at the floor. “I must have been around ten. My dad and I were at the market, trading beef for vegetables and other things we needed. We came across this old beggar. He asked us for some money. My dad gave him some coins. He was generous, my dad. The old man gave us an orange. It had a few brown spots on it, but we didn’t care. After our marketing, we sat by the old creek and shared that orange. Best damn thing I ever tasted.”
As she listened to the story, Kat stopped chewing. She could see the regret and longing on his face, and wondered why. From his stories of his past, she could tell that he had had a good childhood, a good family. She pondered what had changed in his life that would bring that expression of hurt and sorrow to his handsome face.
