4. Hades
Hades
H e screamed.
I liked it when they screamed.
“Please. Please, my lord, stop!” His pleas were music to my ears.
I may have been doing this for a long time, but it never got old. It filled the time. It nourished my atrophied heart. It gave me purpose.
I leaned closer to the wretched man and smirked. “Stop? My darling, we’re just getting started.”
I whirled my fingers, and the blue flames intensified, covering his soul in its entirety.
That was what scum like him deserved. He was one of the most rotten souls I’d had in a few weeks. Quite a specimen of a monster. A man who stalked, watched, hunted, and killed women for sport.
“You think it’s funny making innocent people suffer?” I asked him with my darkest of voices echoing across Tartarus.
The serial killer shook his head. “No, my lord. No. Of course not.”
“Oh really? Then what were you doing up there?”
“I’m sorry. I-I’m a stupid, stupid man. I didn’t know what I-what I was doing. Please forgive me. Please, my lord, spare?—”
“Forgiveness,” I cut him off with a sharp tone that made him shut up just like I intended, “is for kind gods. And I’m not kind?—”
The whole world rushed from under my feet. My stomach sank as I was yanked back by an incredible force. The fires of Tartarus, the golden fields of Elysium, and the endless green of the Meadows blurred past me all in one go until I was floating in the dark.
It was quiet. Serene.
What forsaken chaos is th ? —
Whatever chaos I’d found myself in didn’t last long before I was thrust forward. Only none of my kingdom appeared before me.
No. It was no kingdom.
It was my entire world.
It was her.
My queen.
She was watching me closely, and I could barely move for fear of waking from this dream because that was the only thing it could be. A dream.
I would recognize her anywhere, even if she looked different. My heart immediately felt warmer under her gaze, a gaze so bright and blue, just like my soulmate’s had once been. And how could I forget? How could I forget any part of her or the way her presence made my insides burn with both heat and pleasure when I’d been waiting for her to find me for thousands of years.
For her to find her way back to me.
It can’t be real.
And yet, the void I’d felt inside ever since we parted didn’t feel so empty anymore. It didn’t feel so hollow and rusty.
It is real. It’s got to be. My queen has found me.
Dude, why are you calling this man a queen? A bit rude, isn’t it?
What? Who said that?
What do you mean who said that? Me, of course.
I shook my head, but the move was foreign, and it only scared my queen, who jumped back and took several steps away from me, the blond hair covering her eyes sticking to her sweaty forehead.
Here we go again. Queen? I mean, the boy might be gay, but that’s no reason to call him a queen. Unless you know something I don’t.
Will you shut up?
Whoever that was.
What was happening? Where was I? What in my name was going on?
Your name? Jeez, a bit full of yourself, aren’t you?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
It must be the wretched soul I’d been judging moments ago. He must have done something to confuse me, although in all my years ruling the Underworld, no one had managed to do that.
Maybe it was Hypnos? Was he messing with my dreams again? If I caught him I’d show him who was the master and who was the servant. He should know already.
“Deep breath in. Deep breath out,” said a voice beside me, and I snapped my eyes open to look at a middle-aged woman with luscious brown hair and striking green eyes. “Welcome to Gaia, my lord.”
I watched her and attempted to compose myself, quiet the chaos within and attune myself to the situation.
Lord, huh? What are you? The Duke of Edinburgh or something?
I ignored the voice.
“Welcome to Gaia, Lord Hades.”
There it was again: welcome to Gaia .
Was I indeed on Earth?
“How?” I asked her, but I wasn’t sure she’d know what I meant.
Gaia hadn’t been accessible to me and most of my brethren for millennia. It had been locked away by an angry goddess and kept out of reach. Only a select few had been able to cross the realms.
Which meant I hadn’t left Hades since then. Trapped in my own kingdom.
Pfft. Some king I am.
Not that it mattered. Hades was my world. It was my life and my vocation. My realm.
But being trapped in it also meant I hadn’t been reunited with her.
My Queen.
My Persephone.
Perseph—do you really think you’re the Greek god of the Underworld? Jesus Christ, what have I gotten myself into?
“How am I here?” I ignored the additional voice in my head and stared at the woman. I could feel the magic seeping from her every pore. She was definitely a witch.
“The wards have been lifted, my lord. Gaia is open to the gods again,” she answered.
I took a more confident breath. Things were starting to make sense. I thought back to the sweeping feeling, to the darkness that had surrounded me moments ago. It had been so long that I’d forgotten what it felt like. The crossing. This was my first time crossing the realms since I’d been locked away.
Sounds like you should have stayed locked away.
I raised a flimsy hand and pointed to my head.
“I hear…voices,” I said as my surroundings came into focus.
We were deep underground, and torches hung along the walls, giving the space a warm hue.
“That would be the human you possess, my lord. When the gods were cast away from Earth, their bodies perished. In order to walk Gaia’s realm, you need to possess a human body even if gods like you weren’t on Earth to perish away,” the witch answered.
Which must mean my body in Hades, my true body, has been destroyed.
Unholy Mother! I liked that body.
What the actual fuck? Are you people actors? Is this a show? Because this is super spooky but kinda cool, not gonna lie.
“Ah, that makes sense,” I said.
And it did. Things were falling into place one by one.
I was possessing a human body, and since I was the king of the dead, I could hear the human’s soul loitering around the depths of my head.
My head, dickhead. That’s my head. My body. My voice.
Yeah, well, they’re mine now. And it’s time for you to go.
What? Go? Go where?
The Underworld.
What? No. That’s for dead people. I’m not dead.
Oh, but you are.
No. I’m…please, don’t. I’ll behave. I promise. Please don’t do this to me. I can help you.
I don’t see how a measly human can help me.
I can. I…you haven’t been around here in centuries, right?
Millennia, actually.
Even worse. The world has changed, like, a lot. I can help you navigate it. Teach you what’s what. Just…don’t send me to hell, please.
The Underworld isn’t hell, darling man. It’s just where dead people go.
Still, I can be useful. I’ll be a good little human. Please. I don’t want to die yet. Not…not like this.
“Fine,” I spoke aloud and put my feet on the floor.
You want to stay here?
Yes. Yes, I do.
Then keep quiet.
I had wasted enough time trying to figure out everything when the first and only thing I should have done was bow down to my queen.
“My love, my lady,” I said and knelt before her.
“What? I’m not a lady. I’m a man,” she said.
Now talk to me, H. What’s going on? Why do you keep calling this man your queen when he’s clearly a king. A gorgeous king, but king, nonetheless.
Mine , I growled.
Okay. Okay. Gee. He’s all yours.
He’s mine. He’s my queen. He’s my Persephone.
How?
“I apologize, my love. I…I have been waiting for you for a very long time. I knew there would be a possibility you’d be reincarnated in a different body. I just need to…adjust,” I told him.
“So…what she said is true?” My qu—king glanced at the witch behind us with a scowl.
“I know not what the woman told you, but you, my love, are my Persephone. And I’ve been waiting for a very long time to be reunited with you, but I was trapped in Hades, and you…you cycled through lifetimes without me. I can’t imagine what that must have been like. To go through life after life without me, not knowing that you belong beside me, ruling with me.”
He fell back against the wall, blinking in confusion, and I took the opportunity to admire his body, glistening in the torch-lit cavern. It was as if it was covered by a million fireflies that all shone for me. I could smell my blood smeared all over him. Smell the ambrosia covering every inch. I licked my lips without even meaning to.
“Take it easy, my love. I’m here now. And I’ve missed you so terribly much. Torturing souls without you was torture itself.”
Erm, not to put my foot in my mouth, but I don’t think that sounds as romantic as you think it does.
My king took my hand and steadied himself.
He was beautiful. What perfection was made of. A gorgeous man full of muscle and ink, a vision to behold, and despite being a man, he was small in stature. His hair was blond, long enough to cover his brows and eyes…
Well, his eyes were undeniably hers.
My queen’s.
The same blue of my Persephone. A deep, vibrant blue I’d recognize anywhere in the world, no matter how long it had been.
Damn. Now that’s romantic.
“Come now, my king. We’re together again.”
I pulled him closer, but instead of falling in my arms and kissing me, he collapsed.
I caught him before he hurt himself on the rough ground and lifted him in my arms, the unfamiliar muscles of my body getting charged with power, working for a god for the first time.
Hey! How do you know I’m not a god too?
I thought I told you to be quiet.
“What happened to him?” I turned to the witch.
“He doesn’t have long, my lord. He’s dying.”
I laid him on the resting place where I’d woken and ran a finger from his forehead to his lips. He was hot to the touch, and his heartbeat was slow, barely audible to my godly hearing.
“You need to mate with him. It’s the only way to save him,” she said.
Um…what? Mate? As in touch swords?
Maybe I should have banished the human to the Underworld despite the supposed help he was offering.
I have far more pressing issues to worry about than your running commentary.
I’m sorry. Shutting up.
Why didn’t I believe that?
“How long has he been like this?” I asked the witch.
“Since birth, my lord. I’m afraid being separated from you for all this time has only made his ailment worse. Each reincarnation is weaker, with a shorter lifespan. I believe he may be running on his last one.”
“No!”
My scream reverberated through the walls and chilled the room, but not the heated body of my soulmate. I lowered myself to him and inhaled his scent, felt the softness of his skin. I couldn’t lose him. Not now that I’d found him. Not after all this time.
“I’ll save you, my darling. I promise. I’ll save you, my love.”
I put my hands together, closed my eyes, and inhaled.
So…what are we doing?
Shut up.
I focused on my realm, my kingdom, moving through to my throne room. My human fingers tingled before they sparked with blue flames that appeared in my hands.
The pendant-shaped gem, hanging from a silver chain, dangled above my queen.
I put it around his neck and the gray pendant shone blue. It was only a faint glow, but it was there. The rock recognized its owner.
“That should help you, my love. It will bring you back to me. And then I will save you. I will give you your life back. I promise. I promise, my love. I’m here now. Don’t worry. Don’t worry about a thing. I won’t let anything harm you.”