20. Sandro
Sandro
I was starting to get whiplash from everything that was going on.
I’d just met the Moirai, and they were fashion models. Death and Sleep were equally real and had stolen the threads of my life.
As if a life could just be a ball of yarn.
And to make matters worse, Hermes, the messenger god, was my loan shark, and he was currently in possession of said life, bartering with Hades for it.
Like, what the fuck?
What was it about me that I couldn’t catch a break? Not even in the afterlife?
Mr. Erman smirked, and it was creepy as it was when I thought it was just a mortal human doing so.
But he wasn’t human. Or not entirely. Was the real Mr. Erman aware of having Hermes inside him? Or was he dead, like Tao? Was his name even Mr. Erman?
Whatever the answer, Mr. Erman-slash-Hermes was threatening to let me die. Like die die—not this half-foot-in-half-foot-out kind of existence I had going for me at the moment—so…yeah, he didn’t get any brownie points.
“My crown?” Hades snarled, his flames rising around him.
He looked so godly like this. His flames were like a second skin or an extension of him.
There was a certain regality in him and the blue fire rising from his body. Despite all the deities and higher beings in this room, he still looked more majestic in his sweatpants and casual trainers than the rest.
“How dare you?—”
“I dare,” Mr. Erman said matter-of-factly. “I dare.”
“My crown is not some feeble object to give away. It comes at a cost. It comes with certain responsibilities.”
Mr. Erman scoffed. “You think I don’t know that? You think I’m stupid?” He turned and looked at the walls in apparent exasperation. “Why do they never take me seriously? Why am I always getting the short end…?” He took a breath as if composing himself and looked at Hades again. “Well?” he asked.
Hades crossed his arms and stared. “Well, what?”
“How much is your lover’s life worth to you?”
The flames around Hades intensified.
“You dare threaten your king and queen?” His voice was almost a hiss, and it lingered in the air like a very real and very meaningful threat.
Mr. Erman shrugged. “In this eternal life, you gotta gamble sometimes.”
“Why?” I asked before Hades could incinerate him or whatever it was he could do to other gods.
Mr. Erman glanced at me as if he’d forgotten I was there and grimaced. “That’s none of your concern,” he said, and my guts turned.
Then I remembered I didn’t have guts anymore. Thanks to him.
“You want to make your case with the king of the Underworld, don’t you? Then make it!” I shouted at him.
If he was going to be a bastard, so could I.
Mr. Erman seemingly ignored me, but when he turned to Hades, he asked, “Do you know what it’s like being me? Have you ever taken the time to ask me? To ask any of us? Living under your shadow. Every. Single. Day of our existence?”
I didn’t know what he meant, but what was with everyone acting like they’d gotten the short end of the stick as if being the ruler of the Underworld and judging every living soul was easy?
Okay, fair enough, I hadn’t lived a day in Hades’ life either, but…
But I was feeling protective over him. Ever since we met he’d been nothing but sweet and caring with me, gone to extremes to get answers to protect me. And suddenly, everyone was acting as if he was the meanest, baddest guy in town.
“Do you know the kind of life I lead?”
Hades’ flames eased.
“The kind of life…what kind of life is that? Are you stuck in the same realm without your mate? Are you spending eternity waiting for your fate to change? No offense.” He glanced at the Moirai, and they waved at him dismissively as if they didn’t play a part in how his life had turned out.
And maybe in how mine had too.
I really was his Persephone, wasn’t I?
I mean, it was easy to believe a mistake had been made when it was just Hades saying it, but…surely the Fates knew without a doubt. Right?
Mr. Erman scowled and crossed his arms.
“Yes, we fucking are!” He shouted. “You’re trapped. You’re stuck. So am I! Day in, day out, stuck on the River Styx, unable to get off it unless it’s to bend the knee to you. Unable to explore Hades. Unable to walk the human world. You think your job is hard? Think again.
“At least you’re not stuck on a river. You have an entire kingdom to mope around about losing your lover. I can’t even meet anyone to have a lover. And the ones I meet are already dead and sent off to you to judge. You think you’re lonely? You don’t know what loneliness is, cousin .”
His speech…
It sounded very familiar.
It sounded similar to what Thanatos and Hypnos had been saying moments ago. Had they all agreed to say all this shit? Was that them “unionizing?”
“Hang on. If you wanted to be free, why didn’t you ask? Why go to all this trouble?”
I mean, it isn’t the worst of reasons, but throwing an entire coup with my life on the line for a fucking promotion…
Now that made me mad.
“It’s not like there’s an annual review, you know,” Mr. Erman said. “He runs around ordering me like I’m his puppy. As if I’m not a god myself.”
“If you’re a god, act like it and stop whining,” Hades growled.
Mr. Erman chuckled, but his expression didn’t alter. “That’s what I’m doing, dear cousin. I’m taking matters into my own hands. Like a real god would.”
Hades balled his fists and glanced from Mr. Erman to me.
“And you couldn’t ask? You couldn’t just come to me and tell me all this? You had to kill your queen?”
He was barely audible due to the way he gritted his teeth and restrained his anger and his flames.
I was genuinely surprised they didn’t scorch everyone, but that only went to show how much he loved…the person he thought I was.
Who I probably was.
Who I actually was.
Surely, if the Moirai went to find the life of Hades’ mate and it was someone else entirely, they would tell us.
I guess the Moirai couldn’t possibly be wrong, but they also couldn’t read me or my fate so…so maybe we were all drawing the wrong conclusions.
Then again, those visions…
They were inklings of my life as Persephone, weren’t they? I didn’t know, but I was getting more and more certain with every passing moment.
“Let’s be honest, sire ,” Mr. Erman replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “If I had asked, you’d have roasted me alive.”
Hades grinned. “Now we’re speaking my language.”
His flames erupted from his periphery and blasted toward Mr. Erman, coloring the air sapphire.
When they reached him, Mr. Erman dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
“Oops. Sorry. Missed me.” Chloe, who had been standing next to him, shrugged and smiled an evil laugh that didn’t match the model I knew her to be.
“You think that’s going to stop me?” Hades conjured more fire.
“H, no! Don’t. You’ll hurt Chloe.”
It was too late. His fire had already exploded against the fate’s body, but when it cleared, she straightened, dusted her clothes, and tilted her head.
“You know her body can withstand a lot more than a regular human. Keep firing though. Let’s see how much she can really take.” It was odd hearing Chloe talk about herself in the third person, but it wasn’t really her speaking, was it? It was Hermes. The man who had been making my life a living hell since he’d made my dream come true.
It hadn’t even been a month since I’d managed to settle in my new house and parlor when he’d started hounding me for payments and increasing the interest on a whim. He’d added so much stress to my life since I met him. Maybe that was what killed me. Stress.
No. It hadn’t been that. It had been Hermes himself. Cutting my life short regardless of how much of it I had left.
“Hermes, sweetheart, we know you’ve got issues with Hades, but leave us out of this,” Aisa said.
Hermes-Chloe glared at her. “You! Don’t you dare speak up. You are the Fates of our world, and yet you trapped me in the river just as much as he did.”
“Now, now, Hermes. That’s not true, and you know it. We weave fate. We don’t make it.” Lacey crossed her arms as if this was a simple team meeting and not a fucking battleground in the making.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. If you wanted to, you’d have found a way,” Hermes-Chloe said, and Hades threw another fireball their way.
Again, Hermes-Chloe merely lost her balance but didn’t have a mark on her.
“Oh, I like this body. It’s so much stronger than that poor excuse of a mobman.” Hermes-Chloe glanced at the limp body beside them before they looked up at Hades. “Is that all?”
“Oh, most definitely not,” Hades gritted under his breath.
“Hades, don’t let him get away,” Lacey said.
“But be careful. Don’t hurt Chloe,” Aisa added.
I turned to them and grimaced.
“Maybe you should give him a hand then!”
Both Fates shook their heads and stepped back as if I was asking them something unimaginable.
“Our power is limited to fate. Fighting is for the rest of the gods,” Lacey said.
I shook my head in dismay. Hades attacked Hermes-Chloe again to no ill effect.
“What does my crown have to do with any of this? Why aren’t you bartering for your freedom?”
Hermes-Chloe laughed. “You think I’m stupid? My freedom can only last so long with you in power.”
“And you think being king of the Underworld will be easier?”
Hermes-Chloe smiled. “Yes! Infinitely easier. I’ll be in charge!”
Hades growled and fired at them again and again. With every attack, Hermes-Chloe looked less and less stable until she collapsed and couldn’t get back up.
We approached Hermes-Chloe, and Hades put his hand out.
“Give me his life.”
Hermes-Chloe sighed and offered their hand to Hades before fainting, and he rushed to ease her to the floor.
See? He’s a cinnamon roll. He’s not evil.
“Did you think I’d give up that easily?” Lacey said behind us.
We turned, and she waved at us with that nasty smirk.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I would have even spat at him, but seeing as I didn’t have any saliva, I just stuck to the expletives.
“I wish you’d stop doing that, Hermes. It’s a lot harder to kill you when you jump from body to body!” Hades said.
Hermes-Lacey stepped closer, seemingly unafraid of their king. “That’s the point, cousin.”
As with Chloe, Hades fired at Hermes-Lacey over and over again until her body also gave up. As predicted, Hermes didn’t miss the chance to jump into Aisa’s body.
“Keep going. This kinda feels good,” Hermes-Aisa said.
Hades took a deep breath and shot at them, but it was only a small fireball this time.
“Awww, how cute. I never realized your fire could make one ticklish.”
Hermes-Aisa walked up to him and flicked his nose.
“This is a game for you, isn’t it?” I said, feeling that sinking feeling in my un-stomach that there was no return for me.
One could reason with a disgruntled employee, but a deranged one? Fat fucking chance.
“A game? None of this has been a game , dear. I’m fighting for my freedom. For all our freedom. From this monster you call a mate!”
Hades shouted, fists balling, knees buckling, and flames erupted from within him, bursting into the room, covering Hermes-Aisa, the unconscious bodies of the other Fates, even Thanatos and Hypnos, who were pinned against the wall, watching.
Hermes-Aisa’s laugh turned into a cackle, and the more they cackled, the more Hades’ flames burned out.
Hades growled and blasted him again. It had the same effect. The more he attacked Hermes-Aisa, the faster the fire went out until he dropped to the floor and his growl became a pained cry.
“You can feel it already, can’t you? Your strength leaving your poor body? Trust me. It’s only going to get worse. You should already be dead, cousin, but your stupid stubbornness has kept you alive longer somehow.”
Hades punched the floor, spittle flying around him as he snarled.
“I’m still alive because I’m a god, you damned thief!” His voice came out in a strained whisper.
It twisted my un-guts seeing him in so much anguish. Seeing the struggle on his face. Gone was the confident, slightly arrogant Hades. This was a man in pain. A pain I felt scratching at every inch of my un-body as if desperate to get out from within. And it was more excruciating than anything I’d ever felt, alive or dead.
“What are you doing to him?” I asked Hermes-Aisa.
I didn’t know how much damage a spirit could cause a god, but I was willing to find out. I just needed something sharp and long.
“I’m not doing anything to him,” Hermes-Aisa said. “He’s getting weaker because you’re dead.”
“Stop this!” I shouted at Hermes’ face. “Stop!”
Hermes-Aisa smirked.
“It’s in his hands, dear Sandro. He knows what he needs to do.”
“He’s right!” Hades said under his breath and made an attempt to get up.
I shook my head. This couldn’t be happening. My Hades couldn’t be giving up so easily.
“No!” I shouted at him, but really, I was shouting at Hermes. “There’s another way. I’m sure there is.”
I should have just kept my mouth shut.
Why?
Because the room filled with darkness. Shadows moved and rose from every inch, edging closer to me.
Wraiths.
Well, I guess they were the missing piece of this ridiculous puzzle. Why not add more to the mix? Right? Right?
I swallowed the knot in my un-throat and took a step back.
Maybe this was for the best. Surrendering to the Wraiths would surely mean Hades didn’t have to give up his kingdom.
Then again, he would die without his queen anyway.
Without me.
He would die without me .
We’re so royally fucked!
A shadowy hand reached for me with its huge claws. I flinched back and shook my head.
We were between a rock and a hard place. Either I gave in to the Wraiths and we both died, or he gave up his kingdom for my life, which wasn’t really a fair deal for Hades, was it?
“Um…H? What do we do?”
Hades managed to stand, but he was weak. He didn’t have much time left either.
Despite that, he twirled his fingers and the Sais appeared in his hands before I could warn him not to.
“You stubborn banshees. Leave him alone!” Somehow, his snarl made the room rumble and my un-insides flutter.
He was relentless. He was unstoppable. And he was angry. And it was all for me.
I didn’t know about past lives and all that shit, but I knew what a stand-up guy looked like, and he was it.
If only I’d met him sooner, before this disease completely overtook me, before Austin, before everything.
Although what good would that have done? My fate would have been the same whether the Moirai were behind it or not.
Hades slashed at the Wraiths. No, not slashed. More like stumbled his way through them, and for a moment, he got their attention and they turned to him. This could work. He could get rid of them.
But then he stabbed one and fell back to the floor with a thud. One of his Sai skidded across the room. A Wraith towered over him as if pressing him down, but it was Hades we were talking about. He didn’t stay down. He tried to get up and succeeded, if only for a moment, before he collapsed again.
“Pity. Isn’t it? All this could be over so easily. So simple, yet he persists. One would say it’s romantic if it wasn’t so pathetic,” Hermes-Aisa said, not a trace of empathy in their tone.
A shadow reached for my throat, and it was…it was painless.
Hades struggled to get free. But I…
It wasn’t that I didn’t care anymore. It was that I couldn’t care. Even if I wanted to.
He felt like a part of a different world. He was close but so, so, so far away. And I was about to be carried even farther.
Into oblivion.
“Help,” Hades croaked when a Wraith held him by the neck too.
Thanatos rose from the floor. A scythe appeared in his hand and he stepped forward as his brother mimicked him and summoned a sword.
Together, they fought the shadows, giving it everything they had until the Wraiths gave up and…
And let me go.
A flush of emotions came back to me, leaving me positively “breathless.”
“Did I say you could help?” Hermes-Aisa asked the twins.
Thanatos grimaced. “If he dies, how do you think you’re gonna get the crown?”
Hermes-Aisa frowned, but he didn’t respond. He turned to Hades instead and raised an eyebrow.
“What’s it gonna be, cousin? Will you save your mate’s life or wait for the Wraiths to come for him again?”
Hades struggled to breathe. His chest rose and fell with difficulty. Yet he managed to get to his knees and then on his feet.
“Fine,” he said. “I, Hades, king of the Underworld?—”
“No! Hades, no!” I shouted.
“Lord of the Dead, Master of the Afterlife, Supre?—”
“Please don’t do this.” I reached for him and touched his arm, his hand, his face.
He didn’t pay attention. He ignored me. And it stung.
I knew he was doing it for me, but it still stung.
“Judge of Souls, Sovereign of Tartarus, grant you, Hermes, God of Messages, Supreme Psychopomp, Guider of Souls, power and dominion over Hades and all my subjects.”
His blue flames erupted from within him and blasted Hermes-Aisa with so much intensity it blinded me for a moment.
I closed my eyes, and when the brightness receded, I opened them again. Hermes-Aisa dropped to the floor, just like her sisters, and in the place where she’d been standing, a man appeared covered in fires that weren’t his, smiling.
He was tall and muscular with a blond buzz cut and golden eyes. A white tunic was draped over one shoulder and did very little to hide his nipples—or his dick, for that matter—and a pair of sandals. There were wings on them, fluttering at a dizzying rate, making him float a few inches off the floor.
“Thank you, cousin.” He took a deep breath and looked at his hands and body as if it were his first time seeing them. “Finally.”
“Your turn.” Hades beckoned him.
Hermes brought his hands together. “My turn, what?” he asked.
“Don’t act stupid.”
Hermes shook his head with wide eyes. “I’m not. I simply have no idea what you mean.”
“Hermes! You promised,” Thanatos said.
The messenger god, the new ruler of the Underworld, glared at Death.
“Oh, boys. It’s been fun having you around, but I’m afraid our partnership is…how shall I say this? Over. See you soon. I expect a fresh batch of souls later. No slacking.”
He waved at the twins and disappeared.
In a flurry of stolen fire.
My stomach sank.
“Hades?” I called out to him.
He turned to look at me, and tears formed in his eyes.
“Sandro,” he whispered. “I…I’m so sorry.”