CHAPTER NINE
REAVER
I follow Hades through the maze of corridors that make up the guts of The Inferno. For all I know, he could be leading me back to Treachery, and honestly, it wouldn’t matter. Instead, we head upstairs to his office.
His office is exactly what I expected. Hard to believe that I’ve been here a year and haven’t been in it, but it’s not like I came here to make friends. I fight, go home, rinse, and repeat the same thing day after day, except today.
Hades heads straight for a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf with tomes older than recorded time haphazardly tossed on each shelf. He grabs a decanter and holds the bottle up. The liquid inside swirls and appears to almost glow like sunshine in a bottle. “This will cure what’s ailing you.”
“Doubtful. But go ahead and pour,” I instruct him as I sit in one of the overstuffed leather chairs that look out over a fiery river.
Handing me a goblet that is about to overflow with the radiant liquid, I don’t wait for him to sit before I toss back nearly the entire thing in one gulp.
“Fucking hell, man. That’s pure Ambrosia directly from the Heavens, not some cheap-ass tequila or that fucking Skull Wine your buddy Alastor makes.”
I give him a side-eye glare as I down every last drop. The drink’s potency spreads through my body and tingles down my limbs. “That’s fucking good,” I admit as I hold out my goblet and give it a shake to be refilled.
“Fuck, you’re right. Who gives a shit,” he agrees as he downs the contents of his full goblet before filling both again.
There are very few substances in existence that will get an Arc, and whatever the fuck Hades is, fucked up. But three goblets in, and we are both slurring our words.
Crossing the room with a slight sway to my walk, I peer out the window and look down at the river of fire below.
“I miss her so damn much. I feel empty inside without her,” I say more to myself than to Hades.
But he’s standing next to me in a heartbeat, goblet in one hand and the nearly empty decanter in the other.
“Try doing it for more than millennia, then stand here and complain to me about how much it hurts.”
I’m too lost in my head to ask him to elaborate. Thankfully, he doesn’t go on, instead, quickly changing the subject.
“I have something,” he slurs as he stumbles backward and heads to a podium stacked high with books and random crap.
Without looking at what is piled high, Hades shoves the stack to the floor in a flurry of dust and debris. Then without missing a beat, he uses all his strength to push the marble slab on top to the ground. It crashes and cracks, splitting in two.
“Fuck!” he yells as he looks down at the mess.
“Oh, well,” I slur as I go over to where he’s now, peering into the podium. At least, I thought it was a podium until I looked down into a black liquid-filled basin. “What the hell is this?”
“This!” he yells, waving his arm over the basin for dramatic effect and taking an uneasy stumble back. “This is… fuck I don’t know what the hell it is. But… but it will show you your heart’s desire or the catalyst of your demise.”
As I gaze down into the basin, I expect something to happen, but it’s nothing but blackness. “Is it broken? You fucking broke it.”
“Is not. Move,” he orders as he shoves me out of the way and gazes into the blackness. In moments, the inky black liquid below begins to churn and glow as an image materializes.
“Who the fuck’s that?” I ask, doing my best to point to the image of a dark-haired woman and her dog driving a white Jeep through the desert.
The vision is crystal clear and appears as if a drone or bird is broadcasting it directly to us.
It isn’t until I see a shadow swoop down and glide alongside the Jeep that I realize it’s a bird.
“How did you make this?” I slur, and it comes out more as, “Ho yo may tis?”
I’ve known Hades for a while and still have no idea what the fuck he is. Demon, angel, god… nobody fucking knows. But whatever he is, he’s powerful and evidently as broken as I am.
“I didn’t,” he snaps. “It was here when I… acquired this shithole,” Hades adds, never taking his eyes off the woman in the Jeep.
Before I can ask more questions, Hades’ fist slams into the basin, splashing water over the side. “Fuck!” he screams before turning away. “Do you have something of Kennedy’s?” he asks without turning around.
“Why?”
“Everything requires a sacrifice. You, of all people, should know that.”
And I do. I’ve sacrificed enough. But the one item I have of Kennedy’s isn’t going to be sacrificed anytime soon. “No. There has to be another way.” There’s always another way, and it’s never pleasant.
Hades turns back and glares at me. I already know before he speaks what the sacrifice needs to be. He doesn’t need to say it. I hold out my hand and wait. He smirks before placing a dagger in my hand.
“How much?” I ask, not that it’s going to matter. Fuck. If it requires my heart, I’ll gladly cut it out to be able to see Kennedy for even a moment.
“No idea. So I’m going to go with a fuck ton.”
Without hesitation, I run the blade over my wrist and watch as my blood drips into the water.
The moment the wound begins to close, I slice again, this time deeper.
The pain is excruciating, and I can feel my tendons snap as the blade hits the bone.
But there is still no image in the black water below.
Switching hands, I can barely wrap my bloody fingers around the blade.
And it’s a futile attempt to slice my other wrist. Hades sees my struggle and grabs the dagger from me.
I hold out both arms as he rakes the blade violently across each.
The blood flow is so much that I can feel myself getting lightheaded.
Or maybe it’s the high alcohol content of my blood making me sway.
Either way, the murky water remains black.
Just as any hope of seeing my beautiful Kennedy starts to bleed from me, the water below begins to churn and glow.
“Cut me again,” I instruct Hades, and before the words are even completely out of my mouth, I feel the blade’s sharp edge glide over my ravaged skin. A small price to pay to see her.
I take a moment to lean my elbows against the basin’s edge, trying my best to steady myself. I can’t help the excitement churning within me as the murky water begins to glow brighter, and I can just make out a city skyline.
There is no mistaking the Boston cityscape and the iconic Back Bay brownstones as we glide along Kennedy’s street.
The bird perches, and I watch impatiently as it pans its gaze along the street below until it reaches Kennedy.
She’s sitting on her front steps, reading a book.
Her ankles are crossed and she is wearing a green sundress.
My heart stops beating, and I want to reach out and touch her so badly. “This is amazing.”
I hear Hades snort as he laughs. “Yeah, it’s fucking great. Try watching it when she’s happy with someone else. Or better yet, when she’s round and glowing, carrying someone else’s baby. It’s fucking great.”
I can hear the pain in his voice, but I’m too lost in the vision before me to dive deeper into his problems. That and the fact I don’t want to think about Kennedy being pregnant with someone else’s baby, or worse, having to watch her grow old and die.
Turning back to the vision below, I watch her reading her book.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but it must be hours.
Occasionally, she looks up at the bird and mouths What are you doing?
And Are you still watching me, silly bird?
Every time she speaks to the bird, my heart rate speeds up.
My only wish is that I could hear her beautiful voice. But I’ll take what I can get.
For the first time in a year, I’m smiling.
Without warning, the bird takes flight, and I yell at the changing pool of water. “No! Go back.”
But it’s useless. The bird can’t hear me any more than Kennedy can.
I’m about to turn away, thinking that the vision will disappear momentarily, as it had for Hades. Instead, I’m on a ride through the city. The bird is weaving its way through the streets of Back Bay, soaring high above them. I have no idea where it’s headed and I refuse to turn away.
Swaying his way back to me, Hades peers into the water below. “Well, that’s different. Where the fuck is it going? Where’s your girl?”
I give him the side eye. “I don’t know. it just took off.”
“Hmm, It’s never done that for me. Were you stepping out on your girl? Is it going to show you someone else?”
Curling my fist, I’m a heartbeat away from punching him for suggesting such a thing. “Never,” I growl out through clenched teeth.
We both turn our attention to the water. It isn’t until the bird glides to a stop, perching on a tree limb in the Boston Public Rose Garden, that I see why it chose here. The joy and love flowing through me only a moment ago is replaced by rage as I spot an all-too-familiar face.
“Well, that can’t be fucking good,” Hades laughs before chugging the last of the Ambrosia and stumbling back.
Sitting on a bench casually overlooking the water is Pestilence. Her blonde hair is pulled back in her signature high ponytail, and she’s dressed far too formally for a park. My fist is perched just above the water, and I’m about to slam it down over her when she turns to look directly at the bird.
If she weren’t so fucking evil, one would consider her beautiful. I’m sure some still do, right before she eats their souls. But all I see is ugly hate and a woman who will do anything to get what she wants.
A moment before my fist hits the water, she smiles and mouths, “I found you.” And I swear that I can hear her malevolent voice echoing through Hades’ office, and by the look on his face, he hears her too.
“Fuck!” I yell as I plunge my fist into the water.