CHAPTER NINE #2
Panic courses through my body as every possibility of what Pestilence is capable of plays out in my mind. She’s a ruthless being with no love for humanity and even less love for anyone she deems expendable.
“I need you to go and bring Kennedy back here,” I demand, but Hades isn’t paying attention. Instead, he’s rummaging through his shelves, searching for something. “Did you hear me?”
“What? Yeah, I heard you,” he mutters as he waves me off. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”
“What the fuck do you mean you can’t do that?” Anger surges through me, and I grab him by his shoulders and turn him to face me. “Can’t or won’t? There is a fucking difference.”
In a fight, we would be evenly matched in strength and size. But at this moment, I have the fear of losing Kennedy on my side. He glares down at my hands still gripping his shoulders.
“I suggest you remove your hands from me before I remove them from you,” he snarls, and I take a step back.
“Then explain why you can’t.”
I watch as Hades stumbles over to where we were sitting and plops himself down on one of the worn leather chairs. I expect him to lean back with a smug look on his face. Instead, he slumps forward with his head in his hands.
“Aradia,” is the only word he mumbles, or at least it’s the only word I hear. The name sounds familiar, as if I should know it, but my mind is drawing a blank.
“I’m going to need more of a reason than just Aradia. This is Kennedy’s life we’re talking about. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. But if I go…”
“I fucking get it!” Hades yells, shaking the room. “She’s your heart, your soul, your fucking lifeblood, and that’s exactly why I can’t go. I haven’t stepped foot on that side in centuries. You’ll have to find someone else. It can’t be me. Now get out,” he snaps.
“Fuck you!” I yell as I leave, slamming the door behind me.
The main area is packed, but patrons scatter out of my way as I walk past. I know Hades has his reasons for not being willing to help me, but there isn’t anyone else here I would trust Kennedy’s life with.
Not to mention, she probably hates me for leaving her… again.
Crashing through the front door of The Inferno, I head out toward the Dimmu gate. I know where it will deposit me. Las Vegas, the same fucking spot it always does, directly on top of the JDL. The best I can hope for is that Asher isn’t there, and I can get to Boston undetected.
There isn’t a shred of hesitation in me. I don’t care what Pestilence does to me, but Kennedy never asked to be part of this. I knew the day would come when I would have to pay for my freedom.
My foot is inches away from the gate when I hear Hades’ voice yelling from behind me.
“Let her go!” he yells as he walks up the hill to the gate. “Let her fucking go, man.”
It takes me a moment to comprehend what he’s implying. But the moment I do, the ever-present spark of rage I keep ignites, and I lunge forward. My fist connects with the side of his face, and I can feel the bones beneath his flesh shatter.
Hades stumbles back but doesn’t even attempt to retaliate.
“Let her go. I’m not telling you this to be a fucking dick!
” he yells, and I hit him again, this time with everything I have.
All the hate, rage, and love I keep bottled up inside, I unleash on him.
My fists are a bloody blur as I hit him repeatedly.
Neither of us can die from a physical altercation, but that doesn’t stop me from beating him.
“Fight back, you asshole.”
Hades spits blood and sways a bit as he tries to gain his balance. “You know I’m right. You know I’m right, no matter how many times you punch me. I’m telling you what no one had the balls to tell me. Let her go.”
“So what? So Pestilence can kill her? I can’t live with that any more than you could.”
“Just think about it rationally for a minute. I’m trying to save you a lifetime of fucking torment. With Kennedy gone, you’d be—” I don’t let him finish the sentence before hitting him again.
The thought of letting Pestilence kill Kennedy is repulsive and goes against every fiber of my being. “She probably already has her,” I growl as I stomp forward, ready to hit him again.
“Not necessarily,” he says, holding up his hand to stop my next blow. “The visions aren’t always in real time.”
That tidbit of information stops me dead in my tracks. “Explain,” I say through gritted teeth.
I watch as Hades gets up and dusts himself off. His jaw is already healed, and I watch the split above his eye knit closed as if it were never there.
“I told you, I don’t know how it works. It shows what it wants, past, present, and future. What you saw could have happened weeks or months ago or not at all.”
“She could already have her.” I can hear the panic in my voice at the thought that Kennedy could already be dead. Or worse, alive and at the mercy of Pestilence, a woman not known for her softer side.
“Or not at all. The vision could have warned of future events or been nothing but trickery to drive you crazy.”
“Why would you show me that, knowing it could be nothing?” I yell despite him standing in front of me.
“I was drunk on half a bottle of Ambrosia, not my finest moment. Why do you think I had it fucking covered up? It’s lied to me so many times that I can’t count.
It showed me…” Hades’ voice trails off as if he’s remembering some long-gone time.
“Fuck it. It doesn’t matter, but it lies,” he adds as he sits back on the ground, and I join him.
“I still must go after her to ensure she’s safe, get her to Asher or Michael. They can keep her guarded.”
I hear Hades let out a long sigh. “Fuck. You can’t go. Pestilence will be on you when you step through the gate. If she doesn’t already have Kennedy, she will. You’ll lead her right to her.”
All I can do is shake my head. “No, the gate always exists in Vegas. Kennedy is in Boston. So even if Pestilence is waiting for me, she’ll be thousands of miles from my girl.”
The look of confusion that mars Hades’ face is almost comical. “What do you mean, it always lets you out in Vegas? That’s ridiculous. It’s a gate. It will take you wherever you need to go. That’s its job.”
“I don’t know. Fuck, I don’t even understand how I can go back and forth between this world and the other. Maybe I should go and bring her here, start a life. I thought leaving her behind would keep her safe, but I was wrong. Nothing I do is right. It always ends up putting someone in danger.”
“First of all, stop with the fucking pity party. We all have shit we’re dealing with. You’re not special in that regard.”
Hades’ words hit me harder than any punch I’ve taken. Is that what I’m doing? Having a pity party for myself. He should fucking talk. “Yeah, well, who’s the brunette?”