Hades (Contemporary Mythos Book 1)

Hades pointed at his guard dog. “Watch her.”

Cerberus slid in front of me, his claws scraping across the stone floor. In the fog scape Hades showed me, Cerberus was as big as my forearm. In reality, he was as tall as a skyscraper. There was something oddly comforting about having such a large creature defending you. It didn’t keep my knees from shaking at the sight of him, however.

“You think your pet can stop me?” Thanatos asked, the fog under his feet carrying him backward.

Hades glared, still suspended in the air. His flapping wings sounded like a flickering flame. “His bite is far worse than my bark. Do you want to continue with this charade?”

“Like all the other gods, here you are underestimating me,” Thanatos growled. He slammed the blade of his sword into a nearby pillar, sending rocks into one of Cerberus’ heads.

The other two heads snapped at Thanatos, but Cerberus kept his ground in front of me as his master ordered. The head the rocks pummeled blinked one of its eyes, and snarled, claws digging into the ground.

Hades flew down like Superman and collided into Thanatos’s chest. The impact sent both gods in a violent tumble of fog and smoke.

Cerberus’ feet twitched. Hades threw punch after punch at Thanatos’ face before being tossed away, slamming into the side of his throne. Cerberus slid forward but stopped again.

I gulped, reaching a hand out to touch the fur on the canine’s leg. The nearest head dipped down, eyeing my fingers. It sniffed me and let out a huff, sending my hair flying backward. Suppose I should’ve been glad there wasn’t snot to accompany it. “I think it makes more sense for you to help him defeat Thanatos rather than be stuck in this corner by me, wouldn’t you say?”

His head shook before he snorted and nudged me with his forehead. I stumbled, my heart racing. Cerberus charged forward, capturing Thanatos in one of his massive jaws, tossing him back and forth like a rag doll.

Thanatos cackled. “Does this ignorant canine think it can snap me like a twig?”

“He’s distracting you,” Hades boomed, his eyes bursting with white, wings glowing a furious orange. He threw his hands forward, arms shaking, as a blue swirl eked from Thanatos’ chest.

My stomach growled. The kind of hunger pains that make you feel nauseated. How could I be thinking about food at a time like this? It was so excruciating it made me grip my stomach in agony.

“What have you done?” Thanatos cried.

The blue swirls wrapped around Hades’ forearms. “I’ve removed your essence. What gives you your power. If you leave the Underworld without it, you will become nothing but mist in the air.”

Thanatos growled, trying to reach for him, but Cerberus kept his hold. “You’re as cruel as they say, Hades.”

A pain formed in my chest hearing Hades be called cruel. It had been almost distracting enough until my stomach twisted harder.

“You left me no choice. I’m going to ask you one final time. An opportunity to live on the surface.” Hades flew higher in the air, spreading his wings. “Will. You. Perform. Your Duties?” His voice boomed, commanding attention and respect. The bass from his menacing tone echoed in my skull.

I sniffed the air. The smell was impossible to ignore. A small table, decorated with a scarlet ornate table cloth, sat in the corner. And resting on top, displayed on a silver platter, was a pile of Cinnamon Bun Oreos. My stomach growled like Godzilla.

Thanatos snarled. “Yes,” he muttered.

“Louder!” Hades demanded.

“Yes! I will return to my duties.”

Thanatos’ essence flowed back into him, billowing in a cascade from Hades’ arms. I eyed the delectable plate of Oreos, biting my lip.

“Go, now,” Hades growled. “You have an extreme amount of work to catch up on.”

Cerberus released his hold, and Thanatos floated into the air with his shoulders hunched forward.

“You are one to talk, Lord of the Underworld,” Thanatos said, pointing at the overflowing river of souls before vanishing.

I reached out for the plate of Oreos. Just one tiny nibble. So hungry. So very, very hungry. The textured surface of the delicious cookie brushed my fingertip, and I picked it up. My mouth salivated as I brought it to my lips.

A hand grasped my wrist, stopping me.

“Stephanie, no,” Hades said, glowering down at me.

I blinked, staring down at the Oreo inches from my lips, and dropped it. “I don’t—I don’t know what came over me. I would’ve been—”

“Stuck here.” He frowned.

I gazed down at his hand wrapped around my wrist. “But you didn’t let me.”

“I told you before I would never let that happen again. She deserved a choice.”

My heart hummed. I let pieces of his floating hair slide through my fingers.

He peered down at me, caressing his cheek against my hand, and closing his eyes.

“I really must get you back to the surface. The Underworld is no place for a mortal. It’s already starting to affect you,” he said, his chin dropping.

“Am I really never going to see you again?”

The tips of his pointed ears drooped. “It’s better that way.”

My sinuses stung, and I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from crying.

“There is one last thing I wish to do for you, however, if you are willing.”

My throat clenched. “Oh? What is it?”

“Your suicide murderer. Remember when I told you I could allow you to interrogate him here in Tartarus? The offer is still on the table.”

My eyes widened. Interview a dead serial killer? This took the idea of Interview With The Vampire and put it on an entirely different playing field. “I don’t see how I could pass that up.”

He gripped my shoulders. “I must warn you—he is a slime of a human being.”

“I wouldn’t expect much less. Will you help me?”

“Help you?” He quirked a brow.

I traced a fingertip over the tip of his ear. “It’s called ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’.”

“I assume I’m to play the role of Bad Cop?”

“Please? As you can imagine, I’ve never been any good at it.”

He dipped his head. “Very well.”

He gave one extravagant flourish with his arm, kicking up swirls of smoke. An irradiating heat slapped me in the face. We stood in the middle of a charcoaled entrance where lava flowed through the cracks. Hundreds of screams, wails, and crying poured into my ears. It was so deafening, I had to clap my hands over my ears. Hades touched my shoulder, and the world silenced.

“I apologize. It’s been a long time since I’ve escorted a mortal in the Underworld,” he said, his tone hushed and soothing.

“Are we—” I slipped my hands from my head. “Are we in Tartarus?”

“Yes. It’s the only area he can roam. We have to conduct the interrogation here. Did you still want to continue?” He delicately turned me to face him.

My teeth chattered, despite the increasing temperature. “I don’t have a choice. I can help so many families knowing this information. I’ll have to get over the fact that probably three feet away someone is getting tortured.”

“I promise you won’t see or hear any of it.”

I nodded, staring up at his stoic expression, a serene glimmer in his gaze. “Let’s get this over with.”

He bowed his head before passing his hand over his face and body. As his hand progressed, he transformed into his mortal guise. The “Sawyer” guise. I cocked an eyebrow.

“They get a false sense of security when I appear like this.”

Well, this was going to be interesting.

In another whoosh of smoke, we were in a room surrounded with sleek black walls. Low lighting pointed at a man with a ball and chain attached to each of his limbs. My heart raced. Earnest Fueller. Across from me at arms-length was the man I’d made eye contact with years ago in the interrogation room. A man I knew was guilty with every fiber of my being. Here he was in the deadly flesh. He looked the same: Balding, average size build, scruff over his chin, broad nose, and bushy caterpillar eyebrows.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of my torture break?” He grunted, the chains rattling together.

Hades remained in the shadows, leaning on the wall with his arms folded. “We need to ask you a few questions.”

It was one thing to be behind the safety of a two-way mirror when looking at a person you hoped to convict. This was another matter entirely. “I only need to ask you a few questions about the murders, and then you’re free to go.”

He snorted, spitting on the ground. “Yeah, because I’m in a hurry.”

Hades pushed off the wall. He stood in front of him and leaned forward until their noses almost brushed. “The longer this takes, the more excruciating your torture becomes. Permanently.”

Earnest gulped.

So far, so good. I expected Hades to start ripping off fingernails already. “How many victims were there?” We knew of seven, but I wanted to be sure.

“Seven. My lucky number,” he said with a smirk.

The tip of Hades’ finger glowed orange, and he poked Earnest’s shoulder with a sizzle. Earnest yelped.

I grabbed Hades by the elbow and pulled him over. “What are you doing?”

His brow furrowed. “He’s a smart ass.”

“But he’s still giving information. The idea is to be the ‘bad’ in ‘bad cop’ when he refuses.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Fine.”

“Your first three victims were inconclusive due to no physical evidence, but witnesses were saying they saw someone who matched your description. Was it you? Alleyways? Rainy nights?”

“Yes,” he clipped, glaring at Hades from across the room.

My nerves dissipated, and I took a step closer. “After the fourth victim, you were pulled in for a field line up. Why was the witness not able to identify you?”

“They needed glasses?”

Hades swiped his hand in the air, and Earnest arched from his chair, gurgling and shaking. I widened my eyes at Hades, and he dropped his hand with a shrug.

“Earnest, you’re dead and have already been judged. What good does it do you to lie?” I asked, trying to keep my tone sympathetic.

He groaned. “It was dark, and I always wore a baseball cap.”

And that explained why there were rarely any witnesses who could confirm his face.

“Your fifth victim. I found evidence on your phone, which clearly showed you setting up a time to meet with an unknown number an hour before they were found dead. Was that the victim?”

“Yeah. But they didn’t show up. I even let the cops into my apartment to do their little search. Did they find anything?” He chuckled. “Who the hell are you anyway? Snooping on my phone?”

Hades stormed in front of me, the arches of his wings peeking from his back. Earnest leaned back, shaking. He tried to lift his hands to his face, but the chains prevented it.

“She is asking the questions. You’ve just escalated your punishment.” The wings slipped away, and he stepped aside.

Earnest whimpered.

He was right. They didn’t find anything in his apartment, not a single piece of evidence. Irritation boiled in my core all over again.

“The sixth victim. I found your name in police logs, which I later found out officers forgot to document. They stated they found you loitering near Lincoln Park. You had a hammer on you. They said you stated you were going to help a friend repair a leaky roof. Another rainy day. Tell me the true story.” My body tensed.

“People can’t repair roofs on rainy days?”

Hades didn’t bat an eyelash and launched forward, morphing into his Underworld form with a flash of fire and ash. He raised his arms above his head and roared in Earnest’s face. “Answer the questions you insolent toad!”

He was going to make this guy pee his pants and go mute before I had a chance to finish. I yanked on Hades’ arm. He whipped his head over his shoulder, chest heaving as he looked down at me.

“A word?” I asked, motioning with my finger.

The wings folded behind his back, and he followed me to the corner.

“You’ve been torturing him for how many years now? I think all you need to do is glare or pretend you’re going to swat him to get him to cooperate.”

“You said,” he pointed at me. “I was bad cop.”

“Yes. Bad cop. Not terrifying cop. He has to be able to speak.”

Hades blinked. “I think you underestimate my level of intimidation.”

“I’m almost done. Can you keep it to a bare minimum? Please?”

The corners of his jaw popped. “As you wish.” He stepped aside, displaying his hand toward a fidgeting Earnest.

I cleared my throat and flattened out my shirt. After clasping my hands in front of me to assure Earnest I intended to do nothing with them, I lowered my voice to barely above a whisper. “Earnest?”

His bottom lip trembled, and he stared at me wide-eyed.

“A few more questions and we’re done. Good?”

He nodded, not blinking.

“The last victim is where things got especially confusing. The cops found the victim with a hammer near the body. They went to your house from prior suspicions. Your arm was bandaged up.”

Earnest shifted in his seat, digging his heels into the ground as if he were trying to back away.

“The suspect’s blood more than likely got washed away from the rain, but that particular victim fought back more than the others, didn’t he?”

“He damn near broke my arm,” he mumbled.

Confirmation. My heartbeat quickened.

“Did you use a hammer?” I asked, biting down on my lip.

“Yes.”

“The hammer inexplicably disappeared from the evidence locker. Did you have something to do with that?”

“I had someone on the inside.”

My throat constricted. “Who?”

“Never got his real name. Called himself Bulldog. But he was a cop. I can tell you that much.”

And another can of worms opened. I’d file that one for later.

“Where’s the hammer now?”

He smirked. “Oh, you have no shot at finding it. Threw it into Lake Michigan.”

Tears stung at my sinuses. Here I was interviewing a dead murderer, and even getting all the answers out of him led nowhere.

“Give me something, Earnest. There has to be something, anything that could tie you to these murders. To prove it.” I lurched forward, pointing a finger in his face. “You owe the families that much.”

“You know, when I was a kid, my mom used to take me to Lincoln Park every Sunday. We’d walk on the path, and I’d point at every damn animal I saw. It was a time just for us,” Earnest said, gaze dropping to his feet.

I leaned back, thrown off guard. The darkness of his aura sputtered with fractals of white.

“My mom died when I was eight.”

And now we had something in common.

“A burglar. She’d been taking a nap on the couch. I was downstairs playing video games. I heard a gunshot, ran upstairs, and caught sight of the guy running out of the house with our VCR. Mom’s blood stained the area rug in the living room.” His face contorted into pure fury, his wrists pulling at his chains. “She died over a fucking VCR.”

I gulped, thinking back to the night I found out about the fire. It was unsettling, realizing our pasts were so similar. Who wanted to share a similar backstory with a serial killer?

“I’m sure they noticed all the men I killed had a similar look. I found people who reminded me of him, and beat their skulls in with a hammer because it made me feel better. But then I’d get angry soon after and have to do it again.”

Hades pressed his hand into the small of my back.

Earnest studied my face and smirked. “You’ll want to go to Lincoln Park. There’s a huge willow tree that droops due east. At its base, buried several feet down—you’ll find what you need.” His shoulders hunched forward. “Do you know why I committed suicide?”

“To avoid paying for your crimes?” Hades mumbled.

Earnest stared at the floor, tears welling in his eyes. “Because I knew I was going to hell, but I wanted to be damn sure about it.”

Dizziness washed over me, and I staggered backward, grasping my head.

Hades caught me.

“Thank—” I started to say to Earnest, but he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“We need to get you back to the surface, Stephanie.”

Hades kept me standing upright and turned me to face him. I fought back the tears as he traced his fingertips over the side of my forehead.

“Both of our mothers died tragically. He wound up a serial killer. What if I have that inside of me?”

“You’re not him,” Hades said. He pulled me flush with his chest, wrapping his arms around me. He stroked the back of my head. “People respond to tragedy in different ways. You went a different path. You sought the passion in humanity versus giving up on it altogether. One of the many reasons you’re a remarkable human being.”

I shoved my face into his shoulder, memorizing the scent of burning wood. “High praise from a god.”

He peeled back, peering down at me. “High praise from me.”

My eyelids grew heavy. “I’ve never felt this tired.” Exhaustion was more like it. So much so, I started to sway.

“You need to go. Solve the case. Give those families a gift only you can bestow.” He kissed my lips with such delicacy; it felt like a passing feather. His hand grazed over my shoulder, making it tingle. “I’ll always be watching over you.” He winced.

His words disappeared like a whisper caught by the wind. Before I could say anything else, I was back in my hotel room.