Hades (Contemporary Mythos Book 1)

We were up at the crack of dawn the next day because neither of us could sleep. We could rest when we were dead. Paradise called. Sara convinced me to wear my cranberry-colored bikini, but I insisted on a swim coverup for our walk to the pool. And had every intention of wearing it the entire time. Like a passing shadow, Hades slipped onto the same stool he sat on yesterday, at the same bar, dressed in the same clothes. I couldn’t look away. An older woman dressed in a resort uniform was talking to him. She flailed her hands around, her jaw quivering like she was about to cry.

He held his head low, nodding as the woman spoke. If I had a nickel for every time I wished I could read lips. She slapped her palm onto the bar top. He slid his hand over hers, and she closed her eyes. Her body relaxed, and he slipped his hand away. The woman laughed and kissed his forehead before walking away.

“Why don’t you meet me by the pool?” Sara asked.

“Hm, what?”

She jutted her chin at Hades. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that’s the guy who calls himself Hades?”

I played with one of the rhinestones on the side of my sunglasses. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“Take as much time as you want. I’ll probably fall asleep by the pool anyway.” She grinned and patted my shoulder.

The blackness still loomed over him, but unlike yesterday, bursts of pastel colors appeared as if trying to break through. Those bursts are what piqued my interest and wouldn’t let me turn away.

I leaned next to him. We were the only ones at the bar, which wasn’t surprising considering how early it was. “I didn’t peg you for the older woman type.”

He eyed me sidelong. “I wasn’t courtin’ that woman. And she’s not older. She’s an infant by comparison.”

“Courting? My, my, how formal.” The bartender rested a tumbler in front of him with the same brown liquid as yesterday. “An infant through wisdom or something?”

He licked his lips. “Sure.”

I sniffed the tumbler. “It’s five o’clock, somewhere, right?”

“What else would I be doing?” He kept his eyes trained forward.

“Oh, I don’t know. Soaking up the sun by the pool? Dragging your toes through the sand on the beach? Falling into a tourist trap?”

He turned his head, moving his face near mine. “You can’t drink all day if you don’t start early, sweetheart.” He tipped the glass.

My stomach flipped. He smelled like burning wood and a recently extinguished flame. The scent that permeated the air after blowing out birthday candles. I flagged the bartender. “Mimosa, please.”

“Mm,” Hades purred. “I didn’t peg you for the type to indulge in early morning sins.”

“I’m on vacation. I’d never do this normally, so I figured…when in Rome, right?” I lifted the glass to my lips. “I mean—I know we’re not in Rome.”

“Why do you insist on doing this?” He asked, turning his body to face me.

A dribble of sweet, bubbly juice escaped the corner of my mouth, and I wiped it away with my finger. “Doing what?” Noticing his close proximity made my chest tighten.

“Talkin’ to me despite my being explicitly clear, I had no interest in your company. In fact, I’ve been pretty rude.”

“It’s my job to solve mysteries. I’m drawn to them like a moth to a flame. And you—” I paused, watching his eyes scan my face as if I were as big of a mystery to him. “You’re an absolute enigma.” I curled my hands around my glass to keep them from shaking. “You say you’re rude, but I don’t think that’s the normal you.”

“You’re wrong.” His voice dropped an octave, cold, and clipped. It sent a chill down my spine. He turned away with a sneer. “Some people are inherently evil.”

Heat traveled up my neck. “Everyone is born good. It’s what happens through life, which sways them in one direction or the other. They choose.”

He locked his gaze with mine, his pupils dilating. The glass squeaked as his hand tightened around it. “You’re. Wrong. I’ve witnessed it firsthand.”

A fuzziness clouded my brain, but I shook it away. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re so quick to believe in the morality of humans.” He shoved his nose in his glass.

“Of course, I am.” My voice was barely above a whisper.

He looked at me with a furrowed brow. The pastel colors around him pushed further through and were sucked back in by the darkness. “Then I feel sorry for you.” He slid his empty tumbler across the bar.

I frowned.

An older man in a pair of tropical board shorts sat at the bar on the opposite side from us. Despite his fully rounded beer belly, he wore no shirt. A previous sunburn was evident in the shape of a tank top on his skin. The only hair he had was a small grey patch in the center of his head and a bit below his ears.

“Tell me. What do you think his story is?” Hades shifted his eyes.

I let my investigative brain take over. “Older. Mid-fifties. Alone. His company maybe had business here, and he’s taking some R&R. Confident.” His colors vibrated with deep reds and oranges.

“Almost.” He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “He’s currently cheatin’ on his wife for the fifteenth time. He takes advantage of his company’s frequent travels to go outside of his marriage. He has another family on an island not far from here. Neither family knows of the other. And his wife is so aloof she hasn’t a clue.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How could you possibly know all that? He’s been at the bar for what, two minutes?”

“Hey, honey,” the man said into his phone. “Yeah, they’re working me like a horse over here. But I’ll be home in a few days.” He looked around as he spoke.

I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Hades was right. But how? My hand hit my glass, sliding it off the bar. Hades snatched it from mid-air, stopping it from crashing to the ground.

“Compassion is an admirable quality, Stephanie. But don’t let it cloud your judgment. Reality is reality.” Like a lunar eclipse, all other sounds faded away.

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, he was gone. As if he’d vanished into thin air. His empty tumbler stared back at me. I’d been so consumed by being wrong about the other man I hadn’t heard Hades leave. I headed for the pool.

Sara lay on one of the lounge chairs, her towel, and bag piled on the chair next to her, saving it for me. I halfway hoped she was asleep. Otherwise, she’d ask me a dozen questions about Hades. With cautious movements, I moved her bag to the ground beside my chair. I paused, eyeing her still lying there like a breathing corpse and slowly sank down.

“How’d it go?” She asked.

Fail.

“There’s something about Hades, Sara. A quirk? A secret? I can’t tell you.”

“Sounds like you two were made for each other.”

Grabbing the towel, I whipped it at her with a laugh. She blocked it with her forearm.

“This isn’t funny. He’s…odd.”

She lifted her sunglasses to her head. “And that makes you even more interested, doesn’t it?”

I pulled at the hem of my coverup.

Sitting up on her elbows, she narrowed her eyes. “You have that look. The one you get when you’re about to pour your heart and soul into a case. We’re on vacation, Steph. You want to hang out with this guy, try to make his heart grow three sizes bigger, fine. But don’t get wrapped up in it.”

“He comes off so confused. One big mess. Like he needs someone truly willing to listen.” His words replayed in my head. Compassion is an admiral quality.

“And you’re invested.” She flipped her sunglasses back onto her nose, nuzzling back into the comfort of her chair.

“He can profile people better than you can.”

She sat straight up, whipping her sunglasses off. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not kidding. He saw all these subtle clues. I can usually read people pretty well, but he saw right past the guy’s façade.”

“Is he a cop?”

“I don’t know. He’s pretty closed off. And why does he wear so much black?”

She laughed, curling her arms around her knees. “Maybe he’s grieving for his love life?”

“You’re such a goober sometimes.” I slunk down in the chair with a snicker.

She held two fingers up, pressed together, a gesture that was uniquely hers. “Um, false. I’m a genius all of the time.”

“Forgive me, illustrious one.”

“And you have five minutes before I make you put on sunscreen.”

“Yes, mother dearest.”

We sunbathed by the pool for almost an hour. Sara set a repeating alarm on her phone to remind us to flip over. I put on sunscreen for fear of looking like a lobster for the rest of our vacation and rolled my cover up just enough to cover my cleavage and stomach.

“Would you mind if we used this chair?” A female British voice asked.

I lifted my head, squinting through my sunglasses. All other lounge chairs were occupied except for the one next to me. “Knock yourself out.”

The woman laughed. “I bloody well hope not.” She set her bag and towel down. “I’m Michelle,” she said, extending her hand.

We shook. She had long, wavy auburn hair, pulled back into a low ponytail. Her skin was ivory with patches of freckles on her arms and shoulders. She was thin, tall, and sporting a vibrant green bikini. Her aura colors were warm and inviting. There wasn’t an ounce of negativity about her.

“I’m Stephanie, and this is Sara.”

Sara reached over me. “Nice to meet you. England?”

“Ah, yes. Welsh-born, but Windsor implant.” She sat down, removing a bottle of sunscreen from her bag.

A man walked up with peppered colored hair, toned physique, oiled up, and sporting a bright red speedo. “Sorry, darling, it took me a while to find a bar with tea. Fancy that.” He kissed Michelle on the cheek, making sure to flex every muscle in his upper body as he leaned in. His aura was confusing, muddy yellows mixed with brownish forest greens and strokes of black.

“This is Rupert, my fiancé. We’re actually here celebrating our engagement,” Michelle said, curling her body toward him.

And now we were to have a conversation. I sat up on my elbows. “Congrats.”

“Have you set a date yet?” Sara asked, still leaning on my chair.

“Sometime next fall, I’d imagine. Still working out the details, right, love?” Rupert smiled, causing the creases in his cheeks to deepen. He leaned back, his gaze dropping to Sara’s lap. Or it seemed to. It was hard to tell behind the shadow of his sunglasses.

Michelle playfully elbowed him in the leg. “Are you two celebrating anything?”

“Why, yes. We’re celebrating not thinking about work,” Sara replied.

We fist-bumped, following it with an explosion gesture.

“Well, that’s about as good of a reason as I ever heard. Have you been here long?” Rupert sat next to Michelle, accentuating the bulge in his speedo.

I shot my eyes back up to his face. “Just since yesterday.”

“Are you having a good time?” Michelle asked.

“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life so far,” I said with a grin.

Sara snorted.

Michelle bounced on her seat. “We should get together at some point. We’re here for the rest of the week.”

“Absolutely! You two can take one of our chairs. We’ve been lying out here awhile, I need to take a dip to cool off,” Sara said, gathering up her things.

“It was great meeting you two. Hopefully, we’ll see you around,” I added.

“Michelle was nice. Rupert,” Sara said his name with an exaggerated English accent. “He’s another story.”

“I kinda got that vibe too, especially in that speedo.”

“The speedo, the subtle changes in his gaze. We’ll have to watch him.” She stopped in front of a bulletin board.

The board had several sign-up sheets for resort activities and a slew of advertisements for nearby restaurants, clubs, and tours. Sara grabbed the pen attached to a string and feverishly scribbled our names on pool volleyball and Greek mythology trivia.

“Woah there, Speedy Gonzalez. Do I get a say in events I’m going to embarrass myself at?” I tried to yank the pen from her grasp, but she recoiled.

“Please. Volleyball is always fun, and between the two of us, we’ll kick ass at trivia.” She trailed her finger over the remaining sheets, skipping over snorkeling and booze cruise.

“What? No booze cruise?” I frowned.

“You already get seasick. Can you imagine adding alcohol to the equation?”

My stomach gurgled at the thought. “Good point.”

“Ooo a masquerade ball. Oh, we’re definitely doing that!” She wrote our names on the list with an extra flourish.

I poked a line on the description. “It says black tie. Did you pack a ball gown? Because I certainly didn’t.”

She let the pen drop, and it swung back and forth. “There are these places called stores. I don’t know for sure, so hear me out, but I do believe Greece has them.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re hilarious.”

“What’s this all about? Did I hear you two are going to the ball?” Keith said from behind us.

He and Guy sauntered over. Keith smiled and let his eyes roam over my exposed legs. With as much subtlety as I could manage, I tugged the coverup back down.

“We just signed up.” Sara squared off her shoulders. “You guys going?”

Guy grinned, brushing past Sara as he grabbed the dangling pen. “We are now.”

I could hardly contain my enthusiasm…

Sara smiled. “I don’t know. You might have a hard time finding us with everyone wearing masks.”

“How could I miss that smile of yours, eh?” Guy stepped closer to her.

“Sorry about him. He can be pretty forthright,” Keith said, smiling.

I’d give Keith one thing. He did have a sparkling smile. “Oh, she’ll let him know if she no longer appreciates it. Trust me.”

He chuckled. “You two playing volleyball tomorrow?”

“Apparently.”

“Good deal. We’ll get there early, make sure we’re all on the same team.”

“Full disclosure—I’m horrible at it.”

“Noted.” He winked. “I’ll help you out.”

I managed a nervous grin, which probably looked more like I passed gas.

Guy nudged him in the shoulder. “Come on, Keith. We’re going to miss the last period of the Winnipeg game.”

Once they were gone, I blew out a breath. I’d socialized more this week already then in the last few months. It was exhausting. “So…” I turned to Sara. “Do you like Guy?”

She shrugged, swaying her arms back and forth and snapping her fingers. “I don’t know yet. He is pretty cute.” She bit down on her lip.

“Yeah. You like him.”

She tugged my ponytail. “Come on, let’s get nachos and a drink at the bar. Maybe the god of the Underworld will honor us with his presence again.”

It was ironic I had Keith’s full attention, but the one man I wanted to figure out wouldn’t give me the light of day. Perseverance is stubbornness with a purpose.