Hades (Contemporary Mythos Book 1)

Considering the night I’d had, sipping fruity drinks by the pool was the last thing on my mind. I convinced Sara I felt under the weather from too much champagne. Between the mind games of swirling smoke, the disappearing act, and Jesus’ cryptic threat, I needed a distraction. Today was for me.

The resort’s computer lab was a short walk from our room. I found a station in a hidden corner and patched myself through to my work computer back home. Forcing my brain back into work-mode was my only real form of distraction. I expected Sara to walk around the corner at any given moment, scolding me. I looked for her so many times one might think I was hacking the NSA database.

I went to work, scrolling through the gallery of images with the processing finished with the new software. Satisfied Sara wasn’t going to sneak up on me I slipped one of my earbuds in. (I Just) Died in Your Arms by Cutting Crew fueled my endless mouse clicking.

Several hours flew by, and I was unable to find any new evidence. Backed into a corner—again. I rubbed my eyes. If there were any hope of continuing my investigation, I’d need caffeine and vitamin B injected into my veins, stat.

“I may be no expert at relaxin’, but this doesn’t seem like a good way to go about doing it,” Hades muttered behind me.

I jumped. “How did you find me?”

“I could tell you, but you wouldn’t believe me anyway.” His tone dropped an octave.

He peered at me like he had last night from across the room, and my heart raced. “Your brother stopped by to see me last night.”

“What?” He growled.

“He’s an asshole, by the way.”

“On that, we can agree. What did he say?”

To lie or not to lie. “He said I needed to make you happy. Almost sounded like a threat.”

He crossed the room. “He won’t hurt you. I won’t let him.”

“Hurt me? Who are you guys? Are you with the mafia or something? Just tell me. Maybe I can help you.” I stood. The earbud popped from my ear.

His eyes searched mine, and his lips parted as if to speak. After a beat, he said, “Will you go somewhere with me?”

“Depends on what you had in mind?”

If he said a guided tour of the Underworld, I was out of here.

“There’s an old temple not too far from here. I’d like to show it to ya.”

Considering the beach, pool, and alcohol was all I’d experienced in Greece thus far, I loved the idea. “Alright.” I grabbed the mouse. “Let me just finish up here.”

He leaned forward, eyeing the monitor. “What are you doing?”

“Work I shouldn’t be doing, but can’t seem to stop thinking about. I’m a digital forensics examiner.”

“Digital forensics? Oh, how times have changed,” he scratched his chin.

I snickered. “Who are you kidding?”

“Why can’t you stop thinking about it?”

I sighed, shutting down the computer. “It’s an old murder case. The suspect committed suicide, which left a lot of things unanswered. Because there wasn’t enough evidence, he was never convicted. You can imagine the pain it’s caused the families of the victims.”

“A murderer who committed suicide? We could—have a chat with him?” He said it so matter-of-fact I couldn’t help but laugh.

I slapped his shoulder. “Very funny.”

He stared at me, not finding me funny.

Sara walked past and did a double-take. She marched in, glaring daggers into Hades’ skull. “What are you doing in here?”

Lie. You can do this. Just…lie. I opened my mouth to answer but snapped it shut when no words followed.

Hades stepped forward. “I’m takin’ her on a tour. Considering I’m horrible with technology, I asked her to help me book a boat ride online. Ain’t that right, Stephanie?”

When I didn’t answer, he nudged me.

I forced a smile and snapped my attention to Sara. “Yes! Yes, absolutely. And online, that’s right.”

Sara looked between us before standing toe to toe with Hades. “Let me make this perfectly clear. That woman is like a sister to me. If you hurt her, I’ll permanently damage something of yours and make it look like an accident.” She poked his chest.

After glaring at her finger, he took her hand, keeping her gaze, and lowered it. “Noted.”

She stared at him for a moment and shook her head like clearing cobwebs. “Glad we’re on the same page.” She slid her sunglasses on.

Hades held out his hand. “Darlin’?”

Sara grabbed my elbow. “Don’t let him take you anywhere that’s not public and watch for signs like I taught you.”

“Thank you. I’ll be fine, promise.” I patted her hand.

A part of me, a very small part, wanted to believe I hadn’t dreamt up everything. I loved Sara, but I couldn’t talk to her about it. It sounded crazy, even to me. I needed proof.

“So, where are you taking me?” I asked.

“A small island off the coastline.”

Off the coastline? That didn’t sound very public.

“Uh, how far off the coastline?”

He whipped around to face me and folded his arms over his chest. I tried not to get distracted by the tautness of his bicep. “Tell me, what do you think the role of the god of the Underworld is?”

I gulped. “I always assumed he was like the devil.”

He leaned forward, bits of his hair falling over his eyes. “Not even close. And if you’re worried about something happenin’ to ya during our little excursion, you can rest assured there’ll be plenty of tourists on the island.” He turned back around and continued walking.

How could I be wrong? Hades was in control of the bad people and chose their punishments accordingly. How was that not like the job bestowed on Lucifer himself? I trotted to his side and tugged on his shirt sleeve.

“Are you going to tell me where I’m wrong with that comparison, or let me guess?”

“When you’re ready, I’ll tell you.”

He led us to a ticket booth. A sign with a cartoon boat and the words “Roundtrip Rides” in both English and Greek hung from the window. He dug in his back pocket, removing a black leather wallet. When he opened it, hundreds of Euros sprouted out, and I tried not to stare. He slid several to the attendant, giving an absent nod as he handed him two tickets.

“What makes you think I’m not ready to hear it now?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t believe.”

“Are you Santa Claus now?”

“Oh? Don’t believe he’s real, either?” He graced me with a small smirk.

I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t patronize me.”

We walked across a wooden dock, leading to a small white boat with two levels. The attendant greeted him in Greek, and the two had a quick conversation I couldn’t understand. Hades stepped up, holding his hand out to me. I stared, knowing there was a grand possibility of me getting sick.

“How long is this ride?” I asked.

“Twenty minutes. Why?”

I fidgeted with the hem of my shorts. “I get seasick.”

“I’ll put in a word for calm seas. Will that help?”

“Oh, is one of your supposed powers persuasion?” I snorted as he helped me into the boat. I waved a hand at the water like Obi-Wan Kenobi. “You will be calm for the duration of the trip.”

He looked off in the distance. “Something like that.”

I followed him to the second level; the wind whipping through my hair. When the boat shoved off, Hades leaned on the railing, closing his eyes. The sun shone brightly in the sky.

It was hard not to ogle him with how serene he looked. “You don’t get out much, do you?”

“No. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been able to let the sun warm my cheeks. Or smell sea spray.” He opened his eyes, and his jaw clenched.

Greek mythology rolled through my head. Brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, gained control of Olympus and the seas while Hades received the Underworld. I tapped the railing. “Demanding job?”

The wind tousled his hair in the most majestic of ways. “Very.”

He said everything with such conviction. My rational brain said this was crazy, but he had a way of making crazy sound convincing.

“You don’t get vacation days?”

He looked at the water. “It’s not that simple.”

“Then how’d you manage this one?”

“Very rarely, with catastrophic occurrences, I’m granted—a break.”

Blood rushed to my ears. “To keep you—happy.”

I didn’t look at him, my eyes fixed on fish leaping from the water.

He turned to face me, leaning on the railing with one elbow. “In a manner of speaking.”

“Do you work for your brother?”

“Partners.”

Why were all his answers cryptic enough to reel me right back in?

“How’s your stomach?” He asked.

I pressed a hand over my abdomen. “I feel—fine. I haven’t felt the boat rock at all. How is that possible?”

“The—” A corner of his mouth twitched. “—captain and I are on good terms.”

“I don’t care how good of a captain he is; it still doesn’t explain how the water doesn’t make the boat bob up and down. Even a little.”

“Fine. You want the truth?”

He stared at me, waiting for an answer. A small squeak escaped my throat, but no words followed. The boat slowed down, pulling to a rickety dock leading to a tiny island.

“We’re here,” he grumbled.

I guess my silence wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

Every few planks were missing on the dock, and I took baby steps across. Hades strode over it without a care in the world. He didn’t so much as look down. The sight of the boat pulling away, leaving us stranded on the island, made a knot form in my stomach. Sara was going to kill me. No, she’d kill Hades first, then me.

“Are they coming back?” I asked.

“Of course, they are,” he answered, making his way to a deeply wooded area.

After pushing past several tree branches, palm fronds, and vines, we reached a clearing with hundreds of squared rocks. It was remnants of the walls of an old building.

I traced my fingers over the rubble. “Is this a temple?”

“What’s left of it.”

Part of a column still stood. In my opinion, the staple of ancient Greek architecture. “Was it dedicated to someone?”

He crouched down, pressing his hand against a crumbled slab. “Artemis.”

“I imagine it was beautiful when it was standing, but I have to ask, why is this one of significance to you?”

He stood up, looking around at the rubble as if picturing in his mind what it used to look like. “The Greeks built these temples to honor their gods. At first, they were made of wood, but this is the first with stone. It wasn’t an easy task considering you had to have the proper distribution of weight, or it’d crumble.”

“Really? And here in Corfu?”

He nodded. “Their dedication to their gods knew no bounds, includin’ the lengths they went to develop temples in their honor. Much like these ruins, however, the dedication crumbled through the ages.”

“I’m sure there are those who still believe in them.”

“Like you?” He peered at me from across the foundation of the fallen temple.

A sharp prick of guilt stung me in the chest. I picked up a rock, rolling it between my fingers. “Was there one for Hades?”

“They called it Nekromanteion. It’s not so much of a temple as it is a door, however. It’s in Epirus, once known as Ephyra. They thought it was the gateway to the Underworld.”

Intrigue traveled down my spine like a burning wick. “Thought it was?”

“There are only so many ways to get to the Underworld, and it’s most certainly not through a gateway made of stone.”

“A chariot ride with the King himself?” I wrapped my hand around the stone, pushing an imprint into my palm.

“That’s one way. Or—” His gaze locked onto my very soul. “Death.”

We stared at each other.

“There’s another reason I enjoy this particular temple.” He motioned for me to follow him out of the woods.

Cerulean water and mountains in the distance greeted me. Several branches from the trees dipped in front of us, framing the scene like a painting. He leaned forward on the railing and took a deep breath.

“This is one of my favorite spots in all of Greece,” he said, sighing.

“I can see why. It’s breathtaking.” I eyed him sidelong. “Why me?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is your favorite spot, and you’re sharing it with me. Why?”

His eyes remained on the water. “I’ve never had anyone invested in me. At first, I thought you just enjoyed pestering me, or someone was playin’ a cruel joke, but…” He looked at me. “You’re real.”

How ironic he questioned my reality.

I frowned and hovered my hand over his forearm. Never in my life had I as much confidence as I was gradually feeling around him. I rested my hand on his arm after staring at it for a second or two. “What’s really going on with you, Hades? You seem so…”

His eyes focused on my fingers wrapped around his arm.

“…broken,” I finished.

His gaze snapped to mine, and he turned away. “I want to prove to you who I am, but only if that’s what you want, Stephanie.”

My heart skipped a beat. “I want to believe you. I do. I just—need more.”

He faced me and pulled his shoulders back. “Do you want to see proof? Yes or no.”

I blinked with the speed of a hummingbird and wrung my hands together.

He slipped a hand on my shoulder and lowered his head, so we were face-to-face. “I need to hear it, Stephanie. I made poor decisions in my past, and I’m not doin’ it again.”

“Your decisions couldn’t have been that bad. I’ve seen some monstrous deeds I would’ve never thought someone was capable of.”

He leaned back. “In your profession, you mean?”

“Not only my profession. My mom, —there was a house fire, and she was inside sleeping. We found out later it was arson. Someone trying to kill my dad, but he was working a beat. And I was at a sleepover.”

“I’m sorry.” His face softened.

“It was a long time ago, but I guess I shared it with you because there’s a lot of things I’d have said I wouldn’t believe were possible—but was proven wrong.”

A gust of wind flew between us, making our hair flutter.

I bit down on my lip. “What would you show me? The chariot? A three-headed dog?”

“Definitely not Cerberus. He’s far too big.” A corner of his lip lifted.

Was I really about to say this?

“Show me,” I whispered.

His eyebrows drew together, staring at me like a chessboard. He held out his hand. “Have you had anything to drink today?”

What a peculiar question to ask. “No?” I elongated the ‘o’, taking his hand.

He led me into the thick of the woods, taking me into his arms like we’d done the previous night amidst the magic and glamour of the ball.

“Why did you ask me that?” I asked.

“Because it means you have no excuse to believe it isn’t real.” His eyebrow quirked and the same tendrils of smoke from last night swirled around us.

It started at his feet, spreading to mine like dancing on a rain cloud. It made its way over our bodies, swirling around us in a spiral. I gasped once it reached my neck, a caress teasing itself through my hair. His eyes turned white, devoid of an iris or pupil, and the sight made me recoil.

He held his palms up, facing me, and the smoke faded away. His eyes morphed back to normal, and I had to blink several times to make sure my vision hadn’t blurred.

“You—you’re—”

“Hades. Yes, Stephanie.” He didn’t try to approach me.

Dozens of images flew through my mind of fire, death, and—what if this wasn’t his true form? It couldn’t be. Shivers consumed me, and I threw a hand out when he got within arm’s reach.

“Don’t. Please don’t come any further,” I said through a shaky breath.

He stopped with a heavy sigh. “You told me before you weren’t afraid of me. God of the Underworld or not, you still have no reason to fear me.”

Was it the fear of him hurting me? Or was it the fear of realizing Greek mythology was all true?

Cerberus. The Underworld. It. Was. All. Real.

I slapped my hands on my head. “I don’t know how to process this.”

“Stephanie, you look like you’re going to—” he started as he took a step forward.

I dragged my hands down my face, my finger catching on my bottom lip, staring at him. “I feel like I’m going to pass out.” The numb feeling traveled down my arms, followed by the tunnel vision eking its way in.

“Please don’t do—” Was all I heard from him before I did just that.