Hades (Contemporary Mythos Book 1)

The sun peeked through the window. My fingertips grazed over the smooth stripes of the comforter of my hotel room bed. I groaned and sat up, shoving a palm in my eye socket.

“What time is it?” I asked, hoping someone was in the room.

Sara leaned forward. “Almost noon. You passed out and then didn’t wake up all night. Scared me half to death.”

“I had the strangest dream.” At least I thought it was a dream. I slid off the bed, the coolness of the wood floor shocking my bare feet. “Hades conjured this—smoke. It was like it had a life of its own.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Animated smoke? Like the smoke monster in Lost? The one that sounded like a typewriter?”

Was that where I’d seen it before? Was it my subconscious? But it felt so real. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“Well, there you go. You already said Hades looks a little like Sawyer. It’s your mind playing tricks on you, associating things. And he was the last person you saw before clocking out. He carried you in here.”

I widened my eyes. “Oh, God. Please tell me you didn’t give him a black eye or something.”

“It was close.” She smirked. “But we had a civilized conversation, and he explained to me you got seasick and passed out on the boat.”

No, I didn’t. I specifically remember being in the woods when it happened.

I dragged my hands over my face and blew out a breath. “Can we agree on not having to get someone to carry either of us back to our room for the rest of this trip?”

She laughed, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. Her hugs were the best in the world, and I’d kick anyone in the shin who disagreed. She peeled back, still holding my shoulders. “You’re going to try and avoid him, aren’t you?”

“Pfft, no.” I couldn’t make direct eye contact with her. She was like a viper with a penetrating gaze. “Why do you say that?”

She squished my face with one hand, making my lips pucker like a fish. “Because you’re embarrassed. And a small part of you is still wondering what the dream was all about.”

“I really need to pick friends with occupations like veterinarian or ranch worker or something.” The words distorted, given the situation of my face.

“I’d like to talk to him some more, you know. You should talk to him about hanging out with us tomorrow. Maybe rope him into an excursion.” She grinned mischievously.

“I’ll see what I can do, but the man’s insistent on saving his spot at the bar.” I half-smiled.

“Come on. You could use a Lemondrop.” She grabbed my hand.

“Shouldn’t I change first?” Considering I was still in the same clothes as yesterday.

“We’re at a resort. You’re wearing shorts, a tank top, and a bikini underneath. Standard attire. Let’s go.”

We returned to the swim-up bar. Michelle and Rupert were there, sipping on drinks with pink and yellow swirly straws. I slipped into the water, continually glancing at Hades’ usual spot at the bar. Empty.

“Well, hello there! We were just saying how strange it was we hadn’t run into you two again yet,” Michelle said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

“Is this your first time at the swim-up bar?” Sara asked, taking a stool next to Michelle.

Michelle took a sip from her drink, glaring at Rupert before smiling. “It is.”

“Well, there’s your answer,” Sara replied, grinning and waving the bartender over.

The bartender was the same one we’d had since the day we arrived. He smiled wide, patting his hands on the concrete bar top. “What’ll it be today, Miss Sara?”

“Hugo, what did I tell you, just Sara.” She giggled. “Two Lemondrops to start, please.”

“Oh, we’re doing shots? We’ll get in on that too, barkeep,” Rupert said, shoving his sunglasses onto his head.

Michelle placed her hand on his forearm, dipping her mouth to his ear. “Love, shouldn’t you take it easy after the—incident yesterday?”

Rupert yanked his arm away. “I’m on bloody holiday, Shelly.”

She frowned, recoiling her hand.

Sara and I exchanged a quick glance.

Hugo set four shots in front of us with a smile and said, “Yamas.”

I held mine in the air. Michelle’s frown continued, but she grabbed her and Rupert’s, hesitantly handing his over. He grabbed it with such force, he almost knocked it out of her hand.

“To Greece!” I toasted.

We tapped our plastic cups together and tossed back the sweet, lemony goodness.

Rupert winced, holding his hand at his side.

“Love?” Michelle touched his shoulder.

He shook his head, sliding his shot glass across the bar top. “I’m fine. I’m fine. Just a little heartburn.” He pointed at his empty glass, getting Hugo’s attention. “Another shot, but something a little harder, eh, mate?”

Sara nudged my forearm. “Look lively.”

Hades stood between the pool and the outside bar, scanning the area. I dropped into the water, my sunglasses floating to the surface as my head submerged. Peeking my head above the surface just enough to breathe, I sputtered. Sara made a suitable shield between Hades and me. Once he walked away, I stood up, plopping my arms on the bar top.

“You’re a nut,” Sara said, taking a sip from her pink drink.

I ran a hand over my face, ridding it of water droplets. “Is my make-up completely ruined?”

“What make-up?”

I stuck my bottom lip out. “I’m going to go—freshen up.”

“You’re not going back to hide in the room, are you?” She blocked me with her arm.

With vigor, I shook my head. “Nope.” It was the truth, but I left out the small detail of where I really planned to go.

She narrowed her eyes before lowering her arm. “Alright. But don’t make me come looking for you.”

“I’ll be right back,” I said, wading to the stairs.

My wet bathing suit seeped through my clothes as I whisked off to the nearest gift shop. I plucked a pair of pink binoculars from a turn style. Halfway to the register, I stopped. Bright pink probably wasn’t the most inconspicuous color choice for spying. I traded them out for a black pair, grabbed a roll of Tums, and hurriedly paid. A fierce need to know if Hades was the Hades ate at me like a festering wound.

Now to find him. I sniffed the air for the smell of burning wood like I was a bloodhound. Nothing, but was worth a shot. After checking every bar on the property and turning up empty, I started to lose hope. Maybe he went back to his room? I passed the lobby area and did a double-take. There he was, plain as day, sitting at the bar inside. A quaint bar compared to all the others.

I ducked behind a nearby bush, raising the binoculars. After going cross-eyed several times, I managed to focus through both eyepieces. Wait. How was I supposed to hear anything this far away? There was another bush a few feet closer, and I scampered behind it, sputtering when several of the leaves slapped me in the face.

“What’ll it be?” The bartender asked.

“A Backdraft.”

The bartender nodded and returned with a shot glass full of brown liquid, sliding it in front of him.

Hades looked down and then back up at the tender. “Aren’t ya gonna light it on fire?”

“New liability regulations, I’m afraid. No open flames.” The bartender shrugged.

Hades sighed, scratching his beard. “Kind of defeats the purpose of this particular drink, doesn’t it?”

“Rules are rules, sir. Sorry.” The bartender held his hands up and walked away.

Hades stared at his drink before looking around. Besides the bartender who’d left and me behind a friggin’ bush, there was no one in sight. He snapped his fingers over the shot glass, igniting the contents into a raging flame. My jaw dropped, and I fumbled with the binoculars, struggling to get them back to my eyes. Did he have a lighter hidden in his hand? He blew the flame out and lifted the glass to his lips, knocking it back.

I lowered the binoculars, blinked, and shoved them back over my eyes so harshly it gave me a headache. There was definitely no lighter in his hand or anywhere to be seen. My heart thudded against my chest.

More. I needed more. This could not be happening. Maybe it wasn’t a dream?

He threw some Euros on the bar top and left. He went for the opposite door from my makeshift coverage. Thank God because half of my body stuck out from the bush.

He stopped at one of the twenty-four-hour food stands. There weren’t any nearby bushes, so I made do with a trash can.

“A gyro, please,” he ordered.

They handed one to him wrapped in parchment paper and foil.

“Do you have ketchup?” He asked.

Ketchup on a gyro? Gross.

“Sorry, sir, we’re out.”

He was hitting zero for two tonight. As if the guy needed any other excuse to be depressed.

“That’s fine. I’ll make do,” Hades said, clutching the gyro in his hand and heading further down the tiled walkway.

The smell of curdled tzatziki sauce made me gag. The trashcan was a horrible hiding spot, but to move now would be spying suicide. He shifted his eyes and twirled his free hand in a circle toward the ground. A small hole with a glowing orange hue opened in the grass beside the walkway, and a pale hand holding a bottle of ketchup emerged it. Hades grabbed it, popped the top off, squirted some ketchup on his gyro, and handed it back to the—hand. The hand didn’t disappear immediately, and he batted it a few times before it slipped away. The hole sealed up as if it were never there in the first place.

Oh. My. God.

I fell back. Hades really was Hades. How could I possibly look him in the face, let alone hold a conversation? I danced with a Greek god. Bile made its way up my throat, and I kept it back. No. No. I refused to believe it. He was dragging me straight into his metaphorical Underworld. That or this Greek vacation had gotten entirely too interactive.

I made my way back to the swim-up bar, munching on Tums, but couldn’t remember how I got there.

Sara waved her hand in front of my face. “You walked into the pool like a zombie. Are you okay?”

The image of the hand appearing inexplicably from the ground played on a constant loop in my head. “Oh, yeah. A little sleepy is all.”

“You slept for fourteen hours.”

I braided my hair and tossed it over my shoulder. “There is such a thing as too much sleep.”

Michelle and Rupert were gone.

“You missed a hell of a show. Rupert had six shots before Michelle asked him to stop. He didn’t take it too lightly, and they started arguing until it turned into all-out yelling.”

“What’s going on with those two?”

She crossed her legs. “I could guess, but I told you from the beginning, Rupert was a bad egg.”

“How are the two prettiest women in the resort today?” Guy asked, wiggling his way in between us, a can of beer in hand.

Sara snorted. “What do you want?”

“Do I need a reason to dote on beauty?” He grinned.

I held back an eye roll.

Guy snapped his fingers. “Oh, Steph, do I remember hearing you like Dirty Dancing?”

“The movie, yes. Why?”

“They put up a flyer in the lobby. Looks like some contest or something.”

I stood straighter. “What? Really?”

His brow rose over the top of his sunglasses. “Pretty sure I read it right, but you should go check it out.”

Water splashed as I clamored out of the pool, slipping on the stairs. I made a beeline for the lobby, not willing to stop for anything or anyone. The hanging pen on the bulletin board couldn’t get in my hand fast enough, and I dragged my finger across the typed-out details.

“Special Valentine’s Day Event: Dirty Dancing contest for the dance. You know the one. First prize: VIP access to a special event. Note: For couples only (it is Valentine’s Day after all),” I read aloud, my excitement deflating with the last part.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” Hades said from behind me.

I turned around, re-positioning the pen in my hand like a knife, trying to hold it above my head, but the string halted my effort. “Do not appear out of thin air like that!”

“Actually, I walked around the corner. You were too preoccupied with readin’ out loud.” His eyes dropped to my bikini-clad form before dragging their way back to my face.

My cheeks warmed.

“By the way, sweetheart, when you want to spy on someone, it’s usually best to be further away. That’s the idea behind binoculars.”

My face fell, arms dropping back to my sides. “You knew I was there?”

“The entire time. I have to say I was impressed you didn’t pass out again.” He brushed past me, eyeing the flyer.

I couldn’t form words. He was Hades. Hades.

He flicked a finger at the paper. “Are you entering this?”

I took a step away from him, worried he’d randomly light something on fire again. “Thinking about it.”

“I’ll enter with you.”

I laughed. “You?”

“Why not?” He narrowed his eyes.

“You’re—” I referenced him from head to toe. “You.”

“Who else would you enter with? Keith?” The corners of his jaw popped.

Did I sense jealousy in his tone? “Hades, did you…have anything to do with Keith’s food poisoning?”

“Did he die from it?”

I shifted my eyes. “No.”

“Then I’d say no. Look—”

He’d say no?

He stepped forward, and I grabbed the dangling pen again. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You’d be giving me another opportunity to be human.”

“No. Absolutely not. I can’t enter a contest with the—” I looked around for anyone else within earshot. “—god of the Underworld,” I whispered.

He leaned in. “Why not?”

“Because you’re the god of the Underworld!” I clapped my hands over my mouth.

“You’ve already danced with me once. How is this any different?”

“It just is.”

He glared. “You think I can’t handle filthy dancing?”

“It’s dirty dancing,” I mumbled, undoing my braid, and re-doing it. “Fine.”

On the inside, I was jumping up and down like a twelve-year-old me at a Backstreet Boys concert. I’ve wanted to try the dance since I was a little girl. Especially the lift.

He cupped a hand over his ear. “What was that?”

“I said fine. I’ll enter with you.”

He picked up the pen and scrolled our names with the flourish of ancient calligraphy. “I’ll make sure we win.”

“Wait—what do you mean? You don’t plan on setting people on fire or trapping them in Tartarus if we’re losing or something, are you?”

He cocked one eyebrow. “No. I was going to suggest we practice.” His arms bulged as he folded them over his chest, glowering down at me. “Seriously, what kind of person do you think I am?”

Did I risk the possibility of spontaneously combusting by telling him the truth? “I don’t know. I always pictured Hades to be like the one in the Hercules cartoon. Ruthless. Erratic.” And therefore, this guy couldn’t have been him.

He stared at me. “The Disney cartoon?”

“Yes.”

He dragged his hands through his hair. “I can assure you my true form doesn’t have flamin’ blue hair.”

A true form. Now all I could do was think about what that might look like. Horns? Pointy teeth?

I undid my braid and did it over again. “You never said anything about not being ruthless.”

His gaze dropped to the floor, narrowing. “Because I am when I need to be. I don’t take pleasure in punishing people, but those who deserve it…I don’t go lightly.” He lifted his eyes, locking with mine.

I gulped. “I thought I knew you, but now feel like I don’t know you at all.”

“I’m willing to tell ya anything you wish to know.”

I lifted my chin. “I went somewhere with you yesterday. Tomorrow, will you go somewhere with me? And Sara?”

He squinted. “Sure. But where are we goin’?”

“You’ll see.” I raised to the balls of my feet and flopped back onto my heels. “I should get going. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Stephanie,” he beckoned. “I noticed the flyer said couples only.”

I cocked an eyebrow.

He nodded once. “How…interesting.”

“Why is that interesting?”

“They take Valentine’s Day pretty seriously around here.”

I’m sorry, what?

Before I had a chance to voice the thought out loud, he vanished.