And I realized with a start that I wasn’t alone.
“Hello, Empusa,” a quiet voice said from the corner. With a gasp, I recognized the voice at once. The husky, confident, sexiness that emanated from the sound was unmistakable.
The god of the Underworld himself.
Hades.
Chapter Fourteen
“What are you doing here?” I gasped as I flipped into a defensive crouch and eyed him cautiously. Hades laughed smoothly, completely unconcerned.
“Ah, little Empusa,” Hades drawled, remaining completely motionless a few steps away from me. I realized that he was purposely trying to seem un-threatening. I relaxed only a slight bit. He laughed again, a throaty, sexy sound. I swallowed. Something about him caused a knot to clench in my stomach.
Hades tossed his shoulder-length glossy dark hair out of his eyes and I realized that he was every bit as handsome as a rock star and that’s exactly the kind of feel that he exuded. Sexy, understated, charismatic. He was handsome without trying, magnetic without effort. I was drawn to him even though I didn’t want to be. I swallowed again.
“I’m not here to hurt you, little Empusa,” he assured me again. “Truly. You can trust me.”
“Trust the god of the Underworld?” I raised my eyebrow incredulously. “Ha! That’s a joke. You imprisoned me once already at the whim of my father. Why would I trust you again?”
Hades looked around us at the stark stone walls of my prison and raised a perfectly sculpted dark eyebrow.
“Have you a choice?” he asked quietly. “I don’t see that you do. If you stay here, Poseidon will force you to his will. I doubt you will enjoy being raped. And if he turns you over to Mormo, well, that’s a fate worse than death.”
“Worse than death?” I was incredulous.
“Of course, young one,” Hades answered. “Do you not know… you are an immortal. Mormo cannot kill you himself. Only Zeus’ sword can do that heinous deed. But there are fates worse than death. Mormo could trap you in the wastelands. You would wish every minute that you could simply die. Is that what you want?”
“Of course not. My mother secured my freedom from you,” I began haltingly. Hades held up his hand.
“Harmonia
secured your freedom,” he corrected politely. “Your mother arranged for us to meet so that I could remove your curse. But you never came. Why is that?”
Hades moved behind me quicker than I could even register, resting his warm hands on my shoulders as he leaned in next to my ear. His touch was feather light, like cashmere or air.
“You weren’t afraid of me, were you?” he breathed softly, his lips a mere breadth from my cheek. If I wished, I could lean into him, into that husky voice. I mentally shook myself. What the hell? I didn’t want him. Yet something about Hades made me think that I did.
“What is it about you?” I asked. “What draws me to you so much?”
He shrugged. “It’s a gift. Or a curse. Just something about me, I guess.” He shrugged again.
As he did, it occurred to me. Of course- his magnetism was one of his abilities. If he was unbearably charismatic, he could lure anyone he wanted into the Underworld. It was perfectly clear now.
“You’re a bright one,
Emmie,
” he drawled, pulling away slightly. I yanked away from him.
“Don’t call me that!” I snapped. He looked at me innocently.
“Why ever not?” he held out his hands helplessly and then his voice hardened. “Because that’s what your boyfriend, the son of Apollo, calls you?”
“How did you…” I trailed off.
Hades was the god of the Underworld. For all I knew, he could rifle through all of my thoughts if he wished. As soon as I thought it, the corners of his mouth curved slightly and I decided it must be the truth. He could hunt through my mind for any information that he wished.
And that was dangerous.
Everything about Hades was dangerous. His impossible magnetism, his cunning, his potential ruthlessness, his charm. He was very, very dangerous.
“Oh, not so much as you would notice,” he answered my thought glibly and I cringed on the inside. I would need to focus on blocking my thoughts from him. The only way to protect myself from him was to protect the innermost workings of my mind. Hades flew once more to my side.
“It won’t help,” he murmured conspiratorially. “Everyone always thinks that they can secure their thoughts from me. What they don’t realize is that it’s impossible. I can find anything inside your mind that I need. It’s just another gift.”
He ran his hands up and down my arms soothingly and by the gods, I actually did find it soothing. I wanted to yank away- far away from him- but at the same time, I wanted to stay. I wanted to step inside his embrace and never leave it. That thought was petrifying.
“Please don’t,” I pleaded softly. “I don’t want to feel this way.”
“No?” One dark eyebrow arched gracefully above a dark brown eye.
“No.” I was firm.
He sighed. “Well, more’s the pity. But that doesn’t affect my purpose here. You need to come with me. Now. If you do not, you are sealing your fate to a life worse than death. What do you choose?”
He held out his hand, long and graceful, and I watched it suspended in midair. His fingers curled just slightly, his fingernails perfectly manicured. It was something that didn’t surprise me. This was not a man who would own a callous. Gritting my teeth, I stretched out my own hand and grasped his elegant fingers.
Instantly, we were gone.
* * *
We emerged in a darkened sitting room where a fire roared in a massive stone fireplace across the room. Beautiful, expensive paintings adorned the walls and magnificent woven rugs were beneath my feet. It smelled like roasted nuts and vanilla, a musky oriental scent.
“Welcome to my home,” Hades bowed and released my hand.
“Empusa?” a voice called out, echoing through the large, warm room. I looked around quickly, only to find someone flying out of one of the wing-backed chairs toward me. I backed away out of reflex until I recognized the stream of blonde hair.
My mother.
I gasped and stilled.
“Mother?” My voice was barely above a whisper, my heart very quiet in my chest. How could this be?
“Empusa!” she hurled into me with all the strength of a locomotive and I went flying backward. We landed in a flurry of arms and legs on the ground. My mother pulled away to look at me.
“It’s really you? You’re truly alright?”
Her voice was anxious and motherly, causing relief to flood through me. But she was here in the Underworld. I didn’t understand that.
“Mother, why are you here?” I asked as I uncurled myself from her grasp and crawled to my feet. She looked at me in confusion.
“Empusa, why wouldn’t I be? I’ve been trying to get you here for a long time.”
I looked from her to Hades and back to her. Suddenly, comprehension dawned on me, draining the blood from my face.
“You arranged this?” I whispered again. Judging by her expression of guilt, I knew I was right. “You tricked me. You somehow arranged everything with Poseidon to get me here, didn’t you?”
She was still and her cheeks pale as she registered the anger in my voice.
“Empusa, you don’t understand. You never understood the danger that you were in. You needed to come here. You had no idea how important it was.”
“So you arranged it. I want you to say the words. You tricked me, mother.”
She nodded curtly. “For your own good, I arranged it, yes.”
“And what of Brennan?” I asked haltingly. Hades had faded from my attention by this point. My eyes were focused on my mother. She was almost apologetic when she answered.
“You cannot be with Brennan,” she finally said, true regret washing across her lovely features. “I’m so sorry, Empusa. But you cannot. The magic… the power that you would create together would be too much, impossible to control. It is for your own good that you stay away from him.”
I shook my head, trying to make everything make sense. “So, how did you do it? I know you weren’t working with Mormo. What did you do?”
“I teamed with Poseidon, of course,” she shrugged. “At my behest, he reached out to Mormo, making the offer: your Moonstone for your life. All Mormo had to do was deliver you to Poseidon and Poseidon agreed to turn his back when Mormo stole you away.”
“But Poseidon didn’t mean it, right? So what will happen when Mormo discovers the truth? He’s searching for Brennan right now, you know. What if he finds him before I do?”
“Empusa,” my mother’s voice was stern. “You are not going after that boy. I will make certain that Mormo never finds him. It will be impossible anyway. Hades is going to bring Mormo back here and imprison him in the Underworld forever. Mormo will never be a threat to you again.”
I looked to Hades, who at this point was almost a shadow on the edge of the room. “Is that true?” I asked him. “Are you going to undo my curse and put it back on its rightful owner… finally?”
I was afraid to hope, my breath caught in my throat. My fingers shook as I waited for him to speak. And he took his time. His dark eyes appraised me, taking everything about me in as if he was drinking in the details. His gaze swept from my head to my feet and back again. And finally, when I thought I would die from suspense, he nodded.
“Of course, I am certainly willing to uphold my end of the bargain. With one small caveat.”
My head snapped up at the same time as my mother’s.
“Hades,” she cautioned warningly, her voice dangerously calm. “There is no turning back. You gave your word.”
Hades returned her gaze without flinching, seemingly unafraid. Most were afraid of my mother. To not fear her was either stupid or very, very brave.
“Hecate,” he answered smoothly. “You created a bracelet enchanted with power that could be used over some in my realm. Any creature of the night can be affected by the spells that you used, controlled against their will. And when my subjects are affected, that is my concern. When you destroy that bracelet, I will destroy the curse. Fair is fair.”
I hated to admit it, but he was right. If anyone who fell under the moon’s realm could be controlled by my bracelet in the same way that Poseidon had controlled me, that wasn’t right. And the bracelet should be destroyed.
“Mother, he’s right,” I turned to her. “Poseidon had quite the fun time showing me that he could control me with that thing. It isn’t right to allow it to remain in the world if it could be used against someone else.”
“Empusa,” my mother’s voice was pained and thin, something that startled me. She was always collected, always calm. If she showed emotion, something was wrong.
“What?” my voice was a whisper.
“You don’t understand,” she replied weakly. “I did what I had to do to protect you from your father. You don’t understand how much he is capable of. I did what I had to do…”
Her voice trailed off and I struggled to breathe.
“What did you do?” I asked stiltedly. My breath felt like it was coming in short pants and each one was harder than the one before it.
Her cornflower eyes stared into mine and the pain I found there was striking, taking my limited breaths away.
“What?” I breathed.
My mother squared her shoulders. “You are tied to the Moonstone,” she stated simply. “If it is destroyed, so too shall you be. It was the only way. I had to ensure your protection. If Mormo had ever managed to steal you, I would have been able to find you with the Moonstone. It’s why I did it, why I took the risk. It was worth it to keep you safe.” She dropped her hands limply.
“And am I safe now?” I asked quietly. She looked away and shook her head.
“You knew this, yet you allow Poseidon to hold it?” The anger in my voice was causing it to shake, even though I tried to maintain my control. It was a feat that got more difficult by the moment.
“It was the only way,” she offered sadly. “I’m on my way right not to retrieve it from him. Empusa, the risks were worth your safety.”
“Mother, you do not know Poseidon as well as you think you do if you believe that he will simply hand it over to you. He finally has something that no one else has ever had but the Fates themselves: leverage over you, the goddess of witchcraft. Don’t think that he won’t use it to his best advantage.”
My mother looked miserable.
“He would not dare cross me,” she announced fiercely. “I would make his life a living hell. And I am not an idiot, Empusa. There is but one thing that can destroy the Moonstone- Zeus’ sword. In which case, one would have to appeal to Zeus and ask him to destroy it. It wouldn’t happen without good reason. Trust me, he would not do such a thing for Poseidon.”
I felt an ounce of relief. Zeus would likely require a very good reason for using his sword to destroy it. My life was probably safe- for now. But the thought that my life was tied to a trinket, a bracelet that had dangled carelessly on my wrist for years… it was unsettling.
“Mother, you should have told me,” I admonished seriously. “I never had any idea of the importance of that stone.”
“I know,” she answered sadly. “There was never a good time. I told you to guard it with your life. I told you to never take it off.”
“And I didn’t,” I answered. “Because I trusted you.”
She took a step toward me and grabbed my hand. “Empusa, you’re my daughter. I love you more than anything else in all the world. I would not jeopardize you for anything. You must trust that creating the Moonstone was the only way that I could guarantee your safety.”
I yanked my hand away and took a few steps away from her.
“Mother, what do you not understand? It wasn’t necessary. You thought I wouldn’t be safe on my own, yet I’ve managed to elude you and stay safe for years. You’ve allowed who you are to cloud your judgment. You are not invincible and other people are competent besides you. I don’t see why you can’t understand that. What you have done in creating the Moonstone was not protect me but jeopardize me. You have put me at risk.
You.
”