Emblazed (25 page)

“Yeah, I’m fine. He slapped me, but I was able to fight him off. I wasn’t able to
kill him, though,” I replied disappointingly.

Jace healed the welt on my cheek as he requested, “Tell me what happened.”

I relayed what had happened in my nightmare to Jace, including what Hermes had said
about my power. “What do you think?” I asked after I explained everything.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure if he was trying to plant ideas in your head to make you
unsure of yourself, or if he’s telling the truth. Hopefully, the Oracle will give
us some more information.”

I snorted, “Yeah, right. She’s like the queen of evasion. Why wouldn’t she have told
us already?”

“Queen of evasion, remember? She didn’t tell us about Akasha, either.”

“True. I hate being kept in the dark. The fate of humanity depends on me, and I don’t
even know what I need to in order to save it.”

“Don’t worry, baby. I have no doubt that you’ll save us all. If there’s another power
that you have yet to uncover, we’ll figure out how to harness it, just like we did
with your Akasha,” Jace reassured as he hugged me.

As I was about to argue, the Oracle materialized in front of our bed, causing me to
jump in response.

“It is time,” she stated.

I looked at her in confusion as I spoke, “I didn’t kill Hermes. You said you wouldn’t
take us unless I killed him.”

“I said that I wouldn’t take you until you defeated him, which you did. Defeat and
death are not always one in the same. He will be incapacitated for a few days, enough
time for you to rescue your mother in the Underworld.”

“Wait, so did you know that I was unable to kill Hermes? Is what he told me true?”
I questioned.

“It is. You have not yet uncovered the power necessary to kill a God,” she replied
flatly.

“So, when were you going to tell me this? Or were you just going to let me face Uranus
blind? Let me think that I was capable of defeating him when I haven’t even developed
the power to yet?” I asked angrily.

She remained stoic, emotionless like always. “I have foreseen your power. You would
have discovered it on your own, in time. There was no need for me to tell you.”

I rolled my eyes, “How would I discover something that I didn’t even know to look
for?”

“All That Is, you doubt yourself so much. Why do you not see what everyone else sees?”

She’s right, mi amante
,
Jace said as he gave me a soft smile while squeezing my hand.

“So, you’re here to take us to the Underworld now?” I asked, changing the subject.

I didn’t have time to argue with them about my capabilities, or lack thereof. I didn’t
think I would ever understand why they thought so highly of me when I had yet to prove
anything. Maybe after I saved the world, I would understand, but I still wasn’t sure
that I would be able to.

“Yes. Please contact your companions and have them come over immediately.”

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand to call Kimber. The phone rang three times
before she drowsily answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me. The Oracle is here. She’s ready to take us to the Underworld.”

“Okay,” Kimber yawned through the phone.

“How long do you think you’ll be?”

“We stayed at my parents’ house, so not that long. See you in a few,” she replied.

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

After I hung up, I got out of bed to get ready. I brushed my teeth and washed my face
before re-braiding my hair in the same two French braids I had when I went to bed.
When I finished in the bathroom, I went to my dresser to pick out my clothes. I needed
to wear something that was lightweight and comfortable since I wasn’t sure what we
would face down there. Morpheus hadn’t made an appearance in my dreams, so I feared
he would decide to show up when we faced Hades.

Nervous didn’t even begin to cover what I felt. Knowing that I didn’t have the power
to destroy a God, I feared my failure even more. I was exceedingly anxious about the
fate of my friends and I because of that new knowledge.

Jace came up next to me and started searching through his drawers for clothes, as
well. I turned to him and requested, “Please don’t tell everyone about my power. I
don’t want them to worry, you know?”

He chuckled, “Okay,
mi amante
. You know they wouldn’t judge you, right?”

“I know. I just don’t want them to lose confidence in me.”

“The only one who has lost confidence in you, is you. I still have the same amount
of faith in you that I did before. Maybe even more,” Jace stated.

“More? Why would you have more? I don’t have the power I need to save us!”

“Which means that you are going to be even more powerful than you are now. You’re
already extremely powerful as it is, and you haven’t even reached the height of your
abilities yet, Brie. Once you uncover your full potential, which you will, your power
will be nothing short of astounding.”

Wow, our viewpoints are totally opposite
.
Here I am, doubting myself, while Jace is affirming me, and both of our opinions are
based on the same information.

I always feared disappointing him, but he never saw anything that I wasn’t able to
do as a failure. He never judged me, and always had faith in my abilities in every
situation. I was so blessed to have him in my life. I knew I wouldn’t have been able
to accomplish anything that I had in the last couple of months without him.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I sincerely whispered as I wrapped my arms
around him. “Thank you for believing in me.”

“I’ll always believe in you,
mi amante
. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Knocking from downstairs interrupted our embrace. “I’ll get it,” Jace volunteered
before heading down.

I hurriedly got dressed, opting for an all black ensemble of a racerback tee, yoga
pants, and Chuck Taylor’s. I trotted downstairs, where everyone had gathered in the
living room with the Oracle, including a groggy Kiera.

When I made it to the group, Jace informed, “I made you a bagel. I think it just popped
out of the toaster if you want to grab it before we leave. I’m going to go up and
change real quick.”

“Okay, thank you,” I replied before giving him a quick kiss. I turned towards the
group as I asked, “Anyone else want something to eat before we leave?”

“I need to change, too. Make me a bagel?” Kiera asked.

“Sure, anyone else?”

“I don’t want to throw it up from teleporting, so no thank you,” Kimber stated.

“I’ll take one,” Zane requested.

“Daddy?”

“No, thank you, sweetie. I’ll get something at home after you leave.”

“Okay, two bagels coming up,” I stated before walking into the kitchen.

We had a four slot toaster, so I put two bagels in after taking the one Jace had made
for me out. I then decided to add another for Jace, just in case he was hungry. I
pushed the lever down before heading to the refrigerator to grab some cream cheese
and an apple to go along with my breakfast.

After everyone finished eating, I hugged my dad goodbye. “Please come back safe,”
he choked as his eyes watered.

“Daddy, stop. You’re going to make me cry.”

“I’m sorry, pumpkin. It’s not easy to let you go.”

“I know, but I’ll be fine. The Oracle has seen my fate, and it doesn’t end in the
Underworld,” I stated, attempting to comfort him.

“Everyone’s fate ends in the Underworld, sweetie. It’s only a matter of time,” he
replied forlornly with a sigh. He released me from his embrace and placed a kiss atop
my head before continuing, “Just be careful. Come over as soon as you get back.”

“I will. I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you, too,” he replied.

I left my dad and joined everyone else in the dining room. We joined hands as the
Oracle placed hers atop Jace’s and my shoulders. My dad’s words were all I could think
about as I closed my eyes right before we were teleported—everyone’s fate ends in
the Underworld.

I must have been used to teleporting because I didn’t vomit when the Oracle transported
us to the Acheron. However, Kimber and Kiera both did.

“I fucking hate teleporting!” Kimber cursed as she tried to wipe the taste of vomit
from her mouth.

Brielle stifled a laugh as Kimber pulled out a travel-size mouthwash. She swished
the liquid in her mouth before spitting it out and offering it to Kiera. “I came prepared
this time. I didn’t want to spend whatever amount of time we’re going to be stuck
down here with vomit-mouth.”

Kiera chuckled as she grabbed the small bottle and copied Kimber’s actions before
handing the mouthwash back to her.

Brielle impatiently urged, “Are you girls ready now? We need to get moving.”

“Chill, Brie. We’ll get there,” Kimber replied as she wrapped an arm around Brielle’s
shoulder and walked down the bank towards the Underworld.

Kiera trotted after them until she caught up and draped her arm around Brielle’s other
shoulder as the trio continued walking.

Given the time difference, it was already daytime when we arrived. I don’t know if
that affected our time frame to rescue Brielle’s mom, but we should still have almost
two days left. I felt Brielle’s urgency, so I tried to raise the pace of the group
to ease her anxiety.

“We should be there soon,” I assured Brielle as I walked up to her.

“It feels like we’ve been walking for hours, even though it’s only been minutes. I
just want to get to my mom and save her already.”

“I know, baby, but you know that we can’t rush in there. We need to be smart about
this—so much is at stake here,” I reminded.

“I don’t need to be reminded, Jace. I know what’s at stake. I always have the fucking
weight of the world on my shoulders,” she snapped.

Stopping her, I forced her to look in my eyes. “
Mi amante
, you don’t have to bear that burden alone. I’m here for you, always.”

She sighed, “I know … sorry I snapped. I’m just stressed out.”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, letting our connection sooth her roiling emotions.
Her arm snaked around my waist, bringing us closer together as we walked. Leaning
her head against my bicep, she exhaled a breath of relief as some of her stress and
anxiety melted away.

It took us another two hours to reach the shade-surrounded dock. I pulled Brielle
by the hand as we weaved through the assembly of souls on the pier to get to Charon’s
boat, which wasn’t at the end. “Where the fuck is he?”

Brielle huffed, “Of course he’s not here. Why would he be? It’s not like I need to
save my mother’s soul or anything.”

We really had no option but to wait for Charon to return. The whole time, Brielle
paced impatiently up and down the pier, dodging around the shades as she trotted back
and forth past them.

“You’re going to wear a hole through the dock, Brie,” Kimber quipped.

Brielle scoffed and rolled her eyes as she continued to pace. After about twenty minutes,
Charon’s boat appeared in the distant waters at the far end of the cave.

“Baby, stop. Charon’s coming,” I informed.

Brielle met me at the end of the pier, craning her neck to see the approaching boat
in the distance. “Finally,” she mumbled.

Once Charon propped his foot on the dock, he speculated, “I did not think you would
make the same mistake twice, boy.”

“Five obols for the five of us,” I stated, ignoring his comment as I held out my hand
containing the ancient silver coins.

His gaze landed on Brielle, and his eyes widened in surprise as he questioned, “Why
would you bring her back here? Hades has a price on her head.”

Great. Just fucking great.
“What kind of price?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m sure you are already aware that Hades wants her soul. But are you aware of the
lengths he will go to obtain it? If you did, I doubt you would be here.”

“Enough talking! Hades has my mother’s soul, and I need to save her,” Brielle spat
angrily.

“Fine, but I warned you,” Charon replied as he moved to allow us access to the boat.
Some shades joined us after we loaded in, and then Charon pushed off from the dock,
setting sail towards our destination.

The closer we traveled toward the Underworld, the more uneasy I became. Taking Brielle
there was a huge risk, especially since we hadn’t been able to train like I wanted
to. I could lose her down there again, and I didn’t think we would survive it a second
time.

Even though I hated the endeavor, I knew it needed to be done. I had no doubt in my
mind that Hades would continue to seek out a way to obtain Brielle and her power,
and the only way to end it was to end him.

The only problem was that Brielle hadn’t unlocked the power necessary to destroy a
God yet. We could buy more time if Brielle was able to injure him as severely as she
had Hermes, or better yet, throw him to rot in Tartarus.

Brielle nervously bit her lip as the Underworld came into view following the long
voyage on Charon’s vessel. Her hand sought out mine, gripping it tightly in hers,
as she kept her eyes trained on the entrance. I rubbed the back of her hand with my
thumb, hoping to quell the anxiety building within her.