From Origins (Descendant Prophecies Book 3) (7 page)

“Show me the lodestone,” I asked, looking direct at Hades.

“He doesn’t have it.” Persephone pulled a string from her neck and placed something on the palm of her hand. It was black and small, the size of my thumb. It looked like the stone I was wearing, only darker. “I have it. Hades gifted it to me. It was to ensure Hephaestus would never find it if he was successful in creating someone powerful, such as yourself. But I know you are good. You could have killed Hades, but you heard my plea. You are compassionate. You have light in your soul. I know you know what love is. That is why you stopped. And it’s the only reason why I’m showing you the stone.”

Though every fiber in my body told me not to believe any of this, my heart told me she was telling me the truth, and looking into Hades’ eyes, I knew there was good in him. Like he’d said, gods were not perfect, but I believed they tried to be, just like us. But what if I was wrong? What if Hephaestus and Hades were working together, and they were tricking me to get what they wanted?

“Where do we go from here?” I decided to go with my gut instincts. They hadn’t led me wrong so far. I hoped this wouldn’t be the first time. “Hephaestus has my parents. If I don’t bring the stone and Hades’s head, they will die.”

“Do you know what will happen when you give Hephaestus the stone?” Hades asked. He didn’t let me answer. “Your world will die. At this point, you have no choice but to accept my help.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Make a fake lodestone and take it to him. Find a way to bring the other two stones. Release me from this place and I will go with you to help free my brothers.”

“Why do you need the other two stones?” I knew the answer, but I wanted to know what he would say.

“Once I leave this place to your world, I’ll need them to heal my body.”

“I want to trust you, but I don’t know if I can.”

“Time is running out. You go with what your heart tells you to do, Skylar,” Persephone reasoned. “That is your name, isn’t it?”

“How do you know my name?”

“I’ve been following Hephaestus the other six months of the year, trying to find his weak spot, and that is how I found you. I know many things about you, Skylar. I’ve watched you since Hephaestus came into your life. You know love. Love is the only thing that feeds hope. Wouldn’t you do anything for Mason?”

“Yes,” I said, hesitantly. Though I didn’t want her to know my weak spot, she knew it anyway. There was no sense in trying to hide it. “But this is different.”

“It isn’t, Skylar.” Persephone took a step toward me. “I didn’t love Hades when he first took me, but I love him now. Not because it’s forced, but because he has changed for the better. What would you do if something were to happen to Mason?”

“Are you threatening me?” I was pretty sure she wasn’t, but when it came to protecting the ones I loved, I would do anything.

“No. I don’t know how else to prove to you, besides letting you know Mason and your friends are safely back home, as Hades promised. They went through the portal.”

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

Hades extended his arm and called upon the fire from the pit. It burst upward, and through the flame, I could see my friends and Mason. Mason was sitting on the sand, staring out into the ocean where the portal was. My heart broke to see him waiting for me. Then I saw his family sitting down next to him, looking utterly exhausted. They were all waiting for me. I was very touched by their gestures. Parts of their clothes were torn and etched with burn marks, evidence that they had been to the underworld.

“Why didn’t he let my friends enter with me to see him?” I asked, when the flames died and I couldn’t see them anymore.

“Because you came here for one purpose. I don’t think it would have been a good idea to have that many angry descendants threatening us, do you? I also don’t think we would have enjoyed our chat.” Hades winked.

Smooth move, Hades! He was trying to distract me with his charm. Hades and Persephone were very convincing, and everything they were saying seemed to add up to truth.

“How do I make a fake stone?”

“You can ask the Oracles,” Hades answered.

“How am I supposed to explain how I got your stone, but not your head?”

“You’re a bright girl. You can figure something out. I’ve been stuck here for centuries; I have no idea what the world above is like. And as for my head, Hephaestus was tricking you. If you were to cut off my head, I would surely die, but we don’t leave any part of our body behind. We turn into ashes, including our head.”

“You both better be telling me the truth, or so help me, I will take both of your lives.” I didn’t mean to sound so cruel but I meant it. I had a duty to fulfill, and that was to take care of the ones I loved. And I had no idea if leaving without the stone and Hades’s head would be the worst decision of my life.

“Let me take you back.” Persephone stood before me. “We’ll go out the back gate. It will lead you right to Mason. He’s waiting for you. At least he doesn’t have to wait six months.” With that, she linked her arm around mine and proceeded to take me away from Hades. She seemed very eager to do so.

One by one,
we jumped out of the portal. No one could get out of there fast enough, except for me. If I could have had it my way, I would have waited at the spot where Sky had left me…waited for her and gotten us through the portal together.

Plopping myself onto the sand, my eyes were focused, deadpan, on the space where the portal would appear again. While I waited, the memories I had given up came rushing back to me. It was the oddest feeling to have random thoughts flash back into my mind, but at the same time, I knew the reason it was happening.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll sit here with you.” Nick dropped next to me, crossing his legs just as I had.

I nodded to let him know I was fine with him, without looking at him. I didn’t even want to blink, just in case Sky needed my help when she got out. I didn’t know what state she would be in, or if…I didn’t want to even imagine my life without her, so I stopped thinking of the ‘what ifs.’ “She’ll come,” Everett said, sitting on the other side of me.

“Whatever is going on in there, she’s fighting with all she’s got, Mason. Sky loves you so much, and that love will bring her to you.” Amanda rubbed my shoulder and sat beside Everett.

I knew Amanda was trying to reassure me, but for some reason her words were not helping. The words “fighting with all she’s got” made me imagine things that I didn’t want to think about. If something happened to Sky, Hades would have to deal with me. I didn’t know what I would do, but I knew I would go crazy.

The Oracles and Victor’s group stuck around. I thought they would have gone back to New Olympus, but they surprised me by staying. They weren’t sitting, but rather standing, talking among themselves. After a short while, Noah sat next to Amada.

“She’s alive.” Zara sounded so sure. “I know this because she’s wearing the crystal I gave to Victor. I can feel the warmth from it.”

Her words gave me hope, but I wouldn’t be able to breathe until I saw Sky with my own eyes. As water drifted to and from the shore, the clouds moved at their slow pace, and so did the sun. The beautiful streaks of red and orange were fading into a thin line as the sun was setting, saying goodbye for today.

“You can go if you want,” I said to everyone while my eyes continued to stare at the same spot. “It’s getting colder and windier, and I know you’re all hungry.”

“Sky might not come out until tomorrow.” Tara sounded worried. “Why don’t you get some rest, eat, and then come back?”

Tara must be out of her mind, or maybe she thought I was, but I didn’t care. “I’m not leaving here without Sky. She’s coming back home and she might need my help.”

“Do you see that?” Amanda pointed. “The water is turning, like it’s boiling.”

Amanda was right. I stood up and headed toward it. Feeling the wind push me back, I knew something was happening from the other side. I knew that for sure when I saw Tara and Zara looking concerned and walking toward it with me.

The tumbling water suddenly stopped. The water burst into an oval shape, and then fire blasted out from it. I wondered if I was seeing things when I saw something red come out.

“That’s Sky,” Zara exclaimed happily. “That’s my red cape.”

At the moment it hit me, the moment I’d been waiting for, I was overwhelmed with elation. I ran to Sky, and so did everyone else. Seeing her smile, my heart hammered faster from being relieved to see her looking well. I embraced her tightly and let out long, deep breaths. Her cape felt hot and she smelled like something was burning, but other than that, she looked the same as when she’d entered.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I rambled, as I helped Sky take off the cape and handed it to Zara.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Do you have Hades’s stone and his head?” Zara asked hesitantly, looking at Sky’s empty hands.

“I don’t.”

“What do you mean, you don’t?” Ian’s tone was panicky.

“It’s a long story, but everything will be fine.” I knew when Sky was telling the truth, but mostly when she was trying to hide the truth from me. She couldn’t look at me. And right now as she spoke her words, she shifted her eyes away. “Can we get something to eat? I’m starving. I promise to fill you in.”

“Of course. We should go back to New Olympus.” Tara positioned herself to open the portal.

“Is Hades alive?” Everett got to the point.

“Yes,” Sky nodded.

I heard some light gasps. Girls were too dramatic.

“What does he look like?” Sarah asked.

“Different than I had imagined. Very good looking.” Sky shrugged.

I don’t know why, but her words made me feel a little bit—I didn’t want to admit it—jealous, though I wouldn’t show it.

“Really?” Amanda chimed in. “I can’t wait to see him…I think. Wait…since he let you go, does that mean he’s not as bad as we think?”

“He didn’t let me go, I let him go.” Sky stunned everyone into silence.

“Ask questions while we’re eating,” I told everyone, then grabbed Sky’s hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” We jumped into the portal together.

We had all
gathered in the dining hall to eat a late dinner of almost the same types of food that were laid out when we were in the underworld. How ironic. The questions would not stop regarding Hades and Persephone, even after I had explained what happened. I could understand why they felt so confused; they were wary, like I was, about trusting Hades.

“I’m confused. How many days do we have left?” Amanda inquired, scooping rice onto her plate. “I have no sense of time.”

“It’s been two days.” Zara held up two fingers. “We have one day left. We can strategize tomorrow, after we get a good respite. I suggest everyone rest up. We go to Mt. Hem in the afternoon. He won’t be expecting us early. It might be an advantage for us.”

“So, how do we get a fake lodestone?” Aaron murmured, chewing a piece of chicken.

“I have an idea.” I placed my water glass back on the table. Water had never tasted so good. “I’m going to need your help, Tara. You’ve been helping Steven conceal his true identity. I’m going to need you to do it again. We’ll have to trick him. This plan requires all your help. Are you in?” I glanced around the table, letting my friends know that I was talking to all of them.

“You know we’re in.” Nick pointed the knife in the air, then brought it down to cut through his steak.

“We need to get Victor and your mom back. We’re in,” Noah said next, wiping his lips with a napkin.

“And my mom,” Ian added.

After everyone agreed, the only sound I heard was the clinking sound of the utensils, plates, and glasses, and hungry people chowing down.

We had retired
for the night in our designated rooms. It was odd to be back in the place where my dad had resided all those years, and not seeing him there. Lying in bed alone, my thoughts ran wild regarding my parents. I wondered if Dad was suffering inside the iron cast, or if he was just sleeping…dead to the world. I also wondered what my mom was doing. Hephaestus had better be treating her well, or he was going to be sorry.

It was strange to see him treat my mom like she was trash, when all those years I’d seen him show nothing but affection for her. He’d brought her gifts, doted on her, and treated her like a queen. I wondered if he ever truly loved her, or was he acting indifferent now because she could see his true self, especially after letting us know all the evil things he had done.

A gentle knock broke me out of my thoughts. “Who is it?”

A soft sizzling light glowed at the tiny space between the floor and the door.

“Come in, Mason,” I giggled.

The door cracked open just enough for me to see his handsome face. “Want some company? I couldn’t sleep.”

“I was wondering when you would appear. Took you long enough.”

Mason closed the door behind him and sauntered to my bed. “I was trying to be good and not come to your room, but as you can see, I have no self-control when it comes to you.”

“I don’t want you to be a good, and I certainly don’t want you to have self-control.” I yanked his T-shirt so he was now inches away from my lips.

“I think you just invited me to spend the night.” Mason twitched his brows playfully.

“I think you talk too much.” I bit my bottom lip, anticipating his lips on mine.

“Actually, I would prefer to be known as a man of action instead.” Mason tossed the blanket and swung me over in one swift motion. He was now in the middle of my bed, with me on top of him.

“Hey, you can’t just—”

“I just did.” Mason crushed my lips into his, while his hands gripped tightly on my back. I could feel how much he missed me and how much he wanted me. “Sky, I was so worried.”

“I’m here. I told you I would be back,” I said between kisses. I loved the taste of his lips and the way his hands slowly ran inside the back of my shirt, filling me up with warmth, and immeasurable lust.

Suddenly, Mason flipped over, causing me to be under him. “I know, but—”

“No buts…just shut up and kiss me again. Show me how much you missed me.”

Mason showed me exactly how much. His kisses were wild and hungry. Feeling flashes of warm tingles, I knew Mason was using his lights. Sometimes he couldn’t control it and sometimes he could, but right at that moment, he was on fire. Holy cow! When his hands were all over me and the intensity of his kisses grew stronger, the electrical tingles travelled to the depth of my core; to every muscle, to every bone, and to every vein. Wanting him to feel what I was feeling, I emanated my light on him.

Mason lifted his head. “Sky. What are you doing to me?”

“What you are doing to me,” I panted, out of breath.

“It feels that amazing? I didn’t know. I’m freaking good.” Mason looked so proud.

I had to laugh at his comment, but it wasn’t a joke. He really was that good.

“Why don’t I make you feel even better?”

Mason did not disappoint. The higher the voltage of his love shocks, the more pleasurable the sensations he made me feel. Wanting to return the pleasure, I did the same, matching his intensity. The whole bed was encircled with electric currents of blue and silver lights. It was beautiful and mesmerizing to be in the center of it. Though I wanted more from Mason, I knew he would not give in. He wanted our first time to be special for us when the war was over. I was glad he was the stronger one, because I would give in if he asked. I loved Mason with all of me, not to mention that what he was doing to me had me coming unglued.