Hades (15 page)

“In the 5th Ring? No way.” His pulse picked up as the idea that they might be close sank in. “It’s gotta be the human. Can you narrow it down to a direction?”

She shook her head. “It’s weird, like a thread of good woven into a massive evil cloth. There’s too much evil around it to get a bead on it.”

“Uh...boss?” Silth held up the wobbling divining bone. “Got something.”

As Hades watched, the thing went from barely moving to vibrating so intensely that Silth had to use two hands to hold on.

“Shit.” Hades wheeled to the hounds. “Call for backup! Now––”

An arrow punched through his chest. Agony tore through him, but as a hail of arrows fell on them, all he could think about was getting Cat to safety. A fierce, protective instinct surged through him as he took her to the ground and covered her with his body while the hellhounds charged an army of demons pouring out of fissures in the ground that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

“Son of a bitch!” Silth, pincushioned by a half a dozen arrows, shouted in anger and pain, but he didn’t go down. Palming his sword, he leaped into the fray.

“Let me up,” Cat yelled against Hades’s chest. “The human is close now. If I can get to him––”

“They’re trying to draw you out.” He held her tight, cocooning them both in his wings as he peeked between hellhound legs. “They need to behead you both simultaneously to open the holes in the barrier.”

“
Behead
me?” she screeched. “Maybe you could have shared that little factoid sooner?”

“Maybe,” he said, keeping it light to hide how fucking terrified he was for her. “But nah.” He signaled to one of the hounds who had arrived at the hut with Cerberus, a scarred son of the hellhound king Hades knew only as Crush. “Take her to the graveyard. If I’m not there in ten minutes, take her back to the hut.”

“What?” Cat punched him in the arm and struggled to her feet. “No. I can help!”

He didn’t have time for this, but he gripped her shoulders and shook her. “There are thousands of demons coming at us, all with one goal; to behead you.”

“But what about you? If you’re not there in ten minutes––”

“Then I’m dead.” Before she could say another word, he kissed her. Hard. And he poured as much emotion into it as he could. Because whether they won the battle or not, this would be the last kiss they shared.

Quickly, he stepped back and signaled to the hound. A heartbeat later, the beast was gone, and with him, Cat.

Even above the sounds of battle, he heard her scream, “
Noooooo
,” as she faded away.

Chapter Fifteen

Cat and the hellhound materialized in the weird graveyard where she’d started this bizarre journey.

Damn Hades! She eyed the mausoleums that corresponded with the five Rings, but even as she zeroed in on the one she’d originally entered that went to the 5th Ring where the battle was going down, the stupid hellhound got in her way. It even snarled at her.

“You’re an asshole,” she snapped.

It cocked its big head, raised its pointy ears, and looked at her as if it was expecting her to throw a stick or something. Then it burped. And dear God, what had the thing eaten today? She tried not to gag as she turned around and searched the wall for the opening to Azagoth’s realm. Yes, she knew it was locked, but it couldn’t hurt to try. It wasn’t as if she had anything better to do, since clearly, the gassy hellhound wasn’t going to let her go back to the 5th Ring.

Hurry, Hades
.

His kiss still felt warm on her lips. Her skin still burned from his touch. She missed him, and they’d only been apart for a couple of minutes. What would happen when––and if––she finally got out of here? How could she deal with knowing he was just a doorway away?

Maybe it would be better if she got to go back to Heaven. He wouldn’t be a temptation to her anymore. And besides, being accepted back into Heaven meant her family would take her back, right? Her friends would forgive her. She could forget the terrible things they’d said as she’d been dragged to the chopping block.

Traitor.

Satan’s whore.

You’re no daughter of mine.

You sicken me
.

Yes, she could forget. With enough demon bloodwine, anyway.

An electric tingle charged the air, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She pivoted around as Cerberus materialized, his black fur shiny from blood, one of his massive jaws clenched around a broken, bleeding human.

And dangling limply from the second set of jaws was Hades.

Oh, shit! She sprinted to the giant hellhound, who dropped both bodies to the ground. Sinking to her knees, she gathered Hades’s lifeless body in her arms.

“Hades? Hades!” She shook him, but there was nothing. He wasn’t even breathing. How could this be? How could he be dead? He couldn’t be, right?

“He’s only mostly dead.”

She wrenched her head around to see Azagoth striding toward them, a trail of
griminions
on his heels.

“M-mostly dead?”

“Haven’t you ever seen
The Princess Bride?
”

It took her a second to realize he was making a joke. Mr. Serious, the Grim Fucking Reaper, was
joking
.

The opening in the wall must lead to an alternate reality.

The
griminions
gathered up the human and scurried back through the doorway where Lilliana was waiting.

“Come on,” she called out. “Leave Hades to Azagoth.”

Cat hesitated, and when Azagoth barked out a curt, “Go,” some secret, dark part of her rebelled. She’d just spent what was likely days in a hell dimension with a male who wanted her, a male she wanted, and the person who was keeping them apart wanted her to leave.

Screw that.

She held Hades tighter and boldly met Azagoth’s gaze. “I’m staying.”

Azagoth’s eyes glittered, but his voice was calm. “What I’m about to do won’t work if I’m not alone with him, so if you want him to live, you’ll go.”

Lilliana held out her hand. “Trust him.”

Swallowing dryly, Cat nodded. Very gently, she eased Hades’s head onto the ground, stroked her hand over his hair, and said a silent good-bye.

Why was this so hard?

“Azagoth,” she croaked. “The human and I…the demons enchanted us, and unless it’s broken—”

He cut her off with a brisk hand gesture. “Whatever was done to you will lose its power when you leave the Inner Sanctum. So go.
Now
.”

Sensing he’d reached the limits of his patience with her, she reluctantly shoved to her feet. She managed to keep it together until she was inside Azagoth’s office. The moment the door closed, she started bawling, and Lilliana pulled her into a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Lilliana said, and was she crying too? “I knew something was wrong days ago, and then when we tried to operate the doorway to the Inner Sanctum and it wouldn’t work, we feared the worst.” She pulled back just enough to eye Cat, as if making sure it was really her, and then she hugged her again. And yes, she was crying.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured into Lilliana’s shoulder. “I screwed up, and when I tried to fix it, I only made things worse.”

“It’s okay,” Lilliana said. “We can hash it out later.” She wrapped her arm around Cat’s shoulders and guided her toward the door. “Let’s get you cleaned up and fed. You must be exhausted.”

Cat cranked her head around to the closed portal door. “But Hades––”

“There’s nothing you can do for him. Azagoth will update us when he can.”

Cat wanted to argue, to rail against being led away, but Lilliana was right. “What about the human?” she asked as they walked toward her quarters. “What happened to him?”

“The
griminions
took him to the human realm where he’ll be met by angels and escorted to Heaven.”

Good. When most humans died, their souls crossed over to the Other Side on their own, but this poor guy had gone through the worst nightmare imaginable, and if anyone deserved a Heavenly escort, it was him. He’d definitely be sent to a Special Care Unit where humans who died as a result of trauma went to allow them time to adjust. Cat had a feeling he’d need an eternity. She just wished she could do more for him.

Cat was so lost in guilt and worry about Hades that she barely noticed when they arrived at her small apartment. The fragrance of her homemade crisp apple potpourri snapped her out of her daze, and she wasted no time in showering off the remains of the Inner Sanctum. She tried not to think about the fact that Hades was part of that. Gone was the smoky scent of him on her skin. Gone was his touch. His kisses.

She tried not to cry again as she dried off and dressed.

When she was finished, Lilliana was waiting with a tray of food and a pot of hot tea.

“Thank you,” Cat said as she took a seat. The food looked amazing, but she couldn’t eat. Not until she knew Hades was okay. “It’s weird to have
you
serve
me
.”

“It’s what friends do,” Lilliana said. “Also, Azagoth sent word that Hades is fine.” Cat nearly slid off her chair in relief. “Like he said, Hades was only mostly dead.” She grinned. “I’ve made Azagoth watch
The Princess Bride
about a million times now. He bitches and moans, but he laughs every time.”

That
was hard to imagine. “What does ‘mostly’ dead mean?”

“It means that Hades was killed, but
griminions
grabbed his soul and brought it straight to Azagoth.” Lilliana shoved a cup of tea at Cat. “If Azagoth can get a soul to a body fast enough, he can sort of...reinstall and jumpstart.” At what must have been Cat’s expression of amazement, Lilliana nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t know about that until today, either.” She propped her elbows on the table and leaned in, her amber eyes glowing with curiosity. “So. What’s going on between you and Hades?”

Cat wasn’t going to bother asking how Lilliana knew. It was probably written all over her face. She stalled for time though, sipping her tea until Lilliana tapped her fingers impatiently on the table.

“Nothing,” Cat finally sighed. “There’s absolutely nothing going on with Hades.” Saying those words made her heart hurt far more than she would ever have suspected.

“Why? Doesn’t he share your feelings?”

“That’s not the problem.” Man, she was tired. She shuffled to the bed and sank down on the edge of the mattress. “The problem is your mate.”

Lilliana’s hand froze as she reached for a grape on the platter of food. “What do you mean?”

“You should probably ask him.” Cat’s lids grew heavy, and she felt herself sway. “Why am I so sleepy?”

“The tea.” Lilliana helped ease Cat back on the bed. “It’s made from Sora root. It’ll help you rest.”

Rest would be good. Maybe in her dreams she and Hades could finally be together.

* * * *

The thing about dying was that it made a guy think about his life. What he’d done with it. What he could potentially do with it in the future. And as an immortal, Hades’s future could be really long. And really lonely.

The thought of living one more day the way he’d lived the last five thousand years made him want to throw up as he prowled the length of his crypt until he swore the soles of his boots cried out for mercy.

Azagoth had left him hours ago with all kinds of assurances that Cat wouldn’t be harshly punished for what she’d done. But Azagoth’s idea of “harsh” was a lot different from Hades’s. Well, not usually, but for Cat, definitely.

Hades just hoped Azagoth hadn’t suspected that anything had gone on between them. Technically, Hades hadn’t gone against Azagoth’s orders, but the Grim Reaper wasn’t a fan of technicalities. And if he did anything to punish Cat for what Hades had done, Hades would fight that bastard until he was too dead to fix.

Snarling, Hades threw his fist into the wall. Never, not in his entire life, had he felt this way about a female. Hell, he hadn’t felt this way about anything. Oh, he’d always been passionate about meting out justice, but this was a different kind of passion. This was an all-consuming desire to be with someone. To be something better
for
that someone.

He hadn’t known Cat for long, but in their brief time together, he’d shared things he’d always kept private. He’d given comfort and had been comforted. He’d wanted, and he’d been wanted back.

She wants to go back to Heaven, idiot
.

Yeah, then there was that. The chances of going back were extremely slim, given that in all of angelic existence, only a handful of fallen angels had been offered the opportunity. But just the fact that she wanted to go was troubling.

Oh, he understood. Who would choose to live in the grim darkness of the underworld when they could flit around in light and luxury? But dammit, Cat was wanted down here. Could he make her see that?

Closing his eyes, he braced his forehead on the cool stone wall he’d just punched. Pain wracked him and not just because he’d broken bones in his hand and they were knitting together with agonizing speed. That pain was nothing compared to the ache in his heart.

He needed to be with Cat, but how? He supposed he could try reasoning with Azagoth. Sometimes the guy wasn’t completely unbending. Especially now that he had Lilliana. She’d leveled him out, had given him a new perspective on life and relationships.

But would it be enough?

Because one thing was certain. If Hades couldn’t have Cat in his life, then Azagoth had saved it for nothing.

Chapter Sixteen

Cat dreamed of Hades.

It was so real, so sexy, that when she woke, she was both heartbroken to find herself alone in bed and turned on by the things they’d done in her dream. She let her hand drift down her stomach, her mind clinging to the images that had played in her head like an erotic movie. She could almost feel the lash of his tongue between her legs as her fingers dipped beneath the fabric of her panties.

Oh, yes. If she couldn’t have him right now, in her bed, she could at least––