Hades (52 page)

almost too elegant for its purpose of destruction. Along the

golden hilt were etched letters in a language no human

could possibly understand. The letters seemed to ripple

and glow with a soft blue light. The sword was alive—as if it

were blessed with a spirit of its own.

“The Sword of Michael,” said Gabriel in a strangely

reverential tone I’d never heard him use before. “It’s been a

long time since I’ve seen it.”

“It actual y exists?” Xavier asked.

“It’s more real than you know,” Gabriel replied. “Michael

has gone up against them before.”

Xavier thought for a moment. “Of course,” he said final y.

“It’s in Revelation. ‘And there was war in Heaven. Michael

and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon

and his angels fought back.’ The dragon was Lucifer,

right?”

“Correct,” Gabriel replied. “Michael was the one who cast

him into Hel at Our Father’s command.”

“Good job,” Xavier said and Michael raised an eyebrow. I

smiled at how informal his manner was compared to my

siblings’. “And you reckon you can bust back in?”

“Let’s see, shal we?” was al Michael said.

He drew himself up to his ful height in the middle of the

tracks. The sword in his hand vibrated so loudly it caused

the nearby birds to take flight. “Hey, man,” Xavier cal ed out,

sounding uncomfortable. “Sorry for cal ing you a douche.

My bad.”

Michael nodded delicately to indicate there were no hard

feelings. He raised the sword above his head so the

sunlight poured off its silver surface in streams.

“In the name of God I command you …”

His voice started off booming and then began to peter

out. I was fading away, back to my Hades. I tried to linger. I

needed desperately to stay and see whether Michael’s

sword would unlock the portal. But the jarring sound of a

hotel phone ringing tugged me mercilessly back to my

body.

“HELLO?” I asked, fumbling for the receiver and almost

dropping it.

“Mr. Thorn is waiting in the lobby,” said the receptionist. I

noticed her tone had changed from last time we spoke.

Then it had been respectful. Now it was smug.

“Tel him I’l be right down.”

I hung up and flopped back onto my bed, exhaling loudly.

I didn’t know what to think. Could Michael real y be about to

burst through the portal and rescue me? I didn’t dare

believe it. I dithered helplessly for a few moments,

wondering what to do. I knew one thing for certain: I couldn’t

let Jake find out what I’d just witnessed. I needed to go

along with the deal as if nothing had happened. I hoped my

skil s as an actor were up to the chal enge.

I met Jake in the lobby of Hotel Ambrosia. He’d shed his

customary biker jacket and replaced it with tailcoats and

silver cuff links, probably in a bid to play the romantic hero.

But we both knew that despite the lavish dress-ups there

was nothing romantic about the arrangement we’d made.

Tuck and Hanna stood just inside the revolving doors

looking forlorn as I was bundled into the back of Jake’s

limousine and we sped off down the tunnels of Hades. I

waved at them through the back window, trying to convey

the same message of hope I’d been given.

The car final y pul ed up at the mouth of what appeared to

be a cave. I climbed out and glanced around.

“This is your idea of a romantic location?” I asked

dubiously. “Why didn’t you just choose a broom closet?”

“Just wait.” Jake smiled secretively. “You haven’t seen it

yet. Shal we?” He held out his arm and escorted me into

the dark. I held on to him as he glided us through a short

tunnel that opened as if by magic onto an expansive stone

chamber. It had been arranged especial y for the occasion.

For a moment al I could think about was how strangely

beautiful it looked. I stopped on the spot and stared openly.

“You organized al this?”

“Guilty as charged. I want to give you a night to

remember.”

I looked around in amazement. The floor of the

underground cave was fil ed with shal ow milky water the

color of opals. Rose petals and candles floated on the

surface, casting a soft flickering light against the fissured

stone wal s and sending shadows dancing across the

water. Candelabra hung in midair, enchanted by Jake’s

dark power. At the far end of the cave was a flight of broken

stone steps that led to dry land. In the center sat a vast bed

lavishly covered in gold satin and fringed pil ows. The stone

outcrop was decorated with intricate hanging tapestries

and portraits from a forgotten world. Gilded mirrors covered

every bare space, reflecting the murky light in a spectacular

glittering pyramid. The notes of an operatic aria filtered

from hidden speakers. Jake had transformed this dank,

dark space into a fantastical subterranean world. Of

course, the setting didn’t change anything.

My eye caught sight of something, half concealed by the

water. It was a marble statue of the armless Venus de Milo.

Through the fog, I could see a dark liquid trickling down her

stone cheeks and landing with a rhythmic drip into the water

below. It took me a moment to realize that the statue was

crying tears of blood.

Before I could say a word, Jake softly clicked his fingers

and an ornate gondola appeared before us.

“After you,” he said, gal antly offering me his arm for

support. I stepped cautiously inside the waiting vessel and

Jake slid in beside me. The gondola steered itself across

the glittering water until it nudged against the stone

platform. I stepped out, not bothering to gather up the hem

of my dress, which dragged up the stone stairs. Jake

drifted over to the bed and let his fingers trail across the

coverlet. He beckoned me to his side.

Now we stood facing each other in silence. I could see a

hunger in Jake’s face that made me shiver. I didn’t feel

anything other than hol ow. My emotions had completely

shut down; my body was running on autopilot. I knew I

needed to stay calm and detached while I waited for help to

come … if it came. I didn’t al ow myself to consider what

would happen if Michael’s plan didn’t come to fruition. I

knew if I did that I would scream or try and fling Jake away

from me. So I stood stil and waited. Jake reached out and

ran his long, slender fingers down my arms. They worked

skil ful y and a few moments later the strap of my gown fel

down exposing my shoulder. He leaned down and pressed

his hot lips against my skin, moving along my col arbone

and into the hol ow of my throat. His hands came up and

tightened around my waist, pul ing me toward him. When he

brought his lips to mine, his kiss was urgent. I tried not to

think about the way Xavier used to kiss me—softly and

slowly, as if the kiss were its own reward, not a prelude to

anything more. I felt Jake’s tongue forcing my lips apart and

pressing into my mouth. His breath, as hot as molten lead,

was suffocating. As his hands began to crawl over my

body, he seemed not to notice how unresponsive I was.

Then, in one fluid movement, his hand reached out and

opened the zipper on the back of my dress. It crumpled to

the floor before I even realized what was happening and I

stood before him in nothing but a transparent silk

undergarment.

Jake drew back for a moment, breathing heavily as if

he’d just run a marathon, then he pushed me down onto the

bed and crouched over me, watching me with a curious

expression. He shimmied down the bed and slipped a

hand against my inner thigh rubbing his thumb in slow

circles. He began to kiss a path from my neck down my

breasts and stomach as he lowered his body over mine.

Where were Michael and the others? A sickening thought

occurred to me. There was every chance that the sword

had failed to open the portal, or maybe Michael had

changed his mind. It only took minutes to alter the course of

destiny; anything could have happened in the time I’d

missed. I felt my heart begin to beat faster and a sheen of

sweat broke out across my chest. Jake ran a finger lightly

across it and smiled with satisfaction. He lifted one of my

fingers to his mouth and sucked gently on it.

“Enjoying yourself after al ?” he asked. My mouth felt too

dry to speak, but I forced out an answer.

“Can we just get this over with?”

I thought it was a pretty safe bet that Jake would want to

draw out the experience as long as possible, but his

answer caught me off guard.

“We can do it however you like.” He tore off his shirt and

threw it to the ground so his bare chest was looming over

me, his chocolate hair fal ing over his blazing eyes. He

dipped his head and I felt his teeth graze my ear. “This is

just the beginning,” he whispered, moving down and

running his tongue along my breastbone. “You think this is

intense? Just wait, I’m going to push you over the edge.

You’l feel like you’re about to explode.”

I trembled with fear beneath his touch. There were a

hundred things I wanted to say, but I wil ed myself to keep

quiet. At the back of my mind a voice was screaming out.

What if they’re not coming?
And as the minutes ticked by it

became more and more apparent that they weren’t going to

come. I tried stal ing.

I reached up and let my finger travel lightly down Jake’s

chest. He shivered and pressed against me more heavily.

“I’m nervous,” I whispered, making my voice sound as

innocent as possible. “I’ve never done anything like this

before.”

“That’s because you’ve been with an amateur,” Jake

said. “Don’t worry, I’l take care of you.”

I couldn’t think what else to say to delay the inevitable.

There was no sign of Xavier or my family. It was too late

now; there was nothing else I could do. I lay back and

closed my eyes, accepting my fate.

“I’m ready,” I said.

“I’ve been ready for a long time,” Jake purred and I felt

his hands shift and travel up my thighs.

Suddenly there came a sound like a deep groan from the

bowels of the cave. It was as if the very rock itself were

being torn apart. The sound echoed off the wal s, causing

Jake to sit bolt upright, suddenly fiercely alert, his black

eyes darting. The sound suggested the ceiling above us

might be on the verge of caving in. I sat up, straining to hear

a comforting sound.

I heard Jake let out a vicious stream of curses right

before the far wal exploded in an ear-splitting shower of

dirt and stone, and a familiar 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air

convertible plunged through the jagged hole. The car

seemed to soar through the air almost in slow motion as it

plowed into the cave and landed meters from us with a

sound like a thunderclap. Its body was long and sleek, just

like I remembered; its headlights blazing and its sky blue

paint scuffed from the dive it had just taken.

“Xavier?” I whispered.

The windshield was coated with dust, but a moment later

the driver’s door creaked open and a figure stepped out.

He was just as I remembered him, tal and broad

shouldered with eyes of liquid blue. The honey-colored

strands of hair that fel across his forehead were stil

streaked with gold and around his throat, I could see the

crucifix winking in the gloom. Behind him, Ivy and Gabriel

stepped out from the passenger doors, looking like pil ars

of gold in the dark chamber. Their expressions were hard

and their steel gray eyes were fixed on Jake. A wind blew

up and their golden hair fanned out behind them. It took me

a moment to realize that their wings had emerged, as they

always did in preparation for conflict. They reared up

behind them, like the wings of an eagle, casting shadows

ten feet high against the stone wal s. They looked as strong

and majestic as always, but I could sense that just being in

this place weakened them. They didn’t belong here and

soon their powers would begin to diminish. There was no

sign of Michael—I assumed he had opened the portal and

disappeared. But his sword glittered in Gabriel’s hand.

Mol y too was nowhere to be seen. She must have been left

behind in Alabama—this part of the mission would prove