Descent into Desire (9 page)

* * * *

Alala listened to Persephone and struggled to keep up with her. Her friend was so animated Alala could hardly believe the water in the pool wasn’t rippling. She was lying on her stomach and looking over the edge into the water as her friend told her all about the Underworld. Based on the sky behind her and the grass under her, Persephone seemed to be sitting on the edge of a lake or river. Alala had never been to the Underworld, but she’d escorted quite a few soldiers there to be taken by Thanatos in her day. Occasionally she was still called to speak on behalf of such men, but not as often as she used to be. Ares was actually somewhere in the Middle East eavesdropping on some treaty negotiations. He’d gotten tired of wedding preparations and become interested in the affair after reading a few press releases online. Alala had decided to take the opportunity to try contacting Persephone. Her friend had been gone nearly a month, and the suspense had finally gotten to her.

“So,” Persephone went on, “Prometheus did show men how to make fire, but later was the big conflict. Apollo had Zeus’ blessing to introduce medical arts to men, but Prometheus didn’t ask permission to establish the first school.”

“The first school?” she interrupted, wanting her friend to catch her breath. “The absolute very first one?”

“Yes. Smart people taught their own children and rich people had tutors. Children learned in small groups, like home schooling or something. Prometheus encouraged the idea of everyone being taught basic knowledge. Math and reading and music to start with.”

“So the Greek academies were his idea? That makes sense. Ares said he loved to read.”

“Prometheus?”

Alala nodded and repositioned her hands under her chin. “Yeah. Some of the Titans lived among the Amazons at one time. It’s the last time Ares saw any of them.”

“Hades is very interested in them.”

“The Titans? Why?”

“Not sure. He’s been thinking about why we’re here. I am not kidding. He’s really questioning things like that. He talks about it a lot because, he says, no one else is interested. His brothers don’t care and won’t really talk about it.”

“So besides exciting tales and exploring new worlds, how are you? I mean, the two of you?”

Persephone smiled. “Getting there. I really like him.”

Alala laughed. “You already liked him.”

“Finding out his true identity was a bit of a shock.”

“I’m sure it was. I’ll admit I was pissed when I found out, but he’s a good man.”

“He is! I was so nervous when he brought me here. Now that seems silly.”

“He is the god of the Underworld. The idea of him scares the shit out of some people.”

“Even people down here who say he’s fair and just avoid being near him. I can see why he’s so lonely.”

After a few moments of silence, Alala asked, “So you really like him? The him you know now, not the guy you talked to online?”

Persephone nodded. “I do. And I like it here. I’m considering it.”

“Marrying him?”

“I think I could love him.”

“I don’t think you have to consider anything. When your time is up, you’ll just know.”

“Everyone always says things like that. We all have free will though!”

“But saying something is ‘meant to be’ doesn’t negate that free will.”

Persephone ran her hand over the grass beside her. “That’s true. I’m not crazy about the concept. To me, there’s a difference between saying you’re ‘perfect’ with someone and saying you were ‘made for’ each other. That makes sense, right?”

Alala nodded. “It does. I understand what you’re saying. Just don’t overanalyze it. You’ll just drive yourself crazy.”

“It still doesn’t seem—you know—real. It’s hard to believe he loves me even though everything he does shows it in some way.”

“I didn’t believe Ares loved me, and all of you told me I was being silly.”

“That was different. He didn’t realize he loved you until he thought he would lose you. Hades is very aware and very conscious of the fact that he loves me. Ever since our little incident, he’s been treading carefully. He’s afraid of messing up again.”

“So now it’s just a ‘little incident,’ huh?”

“I was so pissed when it happened, but after a few days I saw that he’d panicked and made a mistake. It was insecurity, not some need to dominate me.”

Alala looked at her nails, trying to figure out how to ask her next question. “Anything else interesting happen?”

Persephone blushed.

Alala suppressed a giggle. She wanted to be very happy and enthusiastic, but she wanted her friend to feel comfortable. Persephone had always begged for details when Alala was still with Apollo, though she had respected Alala’s privacy and kept the affair a secret. She might not be so eager when it came to her own details, especially as whatever had happened would have been her first time.

After a moment, she said, “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell. I was just curious.”

“No, no, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell. I just wasn’t sure where to begin. I’m still a virgin, but stuff has happened.” Persephone frowned. “I think I’m still a virgin. I am until he actually…you know. Right?”

Alala wondered what exactly had been going on. Hades had promised all of them he wouldn’t do that without Persephone’s full consent, and for him that meant she had to love him. So what had they done?

“Yes. Until then, you might not be pure as the driven snow, but you are a virgin.”

Persephone smiled. “You know you want to ask.”

“Then just tell me!”

She giggled. “Usually, he just kisses me. He lingers and his hands roam a bit, but he usually controls himself and leaves before anything happens. But a week or so ago, we sort of played a game.”

Alala raised her eyebrows. She only had eyes for Ares, but she definitely liked games. She wondered what kinds of things might interest Hades. She imagined leather straps immediately. “What happened?”

“We went for a walk, and we ended up at the hedge maze. I told him I’d always thought of him as a bad boy, and then said he wasn’t at all. That sparked his interest, and he decided to show me there was a bit of a bad boy underneath all the manners.”

Alala’s interest grew. “And?”

“He put on the Helm of Darkness and then chased me through the maze.”

“What happened when he caught you?” She hoped Ares wouldn’t be gone too long. The story was making her miss him very much.

Persephone blushed furiously. “Well,” she whispered. “He started touching me, and then asked me what I wanted. I told him to kiss me. And he did.” She paused and looked around before lowering her voice more. “Just not on the lips.”

Alala giggled. “So you had an orgasm?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “It was amazing!”

Both girls laughed. Alala missed her friend, but she was happy because it sounded like everything was going to work out. Persephone seemed like a very willing captive, and most importantly, she hadn’t complained once in their whole conversation.

Persephone, even though she was older than Alala, had been very sheltered by Demeter from the day she was born. She’d always been rather naïve and spoiled because of it. She had a tendency to complain, pout, sulk, or even go into a rage if she didn’t get her way. Now she was trapped in the Underworld and unable to see her family or her friends, yet she seemed content. Hades might be perfect for her. She needed a firm hand at times, but one that loved her enough to let go at the right times. Perhaps in the end he’d be able to find that balance.

“That’s wonderful! I hope—”

Persephone waved her hands. “Someone’s coming. I’ll talk to you later. I don’t want anyone to hear.”

The water cleared. Alala pushed herself up and sat next to the pool. She couldn’t wait to tell Ares the good news. She was even more eager to tell him she had an idea for a new game for them to play.

Chapter Seven

Hades knew he shouldn’t have been listening, but he couldn’t change that now. As he watched Persephone in the mirror, he saw Hypnos approaching her. Persephone turned and looked up at Hypnos as she quickly ended her conversation with Alala. Hades turned away from the mirror and sat at his desk. He’d been curious enough to spy on her as she talked to Alala, but he would not spy on her and Hypnos. He trusted them together.

Hades had been pleased to hear her recounting stories he’d told her so enthusiastically, but had it been right to keep listening when she began talking about him? Probably not, but his heart had skipped a beat when she’d started telling Alala about their romp in the maze. He’d been guarding against it because he knew he would dwell on what she said too much, but he couldn’t undo it now. However, everything she’d said indicated she was happy.

He tried to focus on that, but it soon became clear he needed a distraction. He went to a bookshelf and opened the secret panel. His study was filled with them, and each one led to a different place in the world above. Even though he might end up even more frustrated, he headed for the beach. If Demeter hadn’t dropped the temperature enough to freeze the ocean, he would probably find Poseidon very quickly.

* * * *

Poseidon watched his wife Layla sleeping. What had started out as a massage to soothe her muscles after a workout had turned into very intense lovemaking. Layla still hadn’t fully adjusted to the immortality Zeus had granted her, and she tended to sleep far more than anyone else in Olympus. He loved watching her sleep. Besides the titillation of knowing exactly what had worn her out, watching her sleep reminded him of how much she calmed and soothed him. He had a very bad temper, and his mind tended to resist shutting down. Her ability to make him slow down and savor everything, especially her, was one of the characteristics he loved the most about her.

He pulled himself from his thoughts when he felt someone on the beach above. He and Layla had moved to one of his underwater retreats when it had become obvious Demeter wasn’t going to let the sun come out again any time soon. He looked above in his mind. It was Hades. He couldn’t help smiling
. This might be interesting.

He kissed Layla on the forehead and watched her for a moment as she snuggled closer to his pillow. He headed up to the surface.

Hades looked down at the waves. He didn’t smile when he looked up and saw Poseidon coming, but he didn’t look upset or displeased either. He’d taken his shoes off and stood ankle deep in the water.

“I see you’re keeping the ocean warm enough. You can hardly tell it’s freezing out here,” Hades said.

Poseidon walked up to stand beside him, also keeping his feet in the water. “Yeah. It’ll keep you warm no matter how cold it gets. I learned I could do that the last time Demeter did this. All the fish were getting stuck.”

“Nice. Fertility goddess killing sea life.”

Poseidon laughed. “Didn’t kill them. They just got stuck. Animals don’t die here.”

“Ah. I’d forgotten.”

He was tiring of the small talk, especially as he knew Hades hadn’t forgotten that fact at all, but he kept it up anyway. “How old’s that pup of yours?”

Hades almost smiled. “Good point. I guess I always thought Cerberus was different.”

Was his brother stalling? “Would make sense. You’re pretty different.”

Hades didn’t reply, and Poseidon rolled his eyes.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on, besides the trouble you’ve brought on yourself?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Persephone seems happy. She’s become friends with Hypnos, and Cerberus follows her everywhere most of the time.”

“She likes that thing?”

Hades paused and gave him a warning look. “He’s a dog. A big one, but in the end he’s just a dog.”

“He’s bigger than any hound in the mortal world, plus he has three heads and a dragon’s tail. He starts wagging and he can clear a room.” He found the warning glance encouraging. If he could annoy Hades, maybe he could get him to stop being cryptic and tell him what was wrong.

“She likes it down there. She likes the freedom of being able to do what she likes and go where she wants to.”

“I’m not surprised. The mortal world can only be so stimulating after a while.”

“I like mortals.”

“I’m married to one, so I obviously wasn’t putting them down.”

“She’s a goddess now. She’s different.”

“She was mortal when I fell in love with her.” He could admit though that Hades did like mortals more than most of them did. He was around them so much.

Hades sighed. “I suppose it helps the Underworld isn’t what she was expecting.”

Poseidon wasn’t sure what he meant. The nature of the Underworld wasn’t a mystical secret. “You saying she was expecting fire and brimstone? No wonder she was pissed you didn’t chain her up and have your way with her right off, if that’s the image she was working from.”

He watched his brother’s reaction, and the mildness of it surprised him. Hades looked down and bit his lip, but then said, “Yes, she was expecting something along those lines. Demeter kept her just that sheltered.” After a few moments, he asked, “Where did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Hades bit his lip again. “The other part.”

Poseidon managed to suppress both a laugh and a remark about Hades biting his lip like a nervous teenager. “Hera. Zeus gleaned as much from his conversation with her. She was angry because she was expecting a very different experience from you. Seems now though that she’s happy you made that choice for her. I admire you. I couldn’t resist staying away from Layla for even twenty-four hours once I’d seen her.”

Hades smiled. “Layla is lovely.”

Another smile. Good sign.
“She is, but you prefer blondes.”

“I prefer a particular blonde.”

Poseidon smiled. “Seems so.”

“You’ll like her once Demeter can’t control her and you actually get to talk to her.”

“I’m sure. Zeus likes her, and you know he doesn’t like silly women.”

“Are there really any women he doesn’t like?” Hades’ tone almost took on a note of humor. Almost.

Poseidon pretended to consider. “I can rephrase that. He doesn’t have conversations with silly women.”

Hades fell silent again.

“If you and Persephone are fine, or at least getting along well, why are you standing here acting melancholy?”

“Just a mood lately.”

Poseidon was tempted to push him into the water. “You’ve had this mood before. Contemplating the mysteries of the universe again?” Maybe his teasing was a bit cruel, but Hades could be annoying on this point. Poseidon had problems seeing why a god would question his own existence or place in the cosmos. It didn’t seem very god-like.

“There’s nothing wrong with wondering about these things.”

“Doesn’t seem healthy to me.”

“I’ve been tossing a few theories around. Persephone likes to talk about issues like these. She asks lots of questions and keeps an open mind. And she’s not afraid to tell me what she thinks.”

“That’s good. I’m glad to hear it.”
Now go having meaningful discussions with her and leave us out of it!
He kept his thought hidden, trying to be patient.

“The thing is that’s what I need. I like the fact that I have something to do.”

Poseidon had no idea what Hades meant. “What is that, exactly?”

Hades looked puzzled, but then he laughed. “Sorry. I should start from the beginning, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes. Please do. You’ve completely lost me.”

“I like Persephone taking an interest in how the Underworld runs and how it works. I was thinking about that. You and Zeus don’t do anything. Zeus makes decisions, and we all used to have a closer relationship with the mortal world, but up here there’s nothing that has to be done. In the Underworld, everything would stop without me.”

“So we’re lazy oafs?”

“No, of course not, but I’d hate it if nothing and no one depended on me. I’m not on a schedule or anything, but I can’t ignore any of my duties for too long.”

“That’s your answer then. You were ordained for the Underworld because that makes you happy.”

“That’s not an answer. It’s an idea.”

“What are you looking for then? Why there’s an Underworld? Why there’s an afterlife at all? Men and women have souls. They’re eternal beings. They have to go somewhere.”

“The Titans left. Why are we still here? Men don’t need us.”

“The Titans left Olympus. They didn’t fly off to a different galaxy or another dimension. Maybe, from the mortal point of view, we did leave. We withdrew. By the time the Romans were in power, we were just figureheads. We’d become ideals. Most people would have fallen over in shock and horror if we’d tried to talk to them. They certainly would these days. A man who says God spoke to him has a fifty-fifty chance of being believed. Some guy says he talked to me and everyone is going to call him crazy.”

Hades shrugged. “Maybe not. Lots of people are turning back to older ways.”

“They don’t know anything about the older ways or whatever you’d like to call them. They wear natural fibers and eat tofu and buy reusable bags and read self-help guides written by people with five SUVs who just want their money.”

“That’s unfair! A hundred people like that don’t matter if one person finds peace and a better way to live. Not everyone is a fraud, you know.”

Poseidon stared at his brother. “I didn’t mean any offense. I guess I’m cynical. The last mortal I encountered was a rich asshole who treated my girl like shit and practically raped her the last time they spent the night together.”

Hades looked out across the water. “I know you didn’t, and I can understand that part. I was getting to my point, if slowly. I think, with Persephone by my side, I won’t wonder about these things anymore. I’ll be complete.”

While Poseidon understood that feeling of completeness very well, he thought Hades shouldn’t get his hopes up. “You think so?”

“I can’t be sure. It’s not a bad guess.”

“So all this time you’ve been missing your soul mate? That’s the great cosmic void in your soul?”

“The great cosmic void in my soul?” Hades repeated.

Poseidon rolled his eyes again. “Layla likes poetry. I can’t help it, but it does convey my meaning. You’re not upset you didn’t have a mother or father to love you, and you’re not ‘lost’ because the Titans or the primal gods never told us our purpose. You’ve been longing for someone to love. Someone who could choose to love you.”

Hades nodded slowly. “Maybe. It doesn’t sound half bad.”

“It doesn’t. You thinking of running it by Persephone?”

He shook his head immediately. “No. Not yet. Maybe some day, if she stays.”

“That seems to be taking care of itself.” It started to snow. “But still, I kind of wish you hadn’t trapped her down there. You could get this over with sooner. Now she’ll keep thinking it over until her hundred days are up. You know? She won’t feel certain she wants to stay until she’s actually able to leave.”

“Maybe not. Tomorrow she’s going to watch me judge the dead. She’s very interested.”

“Expecting many tomorrow?”

He nodded. “Hypnos has been leading them to the Valley of Dreams. They don’t know they’re dead yet while they stay among mortals who are dreaming. They won’t know until I’ve taken them into the heart of the Underworld by way of the Acheron.”

Poseidon felt a chill run up his back, despite the warmth flowing through him from the sea. “You know, I’m glad it’s forbidden for us to go down there. I’m sure it’s pretty, but it sounds very creepy. One great big mind-fuck everywhere you go down there.”

Hades laughed loudly. “I suppose I was meant for the Underworld since my brothers are such wimps.”

“Wimp or not, I prefer having a dolphin to having…whatever Cerberus is.”

“He’s a dog!” Hades made a face. “You two have a dolphin? I thought you had a cat Hera gave you?”

“We still do, but Layla named a couple of dolphins, so now they’re always around.” Poseidon crossed his arms. “Laugh all you want.”

“Oh I will.” Hades turned and walked toward the cave behind them. The cavern was a dead end to all of them, but for Hades the walls opened up to take him back to the Underworld. “I’m sure you’ll keep up with the gossip.”

“Count on it.” He looked down into the water and then down the beach. Far away, he saw someone sitting on a rock. Someone very thin with lots of curly blonde hair.

He hadn’t seen her in a long time, and he had started worrying like everyone else was. He began walking, and when he was close enough he yelled out to her. “Aphrodite!”

She jerked her head up and jumped. She’d been staring down at her hand. She stood and looked at him, but then she bolted away.

He stopped, but then he thought for a moment and dove into the sea. He’d catch her faster this way, and she wouldn’t be able to see him. Everyone around him was acting strangely, and at least with Aphrodite he felt he might be able to get a straight answer.