“Where am I then?” I asked, looking around once more. “Am I in the Underworld?”
He shook his head. “No. We’re in your mind. You summoned me. You’ve managed to tap into your immortal strength and break the barriers that Zeus built around your abilities.”
“How did I do that?” I asked. “And if we’re in my mind, then my body must still be in the clearing. We’re at an impasse. What will I do?”
I couldn’t believe I was asking Hades for advice. But truly, I didn’t know what else to do. I was at a loss and I was so ready for it to end.
“You got angry,” he shrugged. “You caused another forest fire. Zeus threw you across the clearing where you hit your head. You’re now unconscious, but you broke the mental barrier surrounding you. When you awake, you can finish this.”
“But how?” I whispered. “I don’t know how.”
“Yes, you do,” Hades insisted quietly. He stepped closer to me and I felt his normal charismatic pull. It made me want to step closer to him, to allow him to comfort me. It was like being sucked into a magnetic vortex. He smiled at my thought.
“I’m glad your views about me are changing,” he commented wryly. “At least you now acknowledge that I might have a few redeeming qualities.”
“I’ve never doubted that,” I answered carefully. “What I doubt are your motivations.”
Hades threw back his head and laughed, his hair shiny in the dark. There was a moon here and I reveled in its energy, watching it shimmer across my arm. I sighed again.
“Empusa, you are my child, a child after my own heart. Surely you can see now what Zeus is capable of. I will stand with you. Come with me- take your rightful place by my side in the Underworld. All you have to do is awaken and finish this.”
I was suddenly considering the inconsiderable.
It didn’t seem so bad to me now, a life in the serene quiet of the Underworld. Perhaps Gaia had been right. Maybe my magic would eventually become even stronger than Zeus’… which meant that I would always be in danger until I learned to stand up for myself. For that, I would need an alliance.
“And so you have one,” Hades answered my thought, bowing slightly at his trim waist. “I’m at your service.”
Staring into his eyes, I knew it was the only thing I could do. And oddly enough, rather than feel trapped, I felt at peace. Comfortable. It felt right, like it was where I belonged.
Hades smiled and held out his hand. I took it, grasping his long fingers as he leaned forward and kissed my forehead lightly.
“Awaken, daughter,” he murmured. “Finish this so that you can begin your new life.”
“And Brennan?” I asked softly, my eyes trained upon my father’s.
“You’ll bring him, of course,” Hades answered simply. “And we’ll exact revenge upon Zeus and Mormo for everything they’ve done to you.”
Satisfaction welled up in me and I nodded.
“Awaken,” Hades said again.
So I did.
I opened my eyes and I instantly felt differently than before. I was stronger, that much was true, but it was a mental strength that buoyed me. I knew it immediately. Brennan crouched beside me, holding my hand. He was worried and as beautiful as he’d ever been. My stomach tightened with the love I felt for him.
“Empusa,” he breathed. “You’re alright?”
I nodded.
“How long have I been out?”
“A few minutes,” he answered.
I glanced around him.
“They’re gone,” he told me. “Something is different. What happened?”
“I’ll explain later,” I answered. “For now, we both need to be as strong as possible.” I lowered my voice to a mere whisper in his ear. “You’re going to will us into the Underworld, alright?”
He pulled away and stared at me. “I don’t know if I can,” he said uncertainly. “I haven’t mastered that yet. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
“You’re going to try your absolute best,” I whispered. “And I know that you can do it. But first, we need to be at our strongest. We have to act soon before this eclipse kills us both.”
Brennan glanced overhead at the red ring of the sun.
“Zeus said before he left that the mortal world was going to be affected soon. Crops would begin to die from absence of light. The tides would stop moving because of the absence of the moon. He also said that the absence of tides and light would trigger the fault lines to begin moving. We’re going to cause an apocalypse after all, I’m afraid.”
“No, we’re not,” I replied bitterly. “Zeus is. We aren’t doing this. We’re not taking responsibility for it.”
Pulling him down beside me, I twisted around until I was straddling him. Bending, I kissed him, softly at first and then more fiercely. His mouth tasted like honey. He groaned and pulled me to him, his hands clutching at my back.
“Let me see your wrist,” I whispered against his mouth. I pulled my own to my mouth and bit, breaking the skin. I offered it to him. “We have to,” I told him. “It doesn’t matter anymore what we hurt or if we stay in control. It really doesn’t matter. Drink now and restore your strength. We can do this, Brennan.”
“I trust you,” he told me, his amber gaze frozen on my own.
Without hesitation, he drank from my wrist. I could feel the blood gushing in my arm toward his mouth. I picked up his wrist and drank as well. Just as it had happened last time, it happened again. As our blood mingled and mixed, I felt an overwhelming sense of strength and power. It surged in my veins, filling me up in swells. The sensations that coursed through me were almost unbearable, they were so strong and fierce.
Brennan stopped drinking and looked up at me, his eyes slightly unfocused as my blood streaked down his chin.
“This is incredible,” he uttered. I nodded, unable to speak, unable to stop drinking his oh-so-succulent blood. He was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. He was the sun and the earth and everything pure and good in the world. And I so wanted every bit of him inside of me.