Page 135 of Seeking Hades' Ember

"Take her with the rest," the snarl rung through my ear. The breath was cold and stunk of old blood. Vampire, it had to be a Vampire. At least my smell hadn't been taken from me. Internally rolling my eyes, their grip tightened as their claws gripped me tighter, piercing my naked skin.

No doubt, Hades was pissed. The worry about myself was thrown into the back of my mind. Hades was going to burn this place up, innocent people here or not. The site would look like a nuclear bomb hit; it would be ash by morning. Trying to rip my arm away again, it only angered my captor, who hissed again.

"Can I at least have a shirt or something?" My body was completely naked, and I hadn't felt this exposed since the club. Something else Hades was going to be mad about, me being naked around a bunch of creepy Vampires. "When Hades gets here, he is gonna kick your sorry butt!" Another shove, and I fell flat on my face. My arms were still behind me; I ate nothing but dirt. The grittiness of the soil must have blackened my teeth; the taste was of rich decaying leaves.

"My mate will make you suffer," I whispered. A cloak was thrown over me, and I was thrown over someone's shoulders.

"Wet dog," the Vampire grumbled, the creaking door was opened, and my body was dropped hard on the floor. My butt was broken; it was officially broken. I rubbed it harshly while glaring at my captor. Fangs stuck out of his mouth, his eyes red with pinched eyebrows. He glanced at me with such disgust it made me feel dirty when I knew I wasn't. Pulling the cloak tighter to my body, he slammed the door to the poorly lit cabin. A small fire glowed lowly, the embers nearly out. I wish I had Hades' fire summoning ability; that would have been fun.

"Ember?" a male voice spoke softly from the darkened corner. Crawling across the floor and finally standing, Hermes stood in the light of the candle. His brightly colored skin had turned grey, and his hair no longer shimmered.

"Hermes?" I cried. Keeping the cloak wrapped tight, I fell into his arms as we held onto each other.

"You are the last person I thought I would see." He heaved a breath of relief. "I see that Hades has lost his touch." Chuckling, two more figures stood up to join us. Selene, the woman in my dreams, touched my hand that was still wrapped around Hermes' torso. The bright moon that shone on her forehead didn't glow as bright, and dark circles tainted her face. Hecate, the 'doctor' that saw me from so long ago, was also here. They were all here, all the missing gods.

"How did you get here?" Selene spoke calmly. "Where is Hades?" I bit my lip while looking everywhere but her eyes.

"Someone was trying to break the ward of our cabin, then I heard a baby cry and thought someone was hurting a pup, so I rushed into the house, but I ended up somewhere, in the dark. Naked. I couldn't shift back into my wolf.” I grit my teeth in frustration.

"Demeter has cursed this area with Dragon blood; since you are mated to a god, it affects you too," Hecate brushed my hair back from my muddy face. Sighing heavily, I sat by the nearby table.

"She has the Sphere," I choked. "Demeter must have it; what are we going to do?" Selene shook her head as she kneeled before me.

"It will all work out; Hades will come for you, and that puts everything on our side. How much do you all know?"

Everyone sat in a circle around me. I explained everything I knew. From the Shifter Dragon's blood to Demeter taking me when I was a child, to Malachi who had the Helm and someone breaking the ward. My chest continued to tighten, and my fingers balled into fists. Everything had been against me from the very beginning. All the emotions of being away from my family, suffering, having no one to lean on for so many years came flooding back. I thought I had been through this, went through the motions of forgiving Hades, Dante, my family. Why is this coming back now?

I broke into a sob. So close to having everything back for it just to slip away through my fingers. Was I not allowed to be happy? Were the fates that cruel to me? To give me a life that made me so happy to strip it away so suddenly?

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have ran. The darkness I felt, the worry, I thought someone was in danger, and I couldn't just let it go." I rubbed a tear from my cheek.

"Oh little flame," Hermes cooed. "Demeter would have gotten the Sphere with or without you. She has too much on her side right now, but your mate is going to make her pay. The Dragon's blood is almost gone," he whispered slowly. "Demeter has just enough for what she wants to accomplish, and that's it." Hermes eyes went to the window, listening to the cheers outside.

"What does she want to do?" Glancing at the three of them, they frowned. Hecate stepped forward, holding my hands in hers. "Break the bond between Persephone and Gabriel and have Selene create a new one with Malachi. Malachi has promised Demeter he would remain in Demeter's home so she could always have her daughter."

I gasped. How cruel of a mother to break a bond of her child of her true mate?

"That's terrible," I spoke.

"She's sick," Hermes spat. "A sick woman that is too attached to her daughter. Won't let the girl grow up." Hermes shook his head.

"What does that have to do with Hades and me, though?" Hermes lowered his head as his dirty hair fell into his face.

"Demeter hates Hades for keeping Persephone; Demeter only accepted the deal of six months out of the year with her daughter because that was the only way to have her. Now she wants revenge; she wants to break your bond with Hades as well. If it breaks, your goddess powers will be taken away, and it will kill you." Hermes gripped my hands tightly.

Anger filled me. I was not the one for violence, Hades was, but this was unacceptable. I growled as I threw back the table. The candle blew out as I huffed in annoyance. No one was going to take our bond; I'd make sure of it.

"Well then," Hermes laughed. "You've got a bit of Hades' anger in you." I sat back in the chair, feeling utterly defeated. Hades was coming, I had to remind myself. He would come; he would rescue all of us.

Hecate petted my hair, pushing it back behind my ear. Her touch was calming as I tried to rein my emotions in. My empath abilities had not weakened as much as I thought they would. Maybe I could use it to my advantage later.

"I'm sorry to change the subject so quickly. Most of my powers have weakened significantly and I cannot do much." Hecate lowered her voice as her fingers trailed to my abdomen. "However, there is some good news that I can tell you, Ember." My heart stopped as Hecate squeezed my hand.

"My dear, you are with child."

---