Page 25 of Seeking Hades' Ember

Chapter 13

Jillian

He just left. Hades looked so angry, and I didn’t know what to do; there was a glimpse of sadness in his eyes and in my gut, I knew I needed to stay away. Cerberus came out looking happy while I stooped down to give him all the cuddles.

He groaned and whined when I found his spot as I beamed at him. Hermes came out with his hands in his pockets and a cigarette in his mouth. “Look what we have here, beauty and the beast.” Cerberus huffed as he gave a playful nip at his ankles. “Easy their boy, remember who feeds you!” I chuckled while standing to my feet.

“Hades is going to be out of the house today; he needs to go to the office to take care of some business.” I nodded as I fiddled with my fingers. “And you, young miss, need to get inside for your IV therapy.” I groaned out loud and did a little foot stomp.

“I’m doing fine; I haven’t gotten weak in a few days!”

“That’s because the therapy is working.” Hermes looked me up and down and flicked the butt out of his mouth. “How about this, stay outside for a bit while I work here in the garden. You can go as far as the fence but don’t go past it. Do you understand?” The fence was a long way off, and I wasn’t planning on straying too far anyway. There was too much to look around just on the grounds.

“Yup, you can go inside. Cerberus is with me.”

“I don’t think Hades would like that, and he wants to make sure you are always safe. Go on,” Hermes said in a no-nonsense tone as I walked away from the cobble-stoned path.

The large lake on the back-side of the house looked interesting so walking over, I went to put my feet in it; it was cool and refreshing as I walked around the edge. Small fish swam around. Cerberus looked on questioningly, so I put my hand in the water and splashed him, causing him to yip and run away. Laughing, I got out and went to sit under the willow tree.

Being outside was heaven. I could see myself sleeping under the stars every night if Hades would let me, but I doubt he would do that. Being in nature was calming and brought a whole new sense of peace. The grass, the dirt, and the smell of the flowers and trees were how I dreamt it would be. I wanted to engulf the earthy scent all over my body.

Cerberus came behind me and let me lay my head on his stomach while he purred. It was lulling me to sleep. I wasn’t planning on sleeping, but he curled up around me since he was so large. I tried to get up, but he huffed at my wiggling, so I stayed still. He could still chew me to pieces if he wanted.

“You’re no fun, CC.” Another huff, and he laid his head in the grass as I curled up close. I suppose a small nap wouldn’t hurt.

Howls from the moon woke up. “I must have slept late,” I muttered to myself. The moon was full, and the small town was just a few feet away from the treehouse I was sleeping in. The lights were flickering on and off, and several other children laughing and giggling as they ran around a large mansion.

“Ember!!” I heard a woman yell. “Ember! Where are you? You are going to miss the party!” It was completely dark outside, but I could see perfectly. The woman had long golden locks of hair with a smile on her face. She was holding a small bundle in her arms, a baby that couldn’t be but a few weeks old. Two other small boys are flanking her sides; one looks to be close to my age.

“Ember!” she yelled again, and I jumped out of the tree. I felt drawn to them, so I followed her voice. “There you are. Where have you been?” Confused, I looked at her and pointed to myself. “Yes, you! Were you in the treehouse again?” I nodded, still wondering why this woman thinks I’m this Ember girl. She smiles again at me, and the eldest boy grabs my hand. “Make sure she doesn’t get away, Dante.” The boy held my hand and gave me a look of mischief in his eyes that looked like his mother’s. Was she my mother too?

Her green eyes looked into mine. “I don’t know why you don’t like listening to the story about Hades visiting our pack. It was a great honor to help him.” Again, I looked at her confused as Dante pulled me along to sit next to the roaring fire.

“That’s because she likes Hades, Mom; I’ve seen her read those books. She doesn’t think he’s mean.” The mother scowled at the boy. “Enough, Hunter. Hades is a force to be reckoned with, but he protects this pack as he promised us years ago as thanks for ridding him of that horrible demon creation. He gives us the extra assurance that none of our own will get hurt by any other demons with his special powers. We would know immediately if something was amiss.”

“What about your cameras, Mom?” Dante asked. “Those help too.”

The woman laughed. “Only so much. It is more so for unwanted humans because cameras don't work in use of magic. The only way someone could get in would be a god-like being, and we don’t have any threats from them.” Dante nodded, and the woman handed me the baby. I panicked, having never held a baby before I tried to pass him off to Dante.

“What? You always like to hold Steven. Mother gave him to you.” Dante pushed the baby back into my arms. He was sleeping peacefully as the woman approached a gigantic man with dirty blonde hair in a man bun. He kissed her lightly on the lips as they both looked down on us.

“Alright, gather ‘round. It’s time to hear the story of Hades’ visit twelve years ago.” Children ran to the fire while the adults laughed and found a seat. Many kids were murmuring how scary Hades was, and he could turn the entire pack house into a raging inferno. My heart hurt at the jokes they made, and I wanted to go push them off their stupid log.

“The day was much like this one, a cold, and winter snow started to approach. Your Luna was preparing herself for the Luna and Mating Ceremony when Trixen the demoness came to put an end to your Luna’s life. She was an evil demon created by Hades, and he had lost control over her. Luckily, our strong Luna was able to destroy her, and with that came a great gift from Hades. The protection barrier."

A little pup started waving his hand around frantically while the large man chuckled as he held onto his wife. “Yes, pup?”

The little pup stood up to ask his question. “Why did he create that demon? Why would anyone want to hurt Luna?”

The big man’s smile dropped, and he took a large breath. “We can’t go into much detail. We can tell you she was created for a good purpose, but all that went awry, and she took it upon herself to destroy mate bonds or give hope to others that she could create a stronger bond with someone, not their mate.” Gasps from the crowd lingered as I sat confused.

What is a mate bond?

Steven sputtered, and the mother came over to pick him up. “Thank you, Ember,” she whispered to me. Ember? Am I Ember in this dream?

A dark silence fell on the crowd, and the fire slowly faded into darkness. Looking around, I was the only one left at the now-dead fire. In the woods, I saw a twinkle of reflecting light from the moon. My eyesight could no longer see well in the dark as I squinted to see better, only to have the figure right in front of me with a blink.

The man in the gladiator helmet bent his body low and looked into my eyes. “Forget,” he growled, and I screamed to getaway. Yelling, crying, and pawing at the dirt, I tried to hold onto the logs for my life. I couldn’t be taken away, not again! My hands drew blood as dirt and rock scraped my fingers.

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