Page 58 of Seeking Hades' Ember

Chapter 29

Ember

One moment I was sitting in Hades' lap, and the next, I plopped down right in the middle of our bed. Shaking my head and getting over the dizziness, I tried to recount what had happened. Was that a dream? Did someone just puff into nothing but ash and dust? A gasp left my lips as I covered my mouth with both my hands.

It DID happen! Hades just waved his hand, then "poof!" That horrible beast was gone! Granted, he was a terrible beast, but they did look like an average human at that moment.

What the heck is going on with all this magic! Snickerdoodles, this was getting exhausting. I needed a break, a nap, or something, but I seriously doubt I would get any rest if I tried to sleep.

The door burst open, and Cerberus came trotting in with Blaze on top of his head. I perked my head up to watch the two interact, but from the looks of it, Cerberus was annoyed. "Stupid damn, hamster," I heard as Cerberus walked by. My eyes widened, swearing I could hear that he was talking.

"Well, I don't like you either. The whole three heads thing doesn't even make sense. You aren't even a dog."

I gasped loudly as I pounded my fists into the mattress. "YOU BOTH TALK?!" I squealed as they watched me. Both tilted their heads to the sides like little puppies. "Say something," I begged as I crawled to the edge of the bed. Both were staring; Blaze's mouth hung open.

"Did she say she could hear us?" Blaze's voice was unbearably cute. It was squeaky but not too terribly high since he was a boy. His tail flickered a bit of smoke from his tail as I started blinking my eyes rapidly.

"Say my name," I whispered.

Cerberus didn't even open his maw, and I heard it as clear as day in my mind. "Ember? I hope her name doesn't change again. This is all getting confusing."

I screamed out loud and jumped on the bed. Pointing down at them. "You both can talk! I can hear you in my head! Snakes! This is insane!!!"

"You can really hear us? How can she do that?" Cerberus snorted as Blaze jumped off him and crawled to the bed.

"I don't see why she can; she's human," Blaze huffed. Blaze crawled up my arm to sniff in my ear. "The only way she could hear me is if she was an animal. What about you, Cerberus?"

"Hades is the only one that can hear me. Then again, I've never left the Underworld or talked to any other humans."

Blaze hummed while my mouth hung open. "I can talk to animals. Do you know what that means?" A grin popped on my face as I did a little squeal and butt wiggle on the bed. "I must be a Disney princess," I whispered. Watching TV has paid off; I knew what I was now.

Cerberus growled, "No, you are not; those movies aren't real. I'd like to know why you can hear us."

"I think my memory is slowly coming back. I hope once I remember where I came from, it will give some answers. Maybe that will tell me why I can hear you."

Blaze scratched his fur while staring at my head. His nose started to twitch as he neared my head again. Licking my ear and burying his nose inside, I squealed in laughter. "Stop, stop! What are you doing?"

"Just... just trying to test a theory. It's too faint to be sure, but there might be something more to you. Just keep resting like you've been doing. I knew when I sensed you, you were special. Just didn't know what," Blaze mused.

"Special?" I questioned.

"Yeah, some Phantomtails like me get hooked on certain animals and people for some reason or another, and I got hooked on you. It is like a deeper connection we are supposed to figure out. You are a puzzle, and I need to figure you out. Until then, you are stuck with me." Blaze puffed out his chest while Cerberus huffed.

"Then you will go back, right? Wherever you came from once you figure it out?" Cerberus popped his head up, hopefully.

I pushed Cerberus in the shoulder. "That's mean." I pointed my finger at him.

"I just want you back to myself, and I don't need some fire hamster taking away all my scratches." Cerberus sat back on his butt.

"I'm a Phantomtail, not a damn hamster! I will also stay as long as I want, you mutant dog!" Blaze hissed.

Before they could start their fighting again, I silenced them quickly. "So, since I can hear you both, want to tell me what is going on in the other room? Hades kicked me out, and I landed in here," I huffed, crossing my arms. "He's never kicked me out before. He usually lets me stay on his lap and... -" Cerberus nudged my hand with his nose.

"Hades just popped off one of his demons. He didn't want you to watch anything more. You were scared stiff in there." Cerberus licked my hand for me to scratch his head.

I gasped. "The demon really is gone? Dead? Where does he go?”

Cerberus sat back down on his hindquarters and scratched one of his three sets of ears. "The demon will be put back into the demon soul pool. Hades will revive him once he gets over his anger with him. If he's super pissed, they will be cast out and go live in the River of Styx."

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