Page 83 of Seeking Hades' Ember

"Ember," Blaze spoke through to me; his voice was considerably more profound than his usual chattering.

"Yes, Blaze?" I stuttered as he sat in front of me, destroying the coffee table and knocking Athena's book off the table. Hades gripped me tighter, ready to stand, but I pat his chest, my eyes never leaving Blaze.

"You cannot put this off anymore; you need a pack. Elea demands it. Do you not feel her?"

I managed to draw out long stutter before lifting the block that Athena taught me just hours before. "We have just days before we shift, Ember. Don't block me out. If I shift without you with me, we are both as good as dead!" I gasped as everyone sat looking at me.

"Blaze said I will be shifting soon. That block you taught me kept Elea out; she couldn't reach me."

Athena nodded. "Be sure to only always let her in then. You both need to leave and take her to a pack. Elea will need to speak with a few of the other wolves and become acquainted. I'll let Hera know of your departure."

Hades stood up with me in his arms and took me past the charred doorway. The angels' robes were still on fire as they tried to extinguish them. The grumpy cornflakes guy was even more grumpy as he ripped his clothes off, and his undergarments looked like a diaper. I snorted in laughter, and he gave me a pressing look.

"Aw, is the baby grumpier?" I whispered only for Hades to hear, but angels have good hearing too, as he swore under his breath. I gasped. "He can't say that can he? That's so naughty for an angel to do!" I giggled.

"I didn't know my mate could make an angel curse. If there was any doubt in my mind before it is gone now. Well done,” Hades smirked.

Ares was in the fields, along with Vulcan, having a heated discussion with the angel called Gabriel. I remembered him from the first day here and the haunting look he gave me. "Can you find out his emotions, Ember?" Hades put me on the ground as I concentrated.

"Now see here." Gabriel pointed his finger at Ares. "I know nothing about Persephone; she's Malachi's mate. I can't touch her!"

"But you like her! I've heard the other angels talking. They say you stare at her while she is making flowers in her garden; you try and talk to her every chance you get!" Ares pressed.

"She has a mate! I cannot pursue her!" he growled out as he pulled his hand through his hair. "End of discussion." Gabriel went to walk away, but Hades grabbed his shoulder. "What if I was to tell you, you should have feelings for her?" Hope flowed through Gabriel as his heart filled with delight. Gabriel wanted that more than anything, but he was thoroughly denied it because of Malachi.

"What if I told you, you are her mate. That it was written in the ultimate history books of our kind?"

Gabriel was instantly saddened. "You shouldn't joke about this; this is even lower than I ever expected you would be, Hades." Gabriel's eyes glistened as he looked away. Anger flowed through him as he stretched his wings and took off into the sky.

"He loves her," I whispered. "He cares for her, but he thinks Malachi is really her mate. I don't know about you guys, but I think Persephone is involved in this." Hades eyes didn't leave the sky as Gabriel continued to get smaller as the distance grew between us.

"I agree with you," Vulcan spoke. "Gabriel isn't part of this fiasco, but I believe that Persephone and Malachi are. Now to find them is the question."Vulcan wrote down on a pad and paper.

"No, we have to find the Sphere of Souls," I corrected. "Selene said to find that first. The only way to do that is for me to get my memory back," I sighed, irritated. Hades held me in his arms and stroked my hair.

"One step at a time, let's get you shifted first. Maybe that will trigger something." Hades turned to Vulcan and Ares. “We leave for the Black Claw Pack this evening. I will warn their sorceress, Cyrene, that we are coming."

Both of our friends muttered in agreement as Blaze continued to walk with us in his larger form. Many angels stared at us while we retreated to the main living space of the Celestial Palace.

"Where is Hermes?" I asked curiously. "We haven't seen him in forever!" It has only been two days, but that was a long time for Hermes. He would always come back to let us know if he found something or nothing at all.

"Good question, he should be around here," Vulcan mused as he looked out over the vast window that held the kingdom. Zeus came barreling into the room along with Hera, who was beside him clutching his hand.

"Hermes has been taken!" Zeus shouted. The room grew silent as Vulcan and Ares growled.

"How do you know this?" Hades roared as he stomped to Zeus. Zeus held out a note that had been ripped from a dagger.

"I found this on his home door in the city. I had sent angels to retrieve him so I could send a message to Poseidon, and when the angels returned, they brought me this."

Hades,

Revenge is the acceptance of pain.

Accept the fate that the fates themselves

Are too scared to give you.

Malachi

---