Page 26 of Hades

Her Jeep comes into view, with its top pulled back and Argos sitting in the front seat. By the scenery around them, they are just outside Vegas, heading east. Argos must notice the black raven in the sky soaring above them. He barks, and Aradia looks up and smiles then waves. Her cute actions put a smile on my face.

“Hey, baby,” I whisper as I watch her through the raven’s eyes like I’ve done so many times before. “It’s better this way,” I tell myself, or maybe I’m trying to tell her. I don’t know anymore.

I’m hunched over the basin for hours, doing nothing but watching her drive. Every so often, she stops to feed Argos or to let him stretch his legs. She has a travel bowl and some food for him, but the only thing I’ve seen her consume is a bottle of water and a small bag of nuts.

The sun has set, and I watch as she continues, but she’s tired. Every so often, she shakes her head and blinks her eyes to wake herself up. “You need to stop, my love,” I whisper into the basin. “Pull over for the night. Find someplace to rest.”

I hate the road that she’s on.

When the bird looks up, it’s nothing but miles of blackness. There’s nowhere for her to stop, even if she wanted to. I’m instantly angry at her for choosing such a deserted stretch of road. She should know better than to travel alone through the night. As soon as the sun started to set, she should have found a place to rest for the night.

For a woman who has no sense of her immortality, she has always acted as if she has lives to spare.

The deserted road is starting to give me an uneasy feeling I’m unfamiliar with. It’s been hours since she passed another car, and I haven’t seen any road signs letting me know where she is.

“I don’t like this,” I mumble into the basin. “Something isn’t right.” The words are barely out of my mouth when I see the unmistakable glow of eyes off in the distance. Hundreds of pairs, trolling the human sector, looking for a fresh meal. She doesn’t even notice them, but Argos must smell them because the sleeping dog is now wide awake, growling into the darkness.

“Fuck,” I spit out through gritted teeth. The last thing I want to do is scare Aradia by materializing and killing a horde of demons before her.

I grab my broad sword that was stashed in the same place for centuries, doing nothing but collecting dust. Instantly, I materialize in front of hundreds of Quasit demons. They are small creatures with less brains than they have height. Even Aradia could take on one or two and become the winner. But these idiots decided to hunt together,a big mistake.

“Looking for someone?” I address the swarm of small demons. Their only response is to hiss back at me as they encroach on my space, surrounding me.

“She smells so different, like a gift from the gods,” one hisses through its fangs.

Without giving him an answer, I swing my weapon and sever his head from his body. “You’ve no idea,”I think, because that’s exactly what she is.

Within minutes, the horde of demons loses interest in capturing their tasty meal to fight me. One after the other, I swing my sword, and they burst into ash as my blade slices through them. The adrenaline rush that’s surging through my body is precisely what I’ve been needing. Perhaps I should trade places with Reaver for a night in the pits.

The Quasit demons don’t usually venture where humans are, so the only reason they are here must be for Aradia.

“She is mine!” I yell as I take another swing. Several more demons join their dead friends.

One by one, they fall until there are none left.

Aradia’s Jeep is miles down the road by now, safe.

For a moment, I debate going to her. But one look at myself and I quickly change my mind. Dripping from every inch of my body is blood, gore, and entrails, not exactly the best look.

“Fuck it.”

If she’s going to know the real me, she might as well see me as I am and know that this is what it takes to protect her. With our unique bond, I’m able to find her easily. There is only one town on this stretch of road, so that’s where I head. If I’m lucky, perhaps I’ll be able to clean up before she sees me.

The town is beyond small. It’s more of an expanded truck stop than anything else. But there is one hotel or, rather, one motel, The Kelsey Family Motel, and a twenty-four-hour restaurant, Michelin rated, I’m sure.

“Great,” I mumble as I open the door to the restaurant. “Food poisoning and hepatitis.” I laugh at my joke.

There aren’t many people in the establishment. A few truckers getting in a quick meal and a few women looking to make a quick buck off them. No one bats an eye as I walk through the place, searching for the men’s room. The hostess/waitress points to the back corner without a word. I give her a cautious nod and a smile. I’m sure she’s seen it all in this place. If she hasn’t, she sure as hell has now.

I do my best to wash up. I should flash back to the Inferno and change, but I don’t want to waste a moment. I can feel her drawing near, and I can also feel my sanity starting to slip, desperation starting to take over. It’s always the same, the reason I’ve done everything in my power to stay away from this existence. She owns me once I’m here, and despite knowing how this will all end, I must see it through, because I know we’ll get a few minutes of bliss before it’s all ripped away again.

I hear the bell over the front door jingle. I know it’s not Aradia, but it doesn’t stop me from looking out the door to see who or what has come in. It appears to be another couple of truckers stopping for a meal or perhaps resting for the night.

This place isn’t where Aradia should be alone, that’s for damn sure. I’m glad I decided against my better judgment to head her off here. She wouldn’t be safe, even with Argos by her side.

The hostess who pointed to the restrooms spots me immediately. In most places, I tend to stand out, but here, even more so. She’s an older woman. If I had to guess, I’d say she was in her late sixties, but I’m horrible with human ages.

“You eating or just cleaning up whatever shit you got yourself into?” she asks as she eyes me up and down.

---