Page 51 of Hades

“We had to get out of there as quickly as we could, because Reaver and I started to believe her lies just by being there,” he continues.

“You were there, in the Heavens when Hades took me? Why? Why would you help him?” I ask, because I know he and I are connected somehow, I just can’t remember. “Why would my own brother help Hades?” The words are out of my mouth before my brain has time to catch up to them.

I watch as a wide grin spreads across Alastor’s face as I clutch my head in pain. “Ugh!” I yell out, because my head feels as if it may explode and split into a million little pieces. Alastor is quick to wrap his arms around me and help me over to my makeshift bed.

“The headache will pass,” he reassures, but the pain only worsens, causing me to curl up into the fetal position and cry. “Just let it happen. I know it hurts,” he continues as he rubs my back and I shriek in pain.

I can hear him saying calming things, but all I can do is try not to vomit as he rubs my back, which is now covered in sweat. Argos remains by my side, and when I’m not holding my head, I’m grasping his coarse fur for comfort.

After what seems like hours, the pain finally subsides enough for me to open my eyes and lift my head. Alastor is there with a glass of water, which I quickly drink down before attempting to sit upright.

“How are you doing?” he asks, taking the glass from me. “I had the same thing happen every time I got memories back. It sucks, I’m sorry.”

“Sucking is an understatement,” I manage to breathe out as I rub my temples and look over at my brother for the first time in forever. “But I know who you are,” I whisper. “My little pain in the ass brother,” I say with as much of a smile as I can muster.

“There’s the Ari I remember,” he says as he passes me a plate of meat and cheese. “The headache will go away. Eat something, it’ll help.”

I grab a slice of crusty bread and a hunk of cheese from the platter and nibble as I regain my bearings. The food tray is different every morning, yet always has my favorites. I’ve long suspected Hades was responsible for them, though I’ve never seen anyone deliver them.

“It’s like my brain is rebooting. I know who you are, and I have some memories. But everything is out of order. Does that make sense?” I ask, since he seems to be the only other person I know who has gone through this, and he’s the only one kind enough to visit me. “Like I remember you as a child, but not as an adult.”

“My first memory of you was when you were thirteen and I was seven, and you pushed me down the stairs at the arena because you said you wanted an Archangel brother.” He laughs.

“Ouch. I was pretty mean as a child.”

“You get it from our mother,” he informs as he gets up and heads to the cave entrance. “I brought you something,” he adds, and I can’t help the little bit of excitement I feel at receiving a gift, no matter what it is. “It’s from Hades,” he tells me as he places a large chest beside me. “He wasn’t ready to give it to you, but I insisted it might help you remember.”

“What is it?” I ask, not yet daring to open it. “The lock is broken,” I say as I grab an ancient-looking lock that appears to have been almost melted in half.

“He wouldn’t say what was inside, only that everything belonged to you. And I had to have Reaver slice through the lock with his sword,” he says as if that explains everything. My raised eyebrows must help him realize that what he just said means nothing to me. “Oh. Apparently, the lock could only be opened by the sword of an Arcangel.”

“Oh. Well, that’s helpful information,” I jest.

“He also isn’t the one who stole your memories. Our mother took the memory of you from everyone who ever met or heard of you. Hades is the only one keeping your memory alive for… longer than you want to know,” Alastor tells me.

“I still don’t understand. Why would our mother want everyone to forget me? Even my family,” I add as I grab Alastor’s hand. “I’m sorry we’ve missed so much time.”

“Me, too. But I know once you regain your memory, you’ll understand why he did what he did.”

All I can do is snicker at his belief that somehow my memory will make all this okay. “I don’t think so. He’s…” I’m lost for what I feel for Hades. I’m still angry and hurt that he would abandon me here and not even once try to apologize. “I don’t know what he is and don’t think I want to find out. So, I guess that leaves me as just another prisoner of Treachery.”

“You aren’t—”

“A prisoner,” I interrupt him. “So I’ve been told. However, I still can’t leave, so I’m not exactly sure how that non-prisoner thing applies. Do you think he’ll come to visit me?” I ask despite not wanting to know the answer.

Alastor lets out a frustrated sigh as he runs his hands through his ginger locks. “I don’t know. He hasn’t been himself since he returned. I think he misses you, but he doesn’t know how to say he’s sorry.”

“That sounds about right. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’s ever wrong, or at least, he doesn’t think he’s wrong,” I correct myself. “Will you come back to visit?” I ask. “I’d like to get to know you again.”

Grabbing my head, he leans in and kisses me on the forehead. “I’ll be back, I promise. Are you going to be okay? I hate leaving you here. It just doesn’t feel right.”

“Yeah, well, tell that to Hades the next time you see him.” I laugh because I’ve run out of tears, and I’m not the same person Hades abandoned here. “He didn’t have a problem leaving me.”

Once Alastor is gone, I turn my attention on the large wooden chest he brought with him. Argos sits beside me as I stare at it and try to figure out what of mine could be in a chest so large, and why Hades would have it.

“Should I open it?” I ask Argos, but he appears to have lost interest as he heads for the cave entrance to take himself for a walk.

With a deep sigh, I toss the broken lock to the side and crack open the chest. I don’t immediately recognize anything inside. At least not as mine. Everything is packaged neatly in small boxes and stacked to allow maximum items. Carefully, I remove each smaller box and place them side by side on the ground. By the time the chest is empty, nearly fifty smaller boxes and another twenty or thirty little velvet pouches are lined up.

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