Chapter 25 - The Archer

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Hades woke, pulling himself carefully from Persephone’s arms. He looked down at her; Olive’s small brown form was curled tightly against her legs and Persephone’s dark hair covered her like a blanket, the pale flesh of her breasts visible between the strands. She was... beautiful, she was everything he had ever wanted, and he would give anything to crawl back into bed and curl against her warm, lush body and pretend that the world outside did not exist. However, there were things he had to settle and already he might be too late to undo what had been done. Would he lose her as the Fates had warned? His heart twisted painfully at the thought and he rubbed his hand over the small scar on his chest -- so many questions that needed answers.

He dressed quickly, and from his dresser he removed the letter that Charon had secretly delivered to him yesterday, the one that Persephone had written to her mother. It was time to talk to Demeter. He moved quickly through the empty palace, stopping in his study to take a golden helmet from a shelf near his desk, then he hurried into the stables. After saddling Orphnaeus, he placed the helmet over his head and a curious swooping moved over his body and he could see that his form had vanished. The helmet of invisibility; it had been in his possession since before the wars, but he used it rarely now. There was a time when this helmet had consumed him, the desire to vanish from existence overriding every other need. But there was a price to pay for invisibility. After his mother died, when he had first been sentenced to live in this dark world, he had wanted to disappear. He had worn the helmet day after day, and he felt himself become more and more insubstantial, almost weightless. He became addicted to the anonymity and though he knew he was becoming weaker, he kept the helmet on, travelling deeper and deeper into the Underworld. He became a part of the shadows and it was then that he had first met Eurynomos. He had paid a price and learned that the helmet should be worn only when necessary, but now -- he needed it. He had no time to spare for the interference of mortals or Gods.

With a wave of his hands, the gates of the Underworld opened and Hades leaned forward to whisper, “Fly Orphnaeus.” The horse gave a huff, small flames licking from his nostrils as they galloped up to Earth, up the mountain that lead above the Gates of Hell. The gates thundered shut behind him and he raced through the snow-covered landscape, the frozen terrain unrecognizable. The river where he had first seen Persephone was iced over and the trees of the forest were barren and stark. He soon reached Demeter’s small temple. It looked abandoned, covered by deep drifts of snow, but he knew he would find her inside. He dismounted from Orphanaeus and rubbed his hand against the steed’s soft ears. “Stay put old friend, I will return soon,”  he muttered. His footsteps were soft in the snow and he pushed open the gates of the temple, leaves blowing across the abandoned halls. He took the helmet from his head, his black hair tumbling from it slowly. The quiet was deafening inside, like an empty tomb. He moved quickly through the rooms, knowing where he would find Demeter.

She lay upon Persephone’s bed and she turned her face when he entered, her glazed, dark eyes focusing on him. Her hair was in wild disarray and it looked to be some time since she had last bathed, as dark smudges lay across her face. “Hades, but I thought--” her voice cut off, a mere croak, as if she was unused to speaking. “Persephone?” she asked, sitting up quickly.

He held up a hand as realization dawned on him, her thoughts and guilt speaking loudly in his mind. “I think you have something to tell me, Demeter,” his voice a powerful sound in the room. She made a small whimper of distress as he pushed into her memories, though his touch was gentle. He watched the day Demeter discovered her daughter was to marry Ares, how she had gone to Zeus demanding the engagement be stopped. He saw her desperation as she fled from the throne room of Zeus, furtively disappearing into the dark halls of Olympus as she sought an audience with Aphrodite. Venus gave her a look as Demeter pushed into the darkened room where she was pleasuring Hermes, and the God gave an agonized cry as she let his cock slip out of her.

“Why do you seek me, Goddess?” Aphrodite murmured, sauntering towards her, smelling of sex and gardenia. “Did you wish to join us?”

“No.” Demeter replied in a flinty voice. “I have need of you, may I speak with you privately?”

A lovely smiled suffused Aphrodite’s face, and grasping Demeter’s hand, they left the unfortunate Hermes and made their way into a secluded corner of the palace. Demeter told Venus the entire tale, and when she had finished, she pulled back to look at her. “Can you help me?” Demeter asked, her low voice vibrating with emotion.

“There is someone she loves," Venus whispered slowly. "Persephone thought the love had died, yet it burns secretly and brightly within her." She told Demeter of the love in Hades’ heart, and though it was shrouded in shadow, it grew strong and true within his soul. “He was the one who wrote her the letters. Someone interfered with the delivery of those letters, and their destiny.”

“Ares,” Demeter hissed, too loudly.

“Perhaps,” Aprhodite replied in a cool tone. “She will be safe in the caves of the Underworld. No one can protect hrt here, but she would be protected in Hades’ realm. He is the last choice that remains to you. You must either give her up to the God of War, or abandon her to an unknown fate in the darkness with the God of Death -- who loves her.”

“There is no choice,” Demeter cried, “Ares must not be allowed to touch her again. I must tell her, so she will not be afraid. She will not understand.”

Venus shook her head, her golden curls dancing, and raised a finger to her lips. “You cannot tell her. Neither of them can know that it was you who shot the arrow. You cannot tell Persephone that Hades, not Ares wrote those letters. She will not believe you. Great harm may be done if you attempt to interfere once the curse takes hold. It must play out of its own accord.”

Demeter flinched. “Is there not another way? I could tell Hades--”

“Hades does not remember that he wrote the letters. He drank from the River Lethe and those memories belong to the river now. You cannot rely on him to help you, his love is buried almost as deep as hers, though the flame still burns. He would likely not even grant you an audience. He despises Olympians.”

“But I could lose her!” Demeter lamented.

Aphrodite grasped Demeter’s arms, her delicate fingers painful on her flesh. “You will lose her, Demeter, in every way, if you allow Ares to wed her. Ares does not love her, he only wants to own her, then destroy her. The choice is yours, but I will help you, if you allow it.”

“And if the curse fails?” Demeter whispered. “What then?”

Aphrodite ran her fingers over Demeter’s face, tracing her full lips almost lovingly. “Then he will go mad and your daughter will be locked in the Underworld with him. The choice is yours,” she repeated again. “Who do you trust more? Ares or Hades?”

Demeter hardened her face. “How do we do this?”

The Goddess of Love smiled and Demeter shivered. “Come, Goddess.” Hades watched as Aphrodite took Demeter’s hand and pulled them both through a window from the highest tower of Zeus’ temple. Demeter gave a cry of shock, but instead of falling, they climbed high above the palace, the wind lifting them beyond the clouds, and high above the sun, until they hovered in the darkness of the universe. “Lure her out of the temple, Demeter.”

Demeter put out her hands, and in her mind, she planted a golden flower in a lavender meadow, casting a powerful spell over the petals. The golden pollen would draw her out into the open. Aphrodite outstretched her arms and a golden arrow and bow appeared. With her fingers, she fused Persephone's name on the arrow and Demeter could hear the sizzling of metal.

“Even the God of Death cannot ignore a love arrow,” Aphrodite said. “He will have no choice but to seek her out, to claim her.”

Thunder rumbled beneath their feet as Venus opened her luscious pink lips, cursed words falling from them.

I, Call upon Venus and the Universe

To Bring an irreversible Curse upon the King of the Dead

With Whoever’s name is inscribed on this arrow

Let the king scour the earth to find her

Let no man, beast or God stand in his way until her heart is his.

Until she loves him, he will feel torment, desire, lust.

Until She loves him he will bleed out tears.

Until She loves him every inhale will be poison to his lungs

Every exhale, terror of losing her.

A curse on you, Hades!

A curse through your veins that will poison your mind!

A curse on your sanity

A curse on your immortal soul

Until you posses her heart

Your free will be damned

Without her love…you will go…mad!

They could hear the rumble of Ares’ war cry, his voice echoing in the infinity of the universe, and they knew he was coming for Persephone. “Hurry,” Aphrodite cried, thrusting the arrow and bow into her hands. “Hades must find her before Ares.” Venus pushed Demeter forward.  "Do not miss.”

Demeter drew back on the bow, the arrow still hot in her hands from Aphrodite’s curse. She shook the tears from her eyes and then hardened her heart. "I will not.”

He watched the arrow fly from the bow as it fell towards Earth, towards him. He had seen enough.

Lowering his hand, Demeter once again sat up from the bed. “I had no choice,” she whispered. “I could not let him touch her.”

“You play the distraught mother well, Demeter,” Hades said in a cool voice. “You are an even better shot than your daughter.” He pulled down his robes, showing her the small, white scar.

Her eyes moved over his chest, her pale face becoming somehow paler still. “I am sorry for your suffering, Hades. It was not -- not, my intention. I only thought of Persephone and I knew that you loved her, and could protect her in a way I no longer could. I did not protect her enough to keep that animal’s filthy hands from her. He stole her innocence in my forest!” She screamed the words, her pain so powerful the ground trembled beneath his feet. She must have felt it for she took a calming breath and continued in a quiet voice. “I would do anything to protect my child, even if that means giving her up. I know you are a good man, Hades. No one need tell me that you were trapped into your fate. When you disappeared to become ruler of the Underworld, I knew that you would take any kingdom dealt you and raise it from the ashes to create an indomitable fortress. What better-guarded place from Ares and Zeus than your kingdom? That degenerate snake was sending the Stymphalian birds to carry her away. They were destroying crops and killing villagers, so Zeus promised her to his son. Pledged her to that… rapist!” She spit the word. “I could no longer convince Zeus to put off another marriage. Aphrodite came to me and told me of your feelings for my daughter. I was desperate to do anything to protect Persephone. Together, we devised a plan that would give us both what we wanted.”

Hades’ gaze moved to Demeter’s eyes. “Give you both?” he repeated.

The scent of gardenias filled the air and Aphrodite walked through the door, her long blond hair trailing around her. She was holding a golden arrow and she held it out to him. Only a single letter was inscribed on it, ‘A’. She moved closer to him, brushing her lips against each of his cheeks, before pulling back with a beaming smile.

“I told you she loved you,” purred Aphrodite.

“You said many things that night,” he replied stonily. “Whose life do you intend to ruin now?” he asked, indicating the arrow.

Aphrodite’s wide blue eyes widened in excitement and her smile grew positively beatific.  “In my entire existence, there is one man I have never been able to hit with a love arrow. Only one man who can dodge my bow, the only man I have ever loved.” She pouted suddenly. “It has been quite distressing as you can imagine.”

“Touching,” he drawled. “And why am I being regaled with this story?”

“Ares. And you will help me,” she said, simply. “I love him, but his hatred for you makes him infatuated with having your wife. And pretty though she is, she cannot hope to compete with me. No offense.” It was unclear if she was apologizing to Hades or Demeter.  “But,” she continued, with an airy wave of her hand, “if you plunge this arrow into his heart, it will eliminate both our problems."

Hades gave a snort of disgust. “I have seen how your love arrows work, Aphrodite. You could as soon drive him mad as to love you. The world should not be afflicted with a love-sick Ares. Besides, Persephone is safely within the Underworld. I have no need to assist in your love affairs. I owe you nothing.”

Her smile caused a shiver to travel down him. She moved closer to him and pressed her lips against his ear. "Oh, but Aidoneus, you never found Ares, did you? Where do you think he went?”

A quick intake of breath passed Hades’ lips and Demeter gasped, “Aphrodite, what have you done?”

“I told you, Hades,” she replied, her face devoid of all deception, “it doesn’t matter how we get what we want, as long as we get it.”

Hades mind flashed to the memory of the dark figure from Persephone’s vision. He had assumed he was seeing himself --  but it hadn’t been. It was Ares. Ares had been watching her, lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to take her and he had provided it. She was alone in the Underworld with not even Cerberus to protect her.  He spun out of the room and he heard Demeter calling his name, but he did not turn around. He ran to his horse and charged through the snow like a demon, tearing over the Earth as he raced back to the Underworld. He waved his hands, opening the gates, jumping off of Orphaneus even as the horse still galloped. Hades bounded towards the castle, running through the halls. He pushed into her room, crying her name, and then stopped. There was crimson staining the sheets, pools of it dripping to the floor. A message on the wall was written in blood, her blood:  “Her life or yours.” A small noise drew his attention and he saw the tiny fawn huddled, shivering in a corner. With gentle hands he lifted Olive.

“It is alright little one. He cannot harm you anymore. I will find her.” He set the deer on the chaise before the fire, and then with icy determination in his veins, made his way back to Orphaneus. “Up again, Orphaneus.”

By the time he returned to Demeter’s temple, Aphrodite was waiting on the bed with Demeter.

“Where is she!” he bellowed. He grasped her from the bed, shaking her so hard he heard her neck snap, but she merely pushed it firmly back in place with an annoyed look.

Aphrodite flicked her wrist, lifting a golden arrow between her and the King. "You know how to find him. He has brought her to his temple. I need you to plunge this into Ares' heart at close range. He is impossible to hit from a distance. You must be sure to pierce his heart with it.”

Hades roughly pushed her from him and she tumbled to the ground. "I will kill your lover and rip his soul into shards,” he growled, his eyes flaming purple. “And then I will come for you.”

Venus crawled onto her knees before him, no trace of sensuality in her face. There were tears in her eyes as she clawed desperately at his robes.

“Please,” she cried. “Please, I love him. Help me,” she begged. “Help me.  You know how weak love can make you,” she whispered, “you know better than anyone. I am tormented by the thought of him.”

“Your lover is a rapist! A murderer who delights in tormenting the innocent,” he spat. “This is who inspires love in you? I should do the world a favor and rid it of both of you.”

She stood up unsteadily from the ground, leaning against the wall, darkness flickering in her eyes. “You know the burden of destroying a soul. I have seen you hesitate before taking a life. It is what makes you strong… and weak. What will Zeus do to you if you kill his son? You think he will let you keep your wife?” She bent over and whispered in his ear, so Demeter could not hear. “Besides, he has his father’s sword. The golden blade.”

Hades turned pale. “That is impossible!” he whispered. “He cannot pull that sword, only the sons of Cronus… how?”

Aphrodite shook her head, shrugging. “ I do not know. Perhaps Zeus lent it to him. Maybe Ares is tired of you stealing his soldiers, or maybe Zeus wants to grow his kingdom by eliminating death. Either way; they are tired of you. He now has the golden sword and the wife of the man he hates - that is indeed a dangerous combination.”

Demeter had remained silent until now, but she rose from the bed quivering with rage as she approached Aphrodite. “How dare you use my daughter,” she cried furiously. “When you visited me, driving words of despair and loneliness into my mind, was it to guilt me so that I would be filled with regret? You told me that Hades had gone mad, that he had trapped Persephone, that she was little more than a prisoner! You lied to me so that I would be so overcome with remorse that I drove a perpetual winter through all the land; so that Hades would have to leave Persephone to seek me, leaving her alone to be abducted by your depraved and vicious lover?”

Aphrodite threw up her hands, watching Demeter out of wary blue eyes. “Oh please, Demeter, you wanted her down there. Do not blame me that you have frozen the earth with your regret and loneliness. Easily led minds get what they deserve,” she replied with a smirk. “Zeus now demands Hades send his precious daughter back -- so everyone wins except the God of the Dead. You played Hades just as much as I did.”

The words were like a knife in his heart. “You want me to risk my life and kingdom and think I will send my wife back? Was it you, Venus, who whispered Persephone’s names to the dying mortals, placing blame at her feet?” Her eyes gave him the answer he needed, and he leaned down to pick up his helmet, then walked out of the temple and looking towards the snow-covered cliffs that Ares’ temple resided on.

Venus followed him, her laughter drifting on the wind.  “You hold no cards in this game, Aidoneus. You will fight for her because she is the only thing in this entire Universe to ever truly love you. Your father did not love you; your mother did not love you; your brothers do not love you. You cannot live without knowing she is alive. Love makes even the strongest God weak. You will die for her if necessary, but more importantly, you will let her separate from you so that she may survive. And is that not the ultimate sacrifice?”

He turned around to face her, his expression cold and unreadable. "What do you know of sacrifice? You know nothing but the pleasure between your own legs. Hermes!" he bellowed suddenly.

With the call of his name Hermes appeared with a flash on the winds, jumping out of a swirling current to bow before him. “Hades,” he murmured. He eyed Aphrodite’s breasts and then forced his gaze back to the dark God. “You bellowed for me?”

“Hermes, I want you to bear witness. If something should happen to me, my kingdom and all of the realms will be passed on to my wife. Everything goes to her and her alone. No Olympian shall ever have my kingdom. Do you understand?”

Hermes gave a slight nod of the head, unsurprised by Hades’ bequest. “Everything goes to your wife. Got it.” He snapped his fingers and then opened  his hands, a contract held between them. The letters shined on the golden parchment. Hermes produced a quill and Hades signed the form quickly. She will destroy you the Fates had warned. He found he no longer cared. For a moment, just for the briefest moment, they had been happy. It was enough. It was more than he deserved, and he was ready to die if necessary. If he was killed by the God’s Sword, his soul would also be destroyed and there would be no life after death. But there were worse things than dying; he had seen them, he had lived them.

“Shall I stay?” Hermes inquired, carefully tucking the parchment into his robes. “I can lead you up Ares’ mountain.”

Hades nodded, unsurprised that Hermes knew his business. He turned back to face Aphrodite. He took the arrow from Aphrodite’s small hand, holding it between his own. “A?” He looked up at Venus. “For Ares or Aphrodite?”

Venus placed her hands over the “A” inscribed on the cool metal.“For us both,” she replied softly.

“You expect me to pierce a War God’s heart with an arrow at close range, while he is swinging at me with a ‘God Killing’ sword? You do realize there is every chance I will not succeed and we will both lose. I with my life and you, your love.”

Aphrodite did not flinch. “You will not fail. You were a warrior in the Titan Wars.” She lifted her hand clenching her fist. “Harness that power again.”

“You speak of war as if you understand it,” he replied with a sneer. “Surviving is mostly luck.”

“What is love if not war?” Aphrodite asked, her voice so soft Hades was not sure if the words were spoken or whispered in his mind.

He felt a hand on his back and he turned to look into Demeter’s face, so much like Persephone’s, her large eyes sorrowful as she stared into his. “Hades, you do not have to do this. Take her away and then run back to the Underworld. Lock the gates. You do not have to fight. You owe these manipulating monsters nothing, you owe me nothing. You have sacrificed too much already. She will not survive losing you.” Her lips trembled as she looked up at him.

Once again the Fates echoed in his mind: You will want to stay but you will not. Zeus demanded her return. He took Demeter’s hand in his.

“Even with a decision to run Demeter, I may not survive. This will not end with my death or my survival. What will happen when Zeus’ men bring her back to you? Can you protect her from him, forever hidden in your temple? Will she be forced to be with him? Marry him? If she is to be taken from me, I want her to be safe. Venus is right. His heart needs to be turned away from her. There is one thing you can do for me.”

“Name it,” Demeter replied.

“See to my horse, make sure he does not freeze to death in this fucking winter.” Hades motioned to Hermes. “Take me to Ares. Let us end this.”