Page 99 of Raising Hell
“No.”
I wasn’t sure if the clipped word was due to disappointment or being knocked out and waking up to find me gone.
“Why did you take her?” Hades asked Megan.
I glanced at Zotera, already guessing how he knew Megan was responsible for my disappearance.
“You said to keep her safe. There have been two attempts on her life while she’s been in the underworld. I thought taking her to Earth would be the best way to keep her safe.”
He scowled at Megan for a moment. While that look might have made others cower, it didn’t do a thing to her. She maintained her steady return gaze for several heartbeats before lowering her gaze to the floor.
“I apologize for making the wrong choice.”
He relaxed, and the red hue of his skin began to fade into his typical caramel-gold god color.
“You are forgiven. Let your druid know that the spell wasn’t strong enough. I will not try another like that.”
She nodded. “I understand. I’ll have Zayn pull the guy’s image from my memory so I can share it with Grace and Paxton. Now that we know what he looks like, we should be able to portal to him.”
“Unless he’s an immortal,” Hades said.
“When you say immortal, you mean a god, don’t you?” I asked.
“There are a few other types of immortals, but they are rare. It’s more likely that he’s a god,” Hades said. “When you saw him in the viewing pool, he saw you. Only gods can sense when another is watching them.”
I glanced at Megan, thinking of her family’s certainty that there were no other gods on Earth, and saw she still believed it. So what, then, was our mystery creature?
“I understand, Father,” she said, nodding her head like she was getting ready to leave.
“Hey, Megan? Could you bring some of my things back with you next time? A change of clothes. A hair tie.”
“I will provide what you need,” Hades said.
“I know.” I patted his chest. “But can she still bring some examples of what I like so you know?”
I glanced at her. “Yoga pants. Comfortable modern things. Pretty please?”
She gave me a tired smile, nodded, and started to leave before pausing and looking back.
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out, Ashlyn.”
“I know. It’s okay.”
I watched her leave then turned to Hades.
“Show me the contract that stops the furies from portaling here. Actually, show me all the contracts regarding the furies.”
His skin flared with golden light in so many places. With sad eyes, he watched in silence as I read each one.
“Are there any that you want to keep?” I asked when I finished.
“No.”
“Then let’s remove them all.”
His breathing hitched, and he snatched me up in a tight hug.
“Thank you,” he whispered against my hair.
