Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, but like I said, there's not that much of it here.
Chapter 25
The Second Dream
Van chased through the city with Dilandau hard on his tail for over an hour. Folken's Jaguar was seriously dented after numerous hits and Dilandau's perpetual tail-gating. Van didn't care. He knew Folken wouldn't care. Nothing mattered if he was going to save Persephone. All their possessions were disposable.
She lay in the backseat in Hitomi's body. Sometimes she trembled, sometimes she muttered half sentences in her sleep like, "Go chop wood," or, "Staining my arms." Van could only guess that her lives were coming back to her – everything she knew she was missing.
He had to lose Dilandau. Checking his rear-view mirror, he saw Dilandau's headlights. How big was the monster's gas tank anyway? Well, it didn't matter. Van had had enough of this and he was ready to call off the chase. He had been trying to figure out alternative ways to lose him, but all of them were crap.
Finally he was heading down a road that either disappeared into a tunnel or ran over the river. He had to get Dilandau to head over the bridge. Traffic would be slower and if a few cars got behind him he would be forced across the narrow bridge without any hope of escaping until he got to the other side. After the tunnel, the road opened up to three lanes where the speed limit was higher and the cars fewer.
Van headed towards the bridge. Dilandau was one car behind him and the traffic dense. Van waited until the very last second before he made a sharp turn onto an on-ramp and then over a meridian to land with a clatter so he slid into the tunnel. Then he sped up like a demon, but his plan was not to fly like a bat out of Hell. Instead, he needed to evade Dilandau's notice and slip into a tiny residential area that lay like a pocket in one of the folds of the river.
It might not work, but a dozen things had already failed. Van took an exit the size of a pea-pod, found a rare parking spot in front of someone's house and cut the engine.
Then he turned around and waited for Dilandau to appear out of the tunnel.
One second.
Eight seconds.
Twenty-three seconds.
Forty-two seconds.
One of his headlights was damaged, so he was easy to spot. Van watched as his opponent flew down the road and left him happily in the dust. That was lucky. The devil didn't know how far ahead of him Van got, so he drove as fast as he could to make up the time.
Van exhaled a heavy sigh of relief. That was it.
He put his car in reverse and put its tires back on the road. Then he headed back downtown. He needed a place to go that had underground valet parking and the only place he could think of that offered that was one of the huge skyscrapers that boasted the most fabulous hotels.
But even still, as he obeyed the traffic laws and tried to keep as out of sight as much as possible, he couldn't relax. The police had followed them once or twice during their escapade, but it wasn't the policy of the police in this city to participate in car chases. They just picked up the pieces afterwards. There would either be fifty speeding tickets waiting for him in the mailbox at home or he would end up in jail.
He shuddered. He had to get them out of this car.
On the U-shaped drive outside of the hotel, Van explained to the valet that his girlfriend had too much to drink and hefted her into the lobby.
The hotel staff didn't look too startled by her appearance, except that she didn't smell drunk – she smelt normal. However, she clung to him with what little strength she had and mumbled his name, so they didn't ask any questions.
Once in the room, he laid her out on the bed and looked at her face. She shook her head restlessly for awhile. He stroked the side of her face and tried to get her to calm down. She grabbed his fingers and kissed them.
His face fell.
All his life he had been told that he was the consort/plaything of the Goddess Persephone. It was a fact his mother had told him since he was born. He knew it was true because he had memories of his last life. Apparently, there was another life before that one, but he didn't remember it. He thought he remembered a bonfire and dancing, but he couldn't be sure. Raidne filled him in on the details since she knew all about it. He had told her at the time, it seemed. Van thought this strange. He certainly didn't think of his mother as a confidant in this life.
Then there was his second life. Van remembered that better. The second time he was born, Persephone didn't steal a body. She came to meet him in all her glory with tangles of red hair blowing in the breeze.
Those memories were dearer to him, though not binding. He remembered the passage of events with some clarity, but it felt like a dream and not like his real experiences.
The truth was that in this third life he didn't believe he would fall in love with Persephone – no matter what his mother told him. She said that he would love her on sight. Perhaps he would have believed her if the prophetess telling him such holy things were not his blood soaked mother who lived on a diet of dead men's flesh. How could she know about anything as divine as his love?
Van had certainly been attracted to women before he met Hitomi, but he always knew that his feelings were laced with a desire to feed off them – thus he was disgusted and clung mostly to Merle for friendship. But when he saw Hitomi, he felt powerless – absolutely powerless. She was a baby. She was beautiful, but not in her face or figure as much as other women he'd seen. He couldn't figure out why he wanted to be near her so badly. If he stayed with her, he would turn her into a shell.
Now he knew. It was because Persephone's soul was there that his heart ached so. It was because his spirit recognized hers and all his past emotional wounds were unbound. It turned out that they were still fresh. A new body hadn't helped a thing.
Except at the time, his comparisons with the red haired goddess and Hitomi didn't parallel each other at all.
Hitomi was innocent.
Persephone was exacting and cruel, except for a soft spot that she saved for him.
***
In his second life, he had been a child-siren. His mother told him that he was growing up so he could be the consort of a goddess who already had a husband. He hadn't liked it, but he had nothing else.
Once when he was fifteen, he told his mother that he wouldn't do as she wanted. She had responded with fury. "If you won't go to her, you're of no value to anyone and I'll kill you now." She had knocked him against the wall and moved to bite him.
He knew she did not jest with him when she threatened to murder him. He had hid his face from enough gore to know she should be taken at her word. "I'll go," he screamed before she broke his flesh. Even if he went to The Goddess of the Underworld as a slave, it would be better than living forever with his mother.
He was told to go to a certain mountain the year he was twenty-one. There he would be carried on the back of a fey horse to the place where he would meet Persephone. His mother dressed him carefully in the best clothes she had stolen from dead men. She clasped her fingers together and leaned over to give him a boost onto the white horse.
"Spread your wings out when you see her. She loved to fly with you."
Van had frowned and told the horse they could go. He was too nervous to be reasoned with. This was what he was born for – to be toyed with by a goddess. He felt sick. During all the times his mother spoke to him of his purpose, she had never said anything about what Persephone looked like except that she had green eyes. Green was the colour of life, but what could she know? She was The Goddess of the Underworld.
When he was a child, he had built up an idea of what she would be like and even when he became a man – the image did not dissipate. He was frightened of her. In his mind, her hair was oily black and stringy, running down to her knees. Her face was long and pasty. Spiders and mice lived in her clothing. Her skin would greasy to his touch, and he would have to touch her. Then he gagged.
If she wasn't like that, then why didn't she have lines of men waiting to bed her?
So the stallion brought him to the back doors of Hades' palace and Van spread out his wings to await Persephone.
He told himself this would only last six months at the most. Then she would be called back to the Underworld and he would be free – for at least six months. He hoped she tired of him quickly.
But then the doors were flung open and a young woman burst forth from them. She threw her shoes up in the air and fell back on the grass, laughing up at the clouds. Her red hair curled and fell in gorgeous waves around her face.
Van was speechless.
This was The Goddess of the Underworld? No, this was The Goddess of Fertility.
He was a siren so he sung almost always, just for the beauty of it, but he had never heard anything as beautiful as the song in his heart as she looked up at him. She was smiling and the delight on her face made him feel unworthy. Why should he have this pleasure? It was forbidden love. His last self had been hacked to bits by the army of the Underworld.
Well, it wouldn't happen this time. Van's chest filled with confidence. He wouldn't let it happen this time.
He spread his wings as proudly as he could and walked with grace to offer the Goddess Persephone a hand in rising.
She took it and flew into his arms. Van couldn't find his voice. She was so different than what he imagined. She was short. Her head tucked in right under his shoulder, and the perfume of her hair was intoxicating. He was losing his senses.
"We need to go," she prompted him. "I have a place we can go." She mounted the stallion and put him behind her. Telling him to tuck in his wings, they raced across the skyline.
Van didn't know how long they travelled. It was a blur of happiness for he held onto her waist and nestled his face in her hair. Finally, they alighted outside a cave not unlike his old home.
"What are we doing here?" he asked.
"I made this place especially for you, for when you came to see me," she said holding out her hand. "I'm sure you'll be able to make the journey," she said sweetly. Then she pushed him into the water.
Van surfaced, unsure how to take this playful side to her nature. He hadn't wanted to be drenched when he was dressed so well. Sirens were not water creatures even though they lived by water. They were creatures of the air.
She was laughing as she jumped in after him. "Take a deep breath," she said grabbing his shoulders and dunking him.
Under the water, she took his hand and together they swam through the coral and rocks to an underwater palace. Van ran out of air more than once and Persephone kissed him and blew new air in his mouth. He tried to hold onto her to extend the kiss, but she hurried him on. He held her hand as they made their way deeper and deeper into the water. When they came to the end of their journey, it was almost black. They had to swim under a huge rock and then up to get to the entryway. There was a pocket of air and a room that was bare, except for the pool they emerged from and a landing with two large carved doors.
When they stood on the landing, Persephone rung the water from her dress and pulled open the doors. "Give me a moment," she said, closing them behind her.
Van stood dripping on the tile, feeling rather foolish. None of this was turning out how he expected. He wasn't supposed to love her, yet every moment that they were separated by that door was agony.
Only a minute later when she opened it to let him in, she looked completely different. Her hair was dry and she was dressed, having discarded the white dress she wore before. This time she wore a gown of orange flame with long tight sleeves and a square neckline. There was amber shining in her hair and she brought a brown tapestry robe that she hung on his shoulders.
"I love you," he said suddenly, surprised at the sound of his own voice.
Her expression was lonely. "Come inside," she invited, drawing him through the doors.
The palace inside was everything it ought to have been. The floor glistened with mother-of-pearl triangle tiles and the walls were hewn out of black rock – jagged and sharp. Even though the palace was decorated with an ocean theme, the rooms they entered were not cold. Actually, it was like home, except there had never been blood spilt here. He liked it.
Persephone led him to a bedroom decorated in tan, like the sand of the sea. She told him to get cleaned up. There were plenty of clothes for him in the wardrobe and she would wait outside for him.
So, he took care dressing. He wanted to please her.
When he returned to the first room, the blinds were drawn and Persephone was looking out into the ocean. There was a bale of turtles swimming by. She was pacing. Her shoes clacked on the tiles.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I'm afraid," she admitted, biting her red bottom lip.
"Of what?"
She sighed. "You're going to die."
"You don't know that," he contradicted softly.
"No, you are," she said. Her beautiful lips quivered. "We must make the most out of this time and not waste it."
She touched his shoulder and looked at him as gravely as if he were already dead. He didn't understand it. Did she have second sight? Well, he wouldn't die!
"Well, what am I to do?" he asked.
"Are you hungry?" she said extending her wrist. "You can have a drink if you want to."
Actually, he was not hungry. His mother had seen to it that he was well fed before he left home.
He evaded the question and asked, "Aren't I your lover?"
She winced. "I'm sorry. I don't want to form that bond since our love is hopeless. I'll live with the pain of remembering just your arms around me for who knows how long without relief. Let's not make memories too intense for me to live with after you are gone."
"Why do you keep saying I'm going to die?" he asked, his voice rising. "I'm not. I'm young. I'm healthy and sirens never die. My mother has already lived over a thousand years. Why do you keep saying this?"
"Because it's true, but I must see your strength. Bite me!" she insisted, extending her arm and pulling up her beautiful sleeve.
He recoiled. He did not want to break her flesh if it was not necessary.
"Bite me! I want to see how much power she gave you."
"I don't want to bite you. You're too precious. I want to kiss you."
Persephone pushed her sleeve down. "You don't understand our situation right now. Sit down with me and I will explain something."
He sat down and she took his hand in hers. She began by touching his skin lightly then she kissed his palm. "I know you're brave. I know you would die for me. You already have. You don't have to prove it. I would prefer it if you didn't."
Now she was talking sense.
"There's no way we can be successful this time," she continued. "We will have to wait for you to be reborn a third time."
Van didn't understand why she was so hopeless. What would be different the next time? He was frustrated and he didn't understand. He had been told he was her lover, but now he felt like he was rejected when this was his birthright. And he wanted her so badly, his body hurt.
"Be patient," she said softly as she pulled his head into her lap and stroked his hair. "We'll succeed next time."
He didn't believe her.
***
Perhaps he wouldn't have died if he had taken her warning seriously, but at the time he couldn't stand the limbo his life hung in while he lived in Persephone's palace. He forgot completely of the struggles he endured while living with the sirens and instead this life he lived now was what felt unbearable.
He was not allowed to sleep in Persephone's bed chamber. She had her reasons. Most often she said that gods and goddesses who committed adultery tended to be caught in the act and she did not want anyone to see them – least of all Hades – who she feared would appear at any moment.
Van was not her equal.
She treated him like he was a butterfly in a bottle. He would die, so she had to enjoy his beauty while she could.
This was proven when he tried to bite her for the first time. His fangs were like daggers and though he evaded biting his own tongue and cheeks with them, a human was nearly cut to ribbons when he applied them. He knew this, so he bit softly. He expected to break the flesh. He didn't. When he put all his effort into it, he could draw a tiny portion, but she would quickly heal.
She told him that this was the difference between them. She said that if he were immortal, he would have been able to break her skin and make the blood flow, but none of the sirens were. They were merely spared from death.
After that, she drew her blood for him, using her own blunt teeth to break the skin.
His ego stung. He thought he was a ferocious beast – a cursed prince – but when he stood up next to Persephone, he was nothing.
He asked her how she planned to break the sirens curse and her own marriage contract, but she hushed him.
"If anyone heard of our plan, it would be stopped. I don't dare tell you … since you're going to die."
Van raked at his hair in fury. He hated this life. He hated the mystery. He was a key player, yet he didn't know his role. Well, maybe he did – he was the pawn – the slave – and not one thing in his life was turning out a way he could stomach.
***
Persephone was expected in Olympus during her six months out of the Underworld, so she often went to the Heavens without Van and stayed there for days on end.
"Have you seen Hades on Olympus when you've been gone?" Van asked anxiously when she came back.
"Yes."
"What does he say?"
"Nothing. It's maddening. He knows your soul went missing because it never came to judgement, but I believe he suspects that Zeus has it. My father has been pulling a string for me, but not the one he thinks."
"What? I didn't know your father still cared for you."
"Oh, that's right. Sorry, I forget that your mind is not as clear as mine. Zeus promised me that he would not forget me. He gave me two gifts. The first one was that it wouldn't matter how much food I ate in the Underworld, it would no longer condemn me. Secondly, he gave me a favour."
"Did you ask him to release you from your obligation to Hades?"
"He can't do that. Even though Zeus rules the Heavens, he cannot command anything in the Underworld – including me. Nor can he anger his brother. Besides, Hades powers are not like Zeus'. Father would shrink if Hades rose against him. You see, all that lives must die and death is eternal … sometimes."
"So, what has Zeus done for you?" Van asked hesitantly.
"He added another layer to your mother's curse."
"What?" Van almost screeched. Wasn't his family already as low as they could get?
"Don't agitate yourself," Persephone said leaning back on her dais and fanning the incense she was burning towards her.
Van didn't understand. How could she be so beautiful and holy and so cruel at the same time?
"He stopped Hades from murdering them all."
"What?" Van breathed, lowering himself in front of her.
"He tried after you died, but for once his movements were slower than mine. I had already arranged it. You see, your darling mother is a part of my plan. I could not allow Hades to kill her when she still has a role to play. For all intents and purposes, she is the one who will have to break your curse. Your part is merely the crowning glory of her accomplishment. However, she failed this time and you will die as a consequence of it."
"I don't understand."
When Persephone answered, she was not vexed or impatient. Her voice was like the mist on the mountains – full and poignant. "Zeus put a seal of temporary immortality on Raidne and Teles. It will be removed when I bid him, but it's false and provides no comfort. They still suffer like the damned … as they should."
Van knew how they suffered better than anyone. Their curse was so heavy, he could not think of it without pain – even when he was removed from the situation.
***
He could have lived there with Persephone for who knew how many seasons, but Van did not make it to the end of the first one.
There was a masquerade ball to be held on Olympus. It was a going-away celebration for Persephone and Van desperately wanted to go. When he asked her if he could escort her since he would be in disguise, she refused saying it was too risky.
Van wouldn't listen.
He wanted to dance with her. He wanted to hold her close. As they lived she would hardly let him touch her and soon she would disappear back into the Underworld for six months. The idea wasn't as appealing as it had once been – especially since she had decreed that he wouldn't be able to live alone in her palace during the cold season. She was going to send him home.
"You can't live here," she said. "Without me, your source of food is gone. I don't want you to die of starvation or drive yourself mad with hunger, so it's best to set you free."
"If I stayed here, I'm sure I would be able to hunt for food."
She stroked his cheek lovingly. He knew she loved his confidence, but she also feared it. It would kill him. "No," she said shaking her head. "Considering the way you are now, I don't think you could survive the trip to the surface. You would have to have an air supply and you would have to go up slowly so the pressure wasn't too great."
"I could manage that," he said, getting behind her and massaging her shoulders.
"Even if you made it, you would only arrive in the darkest wasteland of the sea. Van, there is nothing nearby – no human settlements. The only thing remotely close is a cloud trail that leads to Olympus and trust me, there's nothing edible along that path."
"What if we stored your blood?"
"That wouldn't work either. My whole body has to go back to the Underworld. If some of it was left undigested in your stomach, you would have to follow me. You have to go home."
Van didn't see any point in arguing with her. This had to be something she knew best in, but why had she built a secret hideaway for the two of them that he couldn't live in all year round?
Then there was the matter of the masquerade ball - a matter in which he couldn't accept her decision in.
The day of the ball, Van helped Persephone dress. Well, it wasn't really that he helped her, but he did do up all the clasps she couldn't reach – there were two. He stood by her dressing table, admiring her and feeling bitterly dejected that he couldn't go with her.
Watching her apply gold powder to her face, he asked, "How are you going to get to the surface without all that washing off in the ocean? Is that another skill of yours as a goddess?"
"Every palace has more than one door. This one has two."
"Two?" he asked in astonishment.
"One leads to Olympus, and one leads to the mouth of the river Acheron," she explained as she put in her earrings.
"Which one did I enter?" he asked.
"The one from the Underworld, since you came to get me at the palace gates."
"Why is that such a difficult entrance? Is it to stop Hades from reaching you here?"
"No. Hades could come here whenever he wanted to, but out of respect for my feelings – he never has. You see, even though I'm expected to spend six months of the year on Olympus, it's awkward socially. Hades himself doesn't choose to spend his time there although he is partners with Zeus and Poseidon. It's uncomfortable for him, so now that I'm his wife, we share many of the same powers, duties, and social discomfort. I don't want to be there more than I have to be. Actually, a portion of this palace is my old tower on Olympus. I felt unwelcome there, so now one of the mountain peaks leads home."
"Can I see it?" Van asked eagerly.
"No. I use it solely as a reception hall when gods and goddesses come to call on me. It's rare, but it makes them feel nostalgic to see my old rooms. I've outgrown them. I like these rooms better. They give me hope."
"But, I want to see—"
"No!" she snapped. "That part of my life is not for you."
Then she dipped her fingers in a second jar and ran them through her hair. The red of her hair was covered entirely with brilliant gold.
"Why are you dressing entirely in gold?" Van asked; his voice was soft and cautious. He didn't want to anger her further.
"Well, I have this ongoing joke going with Apollo, the Sun God. I try to outshine him."
"Do you succeed?" Van whispered in her ear.
"I haven't yet. It doesn't matter how he dresses, he's always the brightest thing in the room."
She tied her hair up in a scarf so ringlets fell around her face. The scarf she tied almost like a cone and other ringlets trickled out the end. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. Her whole body shone like the sun except for her green eyes. He wondered what she would do to disguise that part of her, because surely everyone knew Persephone for her piercing green eyes that were more radiant than emeralds. Finally, she took a long piece of thick gold ribbon and turned it back on itself until it was no longer transparent. Then she pinned it across her eyes like a blindfold and tucked the edges under her scarf.
"How will you see?" Van wondered.
"I'm a goddess. This body is very aware of who touches it. That sense of mine is stronger than sight. Actually, this gives me an advantage because then I can concentrate better. And sometimes it's better if I don't know whether I've beaten Apollo or not. It's a hopeless cause. The Goddess of the Underworld cannot outshine the Sun God, but I can't stop doing it, even though it is slightly ridiculous. He's my only friend besides my mother who still recognizes me as my old self."
Van was irritated. It annoyed him that someone so distanced from her like Apollo could walk the halls of his lady's tower while he – her lover – was expelled. "Will you dance much tonight?" he asked lightly.
"I don't know, but whatever it's like, it won't be anything like the sound of your drum on the beach with the stars overhead. Goodnight," she said as she swept through the door and down the hallway.
Van thought of following her up the tower. He thought he had already explored her palace in its entirety. He didn't even know what passage he should take if he wanted to find the way. Instead, he refused to follow after her and followed his own plan instead.
He ran to his room and got ready.
***
"I'm going to die," Van wheezed as he lay wet and deranged on the lip of the cave where Persephone had pushed him into the water.
What he just went through was definitely Hell. Now he felt like he partly understood what she was saying when she worried constantly for his physical person. It was lucky that he didn't need to swim anymore that day. The exertion would turn him into worm's meat.
He dried himself with a cloth in the parcel he had managed to bring with him. Then he rushed to find the cloud trail Persephone spoke of. Hopefully, it would lead him to the ball. Hopefully, he could slip in unnoticed with the gods and goddesses of Olympus. Hopefully, he could dance just one melody with Persephone.
***
Finally, he reached the gates of Olympus. They were wide open. Inside, gods and goddesses were mingling while heavenly music played. He had never seen so many colours. There didn't seem to be a distinction between the colours the women and men would wear. One goddess by the doorway wore the clothes of the night sky. Another wore the hue of the setting sun. Two women danced by holding hands. They wore nothing but ivy threads and moss.
Van pulled his black mask over his eyes and attempted to blend in.
He didn't see Persephone anywhere. She should have been easy to find, since she was dressed like the sun, but his eyes couldn't find her.
He saw Apollo, or at least someone who he thought was Apollo. He was clad entirely in gold like Persephone and was surrounded by five women, all vying for his attention.
Van himself wore cloth that had the appearance of black waves that splashed at night. They were the finest things Persephone had given him. He left his white wings unfurled and stepped around the outskirts of the crowd, because he didn't want to be noticed. He could blend in. Many of them had wings.
Looking around, he didn't know who any of these people could be until he saw one man. He knew him. He was wearing long dark trousers. He left his chest bare and had black tattoos all over his body. There were two circular symbols tattooed on both sides of his chest. There were black bands tattooed on his biceps with long curling symbols travelling up his shoulders and down to his elbows. His throat and back were tattooed also. Then his hands and arms – they were black to the elbow. His mask was created out of twisted metal with sharp thorns holding it slightly off his face. It looked like it should have cut him, but somehow, it didn't. It only framed his blood red eyes and made them look triply as menacing as Van' memory of Hades.
Everyone moved for him when he walked. His white hair flew over his shoulders as he parted the crowd – obviously making his way towards someone.
That was when Van saw Persephone. In her dressing room, she had shone so bright. Now she looked like her fire was embers instead of a full blaze.
Hades took her in his harms and led her onto the dance floor. She was blindfolded, but she clearly knew his touch because of her reaction. At first, she recoiled and then she submitted.
Hades wasn't looking at her. He was looking across the dance floor at Van. Then he started drawing on Persephone's shoulder with his ink-black index finger. They were the same symbols that were on his body.
Van couldn't see her face, but she saw her tremble and from the rise and fall of her shoulders her discomfort was palpable. Everyone in the room should have felt it, but no one made a move to protect her from her own husband.
Hades didn't stop at her shoulders. Soon she had his black fingerprints all over her dress and down her back. Didn't the man have any sense about where he touched her in public?
If someone didn't do something soon …
Van saw Persephone's mouth move. He strained his ears and heard her say, "Please stop, I think Demeter is watching us. I don't want to make her any angrier."
"Demeter hasn't come down yet," Hades breathed – his black breath smoking around her ear and staining her neck.
She turned her back on him and insisted, "Someone is watching us."
But Hades pinned her arms behind her back and while looking straight at Van, he kissed her shoulder. His eyes were gloating.
Van couldn't stand it. His nails scrapped at his temples as he breathed and tried to gain control over himself. There was nothing he could do. He wasn't a god, or a demon, or anything. He was an insect. He didn't even have a weapon. He had nothing.
Then Hades did the most horrible thing of all. He put his fingers on the strap of Persephone's dress and brushed it so it was on the precipice of falling. If it fell, her entire dress might fall down in front of all these people.
Against his better judgement – Van acted.
"Leave her alone!" he yelled.
Upon hearing his voice, Persephone tore the lace from her eyes and saw Van and Hades standing ten paces away from each other. The square went quiet as all eyes turned towards the twisted love triangle.
Persephone's face was tortured.
"So, it is you," Hades said pitilessly. He extended his hand and conjured a silver knife out of thin air. "It was so good of you to show yourself. What objection to my behaviour could you possibly have?"
"You're hurting her. Can't you see she doesn't like it?"
Hades bounced the handle of the knife in his palm several times before he answered. "You misunderstand. This show was only for you – to draw you out. Do you really think that I can't do whatever I want to her whenever I want? She's been mine for over a thousand years. There's no need for a public display."
Persephone looked pitiful. Her dress and makeup were ruined and there was a tear coursing down each of her cheeks.
Van knew what she was thinking. He was going to die. He smirked. He had to make this good. "You've only got one blade. It will take more than that to kill me."
"No, it won't," Hades said, chucking it without further ado and slashing Van through the heart. "I won't share her with you."
Van fell flat on his back with his wings unfurled around him. He expected Persephone to fall on his chest and weep for him, but in his last seconds, she was running from the place with all due speed.
Van didn't know. Where was she going?
Author's Notes: No beta reader. If there are any errors - I take full responsibility. Thanks to all my readers. I had some really stunning reviews last time. Thanks to all you who reviewed. My forum will be open momentarily. It is available through my profile.