Reaper of Hearts

Chapter Five

"Hades?" Cassidy felt the room spin. She didn't have it in her to be embarrassed about being naked in front of Thanatos. His gaze was clinical, assessing the runic tattoos that swirled over her skin.

"Yes, Hades." He crossed the space between them, snatching her arm. "See this?" His fingers trailed one of the ink stains on her skin. "This is written in Sumerian. A lost dialect. There are only a few of gods still walking that can even read it, let alone weave it in such a complex binding."

She shivered as the chill of his fingertips followed the script around her arm to the back of her shoulder. "I can only translate half, and what I can translate makes no sense, especially not for a girl who was born more than a millennia after this language had become lost to history."

She jerked away from him as the runes lit up, the color dancing across her skin. "What if I don't want to see Hades?" Being unique had a way of biting people in the ass.

Thanatos crossed his arms and took a step back. "It's non-negotiable little reaper. There's enough power in those bindings to upset the balance in Asphodel. You can't just keep walking around with that all over you."

"I was doing just fine until David forced me into interning for this ridiculous merger." She turned to her body. It was a surreal experience to look at her vacant shell lying in a crumpled heap against the wall. "I am going to be relegated to a weird slice of hell for this..." She began undressing the body.

"What are you doing?!" Thanatos' voice came out so high-pitched she chuckled.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Boss? I can't very well walk through the Hall of the Dead naked. I need clothes. My body, my clothes." She tugged the hoodie off the body, wincing as the head smacked down on the floor. Her eyes stared up at her accusingly. Great, even creepy doll her was being judgy.

She finished undressing her shell, forgoing the underwear. There were some pretty heinous things she would do, but wearing underwear that came off a dead body was not one of them. Even if it was her own dead body. "Can this day possibly get weirder?" She slid into her clothes and turned back to Thanatos.

He stared at her, gaze dark. "That was hands-down one of the oddest, hottest things I've ever watched."

Cassidy's face heated. "Grave robbing do it for you, Boss?"

"Apparently." He answered, gesturing to the elevator. "We need to get to Hades."

"Are we just going to leave me there?" She felt strange just leaving her shell lying on the floor like a broken doll for someone else to clean up.

"Once we vacate the room, its clean coding will kick in. The body will be incinerated and the energy released into the ether to be gathered into something new."

"Just so you know, that's seriously creepy. How often does someone shed their shell?" She strode toward the elevator, touching the button on the panel next to the doors.

"You would be surprised. It's a common enough occurrence that most buildings have a clean code in them."

"How have I existed here for two decades and not learned a damn thing?" The elevator door slid open and Cassidy stepped in.

Thanatos followed her, turning to face the button panel. Cassidy eyed him curiously as he touched four different buttons then held his wrist in front of the keypad.

The elevator chimed twice, then lurched upwards and diagonally at the same time. Cassidy lurched toward the bars at the back of the elevator, clinging to them desperately as her stomach plummeted to her feet. "What the f**k?!" She shouted at the death god.

He leaned against the wall, the picture of serene elegance. "We're going to the Hall of the Dead."

"Why the hell aren't we taking the subway like normal people?! How the hell is this even possible?" Her ears popped savagely as they gained speed. Pressure built in the air around them and Cassidy's eyes watered.

"It's just magic, little reaper." He looked at Cassidy, his lips quirking up in a half-smile. "You're a reaper and this surprises you?"

There was a loud bang and the elevator started slowing. Cassidy felt her knees go weak. Her knuckles were white from where she clung so tightly to the bar. "Reaper is a job, that I can understand. This...is too much. You gods are crazy fuckers."

The elevator stopped and chimed. The door slid open.

"This had better be good, Thanatos." The voice was silky, soft and deadly. Cassidy peered into the darkness that shrouded the room beyond the elevator doors. "Persephone is most aggravated that our date was cut short."

Thanatos didn't say anything, just held out his hand. Cassidy gripped his hand tightly, trying to get her body under control. He tugged her gently into the gloom.

"My Lord," Thanatos bowed, pulling Cassidy down with him. "I would never dream of interrupting your time with Persephone if the matter wasn't of the utmost importance."

They straightened and Cassidy got a good look at the god sitting behind a huge desk. He was pale, a shock of tangled dark hair spilling across his shoulders. He had his dark eyes trained on Cassidy, his glittering gaze narrowed. "Thanatos, do you care to explain why you have a spellbound Sumerian goddess in my hall?" He steepled his fingers in front of him.

Cassidy's mouth went dry. She darted a look at Thanatos, who heaved a deep sigh. "I thought as much."

Cassidy jerked her hand out of Thanatos' grip, her eyes widening in shock. "What?" Her voice was soft, disbelieving. She shook her head, "There's got to be some mistake. I'm not a goddess. I'm a girl. A reaper. Now a cupid I guess. But I'm no goddess."

"Not now, maybe." Hades arched a dark eyebrow at her. "However, I would recognize Erishkigal's spellwork anywhere. Welcome to the hall of the dead, Inanna."