Blessed

The nightmare

"I can't tell you all about it because it's not a sequence of events, it's more like a feeling. There are some pieces of me seeing a woman dying but I can't ever get to her in time to save her. I thought it's a dream about my mother but I don't think so anymore. This woman doesn't look like her." I said in a breath. "I feel foggy and powerless at times. I also see a man in my dreams. I think he's human..."

"Why would you dream about humans?" Hades asks his face showing clear confusion.

"I don't know. It's funny, but seeing his face in my dream after the bad things happen, it kinda... calms me down. I don't know it's weird..." I say more to myself than to my uncle.

"And the woman, the dead one," Hades specifies, "what can you tell me about her?"

"She has long wavy hair, her eyes are warm brown almost golden," I shudder remembering her dead stare in my dream "she's really badly hurt, her injuries look like someone tried to break her in half and she..."

"What?" Hades asked looking at me.

"She bleeds blue." I say meeting my uncles serene gaze. It meant that the woman from my dream was a goddess.

"Well, I can tell you one thing - it's not a prophecy." he says calmly and waves his hand summoning a bottle of vine and two glasses. He pours the drink in both of them and passes me one. "Most likely you dreamed about the night you were born. There were many bodies lying around Zeus's palace that looked mangled like that when the Titans attacked. Even gods can be killed if you apply enough pressure." he chuckled darkly. "She sounds kind of familiar, if I remember who she is I'll send you a message. As for your human, I don't know what to tell you. It's really rare that a divine creature would dream about human. It happened in the past, sure, but it was never a good dream." he added sipping his vine and seeing that I didn't even taste mine. I knew better that to accept food or drinks from Hell.

"You can drink that, it's not a trap." Hades said laughing mockingly. "I have no desire to keep you in my domain, you are far more useful free, Selene."

I snort at his words and take a sip. It's really tasty and I make a mental note to ask for a few bottles so I can drink them at home. I can't get drunk no matter how many bottles I drink. I'm not allowed even that small escape.

"I'm gonna get going. Thanks for the drink, uncle." I down the rest of my vine and I can see his eyes scrunching in distaste. The vine was probably hundreds of years old and should be enjoyed slowly yadda yadda, but I feel like I have to go. I feel the need to be out in the open, or just away from Olympians for a second. This morning was a rollercoaster of disaster and I need a break. Not a small island I'm living on. More like a bustling city. I have a certain bar on my mind that serves alcohol far more younger than Hades's vine. I almost feel a pull to that place so I decide to follow my instincts.

"Wherever you are going you can't go like that." he says and with a wave of hand he changes my torn up dress to a white toga with golden chain around my waist. My hair is also made into a braided bun with jewel accessories.

"You need to get out more if you think that this outfit is better than the previous one." I say laughingly as I imagine the looks I would get if I walked down the street dressed like I act in a greek play. I change my outfit into a dark gray jeans with a white loose shirt and black combat boots. "That's more like it."

Hades shakes his head at me, and with a "Bye, bye." I teleport myself to a bathroom of Romeo's bar. Romeo is a meles Oneroi, which basically means he's a nightmare demon. He feeds on bad dreams, the more powerful being dreaming the tastier meal. Meles Oneroi are usually the evil sons of bitches but Romeo isn't like that. He had a genius idea to open a bar where all kinds of creatures are welcome. He gets soldiers with PTSD, girls with daddy issues or some other trauma, supernaturals with conscience... He connect's with the one's he feels have it worse and eats their nightmares. When I stumbled in his bar for the first time he made the mistake to try to feel my subconscious and imagine our surprise when he was standing normally one moment and the next he was slammed to the wall that was 10ft behind him. His laughter boomed as he slowly got up from the floor and came to stand in front of me. I looked at him, his chiseled jawline and deep black eyes and scoffed but he didn't stop smiling. "So you're complicated. Hi, I'm Romeo!" he said looking friendly. A few decades passed when he actually asked me about the darkness he felt when he had a brief glimpse to my subconscious when we first met and offered to eat some of my nightmares. I didn't allow him to do so. More out of concern for him than me being worried he would see something he's not supposed to. At that time, I knew his modus operandi - he actually saved a lot of human lives eating their trauma away. Abused children, soldiers... he gave them the peace while they slept so that they can fight to survive whatever happened to them. I didn't want one of the rare beings that I actually respected to be harmed. My traumas are mine to fight.

I put on dark sunglasses and step outside. Romeo's at the bar leaning on it and talking to two leggy blondes.

As I walk by the pool tables, all of the supernaturals that are in feel my presence and I can hear sharp intakes of breath and can see some of them stiffening at the sight of little ol' me. Alerted by the sudden silence, Romeo looks up and sees me. He roars in a happy laugh startling the two girls "SELENE!"

I send a little smile his way and watch him jump over the bar swiping me in a bear hug that leaves me breathless.

"Calm down, you i***t! You're gonna crush me!" I cry out not really feeling any pain. This bear of a man is as gentle as they come. "How you've been, Rome?" I ask smiling at him. He raises his hands in front of me, like he's touching something delicate and says "Same old, same old but never mind me, how you doin'?" he asks imitating Joey and I can't help but laugh.

"We all felt your little fight with daddy!" he says chuckling and I make a face.

"Yeah, well... You know how it goes, we love each other, we try to kill each other... It's a healthy relationship." I say dryly and Romeo shakes his head heading behind the counter to pour me a drink.

"Drink is on the house but you will getting the bill for the roof repair." he hands me my glass.

I close my eyes wrapping my fingers around the glass and when I open them I down my drink saying "Repair done."

"Better hope nobody saw that, showoff!"

"Don't doubt the all-powerful cursed girl, Rome..."

"I won't, I won't... Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what brings you to my bar?" he asks as we haven't see each other for couple of years.

"To be honest, I'm nor sure. I was just going with a gut feeling."

"And here I am thinking you've missed my manly charms" Rome says looking hurt and I raise my hand as I play a tiny violin.

He shakes his head laughing and turns to the girls, "Well ladies, we have plans for tonight and I'll see you at 11pm sharp!" The girls look dazed, I can smell they're humans. They look at me not able to control their body's reaction so I slide my sunglasses and wink at them. Just as expected, that pulls them out of trance and they quickly get up and try to leave. Romeo notices and says "You're bad...".

When I was born, my father forced every god and goddess to bless me with a part of their power. My aunt Aphrodite was a bit too generous. Everyone who sees me feels desire for me but when they see the unnaturalness of my eyes it snaps them out of it. Humans can't look at me at all because of their natural instinct to protect themselves. I motion to Rome to pour me another one as I scan the room. The talk that stopped at the sight of me continued although I could feel that all of them were alert.

"So Rome, you have a hot date tonight?" I asked wiggling my brows playfully.

"Something like that." he smiles lightly and I can tell it's gonna be work and pleasure for him tonight.

"Never mind me," he says changing the subject. Romeo has always kept to himself the details of persons dreams, "When will I see you helping yourself to a big plate of steaming hot man cakes?", he asks and I choke on my drink.

"Can't believe you just said that."

"I'm serious, Sel! I've known you for decades and I never see you with a man! It's a damn waste, you're so beautiful. So beautiful...", he says desire darkening his eyes.

Aphrodite's curse is a b***h. Aphrodite is also a b***h so it makes sense.

I wait a bit for Romeo to get a hold of himself and when he snaps out of it I offer a change of subject asking, "Actually, I need to ask you a favor."

"Anything, sugar." he says still a bit dazed, "I'm sorry, that effect you have on people is not as fun when I'm on the receiving end of it."

I skip over the last part and say, "Need you to find out who's been attacking my mother's dreams."

"Someone stupid, no doubt."

"Yeah, someone who didn't get a memo or someone who's looking for my attention. You don't think Epialés would do something so incredibly stupid? Again?"

Epialés had a wonderful idea to torture Hera while she is powerless, he sent his strongest dark Oneroi to visit her dreams. If an Oneroi takes too much of your dream it can actually eat away at your sanity and make you go insane or even kill you. The first time I changed into my monster form from this morning was when I found out what was happening to her every night. Luckily for Epialés, the form was new for me and it zapped a lot of my energy so Zeus was able to knock me unconscious with a hit to the back of my head. But not before I almost sucked Epialés dry and nearly killed him. He was left with a permanent scar on his left cheek from that encounter.

"I really don't think he's that stupid. The man is an pompous ass but he knows better than to piss you off again. He knows that his scar is from a kitten, he wouldn't touch a wild cat you've become."

I nod slightly, not completely convinced. People do stupid dangerous stuff. If he feels he could get something more from it he would challenge me. I've been around long enough to know that much.

As i sit sipping my drink I start to feel some weird heat rising in my chest. I look at my glass confused. "What did you do with this whiskey?" I ask looking at Romeo, "I think I actually feel the effects of alcohol?!"

Romeo looks at me confused, "It's just whiskey..." he says sniffing at my glass.

Now i can feel prickling in the back of my neck, just like someone is looking at me. I quickly turn around and scan the room and put down the barrier that blocks my empathy. I can feel some hostility from a few of the surrounding patrons but nothing unusual.

"What's up, Sel? You're starting to worry me!", Romeo says as he never actually saw me nervous.

The prickling in my neck intensifies and I can feel the heat collecting around my heart but no one present is causing this. My eyes trace around the room and I take off my sunglasses so I can see better and in that moment a figure appears at the front door. I recognize the face immediately as it was visiting my dreams for countless nights. And than I do something I haven't done in nearly one thousand years. I try to hide.