In the Blink of an Eye (The Gods in Therapy)

Emily was startled to find herself in her office on a Skype call with the central air running and the tree outside of her window showing signs of Summer. How could that be? It was Spring just a moment before. And where was her daughter? Even as she worked, she kept her at her side. But there was no evidence of a baby in the large space around her. "Dr. Lieberman? Are you ok?" She knew the man on the screen. Arnold McDaniel, age forty three, divorced three years prior, father of three, Bipolar Type II... "Dr. Lieberman? You don't look so good."
       "I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Emily questioned. She was determined to make it through this appointment and then she would demand a God, any God, come explain to her what the hell was going on!
        "I was saying I am actually doing pretty good in quarantine, all things considered. Even though the city has officially opened up, my office is being smart and letting us all work from home because of how the cases are spiking so high every day. The combination of medications we've tried this time around are working so much better than the combinations before. I am just worried because two of the medicines say right on their information online that they lower your immune system.  Luckily I have a new friend...a lady friend, you know?" Arnie blushed and grinned from ear to ear as he said that. Even though Emily felt like she was in the Twilight Zone, she couldn't help but smile back. She couldn't remember the last time she saw him so happy. "Well, anyway, my friend Patty has been getting my groceries for me and all that. But she's also making me get out and walk around the park near my house and walk a few miles in my neighborhood so I don't feel closed in."
      Emily replied in her best 'Everything is Fine' voice, "It sounds like she is taking excellent care of you and I am very happy to hear that. Let me just pull up your information so I can get your scripts over to the pharmacy... " When she saw the date in the corner of her computer, she was truly in shock. This was impossible! How had she lost three months? Her hands started shaking violently as she tried to pull up Arnie's chart and get to his med list asking automatically, "Would you like them sent to the pharmacy on file?" He replied that he would an and she muted their chat while she used her own cell phone to call in the prescriptions that she sent over electronically. This was her job, something she did sometimes ten times a day. It was that alone that got her through this monotonous task, even as she felt like crawling out of her skin. This was wrong. Everything about this was wrong! Saying her goodbyes to Arnie, Emily checked her calendar and she realized he was the last patent of the day. 
       Closing down her computer, Emily thought about what she was sure of. Apparently, somehow, it was July. And apparently the virus was still a threat judging by what her patient told her and the fact that the appointment was online. This felt like a nightmare! And where the hell was her daughter? She wasn't sure but she was going to find out. Because she had no other ideas, she started shouting for Hecate over and over again until her voice was hoarse and she was in a full panic. Finally the Goddess came, large with child indicating that She was the Mother, Hecate's Summer self. "What the fuck is going on? And where the hell is my daughter? I want my baby, Hecate! Where the hell is she?"
        Emily knew by Her sigh that the news She had for her was not good and her heart sank. Putting Her hands on Emily's shoulders and looking her in her eyes, She said, "Your daughter does not exist here, Emily."
       Feeling the room spin around me, I sat on the couch with Hecate taking up the space at my side. "She's dead? Was it this goddamn virus? Oh, Mother..."
       Emily's entire body shook with the grief that welled up inside of her. It was unlike anything she felt before. She felt like a piece of her soul was ripped away and it physically hurt her as well. The ache for that precious baby girl was now a throb in her womb... "You misunderstand me. She isn't dead. In this reality, she never existed. You never conceived her, you never carried her, you never gave birth to her. She never was. Either was your relationship with Hermes. He took you to the land of Egypt's Gods and He brought you back to this very room but that was it. You've seen Him in passing as He has brought other Gods to your care but aside from brief hellos, the two of you have shared nothing."
        Minutes passed where all that could be heard were Emily's violent sobs as she slumped down onto the floor and lay in the fetal position as if to protect herself from the pain radiating inside and out. Finally she sobbed out, "How could you do this to me, Hecate? I trusted you..."
       "I did nothing. But I do agree with the decision." Getting down on the floor, Hecate scooped Emily up as if she were a child and She laid her gently in Her lap. "I am very sorry this happened to you. But it does not mean you will never be a mother. It does not mean you will never find love..."
       "Does He remember us? Does He remember our child?" Emily questioned, feeling as if she would not give the truth of the matter.
        "I cannot say. What I can tell you is that he has not mentioned you or the child since I brought you here to this reality so I think not. But I am not certain."
       "What was the point of you going out and searching for months to find my daughter just to allow this to happen?" Emily asked, trying to make sense out of a situation that made her feel completely insane. 
      "This decision was not made when I went out and searched for your daughter. The situation was not the same and when it changed, it was important that the child never came to be."
       "What situation? The virus?"
      Stroking Emily's beautiful dark brown hair, Hecate hurt for Her daughter deep in Her core. "No, not the virus. I cannot tell you the situation. But I can offer you relief if you so desire. I wanted it to be your choice. If you wish, I can wipe clean your memory of everything relating to Hermes, replacing it with the memories you would have had in this reality. But you must consider this. You will have not one shred of the love you shared or of your daughter's smile. There will be nothing of your little family left in your mind. The pain is great. I know that. But if you tell me you want your memory cleared of it all, you will get just that. Or you can choose to work through the pain and retain each moment of love and tenderness you shared with Hermes and the child you made. I can give you time to think about it..."
        "I don't need time. If I cannot get back what I lost, there is no point in carrying around the memories. They are empty and hollow. If this child of mine was never brought into existence, I do not want to recall the way she cooed or how she held tight to my finger..." Again the sobs came, gut wrenching for Hecate to hear. "Before you ask, I am sure. Take it all from me. It's gone already anyway."
       Hecate was actually surprised to hear Emily say that. She truly thought Emily would work through the pain and hold tight to the hope of one day being with Hermes and starting anew the life they briefly shared. But Hecate also felt Emily's certainty. And it wasn't Hecate's choice, after all. "Very well. I love you, Emily."
       "I love you too, Mother." 
       Emily felt the soft warm lips of the Goddess on her forehead, right where her third eye was. Closing her eyes, she was confused when she opened them and she realized she had been crying and Hecate held her in her lap. "What the hell happened?" Emily questioned. The last thing she remembered was talking to Arnie. 
       "You must've fallen asleep and had a bad dream because when I came in you were laying on the floor asleep and in tears. I was trying to wake you."
       Emily smiled the carefree smile of years before. Hecate knew the magick worked and all traces of the family she couldn't have was erased from Emily's mind. "What brought you here in the first place??"
        Thinking quickly, Hecate remembered Who was on Their way over for an appointment. "I came to remind you Athena and Hera are on Their way. It sounds like They are in the mood to bicker..."
       "Oh, Christ." Emily declared, getting up from the floor.
       Just then there was a soft knock at the door and when Emily told them to come in, she saw Hermes open the door. In walked Athena and Hera, bickering as Hecate said. Very little was likely to be accomplished if she couldn't do something to pull Them out of that mood. 
       "Hello." Hermes said. He had such a kind smile, Emily thought, and he was much better looking than she would have imagined from the myths. 
       "Hello." Emily replied, smiling brightly at him.
       "How goes things, Auntie?" Hermes asked Hecate.
       Shaking her head and looking as if She were almost disappointed, She replied, "Things are done, Nephew. That is how they go."
        Suddenly Hermes' whole face fell, as if something in Hecate's words made him extremely sad. The look on His face tugged at Emily's heart strings and she imagined hugging him...and kissing him...and...
         Hecate and Hermes walked out together leaving Emily with the two powerful irritated Goddesses before her. Smiling at Them, she tried to get the images she conjured up of going to bed with Hermes out of her head as she looked at Athena and Hera and declared, "Before we begin, I want the two of you to remember you love each other. So play nice...and play fair. You will regret it if you don't put the work in. Even if you are Deities, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Something could come along and rip the two of you away from each other in the blink of an eye. So Athena, let's start by telling Hera what she can do now as your mother figure to be closer to you..."

The Ancients Awaken (The Gods in Therapy)

Emily's life was in a state of disarray unlike any time before it. All of the Gods were unreachable, her new baby was defenseless in every way and needed every moment of her time, and despite the virus that shut down her world and her practice, she was still trying to see patients over Skype, facebook calls, or even through the phone. The fear over this new threat to human life had even her most stable patients scheduling time with her. Anxiety, depression, manic episodes, episodes of schizophrenia...all of it was coming up and she was often trying to help people through their fears while pushing down the terror in her own heart. The father of her child, Hermes, was as unreachable as the rest of them and she swung between moments of missing him so much her heart hurt and wanting to smash his dick with her hardback copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare the moment he dared darken her doorstep again. The not knowing was the worst part of it all just as it was for her patients and she couldn't remember the last day she was able to get through without crying. It was not a good time to be a new first time mother, especially alone and without a mother of her own to turn to, but she forced herself to keep the faith that there was a good reason for it all and that the Gods would explain it to her as soon as they could...
        Emily was stunned to see her office around her. But she felt the weight of the world lift from her heart when she saw her beloved Hecate, in Her maiden form, sitting on the couch across from her. "Where is my baby?" Emily cried, realizing the child that was normally on her at all times was not there.
       "This is a world of dreams. She is sleeping in her bed at your side back in the room your body is lying in. I needed to speak with someone who was not a deity but I need you to forget every word of this when I go."
       "The entire world is going to hell! It feels like the start of a horror movie out there! All of you, including the bastard that fathered my child, have ghosted me...and you want me to forget anything you tell me that might help me through this? Fuck that! That is not fair and you know it!"
        Hecate sighed and Emily realized, despite Her young looking face, how old and tired Her eyes looked. This was something she saw a few times from vampires. Their skin carried no sign of their age but they could not hide the centuries from their eyes. Never had she seen this from one of the deities and it put a chill down her spine. "So it is that bad? Goddamn it!"
       "I have not yet said a thing and already you have your conclusions. Take a breath and sit down. I've missed you. Hermes has missed the two of you so much it's distracting him so he will see you soon. There's no point in having him if he's not focused..." Again, Hecate sighed. "We knew this fight was coming but we believed we had more time. We did not prepare the way we should have. How human of us! The vampires, the Fay, and now us...one after the other these gates have opened, forces in our case that even the oldest among us cannot remember. These forces are not Gods yet once they were worshiped and they have no names yet without them there would be no life. And they are angry, Emily. They are so angry! How do you fight something with no body and more power than we've ever seen? I know it can be done. I know it has been done. All of us have myths that humans long forgot about the oldest of our Gods fighting them. You cannot kill them because to kill them is to kill their energy and the energy of each one is necessary for life. But we must put them back to sleep, so to speak, and we have worked incessantly on trying to do just that. Every God from every Pantheon is there. We have even consulted with the Titans, something that took a great deal for me to do. But everything we've tried so far has failed."
        There was a thought that haunted Emily when she was up alone at night looking on the precious face of her daughter. But she couldn't push it away. "With the timing and all...I've been wondering...do you suppose the baby had anything to do with all of this?"
        "I don't believe so. As I've said before, we knew it was coming. The battle will come in waves. This is just the first. And we all agree that it would've happened with or without your daughter." Hecate replied.
        This made Emily grateful because it was a bone deep fear she couldn't shake. She knew mythology well enough to know, if it was her daughter causing it, even Hecate would not be able to keep them safe. As the two of them sat in silence, however, it dawned on Emily that regardless of the cause, as defeated as Hecate seemed in the moment, humans had just cause to fear and it was possible that Hecate wouldn't be able to save them anyway...
       "This will not wipe out all of humanity. Not the virus. Because the world you live in is not used to such a plague of sorts, it may feel like the end. But it certainly isn't. What we are dealing with is much larger than this virus. I do not mean to sound so flippant. I understand why this seems so terrifying. There are very few humans alive who witnessed the influenza pandemic over one hundred years ago so none of you in the developed world have any experience with this and the uncertainty is as terrifying as the virus itself. I do not mean to sound as if I do not sympathize with that because I do. This is why I had to bring you here because I need to tell someone...There are things much worse with far more power to wipe out your species than this virus. Even here I cannot tell you exactly what to do to calm these ancient energies. But I can tell you...If everyone is feeding the ancients their fear and anger and worry, that is what the energies will respond with. You do not want that! I cannot stress this enough!"
        "How the hell are we supposed to respond if not with fear, Hecate! I am not trying to disrespect you but Christ! I have patients who have had no symptoms of their illnesses in years who are one bad day away from snapping completely! I have so many new patient requests from people who have never dealt with panic or anxiety or depression before and they are suddenly having panic attacks or they are so deep into depression that they cannot get out of bed! People are losing their whole family in a matter of weeks and on top of that, they have been laid off from their jobs so they now have no money and no health insurance! What should they do?"
       Emily was in tears thinking about all of the suffering that was going on around the world. As if what people were going through a year ago wasn't bad enough! The homelessness, the debt, the hunger... "I did not say there was no reason to fear. Of course there is! A deity I may be but you will never find one among us who has spent more time with humans. Your history tells you man began at one date but I know your kind to go back much much farther. I've seen all of this before. And I know what the other people did in the cycles before. I know what works and what does not. While these energies have slept a long long time there are others like them that I have known. Change will come one way or another. People have before them a chance for great incredible change. You know history. This is the part of the chapter in a history book where it speaks of people having the option to go one way or another...Do what you can to guide people toward positive change. But also...encourage meditation, prayer, magick...While remaining in your quarantine of course. If people put out love and peace, it will be amplified and spread across the globe but so it will be with fear and hatred. Empires fall. Always. But society? Society changes, it grows, it evolves, and it becomes what each generation shapes it into. Sculpt it well and a decade from now, humans can have the most incredible society your history has ever known."
         "And if we resist this change?"
       "You will truly get a nightmare. No one wants that. I certainly do not. So I will try to send you all the best while I am away. As I said before, Hermes will be back to you quite soon. He's been useless to us anyway. He needs you and you need him. He will have to return to us when it is needed. There is no getting around that. It was a terrible time to have a child with a God." 
        Hecate's smile put Emily at ease for the first time since they all disappeared. For just a moment she held on to her tattered belief that all was going to turn out ok. 
       "Are you hearing our prayers right now?" Emily questioned, steeling herself for a 'no' in response.
       "Of course. Even when I am distant, I am with you, my child. Whatever happens might shake your faith in many things but never let it shake your faith in that. God, Fay, vampire, and human alike...We are all doing the best we can. Just keep doing your best. This will be over soon. Start thinking, though, of how you will all rebuild from the rubble because that will be the most important decision of your lives."
        "What good is it to tell me any of this if I am not allowed to remember?"
        "You will remember enough."
      Emily awoke alone in her bed, her daughter's screams cutting through her dreams. She wasn't sure why but she felt much less alone and much more certain than she had in weeks. Certain of what? She wasn't sure. But she felt like Hermes would walk through the door any day now and she also felt like she needed to find some good meditations for her patients to try. While she stroked her daughter's cheek and watched her feed, feeling the small weight of the baby against her stomach, she also had this feeling like the world her daughter would one day inherit was going to be a much better place than the hellish environment she herself was born into. They all just had to make it to the other side of this....
                                                                                 

Quarantine Free Book Giveaway

These are strange times we find ourselves in. There is a lot of fear and uncertainty and while it seems like we are living in a horror movie (the part at the beginning of course...right as the zombie outbreak starts...the part often broken down by flashes of the news...you get it...lmao) and that, of course, scares the hell out of us....The way energy works, like attracts like. The more we fear, the more fear we create. Everything is a mess right now and the people in charge are worried about handing the rich and powerful more money and power while it feels like we are drowning....Take a deep breath. Many of us are under an order from our state to stay in our house unless you must leave. And that sucks. It's going to last at least another month. And that sucks too. But catching this damned virus and dying or unknowingly giving it to someone else who dies? It's worth it to stay in the house. And to help everyone find something to do, I am doing a Quarantine Giveaway  on the Kindle versions of my books throughout the month of April. You can only run the giveaways for four days so the giveaways have been broken up.
It starts tomorrow, April 3rd, and it ends on April 7th. As I said, as far as I know, this only includes the Kindle version but once you have them, you have them forever until you delete them.
Here's the link.
https://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Beast-Battle-Evermore-Book-ebook-dp-B00K425LCG/dp/B00K425LCG/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1585868407

On April 10 to the 14th, Rapunzel will be free. 
https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Evermore-Book-Two-Rapunzel-ebook/dp/B01M2WZHXN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585869274&sr=8-8

Sleeping Beauty or Briar Rose will be free from April 17th-21st.
https://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Briar-Rose-Sleeping-Evermore-ebook/dp/B07BV6J3F5/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=keair+snyder&qid=1585869274&sr=8-4

And then the first part of Castles Made of Sand is free from April 20th-24th.
https://www.amazon.com/Castles-Made-Sand-Part-One-ebook/dp/B0727MW262/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=keair+snyder&qid=1585869274&sr=8-3

I can't give money toward this madness because I have none. I am not a doctor or a nurse. Really, to help people right now, the only thing I can give is this. I know people are terrified. I am too. I know so many people don't know where their next paycheck is coming from. People can't afford books right now but to calm the mind and take them away from ALL of this for just a little while...they need books. So if you are interested, follow the links on the days listed and snatch them up. I am no Stephen King and I don't claim to be. But I am a good writer and I will say that my books are much better than any one of the Twilight novels....Low bar. I know. lol Also, I am a much better writer than the chick who wrote 50 Shades of Gray and when I do have sex scenes, they don't sound like they were written by an alien. lol The point is, if you are interested in a fantasy horror historical fiction combo, you might really like the three vampire novels and if you want a really good novel set in the '60's, Castles has you covered.

I love you all. Stay safe. Be strong. We will get through this and we will thrive on the other side.

The Great Return (The Gods in Therapy)

      Emily heard her baby crying for her in her dreaming mind. This was not the first time such a thing happened since her child was stolen but each time poured salt in a wound that would never heal. Like before, her breasts, swollen and aching from milk for a child she might never see again, started their leaking at the sound. Even in her sleep she could feel her dirty shirt soak with it. And then came the tears. She had no control over them, no more than she could control the milk flowing from her breasts. Every single piece of her, every atom in her being, ached for her daughter. And even in her sleep she was once more forced to come to terms with the fact that she may never get her child back and that ache might not ever go away...
        "Emily! My love, wake up! Emily, we have her. Come on now...we have her! Look! Just open your eyes and look..."
        Emily resented Hermes to the point of temporarily hating him for rousing her from her slumber. And to use such a ploy to try and wake her? "You are a son of a bitch just like your father!" She accused in a nasty tone that startled the father of her child. She did not look like herself, that was true, but that he could put down to her two weeks in bed. There was no accounting for that sharp tone of voice. She sounded nothing like the Emily who lay in bed at his side exactly two weeks before...the Emily he loved...and there was part of him who feared that woman would never return even if their child had.
         Emily did open her eyes as she cursed him and she saw that he did hold in his arms a naked newborn baby girl who was screaming at the top of her lungs for her mother's arms. Her body knew the child at once but her mind was playing tricks on her. She didn't believe him. Not at all. Her mind created a scenario where he was tired of seeing her laying in bed all day so he, this docile creature, went out and stole a human baby from her mother just to get Emily's lazy ass up. Rolling over to the other side, she demanded in that voice that was not her own, "Take it back wherever you got it! That is not my child!"
          "But she is, Em! We found her in a cave off the coast of Crete and Auntie as well. She's greeting everyone in the living room right now but she'll be along shortly. I would never steal a baby. You know that. You are just afraid and that's ok. What happened to us...to you...it was despicable. You will probably be shaken for years to come. Hecate explained it to me on the way here. But she is our Alina and she wants her mother. She's very hungry..."
          "Then make her a fucking bottle! You are a God. That auntie of yours is literally the Goddess of women and babies. I am sure you can go to the store and figure out formula. Just go away!"
         There was a rational voice left inside her mind, a small fragment of the real her that was not completely shattered by what happened to her on Yule, and that voice told her to shut the fuck up and take her crying baby. That voice told her to shut the fuck up and embrace the one thing she wanted with all of her heart from the moment she realized the baby was gone. But that voice was no longer in control. And the irrational bitch who was in control saw things a little differently. 
         Hermes stood beside of the bed gobsmacked by her reaction. Holding his screaming child in his arms, tears filled his eyes to think of the pain Alina would feel to be rejected by her mother. It was a pain he knew all too well. The tears were as much for Emily as they were for their baby. Hecate warned him all the way to Emily's home that handing her the baby would not fix her, that her problem now ran deeper than that, that Emily was suffering from what the humans called postpartum depression, possibly stemming from the kidnapping and was, at the least, fed by it. "I will do what I can to lead her through it but she needs a doctor like herself." Hecate told him. He didn't believe her. He felt stupid now to not listen to the Goddess who watched after these women with their babies for more years than humans believed their species existed...but he didn't. He truly believed he would put their sweet precious girl in her arms, the baby would latch on to her mother's breast, and all would be healed...
        "Give me the baby and go say hello to your Hermaphroditus. They've kept watch over Emily every day that we've been gone. They deserve a thank you."
        "Of course." Hermes said softly, handing Hecate the baby who was now turning dark red from her screaming. For a moment he couldn't walk away, he could not leave Emily's side again. No choice in the whole of his existence was as hard as the one he had to make to leave the mother in order to find the child. Never would Emily need him the way she needed him the past two weeks and perhaps if he would have been there for her...
       "Go." Hecate said firmly but softly, patting his cheek with a smile. He knew she would do all she could for the woman she considered her child. He knew Emily had a very hard past and it was Hecate who guided her through every pain and trauma in her life. But still he wondered...what if she could not guide her through this one? What would become of his sweet love?
       When Hermes was gone, Hecate did what she felt she had to do. She went over to the other side of the bed, laid beside of Emily, raised her filthy shirt, and put the baby between them so she could nurse. There was fire in Emily's eyes when they shot open staring right at the Goddess she loved with all of her heart. "You want to hit me? Hit me. If you need someone to take all of this pain and fury out on, you'll do me no harm. Take it all out on me. But let your child eat first. I kept her protected in that cave with a spell that froze time but as soon as it was broken, she felt that primal hunger she was born with and she needs your milk. I know you are hurting, child. I know it's not just what happened with the child. You have postpartum. You know that. You were a damn good student and you've been damn good at your job since then. If you were a woman who walked into your office, what would you recommend? You would say analysis once a week, perhaps a mood stabilizing medication, and try to bond with the child you are afraid to love. So let's start there. And don't be surprised if you go from being afraid to bond with her to not wanting her to leave your side. As for the rest, I found an old friend of yours from college, Cassandra Graves, and as it turns out, she practices general therapy but she is very good with postpartum. I thought since she is a familiar face, it might make it easier for you to open up at your therapy sessions..."
       "Who in the hell do you think you are?" Emily demanded, though Hecate took note of the fact that she was adjusting herself to sit up against the pillows and she was shifting her baby to the other breast.
       "I am your mother! That's who I am! And I'll be damned if I wait until you do harm to yourself or you sink so low with the depression you already have that you cannot come back before I do something! You have just been through the darkest days you will likely ever face in your life. What happened to you was horrible! All of the ugly things in your past could not compare with that trauma and pain. But as I have always tried to remind you, the dawn follows the night, spring follows winter, and this is your sunrise. Now we just need to get you help. It's hard to see the sunrise if you are blind, isn't it? It's not your fault that you have her in your arms and you still can't feel the joy of it. It's not your fault you cannot see. But Cassandra is very good with patients of postpartum and she will help you."
       "How could you possibly know what she is good at?" Emily questioned, but her tone was softer, more herself.
        "The same way all humans find out all things about their doctors before booking appointments. I read the damn reviews on her yelp page."
          Just an hour before Emily felt as if she would never smile again, let alone laugh. A belly laugh was certainly out of the question. Yet the thought of this all powerful Goddess reading reviews for a girl Emily used to know on a yelp page made her laugh until she cried...and then the tears came for real. Holding her full, content, sleeping baby to her chest, skin on skin the way hospitals suggest, she wept so hard she shook with the fury of it. It was then that Hecate brought Hermes in and he held her while his aunt made Emily a hot bath full of herbs meant to wash away not just the physical dirt and grime but all of the dirt and grime that collected in her psyche for the past fortnight. Putting the baby in a little rocker close to the bathtub where Emily could watch her, Hermes helped Emily clean off the pain while Hecate took Emily's sheets and her dirty clothes behind her home and, ignoring all city ordinances, she set them on fire. The girl had more and those were full of so much pain and hurt it would be unwise to ever use them again. Besides, since that was where Emily stayed and what she wore all of that time with all of that pain, burning them would release all of that negativity so it could go out into the universe and be cleansed, so the energy could become something else entirely. 
         Emily ate a huge meal of lasagna, salad, and garlic bread, her first meal since having the baby. She was famished but in all of that time she didn't notice...not until she was more herself. And by the end of that day she was more herself...though not entirely. "When is that appointment you intruded on my life to make?" Emily asked, tongue in cheek, while Hermes slept on the floor and she and Hecate took turns holding Alina on the couch while watching New Jersey Housewives (Hecate's favorite franchise). 
        "Don't worry, I wrote it on your calendar. It typically takes six weeks for a new patient but when I talked to Cassandra directly and I told her who you are and how severe your case is, she did the best she could, getting you in next Friday at five. It's an hour after your appointments usually end...in case you are still in therapy when you go back to work.
        "That was very considerate of you. Thank you." Grabbing Hecate's hand, Emily found herself in tears again, much to her embarrassment. "Thank you for going with her and protecting her and for trying to prepare Hermes for me and for kicking my ass out of that bed. You've never given up on me. Even when I cursed you and I refused to listen to you and I stopped believing you had the answers...never ever did you give up on me. You truly are my Mother."
        "Yes, I am, so you don't have to thank me for being a mother. You haven't asked yet what happened the day Alina was born. Don't you want to know?"
        "If I knew, would I worry?" Emily asked.
         "Very much." Hecate replied honestly.
        "Can I do a damn thing about it?"
         Hecate smiled. This was a new level of insight from her inquistive daughter who always had to know...no matter what it was...even to her own determent. "What you can do you've done already by giving birth to your daughter."
        "Is she safe from this thing for now?" Emily questioned with fearing burning in her eyes once more.
       "Yes." Hecate replied, hoping she was right.
        "Then I don't want to know. I love you and if you ever need something from me, all you have to do is tell me. So please don't take this the wrong way. But that is your fight. Right now, getting through the darkness in my head is mine. But I do know it would have been much worse if you would not have gone with her...and I know that's what happened. No one took you. You are Hecate. You saw you couldn't save her from being grabbed and you went with her. You saved her...and in saving her you saved me. So thank you for that so much. I love you with all of my heart."
        "I love you too." Hecate replied, refusing to confirm Emily's suspicions. Turning her attention toward the television, she gestured at the women there, declaring, "I will never understand why Teresa ever had anything to do with Danielle. Ten years ago she was the prostitution whore...which she is, by the way,...and now she is her best friend. What a snake in the grass that bitch Danielle is..."
        Even Witches wouldn't believe the scene they painted, a Goddess, a human, and a demi Goddess sitting on a sectional watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Emily was already thinking of ways to change certain details about her life and situation when she went to see her college roommate as a patient  but already the agony of those impossible fourteen days was fading as such pain must fade if humans are to carry on through trauma. Emily was not well yet. She was a long way from her normal self. But with her child sleeping on her chest, she at least felt like a person again. And that was a pretty good start. 

The Yule-Tide Child (The Gods in Therapy)

                                                 December 21st, 2019
      All of Olympus shook with the force of Emily's screams as Hermes rushed to bring her to Hecate. Shortly after midnight, Emily awoke from a dead sleep with the Braxton-Hicks contractions that plagued her for two weeks intensified into the real deal. Taking deep breaths, she struggled into the bathroom, meaning to draw herself a warm bath. She knew enough to know that with her first baby it could take up to an entire day to birth her child...ordinarily. Considering she was giving birth to a demi-God, she also knew that she could not count on anything being as it should be. As she breathed her way through another terribly intense contraction, warm water came from her nether-regions, almost as if she peed herself but without the feeling of actually releasing her bladder. The warm water pooled around her feet, coming in a steady way, as if it would never stop. Even as she sat down in the hot water of her bath, still it came. And so did the pain. Hermes was sleeping in her bed and she wanted very much to wake him up. Feeling such agony alone in the middle of the night was nearly panic inducing. But she did not want to need him in that way. So she did not scream when the pains came, closer and closer together, but she could not stop her mind from yelling out to the God who fathered the babe in her womb. And apparently these silent screams awoke Hermes, who knew at once what he would find in the bathroom. 
        "Emily...Emily...open your eyes! You are bleeding. You should not be bleeding. Come now, we must get you out and dress you so I can take you to Hecate. We have no time to waste."
         Emily heard his voice as if in a dream and she was limp in his arms as he pulled her from the bathtub. She was losing blood quickly and the situation was fast becoming dire but because of the blood loss, she felt no fear. She felt nothing but the pain through the incredible fog in her mind. She paid little attention as Hermes put a gown on her and a robe, which she was rather grateful for as she felt chills coming on. She tried so hard to hold on to her mind, to see through the fog, but in the end it was all she could do to remember why the pain was wracking her body. 
          By the time they made it to Olympus, Emily was completely incoherent. Hermes was terrified, thinking only of how fragile humans were. As he carried Emily's limp body, cringing at her heartbreaking screams that seemed absolutely primal in their intensity, he knew beyond a doubt that he loved her. The blood was flowing far too quickly and as soon as he saw Hecate, he all but shoved Emily's body at her. "She's dying, Aunt. She is dying."
         Hecate saw what her nephew was talking about at once and she also heard the fear caused by his love for the girl in his words. She always had a soft spot for him, partially because he had a heart of gold and he never gave a damn what anyone said about it. She loved Emily as well, the little girl with the cruel mother who cried out for Hecate's love long before her conscious mind knew who Hecate was. And Hecate knew what the child Emily carried in her womb was meant to be in the human world, the importance of that little girl struggling to come into the world. So it was with conviction that she declared, "She will not die if I have anything to say on it. I need you to fetch me Freya and Oshun and Brigit. I will call for Eileithyia myself. Tell them of the situation. And remind them of the child's importance. It is urgent that you be quick. We haven't much time."
        That was all the instruction he needed. Hecate blinked and Hermes was gone. She was glad of that. Calling for her niece, daughter of Hera and Zeus, the Goddess of childbirth whom she taught herself when the girl was just a child, she took Emily to a room set up with clean linens, herbs, and every instrument one could find in a modern hospital, she lay her on the bed and immediately went to work with magick and herbs to stop the bleeding, finding the source was ruptured placenta. With the aid of her niece, she was able to stop the bleeding, dull the pain, and bring Emily around in a matter of moments, though it felt like an eternity to her. In her most soothing voice, she gave instructions to Emily. She told her when to breathe, when to rest, and when the time came, she would instruct her on how to push. Hermes was back before it came to that, something Hecate was grateful for. He also had with him his child by Aphrodite who was apparently quite excited about the prospect of a new baby sister, even if she was half mortal. 
         At some point, while the Goddesses took turns giving Emily water and crackers to keep her strength up and herbs when it was needed, they got into a discussion about Freya's Hall, the place where the spirits of women who die in childbirth went in the Nordic beliefs. Emily, who was getting stronger every moment, commented on how Freya's Hall was judged compared with Odin's leading Freya to set straight the way of things. "The people who called on us thousands of years ago saw our Halls as the same. They knew warriors were important. Of course they were. Long before the people humans now call Vikings went out raiding, war was used to protect the villages, death that was essential to life. Women were always free to pursue the path of the warrior if they were so called. However, my people were not stupid. They knew that without birth, which sometimes included the sacrifice of the mother's life, there was no life. Women could find themselves in Odin's Hall but no man would ever come into mine and mine was considered the Hall of the bravest women. The Halls were equal in importance until much later when so much of our stories were twisted. But we, the Gods, did not forget just because our people did. My Hall is still revered. Not that you need worry about that. You will not be joining the souls of those lost to childbirth because you are not dying today. Hecate, I believe it is time for her to push."
         And it was. Hermes did as his aunt instructed, getting behind Emily to support her body with his own while holding her legs with all of his strength. He whispered words of encouragement and tenderness but it was not until she was giving all she had to that last push that he finally kissed her cheek and whispered, "I love you, Em. I love you so much. And I love this child. The two of you brightened up everything for me and I'm so happy we're here. Just a little more. Just a little more and she'll be here. You are doing beautiful, incredible girl. Just a little more..."
        Cheers erupted throughout the room when the baby was out. Hecate cleaned her off with towels and wrapped her in a soft blanket to put her on Emily's chest. Hermes held them both, even as Emily pushed out the afterbirth that recently held the child in her womb, so proud to have this new little family even if he wasn't sure how their lives together would turn out. He did not belong in Emily's world and she did not belong in his. Yet they belonged to each other, he knew that, and now they built a bridge with this beautiful little demi-Goddess who was already latched onto her mother's breast. "Alina. I believe that is what we should call her. It means 'light'. She was born on your Winter Solstice just as the Sun would be rising in your world. It is perfect."
         Emily looked up at him and smiled. She looked gorgeous in her exhausted state and he wanted to kiss her all over. "That is a beautiful name." Looking down at their daughter, she said softly, "You told me you love me. I love you too. I did not mean for this to happen. I didn't expect it. I was just trying to help the Gods pull themselves together for whatever it is that's coming. I was not looking for love or a family. In fact, I never intended to have children. Coming from what I came from, I thought it best to let that gene pool die with me. But I have felt like all of this was meant to be since the first time I met you. You were not like the others. It was..."
         "Like your soul knew me?" Hermes questioned. 
        "Yeah." She replied suspiciously. 
       He was grateful that she was too drained to question him as he was not yet ready to tell her the entire truth on why her soul knew him. Instead she laid back against him with Alina still at her breast and she went into a deep sleep. He watched them for the longest time, stroking Emily's wet hair away from her face and running his finger along the soft skin of his daughter's cheek. When the baby was done eating, he got out of the bed softly, laying Emily against the many pillows his aunt put on the bed, and he took his daughter in his arms for the first time. Just like the love he felt for his beloved Hermaphroditus, he felt an instant wave of love and affection like no other. And he let that love wash over him as he sang to his daughter an old song in Greek that Hecate used to sing to him when he was quite small.
         Emily awoke once to see Hermes with the baby, singing a beautiful song to her. Sure that the child was safe, she rolled over, ignoring the pain in her body, and she went back to sleep. An hour later she woke to find the baby in Hecate's arms as Hecate told the newborn a story about a dragon and a faery and the gifts they give baby girls upon their births. Satisfied once more that all was well, she let sleep take her again. Then came the terrified shouts of Gods throughout Olympus declaring Hecate and Emily's newborn daughter gone...
        "What is it? What's happened?" Emily demanded. All of the Gods were gathered in the large Hall they met in to discuss serious matters and a few of them, Hermes included, moved at once to help her to a seat. "I don't want to sit down. I want to know where the hell my baby is!" Emily declared even as she let them help her into the seat offered to her.
       The conversation, so animated when she came in, stopped at once. Everyone looked at Hermes, silently declaring it his place to tell her. Taking both of her hands in his own, he stooped down to his knees and told her all they knew. "Hecate had Alina in the room with you. The Goddesses that assisted in the birth needed to return home so I took them. When I returned no one could find Hecate or Alina."
       "But that makes no sense. Who the hell could be powerful enough to snatch Hecate. Is it that Atlantian vampire? You all said she is one of the only beings more powerful that Hecate."
          "No, it wasn't her. She is actually leading the search for Hecate right now, terrified for her friend and for you. She knows what it is to have your newborn child taken from you and she is determined to find them."
         "Then who? Who could possibly manage this?" Emily demanded. She never felt a cold panic like the chill sitting in her chest as she demanded answers.
         "Alina is special, as you know, because she is a tipping point in favor of the Gods and humanity. The fight that is to come will be against Gods much older than any of us. Your earth has had so many cycles of life that humans have yet to rediscover and each cycle had its own Gods. These Gods were sleeping, if you will. But we believe the birth of Alina has woken one of them. A god that old, that primal, could kidnap Hecate. But all is not lost. We've sent word to each pantheon and we are forming search parties. We will find them. I promise you that. We will find them." Athena declared. Everything about her looked wild as if she were itching for the fight to come. Hecate was one of the most important people in her life and she would die to bring her home safe, Emily knew that. But Emily felt absolutely defeated. She felt as if she had true bliss for a sweet moment and already it was gone. And she could not deal with its absence after feeling its sweet embrace.
        "I want to go home." She declared in a monotone voice to Hermes.
        "But don't you want to stay here and rest...and be here for any updates?" He questioned. "You had a rough birth. I must go look for Hecate and our baby. You should not be alone."
         "I'll be fine. The only update I am interested in is you finding my baby. If you ever see her again, bring her to me. In the meantime, I want to go home."
         Hermes couldn't keep her there against her will. But he did get Hermaphroditus to stay with her while the other Gods searched. As he carried the woman he loved back to her home, he saw the tears she shed and he felt the incredible ache in her heart. It was as if her entire body throbbed with it. But she said nothing to him. He knew all about her past although he was certain she did not know he did. He knew of the hurt and pain that was thrown at her since the day she was born. He knew that she did not know how to lean on someone else when horrible things happened because she did not have anyone to lean on before. He wanted nothing more than to stay with her and show her that he could be relied upon to be there for her but he had to find Alina if he wanted to put an end to the pain in her heart. So he fixed the bed to make it as comfortable as he could for her, he found her a clean pair of PJ's, drew her a bath and helped her clean up, and he helped her dress and get into bed. Again and again he told her how much he loved her, how sorry he was that he didn't protect their child, and he promised to find them both and bring them home to her. But she said nothing. It was like someone switched off a light inside of her. 
        It wasn't until he was preparing to go, leaving a steaming cup of coffee on her bedside stand, that she snapped out of it long enough to grab his hand. Pressing it to her lips, she told him she loved him, that she didn't blame him at all, and she just wanted her baby back. Kissing her all over her face, he promised he would give her that no matter what it took. And what would it take? No one was sure. None of them had ever faced an old God and no one knew how many woke with the birth of the demi-Goddess. But if it took every pantheon to accomplish it, even if it was the end of Hermes, he would keep that promise to the woman he loved. Because he didn't want to worry her anymore, he said nothing like that. But he knew it was possible. 
        For days on end everyone searched and when he could, he came to check on Emily, sometimes laying in bed just so he could hold her. His oldest child told him each time that Emily would not get out of bed. She wouldn't eat. She wouldn't bathe or change her clothes. She did nothing but sleep. It was as if she were resolved not to wake until her child was brought back to her. So when Hermes was there he tried to get her up. But it was no use. The more they looked for Hecate and Alina, the more universes and realms they crossed off the list, the more terrified he became. The fact was, there were infinite places that they might have been taken and no one knew what the effects of the place could have on them. He could find a daughter fully grown in a month's time depending on where she was. And he never forgot that. But when he held Emily and he felt the utter defeat coming from her, he knew he had to keep trying until he succeeded. Humans were fragile but their minds were strong and if she willed herself to give up...a chill went down his spine at the thought. He had to fix what happened for everyone's sake. He had to bring the child of light back to her mother...back to the earth. And he had to see to it that Hecate was brought back as well because what was their Pantheon without her?
        

To Hell and Back: A Mabon Love Story (The Gods in Therapy)

 Hades sat across from Emily, a surprisingly handsome deity with a serious nature that made him seem sullen. Perhaps he was. Emily could not tell as he had yet to say a word since Hecate brought him into the room. It was getting late in the evening and Emily was gathering her things to go home for the night when the gentle knock on her door announced a walk-in visit from her beloved Matron Goddess. It was the eve of Mabon and Emily was considering taking the Sabbat off to enjoy it fully. It did not feel like Mabon. Not really. The high for the day was eighty three degrees fahrenheit and there was no breeze in sight when she tried to open the windows of her small office earlier in the day. But that was the fault of global warming, the fault of ignorant humans who would destroy their species in order to make the money that only had value because their species declared it so. Whether it felt like autumn or not, at three thirty in the morning when the Sun entered Libra, it indeed would be. That thought filled her mind before the pair walked through her door. Hecate introduced Emily to the God of the Underworld as she would have introduced her to anyone off the street, as if it were no big deal that this God, who was not known for leaving his realm, found himself so troubled that he left in order to talk to a human about whatever it was that was on his mind. As quickly as she came, Hecate left them, promising to return when her nephew was ready to go home even though Emily was sure Hades could go home without her assistance. Now there was nothing to do but wait...and notice how beautiful Hades was. She thought he looked more like Hermes than any deity in Olympus that she met thus far. With his cole black hair and his unusual eyes, a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from blue to green to lavender with yellow swirls tying all of the colors together, he was pale in a pleasing way and he was slight of build but it suited him well. He was also extraordinarily tall, perhaps as tall as six feet and six inches. It was easy for her to see why Persephone was willing to leave her mother and her world behind to have him…

          “You do not truly feel that way, dear girl. It is because of the job I do that you are thinking such things. If you find it difficult to have a love affair with Hermes, you would certainly have many sleepless nights as Queen of the Underworld. I know my wife would say the same. Close your eyes, breathe a deep breath, and I will tell you my story...if you want to hear it.”

         Hades had a kind, soft voice, very soothing to Emily’s soul and, even though she was startled that he read her mind in such a way, Emily found herself doing what he asked. When her mind was clear, she asked him to go on, to explain why he came to her.

        “The reason I came is simple. I am tired of my brother’s lies against me. I am not the villain humans now believe I am. The more people feared death, the easier it was for them to believe the horrible things Zeus said of me. I am also tired of the way his lies hurt my beloved wife. He twisted our beautiful love story into a tale of abuduction and rape and that has always bothered her. I also know now the worst of what he’s done behind my back, the pain he caused a woman I once loved with all of my heart and the only child I ever fathered, and I want him dead. I’ve dealt with his hatred and his cruelty for a very long time and this is the first time I’ve ever been so angry that I could literally kill him myself. He is my youngest brother. I do not wish to carry such hatred. I hope by telling you the truth, I might let go of this terrible fury.”

          Emily opened her eyes, surprised to hear him talk of a woman he loved that was not Persephone. It seemed as if the more she learned of the Gods, the more convoluted the myths seemed, and none were more twisted to benefit one God above the others than the Greek myths. One thing could be said in Zeus’s favor. He was one hell of a PR guy. As this thought passed through her mind, she and Hades smiled at the same time and she knew he once again heard her thoughts. “Would you like to start from the beginning then?” She asked, confused by the combination of unease and perfect calm that Hades’s presence created inside of her. 

          “That would be very nice. Thank you.” For a moment he said nothing as he stared through her as if he were literally looking at memories in his mind. Then he sighed and continued. “I am the oldest of my brothers. It was me and then Poseidon and then Zeus. Our father was a beast of a man, driven mad by his quest to hold on to power. He never wanted to relinquish even a small portion of it to anyone and the only deity he ever backed down to was our Auntie Hecate. During my childhood, she often took me with her on adventures simply to get me away from him. Like Zeus, he was cruel. I hated him. But I wanted him to love me. I felt very alone as I grew up. I felt as if no one loved me except for Hecate, my mother, and my brother. Then my father heard of a prophecy that said one of his children would take his power just as he learned that my mother was pregnant with Zeus. He tried to kill mother in her sleep in order to kill the babe in her womb assuming that child was the one in the prophecy. Auntie Hecate came the next day and she took mother away, hiding her in a place she would not even tell me the location of. For what felt like years, Posiden and I stayed with her, traveling between heaven, Earth, and the Underworld. In those days, she always returned to the Underworld where the Souls of the Lost came to lay down their burdens so they might one day be reborn.”

        “I felt at peace in the Underworld but Posiden hated it. He was afraid of it. So I made up games and I told him stories and I took him away from the river where the souls were kept to the caverns with their crystals and their stones, showing him the beauty of the place without the sorrow. Eventually mother gave birth to the baby she carried and then Auntie Hecate brought her to the Underworld, a realm my father could not enter, to protect her and the child. As soon as I saw Zeus, I fell in love with him. Posiden and I were so close in age. I could not remember him as a babe but Zeus is quite a bit younger than I am and to me, there was never a thing more precious than my dear baby brother. I had no idea how long we would have to hide from the one who sired us but I feared for my tiny baby brother trying to grow in the land of the dead so I kept him close to me, caring for him on our adventures to softer places in that realm as mother told me to do. I fed him and sang to him, I bathed him and taught him to walk. I cherished him. Truly. But I worried for him and so, it seemed, did our Auntie.”

        “One night as the rest of my family slept, I was startled out of slumber by the frustrated cries of Hecate. She was always so kind, so good with us that it seemed unreal to find her beside of the river of the dead weeping in her aggravation saying over and over again that she just needed a little more power...just a little more...to defeat my father. You see, while we were hiding, he was raising an army that sided with him out of fear and Hecate would have but one chance to defeat them all. It seemed like an extraordinary task for anyone, even her. I thought she would lose no matter what she tried. But I have always loved her in a way, I confess, I never loved either of my parents. I knew it was on our behalf that she fought and I felt that, if my father and his army were going to destroy her, they might as well destroy me too. So I sat beside of her at that river I loved with the souls I tried to help when I could and I told her that I would fight with her. At first she refused but as the days went on and father raised more and more power, with the blessing of my mother, she agreed to take me with her.”

        “The night before I left, I said my goodbyes to both of my brothers but, of course, it was harder to say goodbye to my beloved Zeus. He was still so small and we loved one another so much. He cried hysterically as I left and those cries rang in my mind the entire time I was gone. Before the ambush, I thought of those cries and of the love I had for Zeus and I reminded myself again and again that the man who sired us tried to kill that baby I loved so before he even made it into the world. That was how I summoned the anger I needed. That anger, the energy of it, combined with the incredible power of Hecate, destroyed my father and his massive army. I was shocked by our victory. When I said goodbye to my family, I thought it was forever. Zeus was very happy to see me when I returned to the Underworld and mother was very happy with our news. Hecate was the new ruler of all the realms, as she should have been. And she was one hell of a ruler indeed. Each realm knew prosperity and joy thanks to the choices she made. But when my brothers and I grew to be men, she decided she was truly happiest when she was with the women and children of Earth. No one wanted her to relinquish her power completely so it was decided that she would remain the official ruler of each realm but Zeus, Poseidon, and I would each take the responsibility of one realm a piece. Because it was I who helped her defeat father, I was allowed first pick.”

         “I chose the Underworld without having to think on it. That was the realm I most loved. It always was, from my earliest memories of it. The souls there seemed to find comfort in my presence and I was usually able to help them overcome the pain that brought them to the River of Lost Souls in the first place. I saw beauty in that place where none but Hecate had ever seen beauty. But it was also decided that, like my aunt, I would be able to leave whenever I chose.”

        “Before Zeus became a bastard for power, I often went to visit him in Olympus. That was how I met Ashera. I was coming back to the Underworld after visiting Zeus and I decided to stop on earth first to visit with Auntie Hecate. Ashera was with her, this gorgeous creature who was blind but could see and who drank blood but only from those who deserved it. She was absolutely enchanting. She could not live in the sunshine so the idea of the Underworld, a place that is always darker than other realms, was just fine to her. She was my first queen in every way. I loved her with every piece of my being and I wanted to keep her with me for all time. By eating the seeds of the pomegranate, she was able to go back to earth when she wanted to in order to see the few people from the realm of Atlantis that survived with her and to see Hecate. For a time, she and I were happy...really truly happy.”

         Emily was startled to realize the beautiful kaleidoscope eyes she was focused on were filling with tears. Those tears seemed to tear at her heart in a way nothing that came from a patient did before. “When we discovered Ashera was pregnant, we were overjoyed. We did not know how it happened. Vampires do not get pregnant. They never have and they never will. Whether it was made possible because I am a God or whether my Auntie had something to do with it, I still am not sure. But we were impossibly happy. And then one night she went up to the realm of humans...and she never returned. She was big with child and I searched for her. Everywhere in all of the realms I searched. Hecate and other deities joined my search but we never found her. A few months passed and I was told by Hecate that my child was born, that he was taken to Olympus though she wasn’t sure who brought him there. Ashera was still gone and it appeared she was not coming back. Hecate believed she died having the baby because we both knew even if, for some reason, she left me she would have never left that child. Hecate asked me if I wanted my baby to come and live with me. And I did. I wanted that with all of my heart and soul. But I thought on it long and hard and, when she told me Zeus and Hera were taking care of him, I decided it would be best for him if I left him in Olympus with them. This was before I knew the monster my spoiled baby brother had become. To me, he was still that precious baby I once cared for and, as far as I knew, he was a decent father. Hecate assured me that it seemed as if my brother and his wife would be good to my son and I thought Olympus would make a much better home for a child to grow up in than my land of the dead. So even though it hurt me to my core, I did what I thought would be best for my son and I allowed him to grow up surrounded by a large family that loved him.”

          “Though a long time passed, I was still grieving the loss of the little family I once created when Persephone followed Hermes to my realm. I still do not know how she did it. I have always believed that Hermes allowed her to come with him, though the two of them refuse to confirm my suspicion on that. What I do know is that she waited until he left to make herself known to me. She hid in one of the many caverns, investigating the crystals and sleeping on the hard dirt, absorbing the energy of my realm. I don’t believe she knew I could leave. I was shocked when she showed herself, a beautiful naked maiden with long dark brown hair hanging to her legs and the most enchanting eyes I ever saw staring at me with nothing but innocence. Her smile squeezed my heart and made me feel as I only ever felt with Ashera before her. There was a part of me that wanted to bow at her feet and beg her to stay with me forever. But I knew who she was when she told me her name, the only daughter of Demeter, and I did not wish to cause Demeter the pain I felt at losing my only child. So I allowed her to stay only three days and three nights. I showed her every crevice of my realm because she came to appease her incredibly curious nature and I believed that would be the only time she could see it. Between the third night and the fourth morning, I called upon Hecate to take Persephone home to her mother. I confess, I was lonely without her even after that first visit. The memory of her beautiful laughter bouncing off the cavern walls and the scent of wildflowers and sunshine that lingered long after Hecate and I forced her to go was almost unbearably painful for me but I put it out of my mind, knowing she would never come again.”

         “A month later, at the time of the dark moon, she came. Once more she stood before me naked as nothing can be brought into my realm with someone who does not belong there or who cannot travel there alone. Once again her blue green eyes turned blue-black and her red hair turned dark brown. And once more, she begged me to let her stay. This time it was clear that the Underworld was not what she was curious about. I had a few lovers before Ashera, though none that I ever loved, and none of them were maidens. But with my lack of experience in such young women, I was taken aback by how brazen she was with what she wanted from me. She made it quite clear that she wanted kisses and warm embraces. It took all of my self control to restrain myself from giving her exactly what she wanted. My hands ached to touch her young beautiful body. She was perfect in every way. But I told her she was too young. I told her she had no idea what she wanted, that she did not belong in the realm of the dead and she certainly did not belong with me. I was terribly cold toward her. I was condescending and rude. I tried all I could to turn her against me. And in between the third night and the fourth morning, while she slept like a beautiful dream I did not want to wake from, lying beside of the River of Lost Souls, I carried back up to her grieving mother, leaving her in her field of wildflowers believing, again, that it would be the last time I saw her.”

           “Of course, she returned. Month after month she came with no explanation for how she was getting to the realm that only two other Gods in our entire family were able to travel to. At first I tried to keep up with my gentle mistreatment of her but she was so innocent, so precious, so goddamn beautiful and kind, that I simply could not do it. Each time she came, she took with her another piece of my heart and each time it was harder and harder to force her out. Meanwhile, Demeter was raising hell in Olympus, demanding the other Gods do something about me. She tried to launch a full scale attack on me. If not for the testimony of Hecate, Hermes, and even Persephone herself, who knows what might have happened. She accused me of many heinous things, rape among them. Meanwhile, I refused to even kiss her daughter despite the fact that she did everything she could to get me to take her innocence. And she was all too happy to voice her frustration before the court that was convened to discuss my guilt. She also told them that she would continue to come to me, that she was mad with love for me and she knew I was in love with her as well, and she asserted confidently that she would be my bride in time.”

         “After that trial, on the first night of the dark moon, Demeter chained her only daughter up to keep her from coming to me. But when she woke in the morning, Persephone was with me. Again, the girl refused to tell me who helped her break those chains and who brought her down to me. Each time I asked, she only laughed her pure mirthful laugh. That was the visit where she kissed me. It was the sweetest kiss of my life, full of want and need but also uncertainty. There was a desperation in it for us both. I allowed her to sleep in my arms those three nights but still, before the fourth morning, she was returned to her field of flowers. This went on for years. The idea that I raped and kidnapped my beloved wife is nearly funny in light of the truth. If anything, that first time we made love, she came rather close to raping me. But in the end, I submitted to her of my own freewill and it was a beautiful culmination of all of her years of chasing me. After that, I could not bring myself to take her away. Even if I would’ve tried, I would not have succeeded. You see, Persephone had a secret.”

          “There is not a great deal of things that grow in the land of the dead but there are apple trees and pomegranates that thrive in the land below. If someone who is living eats an apple there, the side effect of it is knowledge of all that’s been, all that is, and all that might be. If someone eats a pomegranate, the side effect is that no one can force them from my realm unless they are willing to leave and they may freely come and go from my realm as they wish if they eat the seeds as well, which she did, six to be exact.”

       “Those who eat of this fruit can remain in my realm, suspended somewhere between life and death, in the place where time stops, for eternity if they so choose, as that is the place where time stops as your world knows it. Because of that, it was once considered the fruit of immortality. This is a well kept secret, even among the Gods. There are few indeed who know this and while I have never had her confirm this either, I have always suspected it was Hecate who told her. I believe she saw that Persephone was truly in love with me and she knew that I loved her. She’s always thought of my happiness. As the years went by, she saw that I was lonely when Persephone was gone, that I started relying on the company of the lost souls, which was not good for the souls or for me. She knew it would be best if I had my love with me. It was only when the fourth night came and I did not try to take her back above that Persephone told me her secret. I was both elated and terrified. Somehow knowing I could not return her to the care of her mother made our love truly real for me for the first time.”

          “On the first night of the next new moon, we were married. It was just after the time now known as the harvest moon, the full moon closest to the date you know as the Autumn Equinox, though until that time, there was no such thing as Autumn. Not as you know it. There was no winter as you know it. Things slowed down on earth, yes, but they did not go to sleep completely. We journeyed to Olympus for the wedding and Persephone begged her mother to come but she would not even speak to her only child. This pained my beloved so that I tried to change Demeter’s mind but she hated me for what she believed I’d done. She thought I bewitched her daughter with the help of Hecate and, indeed, she blamed Hecate every bit as much as she blamed me. Even after all the years of Persephone chasing me, even though she was always honest about her love for me, Demeter still did not believe it was true. She could not imagine anyone who loved the sunshine and wildflowers as Persephone does also loving the darkness and the souls of the dead...or the man that ruled such a land. But that is the duality that has always been inside of my wife. Demeter, like many parents I suppose, focused only on what she could relate to about her daughter without acknowledging the parts of her that seemed foreign to Demeter’s own nature.”

         “I am sure you know what happened after the two of us returned to the Underworld as husband and wife. It was the death of all living things on earth for the first time and humans and Gods alike were terrified. Hecate came to us as soon as it became clear that Demeter was not going to be reasonable about the situation. She would not be satisfied with visits lasting a few hours whenever her daughter made time for her. She wanted her back. But this was not like before when I thought I was protecting a sweet maiden from making a choice she might regret. I refused to turn out my own wife. I also knew that losing another woman I loved as I once loved Ashera would destroy me. Still, none of us wanted to see all life on earth die either. It was Hecate who went between the Underworld and earth bartering with Demeter and it was Hecate who brought to us the best deal she could strike with my mother in law. Six months of the year Persephone would be the Queen of the Underworld and the other half of the year, she would be the Princess of All Living Things in the sunshine and fields of flowers playing as she once did with her mother.”

        “For millions of years that has been the way of things. Each eve of the Spring Equinox, my wife and I hold on to one another as if we will never see each other again. We make love and we weep and we make love again. It is heartbreaking. You see, while I am free to cross realms, part of our deal with Demeter states that letters are the only contact we are allowed while Persephone is with her mother. I have a cavern of pure clear crystals that Hecate enchanted to show me my wife but she cannot see me and we cannot speak to one another. There are only our letters. Then, when the Autumn Equinox comes, my beloved bride returns home to me again. After half a human year, I am but hours away from having her in my arms. And instead of preparing our home for her return, I am here grappling with a hatred I cannot push down.”

        “I only recently learned that my original queen is in fact very much alive. She was trapped all of this time in a cave in Delphi where, long ago, she was used as an oracle by many in Greece. Zeus was told of a prophecy when Ashera was carrying our son that made him believe Lucius would be more power than he is. It did not say my son would use that power to do my brother harm. But it didn’t have to. Just knowing Lucius might have more power than he has was enough to destroy my happiness and the lives of the woman I loved and the only child I ever sired. I also learned that Zeus coerced Artemis into claiming my son raped her so he would be thrown out of Olympus and denied access to his homeland ever again. The two were madly in love and when she came to him, torn between her vow to remain without love and the love she found in Lucius, instead of helping his daughter, he broke her heart to protect himself. I know Hecate is asking us to pull together, not only with Gods from all over the world, but also with each other to defeat the evil that’s coming and I believe her promise that Zeus will be dealt with after this war is won, but it seems impossible that I can fight at his side knowing what I now know.”

         “It is more than just Zeus, however. I must tell my wife that the woman who was once my queen, the woman I’ve told her all about since our first three days together, the woman she knows I grieved for centuries, is actually alive after all. I do not want to hurt Ashera. She never wronged me in any way. And I certainly do not want to hurt Persephone. Ashera and I did not speak of the years since we saw each other last. I could not believe it when she entered Olympus and I saw her before me...after all of the years I waited and grieved. It is another impossible situation Zeus has put us all in. I will not leave Persephone. I am not saying that. It is just that...if Ashera does not already know...it will tear out my heart to see such pain on her face and to know that I caused it.”

          Emily sighed. She felt terrible for Hades. He was certainly nothing like the God most people believed him to be. It made sense that the attitude of the dominant religions toward death made it easier for the lies to stick when it came to the God of the Underworld. There was also all that talk of the devil that came later that also helped the misconceptions, no doubt. But the man before her was exactly what Pagans would expect from the Comforter and Consoler. Zeus, on the other hand, was a monster and she hoped that, when the Gods defeated whatever evil was to come, they did indeed bring Zeus to justice at long last for all of the pain he caused those who loved him, human and immortal alike. Just as she pondered this, something hit her. “Didn’t you say Ashera was once the Oracle of Delphi?”

         “Yes, it seems she was.” Hades replied.

        “And can she see the future or things that she should not know?” Emily questioned.

       “Most certainly she can. Many vampires that were humans know things psychically so, as the first vampire of this realm and an Atlantian as well, Ashera’s psychic visions are really something. Why do you ask?”

          Emily gave it a moment to see if it would hit him and when he said nothing, she went on with her thought. “If she is that powerful with her visions, with her love for you as great as it was, I am sure she knows you are remarried, even if she doesn’t know the story we humans are familiar with. Did she act like a wife toward you when you saw her?”

         Hades pondered this a moment before responding softly, “No, not at all. By god, I think you may be right. Should I sit down with her and say it out loud just to be sure, do you suppose?”

         “You could certainly do that and once you know she is prepared and you’ve seen her reaction to the news, once you’ve told Persephone as well, perhaps the three of you and your son could have a nice little dinner in your realm or in Olympus. Lucius should get to know the three of you as his immediate family. He deserves that and so do all of you. You gave him to his uncle in the best of faith. Make that clear to him. Be honest with him about why you let him stay with Zeus so he knows he was not abandoned. As far as the anger, perhaps you should try, for now, to focus on the things you have gained, not the immense loss their absence caused in your life at the hands of your brother. Your beautiful loving wife is coming home to you after half a year. The first love of your life, though no longer your wife, is alive and well when you thought she was dead. And all of you may have a real chance at having a positive healthy relationship with your  child. He may be grown but he is still your son. Zeus does deserve to pay for all that he’s done to every one of you in your family. It seems every Greek deity that comes through my door has a long list of terrible things your brother has done to them. Win your war and I doubt Hecate will turn a blind eye to him anymore. She is only biding her time as she said. So try not to waste your energy on him. He would be thrilled to know that he is ruining your reunion with your wife, son, and your ex wife, so don’t let him have that satisfaction. He strikes me as someone who would be very upset if you were all to get together and be happy in each other’s company.”

         For the first time since he came in, Hades smiled an absolutely brilliant smile. It seemed Hermes took that trait from his uncle as well. All of this talk of love and loss was making her miss Hermes so much she thought she heard his voice a moment earlier. “You are correct, Dr. Emily. Thank you so much. You have given me hope that all will be well after all. Regardless of how it goes, I will come back soon with an update for you. And again, I cannot thank you enough for what you’ve said to me today. I hope your harvest is full of fresh fruits of all sorts, literally and figuratively. You had a busy planting season as well, it seemed.” Again he smiled as he stood and stuck his hand out. Standing up herself, she winced at the pain in her lower back but she stuck out her hand to shake his none the less. As she did, a peace and a certainty that everything in the world that was wrong would soon be made right washed over her in a shower of golden energy, making her feel warm and at ease and completely alive. When she told him it was a pleasure to have met him, she meant that with her whole heart. He was a wonderful soul.

        As she held her office door open to let Hades out, her heart grew two sizes at seeing Hermes standing in the waiting room at Hecate’s side. Emily wished Hades the best of luck and he wished her the same, grinning at the smile on her face at spotting his nephew. While he and Hermes shook hands, he embraced his nephew, whispering something in his ear that made Hermes look at Emily and smile brightly. Only after Hades and Hecate were gone did she ask Hermes what Hades said to him. Carrying her purse and her case of things to go over for tomorrow’s cases, Hermes locked the office door for her and he took her hand, replying, “He said I need to bring you to the Underworld if I must but I have to find a way to keep you forever. He likes you a great deal. And he’s such a good soul. I made you dinner. I took it all out of that funny little book you have on Pagan holidays. I also found your decorations and I brought them up from your basement for you. I was going to decorate before I realized I have no idea how to decorate. But I’ll help with whatever you need. I also found that movie, Maleficent, the one you say you watch each Autumn Equinox, on one of your on demand channels. Oh, and I cleared our schedules for tomorrow. Unless there is an emergency, neither of us have any work to do until the celebration is over. Now that you are working Sundays and you are rather far along in this pregnancy, no one gets angry when I call them to say you’ve cleared your calendar to rest. I intend to spend the next day and half with you completely uninterrupted by anything else.”

         His kiss was so sweet, she didn’t argue with him about who was going to drive. Sometimes it was helpful to be with the messenger God and when you decided at the last moment not to go to work the following day was one of those times. While they drove in the hot muggy afternoon, she couldn’t help but reach over and take his free hand. She had not meant to go to bed with him when they first met and she certainly never dreamed she would fall in love with him. But it was as if she loved him for more years than there were grains of sand on the shore of the ocean. She could not imagine how hard it was for Hades to turn down such love over and over again for years but she couldn’t help but blush and smile to think that he was far more a gentleman than his nephew. However, they both reminded her of romantic poets. They both had wonderful good looks, a calm nature, and a soothing presence. She was grateful to have met Hades. Any fear she had left over of death from her beliefs as a child were now gone. She had no desire to join Hades and Persephone as a Lost Soul anytime soon but when her time came, if that was the worst case scenario, death would not be so bad after all.