Furious

Chapter Five

The living room was decorated with as much stuff as possible, leaving just enough room to maneuver. So I had to move around the sofa and between tall tables. There were books everywhere, bound in worn, hard covers. It was a scene not unlike my grandfather's study, but this collection outweighed his by far. I remember the awe in Sarah's gaze the first time I showed her the study; this room would bring tears to her eyes.

The tomes of various sizes and bindings looked about a million years old. I recognized a few of the Greek letters on the spines, but for the most part they weren't written in any recognizable language. On my way to the door in the middle, I walked by one of the tables and the books toppled to the floor with very little effort on my part. Did they fall on their own? I didn't remember hitting the table, but the piles of literature were precariously stacked.

Growling, I stooped to retrieve them for the satisfaction of slamming them back into a haphazard pile. One of the books had fallen open to a page depicting a dark, shadowed place where a woman stood over man and she laughed while he cowered. Her body was clothed in snakes, writhing up and down her form, and her teeth were too large to fit in her mouth. She laughed at the man in the picture, reveling maliciously in what looked like his extreme pain. His face contorted and his body was bent at strange angles. My brain had stopped ticking away the silent minutes and had started picking up her laughter. The longer I looked at the horrible scene, the louder her laugh sounded in my ears.

I slammed the book shut and dropped it onto the pile. Without bothering to straighten the stack so that it wouldn't fall again, I took the last few steps to the door and opened it. Anything was better than looking at that picture. I could still hear her laughter in the back of my mind, like the woman in the book knew how she made me squirm.

I glared over my shoulder at Hector. Why would anyone keep such a terrifying book?

"Bed time stories," Hector shrugged, again reading my mind with that infuriatingly satisfied look on his face.

Without thinking, I blurted, "Tell me you can't read my mind."

"I can't read your mind," came the laughing response. Too late I realized that I hadn't asked whether or not he could read my mind but demanded that he tell me what I wanted to hear.

Feeling foolish, I turned my attention away. The first door opened to a small bathroom. The fact that it was small or that it was a bathroom didn't keep Hades from continuing the theme: the bath mats were plush when I stepped on them and the soap pump was gold. There was even a toothbrush holder, gold as well, and a single toothbrush waiting in one of the slots. Somehow it wasn't as gaudy as it sounds, with white counters and cabinets and gold embellishments.

"He can't seriously think I'll be here long enough to use a toothbrush," I mumbled, reaching out to touch the holder. It was solid and cold to the touch, but it was definitely real. It was the simplest-looking thing I'd seen since arriving, comical in this place of ancient art and "honor". I snorted at the thought.

Everything was so real. The books I'd touched were real and the toothbrush was real and even Hector was real.

Real and crazy.

I decided not to look behind the shower curtain to see if there was shampoo, or to look in the drawers to see what else Hector might have in stock. Did I want to know if he'd supplied all of the amenities of a furnished bathroom? Not really.

There was only one other door to check, so I backed out of the bathroom and closed it behind me. Avoiding the table with the world's worst picture books, I followed the wall to the door in the middle of the room. It opened to a bedroom, just as furnished as the rest of the place. The bed was huge, king-sized at least, with four wooden posts reaching to the ceiling. Each post was carved with vines and leaves, akin to all the art hanging in the next room and equally as beautiful.

The bedroom also had a vanity, an armoire, and a bookshelf. Ignoring the books, I ran my hands across the dark wood of the vanity. In the mirror, my face looked tired and old. Before I'd landed in my worst nightmare, I'd fought with Mom—the same fight we'd been having for months, just progressively worse each time. I'm never proud to admit when I cry, but my reflection showed me puffy eyes and a droopy expression.

I'll smile when I get home. And I'll never fight with her again, not for as long as I live, just please, please, let me get home.

I mentally promised to be a better daughter, a better student, a better friend. I would encourage Sarah to take the plunge and ask Tony out on a date. I would put more effort into my under-paid part-time job at the retirement home. Silent promises turned into pleas.

I have to get back home to Mom; I'm all she has left.

Wrapped up in my bargaining for a chance to get off the crazy train, I lost precious minutes. How long had passed in my world?

"You won't find what you're looking for." I hadn't realized when Hades—Hector?—came into the room behind me, I was too vainly engrossed in myself. I whirled around to face him. There was plenty of space in the bedroom, but just the fact that there was a bed and a stranger caused me to back up, farther out of arms reach.

"What makes you think you know what I'm looking for?"

"There are two options," he said. He leaned against one of the bedposts as he spoke. "You're either looking for a way out, or you're looking for signs of the Fury blood in your veins. And you won't find either. The Fury has to be awoken, she won't show her face until you are ready. And there is no way out."

Hector stepped closer to me. Closer. Too close. He caught my hand and brought it to his lips. "You're mine now, Autumn. Better get used to it."

And then he smiled at me—but not a smile of happiness. I vaguely thought that he wanted to make me feel better with a friendly smile, but what I saw wasn't friendly. It was vicious and hungry. I jerked my hand from his and wiped it on the leg of my pants where his lips had made contact.

"If you think that's going to make me stay here, you are dead wrong. All I want is to go home and live out my normal, boring life as a normal, boring human. Can't be some awesome Fury if I'm human. I have a plan, you know. I'm going to college; I'm leaving this town in my dust because I am meant for bigger and better things." I hadn't realized I was quoting my father until after I said it. His last birthday card had said that. You are meant for bigger and better things.Sometimes I just couldn't help the phenomenon Sarah and my mother affectionately called word-vomit.

"This is your 'bigger and better'. We need you. The Fates do not lie and we have been working far too long and far too hard to let you go. On the bright side, your presence here is only necessary for a short period of time. Should you survive, you are free to leave so long as you never forget where you belong."

"You mean to whom I belong. Joke's on you; I want to forget this ever happened. This is going to take years of therapy to get over, I can already tell. But I will find a way out of here and once I'm gone I will forget about all of this."

The man in front of me transformed. His face grew hard, mouth turning into a thin line, eyebrows creasing. If I had seen compassion in his eyes at all that night, I was mistaken. Hector claimed to be a demon, the god of the Underworld. I suddenly believed his story without a doubt: he wasn't human.

"You are mine; in my realm or outside it you will never forget what you are. Get used to it," Hector growled at me. The grinning, matter-of-fact man I had spoken to moments before had vanished. Gone was the handsome guy who flirted effortlessly and skirted around answering questions.

A monster stood in his place, his skin practically glowing as he strode away from me with purposeful steps. Across the living room from the bedroom door was a large gilded mirror and I was just in time to watch Hades step into it and disappear. Incredulous, I huffed and went after him, only to hit the cold surface and taste glass. He was gone.

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A/N: Hi, Reader! You're my new favorite person. Yes, you. 

I know that 5 chapters isn't very many chapters but I'm so, so grateful to be able to share this with you. Can you tell that I'm excited you're here?

Send me your thoughts, your comments, your questions! Are you enjoying Autumn's story so far? Do you like Hector or hate him? Where you do think we're headed from here?

J