From Despair Comes Hope (The Strange Case of Devin Sola Book 1)

Sleepwalking

***Tia's POV***

I turn away from Devin and stalk down the hallway. I despise my father with every fiber of my angelic being. Humans think that angels are these supreme beings who do not feel the same emotions as humans, but they're wrong. We do and it sucks ass if you ask me. I tromp down the stairs, taking pleasure in moving about as a normal human would instead of popping in and out like angels and demons tend to do. It gets boring doing that all the time.

I find the library and shove the doors open. "Christopher! Ryan!" I shout, sensing both presences, but not seeing them. When they appear, I stare. It's been 3000 years since I've seen Ryan face to face. He'd been my best friend. I dash over and hug him tight. He'd been the one to hold me while I cried because Life was gone. They'd all left Olympus and the Underworld after that, leaving me alone with Uncle Hades. It isn't bad, just lonely. "Oh I've missed you so much Dark."

"And I, you, Death." Ryan says, holding me tightly. I used to wish that Ryan had been Life, because he'd never have left me the way Life did. "Have any of you seen any sign of Life?"

Chris shakes his head. "Nothing. We've searched far and wide, but we haven't found him or anyone who knows anything about him. I'm thinking Hera, the old bitch, might know something though."

"Three thousand years and nothing." I sigh. "But right now, that's not the important thing. The important thing is getting Charli's powers back and getting Devin's soul out of the Styx."

"Just a question Tia, but if we get Charli's powers back and she goes to the Underworld to retrieve Devin's soul, won't she pull all the souls from the Styx?" Ryan asks. "I thought that was how her powers worked... and why she couldn't be in the Underworld."

"No, she can't be in the Underworld because she'd exude so much hope at once that her powers would fade." I say.

"What happens if her powers fade?" Chris asks. I can tell he is worried about her. I find it funny that when faced with his mate, it is more difficult for him to reject being Despair.

"Well, simply put, she becomes permanently mortal." The look on Chris' face says it all. I quickly speak up again. "But there is a way to prevent that."

"Ok, so how does that work?" Ryan asks.

"She can go with Chris. His power of bringing despair to the world will temper her power of bringing hope to the world. Being in the Underworld will actually recharge Chris' powers because that's where he's meant to be as a general rule. In fact, even if Charli had her powers now, she'd still need Chris to retrieve Devin's soul." I haven't mentioned to Charli that she'll need her mate to retrieve Devin's soul because she's already stressing out about not having her powers.

"Because I can temper her powers, perhaps help her focus them on Devin?" Chris asks me.

"Pretty much. I could probably temper her powers a little bit being that I'm Death, which is the ultimate loss of hope, but not enough to keep her from fading to mortality." I say.

"So how do we do this?" Ryan asks. A flash of dark light and dark smoke makes us turn around before I can answer him.

"Well, for starters, you don't." A booming voice says. I know that voice well. I hear it daily. I turn.

"Hello Uncle Hades."