God of My Dreams (Greek Heroes #1) ✅ Completed

Chapter Thirty-Two: Eros Interrupted

Eros Interrupted

“We have to get Morpheus!” Aphrodite turned back and made her way to the fallen dream god. To a regular human, it would have seemed as if Morpheus had merely fallen asleep on the dirt path, perhaps a victim of his own power. But to the goddess' all-seeing eyes, she could see the truth of the situation. Morpheus was not asleep - he was suffocating beneath a mound of anguished souls. They covered him like a deadly blanket, smothering him under the weight of their suffering and despair. 

Hermes cut through his own pack of swarming spirits, desperate souls trying to get a hold of the slippery and swift-footed messenger god. Unfortunately for them, Hermes was not a god to dwell on his mistakes long enough to let them slow him down. The sort of creatures that called the vale home held little power over him though they were still disturbing to be around. Even the normally good-natured Hermes was not unaffected by their morose nature. They were scroungy, pathetic shades of the human souls they had once been.

And they bit.

The messenger god elbowed one such biter in the face before darting back to where Morpheus lay. Aphrodite used what little power she still had to blast the souls away from his body. However, instead of using up the last of her reserves, she felt them grow and replenish. She wasn't at full capacity, not by a long shot, but she most definitely had more gas in her tank. The goddess would’ve laughed in sheer relief if she wasn’t so focused on keeping the dead away from her friend.

Hermes crouched low and grabbed a hold of the dream god before hauling him fireman style over one shoulder. He rose to his feet, grunting under Morpheus' unnaturally heavy weight. Hermes continued down the path much slower than he had been, though definitely a lot faster than what Morpheus was clocking in on his own.  

Aphrodite didn’t let up on her attack as shrieking spirits continued to pour forth from all directions. Her powers were still weak but definitely more than she'd had at her disposal only a few moments before. Hades had been blocking her powers altogether but something was definitely up if she was able to wield even a little bit of it again. Clearly the Lord of the Underworld was focusing elsewhere at the moment. Aphrodite couldn’t be more thankful for the unexpected distraction. 

Focusing all of her attention before them, the goddess tried to keep their path clear but it would've been easier to plug a leaky dam with one perfectly manicured nail. More and more of the Underworld’s unsettled dead flooded towards them. They pulled on her hair and clothes, grabbing at her skin as they tried to get hold of their weakened prey. They were like particularly nasty, long starved sharks while Morpheus was a wounded seal floating amongst them.  

Hermes cursed. The normally sure-footed god tripped and nearly toppled with Morpheus back to the ground. Had it not been for Aphrodite catching him at the last minute, he would have eaten dirt for sure. Unfortunately, that left an opening for the dead to advance their attack, actually wrenching Morpheus away from the gods.

“Zeus’ balls! What did Hades do to him?” he snapped. Reaching for his friend and starting a bizarre tug of war with Hades' creepy residents.“These freaking souls are treating him like he’s some kind of crappy pop star on drugs.”

“Hades made him human. He can’t fight them off,” Aphrodite said, gritting her teeth as she helped Hermes pull Morpheus back. When they’d managed to free him, she restarted her attack, sending a large blast to clear the ever growing horde around them. Pretty soon they wouldn't even be able to see the path much less stay on it.