The goddess

Chapter 4

I awake on a beautiful couch and as I turn my head to the right I see a desk, and Hades back facing me, he seems to be on the phone his deep voice rumbling, I try to sit and groan as the dull ache in head starts to get worse then fade. My vision comes back and I slowly start to sit up. Hades must have heard me as he dashes to my side the phone abandoned on the oak desk, "Hardwick, are you okay?" He looks into my eyes and as I look back I feel the full weight of a god for the first time and it nearly knocks the breath out of my body. As I struggle to speak Hades reaches out his hand and helps me sit up further putting a big brown cushion behind my head and back. "What happened?" I manage to croak. "I am afraid the Goddess within you is starting to awaken. Have you had any headaches recently? More than normal, for say days on end then nothing and you feel like you are developing a fever?" I can't speak as my throat is dry so I simply nod while looking at the floor, he doesn't say anything else and puts a hand to my forehead, his palm feels cool under my heated skin. Embarrassed I pull away and start to speak "What's going to happen now?" I look around the room for Zeus, as if he knows what I mean he puts a hand on my shoulder and says in almost a whisper "Zeus went home! There is going to be a meeting to discuss giving you godly status you need to attend as soon as you feel up to it" he smiles an enigmatic smile and I start to relax. I slowly get up off the couch and the purple blanket that was draped across me falls to the floor. When suddenly the door to the room bursts open and in comes a woman, her dark skin glowing, her braids bouncing as she walks "Uncle?" When she sees me she stops and smiles brightly "Oh! Hello Iona, how are you feeling now?" She looks inquisitively at me. I stop folding the blanket and just stare at her, her smile drops a few molars and she begins to look worried "You okay hon?" Then slowly it dawns on her that she had failed to introduced herself "I'm Petronella, daughter of Zeus, Demi goddess no need to worry I don't bite!" She smiles again and says "I hope we can be good friends" and draws me in for a hug, I can feel her friendliness coming off her in waves, she pulls back and says with a wide bright smile reaching her soft brown eyes, "Unc.... I mean Hades has been searching for the Aphrodite reincarnation for many years and my father, Zeus too" she said her fathers name almost with contempt each word dripping with it. She looks right into my eyes and gasps "You have such beautiful eyes I can see Aphrodites soul in your eyes and the stars they are beautiful. But what does this mean Uncle?!" He looks pensive and his baritone voice echoes through the office "We are unsure as yet!" I tilt my head inquisitively Hades catches the look and explains "In a gods eyes we can see the colour of their soul and their souls aura, no god that I know of has star constellations in their eyes -you are most unusual" He stares straight at me holding my gaze for longer than necessary, I feel a blush creeping up my neck and I look away mumbling "Well I was always unusual at school!" Trying to make a joke about my lack of popularity. Petronella puts her hand on my shoulder to comfort me when we hear a massive blast and the dust and debris falls Hades runs towards the noise shouting over his shoulder "Pet, keep her safe! She has not transcended yet she must be kept safe" when all of a sudden he disappeared, within seconds he come running back grabbing both mine and Petronellas hands and running. We get quite a distance away before we stop to catch our breath. We ran flat out for what seemed like an age. I am bent over with my hands on my knees panting with every word I speak "What *pant pant* is *pant* going *pant* on?" Hades takes gulps of air to calm his breathing just as he opens his mouth to speak we hear a voice.