Dark Shadows (#1 of Dark Shadows Series) |Old Version|

Chapter 22: Ghosts of the Past

Hades sat on his throne, the grand room dark. The souls were gone, the chaos quiet; everything was silent.

He felt so tired and exhausted. The month was nearly over...just a few days. Katherine was barely hanging on. He could tell she was slipping fast, but what could he do to help? It was his fault that she was like this.

It was no longer a mystery that the one behind it was Apollo. Hades heard Katherine scream his name one night while she tried to sleep. Just, why? What was about Katherine that Apollo wanted? She was a mere mortal after all. She had no powers, nothing special to attract the attention of a sadistic god like Apollo.

He was always power-hungry; so what was it about Katherine that attracted his unwanted attention?

Though Hades rarely dealt with the Oracle of Delphi, she had to know of something as to why Apollo done this. But she was his oracle, would she even tell Hades behind his god's back? If she did ever betray her god, Apollo would surely kill her and replace her.

He ran his hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated groan.

If Persephone was here...

No, he couldn't think like that. That path led to only hurt and grief. He already messed up by calling Katherine Persephone that night long ago. The guilt still ate at him. He was so angry and disappointed in himself. If Katherine survives this, she would never be with him.

Getting up from the throne, Hades walked out of the throne room and out to the garden. The gem flowers glistened in the limited light, the fountain still gushing out water in the center of the maze. Hades hummed as he walked to the center of the garden.

A part of him wanted to see Persephone's flowers one last time before he got rid of them. Even though Katherine had an attachment for these flowers, they reminded him of Persephone. He didn't want a constant reminder when there was already a girl that he was growing closer and closer.

His mind still buzzed at the thought of their kiss. She tasted sweet like freshly picked strawberries and mint. The taste was addicting. He didn't want to stop.

His heart was hammering in his chest, feeling the weight in his chest begin to lift. But that weight soon reappeared once Katherine began to pull back in pain.

Something inside him shattered. He hadn't felt that much pain since Persephone's passing.

Were the Fates so against him finding peace and happiness?

He came to the patch of Persephone's flowers. The midnight gem glistened with tiny specks of colors in the dim light. Their edges were smooth yet jagged on some petals.

"I hope you're not mad," Persephone said as she held out a black gemmed flower, a rainbow of colors exploding in the light.

Hades never expected for a goddess who was so bright to create a dark and mysterious gem.

She always seemed to amaze him.

Taking the flower out of her palm, Hades kneeled down to an open spot near the center fountain and with a flick of his wrist, the flower became one with the cavern dirt.

"There. Only thing left is to create more."

That was one of times Hades truly saw Persephone smile.

Hades sat on his knees, his hand near the flower. His chest felt heavy as all their memories together flooded his mind. Ghosts of the past.

Grabbing a fist full of the flower, Hades crushed it into dust. The other similar flowers soon turned to dust, leaving an empty spot behind.

His cheeks felt cool from the tears that managed to fall, dropping onto his lap. A small part of the weight on his chest lifted as the dust settled.

Hades began to think about a new flower to put there. Even if Katherine wanted nothing to do with him after this, he still wanted to a part of her to remain when he faded.

He imagined a large rose with jagged edges in the petals. It would be black as night in the dark, but in the light, it would turn white with every color when hit at any angle. He normally stayed away from the color white, but to him, it suited Katherine.

With the image in his head, Hades whispered in his native tongue as the image began to glow bright in his mind, before the light dimmed and the image was gone. Opening his eyes,  he saw the jeweled rose in his palm.

It was enormous. One petal was about six inches long. The flower would easily fit the empty place. He placed the flower down and like before, the cavern bent at his will, rooting the flower there to stay forever.

Standing up, Hades felt proud of the flower. No one besides him could destroy it, not like he wanted to destroy it. It was Katherine's flower.

"I always wondered when you would destroy my flower."

Everything in Hades' body froze at her voice. A voice he hadn't heard in years.

Persephone.

Was.

There.

Right there, behind him.

Slowly, Hades turned around to see her.

She looked the same as she did when she died; even the same dress. She looked so much like Katherine...

"Persephone?" Hades questioned, not believing his eyes.

"It's me," she smiled, though it looked sad. "I never thought I would be back here. Hecate didn't lie when she said everything looked the same."

"Hecate? She was with you?" Hecate was with his dead wife the whole time?

"She had some...trouble here and thought I might help. She really dug herself a hole with him."

"Trouble? You mean... She was the one to cast the spell on Katherine?"

It was hard to not chuckle at Hades. It was evident that he cares about that human girl. All Persephone wanted was to have her husband find someone new. Hecate spike on how their relationship was starting to grow; he even kissed the girl for gods sake.

Hades was never one to vocalize his feelings. It was nice to see him finally overcome their past together.

Persephone nodded. "Apollo blackmailed her to doing the spell. She said that he found her family here in the Underworld and threatened to kill her family and her."

It made sense, Hades thought. That's why she wasn't here: she went to go look for Persephone. But... Why Persephone?

Before Hades could even ask her why she was here, a loud and blood curdling scream came from the balcony above. Katherine's room.

Hades didn't hesitate to jump up to the balcony, not bothering to look to see if Persephone was behind him. Peering through the curtains, he saw Katherine limp and unconscious in the arms of Apollo.