Sweet Hell (13 page)

Finally, there was one left. One snake clinging to her with malevolent force. The cottonmouth, coiled near her neck, lifting its head to bite. Its vicious mouth opened. She squeezed her eyes shut.

And felt nothing. The wind died down immediately, and she peeked through her wet lashes.

Dionysus had the cottonmouth stretched between his hands. With one worried glance at her, he brought his strong hands together, and ground the snake into dust.

Josie tried to say something, anything, but all that came out was a whimper.

Dionysus was with her in an instant, picking her up and cradling her in his arms. Carrying her out of the room, kissing her tears away. As he ran with her down the hallway of The Sinners, she was able to spit out a few words. “Did I mention I was terrified of snakes?"

"It's okay,
moro mou
, my baby” he whispered, kissing her temple. “I have your back. I always will."

They ran toward an open door at the end of the seemingly never-ending hallway. But as they did, Josie took note of some startling changes. All those rooms that had housed the naked, fucking throng had changed too. The orgies had ceased. Where she'd previously seen lovers entangled on beds, she was now seeing countless men and women being boiled alive in enormous vats of steaming oil. Screaming and howling in terror, rather than lust. In other rooms, the orgiastic revelers were being stretched on racks or branded by hot irons. The rooms in which they been lost in lascivious bliss had turned into the most wretched torture chambers. The beautiful fragrances that had filled the house, the lilac and orange blossom, had dissipated, only to be replaced by the stench of vomit and urine and burning flesh.

The house of pleasure had truly become a hellhole.

"Please,” she cried, turning her eyes away from the abysmal scene, turning instead into Dionysus's chest. “Take me away from this place."

Tightening his grip on her trembling body, he did.

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Chapter 10

Dionysus ran with her into the woods outside the house, cursing The Sinners. Cursing the gods for allowing such a place to exist. And most of all, cursing his dreaded Uncle Hades for being such a sick fuck.

How had Zeus ever allowed his brother to invent this appalling place? What kind of perverted minds got off on seeing humans tortured in this way?

He knew the answer. His kind.

The kind he'd gladly been part of for millennia. Reaping all the rewards. Never considering the implications of his or any other god's actions.

Not until sweet Josie was weeping in his arms, shaking because she could not help all those very lost souls.

Now he hated who he was. Hated it. Hated that he'd felt so little over the years, even after being granted the opportunity to feel so much.

His chest heaved as he ran with her. He was feeling now. Definitely making up for lost time. He was feeling so damn much now he didn't know how to deal with it.

Okay, Dionysus
, he urged himself silently.
Stay on track. Just do what you need to do and get her out of here. You can wallow later.

Feeling exhausted for the first time in his life, he looked for a place to rest. There was a small clearing up ahead in the woods. He stopped there and sat, keeping Josie curled up on his lap.

In that quiet place, he rocked her for many minutes, stopping only when her breath evened out and her tears dried.

She looked up and her haunted expression made him want to weep. “Why?” she breathed, shaking her head. “Why?"

He let out a bitter laugh. “Because Hades—the god, not the place—has always been a little too theatrical in my opinion. He's always appreciated a good show. When my father Zeus and his brothers were carving out their portions of the universe, Hades chose to be the king of the underworld. He gets off on this stuff."

"I just ... I don't understand.” Her eyes filled with tears again. “All those people...” She sniffed, unable to continue.

He caressed her cheek. “Josie, you're not
meant
to understand."

He'd hoped his words might soothe her, but they only confused her further. Hell, he was confused too. All he knew was when he got out of this place, he was going to spend a lot of time with Josie
outside
the bakery. Perhaps helping her look into that winery thing. Surely, he could help her with that, above all people.

"Eurydice,” she said. “Please tell me she's not lost in such a horrible place."

"I think we're getting close. I feel it. Something tells me that if she's still here, she's drifting in one of the next levels. So many people get caught where we're about to go."

"Why?"

"The third circle of hell is a place that's been nicknamed ‘
The Oubliette
.’”

"I've heard that name before."

"If you've ever studied the history of castles, you probably have heard of it. Many ancient castles were constructed with an
oubliette
—basically, a dungeon you could never escape. It was a pit where prisoners were thrown and then forgotten. Of course, in French,
oublier
means ‘to forget.’”

She made a face. “That doesn't sound inspiring."

"That's the whole idea,” he joked, trying to cheer her a little. “Seriously though, Josie, I think
The Oubliette
is one of the most sinister spots in Hades. We have to be very careful passing through and make sure we don't linger."

"I don't think I'll want to linger anywhere in this place anymore."

"I'm glad you feel that way now, because your feelings may change once we get there.” He brushed his finger across her bottom lip, loving its fullness. “In
The Oubliette
, you may forget things. Those who get stuck there do because they lose their memories of life. They forget who they were, who their families were. Everything. Their memories become a gaping, black hole, and they drift there for all eternity."

"Will that happen to me while I'm there?"

"I sincerely hope not. Just trust me when I say I'll get you out."

She grinned, just a little, but enough to set his emotions on a rollercoaster ride through his body. “I do trust you. With my life."

With my life
. Those three words made him want to call his buddy Hermes and borrow his winged sandals. Having Josie's trust made him want to fly.

"Okay,” she said, standing up. “Let's do this."

He stood, awed by her fortitude. “How can you even say that after what you've endured?"

She raised her head. “Because Eurydice is lost in here somewhere. You said she was an innocent woman, so she doesn't deserve to be here. And if being with the man she loves will make hell a little less hellish for her, it's worth the trouble."

He stared at her. Gods preserve him!

He was totally in love with her.

As they walked toward the entrance of
The Oubliette
, hand in hand as they'd been for virtually the whole journey, Dionysus was pleased to see Josie had found her sense of humor again. The path to the next level of hell was a rocky, gray place, set in a stark landscape, but she still found funny things to say to alleviate the oppressive mood, which was good because he was still fairly flummoxed at the realization he loved her.

He needed time to decide what to do about it. He was an immortal! What was he supposed to do now? Would he ask her out on a second date when they got home? Because if this, the most disastrous first date in history was any indication, she might hit him with a big, fat, “Not on your life, buster!"

He tried to dismiss the disconcerting thought for a minute and listened to her prattling on.

"I have to be honest,” she was joking. “Hades doesn't offer much in the way of culinary treats. I think, if I ever come back, I'm going to open up a cannoli stand. I think the people down here would benefit from a steady diet of sugar and more sugar."

He laughed, but the sound of his laughter could not disguise the loud growl coming from her stomach. “Oh, Josie,” he said, feeling badly. “You must be starving. I never thought of food."

"That's okay,” she replied, rubbing her belly. “I forgot about eating too."

Then her stomach made another protracted noise, expressing its clear resentment at being forgotten.

"Well,” he said. “Because I am a god, I do have what my cousin Eryx calls ‘parlor tricks.’ Those parlor tricks can come in handy at times like these.” He swirled his
thyrsus
in front of his face, and a huge bunch of purple Concord grapes appeared. They fell into his hand, and he presented them to Josie with a smile.

Her eyes widened with utter joy. A delighted laugh escaped her. “I don't think you could have chosen anything better, or more appropriate, for me to eat than that."

She munched as they walked, sighing in happiness, and he felt a wonderful sense of satisfaction in taking care of her again. And, he couldn't deny to himself, it also aroused him to see her eat. He began to imagine the luscious sensation of being able to feed her those grapes. Popping them, one by one, into her sweet mouth. Following each one with a deep, lingering kiss, tasting grape juice on her tongue.

Oh yeah, some of his powers were still okay in his book.

When she finished, and he followed the grapes with a magical glass of shiraz, her delirium was complete. She downed the rich beverage, practically in one grateful gulp, and smiled widely at him. And then she hiccupped, making both of them laugh again.

He realized in that moment that he wanted to feed her for the rest of their lives. To ... provide for her.

But then his fevered brain fashioned an image of him laying her out on a kitchen table, feeding her with his fingers. Disrobing her at the same time he inserted dripping slices of peaches and sweet cherries into her mouth. Followed by succulent cuts of meat and the most decadent of desserts.

"So,” he said, needing to clear his head but also wanting to hear her voice some more. “Tell me more about your life. Tell me about ... Sean."

She blanched. “I don't know."

"You said you trusted me, Josie."

"I do,” she replied, frowning. Confused. “Why don't you tell me about your life first? I'm sure your stories are more interesting."

He considered, unwilling to give up on the whole Sean thing, but also unwilling to scare her off. “Oh. I don't know what to say about myself. I think you read me like a book the first day you met me."

"That was because of the Asian girls eye-fucking you in my bakery,” she teased.

He started. He'd forgotten about the other women. Since embarking on this deranged quest with Josie, he'd forgotten the face of every woman he'd ever known or ever bedded.

"Well,” she said. “If you don't know what to say, I could ask you some questions, and you could answer them."

"Okay,” he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her playful tone.

"First question. And this is very important. Your answer could determine the fate of our ... friendship.” She frowned at her use of the word, but continued. “Two words. Betty or Veronica?"

He wanted to laugh again, but held back in case the question was more serious to her than she let on. “Uh, Veronica?"

Her lips came together in a disappointed
O
, and she shook her head. “That is
not
the correct answer, Dionysus."

"What?” he defended himself. “Veronica's hotter!"

"Other than hair color, they look exactly the same. You just think she's hotter because she's the bitchy one. Men, men, men. You're all alike."

"But..."

"Very well,” she teased. “You have one chance to redeem yourself with the next question. If you answer incorrectly, I may have to abandon you here and walk home by myself, and never make you coffee again. Are you ready?"

He nodded, smirking, but highly amused. “Shoot."

"Ginger or Marianne?"

He burst into laughter, finally understanding her game. “Marianne! Totally. Those little gingham outfits were so sexy. Am I right?"

She paused, making him sweat, then smiled. “You are correct, although I suspect your reasoning is different than mine."

"Okay, Alex Trebek, so what makes Betty and Marianne the right answers?"

"Because, silly,” she said, her voice a quiet purr. “Veronica and Ginger are way too obvious. Too much like the girls you used to bring to the bakery. You should try picking the good girl some time. You might be pleasantly surprised."

He regarded her with equal parts admiration and sharp desire. By all that was holy, Josie was right. She'd sure surprised the hell out of him.

There was a dark, seemingly boundless cavern up ahead.
The Oubliette
. Josie didn't seem particularly concerned. She ambled toward it, having clearly decided it was the place to go. It was then he noticed her gait was a little uneven. She stumbled and he caught her, steadying her by the elbow. She looked up into his face. Grinning.

Well, if she wasn't a little drunk.

Perhaps a bunch of grapes with a shiraz chaser wasn't the best idea to fortify her for the road ahead. He'd never had to worry about getting tipsy himself. As much as he loved the stuff, he was pretty much impervious to it. He'd forgotten how a human could be affected.

He'd have to keep a close eye on her.

"Is that it?” she asked, pointing to the cave.

"Yes."

The sight seemed to sober her a bit. She stood still and stared at the opaque blackness in the distance. For a moment, he thought he glimpsed a slight shiver of fear rippling through her frame.

"Dionysus, will you do me a favor?"

Anything, he thought. He nodded.

She turned to him. “If I begin to forget in there ... will you remind me of who I am? I mean, you won't forget me, will you?"

As if he could forget her. “No. My memory will stay intact, and I will get you out."

"It's just ... there's still so much I want to do in life, and I don't want to lose track of those things."

He held her close, breathing in the faint, delicious fragrance of shiraz on her breath. “What do you want to do in life?"