Forever Yours

Chapter Thirty-One

Persephone stared at the spot where moments before her husband had been, clutching his chest, that was now empty of his form. It was silent around her, no one speaking nor daring to move as they too stared in disbelief. Kaethe and Quinn held one another, while Ian took a step towards the group of shocked people. Makaria stood next to her mother, eyes wide.

"Uh... I don't think he was suppose to do that, was he?" Quinn commented as he raised his head to meet Ian's dark gaze. He watched as Ian shook his head. Tightening his arms a little more around Kaethe, Quinn couldn't help but be a little scared, afraid that she was going to disappear like Hades did.

"No..." Persephone replied as she went to stand up, her heart beating wildly in her chest. A hand appeared in front of her face, and as she looked up she saw it belonged to Makaria. Smiling sadly, she took the offered hand and raised herself up. "Thank you, my dear." Brushing her skirt off, she looked at the group of teens in her presence and sighed. "I'm not sure what just happened, but he's not dead." Persephone saw Ian let out of breath.

"That's good, however it doesn't explain what's going on. I mean, this isn't the time to just up and disappear! Kronos is out there, doing only Zeus knows what and we're suppose to be figuring out how to stop him; however, now we're going to on a hunt for a kidnapped god." Ian took a step towards Makaria, wrapping her in his arms. Looking down at the top of her head, he held her close before he raised his head and looked around, noticing that the other two gods were gone as well. "Make that 'Gods'...  Seems Zeus and Demeter are missing as well."

"So I've noticed, as has Hermes," Persephone agreed as she sighed. She turned her grey eyes towards Ian, the frown on her beautiful face deepening. "We've gotta find them, Thanatos. Father and the others are the only ones who know how to stop him."

Kaethe stepped out from Quinn's embrace, her hands in front of her chest. "How are we going to do that? Quinn and I aren't immortal, like you guys," she reminded them. "We can't just go for a walk through the Underworld."

"She's right," Makaria agreed as she nodded her head. "Mom, what are we going to do?  We don't even know for sure where they are."

Persephone glanced around the foyer of the palace, her mind going into over drive. When her eyes landed on the set of doors across the hall, she smiled as an idea came into her mind. "I think I know of a way," she said as she quickly hurried over to the large doors.

Banging her fist against the massive wooden doors, the sound echoing throughout the palace; she waited for them to open. Persephone frowned when she heard a small yelp from inside before it went all quiet, and raised her hand to once more bang against the door.

"Hecate? Answer this door this instant!" she called out, hand in the air. Only she never got the chance to knock because just as her hand was mere inches away from the door, it opened to reveal a distressed goddess. One eyebrow raised, Persephone stared at her. "Hecate?"

Bowing, her long hair falling forward to cover her face, Hecate nodded her head as she tried to take short breaths. "I'm sorry, my mistress," she panted out. "I was engrossed in a tracking spell."

Persephone's eyes went wide. However, she knew she shouldn't have been surprised. Her maiden always seemed to know what to do before Persephone herself ever did. "Did you find them?"

Hecate frowned but nodded. "Yes...  and no," she replied. "They are still in the Underworld, but it seems as if something is blocking me from finding their true location."

Persephone nodded, thinking. "Try again, and this time hold on to this," she told her as Persephone handed over the golden necklace from around her neck. "The lantern was given to me by Hades for a wedding anniversary, so this should help you to locate him."