Second Chances
A shiver ofdeja vu crawled down Ash’s spine as he walked along an eerie, fog-filled hallway he’d hoped
to never see again. The nether realm ofTartarus was reserved for those who were being punished in the
afterlife for crimes committed in a human lifetime.
The screams of the damned echoed off walls as black as Ash’s own soul. He would give Hadescredit ,
the ancient Greek god definitely knew how to make people suffer.
Moments like this, Ash hated being a god. It was unbearable to know he had the power to stop and
change things, and the profound responsibility to let nature take its course. Human free will should never
be altered.His own damnation was a constant reminder of exactly why.
Still the reality of it ate at him constantly. How he envied Artemis, Hades and many of the other gods
who could shrug off human suffering as par for the course.
But having once been human, Ash wasn’t immune to it. He understood what caused people to make the
bad decisions they would spend the rest of eternity paying for. And that human part ofhimself wanted
desperately to ease their pain
It was a bittersweet gift his mother had given him when she had made the decision to hide him in the
human world. To this day he wasn’t sure if he should thankher or curse her for it.
Today, he wanted to curse her.
“You don’t have to do this.”
He ignored Artemis’s voice in his head. He did have to do this.
It was time.
Ash stopped at a doorway that was covered with an iridescent slime. It shimmered like a rainbow oil
slick in the dim light. To his surprise, there was no sound coming from inside. No movement. It was as if
the occupant was dead.
But unlike the others who lived inTartarus , this particular person couldn’t die.
At least not until Ash did and since he was a god...
He used his powers to open the door without touching it.
It was completely black inside the small, dingy room. Horrifying images of his human past slammed into
him at the sight. Long-buried emotions ripped at him with daggers of pain that lacerated his heart.
He wanted to run from this place.
He knew he couldn’t.
Grinding his teeth, Ash forced himself to take the six steps that separated him from the man who was
curled into a ball in one corner. An identical replica ofhimself , the man had long blond hair that was
gnarled from the time he’d spent here and hadn’t brushed it.
But Ash never willingly wore his hair blond. It was a wretched reminder of a time in his past that he
wanted hisdamndest to forget.
The man on the floor wasn’t moving. His eyes were clenched shut like a child who thought that if he
made no sound, no moves, the nightmare would end.
Ash had lived a long time in just such a state, and like the man before him, he had prayed for death
repeatedly. But unlike his prayers that had gone unanswered,Styxx’s would be answered.
“ Styxx ,” he said, his low tone echoing off the walls.
Styxxdidn’t react.
Ash knelt down and did something that had disgustedStyxx when they had been human brothers in
ancientGreece . He touched his brother’s shoulder.
“ Styxx ?” he tried again.
Styxxscreamed as Ash broke through the brutal memories of horror thatMnimi , the goddess of memory,
had given toStyxx as punishment for trying to kill his brother. It was a punishment Ash had never agreed
with. No one needed the memories of his human past. Not even him.
He could hearStyxx’s thoughts as they left Ash’s past and returned toStyxx’s control.
Knowing his brother would be disgusted by him, Ash let go and stepped back.
As humans, he andStyxx had never been close.Styxx had hated him with an unreasoning passion. For his
own part, Ash had aggravated that hatred.
Ash’s human rationale had been that if they were going to hate him anyway, then he would give them all
good cause for it. He’d gone out of his way to repulse them.Out of his way to antagonize them.
Only their sister had ever given him
A shiver ofdeja vu crawled down Ash’s spine as he walked along an eerie, fog-filled hallway he’d hoped
to never see again. The nether realm ofTartarus was reserved for those who were being punished in the
afterlife for crimes committed in a human lifetime.
The screams of the damned echoed off walls as black as Ash’s own soul. He would give Hadescredit ,
the ancient Greek god definitely knew how to make people suffer.
Moments like this, Ash hated being a god. It was unbearable to know he had the power to stop and
change things, and the profound responsibility to let nature take its course. Human free will should never
be altered.His own damnation was a constant reminder of exactly why.
Still the reality of it ate at him constantly. How he envied Artemis, Hades and many of the other gods
who could shrug off human suffering as par for the course.
But having once been human, Ash wasn’t immune to it. He understood what caused people to make the
bad decisions they would spend the rest of eternity paying for. And that human part ofhimself wanted
desperately to ease their pain
It was a bittersweet gift his mother had given him when she had made the decision to hide him in the
human world. To this day he wasn’t sure if he should thankher or curse her for it.
Today, he wanted to curse her.
“You don’t have to do this.”
He ignored Artemis’s voice in his head. He did have to do this.
It was time.
Ash stopped at a doorway that was covered with an iridescent slime. It shimmered like a rainbow oil
slick in the dim light. To his surprise, there was no sound coming from inside. No movement. It was as if
the occupant was dead.
But unlike the others who lived inTartarus , this particular person couldn’t die.
At least not until Ash did and since he was a god...
He used his powers to open the door without touching it.
It was completely black inside the small, dingy room. Horrifying images of his human past slammed into
him at the sight. Long-buried emotions ripped at him with daggers of pain that lacerated his heart.
He wanted to run from this place.
He knew he couldn’t.
Grinding his teeth, Ash forced himself to take the six steps that separated him from the man who was
curled into a ball in one corner. An identical replica ofhimself , the man had long blond hair that was
gnarled from the time he’d spent here and hadn’t brushed it.
But Ash never willingly wore his hair blond. It was a wretched reminder of a time in his past that he
wanted hisdamndest to forget.
The man on the floor wasn’t moving. His eyes were clenched shut like a child who thought that if he
made no sound, no moves, the nightmare would end.
Ash had lived a long time in just such a state, and like the man before him, he had prayed for death
repeatedly. But unlike his prayers that had gone unanswered,Styxx’s would be answered.
“ Styxx ,” he said, his low tone echoing off the walls.
Styxxdidn’t react.
Ash knelt down and did something that had disgustedStyxx when they had been human brothers in
ancientGreece . He touched his brother’s shoulder.
“ Styxx ?” he tried again.
Styxxscreamed as Ash broke through the brutal memories of horror thatMnimi , the goddess of memory,
had given toStyxx as punishment for trying to kill his brother. It was a punishment Ash had never agreed
with. No one needed the memories of his human past. Not even him.
He could hearStyxx’s thoughts as they left Ash’s past and returned toStyxx’s control.
Knowing his brother would be disgusted by him, Ash let go and stepped back.
As humans, he andStyxx had never been close.Styxx had hated him with an unreasoning passion. For his
own part, Ash had aggravated that hatred.
Ash’s human rationale had been that if they were going to hate him anyway, then he would give them all
good cause for it. He’d gone out of his way to repulse them.Out of his way to antagonize them.
Only their sister had ever given him
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