Read Online My Tattered Bonds by Courtney Cole - Free Book Online

a pit of fire, lost my soul mate and family in every life for thousands of years and have recently died and come back to life.   To top it all off, my daughter has been stolen from me. My life hasn’t been a picnic.”
    He sobered.   “Harmonia, we will get Raquel back. I swear it on the river Styx.”
    He had just uttered the most holy of oaths for an Olympian.   I nodded.   I knew he meant it.
    “Thank you, father,” I murmured, turning my attention once again to the horizon.   “Where do we begin?”
    “I think we should begin exactly where Rhadamanthus said,” Cadmus suggested. “The river Leche.”
    “But where is it?” I asked.   “I don’t see it.”The only thing in front of us was miles and miles of rolling hillside.  
    Ortrera stepped to my side, her long hair snapping around her shoulders in the strong wind.   “Rhadamanthus said we would soon come to it,” she reminded me.   “I think we should just begin walking.   Perhaps it will appear just as the Room of Judgment did.”
    “That’s a good thought, daughter,” Ares nodded.   “Let us walk.”
    He strode quickly away from us down the hill without looking back.   His shoulders were as broad as a doorway and he walked with purpose.   My mother looked to me.
    “Well, that’s that, then,” she smiled. “Let’s go, sweetling.”
    The hill was steeper than it looked and it took quite a lot of work to remain balanced as we climbed down through the thick grasses.   I was once again thankful for my boots.   The weeds and grass were scratchy and thick.   Ortrera and her warriors had boots similar to mine, so they were protected as well, but I could see red welt forming on my mother’s legs.   To her credit, she didn’t complain.
    Cadmus reached over and caught my fingers and we held hands as we picked through the bristly wildflowers.   There were so many blooming that it really should smell good here, but instead, there was an underlying sulfurous smell that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. I had no idea where it was coming from.
    From the front, my mother and father stopped in their tracks.
    “Look!” my mother exclaimed pointing.   I followed her finger.  
    Nestled in a valley, between voluptuous green hills, a sparkling blue river gently flowed.   The water was clear and clean and rushed fluidly over river rocks.   At this point, we had been hiking for awhile and to be honest, I was parched.   The bubble of the water was tantalizing and I found myself pulled to it as we rushed the remainder of the distance and stood at the edge.
    “I’m afraid,” my mother murmured as she stared into the clear depths.  
    “Me, too,” I agreed.
    My father plunged into the water without hesitation in typical Ares style.   He splashed a large hand toward us, splattering us with large drops.   It was frigid.
    “Come on in,” he cajoled. “The water’s fine.”
    “How can you not be nervous?” Aphrodite demanded.   “It could take your memories.”
    “It could,” he acknowledged with a shrug.   “But it won’t.”
    As we all watched in trepidation, he dipped his hand in the water and drew it up to his mouth, taking a long drink.   The clear liquid streamed from his chin as he drank even more.   After a moment, he stopped abruptly, dropping his hand back down to his side as his gaze became glassy and vacant.
    Staring at my mother intently, his whispered, “Who are you?”
    She gasped.   “Ares?”
    “Ares?” he repeated.   “Is that my name?”
    My heart almost stopped beating as I stared at my mother. She returned my horrified gaze and we seemed frozen in time as we contemplated what to do.  
    And then my father threw his head back and started laughing.  
    He was kidding and I wanted to kill him.
    “That is not funny!” I screeched at him as Aphrodite plunged into the river to pummel his chest with her delicate fists.  
    “Not funny at all !” Aphrodite agreed.   “Are you truly unaffected?”
    “Truly,”