Chapter Eight

(Adonis)

Asphodel. Not the fields where the souls roam mindlessly, but the bustling city where there's shops and vendors scattered all over the place. There's more people than I anticipated, so before we start walking, I open my hand, conjuring a collar and leashes on both of them. Linus' collar is red like his hair with a black chain leash to match whereas Dion's is the same black and gold pairing that he was wearing earlier today.

Linus gives me a look that says how he's obviously not thrilled that I'm treating him like a dog, but Dion just nudges him. "He doesn't want to lose us. Just chill out and follow along." Dion advises, making Linus sigh and cross his arms.

I start walking with them close behind, looking at the vendors and their creations every so often. I even saw a witch selling voodoo dolls. They look similar to mine, so I don't doubt that they're real.

The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Having someone's voodoo doll is like owning their soul. She's out here selling souls of people who probably didn't even consent to it. Hopefully the buyers don't do anything perverted to the dolls, because they can feel that too. I tested it on Dion by licking its crotch, and trust me when I say he definitely felt it.

"The shop is over there." Linus points out, starting to lead us over to it. I yank his leash when he starts to get too far ahead, making him stumble back and rub his throat. "Thanks for that, ass clown."

"Ass clown?" I repeat, laughing softly as I make my way to the store.

He's got such a potty mouth that I'm tempted to just force him to wear a gag like I did with Dion, but he's quite entertaining to say the least. It actually makes me wonder what kind of insult he'll pull from his arsenal next.

"Hello, and welcome to Cruel Coture where every outfit will make you look as cruel as the Lord himself." The cashier greets us.

She's a thin girl wearing a very gothic looking outfit. Her dress is all black with frills at the bottom with a tight corset over top with chains and charms dangling from it. When she walks around the counter to shake my hand I notice her shoes too. They're knee high black stompers that add about 3 or 4 inches to her height. It's shocking because even with them on she's still only around 5'5.

Her skin is a dark chocolate shade and her coily hair is in a high ponytail making every step she takes look more bouncy than normal. She must be some sort of African creature. Her eyes are a deep shade of brown, but when the light hits them right there's little specks of honey gold.

"Yeah I'm sure Hades shops here." Dion mutters from behind me, earning himself an elbow to his ribs.

He gets snarky and sassy like Linus does, but until I get him that bangle, he's just a helpless little mortal surrounded by creatures he's hardly even heard of. Maybe I should get him a tutor on Greeks.

Then again Asphodel is the cesspool of the underworld, and the underworld is the cesspool of the universe. I didn't even know Hades let in demons from other realms and pantheons, but Linus is Christian. Draco is Sumarian. Lemuel is Japanese. Dakarai is Egyptian. It's like everything has changed since the last time I've been here.

It's used to just be Greeks and people were incredibly racist. So racist that they'd kill any non-Greeks on sight without any repercussions. Now there's vampires, dragons, and faeries just flouncing around like they own the place.

"Lord Adonis? I heard on the news that you'll be ruling over Elysium. I'm so honored to have you here. Is there anything I can do for you?" She asks, giving me a wide smile.

"Yes. I was hoping to buy uniforms for my servants and slaves. I saw what I wanted in your magazine catalog, and decided to just come here rather than ordering online. It was listed under F13." I answer, hoping that I recalled the number correctly.

I wouldn't want to order them the wrong thing. While I was looking I saw that a lot of their items are more like lingerie than real outfits. No wonder Draco has such questionable style.

She nods quickly and walks to the back, having us wait for a minute before coming back out. "We have quite a few in stock. How many would you like?"

"Let's say 100, and if I need more I'll order them online. Is there any way you could do a sizing spell on them? I didn't take any measurements before I came." I inform her.

She nibbles on her lip before nodding slowly with a little smile. "Yeah. I could do that but it may take about an hour to do them all. Do you mind coming back later?"

"Sure. I still have some things to get. Thank you very much." I give her a warm smile before leading Linus and Dion back outside and onto the bustling streets.

"She was hot. Do you think she's kinky? She could break my skull open with those boots." Linus comments, making me look at him curiously.

"I thought you were into guys." I mention, staring down the street again, looking for a reputable magic shop. When I spot one that looks decent and believable, I start leading them towards it.

Linus hums thoughtfully as if he's never even thought of it before. "Well… I guess I prefer men, but I like everyone. Maybe that's just an Incubus thing. We're descended from Lust, but I'm not sure which one knocked up my mom."

"There's more than one Lust?" I ask. I'm sure he's talking about the 1st and least deadly of the seven deadly sins. I thought there was only one of each.

"There's only one at a time, but when one dies, the curse gets passed on to someone else. I'm not sure if the current lust or one of the other ones is my father." He clarifies, looking around the little store when we walk in.

Dion remains quiet, but I can see him looking around at some of the bangles. I send a pulse of magic out of my hand to desentagrate both chains while leaving the collars around their necks. "Go pick one out, Dion. Nothing stupid."

Linus comes close to me and nudges me slightly. "I like being hot and sexy. Maybe Lust did me a favor. It's always weird when we're kids though because I was like 5 years old giving grown men boners because I couldn't control my magic. I used to work for Hades when I was a teenager and he always made me wear a paper bag over my head so he wouldn't be tempted to touch me."

"That sounds terrible." I mumble, starting to imagine it.

My powers are similar, but not quite like that. Even when I was younger everyone I was around was attracted to me. I was fortunate enough to be a god and people were too scared of Menoetius to come near me, but Linus seems to have always been a servant. Even when he was a kid, his lord would've had the right to abuse him sexually. The thought alone makes me sick.

"Nothing ever happened until I was older. I was fortunate enough to be a servant rather than a slave. If Pan were an incubus he would've been used as a sex slave before he even hit puberty."

"Let's just stop talking about it." I suggest, trying to wipe the idea from my mind.

Gods are vicious, disgusting, power hungry assholes. They do what they want, when they want, and they'll kill anyone who tries to stop them.

My brothers and parents are no different, but I try to be. I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, but I'd never even think of forcing myself on someone. A lot can be forgiven, but rape is the worst crime of all.

Gods of beauty, desire, love, and sex are aware of how things should be. Sex is meant to be beautiful, pleasurable, and warm. It's supposed to be a way to bring to souls together for a fleeting moment. It's good and pure, and it's only been made filthy by people who abuse it.

People shouldn't use it as a weapon of torture. They shouldn't use it to obtain power over someone else. That's disgusting. It wasn't meant to be harmful and cruel. As much as I love my brothers, I don't blame anyone for hating them.

"Lord Adonis? I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." Linus hesitates before taking me hand and giving me a big smile. "We're lucky to have you know. The other servants and I were talking earlier about how honored we are to serve someone so gentle and kind."

I take my hand back and shake my head to say that it's no big deal. Before we can talk any more, a coil of purple smoke floats around us before coming to rest in front of us. The smoke disappears to reveal a very thin lady. Her hair is white and her skin is pale. Her eyes are hidden by a pair of black sunglasses. Nearly her whole body is covered by a black cloak that reminds me of something you'd see a reaper wear on a cartoon, but I see enough to know that she looks very sickly.

"Hello. I am Savea, and you are Lord Adonis. Son of Persephone and Atlas, god of beauty and desire. You're the newly appointed lord of Elysium and you're here with your servants to receive a magical armlet from me. Am I correct?"

She asked it like it was a question, but her tone of voice says that she knew it all to be true. She's not in my head or I'd feel it, so how does she know so much?

"I'm more than a simple witch my child. I don't have to dig for thoughts. I hear them loud and clear." She starts to hum a little sound as she walks behind the counter to lean on it.

"Well, since you already know what I want, how much will it be?" I'm still skeptical. I don't like having people in my thoughts, and I definitely don't like not knowing what species she is.

"I don't accept chump change. I accept valuable trinkets, information, and favors."

I let out a deep sigh and cross my arms as I start to think of things. The last thing I want is to give her an IOU. I don't have any valuable or special trinkets. The most I have is voodoo dolls, but I wouldn't just give them away. Maybe I could tell her how to make one?

"I already know that, sweetie. I practically invented the things. How about your boyfriend's sword. It's really pretty." She admits, looking over at Dion who has his sword still in its sheath.

"No." I respond, letting out another sigh.

I'm not giving away anything that belongs to someone else and I'm not giving away people either. Any other god in my situation probably would've just sold one of their slaves, but I can't. I won't.

"Your blood?"

"No." I answer, much quicker this time.

If there's anything Menoetius has taught me, it's that god blood is powerful. That's how he always found me. Any time I ran from him, he could find me using my blood.

"I'll sweeten the deal." She offers, making me give her a look that says I'm listening. "No recharge needed. While he has the armlet on it will act as if he's a real witch, and you won't have to waste your magic on him."

"That's impossible." Linus snaps at her, making me give him a warning look.

The offer is tempting. I have guards and servants now. Protecters who would do anything for me simply because Hades told them too. What's the worst that could happen?

"Swear on the river Styx that it will work." I demand, glancing to Dion and then back at her to see if she will do it.

"As Styx is my witness, I swear that this armlet will effectively give your human powers of a witch with no recharge needed." She swears, holding one hand up and the other over her heart.

"Deal."