Perspective

Ambrosia. His life essence was like nectar to my starving soul. Before this, I had merely existed. Now I was ALIVE…living through Ladislao.

My eyes were closed and yet I saw a myriad of images flash before me. I witnessed bloody battle scenes, felt heart-wrenching sorrow, heard the distant rumbling of thunder; I was receiving his memories and his thoughts.

“Release me,” he said, panting. I removed his wrist from my lips.

I lay back against the pillows. I beckoned him to join me with a thought. He arranged himself beside me and raised a hand to my hair.

“You hair is the color of a lunar eclipse, breathtaking,” he said. “Your skin the palest alabaster glowing in the light of the moon. Your lips, ah your lips. The softest rose petals cannot compare to them.”

I felt warm beneath his gaze. I traced the lines of his jaw with my fingertips; my thumb rubbing the fullness of his bottom lip. I pulled him down to me and buried my face in his glorious hair. I inhaled deeply the scent of sandalwood, patchouli and sex.

“What are you?” I asked as I released him.

“I am a keeper of the Balance. Hades, my father, has charged me with keeping the balance of life and death, under the cover of the night and keeping alive the Old Ways.” he said.

“Elianna, you must know that I am forever hunted by the day and by those, in their ignorance, who believe that I am evil.” He warned.

“These people are legion, and they share a belief in the One God. The most zealous of these seek to vanquish what they do not understand. I tell you this to protect you.”

“How can they kill you? You are the son of Hades…no mortal…certainly no human could kill you?” I asked.

“They lump me in with creatures in this world far more dangerous and far less evolved that I, surely you have heard the folktales. Blood sucking demons sent by “Satan” to spread disease and fear to those who do not believe in the One God!” he seethed.

“I was once mortal. I commanded nations to victory against their enemies, all for the name of the One God. I was betrayed by my closest generals, ambushed. They led me to a trap set by our enemies, hoping to cash in on the price on my head. One by one they fell into a pit of their own making. They saved me for last. I was the prize. They took great pride in torturing me, but I refused to give in, to die. At some point my spirit slipped from my body. I floated above this gory scene detached. I felt a strong tugging at my soul and felt myself sinking, sinking into the earth. I felt as if I were no more than a light mist. Slipping into the spaces between the pebbles in the ground, I made my way to the Underworld, to answer the call, the tug upon me.”

“I came to rest at the feet of Hades himself. He told me that he had plans for me. He had been watching my life and felt as though I were his son, created by the Gods to carry out his purpose.”

“I was a believer in the One God, and I thought I was sitting at the feet of Satan himself. I was terrified and enraged at the same time. He saw my conflict and laughed in my face. “I am no fallen angel, lad,” he said, “I was there when his soul was borne of the Mother. I witnessed his downfall and his shame, but I am not him.”

I sat listening to Ladislao tell the story of his death and his rebirth into this life. It reminded me of folktales I had heard as a child, listening to my grandfather tell stories of Valhalla and Niefelhiem.