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Yes. He could be a monster to the aristocrats and men who wronged him, but he didn’t have to be one for the people he cared about.
Keyon didn’t know how he’d achieve that. He only knew that the girl upstairs would be the first step.
The sketch of a building caught his eye, and he walked closer. He took it in his hands and studied it for a moment. The building seemed to be connected to this one via a tunnel.
“What is this?” Keyon asked.
“It’s a mansion.”
“It connects to this place,” he noted.
“Yes.” Grace nodded.
“Does it say in that journal of yours who the owner is?”
Grace looked at him queerly. “Yes, why?”
Keyon narrowed his eyes at her. “Did you say something about having a roof over your head? A place with a bed in it?” At Grace’s nod, he continued, “Well, let’s go pay those fine people a call. It seems like we found our first patrons.”
Ava
Nineteen years old
A high-pitched scream split the air. Keyon sat up, holding a dagger in his hand. What was that?
Another scream.
Keyon rushed out of the room and hurried toward Ava’s room. He’d brought the little girl from the last brothel he’d raided and settled her in the room next to his. She was an orphan, and without a mother, she was vulnerable; he knew that. Well, he couldn’t be her mother. But perhaps he could be her protective brother.
But a year had passed, and the nightmares still haunted her. She still didn’t trust Keyon and was afraid of him. Sometimes he wished he could let Grace deal with the child, but Grace refused to even try.
Keyon opened the door and entered Ava’s room. She wasn’t in bed. He walked in deeper and noticed her huddled in the corner.
He slowly came toward her and lowered to his haunches before her. “What is wrong, little one?”
Tears streamed down her face. “I am afraid of the monsters. They are in the shadows,” she whispered.
Keyon reached out and wiped her tears. “There are no monsters, dear Ava. They are all afraid of me.”
He offered her a hand, and she placed her tiny palm on top of his. He smiled, looking at the little hand resting on his huge palm, then tugged her up.
“Let me see you to bed,” he said.
She nodded, so he pulled her into his arms and walked toward the bed. “You do not have to worry about monsters anymore,” he said as he placed her on the bed. “I am the most terrifying of them all. And I will not let anyone touch you.”
* * *
Ten years later
Hades walked into Ava’s bedroom, her lifeless body in his arms. He slowly placed her on the bed and just stood there, looking at her as if expecting her to wake up. As if expecting her to smile at him or frown and tell him that he was crowding her, that she needed space.
She was so independent, so feisty. But he couldn’t help but see a little girl in her. The girl he’d brought into his home eleven years ago.
He caressed her cold cheek tenderly. “Rest in peace, little one,” he whispered and walked out of the door.
Now his little girl was dead. And he would burn the city to the ground to punish those who were responsible.
