BLOOD MOON

S E V E N

Sin 

At Hades words, my father lurched forward and ripped the parchment out of my hand before tearing it up. 

Hades began laughing hysterically. 

"Did you..." he gasped for air "Honestly think...that was my...only copy?" 

He snapped his fingers and suddenly my whole house looked like the Hogwarts acceptance letter scene from the Harry Potter Movie. 

Hundreds of parchment paper landed everywhere and on everyone. 

I picked one up and it was the exact match as the original parchment paper. 

"I'll give you anything" Dad said, his voice wobbling "If you just leave us alone" 

"Dad..." I whispered watching my Dad, my Superhero, begin to tremble 

"I want her" Hades said, his eyes flashing crimson again "And you can either hand her over peacefully or I can take her by force"

Dad went to say something but I squeezed his shoulder. 

He glanced at me, eyes rimmed red. 

I maintained eye contact but spoke directly to Hades "How long will I be gone from my family?" 

"Six months" he said and from the corner of my eye, I watched him shrug "Give or take a year" 

"Will I be allowed to come home?" 

"No" 

"Will I be allowed to call home?" 

"No" he said "Considering that there's no reception where we'll be" 

I glanced at the King of the Underworld and he have me a sadistic little. 

"What am I expected to do?" 

"It's Classified" Hades said "You're on a need to know basis and by that I mean is that you'll know what you need to know when the time comes" 

"You can't really be considering this Serenity!" My father gave me an incredulous look. 

I winced at the use at my name and strode toward him in small steps. 

"I have too" I grabbed his hands and squeezed them "Or else he'll kill everyone" 

"She has a point!" Hades called out from behind us but we both ignored him. 

"I won't let you go" His voice trembled "I can't..." 

I gave him a small smile "It's just six months" 

"In Hell" Dad deadpanned. 

"Tick Tock" Hades sung cheerfully "I'm losing my patience" 

"Give me five minutes!" I snapped at him "That's the least you can do since you're ripping me away from my family!" 

"The contract..." 

"Fuck the contract" I growled and Zephyr's lips twitched into a small smile "You can wait five fucking minutes" 

He glared at me 

"Matthews" he muttered under his breath "I hate all Matthews" 

"Yeah, well" I sneered "We hate you too" 

I turned back toward my dad and gave him a reassuring smile. 

"See? I can handle him" 

"It's not you I worry about Sin" he glanced at the two imposing figures behind me "He didn't become King of the Underworld because he was honest and kind-hearted" 

I hugged my Dad.  

"Find a way to break the contract" I whispered in his ear "Find a way and he'll have no choice but to let me go" 

"What if I can't?" he whispered back. 

"We're Matthews" I released him "The word 'Can't' isn't in our vocabulary" 

"Sin" Dad reached for me but I was already sandwiched between my two captors. 

"Tell Mom I love her" I gave him a small smile "And Tristan too" 

Within seconds, I was gone. 

The only remnants of my family were the memories etched in my mind.