Aphrodite's Curse - By Khelsey Jackson Page 0,1

but doesn’t remember his name.

“I’m sure you don’t remember me, I am the god of darkness.” She backs up a little; she does remember who the god of darkness is. He was ruthless, and always wanted things he couldn’t have. He is skilled at dark magic, and turning curses.

“Well, what do I owe this visit from the god of darkness to?” Aphrodite narrows her blue eyes.

“The stories are true about you my dear goddess, no woman can compare in beauty to you.” He steps closer to her, but this time she doesn’t move; she is Aphrodite and doesn’t show weakness to anyone. “I have been impolite; I didn’t tell you my name. I am Erebos.”

Erebos she repeats in her head, and stares into his black eyes. Then she remembers where she has seen him before. He was hiding in the shadows at a party, and she bumped into him. Aphrodite spilled her drink all over him when she tripped on his foot. She told him she was sorry, but he glared at her and just walked away. When Aphrodite asked about the man in the shadows, no one knew who he was.

“I remember you from the party, you were hiding in the shadows,” she says, and he narrows his eyes at her.

“I am always within the shadows, and the shadows are always within me.” Normally Aphrodite feels safe on Mount Olympus, but right now she is terrified. “Tell me something; what is it like to be loved by many?”

She hopes Ares and Apollo can feel her unease. “Why are you here?” She arches an eyebrow at the god of darkness.

He puts up a skinny pale finger and shakes it at her. “Answer my question first.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Aphrodite says, and looks away from him.

He grins at her and she can taste bile, what is left of his teeth are black stubs and his breath smells like death. “You are lying.” Erebos grabs her, and pulls her against his cold body. “I admired you from afar.” He turns Aphrodite around, and she tries to get away but he just holds her tighter against him. “I always wondered what it would like to kiss you, my beautiful goddess.”

Aphrodite doesn’t like to use her powers to harm anyone, but she isn’t going to let him kiss her. She brings up her hands and lays them on his chest. Aphrodite thinks of the fire that she knows is deep inside her, slowly she can feel the heat rising from her feet. It travels to her legs, past her abdomen through her heart, and finally to her arms. When the blistering heat reaches her hands, Erebos gasps above her lips.

“If I wanted to kiss you I would,” Aphrodite says, and moves her hands away from him.

He takes a step back and grins at her. “Now that wasn’t smart my dear goddess.” Erebos chuckles. “You think you are too good for me?”

“Get away from her!” Ares yells from behind Aphrodite.

“Ah, here are your soul mates,” Erebos says to her, and she narrows her eyes. “I wonder what it would be like to watch yourself be reincarnated over and over only to watch your soul die?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Apollo says as he takes Aphrodite’s hand.

“You, Ares, and the beautiful Aphrodite souls are connected to be with each other. Even in the other world, your souls will always find each other.” Erebos lifts his hands and a strange blinding white light is radiating from the palms of his hands. She looks back at him, and he smiles. “But you will never connect as one until she is strong enough. She will be the key to everything.”

Aphrodite screams as he turns his glowing palms to her. Apollo rips his hand out of her as he drops to the ground, Aphrodite hunches over but stays on her feet. “What are you doing to us?” She chokes out, and Erebos smiles widens.

“I just separated your souls. It will take many centuries for your souls to be reconnected as one. But that isn’t the best part of this curse, Aphrodite. You will have to watch the young girls die as they go through the change to become you.”

Aphrodite forces herself to stand up straight to face the god of darkness. “You are crazy. You don’t have that kind of power,” she says as Erebos throws his head back and laughs boisterously at her.

“You are truly beautiful, but not that smart. Aphrodite you felt your souls being ripped apart. You won’t be truly happy until she makes it through the reincarnation.”

He takes a step closer to her. “You could have given me a kiss, and this wouldn’t have happened.” Erebos looks past Aphrodite to Apollo and Ares. “I hope you enjoy Aphrodite’s curse.” The god of darkness vanishes in a cloud of the thickest black smoke she has ever seen, and when he does she falls to her knees.

She feels like something was ripped out of her. “I am so sorry,” she whispers.

“You have nothing to be sorry about; I would have killed him if he kissed you,” Ares says and moves to her.

“I would have torn his tongue out of his mouth if he kissed you, but we have a gift,” Apollo says, as he offers his hand for to her, she takes it and he helps her to her feet.

She turns around to see a large blue, white sphere floating about five feet off of the ground. Slowly she walks to it, and a piece of paper appears in front of her. Aphrodite opens it, and can feel Apollo and Ares looking over her shoulder.

My Dear Aphrodite

This is called a looking glass; you will be able to see where souls travel through this. You will also see death and birth. Maybe after centuries of watching innocent young people die you will want to kiss me. Enjoy your cures.

Erebos

Aphrodite’s heart stops, she doesn’t want to see anyone else die. She looks up as the sphere starts to glow, and an image appears in it with a young woman walking around wearing a long white dress that touched the ground, she has a gold arm band around her upper arm walking through a doorway in a long white gown that skims the floor with each step she takes. Her golden armband wraps around her dainty arm and draws attention to her extraordinary beauty. Aphrodite lets out a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding while thinking. Stunning, she is just stunning. This will be the first young girl ’s blood life on her hands.