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feelings and emotions so that he could experience her to the
    fullest extent possible.
    It's impossible.
    Or was it? They were gods, with god powers. Why should such a thing be unattainable?
    Your powers aren't capable of such . Zeus had made sure of that when he punished them for tampering
    with his dreams.
    Then again, Arik's weren't. But there were others whose powers made a mockery of his. Gods who
    could make him human if they willed it.
    Zeus would never concede such a thing—he hated the dream gods too much. His children would be too
    afraid of him to try. But his brothers…
    They were a different matter entirely.
     
    And Arik knew which one to barter with.
    Hades . The god of the Underworld held no fear of anyone or anything. His powers were more than
    equal to any of the others', and best of all, he hated the other gods as much as they hated him. Because
    of that, Hades was always open to a good bargain, especially if such a bargain would irritate Zeus.
    It was at least worth a shot.
    With Megeara's niggling emotions retreating from him, Arik flew from the Vanishing Isle where most of
    the dream gods resided and descended down, straight into the heart of Hades' domain. It was dark as
    night here. Dismal. There were no ivory or gold halls like the ones found on Olympus. At least not until
    one visited the Elysian Fields, where good souls were sent to live out their eternity in paradise. Those
    lucky enough to attain residence there had any- and everything their hearts conceived of. They could
    even be reincarnated should they choose it.
    But the Elysian Fields were only part of a much vaster realm. One that held nothing but misery for those
    who were damned to it. Especially this time of year. Three months ago the god's beloved wife,
    Persephone, had been sent to live with her mother in the upper realm. Until Persephone's return, Hades
    would be literally hell to deal with. From the moment she left until her return, he would spend his time
    torturing all those around him.
    A saner god would wait to try to deal with Hades after Persephone's return, when he was more
    reasonable, but Arik was desperate. The last thing he wanted was to take a chance on another Skotos
    finding Megeara.
    No, it was now or never.
    Besides, Arik had never been a coward. He'd never once retreated from battle or conflict. It was what
    had made him one of the best of the Oneroi and what had made him one of the deadliest Skoti.
    He always took what he wanted. Damned be the consequences. He had eternity to deal with those.
    What mattered most was the present, and that was what he focused on. Always.
    As he flew past Cerberus, the three-headed dog rose up to bark at him. Ignoring it, he dove down into
    the catacombs made of the skulls and bones of Hades' enemies. Many of whom had been Titans and
    ancients who'd had the misfortune of irritating the somber god—they didn't even warrant Hades torturing
    them for eternity. He'd relegated them to nothing more than decoration.
    That alone should be a warning to Arik…
    But the brave and the desperate never heeded such.
    Arik slowed his flight as he entered the main chamber of Hades' domain. This was the only room in
    Hades' opulent palace that was open to outsiders... But there was a lot more to his home than this one
    room.
    Arik knew that because no one was immune to the powers of a Dream-Hunter. No one. All gods were
    vulnerable whenever they rested, which was why they feared the Dream-Hunters so, and it was times
    such as those that Arik had ventured here to see what Hades kept so secret.
    Now Arik faded to invisibility and rose up toward the black ceiling that glittered eerily in the dim light.
     
    Hades sat below, alone, on his throne. Made of Titan bones, his black throne had been polished until it
    gleamed like steel. Hard and intimidating as the god had intended, it dominated the dais where it sat.
    Beside it was a much smaller chair. One made of gold and cushioned with pillows the color of