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price."
    "I expected nothing less. Just tell me your fee."
    "A soul. A human soul."
    That was easy enough. Taking a human life wouldn't bother him. They lived finitely anyway and very few
    of them even bothered to appreciate the beauty that was the human existence. He, however, would savor
    his brief time as one of them. "Done."
     
    Hades clucked his tongue at Arik. "Child, how naive of you. You agreed too soon. It's not just any soul
    I want."
    "Whose then?"
    "I want the soul of the woman who has compelled you to make a deal with the devil. Surely she must
    have a magnificent soul for you to come here and barter with me, the most despised of all gods."
    Arik hesitated. Not out of feelings for Megeara but rather because he wasn't sure he would be through
    with her by the time he was forced to return. "And if I fail to complete this bargain?"
    "It will be you who suffers here in her stead. If you fail to deliver her to me, I will kill you as a man and
    keep your soul in Tartarus. The pain you've felt to date will be nothing when compared to what you'll
    suffer then. And before you reconsider, remember that you've already agreed to this. There is no going
    back now. Our bargain is set."
    "How long will you give me?"
    "Two weeks and not a day more."
    Arik had no time to even twitch before a strange thick blackness covered him. One moment he was
    standing in the middle of Hades' throne room, and in the next he was encircled by wetness.
    It was water…
    And unlike in dreams, his body was heavy. Leaden. Water poured in through his mouth and nose,
    causing him to choke as it invaded lungs that weren't used to really breathing. He tried to swim, but the
    water was too thick. It seemed to be sucking him down deeper into the sea.
    Panic consumed him. There was nothing he could do.
    He was going to drown.
    CHAPTER 3
    "GEARY, QUICK! THERE'S A BODY OVERBOARD!"
    Oh good God, who had Thia attacked now?
    Aggravated, Geary looked up from Tory's notes at Justina's call. Geary's second in command was
    pointing over the side of the boat. As Geary rushed to the side to peer over, she handed the notebook
    back to Tory. Sure enough, there was someone struggling in the waves. And by the looks of it, he was
    quickly losing his battle.
     
    "Christof!" Geary shouted for the boat's captain. "We need…" She paused as the body sank down
    below the hungry waves.
    There wasn't time.
    Her heart pounding from the rush of adrenaline, Geary kicked her shoes off and dove over the side. The
    coldness of the water stunned her as it covered her completely. Kicking her legs, she swam upward until
    she broke the surface so that she could look about for him.
    Even though the water was clear, Geary had a hard time finding the guy below the surface. She had to
    keep diving down, then returning for fresh air before she dove back to search for him. Thank God she
    was a strong swimmer who was trained as a lifeguard and a certified diving instructor. But then it was
    expected of her as an underwater recovery expert. She had to be as nimble in water as a fish.
    She just wished she'd had time to get her gear before she'd come in after him. If she didn't find the guy
    soon, he'd be dead, especially since he hadn't resurfaced.
    Her lungs burned from holding her breath as she dove under the water again. Her ears were buzzing and
    popping from the pressure as images of him drowning consumed her.
    Geary had been twelve years old when Tory's father had drowned only a few miles from this very spot.
    Images of her father trying to save Theron's life tore through her now as she remembered her father
    diving for him. Her father pulling Theron out of the water and doing everything he could to resuscitate
    him.
    It'd been awful and the last thing she wanted to do was relive it.
    C'mon. Don't you dare die on me. Where are you ? She slowed her speed and turned about as she
    floated weightlessly in the sea. The light refracted and danced in the blue and green water, highlighting
    various