Page 80 of Hades

The room goes silent as all eyes are on me.

“What? Does he normally have a resting bitch face? Or is he upset? Emotions bottled up can be harmful on the battlefield. Best to get it resolved before bed,” I say.

“It’s plain and simple, I’m a greedy asshole and Harper still hasn’t forgiven me. It’s hard to see her happy with those two asshats when she’s pissed at me,” he offers up.

“Well, after dinner, maybe the four of you can resolve some of it. Our lives and the souls I protect will depend on us to win,” I remind them.

“This will not affect us in battle. I promise you that,” Stone says.

“You want to meet all the souls that are in the fields of Mourning that thought the same?” I retort with an eyebrow raised.

“That’s really a place here?” Phoenix asks.

“Yes, finish up your dinner and I will give you a little tour if you’d like,” I tell them.

“I’ve always wondered what the Underworld looked like,” Stone chimes in.

”Why is that?” War asks.

“All movies or books paint it as dark and like where the devil would reside. I want to see if it is just that.” Stone shrugs.

That’s interesting, I have never seen a movie about me or my domain. The closest I ever came was to a weirdo in the mouse’s kingdom that the guys took me to in Florida.

“Please don’t tell me you are basing it off that nut we saw at the place they worship the mouse,” I say, with a huff.

Harper and her men give each other some confusing looks.

“Disney, she means Disney,” Drevi jumps in.

“Yes, Disney. Their Hades was a horrible representation of me. I blame your father, Harper. He decreed that the history books were not to be changed. I’m not a man and never have I been. Yet, everyone believes it’s so. You should’ve seen him trying to change that when the mortals started writing that in their history books that he was a male whore. But I was there to remind him of the rule he set. I mean he already had me in the Underworld, what more could he do to me?”

I push the plate from my lap, stuffed and regretting those last few bites, when my baby bounds into the living room.

“Cerberus, there you are. I wondered when you’d come to see me,” I utter in a baby talk voice, petting each head.

“That was my fault, Lady Hades.” Lainie says as she appears in the room. “I knew that Cerberus would either steal food or beg until you gave in. I kept him at bay as long as I could.”

I laugh as each of the heads take turns licking my cheek. “You’ve done well. He is a spoiled boy, isn’t he? Cerberus, down. Go and lay down. Once our visitors are finished with their dinner, you can have some leftovers,” I commandas all his faces morph to a sad face. “Don’t you pout at me. They will be done soon enough.”

He walks to his bed that lay in the corner of the room, near the fireplace, and he plops down with a whine.

“Now that is a dog,” Nile exclaims.

“Yes, besides Lainie, he was my only companion down here for too many years.” I sigh.

“Even with all those souls out there?” Nile asks.

I nod, “Once the souls are judged, they normally stay where they are determined to live their afterlife. Sometimes, they get lost and I have to reap them. Which will return them home. And no, before you ask, the reaping doesn’t hurt them. I had a few souls at the Halloween party tonight, just for a spooky factor, but usually when they reach the Underworld they don’t leave.”

“How are they judged?” Nile asks.

“That I will tell you on our little tour. For now, we have to discuss if we have any allies we can call on for aid. Do any of you have brothers or sisters that will fight? If you prefer not to put them in harm’s way, I get it.”

“Do I get cell service here? I’m sure I have a few that would like a crack at dear ol’ dad.”

“Lainie can help with that, she will know where the best spot here is for that. I hate mortal technology. Too many years underground, I suppose."

“Your palace is pretty up to date,” Stone comments.

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