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Demeter disappeared between his fingers, a single strand left, twisted around his fingers and blowing in the breeze.
Frightened that she’d taken Minthe with her in her disappearance act, Hades spun around, the world slowing around him. A tiny green plant laid on the ground where Minthe should have been, its leaves bent at odd angles and small cuts oozing clear liquid from the stem. After wading through the thick air of the world toward her, Hades gently lifted the tiny plant from the ground, nestling it into his open palm.
Tears silently poured down the god’s face. He couldn’t look away from the plant that Minthe had been changed into, the tiny green mint plant she now was.
For days he had been unable to put the plant down. He couldn’t fathom returning to the Underworld without her, nor the home they had built together. The home she had left a large mark on.
A strangled scream broke Hades from his memories. Wiping the tears that had escaped down his cheeks, Hades jolted towards the sound, towards Persephone as he watched her break through the water’s surface again and laugh.
He almost stalked over to the pool. Almost stole his queen now. The only thing that stopped him was the laughter bubbling out of Persephone’s mouth.
The scream hadn’t been fear, just surprise.
“Relax,” he said under his breath, as if talking to himself would force him to obey like one of his subjects.
Persephone was walking to the edge of the rock again, waving to the girls still in the water, a crown of flowers covering the top of her head. He couldn’t help but think gold would look much better on her.
“I declare you Queen Persephone,” one of the nymphs called up to her as she blew kisses, touching her hand to her pursed lips and blowing the phantom kisses into the trees.
She saw him again as she played queen on that rock, this time calling out to him. He lifted a hand in greeting before blinking himself back to the Underworld, letting her wonder at the trees.
“She will make quite the queen,” he said to no one in particular, the souls gathering around the entrance to his realm balking at his sudden presence.
Indeed, she would be easy to break, the innocence she embodied forgotten within months. Easier to mold into the queen he wanted than any other immortal he’d met, even Minthe and Leukke were no match to the goddess he would wed.
A low and menacing growl broke through the dim chatter of the waiting souls, silencing their useless talking and eliciting horrified gasps throughout the small entrance. Grey, translucent heads turned toward the noise, their clouded eyes widening at the three-headed beast lumbering toward them.
Cerberos, the fearsome guard dog he brought in mere decades ago, instilled almost as much fear as he did himself. Hades loved the glorious dog, for his demeanor and work with the souls, but mostly because he was the only living thing to love him despite who he was.
“Good boy,” Hades said, a large pile of bones appearing at the dogs feet as he did. At his voice, every head snapped in his direction, as quickly as they’d faced Cerberos.
Winking at the room brimming with new souls to be tortured, Hades disappeared, quickly flying to his palace on the other side of the realm.
6
ESTRANGED BROTHERS
Hades landed on the decaying grass in front of his palace. The towering mountain it was carved from glinting and glimmering at him, the chunks of silver and gold catching on the faint light of the sole lamppost at the gate; its flames gilding the rocky path to the front doors.
He let loose a long breath as he rolled his neck and wrists, letting his ankles hang loose as he shook his legs out. Flying was always worse than plainly traveling with a thought, a wink, a snap of his fingers. The air was hard to push through, the wind it created pushing on his limbs with too much force as he parted the air with his body.
As he started up the path the golden gates silently opened for him, welcoming him home. As he crossed their threshold, however, he realized he had company.
He didn’t try to mask the inevitable gag he always suffered when that salty brine hit his nose. As if the sea had appeared behind him between the moment he’d arrived and turned his back.
“Both of my brothers in one day? How lucky can a god get?” Hades said, still staring at the dark red door ahead. He turned, opening his arms in welcome at Poseidon and smiling wide. Poseidon was close enough that Hades could easily make out his own reflection in the ever-shining gold of his eyes. That explained the strength of that atrocious smell.
“I need your help,” Poseidon said tightly, as if the words pained him. They almost certainly did, as their relationship was rocky and unnecessarily difficult at the best of times.
Hades grin widened, crinkling the corners of his eyes. He brought a hand to his chest and whispered, “My help?”
Poseidon closed his eyes and exhaled a long, irritated breath in response. “Yes.” He grimaced at Hades’ exuberant tone, looking anywhere but at the god standing before him.
“This is my lucky day.” As he spoke, the large wooden desk from his office appeared, along with his matching cushioned seat. No chair appeared for Poseidon, who clenched his jaw and raised a greying eyebrow at Hades’ performance.
“What,” Hades said, “can I do for you?” He sat down at the desk, leaning far back in the chair so the front legs hovered over the ground.
As Poseidon opened his mouth to reply, Hades threw his legs onto the desk, wood shuddering beneath them as he crossed his ankles with force.
