Hermes was hot on his tail, and Hades could feel the waves of anger radiating from his nephew as he stomped behind him.
But it was no matter at the moment because they were headed to a clearing on top of a hill at the edge of the forest.
Why, you ask?
This clearing was a hub of old dead supernatural beings. Witches, werewolves, vampire-ashes spread around, hybrids, and sirens, everyone was buried here a thousand years go before hatred spread in between the tribes of the supernaturals.
It carried a lot of energy. The kind that would be needed to end the witch purgatory and obliterate every last one of them.
This graveyard, was special, because even though supernaturals can have their lives ended. Their essence is never fully diminished. So as their essence settles through the valley of the dead, their remaining essence could be a target for any passing leach to use as they see fit like a hotspot of energy.
They were going to perform an old runic ritual. But they needed a strong deity’s help. Hades and Hermes stalked through the clearing, littered with sculptures of the supernatural kings and queens that once ruled the world and tombstones of ‘other’ insignificant supernaturals. Although they both seemed to be headed towards one in particular. It was one of a woman. Gaia. The primordial being that started all of this. The queen of the world. Mother earth. She was the mother of the Titans. Her essence ruled this world, feeding it the energy that it needed day in, day out. If there was someone strong enough to take down the witches and demolish their ancestors’ purgatory, it was her.
But awakening Gaia meant answering questions. Questions this world was not ready to answer.
Gaia will ask about her children. The titans. The monsters. Creatures no one was ready to deal with again. The humans knew nothing of this side of life. At least, not all of them. They were oblivious of their history, perceived them only as fairytales and Disney stories once told to teach their young valuable lessons.
Gaia & Uranus brought into the world the 3 Hundred-handers, the Titans (Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Theia, Coeus, Phoebe, Cronus, Rhea, Mnemosyne, Themis, Crius and Iapetus), the Cyclopes (a Giant with one eye), and Echidna (a monster of half woman half snake that lived in hiding in a cave that was buried underground long ago).
Uranus on his own, brought into the world the Furies, the Giants, Aphrodite & the Nymphs.
Hades, Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Chiron, Demeter, & Hestia were the children of Cronus & Rhea. Hecate was their cousin, she was the daughter of Peruses and Asteria (titans) and the children of Crius & Eurybia.
Hades and Hermes both knew that what they were about to do was risky. To stir Gaia from half a millennium slumber, a deity that would awaken and free the rest of the monstrous forces that could consume this world whole, was a responsibility no one wanted on their shoulders. But the witches were stronger than they had expected, and Aries will not be able to take them down on his own because they had the help of Hecate’s essence. Hecate was a greek goddess of witchcraft, necromancy, and herbs. She was a powerful being, and the witches have been harvesting her powers because she lived till this day, free, untamed, and seeking revenge on her consort and all that have wronged her. Hermes thought he could escape this day, but he couldn’t. He thought he had gotten rid of her one way or the other, in his ways of deceit and cunning craft.
“Why are you helping anyway?” Hermes asked the king of the dead, his voice cracking through the eerie silence that had settled between the two deities.
“What on earth do you mean?” He replied casually, shrugging his shoulders.
Tired of his games (that never work on him because he is the almighty king of mischief) he rolled his eyes, “Just answer the question and stop beating around the bush.”
Hades gritted his teeth, “Why are you asking me this now? Out of all times?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Is it really the time for this Hermes? Couldn’t you wait until after we save the day and get written down in greek history all over again.” He jested trying to change the subject.
“Answer me.” Hermes insisted, snapping and ignoring him completely.
“That is none of your concern.” He snapped back at him, narrowing his eyes into slits, while they darkened into a black sort of color that could only be described as two saucers of voids. The king of darkness’ anger tipped and his temper was showing, allowing his true nature to rise at bay. “Or did these dark times make you actually think that we were family and that you were worthy of knowing my deepest darkest secrets.”
“Oh, so you have secrets now? I’d like to know them now more than ever. Since when did the king of the underworld keep secrets like little girls in pigtails? Shall I make popcorn and hold a sleepover as we gossip about your lonely, empty, love life now?”
Hades’ chest rumbled in anger, “I am not lonely. Be quiet, and let’s get this thing over with so I don’t have to see your wretched face for the next millennium or two.”
Hermes rolled his eyes at the god of the underworld, “It’s the girl, isn’t it? She’s gotten under your skin. She crawled into your dead melancholy heart and like an electric current running through your veins, making it beat again, she made you feel again.” He insisted.
Hades thickly swallowed, his lip curling in disdain.
“Aw, isn’t that pathetic.” Hermes pushed further, “What did she promise you? Why are you so hell-bent on helping them? Since when did you involve yourself in petty mortal issues?”
“Since when did you poke your nose into my business?”Hades fired back, fire igniting in his dark pools of eyes.
Hermes barked loudly, “Since ALWAYS. You know me. I just love being involved. Especially when it’s something to do with you, my king. We do, in fact, work together in the underworld, and whether you like it or not, I do, indeed, help you get your work done. So, what is it? What did the girl promise you?”
“Nothing.” Hades snapped, a growl resonating from deep within his throat.
“Ah, it’s a touchy subject then.” Hermes pressed.
“When I get my hands on your damn wife Hermes, I swear I'll-”
“Swear by what?” Hermes tested.
“By me! I swear by me I’ll-”
“You’ll what? You can’t do anything to her, and you know it. It’s forbidden to kill a deity without the acceptance of the whole Olympian council, who are, by the way, imprisoned.”
“BY HER! THEY ARE IMPRISONED BY HER!”
“So?”
“So? So all the more reason to kill her!”
“You’ll be put on trial!”
“By who? We’re the only ones who’ll know of it! Plus, if we do tell them they’ll support our cause.”
“But yo-”
“Why am I even having this conversation with you? I’m the house of Hades, the god of the dead, the Zeus of the underworld, I’m the one who puts people on trial, I can do and kill whoever the hell I want.” Hades spat and approached Gaia’s marble sculpture.
Hermes huffed, and radiating infuriation.
He quietly followed Hades, as always, but he seemed to be thinking to himself more devotedly than usual.
“Hermes, did you get it?” Hades inquired, eyeing the messenger with agitation written all over his face.
Hermes nodded in response, seeming suddenly unaffected with the chaos happening.
Of course, why would he be? If anything goes wrong, he could just disappear and take cover in a realm of his own creation where he could live on forever, and let the world burn into ashes without a care in the world.
The dark king narrowed his eyes at the man, “What is it?”
“Nothing… it’s just I thought about it, and well, why are we even doing this?” He asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
At this moment, a light bulb seemed to lighten in Hades’ head.
“Hermes, don’t you dare think about it.” Hades spat, knowing well how Hermes switches personalities. From wisdom to deception in a seconds notice, o
r without notice at all.
Hermes is, after all, the Greek god of realms, mischief, and trickery.
Somedays he’s the helper of the Olympians, and other days he’s back to his old ways of deceit and deception.
Hermes smiled at Hades wickedly, “Sorry, Hades. It seems that the prophecy shall not be fulfilled, we cannot defeat Hecate. Aries has not kept his word. He failed. And well, the world is going down into flames. It’s too late. You can either join me or stay here and watch as the world goes to hell. Literally.”
“You’re a coward.”
“I’m no coward, I’m… self-preserving.” He finished with a small smile as he turned and began to walk away.
Hades growled loud enough to stop Hermes in his track, “You are most definitely not. You claim to help me do my job, every day for centuries, by the little work you do to guide the souls from Kahron to me, but here you are unwilling to stand by what is right for your own comfort and wellbeing.” He spat, “And the ‘girl’ you claimed to have love spelled me into helping the werewolves and the deities is not the reason behind my actions. I do not love her. Not in the way you imply, but I do admire her, I do admire her courage, wholly and completely. She is loyal to a fault, and is willing to stand by what is right even though it is not her fight. This has nothing to do with her and almost got her brother killed. Yet she still stands by her mate.” He said, with passion that glimmered in his eyes, “Tell me this is not admirable? Tell me it does not make you want to be as good and as courageous. We are gods. We cannot simply bear qualities less than mere mortals. We cannot just let them die and let the deities rot in their prisons. As much as I’d love that. I am fair. I stand by what is right and true. Don’t you agree? Or have the centuries beaten you down so bad that you are so broken beyond repair and cannot see that you are not acting so wise at the moment, Oh God of Wisdom.” Hades said sarcastically.
“The term broken suggests that I can be fixed to start with.” Hermes spat, before suddenly vanishing into thin air.
Hades huffed exasperatedly.
“It seems that it’s up to me to save the day.” He breathed to himself feeling heavy as the weight of the world fell onto his shoulders.
As he approached Gaia’s crystalline made sculpture, he took in a deep breath cursing Hermes in the process.
“What have I gotten myself into this time?” He mumbled to himself as he conjured an old bottle of dead sea salt alongside his staff of darkness. His staff was made of Stygian iron forged to break skin with the simplest of contact to spill blood. He drew the salt around Gaia’s sculpture in a circle. He then slit his arm starting from his palm till his forearm using his staff only to draw thick black blood and pour it to fill the circle as he chanted underneath his breath.
Continuing to draw, with salt, his infamous symbol which consisted of a crescent surrounding the bottom of the circle filled with his blood, and a line drawn downwards in the shape of a spearhead. He then followed by spreading his arms open wide as he breathed in deeply and fluttered his eyes shut before whispering “xypníste, o, archégoni mitéra gi, giatí oi gioi sas chreiázontai. xypníste, mitéra gi, pínete to plousiótero aíma, to aíma tou ádis. xypníste. xypníste.”
Thunder crashed from beyond the heavens, as the earth shook around the sculpture soaking up Hades’ blood. The blood wetted soil cluttered midst the air and lightning struck onto Gaia’s sculpture, splitting it in half. The sculpture broke into smithereens falling into the soil as if being absorbed, only to reveal Mother Earth herself. In the flesh.
“Welcome back.” Hades breathed a smirk playing on his face.
Gaia frowned, “It’s you. What an unwelcome surprise…”
“Oh come on, I’m not that bad.”
“On the contrary, you’re as bad as it gets.” She spoke with a side smirk playing on her thin pale pink lips, “Now tell me, my most scorned grandson, what have you and your younger brothers done to the rest of my children…”
“Sad, always so predictable Giagiá.” Hades tsked, “But as you probably already know, we have more pressing issues to discuss.”
Gaia rolled her icy blue eyes with tedium seeping from her every somatic cell, “And what, dare I ask, are these issues?” She queried apathetically.
“Hecate,” Hades remarked so discreetly it was almost deathly silent, no pun intended, “She has condemned the Olympians to an eternal life in captivity in a prison world that she created, with the help of her loyal servants on earth. Only Hermes & I roam freely. And even Hermes had to pretend for the last couple of centuries that he was imprisoned to buy us time. Only to slither through an obscure portal that he created for himself in her roam to escape and deliver messages to our guardian, Ares.”
Gaia had narrow almond icy blue eyes, snow-white pixie cut hair, a small nose, thin lips and a square-shaped face with high cheekbones. Her piercing eyes scanned Hades in an analyzing manner.
Taking in a deep breath, she nodded slightly in understanding deciding to trust her grandson.
She secretly didn’t despise him as much as she showed. He was actually her favorite. But she knew that the entire family didn’t like him because he was a grump. Perhaps his hateful demeanor was because he was real. The only one in all her children that did not fake their fondness to one another only to jab a knife into each others’ back the next day.
She saw her young self in him. She knew that he was the fairest one of them all. The undeceiving one of the bunch. But yet, she never grasped the concept of showing emotion. The centuries have taken a toll on her, taking away any feelings she may have possessed one day. She had slept for a long part of her life because she knew the world as a cruel place. She had made herself and her beloved Uranus a dream world where they can live life the way they wanted to, as humans, without the weight of the world she had brought to life, without the responsibility. But this was their secret, one they never told anyone. She only awakened when necessary, when she was needed by her children.
Her consort and herself watched the world from their dream state every century or so, to make sure that all was okay, that their help was not needed.
“And what do you need my assistance for?” She asked softly, feeling her motherly emotion seep through the cracks of her ice-cold heart.
“We need a strong power source, their strength is impeccable and impervious. With your strength, we’ll be able to wipe them out once and for all.”
Gaia nodded, “You’re fighting for a noble cause. I’ll help you, but after that, I had a question that has been left unanswered.”
Hades shrugged, a daunting look in his eyes, “Alright then, you know what they say, kill a demon today and fight the devil tomorrow.” He said with a boyish grin.
Gaia gave him a small simper, and he thought he imagined it with how fast it disappeared. “Take me to them.” She ordered, the might in her conduct returning tenfold.
Hades briefly nodded and teleported them in a second flash.
Third Person.
Aries had tackled Hecate onto the ground, knowing well who she was, and what she was capable of.
He knew that wasn’t a smart move, but she attacked his mate, and he couldn’t control himself. The witches sneered causing Ariel to scream as she anticipated their attack on her mate, fearful for his life. The witches ambushed him for that dumb move, and Jake was cautious not to do the same. But he did shift, finding that it would be faster for him to bite their heads off.
Hecate lost her power over Ariel with Aries’ help, and she fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Looking up from the ground, she growled. Her body was dirt-clad, but she nonchalantly hurried to where the witches were thrashing her mate with their powers, successfully dismantling him off of Hecate.
Aries (Gods & Monsters Series Book 1) Page 44