Typhon's Revenge

Chapter Four

Water

The chauffeur jumped off of his seat headed towards us with much grace that I couldn't believe he was dead. Actually, I didn't even know if he was dead or if he had ever been alive. I just guessed that since we were in the Underworld that that would be the case. 

"My ladies and gentlemen, may I escort you to the throne room?" The short man said as he helped Kalani, Alex, and Aileen out of the carriage. 

"Lead the way, Mister-" Aileen trailed off as she looked at the chauffeur who gave her a polite smile and a slight bow. 

"My name is Alfred Abernathy, Your Majesty," he said as he took off his hat, revealing a thick, black patch of hair.

Aileen smiled and nodded her head, "Thank you, Mr. Abernathy. We'll follow you inside."

The chauffeur placed his hat back onto his head and led the way into the castle. I stiffened as a couple of guards at the door eyed us closely, their eyes lingered on Aileen longer than I would have liked, but I kept my comments to myself as we stepped through. 

My eyes widened when I saw the inside of the castle. The hallway seemed to extend for miles in front of us, the floors were made out of white marble and the walls were painted a light shade of gray. The decorations were all made from gold or silver. Each door we passed looked to be carved out of dark oakwood.

There wasn't much to look at besides that, there were no portraits like I had pictured in my mind, no windows either. Just a neverending hallway. 

Suddenly, Alfred turned to the left and he walked a couple of paces before stopping in front of a pair of double doors. "He has been expecting you. Make sure to greet him as Your Highness," Alfred suggested before opening the doors. 

The sound of the knob turning and the door swinging open echoed in the large room as we stepped inside. My eyes widened when I saw a long line of souls awaiting their turn for judgment with the Lord of the Underworld. The line extended all the way out of the castle through another door, but their attention quickly turned to us when they heard us come in.

Instantly, the atmosphere seemed to change as a heavy silence filled the room and it wasn't until Alfred cleared his throat and stepped forward that I remembered I had to breathe. 

"Your Highness, may I present to you the Princess, Aileen and her friends, the Elementals," he said as he motioned towards us.

The man sitting on the big, black marble throne quickly stood up and straightened before he walked down the steps, waving his hand slightly as he moved, making the dead souls disappear until we were alone. I stiffened when I could see the man more clearly. I was surprised to see he was wearing a pair of black dress pants and a matching black shirt, not the robe I had expected to see him in. 

He had a certain haunted expression on his face, his high cheekbones made him look even more serious. His dark, black hair was slightly long as it reached just over his ears and his black eyes never left Aileen. They were filled with both nervousness and excitement as he looked at his daughter in awe.

The man stopped in front of us and nodded his head to Alfred. "Thank you, Alfred. I will call for you in a moment."

Alfred nodded his head and bowed before walking out of the room and closing the heavy doors behind him.

I started to feel very self-conscious as the God before us eyed us without saying a word. His expression remained neutral as he eyed us, only with Alex did he look confused and fazed. He probably didn't know what to make of the fifth remember of our group. And it didn't take long for his eyes to settle on Aileen. 

Instantly, his face crumbled into a million expressions as he looked at his daughter. I could see anger, fear, pain, but there were also good emotions, relief, excitement, and awe. 

"Welcome, sons and daughters of the Gods, to the Underworld," Hades's voice boomed around the room as he tried to offer us a polite smile. 

Aileen shifted her weight next to me as if his voice had had some sort of effect on her and she was only now waking up from a very profound sleep. 

"Hello, Your Highness, my name is Kalani Himmler, daughter of Zeus and Hera," Kalani said proudly as she stepped forward and extended her hand to the Lord of the Underworld. Hades eyed Kalani carefully before he pursed his lips into a tight line, making Kalani's confidence and smile falter.

"Nice to meet you, Kalani," the Lord said with a low voice and Kalani quickly shook his hand before making her way back to where she had been with an uncomfortable look on her face.

"I'm Mason, Mason Stone. Son of Demeter and Apollo," Mason said with a nonchalant smile as he greeted Hades.

Hades smiled and nodded his head. "I can see that. You look very much like both of them. Although, what really gave you away is your aura."

"My aura?" Mason asked in confusion and Hades nodded his head.

"Yes, each of us has a very specific aura and it is very distinguishable, but throughout the years we have learned to control it and minimize its reach. Our children are not as easy to read but their auras can be very bright, depending on your personality and your parents' gifts," Hades explained and Mason nodded his head before the Lord continued. "Demeter has a very peaceful and calming aura, whereas Apollo's is more exciting and adventurous. You have a good balance between them, which is a good thing," Hades quickly added at the end when he saw Mason's confused expression.

Then, Hades turned his attention to the girl standing next to Mason, Alex.

She looked tense and nervous as the God stepped closer to her, analyzing her with his pitch-dark gaze. "You have a soul. A mortal soul, not partially immortal like the rest of the others," he murmured under his breath and Alex stiffened even more.

Clearing her throat and meeting the god's eyes, she nodded her head. "Yes, I do. I'm not like them. I'm just human. I'm Alex Monroe." As Alex introduced herself, something flickered in the god's eyes and they were instantly filled with sadness.

"My deepest condolences, Alex. I remember when both of your parents crossed my gates, I never forget one of my subjects. They begged me to take them back to be with their daughter. I must say, their death wasn't planned to be at that moment. You were supposed to be much older and independent. But something caused that car crash, something that wasn't predicted. Now I'm curious as to why or how you came to coincide with my daughter and the rest of the Elementals. There must be a bigger purpose that we don't know about," Hades said thoughtfully as he looked at Alex.

Alex didn't say anything as she shrugged, her eyes had turned red and teary and she quickly turned away, straight into Mason's embrace.

Aileen's father then stopped in front of his daughter and a wide smile appeared on his face. "Hello, father," Aileen said, her voice faltering slightly.

"Welcome home, daughter. I had been expecting you for some time now," Hades whispered softly and Aileen shifted her weight.

"Artemis, or well, mom, told me about what she did. How she kidnapped me from the Underworld and how you had no idea as to where I was nor could you bring me back here," Aileen whispered softly and Hades nodded his head.

"These couple of years were hard on me, daughter. I feel like I lost so much when you were taken, but now that you're back, I want nothing more than to get to know you," the man said with a genuine look on his face and Aileen nodded her head.

"Me too. I'd like that," she whispered with a sly smile and Hades nodded his head. 

Then he turned his attention to me and his expression quickly turned serious. "Andrew Nocturne. I certainly heard about you, son of Poseidon and Athena."

I stiffened as I looked at Aileen who only shrugged. When I turned back to the Lord of the Underworld, I reached out my hand and smiled, "it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Your Majesty. But I do have to ask, how do you know about me?"

Hades took my hand and tightened his grip as he stretched my hand. "I may not live in Olympus like the rest of my brothers and sisters, but words truly travel fast. It didn't take long for me to hear about you dating my daughter and the possibility of you being her soul mate."

Instantly, I stiffened and nodded my head while looking at Aileen from the corner of my eyes. She also looked tense and her eyes remained expressionless as she looked at the encounter with me and her father.

"I can assure you that I don't mean any harm to her," I said confidently and Hades nodded his head.

"I sure hope so, because Cerberus wouldn't mind defending the Princess," Hades said with a raised eyebrow. My face paled when the man mentioned Cerberus, the three-headed monster that looked like a dog and who guarded the Underworld against any threat. The last thing I wanted was to go head-to-head with a monster like that.

After a moment, Hades let go of my hand and smiled. "I'm just kidding, boy. I'm not like that. Aileen may be my only daughter, but I am not an animal like some of my brothers. I'm sorry if I scared you. You're welcome here as well," he said before turning to the rest of the group. "Now, are you guys hungry? I can get Alfred to lead you to the dining room to get something to eat before he takes you to your rooms," Hades suggested and we instantly nodded our heads. 

Now that he asked, I did feel very hungry. We had been traveling for a long time and were on guard that we hadn't realized just how hungry we really felt. 

"Great, then that's settled," Hades said before flickering his hand and a knock instantly sounded at the door. 

"Did you request my services, Your Highness?" Alfred asked as he walked inside. 

Hades nodded his head and smiled. "Alfred, thank you for coming so quickly. Please take them to the dining room to eat before showing them to their rooms. I'm sure they are as tired as they are hungry."

Alfred nodded his head and turned to walk out of the room as we started to follow after him when Aileen turned back to look at her father. 

"Wait, are you going to meet us there?" She asked quickly with her eyes wide. I also stopped at the door to wait for her and I stiffened when I heard the hurt in her voice.

Hades shook his head and pursed his lips together. "There is still much I have to do before I can leave. But we will have a chance to talk later, I promise."

Aileen eyed the man carefully before nodding her head and turned towards the door. She stiffened when she saw me standing there, but she didn't say anything as the two of us walked out of the room. The others were waiting for us outside and as soon as Alfred saw us, he started to lead us away.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Aileen turn back to look at the throne room we had been in with a disappointed look on her face. I wanted to let her know that everything was going to be fine. That we just got here. So I tried reaching for her hand and squeezing it gently. 

To my surprise and relief, she didn't pull away from my touch and the sparks I hadn't felt in weeks coursed through me, making me shiver in delight. I had missed the feeling of her skin against mine.

Aileen didn't say anything nor even turn to look at me, but that was okay because she didn't pull away either, and in my mind, I thought that was a good beginning towards a road of recovery. We still needed to talk, but that could wait. I just wanted to enjoy this moment for now.