Monsters and Legends

Chapter 3

“Oh f**k, please don’t stop,” Persephone panted out, back arching in the sweet sensations of utter passion. Hades pinned her wrists above her head and used his free arm to wrap around her waist, holding her dainty frame against him, as the speed of his thrusts intensified. His face moved to nibble on her earlobe, as a deep primal growl escaped from his throat. She shivered in delight, as she felt him pant and tremble against her.

“Seph, I think I’m going to…” Before he could finish his sentence, a loud melody blasted from his cell phone, causing him to jump and nearly fall off his bed. He let out a loud irritated groan as he snatched his phone from the side table, answering it with obvious aggravation between his pants. “For f**k’s sake what is it this time, Minthe?” He rolled back down onto the bed, doing his best to catch his breath and avoid the evil stares of his wife.

“No need to be so snappy with me. You received an important call.” She paused as she could hear Persephone using her name in a rather annoyed tone. “Oh… were you two… busy?”

“Yes, we were.” Minthe cleared her throat awkwardly.

“I’ll uh… just transfer that call over now.”

“You do that.” A brief dial tone sounded off as the call transferred over. “Hades speaking.”

“Hello Hades. I’ve heard you’re missing something. I happen to know where to find it.” Hades stiffened. Someone knew.

“Who is this? And what exactly am I missing?” His voice remained casual and calm, but his free hand tightened into a fist. The last thing he needed was someone making the counsel question his ability to run his Underworld.

“No need to pretend. I have no intention of telling anyone who doesn’t need to know. I spoke to Hecate already. Talk to her for the details. I look forward to officially meeting you.”

“That doesn’t answer my quest...” Before he could finish, the line went dead. Hades looked at the ended call briefly, before smashing the phone back down on the side table, shattering the screen. Persephone sat up, using the blanket to cover her naked form, as she placed a hand on one of his broad shoulder.

“Is everything all right? Is it involving the situation from earlier?” Hades nodded briefly as he placed a hand over hers.

“It is.” She paused thoughtfully.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Hades shook his head as he sat up, kissing her on the forehead, before getting out of bed and walking to the closet.

“Even if there was, I couldn’t ask that of you.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, now that you can no longer distract me?”

“No. You’re on vacation. You should be enjoying it.” Hades stopped as he felt a dark energy being emitted from behind him. He slowly turned to Persephone, watching a transformation unfold. Her emerald gaze faded into a brilliant crimson red. The whites in her eyes were overtaken by a deep onyx, and dark tendrils slowly crawled through the veins surrounding her eyes. Her normally bubble-gum pink hair became raven-like, matching the darkness emitting from her. Her soft beige skin lost its warmth and became as white as snow.

“I am tired of people telling me what I should be doing. I am just as responsible for the care of the Underworld as you are. While I am here, I am supposed to be its queen! But how do you expect me to be a queen, when you won’t even tell me what is happening to it? Why won’t you let me help? I want the truth.”

Hades stared at her silently. It never failed to take him aback when she was like this, despite all the time they had been together. Before her, he never knew someone could be so alluringly beautiful, yet so terrifying at the same time. But duality was her nature. Warm and soft like the spring, but also cold and harsh like the winter.

He pulled himself together as he moved to kneel in front of her, keeping his gaze locked on hers.

“The truth is, I do not want you involved in this situation because I’m scared. I do not know what this individual is capable of, and frankly, I don’t know what I would do if something were to happen to you. You are right. You are the queen of the underworld, and if I mess this up, they will need you to be their queen, Kore.”

The color slowly returned to her, as she slowly leaned down, planting a kiss softly on his lips.

“Just promise me you will fill me in when you return?” Hades offered a soft smile.

“I promise.” Hades rose and returned to his closet, pulling out a pair of faded, slightly torn jeans and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt. Persephone raised an eyebrow curiously as she watched him get dressed.

“Going casual today?” Hades winked at her smirking.

“I’ve never heard you complain about me wearing jeans. Besides, I would prefer not to be walking around a city in a suit. They get uncomfortable.” He paused, looking at her solemn expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Just… be safe, ok? I don’t know what I would do without you either.” Hades’ gaze lingered on her for a moment and gave a small nod before turning to take his leave.

He moved swiftly down the stairs, immediately catching the attention of Cerberus, who was casually lounging about on the couch. He strode quickly to his mantelpiece above his fireplace, carefully removing his most trusted weapon.

“What’s going on? And why in the hell is the bident coming? Is there a war?”

Hades shook his head, as he passed by him to the kitchen, reaching for a deep green glasses case, and a spiked dog collar on the counter.

“We have work to do in the human realm. Come here and let me put this collar on you. The last thing I want to deal with today is to explain why my dog has three heads and turns into the size of a small house.”

The huge black beast walked towards him and sat casually in front of Hades, lifting his center head proudly as Hades placed the collar on him.

“I’m presuming that this involves the snake hag again.”

“It does. We need to go find Hecate.”

Hades wasted no time summoning a portal to Tartarus, and speedily entered the main building. The two of them hastily walked through the halls, causing the workers to part and stare in awe at the legendary weapon he was carrying.

He practically kicked in the door to the security office, causing the unexpecting secretary to let out a terrified yelp of surprise before rushing to her feet.

“Good morning your…”

“Not today, Chloe,” he said, cutting her off, as he barged into Hecate’s office. Hecate sat at her desk capriciously, having a conversation with a strange man. Hades narrowed his eyes suspiciously as the man turned to look at him, before confusion hit him. “What in the hell is he doing here?”

“I was just leaving.” Loki stood up, stretching. Hades sat there baffled. Since the council was established, he had never seen a god visit another pantheon’s territory so casually, much less in a fishnet shirt, and a leather jacket with matching pants. Hecate stood to escort her guest out, stopping just before the door.

Hades’ jaw went slack, and eyes went wide at the sight he witnessed unfolding in front of him. Loki lowered himself in a bow before Hecate, placing a kiss on her hand before offering her a flirtatious smirk. A blush lit up Hecate’s lovestruck face as she let out a giggle, a sound Hades had rarely heard leave the rather serious goddess.

“Always a pleasure, my lady.” Loki straightened himself, offering a polite nod to Hades before making his exit. Hades cleared his throat, as he searched for the words to say, but couldn’t clear the baffled expression from his face.

“So… is it safe to assume that was your date from the other night?”

“Hm? Oh yes, he was.” Hecate let out a dreamy sigh. “Rather a lovely individual, wouldn’t you agree?” Hades shifted uncomfortably.

“Uh, yes. An interesting one for sure.” Hades narrowed his eyes and ran a finger across his lower lip in thought. “How exactly did that come about?”

Hecate moved to seat herself on her oversized leather executive chair, propping her legs upon her desk as she sipped the wine from her glass.

“Do you remember when the Council of Gods held a meeting trying to determine whether to restart with humanity and let the Earth goddesses heal themselves?”

“Which time?”

“Early 2020.”

“Ah, yes. Terrible year. Please continue.”

“Well,” she finished her wine before sitting the empty glass on her desk. “I was rather bored listening to the pantheons drone on about the issue, so I went off for a smoke. When I left, he was already out there. I sat, we chatted, and needless to say, we hit it off.”

“And now the two of you are… an item?” Hecate laughed at Hades, who’s facial expression resembled that of a child trying to solve a complex math problem.

“Not all of us like to keep it in the family, like Zeus, darling. Besides, the s*x is too good to pass on. He does this incredible thing with his tongue. Oh! And he can make his…”

“There are some details I can live without,” Hades abruptly cut her off, as she lifted her hands up to demonstrate the growth of something he would rather not think about. Hecate smirked and shrugged. “So, why was he here?”

“He is my informant love. Our missing convict is currently at his house in Los Angeles.”

“It’s safe to assume that he was the one who called me this morning then.” Hecate nodded as he let out a sigh.

“He was, yes.” Her gaze flickered over to the bident Hades was clenching on to. “Are you ready for this?”

“I have to be. I need to clean up this mess.”

“Shall I text you the address then?” Hades shifted awkwardly.

“About that… Can you call Minthe and have her speak to Hephaestus about sending me another phone? I may have shattered mine this morning.” Hecate rolled her eyes.

“I’ll discuss it with her. Shall I also summon a portal for you, your majesty?” She smiled smugly at him, knowing how much she despised when she called him that.

“If you wouldn’t mind.” He looked at Cerberus who had been sitting by the door, while Hecate created her portal. “You ready?”

As much as I can be.

Cerberus moved by his master as Hades pulled the glasses out of the green case and put them on. Together, they walked through.

They looked around as they appeared in front of two doors. To human eyes, all they would see was the slick green and gold paint. But gods? They saw much more. On each side, a symbol of glowing gold snakes, bodies twisting in a figure eight design was seen. Hades reached up to knock, but the doors opened before he got the chance.

“Glad to see you made it.” Loki smiled charmingly as he looked over the god. “You truly are a sight I must say.”

“I’m not Hecate, so please do us both a favor and save your flattery,” Hades grumbled. He moved past Loki, looking around. “Where is she?”

“I believe she went to the guest room to rest after her bath.” Hades stiffened as he turned his darkening gaze to Loki.

“You believe? You just allowed her to roam freely around your home?” Hades tightened his grip on the bident, slowly turning it in Loki’s direction.

“Calm down and put your oversized tuning fork away.” Loki looked Hades challengingly in the eyes with a dark smile. “We wouldn’t want a war, would we? Well, actually, we wouldn’t, but I know my brother would love one.”

“So would I. It’s good for business.” They stared each other down, the tension building.

“Hades, calm down. You’re starting to sound like Ares.”

Hades sighed and looked down at Cerberus, who gave him an unimpressed expression, before pulling his bident away.

“Cerberus, go see if you can get her scent.” Cerberus let out a small bark in acknowledgement before sniffing throughout the living room. Hades turned his attention back to Loki. “Where is this guest room?” Loki sarcastically bowed and pointed in the direction of a hallway.

“This way, your royal majesty.” Hades rolled his eyes and walked in that direction slowly and cautiously. “The door on the right. My room is always locked, so it’s the only place besides the bathroom she could have gone.”

Hades inched closer to the door, taking a deep breath. He knew he had to end this as quickly and as efficiently as he could. He positioned the bident in his right hand as he slowly opened the door. A pair of eyes reflected at him on a shadowy female figure that had half its body outside of the window trying to evade him. He could hear a soft hissing as he took a step forward.

“You really don’t want to do this, Medusa,” his deep voice boomed, the ancient Greek words flowing smoothly off his tongue. “You need to go back.”

“I have to,” she quietly replied. He took another step towards her, but he soon realized that it was a mistake. She let a loud hiss at him, and in a movement like lightning, she crawled completely out of the window.

“Shit.” Hades rushed to the window, watching as she quickly made her way down the series of stairs to the fire escape. He let out a loud whistle, causing Cerberus to rush into the room. “Did you get her scent?”

“I believe I have got enough of it.”

“Good. Fetch.” Cerberus let out a growl as he positioned himself before bounding out the window, before chasing after her.

“I wish you would stop saying that. It’s so demeaning.”

Hades followed behind them, his heart racing with the thrill of the hunt. He swerved and dodged through people following the images Cerberus would send him until he finally caught up with him.

Cerberus was sitting at the end of a closed-off alleyway, staring and growling intensely. Hades turned his gaze to look down the alleyway to see Medusa curled up in a fetal position, clearly realizing there was no escape.

“How many people did she kill before you trapped her?”

“None.”

“Injuries?”

“None. She mainly stayed in the uncrowded areas.”

Hades’ brows furrowed in confusion. Wasn’t she the one his brother had told him was a merciless killer that deserved her fate? He shook his head. He couldn’t focus on that. He had a job to do.

“Keep standing guard. I will end this.” He strolled towards her, power emitting from him, as he approached. He crouched down, leaning on his bident, and began to reach down towards her. Like a flash, she uncurled and slashed her claws across Hades’ face without him even flinching. Medusa’s eyes widened as she watched a blue-green mist pour from the wounds before they healed as quickly as she had inflicted them.

“H…how did you…” Hades stood up, adjusting himself and the bident in a striking position over her.

“As long as the Underworld stays healthy, so do I. There’s no point in trying to fight this. You should just be smart and accept that you are going to die.” Hades was in disbelief as he saw a newfound fire light in her eyes after hearing his words. She stood up and stared him straight in the eyes.

“I am so tired of people telling me what I need to do! My whole life has been dictated by you gods. I will not allow my death to be the same,” she grabbed the prongs of the bident and pressed them against her chest, one directly over her heart. “If you are going to kill me, then kill me, but I hope you remember, I decided to die on my terms, not yours.”

Hades froze at her familiar words, as his conversation with Persephone that morning replayed in his head. He and Medusa stared at each other as thoughts filled his head. This was his first interaction with her, and she was nothing like he expected her to be. His brother had called her a merciless killer. Why had she not harmed or killed anyone when she had plenty of opportunity to do so? And why did that fire in his eyes remind him so much of Persephone?

A realization washed over him. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t kill her. With a deep sigh, he removed her hands from his bident and stabbed the forks into the ground. He reached into his back pocket, grabbing the green case, before pulling out and offering her his extra pair of glasses. Confusion and caution overtook Medusa’s expressions.

“What are these for?”

“You and I are going to be having a conversation and you’ll be needing them.” Medusa hesitantly grabbed the glasses and placed them on her face as she saw Hades wearing his.

“What is with all you men and your conversations? What if I refuse?”

“Would you prefer I go ahead and kill you?” She adamantly shook her head as he grabbed his bident from the ground. “I didn’t think so. Follow me.” He turned and faced an extremely baffled Cerberus. “There’s been a change in plans.”