Chapter 20
Leo POV
I woke up in a field.
I lifted my head in pain and looked around. Endless fields of wheat? Lovely. I tried standing, but my leg wobbled and I fell to the ground. I yelled in pain. My whole leg was turned in a disgusting form.
"I doubt my leg is supposed to look like that," I said aloud.
"Well you had to receive some damage from falling from the heavens."
I looked to my left slowly and a woman in a green dress stood beside me. She had long silky black hair with flowers placed in it. She looked tired and drained and defiantly not herself. She looked like she should be in cheery pink colors instead of the boring green.
"W- who are you," I stammered.
"I am Persephone, goddess of springtime. Lord Hades awaits you now, Leo Valdez."
The god of Death was the last person I wanted waiting for me. I gulped as Persephone led me through the large castle. It was dark and scary. There were ghosts roaming around like nobody's business. Some looked like they were from the war. The nagging feeling of my mom came back. I was in the Underworld. That means I could go and save her right? I winced at my leg. Persephone looked over at me and smiled sadly.
"Here, let me fix that for you sweetie."
She placed her hand on my leg and it immediately felt much better. I smiled up at her and she offered me some food. As if on cue, my stomach growled. "Food would sound amazing! I'm starving." Persephone clapped her hands and a ghost dressed in Greek battle armor appeared with a platter of delicious looking fruits.
"I wouldn't eat that unless you want to stay in hell for the rest of your life."
The voice was familiar and I rolled my eyes.
"Nico," I said through clenched teeth.
He nodded. "How's it going Bro? Heard 'bout your nasty fall and the fight with your girlfriend. Man she whipped your butt—" I exploded into flames and Nico just stared at me with a boring face. "She's not my girlfriend," I protested. A girlfriend wouldn't kill you by pushing you off the edge of the sky. I felt myself blushing and cursed under my breath.
"So if you guys aren't dating, then can I have her? She's really hot."
"No," I yelled. Nico's eyes widened and he stepped back. He held up his hands in surrender and walked off, his sword swinging at his side. Persephone gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. Please forgive my step son, for he can sometime be a little…" "Annoying, bratty, talkative," I offered. She smiled and nodded. "Come Leo, we must not keep thy master waiting."
Hades looked exactly like Nico. They were both deathly pale, radiated fear, and smelled like rotting carcass. Except Hades' fear scale was amplified by a million.
As I walked in the throne room, he watched me with a mixture of disgust and enjoyment. Cold shivers ran through my body and my teeth chattered. Hades laughed at me. "Why, I'd thought a fire user would be able to keep yourself warm." He smiled evilly at me and I tried smiling. Persephone took her seat in the throne next to him. She gestured for me to stand beside him. I shook my head frantically and she glared at me. I took my spot and she smiled.
No one talked and the silence killed me.
"Am I dead," I finally said.
Hades slowly turned to me. "Unfortunately no, you're not dead. You would be a lovely addition to my collection," he said sweeping his arm out over the balcony. I finally noticed that we were overlooking everything. You could see the Fields of Punishment, that weird wheat field I was in, and some awesome party place. Then there was a tiny island in the middle, which made me wonder why they weren't partying with the others.
"So why am I here if I'm not dead?"
"Simple, I needed to speak with you. There is a battle going on right now in the sky involving your little mortal friends and the other Olympians. You-" "If all the Olympians are fighting, then why aren't you with them," I interjected. Hades glared at me and told me not to interrupt him. I rolled my eyes and nodded. "As I was saying, you got pushed down by your girlfriend, who by the way is a lovely fighter, as is her mother and that was all part of my plan to get you here. But your girlfriend didn't really push you down. She was possessed by a much stronger force than she could handle. See, you will be aiding me in battle for a fire user is exactly what I need for my little plan."
Persephone was glaring at Hades now, most likely because of what he'd said about Athena. I was glaring at him too because, he just flat out said that my girlfriend had easily kicked my butt. But I was glad to know that that wasn't really Lydia attacking me.
"What is your plan," I asked.
"You'll see soon enough boy. But now, I have to battle, as do you too. Now get going before I change my mind about keeping you here." Hades was about snap his fingers, but then he stopped. "And take good care of Hazel," he whispered. I nodded and poof I was gone.