I am really proud of this story and this chapter, it is going in a far better and more interesting route... you are going to love this chapter.

The stairs went down for what seemed like an eternity, but Aaron persevered and ignored the dread that came with the endless steps. The constant bare light coming from... somewhere, giving him just enough light to see where he was stepping. The realization that was hundreds of feet, miles even, under the Earth without anyone who knew where he was. He was screwed if he got even slightly hurt, but it was worth it if he was right. His current theory about his magical breeze? Hades, he had called out to the God and he had apparently answered him in his own way...maybe. There was always another option, one that was far scarier...

Someone else had heard his prayer and was answering it. He could only hope his weak mortal status kept someone like Kronos from noticing him. It would make the struggles of his mortality worth it, if only barely.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, light trickled in far brighter then before. He felt uplifted by the sight and sped up his steps, keeping his hands to the side of the walls in an attempt to keep himself from tripping on the never ending staircase. It took only minutes to enter fully into the light but when he did, Aaron was baffled by the sight before him. He was by a river, moving softly by and reeking of pollution and oil, but the air around him was filled with a dull grey light. He was in a massive cavern, so massive he couldn't even fully see the top without squinting and yet he could not see the source of light giving him sight at that moment. The Mist was thick, even for him and his newly tuned senses, giving him something of a headache, making things blur a bit.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Hell, or well the Underworld. Different then you expected, huh?"

Leaping, Aaron threw himself to the side ( away from the river) and twirled his blade, ready to kill whomever just spoke... only to find a smirking women looking at him smugly. She was beautiful and tall, her body cloaked in a thick grey robe and the Mist. She wasn't a goddess though, that was clear. She was, or rather used to be, Human... She was a Ghost, a spirit of Asphodel.

"Who are you?"

She laughed, making her image sharpen so he could fully look at her. She had brown eyes and brown hair that fell thickly over her broad shoulders. What really stuck out was her magic, sickly sweet and rotting feeling, like a poison mixed with sheer death. It was a terrifying feeling, brutal and cruel somehow, and very, very cold.

"My name is Agnes, and I am... or rather, I was, a Priestess of Hecate many years ago. I, like so many, was promised power in return for service but unlike that bitch Medea I was denied true power. My service, no matter how devout, was not enough to grant me entrance into Elysium. There are a great many like me here in the Underworld, those that wish to be granted release from the numbness of Asphodel.

Your call was strong, despite your weak blood, strong and desperate enough to shake loose our minds from the power of the Underworld. We found each other and we talked, should you serve us, we will grant you our power, our service and our knowledge ... for a price that is."

He gulped, not bothering to hide his fear. " And what price is that?"

"Freedom, binding yourself to us will allow you to channel our power. You can summon us, speak to us in your dreams with with the right spells, and in some rare cases... allow us to feel through you the presence of life. You will give us a taste of that which we have been so cruelly denied."

He frowned. " What would you offer, I mean knowledge I get since your dead you have knowledge of the Past and some of apparently have knowledge of the future... but power? I know very, very little about necromancy but I do know that spirits only get power from those that channel them, so I would be your source of pow-ARH!" He fell to his knees, gasping for breathe as horrible agony exploded in his temples, like a thousand warm needles spiking through his brain.

Cold laughter added to the pain he was feeling. "No power? Child, we hold the power of our living selves and the power of the soul." Agnes' voice was a soft melody that eased his pain, her beautiful face all he could see through the new haze of his vision. "We can still channel magic but we have no where to put it, so we would channel it through you instead."

And like that, the pain released, allowing Aaron to shakily stand. He looked at the monstrous witch before him, knowing it was her power that harmed him so easily. "I specialized in interrogation, personally, serving my king and Goddess with my unique talents. Minos valued my skills until he bitch of a wife killed me, jealous of my talents and skills. Pasiphae was always difficult, not quite Titanness or Goddess or Nymph but still an immortal sorceress, she was filled with jealousy towards everyone with any shred of talent or power. People with defined positions in this world. Pain is the power I offer you, but it is also your punishment should you deny us this opportunity for freedom. I will shatter what connection you have in your body and force you to feel our pain, our loss, for eternity."

Shaking, Aaron sighed. "You really are good at compromise, aren't you... fine. I needed a source of power and knowledge, and now I have it... just like I asked for it."

"Yes you did and yes you have. Do not underestimate us. Though we are few for now, only five of us, in time as your power grows and your mastery of necromancy develops, you will be able to create a greater connection between yourself and those that linger here. That is what this is, by the way, Necromancy. Channeling the power of the Dead, for knowledge and strength."

"Great... but isn't this advanced for me? I thought Necromancy was terribly advanced, or at least ill advised for pure mortals as we don't have the innate protections that come with those that have powerful blood." He knew well enough that he was right. 'I could be possessed, channeled to death, forced into madness... a thousand other things, all due to this forced connection.'

Agnes just shrugged. "Technically you are not wrong, but what choice do you have. The dead talk, when we are able to, we know about this war and we know that with out our aide you will never be able to help. You will most likely die, in fact there is a thick aura of death about you as it is even with our help. A cost of your mortal blood. But with us you have some chance... so what do you say?" She held out her hand, offering to him. "Will you accept our generous offer?"

"I already said yes... " He grabbed her hand and instantly fell to his knees, power exploding through his veins. It wasn't Hot and Cold like Hecate's, or heavy like the Earths, this was like pure ice shooting through his blood. He shivered and gasped, eyes rolling in the back of his head as he struggled to withstand the assault on his person. It didn't end all at once, but slowly lifted, allowing him to look at Agnes' smug, self satisfied face. "That was awful... "

She smirked. "If you had time to prepare your body and soul, as we will teach you in case you must return, you would have been able to do it with far less pain. Pity you hadn't the chance."

"Yes, pity... why are you the spoke person?"

"Because I am the strongest... and I am like you, purely mortal. I am the gatekeeper of our power, the new voice in your head, lending you the power and advice as I see fit. Your new teacher, as it is."

"Wonderful..." He sighed, looking down at his hand as she finally released it. Tattoos were now seared into his arm, runes for power, connection, death and life, and a few other things he was unsure of. He got the gist though, though barely, it represented his new connection to these... beings. "You said there were five of you, are you all sorcerers?"

"No, I am the only one. Two others are pure mortals, that knew of our world, one is a demigod child of a Tree Nymph and the other was a priestess of Hera. You do not have a whole lot of power at your disposal now, but you do have knowledge and the knowledge that only spirits have... well for humans anyway. Gods usually know what the dead do, it's part of their powers."

"Interesting... so... What now?" He asked, unsure of what the hell he was supposed to do now.

She smirked at him. "First thing? You need to wake up."

And so that is exactly what he did, even if he had no idea that he was asleep in the first place

""

Reality slammed back into Aaron as his eyes opened, the world tinted red with blood dripping from his eyes. He could tell where he as, sensing the power of the Apollo's kid's warm unmistakable auras. He was in the infirmary, and he was being attended to.

"Aaron, Aaron,... are you awake now?"

He blinked, slowly turning to face a very concerned and tired looking Chiron. "What?"

"Are you awake?" The man repeated.

"I think so... I didn't know I was sleeping when I... when they took me to the Underworld." He heard gasps from several of the people he couldn't see around him. "Chiron, I was summoned... spirits of the Dead... is the name Agnes familiar to you, a Witch that worked for Minos?"

This time Chiron gasped. " That women... she was a sadist. A cruel creature known for brutal interrogation of prisoners. There was a reason no one rebelled against Minos, and it wasn't his divine blood. She kept people in line with sheer fear."

"Not shocking, she tortured me into making an agreement... I am now the channeler of the dead. Agnes is the gatekeeper of that power, I... " He froze, realizing he could feel her magic, sickly sweet and ice cold, tickling his body like Hecate's talisman had once done." I can still feel her power on me, in me..." He raised his hand, shocked by how heavy his limb felt. "So the Tattoo is still there, lovely... "

" I was wondering about that."

"It is our pact, our connection... I cannot channel a lot of them yet, both due to my body and the limited number of Spirits on my side, but it is enough for some serious knowledge and spells. They also sorta decided my specialty for me, Necromancy. I kind of have to master it now to gain control of this power so it doesn't consume me... they did agree to teach me more powerful magic, so there's that."

Chiron sighed. "Don't forget child, the dead have no needs, only want. They tend to be greedy and overpowering, taking from the living."

"You said something similar about Hades and you were wrong. Still, I think you have a point... I will be careful, but know that I didn't call on them. They intercepted my prayer to Hades... I guess I shouldn't be shocked. I know that people prayed to the dead for advice at the House of Hades, drinking posion and whatnot to get help or advice and so on."

"They did... usually the ancestors of their bloodline but since you are not connected to yours, the call was picked up by those most similar to you I imagine, those who could connect on a spiritual level... they can teach you a lot. Very well, learn from them and draw on their power but be careful."

"Trust me, they pulled me out of my body without me knowing, opened up a portal to Hades and tortured me. If there is one thing I am being, it is careful."

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

I am really, really proud of this chapter.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.