Chapter 14: The Hades Cave

Will remembered playing hide-and-seek as a kid, except now he was playing hide-and-seek to the death.

From all the myths Will had heard, he had imagined Persephone as a gentle goddess who had no cares except flowers. As Nico pulled Will down a dark, twisting staircase, he realized he was wrong. This was definitely not how Will imagined meeting Nico's family.

Hades followed them not far behind, also trying to escape Persephone's wrath. Who knew a goddess of flowers could be so violent? But then again, she had been trapped in the underworld for centuries (only getting to spend one third of the year in the upperworld). Will imagined that could drive anyone mad.

Still, Persephone was insane. But then again, most of the gods were. Will was close to hiring a godly therapist.

On the walls, glowing green torches lead the way. They were spread far apart, causing gaps in the light. At times, they were submerged into total darkness. The only thing Will was sure of at this point was that Nico was holding his hand. Will felt like there was electricity going up and down his whole arm. This whole situation was like a nightmare and a dream at the same time. He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to feel. Excited? Joyful? Terrified? Anxious? All of the above?

Will's legs were getting tired. How long had they been running? He wasn't quite sure, but he knew that humans were not built to run this fast for this long. Besides that, with every step, he was afraid he was going to topple down the stair case.

Finally, after running down what Will assumed was equivalent to twenty or more flights of stairs, they finally reached a room. To Will, it looked like a man-cave, build so that Hades could hide for weeks, maybe even months from his wife. Will thought that was kind of low, but at least there were comfortable leather couches.

The Hades cave (which is what one of the plaques on the wall said) had several rooms and hallways branching off from it. The room was complete with a mini fridge, a microwave, a pool table (who did Hades even play pool with?), a large flat screen TV and a bunch of other goodies that look incredibly expensive, at least by mortal standards. there were also a bank of outdated computers in one corner of the room. Will imagined he used those to manage the underworld from down here. Hades had a palace underneath his palace.

Will flung himself onto the leather couch, still trying to catch his breath, more than ready to take a nap. Nico's glare told him he better move or there would be fatal consequences. Usually, Will would test Nico, knowing Nico would push him on the floor (or at least attempt to), but Will was tired. It was hard to imagine that just earlier that day they had been traveling to Camp Jupiter. So much had happened since then. It felt like a lifetime ago.

Hades sat in a leather seat on the other side of the glass coffee table. "Let me explain." Hades said. That phrase never meant anything good. "Persephone was just going to have to come back in a few weeks anyway."

"So you thought, 'Hey, I'm just not going to tell her really important information, like how the war ended weeks ago!'" Nico shot back.

Hades put his hands up in surrender. "I did it because lately, she's been having affairs like crazy. If I kept her here, she couldn't do that."

"Oh my gods, I'm here to fix your love life?" Nico was starting to look green, like he was close to throwing up. "Why do you care? You've had affairs too."

Hades brushed off Nico's comment. "That's different. I've had very few. Every time I turn around, she's with a new mortal."

"No it's not different." Nico retorted. Will sat there and watched the bickering, which was going back and forth like a tennis match. They were practically tearing each other apart.

"Is this the reason things keep dying without cause?" Will said finally. The argument died off.

"The deaths are not my fault." Hades said, defending himself. "That's Demeter going on one of her rampages again. She's standing on mount olympus, pointing at animals and telling them to die. I think she's trying to make my realm more chaotic."

"Father." Nico said, looking straight into his father's eyes. "You have to let her go."

"Why should I? Demeter has never said one kind word to me. Why should I give her what she wants?"

"Because A) maybe she hasn't said anything nice to you because you keep holding her daughter hostage. B) because it's the right thing to do."

Hades scoffed. "Are you trying to give me the same speech you gave me when I refused to participate in the second Titan war?"

"Well, I won that argument, didn't I?" Nico carried a small smug grin on his face.

"Look," Nico said, serious again. "She'll be back in a few weeks. She'll have her few weeks of freedom. You'll get to have a few weeks of sanity. I don't see a problem here."

"She'll just cheat again." Hades growled, his anger not really directed at Nico, but at Persephone. Small flames of fury hid in Hades eyes, trying to stay unnoticed. He didn't hide them very well.

"Why don't you just calmly tell her that you're upset with her and that you don't appreciate her disloyalty?" Will suggested. Hades looked at him like he was insane. At first, Nico had a similar look, but it dissolve into a look of agreement.
"you know he's right." Nico nodded.

Hades leaned back in his chair, in deep thought. It seemed like forever before he said anything. "Fine."

Nico suddenly looked hopeful. "Does that mean we can go back to camp Jupiter now?"

"No," Hades said, shaking his head with what might have been regret. "Not until Persephone's wrath is over. If you leave them room, she'll probably kill you."

Nico shrank back into the couch, arms crossed. "Great."

"So," Hades started trying to make conversation. "Are you two friends or-?"

"I'd rather have Persephone kill me than continue this conversation." Nico tried to sound bland, as if Hades's question hadn't affected him, but his face was turning bright red. Will felt his doing the same.

"Agreed." Hades yawned. "Well, I have a littler bedroom over here, so I'm just going to go to sleep. The bathroom is the first door on the right down this hallway."
Hades walked off. Will didn't move until he heard Hades's bedroom door click closed. Will turned to face Nico.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this." Nico apologized.

Will smiled at the little dork. "It's fine. Your dad seems... nice."

"This is all my fault." Nico groaned miserably, hiding his face in his hands.

Will was taken by surprise. "What? How could this even remotely be your fault?"

"If I hadn't insisted we go for a walk," Nico said. "We might be at Camp Jupiter right now."

"Hey," Will said softly. "You didn't know Persephone was going to do this. I don't regret the walk." Will was pretty sure he wasn't even talking about the stroll they had taken at this point, but about something else they had done. "Do you?" He asked Nico.

"No." Nico didn't even hesitate. "It's just that, I passed up on an opportunity to keep you safe and look where we are now."

"Do you need a hug?" Will grinned a little, trying to cheer Nico up.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Solace, I really don't think that now is the time for hugs."

Will gasped, pretending to be offended. "It is always the time for hugs."
Nico didn't even try to stop Will as he embraced him. They sat there for a long time, Nico in Will's arms. After a while, Nico even laid his head on Will's chest.

They may have been in the underworld, but Will was pretty sure he was in Heaven.