12
THE dark skies above his head reeled with ravens that had been scared out of their roosting perches in the trees from the fire he had started, and even beneath his feet, Hades could feel the dead men who had been buried beneath the soil stirring, knowing something was amiss with the earth.
Hades stood watching the skittering of the birds, the air around him laden with the bone-deep chill of the coming storm, before turning and slipping inside the temple that he had already agreed to meet his brother within, to 'talk'.
Though a smart man would know the low rolling boom of thunder he heard off in the distance as he went inside was the sound of his brother arriving on scene.
Soon.
He slipped inside and clung to the shadows, more comfortable in the dark, finding the light too garish.
Hades had never wanted or needed much, but his sweet Persephone deserved the world and the whole of Mount Olympus at her fingertips if she so wished it. A sinking dread wormed its way into the pit of his stomach and he began to growl, nearly fretting in place as he waited for Zeus to arrive. He would humor the mortal, Meg.
He would speak with Zeus, though he already knew it would likely amount to little except hurled insults. Hades emanated a tense exhale and stepped forward with the intention to call for Zeus if his brother did not show himself within five seconds, increasingly annoyed and feeling a budding anger welling within his veins at being kept waiting.
But before he could so much as utter the first letter of Zeus's wretched name, Hades' attention was caught by the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. He whirled around with lightning speed to face whichever god or goddess had managed to catch him off-guard, a rare occurrence for him, and eager to pounce on whoever it was.
Defiantly, he rose to his full height of six feet. He had expected Zeus, or even Hermes have come bearing a message. But what met Hades' questioning eyes was the furthest thing from his brother or Hermes.
His Queen stood only a few paces from him, looking like a work of art like she herself belonged in Elysium rather than in the dank and dark Underworld with him. Her flowing blue dress hit the floor and as she walked slowly towards him with measured steps, his gaze softened as her hand came to rest on the small bump of her belly.
Her lovely curls were turning redder, a lovely shade of auburn, as autumn came upon Greece.
"My love," she called, her voice soft and timid as she reached for his hand.
Hades accepted her warm hand in his, but even as he did so, he shook his head in dread. His black heart raced with fear for Persephone at having dared to breach the surface of the Underworld and return to Earth. It was not yet her time to be returned and if he was being perfectly honest with himself at the moment, his bastard of a brother was admittedly the last person he wanted Persephone anywhere near right now, given her delicate condition.
"Per?' Hades questioned, almost sounding angry with his wife, uncertain that what he was seeing was true. He was sure for a moment that his mind was playing a sport of his vision, that perhaps this was another of a god's cruel tricks, causing him to hallucinate the only person in his lonesome world that made him feel of any sort of worth.
But the warmth of Persephone's slender fingers entwining around his icy fingers was too real to be a phantasm, and he knew that she was real. That she was right beside him.
"What are you doing here, Per, you shouldn't be here!" he snapped, an angry bark to his voice that made her look up in surprise, hurt brimming to life in her blue eyes.
He cursed himself for hurting her feelings but said nothing more.
"I came because the Fates advised it. They told me that…you would need me soon, my love, and so of course, I came," Persephone answered, her already shy voice turning even timider.
His wife was looking shamefaced as she came to a halt in front of him, her hand not currently entwined in his moved upwards to snake her fingers through his shock of blue hair. She flushed and turned such a pretty shade of pink.
Her face was flushed an even darker shade of pink, her blue eyes glossy with unshed tears that immediately made Hades suspicious. Her fingers curled into shaking fists as she seized fistfuls of Hades' thick black woolen robes, and his wife could barely look at him as the distant rumble of thunder grew even louder.
Hades' expression turned almost angry at the turn of events that he could no longer control.
"No, Persephone!" he roared, his entire body beginning to shake vehemently. "I wanted you back home in the Underworld, my love. I wanted you safe and away from him," he declared, his tone hurt.
Persephone's eyes narrowed in incense and despair, the light in her brilliant blue eyes dimming and turning darker, almost cerulean in color and he nearly flinched.
"I'm not letting you do this alone, Hades!" she cried, though she winced upon hearing the faint warbling note of fear in her voice.
The thunder grew louder, Zeus's arrival within mere seconds, Hades had no choice but to accept Persephone's presence alongside him as he and his brother attempted negotiations, and pray ironically enough, that his pregnant queen would be safe at the end of all of this.
Hades' shoulders slumped in defeat. He curtly nodded and turned his gaze towards the front just as a loud deafening crack! of thunder rent the air, and within moments, there stood his bastard of a brother, regal, too beautiful, and every inch the god that Hades always sought to be. He knew that he never could be just like Zeus.
Hades mentally swore every foul curse known to mankind and the gods as Zeus walked towards them, and he felt Persephone's slender fingers curl even tighter around his robes. He furrowed his brows together in a frown when he felt her entire body shaking. Zeus's icy stare seemed ready to hurl a thunderbolt in their direction.
"Brother," Hades answered flatly through clenched teeth as the ruler of Mount Olympus had neither the grace nor care to smile at him, nor at his wife. His voice was laced with anger and dread as he regarded his brother, the beloved favorite among all the gods, glaring with hatred sparking to life behind Hades' bright yellow eyes.
"It is…good to see you, Hades," Zeus said hauntingly, though the Lord of the Underworld swore Zeus's voice choked a bit as his eyes flicked towards Persephone and lingered on the small swell of her belly as she kept her hands encircled protectively over the baby inside her. "You look…well, except you could use some sunlight, both of you, your eyes are darker than half the dead souls in your Underworld, Hades."
"I imagine we do, brother," Hades hissed his words, still keeping his teeth gritted as he felt the familiar hot fire seed of anger welling in the pit of his stomach. Only Persephone's gentle touch kept him grounded and reminded him of what was important. Only she and the babe within her that their love and passions had created. Nothing else mattered. Everything he did, he did for them. The three immortals stood in awkward silence for a moment.
Hades' face was deadly serious as he brought his gaze up to meet Zeus, eager to return to the Underworld and not wanting to linger near Zeus a moment longer than was necessary, for Persephone's sake.
Being near his brother who would willingly bed any pretty woman, mortal or goddess, regardless of their status if they were married or not, was not good for his beloved queen.
"I have heard from your pretty little mortal girl you now have at your disposal that you are considering setting free the Titans, Hades," Zeus spoke with gritted teeth in a hoarse voice calloused with ire that never failed to stuff the chills down Hades' throat. "Chances come and go, brother, as you very well know. I gave you yours to do with as you please with Demeter's daughter. I have allowed you to marry your goddess, but if you do not halt this device against me and the others on Mount Olympus, what I have given you, then I can take it away just as easily."
Hades' hand squeezed almost painfully tight around Persephone's small waist would expand as her belly grew with their child. It wouldn't be long now, a few more weeks and her clothing would start to become tight at the hips and have to be let out. The edges of the god's mouth turned down as he noticed his brother eyeing his queen, and Hades' reeling mind ignited like a lighted wildfire that could not be quenched.
His brother had always thought highly of Demeter's daughter but also wanted her for himself, Hades' paranoia was beginning to seep in and whisper things into the shell of his ear.
He shook his head desperately to try to rid himself of these frenzied thoughts that would do him no good here.
He couldn't. He wouldn't do that. My brother has his honor to protect. He gave Persephone to me, she is MY wife.
But you've always been the lesser brother, a dark demonic voice whispered in the back of his mind.
Zeus could cross you off without batting an eyelid or any thought to his conscience, if the happy bastard even has one, and will take everything from you, starting with your wife and your unborn child.
And with it, the demon's murderous laughter rang in Hades' eardrums. He could not fail Persephone. He could not. The resolution took its toll on the Lord of the Underworld then and there. He would not fail his wife or will be all hell unleashed on him at once. As if he hasn't been feeling the heat of it already with his beloved queen's pregnancy.
All this time while Hades was fretting like a child, he was sloth to realize the emotionless way his brother continued to eye Persephone. His yellow eyes were quick to catch the glances of his brother at his wife, and the angst he was already allowing his immortal soul to wallow in nursed it even a bit more.
Zeus pities her and thinks nothing of me. He wants her. His hand tightened around his wife's waist. He felt his breathing rate increase as his heart careened so loud against his ribs that he was sure his wife and brother heard it.
But before Hades could so much as utter a word, Zeus was the first to speak.
"How fares the Queen of the Underworld, Persephone?" he asked her in a tone of voice that was almost cold.
Persephone stared, and it only occurred to her that she was not in the right place for company tonight, least of all with Zeus. She blinked owlishly at Zeus and it took Hades' wife a moment to find her voice again.
"I am well, Zeus, thank you. You should be proud of Hercules. He is proving himself worthy of us all."
"How are you enjoying your life with my brother in the Underworld? You don't find it so dull and dreary?" Zeus continued, speaking in his usual monotonous voice without even once giving a thought to Persephone's offer of praise to Hercules.
Persephone frowned. She did not understand and could not quite put her finger on how Zeus had a simple means of speaking that never failed to set her on edge. Hades sometimes made her cringe with the things that would slip out of his mouth from time to time, but his brother…Zeus was different. There was an air of hidden monstrosity underneath the regal and majestic appearance that Zeus went to painstakingly great lengths to keep hidden.
The ruler of Mount Olympus possessed a rather strange ability to unshackle one's deepest and darkest kept secret within only a second of conversation.
It unnerved the queen greatly and she looked away, sick at the thought that Zeus always saw her as a prize and he, like the other gods, had never looked upon her and Hades' marriage with the respect that she thought it deserved.
Zeus was looking at her right now like she was such a disappointment to their kind. Like he knew something of her that neither she nor her husband had yet to discover.
Persephone quickly lowered her lashes and spoke to the god in a soft voice.
"Speak to me plainly, Persephone, you need not lie to me," Zeus sighed, sensing the young goddess's hesitations. Persephone looked up in surprise and alarm at him. "I will not take your words against you," he promised her.
"My—my words?" she asked, the furrow of confusion between her brows worsening as she looked to Hades for confirmation, though her husband's face was blank.
"Has my brother been treating you well throughout your marriage?" Zeus cut the Queen of the Underworld off, almost impatiently. "Hades, brother, you have never been an easy creature to love nor be loved, surely you know that about yourself, I do not think it is a great secret," he muttered, casting a curious glance towards his brother, to find that his brother's pale blue face had turned almost white and he looked as white as the souls he looked after.
Persephone stiffened and nervously cast her gaze towards Hades, who was barely moving and was looking suddenly quite tense. Anger swelled to life within her breast, and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself from spouting them at him.
"Of course he has. Why wouldn't he treat me well in a marriage? It is what one does, or what one is supposed to do for someone they love," Persephone snapped angrily.
The edges of Zeus's lips curled back into something akin to a feral snarl as he apparently disagreed.
"Forgive me, Persephone, but it is unthinkable of my brother to be so…loving and loyal in a marriage."
"Then why did you let us marry, Zeus, tell me that?" The question slipped off Persephone's tongue smoothly, stealing Hades' eyes away from his brother and causing her husband to look down at her. She flinched. She wanted to take back her question, but it was already too late. "If you deemed our marriage to be a waste?" she demanded.
"Your union was never a waste, dear thing. You are an asset, make no mistake about that, but in the…wrong hands."
Hades was practically trembling with the effort to control his temper. Persephone gave her beloved husband a curious look. There was a glint in Zeus's blue eyes that was beginning to afflict them both. She was pulled from her conflicting thoughts when the ruler of Mount Olympus spoke in a clipped tone.
"You would truly tolerate my brother for the rest of your immortal life, Persephone? Is it love?" Zeus demanded.
Persephone stiffened and gritted her teeth, having the sudden instinct unready to hear Zeus's next words, though he carried on.
"You did not have much of a choice at the time when you married my brother, but now, he is not your only choice, Persephone. You need not stay with Hades, Persephone."
Persephone stared, gobsmacked, but even without her or Hades bidding him to enlighten them, the ruler of Mount Olympus seemed to be in the mood to convince her otherwise. The god's words burned Persephone's heart like the flames of the Underworld itself. Her fingertips went numb and her mouth, already dry, went dryer still.
Persephone closed her eyes and buried her head in Hades' chest, hating Zeus, and hating the predicament the ruler of Mount Olympus was placing them in.
Oh, Zeus knew exactly what sort of venom would hurt her husband the most, but Zeus's provocation of Persephone only incensed the Lord of the Underworld further, and he stood resolutely in place, his hands encircling protectively around his wife for support. His brother's words hit Hades like a slap in the face, the shock of it ringing like his brother had raised his cracking palm against his cheek and had struck him down with one of his own thunderbolts.
"No," he growled flatly, his fingernails digging into the fabric of Persephone's dress. "You will not touch my wife, Zeus, Persephone is MY wife. MINE. You gave her to me, you will not take her away from me, brother!" he yelled.
Persephone cast Hades a disparaging look as she noticed her love's eyes beginning to shift and change color to that of purest black. Zeus's stance had shifted, taking on a defensive position and the low rumbling thunder in the skies only worsened. Black and purple storm clouds were now billowing in from the east, at a slow and leisurely pace.
Hades clenched his fists as he saw a thunderbolt appear in Zeus's dominant hand as the god readied himself to fight at the slightest sign that Hades meant to pounce.
He was not even aware that his entire body had begun to tremble, or that emanating from every orifice of his body came a thick horrible black mist that shrouded the area in black and grey tendrils of a dense, heavy fog.
She reached up to touch Hades' face but hesitated, scared he might react violently. What Persephone saw should have frightened her, but it didn't. The Lord of the Underworld's eyes were dark and cold, now of the purest black.
His handsome face was void of all emotion. There was a quiver beneath Hades' left eye, and a blue vein began to bulge in the god's neck. She saw nothing but darkness and a menacing look in his newly-turned black eyes as he was letting his anger and pent-up frustration and rage take control. The look he shot toward Zeus and the way he held onto her now was possessive and obsessive. It sent a secret little thrill through her.
"Hades," she breathed. What is wrong with me? "Hades, Zeus, stop this, please, there is no need to fight like this," Persephone begged, her shy voice floating through the air toward the pair of feuding brothers like a soothing balm.
She bit down on her bottom lip hard and closed her eyes, bracing herself for Hades to shove her roughly out of the way to lunge for Zeus the moment she heard a low growl come from deep within his chest.
"You will say nothing more to my queen, brother, I will listen to this nonsense no more," Hades threatened, the edges of his lips curling up in a snarl. "I've seen the way you look at Per, Zeus. You cannot seem to stop looking at her lately. You keep your eyes elsewhere, she is my wife. You have not the slightest chance with Per, not even in your wildest dreams, no matter what trickery you think you could pull to try to fool her. You want peace, brother, just as much as I do. You don't want war. None of us do, I know that," Hades hissed through gritted teeth as he spoke up. "My terms are simple enough. Abdicate the throne of Mount Olympus to me. You and your wife Hera will step down, Per and I will rule in your stead. There is no need for bloodshed if you step down of your own volition."
The tension in Zeus's jaw did not release as he flicked his gaze from Persephone and then back to Hades.
"You are delusional, Hades. This is dangerous ground you tread, brother, you had best be cautious. You seem to forget that we three drew sticks that day for which of us would rule what realm. You seem to be forgetting your place. The Underworld needs a god presiding over it. What better god suited for the role than you, Hades? Poseidon is busy ruling the ocean, you never struck me as the type to fancy water, you always did seem to cling to the shadows as a boy, Hades. The choice was obvious."
Hades straightened furiously, clenching his fists into angry balls at his side, fire beginning to form at the tips of his fingers.
"Brother, you are awfully quick to judge who is a danger to my wife, but it seems yet again you know not of whom you speak," he snarled, his tone rising to match his angry mood.
A strange dark look passed between the two gods. There would be a fight soon, just as the Fates had predicted, Persephone could feel it in her bones. She moved out of Hades' protective embrace and bravely, if perhaps not stupidly, stepped in front of her husband, now shielding him from Zeus's wrath.
"Per," Hades growled in a voice that was far too gruff. It was as if he was holding something back, something within him that was about to implode. "Leave. Go home. I don't want you here to see what comes next, it will not be pretty."
Persephone stared, hardly daring to believe her ears. It took her a moment to find her voice and when she found it again, it came out as broken and sounding very frightened.
"Hades, n-no. Y-you cannot do this, please!" Persephone wept, frightened tears beginning to trail down her cheeks.
"Go. Do not make me say it a second time, Per, you of all the gods know that I really hate saying things a second time, sweetheart." His tone was insistent and terse. The way he was standing told Persephone that there would be a limited amount of time before he lost what little control he still had left over the magic that was seeping through every orifice of his body, just threatening to explode out of him. But she couldn't just leave him here alone with him!
How could Hades ever expect her to return to the Underworld without him? He had done so much for her, and now, he was asking her to leave him alone to suffer the wrath of his brother. She could not do such a thing…
A growl passed through Zeus's gritted teeth and the god's grip on the thunderbolt in his hand tightened, to the point where Hercules' father's knuckle turned white with the effort to hold it steady and prevent it from misfiring.
"You are meddling, brother, in that which you do not understand and which you never will. You have no idea the horror and devastation you will unleash if you release the Titans that I worked so hard to imprison, Hades, and if you do not cease this effort against me, then I will have no choice but to act. Consider this as my final warning."
"Stand down and relinquish your throne on Olympus, brother, and my 'meddling' as you call it, will stop. I give you my word," Hades spoke in a low voice, feeling his anger flare the way Zeus's eyes once more traveled to Persephone and lingered upon his queen, a look of desire and jealousy sparking to life behind the god's bright blue eyes.
A cloud of anger and something akin to remorse flitted across Zeus's chiseled face and Zeus shook his head to himself and raised the thunderbolt that crackled and sparked in his fist.
"So be it, brother, I can see that you will once again refuse to listen to my counsel, to logic and reason when it is given to you, but you only humiliate yourself and your queen further by continuing this device against me, Hades!"
Persephone opened her mouth to try to plead with Hades to stop this, that as much as she wished for her and her family to be able to leave the realm of the Underworld, it was not worth this feud, she did not want this.
But just as Hades' wife turned her head out of curiosity, the flash of yellow that was speeding towards them faster than light itself made itself clear. It was Zeus's thunderbolt, directly aimed at Hades' heart.
Persephone nearly felt her own heart stop right there on the spot, but then her crushing fear and panic that one or both of them would be killed if this madness was not stopped were suddenly overwhelmed with a new desire.
To defend and protect her husband, just as Hades had protected her.
But before she could wrench free of Hades' vice grip, he quickly spun Persephone out of the way of the path of the thunderbolt that was intended for him and him alone and towards the safety of the darkness behind him.
Hades could hear her stumble and squeak in surprise at his unexpected roughness, but for once, he did not apologize for his rough handling of his beloved wife. He was far too concerned with not allowing Zeus's wretched thunderbolt to strike his wife and kill her or do harm to their unborn baby. He took several steps away from Zeus to try to put as much distance between him and the queen he guarded behind him. Hades bared his teeth and snarled, shifting his body into a defensive position to try to keep Persephone hidden from his brother's madness.
The pressure in Hades' head exploded as he let out a furious blood scream as he sped towards Hades, summoning just a little of his inhuman god-like speed, tackling his brother to the ground with such a raging passion that his pupils shrank.
"No!" Persephone screamed as black fire began to seep out of Hades' fingertips as he conjured a small ball of flame in his hand as her husband whipped his hand back and cracked Zeus hard against the head. Persephone screeched again. "Hades, no!" she pleaded, watching in horror as the ruler of Mount Olympus hit the ground hard.
Blood was pouring from the gash on his head and into his eyes, and the moan the god of thunder let out now was almost truly pathetic. Persephone felt her heart break in two for both her husband, herself, and for Zeus.
She thought she was beginning to understand that as much as she and her husband might dislike living in the Underworld, as much as they longed to be accepted among the other gods of Mount Olympus, she'd not wanted this.
"Hades, please…stop..." Persephone begged as tears trailed down her cheeks, though her shy voice wafting through the air was enough to reach the Lord of the Underworld as her love turned his face towards her and stared at her, the god's face blank, his eyes turned purest black, and menacing.
He blinked. He knew just as she did that they could let Zeus live and walk away from this unscathed, and none of the other gods could do anything meaningful in a manner that would hurt them. They both knew this, but… The other gods would learn the truth soon enough if they were not aware of what was transpiring between the two brothers. And Hades, her sweet Hades, if he let loose the Titans on Mount Olympus and went against Zeus after all then he would be viewed as a traitor by the other gods. They would likely even kill him for it. Just because gods were immortal did not mean they could not be killed. She doubted they would simply let him live the remainder of his immortal life in the Underworld with her, even exiled. And if he was killed, she would never see her love again.
She would never be able to talk to Hades or hold him or kiss him. Their daughter would grow up father-less.
Her lower lip trembled and her eyes began to fill with tears. Persephone's blood in her veins ran cold and her stomach lurched as Zeus managed to get to his feet. The crackling of another thunderbolt could be seen sailing towards Hades before the god could spin on his heels to see it coming.
In a flash of fierce protectiveness and not even needing to think, Persephone darted forward between Hades and the god of thunder's deadly bolt, shoving her husband out of the way with surprising strength for a goddess so petite.
Hades was flung off balance, unsure for a moment of what was happening.
Frantically, he spun around in time to see the thunderbolt Zeus had intended to be struck at Hades bury itself with Persephone's heart. In just the blink of an eye, Persephone staggered backward, her body convulsing as the force of the bolt shocked her, wincing in pain, but miraculously, his love made no sound.
"NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Hades screamed in horror as he watched his wife fall to the ground.
Rage flashed in his eyes as he spun towards Zeus, turning questioning, horror-filled eyes to his brother, unable to believe what he had just done. Almost hysterical, Hades bounded forward and collapsed to his knees beside Persephone's limp frame. He turned his wife to face him, tears streaming down his cheeks as he rested a trembling hand over her heart and could not feel the rise and fall of her chest.
Horrified, Hades tried to will some of his own strength into his wife. Nearly in shock, Persephone raised her fingers and caressed Hades' tear-stained cheeks, a funny little smile playing on her lips.
"Thank the Gods, Hades," she gasped in a choked whisper. Though she was gravely wounded, his queen's only thought was of him. "You aren't…hurt," she sighed, her blue eyes turning glossy with relief and thankfulness that he wasn't.
Hades watched as the light flickering behind his queen's eyes was growing fainter with each passing moment.
"Per! Please!" he shouted, shaking her slightly in hopes of rousing her from her state of unconsciousness. "Stay with me, don't do this to me, do not go where I can't follow," he pleaded, but this time, it was not his choice to make.
He could only hold Persephone close, all he could do was stare down into her eyes, finding peace in the soothing blue hue of his wife's eyes as her lids flickered open and shut, barely perceptively, before fluttering closed.
Hades' heart was in his throat as he realized he had no outlet to vent his pain and frustration upon Zeus, not with Persephone still in his arms. Hades rose to his feet on shaking legs that could barely support his own body weight, much less that of his wife's dead weight now in his arms, and let loose his fury upon the temple they were in.
Lifting his head to the ceiling and letting out a long and furious yell, he let his magic and anger take control as fury and heartbreak swept over him in a sweeping torrent that could not be stopped.
He did not even feel his own fire burning him as he burnt his brother's temple to the ground. He felt no pain as the flames licked and nipped at his hands, his mind so focused on Persephone and what Zeus had just done to him.
He was sure whatever was left of his blackened soul over the years had just died now with Persephone, as he turned rage-filled and questioning eyes towards his brother, unable to believe that even Zeus could be this cruel as to take away everything important in his life from him. But the proof was right in front of him.
When he spoke to Zeus, he spoke in a voice that Zeus could only later describe as a low growl.
"Look at her, Zeus, look at what you have just done," he hissed. "For killing my wife, there is no coming back from this," he snarled through clenched teeth, slick tears streaming down his face. "Too bad, brother. Looks like it's war after all," he snarled.
Zeus parted his lips as if he meant to speak, but before another word was spoken, Hades spun on his heels and vanished in a cloud of black smoke, holding his wife in his arms, his once-black eyes now reverted to yellow and were wild and red at the rims.
In his mind, war with Mount Olympus was already waged.