Hades (The Underworld Saga)

15. Harper

I t is surreal to be standing in the presence of Hades. How is it that this beautiful woman before me is related to my idiot father? I think the only reason that she isn’t the ruler of Olympus is the fact that she’s a woman. A shame, really, she radiates power and confidence.

“So, what’s the deal, Harper?” Nile asks.

“It’s Phoenix’s dad. He wants to take the throne over the Underworld and Hades is asking for my help.”

“Why does she want your help?” Stone questions.

“Hermes,” is all I say and I can tell their moods are changing. “He seems to have sided with Ares and she wants me to help in the fight.”

“Why should we help her?” Phoenix asks this time.

“She wants to protect the innocent souls from the battle as well as her home.”

“What do you get out of it?”

“Hermès,” Hades interrupts. “He is all yours, that weasel sides with Ares, so I have no use for him.”

“And how does Zeus feel about all this?” I ask Hades.

“He is sick of Ares’s shit, so I say that anyone that sides with him is fair game,” she shrugs.

“Phoenix, was it? I know that Ares is your father, you have the scent of the war god. I have no ill will towards you but understand if you and Harper choose not to fight.”

“Pff, that asshole probably has it coming,” Phoenix tells her.

“My men are going to shut this party down and we’ll head to the Underworld,” Hades states and heads off back to my father.

“Phoenix, are you sure about this? Ares is your dad.”

“Harper, he hasn’t done a damn thing but train me until I break and then start over again. Plus, it will be great to see him get his ass handed to him by Hades,” he replies.

“Did you know that Hades was a woman?” Stone asks.

The three of us shake our heads no, it was a huge surprise when she introduced herself.

“Not at all. The few times with Zeus, he only talked about himself, not our family. I can’t remember meeting her before now,” I tell them in all honesty.

“That’s because your father loves secrets,” Posiden pops in. “Hermès only knew of you because he was the messenger of the gods. If Zeus knew he was the one behind the cult there would’ve been hell to pay.”

“Why is there none of that now that he knows?” I ask, my voice getting louder with each word.

“He saw what you did to Hermès' face and thought you handled him well. Hermès wears your gift as a reminder not to fuck with you. No wonder he is aligning with Ares, he is like a beaten puppy seeking a new home. But he picked the wrong side yet again.”

“And you, father, whose side are you on?” Nile questions him .

“If Zeus would allow me to pick sides it would be Hades’s, of course.” He beams a blindingly white smile.

“Are you just saying that because she can hear you?” I ask.

“Of course not, my sister is tougher than Zeus and he knows it, the only reason she doesn’t rule Olympus is because she’s content with the Underworld,” Posiedon explains.

“And here I thought it was because she respected me,” Zeus chimes in.

“Oh, maybe that is it,” Poseidon tries to play it off.

“So, Harper, are you fighting with your Aunt?” Zeus asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you?” I retort.

“Being the head of the gods, I can’t interfere, but if I could, how can you ask me to pick between my sister and my child?”

“That’s fair but he is starting a war and will kill innocents just to take a throne that’s not his. To me, that sounds like he wasn’t punished enough as a child. Does he want a fucking crown? Give him one, this is a useless reason to fight,” I tell him. “I will fight with Hades, Hermès is mine. I lost countless years of my life with my men all because of him and he’s not getting off that easily.”

“Be safe, my daughter, do you still have the necklace I gave you?”

It was tucked under my shirt for safekeeping and my hand rises to it out of habit. “Yes, father.”

With that, he and Poseidon are off chasing a few women as they are exiting the party.

“Why is this family so fucked up?” Stone questions.

“Lucky, I guess,” I reply and this gets a smile from him.

“Okay, are you all ready to travel to the Underworld? Have any of you been?” I ask .

“No, usually when you go there, you aren’t coming back,” Phoenix comments.

“We will,” I promise as I take his hand and head towards where Hades is standing at the bar.

The patrons are exiting the courtyard when a voice yells over the crowd.

“This is a stick up!” as gunfire sounds.

“Did these dumb motherfuckers really just start a robbery at Four Horsemen’s Casino?” Stone asks.

They spray gunfire again.

“Yep, they must have heard about this party and thought it was a good idea to rob the rich tonight,” Nile says.

They picked the wrong casino to rob, if the horsemen don’t deal with them, it’s safe to say that Hades and her scythe will.

My guys are itching for another fight, they carefully tiptoe closer to the crowd that is now in two lines.

“I said form two lines. The next person I notice not complying will get to meet the barrel of my gun in their face.”

Well, this asshole deserves whatever is coming to him, maybe a little zap from my lightning will scare him off.

I just make it to the line closest to me when I hear her voice.

“Gentlemen, I think you’ve made a grave mistake.”

“Really, lady? You have some balls, maybe I’ll just take you with me,” the cocky assailant says.

“Oh, how sweet of you, but you can’t handle me or my temper. I’ll give you to the count of five to return all the patrons their belongings. If you don’t, I will bring my scythe out to play.”

“Are you off your meds? This is a real gun, we didn’t come here to hurt anyone, but I’ll use this if I have to.”

“One,” Hades states.

“Lady, I’m the one in charge. ”

“Two.”

“You must really be mental.”

“Three.”

Another robber pipes up, “Maybe we should just leave.”

“Four,” she counts and out of thin air, she spins her scythe into this plane.

“Holy shit, this bitch is crazy!” the cocky robber yells as he drops the bag he was holding and runs off.

Hades stays where she’s at as the crowd cheers.

“No, no. It’s all in a night’s work. No one will mess with the Horsemen’s Casino. Please accept our apologies, gather your belongings and head to your rooms please,” Hades says over the crowd.

Once all the madness dies down, Hades smiles as we approach her, “Have you made your decision?”

“Yes, Aunt Hades, we will fight, I can see that you’re a badass.”

She wipes her brow in relief and asks again, “Thank you. Are you sure there is no conflict with Phoenix? Our family is fucked up enough, I don’t want you to hate me if something happens to your father.”

“That asshole hasn’t done anything for me,” he shrugs.

Hades nods, “We are headed to my palace. Do you guys need anything from topside before we go?”

“We have everything we need, we travel light,” I tell her.

With a snap of her fingers, we are jolted and then in a dimly lit room.

“Welcome to the Underworld.”