Chapter 12 – Hades
HADES
“My lord?”
Opening my eyes, I stare at the undead warrior that serves as the head of my guard.
The big man, with his sad eyes, stares at the ceiling above my head.
Always such a respectful bastard. But then, that was one of the many reasons I’d kept this gargoyle’s soul, preventing it from entering any kind of afterlife.
A dead gargoyle was too precious a gift to waste.
And yet, he better have a good reason for interrupting me now.
Stretching, I disturb the pile of people surrounding me in my bed. One man near my legs doesn’t even open his eyes before he shifts to start sucking my cock once more. Such a good little nymph.
My wife, Persephone, however, mumbles with annoyance in her sleep and curls closer to my side.
“What is it, Andros?”
“I’ve just received reports of… that task you asked me to handle.”
I curl my hand around the back of the head of the man who sucks me. “Later, nymph,” I say, then pull him off.
Untangling myself from my lovers, I climb out of bed, pull on my robe and exit my bedroom, the head of my guards at my heel.
I don’t need to tell him I don’t wish to speak about Cerberus in front of the others.
He already knows. My dear wife hates to hear of the daughter from my love affair.
And my people don’t need to know that she escaped.
Running the Underworld is easier when no one doubts my abilities.
We circle down below the palace to the prisons. There, and only there, do I turn and face the gargoyle.
“What have you learned?”
“We sent your dogs to four locations, all places that had spotted something similar to Cerberus. In two locations, all of your dogs were killed. In one, your dogs began killing humans, so I called them back. And in the fourth, your dogs simply vanished.”
“Dead. Useless. And gone.” My voice rises with each word. “This is intolerable! She’s one shifter, Andros! One! She should be back on her chain already!”
“Maybe she’s not as tame as you believe.”
I turn at the soft yet familiar voice. Hecate leans on the bars of her cage, and everything within me tenses. The witch, whose skin glows softly blue, glares back at me. So arrogant, even after all this time.
“Watch your words, Hecate,” I warn, not in a mood for her.
But she simply smiles back. “You want to believe everything and everyone is in your control, but you’re wrong. Your control is only superficial. One day, you’ll watch it unravel, mark my words.”
My hand snaps forward, but to my shock, Andros catches it before I strike the witch.
I turn to stare at him. The big gargoyle isn’t like the undead ghosts that drift around here. He has substance just like any living being. His coloring is simply a sickly green, and a slight glow hovers around him. But until today, he’s never touched me. Never stood against me for any reason.
Nor should anyone with half a brain stand in my way.
“Hitting a prisoner seems beneath you, my lord,” he says. His gaze holds mine, then he releases my hand.
I look back at the witch. Her bravado has faded. Instead, she watches us with fear rather than amusement.
My thoughts begin to turn. Is there something going on between these two?
“I will check in with the gargoyles I sent out. And the other creatures I’ve enlisted.” My gaze moves back to Andros. “You will whip the witch. If her lashes aren’t deep enough, I shall do it when I return.”
He hangs his head. “Yes, my lord.”
I start back up the stairs when the witch’s voice calls after me. “So sad… a powerful god who fears both his daughter and an imprisoned witch. How frail must your confidence be.”
Freezing in mid-step, I look back at the gargoyle. “Fuck her too.”
Then, I continue back up the stairs. If there was anything between those two, it’ll be gone once he forces himself on her and beats her. There could be no greater punishment to give a man with honor, nor a female with so much pride.
But that’s why I run the Underworld. I always know just what to do to punish those beneath me.
And then there’s her accusation. The witch might believe I’m powerless, but there’s no greater danger than an angry god. If she doesn’t know it yet, she will soon.