The Runaway Rebels- Book 1

Chapter Ten: Hades and Hel

The room ahead was dark, with a dizzyingly high ceiling. 

The only source of light came from flickering torches on the walls, casting an eerie glow around the Goddesses as they entered. As they walked in, a formidable sight greeted them. 

Above them, I was suspended in a cage, dropped by the Harpies. Beneath me lay two thrones, whose occupants were all to familiar to The Goddess of Darkness, and, like icing on the already intimidating cake, the flickering light of the room showed a mound of skulls, upon which the two thrones rested. 

The throne on the left was occupied by a tall, thin, haughty-looking woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Pandora. 

"This must be Hel," Dawn thought, as she looked up at the woman.

Hades and Hel never attended any meetings, they lived in the shadows. But their reputation preceded them. Dawn struggled to decide if putting a face to the stories made things better, or worse.

Next to Hel, sat the bony figure of Hades. His eyes were shallow and red, seeming to burn and flicker like flames dancing within his irises. The rest of the God's shallow frame seemed so dead, his eyes almost acted as something of a signal, a final sign that this thing might actually be alive.

"Well then, I see you have switched to the losing side, daughter, what a pity for you. Then again, I can't say it surprises me. You always were a failure," Hel said, looking at Pandora with a look of bitter contempt.

She spoke in a soft, deadly voice. It was the type of voice that sends a shiver down your spine and makes the air around you feel cold and miserable all of a sudden.

"Trust me, mother, I don't need your pity. I'm leaving," said Pandora, relishing in the potential freedom.

Hades laughed harshly in response. 

"Such a shame to waste your time helping those scum," said The God of Death, turning to Ace and Dawn, looking positively disgusted.

"It's good to see you too, Hades," said Ace, looking positively unabashed.

"It is a disappointment that you picked the wrong side, Astrid. After all, you are a powerful Goddess, we would've been glad of your help, but it's too late for that now," Hel said, looking down at her sister through her narrowed green eyes.

Ace's grin stayed firmly in place, though a slight flash of annoyance seemed to burst across her face. Then, to the surprise of everyone else in the room, the goddess let out a bored yawn, almost as if she was engaged in some tedious work meeting, not a dangerous confrontation.

"Yeah, yeah, you're going to kill us, etc. etc. do we really need the whole villain monologue? It's a little cliché don't you think? And if you were going to insist  upon being so tedious... would it kill you to get my name right?" Ace asked before Hades spoke furiously, looking daggers at The Goddess of Chaos.

"Oh, killing you is going to be such a joy... but, perhaps, I will wait. Maybe then, I can give you an end more befitting of your impudence," Hades hissed angrily.

"You mean we can?!" Hel scoffed, to which Hades opened his mouth, then thought better than to argue with her. 

However, as Hel opened her mouth to speak again, rather than look terrified and cower behind the others, Ace laughed raucously, disappearing in a crackle of Chaotic energy. A moment later, the goddess appeared behind the two thrones, one foot on each, and blasted Hades and Hel off their perches with a dramatic 'bang!' 

"Oh, will you shut up! I have more interesting stuff to do today..." Ace began, dodging a jet of flames from Hel, with a twirl. With nowhere to go, flames to fall straight into Hades who had just got up, only to promptly fall backwards before Ace had the chance to speak again.