The Prince of Shadows

Chapter 3||Zia

Zia's eyes fluttered open, her lips parted slightly as she instinctively looked for the early morning light that pierced her slumber, for once instead seeing only a rocky ceiling glistening with red, her lips curling with distaste. Of course, how could she forget? That smooth little piece of marshmallow poop had betrayed her, leading her to the Underworld. It wasn't exactly the loveliest spot she was in at the moment, but it was better than being killed by blood thirsty Titans, or whatever else Hades had conjured up for them.

Her startling green eyes moved right and left as she looked at her reluctant companions, the girl Alice and the boys James and Elliot. To her, Alice seemed like a spoiled little twit. Of course, the girl had no idea of her value as the sister of the Shadow Prince. She was the queen of the chessboard, even if Zia liked to believe differently. A little snort escaped her lips as she thought of the hilarity of it all; someone else being better than her? Impossible! Shaking her head, she quickly tried to clear herself of her reverie, glancing around at the others and biting her lip. Good, none of the rest were awake. That left the perfect amount of time to clear a few things up a bit. With a soft groan she rose from the rocky floor, her walk a containing a bit of a limp. In her defense, cave floors hurt. Trying to make as little noise possible, she carefully snuck out of the cave with no concept of time or reality wrapped around her gleaming red head, marching determinedly in no set direction but knowing where she needed to go. How curious......

After what seemed like ages, her feet suddenly stopped walking of their own accord, signaling in all probability that she was in the right place. "Hades!" She called out, more of a demanding snarl that a call, her green eyes narrowed with confidence and something that looked suspiciously like anger "I want a word." The words had barely slipped from her silken lips when she felt a hand clamped over her jaw, strong and unyielding, lips at her neck. "Careful, my darling. Names have power." a low, rough voice whispered in a lazy purr, his body pressed against hers. "Now what do you want to discuss, my lovely firebird? Is it our deal or do you finally wish to come join me here for eternity? You know how I've missed you."

Instinctively Zia bit his hand, her green eyes full of ice. Hades yelped, the sound amusingly more feminine than almighty male, his lips parted as he glares at her with hurt in his eyes. "That hurt, little girl." he seethed, sweeping his long black robes behind him as he stood in front of her "I hope you have something worth my time." Zia let out a soft chuckle; he reminded her of a bat more than ever "It is, my lord." she said, her voice full of contempt but also respect. He was a god, after all. "I came to discuss our little deal. You know, the one where you help me defeat the Shadow Prince, not where you kidnap me?" she says with a scowl, her voice rising slightly as she stomped her foot down angrily, the plane and angles of her face altering slightly, but it could have just been the light.

Hades merely chuckled, his lips twisting in a smirk, the kind that you wore when you know something someone else doesn't. "But, my love, would our deal change if I said I knew where the Shadow Prince was?"

Zia instinctively took a step back, fire flashing in her green eyes. "That's a lie. You couldn't possibly know where he is." She said, shaking her head in quick succession as Hades's lips split into a wide, unsettling grin. "You don't want to believe me, darling?" he purred softly, disappearing in a flash and reappearing behind her, his long fingers of death brushing her shoulder. "Well then, let me just remind you of the price you paid to have this information in the first place." he whispered in her ear, waving his left hand. Instantly a foul smelling cloud of grey smoke twisted and formed around Zia's hands, forming into handcuffs studded with precious gemstones, hopeless to escape from.