Hades and Persephone

Chapter 7: Same World New Eyes

Waiting for Hermes to leave was one thing. It normally involved brooding in a chair, waiting for the lad to take a hint and leave. A migraine on some of his worse days. Perhaps even sending an escort with him to avoid Tartarus- that boy was much too curious for his own good.

However, waiting for Hermes to come back was an entirely new sensation. One he hoped to never experience again.

Hopefully Zeus was smart enough to message him by other means. Iris insisted upon retiring, giving her job to the boy, but also made sure she would be the first contacted in emergencies. As if to answer his thoughts, a stream of light burst into the room. Sunlight had no place here, and it was not the fiery light of the river, so this was something else. Hades quickly grabbed a prism kept on his desk. The fine crystal looked fragile, though he doubted even a Titan could break it.

The light casted through the prism, now held by Hades , and broke into a rainbow. A tiny image of Zeus projected itself on the floor, no taller than his kneecap. No color on his form was correct- his hair green, eyes purple, skin a vibrant red. As the form shifted the colors did not, like watching through a filter.

"Brother," the recording breathed. "Demeter is here. Hecate and Hera as well. No idea how long. Hurry."
With that the image faded, as did the light.
"Thanatos!" he called down the empty halls. "I am leaving for the surface. You're in charge until then."

Every room, stairwell, and hall was barren. He had given the workers time off in preparation of his 'guest'. But Thanatos would hear- he always did.

*****

The forest was empty that day- like every other time he visited. A bird chirped, but too far to make out the kind. Rustling of branches, but they waved from the wind instead of by a creature. The closest Hades had found to a creature wandering the forest were three Oceanids playing a song far downstream. They beat the water and ruffled the reads in place of instruments. He found the melody they sang haunting. Beautiful. And at the same time, sickening. It brought forth memories of a war he had long wanted to forget.

His helm hid him from sight, and his mares knew how to hide among the shadows. They hopped from tree to tree, seemingly pressed into the darkness itself.

He did not even have to inspect the wards to tell Hecate had yet to reinforce them. Like a crack in a dam. It grew larger and larger still and soon it would be too large to seal. It was not even an issue for Hades to break the dam.

The barrier solidified for a moment. A bubble, iridescent purple, appeared over the prison. Dark veins scattered through the inside of it, black lightning crackling across the surface. A single crack, glowing the purest white, was seemingly the only entrance to the hidden world. And then, like glass, it all shattered. Pieces of solid magic raining down onto the forest floor, only to destroy itself and anything it touched on impact.

It was not even a drop of Hades' magic that broke apart the barrier. Not even enough to wilt a petal or whisper the name of a spirit. Yet, Hecate's magic was built to amplify it all. He watched as the prison rotted away, turned to dust in others. Fear pricked at his heart. He promised to protect it, what good would it do if the child died then and there.

Hades' gripped the reins tighter. The mares shifted uncomfortably, feeling their master's anger. Fire threatened to burn through his body, ignite his flesh and clothes. The construct was destroyed, nothing but a jagged wall miraculously left standing. Rows of flowers turned to dry dust, not even mulch. What bark remained was blackened, as if charred, but soft and pliable like mold.

Everything, inside and out, was destroyed. Beyond even a god's capability of repair.

Yet it was not the eerily familiar destruction, nor the lack of a flicker of life present that angered him. It was the lack of one figure, alive or dead. There was no girl, no body. There was nothing. She was not there.