Hades Descendants (The Games of the Gods Book 1)

by Nikki Kardnov

  Hearing this, that I might have to show what power I was born with in front of the entire class, makes me burn with embarrassment already.

  I don’t control the power. I never have.

  Last night with Haven was just a fluke.

  Thank the gods it came to my hands when I needed it most, but will it now too?

  “Let’s start with Elyius Monstrat,” the professor says. “Since I already know what his ability is.”

  I twist to look at Ely. He just smirks at me before he gets up to stand in front of the classroom. He holds his hand out like he’s trying to catch rain drops, but then his eyes light orange and a matching flame appears in his hand. The flame flickers and dances, but doesn’t seem to burn Ely.

  “Haven,” the professor says. “Touch the flame.”

  For a brief moment, Haven doesn’t move. Clearly this is a trap. Ely’s gift wouldn’t be a gift if the flame didn’t also burn.

  “Mr. Knightfall,” the professor says, sharper this time.

  Haven finally pushes his chair back and walks to the front of the room. With irritation glittering in his eyes, he stares at Ely and then reaches his hand out to the flame.

  Skin sizzles and Haven hisses as he snaps his hand back.

  Steam rises from his fingers as the charred flesh bubbles and then quickly heals over as if the injury never happened. Except the stench still lingers in the library. Burnt skin and burnt hair and...ugh it’s disgusting. I can only imagine how it felt.

  For a brief moment, I feel bad for Haven and then I remind myself of his cruelty and quash the sympathy.

  “Elyius Monstrat,” Mr. Monstrat says. “The gift of summoning flame that burns hotter than the Underworld. Go ahead and take your seat, Ely.”

  Ely winks at Haven and Haven visibly trembles with rage.

  When Ely returns to our table, I lean over and whisper, “Is the professor your dad?”

  “Uncle,” he answers back. “But I’ve lived with him the last few years.”

  “Anastasha Hearthtender,” the professor calls.

  Son of a nymph!

  Dread turns my blood cold. My heart hammers in my head.

  I wish my power was to turn invisible like Hades’s Helm of Darkness. Because I’d use that power right now to run away from the room.

  “Anastasha,” the professor says again.

  Haven is still standing at the front of the room waiting. I’m to be partnered with him as he was with Ely? I’m still bristling from our encounter last night. And yeah, a little embarrassed too.

  Haven saw me naked.

  To make it fair, I should see him naked.

  That thought somehow makes me flush more than standing up in front of the class with a power that I don’t control.

  I get up from the table and go to stand in front of Haven. His expression is blank now and I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

  “Show us your power, Haven,” the professor says.

  Haven gets to use his power on me like Ely did on him.

  Did Haven use his power last night? Because if so it was just brute strength. I can withstand that. Hell, I already did.

  Thanks for the sneak peek Knightfall! You idiot. Maybe the secret to winning this trial is simply to use my brain.

  Haven’s jaw clenches. His amber eye flashes.

  I grin smugly at him and then—

  The library disappears.

  Blackness crowds my vision and the air smells of sulphur and rot and brimstone. I take a step back and slam into wet, black rock and when I take another look around, I realize I’m in what appears to be a cave lit by a phantom flickering flame.

  Something tickles on my arm. I brush it away and feel the spindly legs of a spider.

  A shiver runs through me.

  I hate spiders.

  Like really really hate them.

  They rarely come into Hestia’s House. Part of her god power is to create a warm, inviting home and spiders aren’t warm and inviting.

  I feel a whisper of legs on my neck and bat at the sensation.

  Then another on my leg. And another on my neck.

  I twist away from the rock wall, backpedaling, but my boot catches on a sharp edge of the stone floor. I’m falling before I realize I am, before I can correct myself. When I slam to the stone, the air is knocked out of me and I blink back tears. Coppery blood fills my mouth.

  The phantom flame flickers across the cavern ceiling and the ceiling moves.

  I’m lying there trying to catch my breath when something drops from above, plinks against my forehead and then scuttles over my nose.

  I lurch upright only to see I’m covered in spiders from my boots to my waist. They’re a quickly rising tide.

  A scream rips from my throat. I scramble back, batting at my legs, my face, my chest. They’re everywhere. I can feel their spider legs scurrying up my arms and crawling into my hair and crawling into my ears and—

  —I scream and scream and scream and—

  Laughter.

  I open my eyes.

  I’m back in the library lying on the Olympian rugs. I’m sweating. Trembling. Sobbing. I can’t breathe.

  And everyone is laughing at me.

  Somehow this is worse.

  It’s worse than last night.

  Worse than standing naked in front of Haven, bare and vulnerable.

  This is worse because he’s just made a fool of me and I never saw it coming.

  I scramble to my feet. The mortification is burning through me now. A hot, pulsing rage. I want to make him feel the same mortification. I want to show everyone in this room what I can do, what I did to him last night. I’ll turn him blacker than ash.

  I grab him at the wrist and squeeze.

  He tenses for a brief second, eyes pinched, teeth clamped together, the anticipation clearly etched across his face.

  But...nothing happens.

  I squeeze harder.

  Haven cants his head and a lock of his dark hair falls forward. There’s a derisive smile on his stupid handsome face.

  I can feel everyone watching me now for other reasons. Clearly they sense that I’m failing on every level, even though half of them have no idea what I did to Haven last night in the shower.

  “Ms. Hearthtender,” the professor says. “If this is your defensive move, I must say, it's woefully inadequate.”

  Haven practically cuts me with his mismatched eyes. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Probably what a loser I am. An embarrassment.

  What the hell do I think I’m doing anyway? I’m not going to win this competition.

  And Haven’s right—probably after the first trial, I’ll be stripped from everyone’s memories and banished to the mortal realm with nothing more than the clothing on my back and the burning realization that I lost.

  I drop Haven’s arm and run from the room.

  Chapter 12

  One good cry and a nap worthy of the realm of death later, I’m finally calmed down enough to go in search of some food. The lack of windows in Hades House makes it difficult to tell exactly what time of day it is, which is probably intentional as the Underworld runs on a totally different concept of time. For someone who grew up in Hestia’s light-filled sanctuary, the lack of sunlight or even the sight of the outdoors is only serving to deepen my anguish over my stay here.

  I peek out into the hall before I emerge from my bedroom to make sure I’m not about to be ambushed again by Haven and his fan club. My humiliation in class has shattered any vestiges of the control I felt after our fight in the shower.

  Heat flashes in my face again when I recall the way Haven looked at me standing there naked in front of him. What did he think of me? Surely he’s conquered many young women by now. Surely I don’t compare.

  Not that I fucking care.

  I have more important things to worry about. Like surviving in this gods forsaken place.

  When I get to the dining hall, I’m surprised to find that the earthy, utilitarian scen
ts of the food is actually somewhat appealing. Unlike Hestia’s where most of our food consisted of light and sweet things, Hades House seems to exist on meats and savory dishes they claim started out as fresh vegetables. I spoon a bowl of what’s supposed to be vegetable stew and then continue down the line, skipping the fifteen or so kinds of dead animal they seem to consume at every meal. I’m about to give up on the rest of the options when I find a big bowl of ripe and juicy pomegranate seeds.

  Thank you, Persephone.

  Tray full now, I turn to the room. There are easily twenty tables in the large dining hall, but there are only ten of us descendants so the place feels empty and I feel conspicuous standing up here.

  Some of the other descendants are sitting at the same table beneath the bank of wrought iron windows. Haven holds court at the head. The way the other descendants worship Haven makes no sense to me. It’s almost as though his disciples are too stupid to realize that he’s just as determined to beat them at this competition as he is me. Their sucking up to him now will do them no good as mortals. The thought cheers me slightly as I cross the hall and sit at one of the empty tables by the door just in case I need a quick escape.

  “You doing ok?” a voice says behind me.

  I almost hit Max when I jump out of my seat.

  “Whoa, whoa. Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  I look over at the other descendants. They seem not to have noticed, so I count my blessings.

  I sit back down and exhale. “Sorry, Max. I didn’t realize it was you.”

  “Are you ok?” he asks again.

  “How much time do you have?” I reply and motion for him to sit across from me. He glances around, almost nervously.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t typically eat out here. The staff have their own dining room off the kitchen.”

  “Oh. Well...is it against the rules?”

  He shrugs. “I don’t think so?”

  “Then sit.”

  With one more look over his shoulder, he finally relents and sits down across from me.

  I swirl my spoon through the stew. “Do you have less dead stuff to eat in the staff dining room? This is like all meat.”

  Max laughs and steals a few pomegranate seeds out of my bowl, popping them into his mouth. “No, we pretty much eat the same things. The dead stuff is kind of the whole theme of our cozy little home here.” He snorts lightly, which makes me laugh. “So...I heard that your initial evaluation with Monstrat earlier today was somewhat…difficult.”

  I groan. “That’s putting it kindly.” I lower my voice and lean over the table. “I was completely decimated by Haven’s power and then my own power decided to take a break just when I needed to demonstrate it.” I straighten again and poke at my stew. “How did you hear about it so quickly?”

  “It’s a small house, metaphorically speaking.” Max’s voice is sympathetic. “And the goings on with the descendants is always a welcome break from the monotony of underworld life.”

  “Brilliant.” I push my stew away. “Well then, everyone will be extra well-informed as I march steadily toward my destiny as a mortal.”

  Oh gods, please don’t let that be my Fate.

  “Evaluations aren’t everything.” Max takes my fork and digs into my stew. The familiarity of this simple action comforts me as it reminds me of being back home and sharing meals with my sisters. “You didn’t stay for the rest of the descendants to show off their skills. Many of them can’t do more than make a feather float in the air or boil a cup of hot water. Haven is a rare exception, as are all Knightfalls.”

  “Ely put on a pretty good show,” I say.

  “Ely is also an exception. Professor Monstrat is a demi-god as is his brother, Ely’s father.”

  I can’t hide my shock. “They are?!”

  Max bites into a potato. “Yup. Direct descendant of Hades.”

  “That gives Ely a huge advantage. He’s Hades’s grandson.”

  “I know.”

  Which, if I’m running with the whole theory that Hades is my godfather, then that would make Ely my…nephew. Egads. And I thought he was cute!

  It’s one thing to be attracted to a someone I vaguely share a bloodline with fourteen centuries removed, but a nephew?

  I’ve got more important things to focus on anyway. Certainly not flirtations and crushes.

  “So why is Haven favored to win?” I ask.

  Max brings the bowl to his mouth so he can scoop the remaining stew straight in. “You know, I might be wrong. Your food might be different. It’s seasoned better, I think.”

  “Max?”

  “What? Oh. Well. Ely’s dad fell out of favor with Hades. I don’t know what happened. Only that Ely’s dad was banished to the mortal realm. Ely could win over Haven, but I doubt he will.”

  I sit back, suddenly feeling even more defeated. “Great. Not only do I have to compete with Haven Knightfall who clearly hates me, but I also have to compete with Hades’s grandson? Who doesn’t seem to hate me...but still.”

  Just then, another descendant comes into the room. Theo, I think his name is. When Haven sees him, he shoves back his chair, crosses the room and pushes Theo back through the door.

  Poor guy.

  Does Haven harass everyone here? Maybe it isn’t just me.

  “Oh, don’t give up, Ana.” Max’s voice is firm, but kind. “There are many kinds of strength and it’s not always the strongest in power who succeeds but the strongest in will. Besides, Haven’s power is really only impressive until you realize what it’s made of.”

  I hold up a hand. “Wait—What did you say?”

  “Don’t give up. This is only the first step. You can still—”

  “No. What did you say about Haven’s power? What do you mean, what it’s made of?”

  Max glances around again, but the room has emptied. “Haven’s power is simply fear mongering with flair. The moment you remember what he’s doing and block out the fear, his illusions have no power.”

  The cave illusion had felt so real, like I’d been sent to another realm. But it was the laughter of the other descendants that had pulled me out.

  I had assumed that Haven had stopped the vision, but maybe not.

  Max fidgets with my napkin, twisting it and twirling it. “But you didn’t hear this from me, okay? We aren’t supposed to meddle with the descendants and their trials.”

  I nod seriously. “Of course. Though you can’t tell me that Nereus isn’t giving Haven some kind of advantage. And Monstrat for Ely, too, for that matter.”

  “Which is why I told you what I did.” Max smiles at me. “I said we aren’t supposed to. Not that we don’t.” He winks at me.

  When a deep ringing sound comes from the hall, Max stands and ushers me to do the same.

  “What is that?”

  “That’s the gathering bell.”

  I must look as confused as I feel because he clarifies, “It signals that the descendants are being called to congregate in Hades Hall. It’s time for the Gifting.”

  Chapter 13

  I find Hades Hall more easily than I’ve found any other destination, partly because Max gave me helpful directions and partly because it’s kind of hard to miss the ornate, three-stories-tall, carved wooden doors just beyond the main staircase.

  I reach for the round handle on the left-hand door, steeling myself to pull with all my might. But the door glides open as soon as my hand touches the metal. I step inside, hoping to take a seat in the back of the room, unnoticed, when a deep voice, laced with darkness fills the entire chamber.

  “We’re delighted you decided to grace us with your presence, Hearthtender.”

  I glance up to see Hades’s dark eyes, alight and glinting, staring down at me from what appears to be a throne made of wet black stone.

  Perfect.

  I mentally smack myself as my body does a weird half-curtsy, half-bow, all-wobble thing. “My apologies, my lord.”

  “Take a sea
t, Ms. Hearthtender,” Professor Monstrat says quietly from his place just behind and to the right of Hades. He marks something down on the notebook he’s holding. At Hades’s other side, Nereus Knightfall does everything but roll his eyes at me.

  I sit down in the farthest row from the dais and glance around the room as the attention of the other descendants slowly returns to the front. Haven’s hateful glare is the last to leave my face and I can’t help making a rude gesture at him just before he turns away. I swear I see the corner of his mouth twist up in an amused smile before it settles back into his usual grimace.

  “Let’s begin.” Hades voice fills the space again and my eyes strain, trying to adjust as the room dims, the torches on the wall beside Hades burning brighter with the blue flame of the Underworld.

  “Pearce Atos,” Professor Monstrat announces. “Your tests revealed your primary birth-gift to be extraordinary strength.”

  The red-haired boy who stood by while Haven taunted me in the bathroom stands shakily. He crosses the room and stops at the bottom of the three steps up to the dais.

  “Have you any other gifts to disclose that would rival this test?” Nereus asks.

  “No, sir.” Pearce stands his stocky body up a little straighter.

  Hades looks almost bored as he waves his hand and a boulder appears next to Pearce. It’s almost as tall as he is and at least three times as wide. I lean forward in my seat, peering around the descendants in front of me. All of us are quiet and waiting.

  “Lift it,” Hades says, gesturing at the boulder as though it’s no more than an apple.

  Pearce eyes the boulder in front of him warily, glancing between it and Lord Hades. His fear is visible. If he fails, what will Hades do? Crush him beneath the boulder? I don’t know what’s at stake here. I’ve never had to play court games. I’ve never had to prove myself to a god.

  But if Pearce fails, surely I will too.

  Pearce squares his shoulders and bends down, his hands sliding under the boulder. When he begins to lift the impossibly large rock, his face and neck turn almost as red as his hair. He manages to lift it only a few inches before he drops it back to the floor. It slams onto the tiles with a deafening crack.