Endangered

by Dani Hoots

  Well… maybe. I liked to think so but reality was that he was the god of gods, the “big man.” Who knew, really, maybe she would win if she had practiced with her powers some more. They were sporadic and untrained now. With some control, she’d be one hell of a fighter. Problem was they were dangerous too so Hades probably didn’t want her practicing much around him. Mostly in fear that she would destroy everything around them.

  Poseidon was there as well, scowling at Chrys as she walked ahead of me. I wondered how much pain she had caused him. Melinoe said she was killing him and bringing him back to life again and again. I couldn’t only imagine what that had to feel like. Did it have any lasting damage, particularly psychological damage? That kind of quick alternating between a state of life and death had have the ability to drive anyone insane.

  Though he deserved it. He tried to kidnap her, the daughter of Hades. Did he really think she wasn’t going to put up a fight? Not to mention she was his niece, god I needed to stop thinking about their overcomplicated family tree. It was sick, like deep south sick.

  There was no trace of Melinoe or Pothos. I hoped that they were okay, as they had been defeated by Athena. I doubted she would have completely destroyed them, but as to where they went I had no clue. I hoped one day I could thank them for trying to help us. They really didn’t need to.

  As we went down the stairs, I noticed there was another person on the side of the stage. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I saw a man, bent down on his knees, breathing heavily. He looked weak, tired, unable to fight anymore.

  Hades had been defeated.

  “Father!” I hurried to his side. Burn marks covered his clothes. He looked up at me, sadness still filling his eyes. He placed a hand on my shoulder.

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. We will figure out a way out of this, okay?”

  I could feel tears wanting to fall out of my eyes but I wouldn’t let them. I would stay strong. I was the daughter of Hades, I could do anything. I wouldn’t let anyone defeat me without a fight. Not even Zeus.

  I helped Father up and he glared at Zeus, shaking his head. “You are not taking away my daughter. You don’t have the right—”

  “I don’t?” Zeus snapped. “As if someone like you could have any understanding of what it’s like to make sure there’s peace and order throughout the universe. No, you only deal with death, with the souls of people who have lived in my world. You have no idea what it is like to have to watch over so many lives, so many parts of nature.”

  Father snarled, “it is because of you two that I was sent there! It was because neither of you wanted the world that I live in, a world that is dark, a world that had made me bitter. So many years I loathed being there, so many years I pleaded with you to let me have domain of another place. Then I met Persephone, a goddess you promised me and what did you do? You let her leave. You let her mother persuade you into granting her leave of me even though you promised her to me. Now I have a daughter, a daughter I adore, my one and only flower. I will not let you take her away from me like you took everything else from me!”

  Now, I had seen Father angry, but this was beyond just simple anger. This was resentment, a result of pent up anger festering for thousands of years. I knew my father never wanted the Underworld, that he had been tricked into having it, but what he said about Mother was a surprise. He blamed Zeus for her being unfaithful. That was why he never grew angry at her, because he never saw it as being her fault. I wondered what she was like when they first met, if she did love him and what life could have been like if she could never leave the Underworld. Would she have still snuck men in and out? Father probably didn’t think so.

  And it explained why he cared so much about me, never letting me out of his domain. He had suffered so much and he thought I was his only reward in such a bleak world. I never realized that he felt that I was the only thing he had.

  “Such a sad, pathetic story, brother. You feel that your fate is unjust, fine. But don’t blame me for your misfortune, for having an unfaithful wife. But you know as well as I do that your daughter will only bring destruction on the worlds that we have fought so hard to protect, or do you not remember? When we fought against the titans together, against our father? The power inside of her could be one that would make that war seem easy if she wanted to fight.”

  “But I don’t want to fight!” I exclaimed. I didn’t understand why that was so hard to get through his thick skull. “I just want to live my life in the Underworld! Why can’t you see that? Why can’t you acknowledge the fact that not everyone wants your spot in Olympus? That some of us just want to live our lives?”

  Zeus shook his head. “Is that so? Then how do you explain attacking Poseidon?”

  “He attacked us!” I shouted. “He tried to drag me into the ocean itself. If I didn’t do anything, he would have kidnapped me!”

  Hades shot Poseidon a look, growling, “is that true?”

  Poseidon didn’t say a word as my father glared at him. If he was stronger, Father probably would have punched him. Before either of them said anything, Zeus went on. “Even so, you killed him and brought him back to life again and again. That is not something I can look away from. That kind of power is too great for any one god.”

  “I don’t want this power,” I said. Honestly, I didn’t. It had brought me so much pain and chaos. “But it was given to me by fate. Can’t you see that? How can you kill me because of fate? Because of something in the universe declaring that I be born? You say my birth shouldn’t have been possible, that my father shouldn’t have been able to conceive a child. Don’t you think it’s a miracle that I was born, that my fate isn’t one for you to decide, but the universe itself? How can you claim to be the god of order and nature when you don’t let nature run its course? That anyone you find threatening you destroy before it becomes too powerful? You aren’t following order or nature, you are just making sure that nothing can hurt you.”

  Zeus stepped towards me, his face inches from mine. Father tried to protest but Poseidon grabbed him. My father was still too weak to fight back. But I stood tall. There was no way I was backing down now.

  “Do you know what it was like to watch your brothers and sisters be swallowed up by the titan that was my father?” Zeus whispered. “What it was like to have to grow up, hidden from him, increasing my strength so that I would one day be able to defeat them and save my siblings. With help I was able to defeat Cronus and make him regurgitate my family, including your father. Then we went on a long war against all the titans, of which we barely won. So pardon me if I am a little wary of beings who could potentially destroy everything I fought so hard to protect.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. He did have a point, how hard he had worked to get the world to where it was now, he had every right to worry, but I also had the right to stand up for myself and prove that I wasn’t a threat, that I was just a girl who wanted to survive and to return home. I wasn’t part of some prophecy, I was just a girl whose fate was still unknown.

  “But didn’t your father do the same as you did? Destroying Uranus and then becoming paranoid that the world he had created would be overruled by his offspring? Getting rid of them just as you are threatening to get rid of me?” I asked. I knew I had a point and I had to stick to it. It was my only chance. I knew everyone hated it when you compared them to their parents, just like when someone said I looked like Persephone.

  Zeus let a small smile creep onto his lips. “Touché. But I still have to do something with you, I can’t just let you walk freely.”

  I shook my head. “Well I’m not going to die, not without a fight.”

  Looking me up and down, he studied me. He was probably looking for some kind of weakness, and I wouldn’t allow him the satisfaction. I stood tall, not back down from this fight. His eyes finally stopped scanning me and held my gaze. “I suppose you aren’t. Well then, there’s only one thing we can do then.”

  “Oh,” I asked. “And what’s that?”


  “For me to take you as my wife.”

  My heart practically felt as if it were going to jump out of my chest. There was no way in hell I would let her be with Zeus. Marriage? Seriously? What was with these gods. Either death or marriage. What was this, the medieval ages? For immortals, this whole marriage thing to make deals or polish things over felt like an out-of-place custom, especially since mortals themselves have moved past it. Why are they still fixated on it? Not to mention, wasn’t Zeus technically her grandfather and uncle and had a kid with her mom? I tried not to think about it, as it was all so headache-inducing to think any further. As Chrys had pointed out earlier, family was a very loose term when it came to the gods. The more I thought about it, the more it made me sick.

  Hades started shaking his head, apparently as horrified at the proposal as I was. At least someone still had a brain left. Too bad it was only the God of Death. “No. No. No! I won’t allow it! You can’t have her. I would never let her marry the likes of you!”

  Zeus turned to Hades. “Pick, brother. Would you rather her reside in Tartarus for an eternity or would you rather her reside with me in Olympus?”

  Hades looked like it was a hard decision to make. And it was, because both were shitty choices. Why couldn’t there ever be a good choice in life? “I don’t— ” He looked at Chrys with such kind eyes. If only she would open his heart and see how much Hades cared about her. Or he did see and simply didn’t care. Probably the latter. “I don’t want to lose my daughter either way. You know that taking her away from me is just as painful. I need her at my side, I can’t go on without my daughter.”

  “Then you should have taken better watch of her.”

  Such a dick. All the gods were dicks, and demigods. And humans, if we were honest. Why couldn’t people just be kind to one another. No, they had to be stubborn, had to have their way. I wished people would care for once about how their action affected others.

  Hades shook his head. “No, you know this is wrong. You have had countless women over the years, I have only had one. And have been blessed with a daughter that is my treasure. And you already have a wife! What about Hera? Is she not your wife in Olympus?”

  Zeus let out a sigh. “You know how it is with wives, over so many years they start becoming distant and not as interested. I’m sure you know what I mean, how the little things can strain a marriage.”

  Wow, low blow. Hades didn’t say a word but I could tell he was pissed at what Zeus had said. Hell, I would have punched him for that comment. After the problems Persephone had caused, the one thing that had kept him going had been his daughter, and now Zeus was trying to take away that as well. Not to mention Zeus slept with almost everyone. He wouldn’t be faithful to Chrys and she would end up in the same kind of relationship as her father was in. Except this one never had love in it to begin with.

  “I accept,” Chrys whispered. Time felt as if it had stopped, as the theater had become silent. Hades and I just stared at Chrys, dumbfounded by her decision. I couldn’t believe that she would agree, after everything that had happened. Was she stupid? Did she even stop to think about the stomach-wrenching things he would probably do to her? I doubt he would care about her feelings, that was apparent based on his arrogant demonstration. She needed someone who would listen, someone who would do anything for her, not a selfish blowhard like Zeus.

  Someone like me.

  Hades started shaking his head. “No, no you can’t. I won’t allow it.”

  “She has made up her mind, accept it.” Zeus stepped forward, appearing as if he was about to kiss her when Chrys held up her hand.

  “With a few conditions,” she said. Good girl.

  Zeus shook his head, not believing that she would do such a thing. “You aren’t in a position to ask for conditions.”

  “They aren’t large and won’t cause you any trouble. So hear them, will you?” Chrys was getting stronger, bolder, I could see it. She knew she had to stand her ground to survive at this point.

  “Fine. What are they?”

  “First, I will stay with my Father until the wedding, which will be on the next autumn equinox. Second, I will only stay with you from autumn equinox to spring equinox. Three months of the year, just as my mother does for my father. The rest of the time I am in the Underworld. Lastly, you give Huntley immortality and eternal youth just as you did A.J.”

  Zeus rubbed the scruff on his face, thinking about this proposal. I wanted to protest, that she should add the bit about me, but Zeus went on. “Three months, eh?”

  “Why, do you have a problem with that set up? You didn’t seem to when you made it for my father.”

  “Fine. But I can’t give your human immortality. He has eaten food in the Underworld, tying him to the place for all over eternity. I can grant him eternal youth, though, and he must die of another cause instead of growing old.”

  I shook my head. “Wait, I never wanted—“

  “Then it’s agreed,” Chrys interrupted.

  Zeus grabbed her and kissed her hard, giving Hades a look of triumph as he did so. I thought Hades had been furious before the proposal, now I could see the fire burn in his eyes. I could see how much hate he had for his brother, for the man who had taken his daughter away from him.

  And I felt exactly the same.

  I couldn’t imagine this monster having his hands on my Chrys, on the girl I had grown to love with all my heart. She didn’t deserve this, she didn’t deserve any of this. And then to try to get me not to return to the Underworld, I didn’t understand. I didn’t want that, I didn’t like it on Earth. I just wanted to be in the Underworld with her.

  But there was nothing I could say at this point. She had made up her mind. I had to go along with it, at least for now.

  Zeus backed away from Chrys, finally, smiling in triumph. “Well then, in ten months time we shall wed. Hades, you can take her back home and get her ready.”

  Hades didn’t say another word as Poseidon let him go. He walked over to Chrys. “Come on, let’s go.”

  I could see the upset in her eyes as he didn’t try to comfort her, simply was disappointed in everything that had happened. She knew, that due to her own error, all of this had transpired. She had to accept that.

  But I wouldn’t.

  I stood out on the patio, staring out at the souls that showered down into Tartarus. I would have been one of those people if it hadn’t been for Zeus proposing, giving me a way to cheat death, at least for a while. Who knew, maybe I would end up hating him so much I would just kill myself. No, I wouldn’t do that to my father, not after everything that had transpired.

  I wished that there had been another way out of this, that I could have been stronger to defeat him. Maybe if I hadn’t had to fight Poseidon before he showed up, I would have been alright. Maybe I did have enough power to fight him.

  Who was I kidding? I wished that I had never disobeyed my father.

  I hadn’t seen Father for the past couple of days since we got back to the Underworld. I presumed he told Persephone what had happened. I had heard them fighting every night since we came back. They had never fought this much before. Perhaps Father blamed Mother for leaving out the rings, or how she was being such an uncaring mother, causing me to run. Either way, I knew I couldn’t blame her. This was my doing and mine alone.

  The worse part of it all? There was no one to come knocking on my door, bringing me some pomegranate seeds, turning up the music for me. No one to hold me as I wept though the night. There was no more Huntley.

  I looked down at the friendship bracelet, the one thing I would never get rid of, the one thing I had to remind me of him. I had left him on Earth, making Zeus give him eternal youth. I knew, even though it would have been just for a little bit of time, that he would try and stop me from marrying Zeus if he was in the Underworld. If Zeus somehow found out, he would have Huntley chained up somewhere immediately. I couldn’t let that happen, I couldn’t let him be in harm’s way more than he already
had been.

  I wished that I could have properly said goodbye, to tell him that I would miss him, that although we had only known each other for a short time, that I had loved him and cared for him with every fiber of my being. He had become a large part of my life, and I wanted anything other than to have to let him go. It hurt, almost as much as my father’s disappointment in me. And the fact A.J. had betrayed me so easily. If I ever see that two-faced bastard’s face again…

  I heard the door open behind me. I turned to find my father standing there. He still had that far-off gaze, but at least he had finally come to see me. I had wanted to talk to him for so long, I could barely sleep, even if I needed to.

  “Father…” I began.

  “Chrys. What are you doing out here?” he asked. He still didn’t appear to want to talk. It felt like a blade had stabbed me in the chest.

  I glanced out at Tartarus. There were so many going down there lately. Why had I never noticed that before since returning? “I’m just thinking about everything.”