Chapter 1

Hades

The melody of the tune I played on the piano drowned out the screams of the souls as they suffered for their sins, but their screams didn't bother me because I only heard them when I wished. Suddenly the doors to the hall flung open and hit the walls. "Don't break my doors, Hermes," I said as I stopped playing. I didn't need to look up to know who it was. 

"It's that time again, is it not?" He said, fury written on his face and voice, and I sensed a hint of... concern? Or was it worry? For me? Yeah right. 

"Well, it's good to see you too," I said with a sly smile. "I don't understand the reason behind your anger, but I guess it's none of my business." I morphed into a new set of clothes. 

"None of your business? NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS?!! My fury is all of your business, Hades," Hermes said. "Last time, you didn't stick to the protocol. You broke the rules and took more than was appointed to you," he said. 

"That's only happened because five Underworlders found their mates. I could not deny them," I said and snapped my fingers; a tea table with cookies appeared with two chairs. 

"Do you want some tea?'' I said calmly as I poured tea. ''I need something stronger than tea," he said as he crashed into the chair.

"It's too bad all Olympians are lightweight and can not handle the spirits of the underworld," I said with a smile as I sat down. 

"I didn't come merely for this, Hades, and you know it," he said, frowning. 

"What do you expect me to do if more Underworlders find their mate? Do you expect me to deny them their right to happiness?" I asked, now with a frown of my own. 'Was he listening to himself?' I thought. "That's not what I meant." He said

"Do you know how difficult it is to rule here and not get sucked into the dark abyss along with the souls of the damned? And that's not counting the pain of not having a mate for several thousand years," I said." I feel myself fading," I confessed. "This time, I intend to take as many as I want." 

"Hades, you wouldn't dare," he said. 

"Oh yes, I would."  

"You would disrupt the balance of the world for personal feelings?" He asked angrily as he stood up and banged his fist on the table. 

"You would do the same thing in my shoes, Hermes. Don't talk to me about personal feelings or disruptions of balance." I roared. 

"Don't forget who you speak to, Orcus," he said in a low voice 

"Don't call me that," he sighed. 

"All I'm saying is that you try to factor in the consequences of such actions. I also lost my mate once, so I know how you feel," he said. 

"You know what? I think you've overstayed your welcome." I said as I got up. "Cerberus, show him the door," I said. 

The one thing human stories were right about was my three-headed bloodhound Cerberus. His actual size was large enough to fit into a standard Greek gladiator's arena. Around me, he was a big puppy, but around Olympians, or as we call them, Lights, he was a ferocious, bloodthirsty hound. Cerberus growled from his corner in the hall, then roared mightily. 

"You know he hates lights," I said. 

"All I'm saying is not all of us are destined to have mates. The earlier you accept that, the better for you," he said, then vanished, leaving behind a large white feather, just like all lights. 

"Come on, Cerberus, it's almost time anyway," I said

Then I opened the portal to my chambers. I changed my clothes to the modern-day suit and tie and returned to the hall. 

"What do you think, Cerberus? Nice, right?" I said, and he growled, and just then, the large clock on the hall chimed, signaling that it was time.

"And just in time, too," I said as Cerberus stretched, then got up from his corner in the hall and moved to stand by my side. 

"Shift to another side, Cerberus. I don't think humans would be so accepting of a huge three-headed bloodhound", I said as I opened another void portal to Earth. 

We stepped through and ended up in a park. It was around midnight. Thunder in the sky flashed angrily. 

"Oh, chill out, brother, it's not my first time on earth, but for some reason, you sound angrier," I said with a sly smile, then moved on, my way with Cerberus by my side. He had shrunk considerably to the size of an almost average dog. He was still much bigger but smaller compared to his average size. We wandered around the town for a few minutes. I knew I was supposed to go straight to the sacrificial pole, as the humans call it, but what's the fun? Besides, the Prince of Darkness doesn't follow the rules. We kept walking around the town. To humans, I looked like a man taking a dog on a walk. But to the few Underworlders that saw me, they knew exactly what I was, who I was, and what I was doing. I was hunting for the most worthy woman to rule with me, but the ones I saw were not worthy. Let's go back to the park. It was Cerberus, and he growled in agreement. 

On our way back to the park where the sacrificial pole stood, I felt this sudden power surge. I stopped in my tracks. I have never felt such power on Earth, and with it came this alluring feeling. It felt dangerous yet sweet and comforting all at once. I heard Cerberus purr at my feet like a big cat, which was surprising because he never purrs, not even when I pet him, at least not since he lost his mate in a war against the lights over ten thousand centuries ago. 

"You feel it too, don't you?" I asked, but he purred again. "Let's find it," I said, searching by following the surge. I was surprised that the power was coming from the most petite and adorable woman ever. She was in a thin nightdress covered in dirt. She had a luscious mane of beautiful black hair that covered her face. She had a bruise on her arm and made cute noises with her nose as she slept.

I felt like I was in a trance and had not seen her face. She whimpered and shivered a bit, and I was moved. Then I inched closer to her slowly as though moving too fast would make her disappear. I gently brushed the hair from her face and then gasped in shock. Her breathtaking face was covered in bruises. There was a fresh palm mark on her cheek and an angry black and purple mark on her visible eye. Her face was scrunched up a bit in pain.

"Who did this to you?" I whispered. Cerberus also whined in despair for his soon-to-be mistress, then growled. He wanted revenge for her, and so did I. But I wanted her safe first. I lifted her into my arms and was about to open the portal back home when Cerberus suddenly raised his head and started sniffing. He turned around and disappeared. ''Oh, come on'' I thought out loud. He returned a few minutes later in his human form, carrying another lady. 

"You're right; as a matter of act, I'm not," I said with a large grin. I opened another void portal which took us home.

"You know this could cause war, right?" I said with a smile as I also carried my lady bridal style. 

"I don't think you, my lord, is bothered by the thought of a bloodbath," he said with a smirk.