Steriotypical Hades

Chapter 12 - Books and Bothersome Brothers

Mei grimaced and rolled over, slashing her sword towards the tail. With a crunch, the chimera's tail- the snake's head- was amputated. The monster roared, baring his fangs at the girl, and lunged again. Mei took in a shaky breath. "I need help," she told the dog, "could you do anything?"

(Technical difficulties)

The dog barked and bit down on the monster's foot, snarling as the chimera tried to shake it off. With a whine, the dog was slammed to the ground. This is not going to work, Mei thought. I need... something else.

She closed her eyes. Mei was sure that she would die here. A slow hissing sound surrounded her, gradually increasing in volume, until it was swirling and roaring like the wind. Mei frowned and opened her eyes.

Around her, there were many dark objects. They were shapeless, but she could hear slight whispers in another language. Are these... the ghosts of my relatives? she wondered. The dog barked at her, and even the monster turned around to look at the shadows. It seemed frightened.

They were surrounding her, circling her, as if waiting for something... "My instructions!" Mei realized. She looked at the shadows and said, "Surround the monster and confuse it. I'll go and open while it's distracted." The shadows seemed to understand her, as they circled around the chimera, forming into shapes of animals and humans. Mei watched as the goat and the lion heads tried to attack the shadows, to no avail. With all her might, she shoved against the door, and slipped away, the dog trailing behind.

"Come on, hurry!" she shouted to her partners, but they were nowhere to be seen. However, an angry chimera was. As it rushed towards her, Mei slammed the door shut. She looked around. There was a lot of books nearby, in fact, shelves and shelves stacked full with them, with no exit to be seen. Mei sighed. Well, I have nothing else to do, she thought, as she opened one, and started reading. This seat is also very comfortable, maybe I should take a rest.

***

Tens of thousands, or maybe more, books later, Mei heard a voice nearby. She could just barely pick up the words.. something about a Kronos, giants, and Gaea. Probably some jerk in the Greek Mythology aisle- she had read a few of the books there.

"Would you shut up? It's a library!" Mei yelled, quoting a line that she had learned from a book. Geez, English is hard, she thought, looking at a book aptly titled Proper Grammar and Pronunciation and Subjects, Verb, Nouns as well as Adjectives and Twenty-First Century Slang. It had taken her countless minutes to master that one. At the end, Mei got frustrated when she realized that the author couldn't even title a book properly.

After a couple (thousand) more books, something unceremoniously hit her on the head and landed on her knees.. "Idiot!" she yelled, looking down at ler lap. It was a golden apple.

"Wow, I must be lucky," she muttered, as she picked it up. She took a bite, and instead of feeling the texture of real gold, like the book Gold Tips for Gold Diggers or a crisp apple, like the book Fall Fruits and Harvests, she tasted latex paint.

She spit out the piece that she had bitten, and threw the apple back where it came from, hoping that it would hit the person or thing that disturbed her. I think I have had enough reading for today, she thought as she curled up and slept.

Someone shoved her, and she blinked groggily. It was a teenage boy, about her age, with dark hair and pale skin. It's strange that we look alike, Mei wondered, as she scowled and muttered, "What?"

"Hurry up," the boy muttered, "I have to take you somewhere." He wrapped his arm around Mei's waist, and she scowled at him. The boy closed his eyes, and before she knew it, she felt like she was flying, the world warping around her.

Mei blinked. She was in a dark palace, with buildings held up by arches and columns, Black, red, dark purple, and bronze were the main color scheme, with various jewels shining as decoration. "Although the architecture isn't my style, the color scheme is very well organized with a nice balance and range of colors. The stonework is a prime example of excellent craftsmanship, and-"

"Would you shut up already?" the boy muttered, glaring at Mei. She sighed, rolling her eyes and muttering something about youngsters and rudeness. He seems like he needs someone to take care of him or at least discipline him. "That's it, I'll do it!" Mei said excitedly, causing the boy to frown at her odd reply. "What's your name, child?" Mei asked.

"Nico di Angelo. And I'm not a child." He grimaced while Mei held her sleeve and wiped his face. "There's something on your face, Nico. Where are we going? Where are we, exactly?"

"My father told me to take you here. He said he needed to see you for something. We're in the Underworld."

The Underworld? Mei thought. Like the Mafia? Or, as in.. "Are we in hell?" Mei asked.

"Not exactly. There's good and bad here, rewards and punishments." Mei sighed. I feel like I read somewhere about this. She noticed that something was missing and looked around. "Hey, you forgot to take the dog with you," Mei muttered.

"You'll see it soon enough," Nico said, "there's more important matters at hand." They walked the last couple of steps to the palace. The doors swung open, and Mei gasped.

Inside, the building was adorned with even more extravagant riches, silver and gold, as if that was possible. In the center of the room sat two thrones, one made of skulls and bones, the other made out of gemstones carved into flowers. Nice design, they contrast each other. The flower throne was empty, but somebody was sitting on the bone throne.

He had the same pale skin and hair as dark as Mei's,except that his skin was even paler. Mei felt like there was an aura of terror around him, and frowned. Something caught her attention. There was people- no, faces, woven into his robes, appearing and disappearing every few seconds, and they looked like they were screaming. Seems like a pleasant person to be around, Mei thought sarcastically, before she blurted out, "Why am I here, of all places?"