I followed the sign to the River Styx, the fires burning in the pits littering the ground. I could feel tortured pleas for help yet I had to turn a blind eye to them. Those who were in the Underworld had lived lives equal of bad and good and so those who were slightly better than the others lived in Elysium Fields where the dead drank and sang all day but never got to fully be at peace.
The pits of tartarus were the hell of The Underworld and a horrid place to be, I myself had been in there to observe and supervise the juniors. I suppose having Death observe how you torture someone make people more malicious. Tartarus was strictly used only for supernatural creatures and not for human souls, they couldn't take the damage and instead were shipped off to Hell.
I arrived at a clear pouring river that had ripples of orange and red like the sunset reflecting in the shimmering water. A large willow tree hung over the river.
"Hello handsome." A seductive voice purred.
"Styx." I said back evenly as a woman dressed in a chiffon of sunset orange and fiery red appeared. Her eyes were teasing and her smile was warm but I was not one to be tricked for this was the goddess of solemn oaths.
"Death? What are you-" She started, surprise blatantly shown in how she stumbled back.
"I have business to deal with." I walked Towards her until she got pinned against the wall.
"What the hell do you want." She snapped.
Styx and I never had a great relationship, she was loyal to the core for Zeus and when Zeus gave her the river in the Underworld as a reward for helping in the Titan War, she idolized Hades more and with me being the most wanted being in the Underworld, I wasn't exactly her favorite.
Styx was also one of the most powerful beings in the underworld, gods would swear upon her river for vows and promises that can never break. Those who feigned a promise would be forced to drink from the river and lose their voices for nine years and then banished or exiled.
"A girl, about eleven or twelve." I could feel her breath hot on my face, the scent of Pomegranates prominent.
"And why should I help you?" Her ember eyes piercing into my own gray ones but I was not intimidated.
"I know about Achilles." At the name of the invincible mortal, she froze. Her lips trembling as she licked them nervously.
"I don't know who that is." She tried to duck under my grip but I slammed my palm into the willow tree.
"You know exactly who I'm talking about." I growled as she wilted under my gaze.
"So what if I do? What proof do you have?" She said, haughty. Arrogance radiating off her, she was certain that despite my knowledge, I did not have any evidence to prove my words.
"Perhaps I may not have any proof but I know of where he lives and I can certainly pay him a visit." The effect of my words on Styx was astonishing, her eyes glowed a bright orange as her hair flamed, her soft voice replaced by one of a thunderous storm.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM." She bellowed.
"Who's gonna stop me? You're going to need help to defeat Death and if you tell anyone of your 'arrangement' with Achilles, well...your beloved hero will soon be turned into ashes." I taunted.
I knew of Styx's and Achilles precious affair. In exchange for his almost immortality, he had to be bound to Styx and despite Styx proclaiming that every deal shall be sworn upon her name, she did not swear this deal on her river and smuggled Achilles away to live an immortal life. She then spread false rumors of how he had died when Paris shot him in his vulnerable heel, the only part which was exposed to him dying.
I had suspected that Styx had a thing for her mortal, sneaking him in and out of the Underworld to see him, nothing can sneak past my nose without my knowledge after all, Achilles's death was one of the most important and as I did not reap his soul, I knew of his living.
"I-I..." She then realized that she had been beaten. I had always admired Styx to be intelligent but I see her now no more than a pathetic fly, did she really think that she could cheat Death?
"Fine. What do you want to know?" She faded back into her goddess self and relented into giving me information in exchange for letting Achilles live.
"She's in the House of Hades..." She searched my face for a reaction but I spared her none.
"Who took her?" I kept my voice steady.
"You should know Death, after all, he has been watching you for quite a long time now. Who else would allow you to come here without his knowledge?" She shot me an inquisitive look.
I already knew the answer even though I didn't want it to be true. He has been watching me. He knows me well enough to monitor my tracks. He has allowed me to trespass upon his territory without locking me out.
He is my brother, Hades.
