Worlds Beyond: Shattered (ON HOLD)

Chapter Fourteen

It had been two days since we came down to the underworld. I felt weird at first, but eventually I started to feel oddly at home here.

I wasn't allowed to leave the castle, however, as Hades had informed us that I still had to rest and had to stay here, in case Python tried to take me back, or any of his minions. We still didn't know why Python was after me, at least, I didn't. Everyone seemed to always exchange wary looks when they spoke about me as if I wasn't even in the room and that irritated me a little. I wanted to know whatever was going on that clearly involved me. I wanted to know more about this world, about me, who my real parents were.

Hades had been thrilled when we told him about the bloodtest idea, like he couldn't wait to stab a needle in my arm. A bloodtest was needed to see if god blood really did course through my veins or not, because no matter how much reality slapped me across the face, I wouldn't believe it until I was given proper proof.

He told us his oldest daughter, Macaria, would come to the castle today to take some blood samples. She was apparently the best doctor in the underworld, also known as Healer. A Healer was a person that majored in healing and medicine, who could heal any wound in a second, cure any sickness. Not like immortals ever got sick, Cain informed me.

"Sex diseases? Cancer? Nah, that's all child's play for us. We're immune to any illness out there, lucky for you. Even hangovers are hard to come by. When we go clubbing again, you can drink the strongest shit they got there and you won't even feel a thing!" He had said last night during dinner.

That was one thing I still felt a little weird about. Having dinner with the gods of the Greek Underworld.

It was mostly silent meals, unless one of them began an argument, Hades and Cecil happily jumping into the let's-kill-everyone bandwagon, Cain trying to stab Cecil from the other side of the table with a fork, Cerberus whacking him upside the head whenever he tried to, and Persephone and I just sat there in silence, sighing warily as we tried to enjoy our meal to no avail.

Food was also definitely weird in the underworld. I'm sure Hades' chef, Taryn, did his best to make a fantastic meal for us, but I wasn't quite into slimy black tentacles that still squirmed on my plate every so often. Most of their food was black, oddly enough. Black lobsters, black olives, roasted coal potatoes, black meat dripped in a weird dark red sauce, with a side of pita bread and hummus, the most normal food on the table. There was something else that looked normal, but Hades had chided me when I tried to take a bite that first night.

"Better not eat that unless we know for sure you're a goddess, gremlin." He had told me. I remember being confused by his words.

"Why? Isn't this just cake?"

"It's for immortals, bunny," Cerberus had informed me as he sat opposite of me at the large table, snapping a black lobster in half so he could slurp its purple insides, continuing his explanation with a bit of lobster hanging from his lips, making us grimace in response, "More specifically, the food of the gods. It's called ambrosia and it maintains our godly immortality, but Gods know what could happen if a human mortal takes a bite outta that, or an immortal in your case. Give 'em more immortality? Snap them in half like a chicken wing over its powerful godly abilities? Can't know for sure and I don't know about ya, but I don't wanna see roasted bunny with a side of ambro."

"That sounds awfully tasty. Taryn, make some stuffed rabbit for tomorrow's dinner!" I still shuddered in revoltion at Hades' words of eating such sweet little animal.

Overall, dinner was just one weird meal with disgusting foods, a red velvet cake coated in cream, golden liquid dripping from its moist velvet center that begged me to take a bite of, and the occasional blubbering from the males at the table. Hades had asked Taryn to bring fruits for me that first night, as if sensing my distress over this... whatever this black food was. I had been hesitant when he held a pomegranate to me for obvious reasons, arching a brow at him,  but took it carefully as I eyed Hades suspiciously, making him roll his eyes and go back to bothering Cain about any random thing he could find.