Lords of the Underworld [malexmale]

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

"She's still screaming, Hades. She's screaming about you. I think it's about time you go down there yourself and do something about it."

I rolled my eyes, pinched the bridge of my nose and sank down in my seat. That was the last thing I needed to hear right now. I just wanted to stay inside, stew in my own misery. Sometimes I wondered why I even bothered to talk to Persephone. We were friends for an hour, but then she jumped all over me for things that everyone else was bitching at me for. Then it made me wonder, if Persephone ever had the chance, would she commit suicide to get away from me too?

"Persephone?" I asked, interrupting her spiel about my responsibilities as lord of the underworld, as if she knew what those responsibilities entailed. She paused to frown at me.

"What?" She asked. I drummed my fingers on my desk, pretending to be interested in the desk itself rather than my question.

"If you had the chance, would you kill yourself to escape me?" I asked. Persephone stared at me for the longest time. I waited for her to go on yet another spiel about how heartless I was to ask such a question.

"No," Persephone said after a moment, making me frown and narrow my eyes at her as I heard the slight waver in her voice before she shrugged, "What's the point of doing that? I'd rupture the balance and just be sent to the underworld anyway." I rolled my eyes. Of course she would avoid answering it seriously.

"Honey, does this have anything to do with the prostitute?" She asked after a long while.

"What prostitute?" I asked dryly, looking down at the desk again, raking a fingernail down the side, creating a crevice in the wood. Persephone chewed at her bottom lip worriedly, tilting her head so her pretty strawberry blonde hair fell over one shoulder.

"It is about the prostitute. What happened?"

"Nothing, Persephone. I don't really want to talk about it. Can we talk about you and your problems?" I asked, annoyed. Persephone studied me for a while longer in silence before nodding grimly.

"Might as well. I have some bad news for you."

"Oh, joy."

"Zeus wants a United Pantheon meeting. He's managed to summon one, but you're going in his stead."

"Why should I?"

"We both know why." Persephone answered quietly. I said nothing to that. I didn't want to go. Anything, but another useless meeting where the gods bickered and went for each other's throats about things that hardly mattered. Oh sure, I had no doubt that the meeting was scheduled to discuss the Titans. Zeus would do anything, even schedule a meeting with the UP, just to make sure there was no threat to his position as king of the Greek pantheon. And even though the Titan situation was handled, there was still panic and hysteria amongst the gods and other pantheons.

"Fine," I said at last, irritated, "Listen, I have to go." Persephone pouted, then shrugged and nodded, making a kiss noise before we hung up. I left my office shortly after the call, fed up with talking to gods. I was halfway down the hallway when Niki had found me and was smiling. He'd stopped stuttering and scrambling to get away from me, but it didn't surprise me. It was in his nature to be praised by his master and get fucking thrilled about it.

"What master do today?" He asked me as we made our way down the hallway. I avoided glancing at that black door, a sliver of guilt slicing past my defenses and destroying my mood further.

"United Pantheon meeting," I answered without quite thinking about it, making Niki's eyes widen slightly, "It's nothing to get worked up about, so don't spazz. I'll be gone for a few hours and when I get back, I expect a bath to be waiting for me and something to eat." I'd lost over ten pounds the past couple days without realizing it until I'd accidentally knocked one of the tarps off Persephone's mirrors in the the bathroom and found myself able to count my ribs. I wasn't skeletal like Charon had been after Kyros passed, but rather just smaller. I hated it.