Queen Of Hell & Paradise (Immortal gods: Book 1)

Chapter 5- You Need to Go Back Pt.1

Samantha

My eyes travel up the length of the palace gates.

 I try to admire them in all their enormous glory, but it's impossible to see because clouds litter the top, hiding them from view. The sight of the tall, heavy steel gives me the sensation I'm falling to my death, even though my feet are firmly placed on the ground. I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the dizziness.

Shifting my gaze to both sides of the entrance, I find two monstrous statues of soldiers standing guard. They're made of white limestone, and look like something straight out of my school's history textbook-- or a museum. They're so huge, their pinky fingers look bigger than me!

They're dressed in armor that reminds me of a movie Brad Pitt starred in. I can't remember the name-- but they wore funny helmets, and their sandals were kinda cute too. 

The ancient-looking soldiers in front of me, though, are a lot more daunting. They're holding spears that intersect in the middle, preventing intruders from coming in. The warriors, along with the other guards positioned throughout the entire realm, make Hades' home a fortress.

Beside me, he raises his right hand in front of the gates. Instantly, the crossed weapons move from their position in front of the doors to sit at the side of each soldier. 

My heart nearly jumps out its ribcage when they open their eyes. They blink several times before they look down, spotting their king. As soon as they see him, they kneel down in respect.

"Greetings, my lord," they say in unison, heads bowed and arms fisted to their chests. The ground beneath me shakes at their movement, sending me a few feet up the air and making dust drift all around me, causing me to sneeze after I land on my butt. 

"Are you alright?" Hades asks, calm, as he walks over to me and stretches out a hand.

"I'm fine," I say, pushing him away in irritation. He could have warned me!

He snaps his head towards the statues, and to my horror, they turn their giant heads in my direction, settling their eyes of stone on me. I feel my legs weaken at the sight of their stares, and I unconsciously find myself inching towards Hades. I think I even reach for his hand. 

"Forgive us, benevolent Ruler of the Underworld," they say, never taking their eyes off me. I feel my own eyes bug out their sockets when I realize they're talking to me. 

"Hades," I ask, my voice surprisingly even, "why won't they stop looking at me?"

He looks up from our joined hands to meet my eyes. 

"They are waiting for your instructions." 

I crinkle my brows in confusion. 

"Do they treat all the dead like this?" 

He furrows his own brows in confusion until he realizes what I meant.

"Samantha, you are not dead. You are very much alive."

I want to ask why I'm here, then, but the sculptures are still inclined in my direction, waiting for their command. I wipe my unusually sweaty palms on my dress. 

Ugh, gross. 

I raise my right hand the way I saw Hades do it.

"At ease!" I order, remembering the phrase from a movie I saw. Immediately, the warriors stand to their full height and resume their positions at the entrance. I smile proudly to myself, who knew watching Princess Diaries  would come in handy?

As soon as we enter, the gates close and the sharp sound of metal touching metal resounds behind us. Hades turns and begins to walk up the steps to his palace, not checking to see if I'm following him.