𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐄𝐍𝐃! percy jackson ²

Prologue

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prologue.
( titan's curse )
❝ no light! ❞

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     Look, I didn't want to die.

      It had been a sporadic choice, really. I thought: you know what would piss Luke and Kronos off even more? Dying. I didn't think I'd be waiting at the dining table of Hades and Persephone with a dead chef serving me lunch (can I even eat if I'm dead?) while waiting for the Lord of the Dead himself.

      According to Thanatos, he's been looking for me for a while now. I don't know how. I was dead. I died. Wouldn't I go straight to D.O.A? Thank god I didn't, though, because that would've been an interesting reunion with Charon. I didn't want him to think I was sneaking into the Underworld again. I don't know how that would end up.

      There was a fire burning in the hearth—a cold fire of blue and purple—but I didn't feel it. All I felt was the cold, and I shivered. I was still dressed in my summer clothes I was wearing when I died—torn and scorched, but still there, and it didn't give me any warmth. I pulled my legs closer to my chest, setting my chin on them to try and make myself feel better. But it wasn't working. I was just cold.

      The chef set a plate of cookies on the table, and even I could manage to eat a cookie. Even while dead, he gave me a sympathetic look, as if he understood how I was feeling. I hated that. I looked away, instead focusing on the flickering flames of the hearth. Maybe I could...?

      The idea made me sit up. My legs fell to the ground, my feet hitting the stone pavement in an echoed thump. Determined, I held my hand out. I smiled at the thought of finally being warmth once again, only for the smile to disappear when nothing happened.

      I tried again, trying to focus on my body temperature and the feeling of the light within in my veins, but I felt cold ... all I felt was cold ... like grey ashes after the fire's burned out.

     "There's no use in trying, Claire Moore."

      I didn't jump. I don't think I can now that I am dead. I glanced over my shoulder and narrowed my eyes at Hades. "What is it with gods and dramatic entrances?"

      He shrugged, but didn't say anything. The last time I saw Hades was last year, where he had kidnapped Percy's mother. I wanted to be angry at him—and I was—for it, but it was hard when I also know that he was tricked, just like we were. Hades took a seat at the far end of the table, staring me down with cold and empty black eyes.

      "You made it very hard for me to find you," he finally said.

     I pursed my lips, "I don't know how," I said truthfully. "I just ... I died, and then I woke up in this black room—"

     "It wasn't a room," he stated. "You were in the Transition between life and death. You've been in that transition for three months. That doesn't happen."

      I blanched. "Three months?!"

      "Well, I'm not too sure on Mortal time, I spend too much time down here. But Thanatos tells me you died mid-Summer and now it's December."

      I felt light-headed. "Oh," was all I could manage to say.

      "That doesn't happen, Claire Moore," Hades narrowed his eyes. "You've given me a lot of paperwork."

      "That's so terrible."

      Noticing the sarcasm, the endless pits that were Hades's eyes flared in anger. "Don't test me, Claire Moore, you have put me in a very bad mood."

      "I'm already dead," I muttered, leaning back in the cold chair. "What are you going to do to me?"

      "I don't think you understand me, Claire Moore," Hades spat. "You're not fully dead. You're still in Transition. I don't know how, but Thanatos and the Fates tell me so, so it is true."

       I frowned. I don't understand anything he is saying. "I don't get it ... I died..."

       "Yes, you did. But you didn't."

      "That doesn't clear anything up."

      Hades let out a sigh of exasperation and stood up. He began pacing. "Well, think of it like this: You died, but the Fates refused to cut your string, so now, you're in a transition between death and life. You're not dead, but you're not completely alive. You understand now?"

      I thought about it. It seemed plausible. The Fates cut the string of life when someone died, if they didn't cut mine but I still died, it would make sense that I was stuck in this Transition that Hades names. "Kind of ..." I scratched my head. "But, what does that mean? Why not cut my string?"

      "Beats me," said the Lord of the Underworld. "The Fates do what they want. My guess is that your destiny is yet to be finished. They told me you must consult the Oracle upon your return."

      "Upon my return?"

     "Yes, to Camp Half-Blood, did I not already state that?"

      My heart jumped. I stood up, not quite believing what he just said. "I can go back?"

      Hades rolled his eyes, "Do I have to repeat myself? You're going back to the land of the living." When he noticed the big grin on my face, he held a hand out. "But, you must understand this, Claire Moore, there are rules. You are under my domain, and there is no light in my domain. No longer can you control the light. You no longer hold that in your veins. All there is is darkness and the chaos of the dead, understand that, and understand that wisely, Child of Apollo. You are no longer light, you are the night."

      If it was even possible, I felt even colder. "Wait ..." I frowned. "That ... that means I'm no longer the Light's Kin. I can no longer heal people, no longer forge light?"

      Hades shook his head. There was amusement glittering in the abyss that was his eyes, and I wanted to strangle him for it. He ... he couldn't have—he couldn't have taken that away from me! That was who I was!

      "You have no need for it anymore," he stated. "You lived with it only to sacrifice yourself on the Princess Andromeda. That's it. Done. Powers gone," he snapped his fingers, and the fire blazing at the hearth disappeared.

       I wanted to cry, but not in front of Hades. Instead, I clenched my fists, feeling my nails digging into my skin. "But now," I realised, "instead of being my father's pawn, I'm yours."

      "Might as well create a positive for me out of all of this."

      "That's unfair!"

       "Death isn't fair!" shouted Hades, and the walls echoed. I shook; Hades suddenly looked a lot scarier than he had before. "You're life is under my control, so here are my rules: If you go against my orders, if you fail whatever quest is pointed towards you, or if you die, again, you're back here, completely dead. No second chances. You understand me?"

       I stayed silent, but I did glare at the God of the Underworld. My anger wasn't hot—it was ice cold.

       A cold smile made its way onto Hades's thin, pale face. "Great."

*

      Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood 😉

Also low-key hate this chapter but oh well

What do you guys think? What are you predicting? Hoo it's gonna me a wild ride