Death God Alliance

Chapter 10

Hades met Poseidon on the banks of the River Acheron. The sea god had come alone. That was surprising, given the old enmity between the Big Three sons of Kronos. Then again, ever since Hades and Poseidon had showed up to save the day at Olympus, all of the Olympian Gods had been getting along much better. Now Poseidon was meeting him in his own realm, without so much as a single guard to make sure Hades didn't have him chained in Tartarus. If they weren't careful, they'd soon be wearing tights and carrying rapiers and translating "All for one, and one for all" into Greek to use as their motto.

It was a scary thought. Hades decided that when the current situation was over, he was going to send something nasty to bother Zeus' youngest demigod daughter. Maybe a pack of hell hounds. Of course, that would have to wait. He had more pressing matters to attend right now, and might actually need Zeus' aid. There would be time for stirring up havoc later.

"Hades," Poseidon greeted his brother with a deep nod that was almost a bow, showing proper respect for the master of the underworld while in his domain.

"Poseidon." Hades returned the gesture. "I thank you for coming."

Poseidon looked behind Hades, like he was searching for something specific, something that he didn't find. "No contingent of horrors to intimidate my guards?" he asked, a teasing note in his voice.

"No guards for my contingent of horrors to intimidate?" returned Hades. Then he paused, realizing that he was engaging in almost friendly banter with his brother and felt disgusted with himself.

"I didn't believe that your invitation held any ill intents," Poseidon told him, "and as such came alone."

"I would thank you for your trust, if I didn't think it was a sure sign of stupidity on your part," growled Hades. "You should take nothing for granted in my realm, brother, not even your own safety from me."

"I don't think you're too anxious to have the underworld flooded," remarked Poseidon with a benevolent air. "At least not as anxious as you are to discuss whatever you called me here today to discuss. I might be mistaken, but in your message you sounded worried."

"I'm the god of death! I do not worry!"

Poseidon raised his hands. "Then I was mistaken. But what did you want to talk about, brother? In all the millennium we've ruled our domains, I have never before gotten so much as a birthday card from you before. Now, all of a sudden, you send me an Iris message and request a face to face meeting, and at the very least, you showed signs of urgency."

Hades scowled, but gave Poseidon a straight answer. "The House of Life has kidnapped my son."

One of Poseidon's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Your demigod son?"

"How many sons do I have that aren't demigods?" demanded Hades. He grimaced. "Yes, my demigod son. My only living son. His name is Nico, you might remember, since he is good friends with your precious progeny, and since his very existence was cause for so much concern seventy years ago."

Poseidon nodded. "Nico di Angelo. If I remember correctly, he had a sister –"

"Deceased," said Hades in a clipped voice.

Poseidon said nothing. He just waited for Hades to continue.

"Of all the gods, I have the least children," Hades said through clenched teeth, since this was something of a sorepoint for him. "No godly children, or monsters like you and the rest of my beloved siblings. Only humans have enough life to bear my children, and more than nine times out of ten they're dead before they're even born. Those who survive . . . I feel a certain responsibility for."