Death and Shadows

Ch.9 Nightmares and Goodbyes

~Lia's POV~

None of us were anxious to travel that night, so we decided to wait until morning. Somehow the others convinced Nico and me to take Geryon's room for the night. I think they just wanted Nico to have a good night's sleep after what happened with Bianca's summoning. I only agreed because I wanted to be with Nico in case something happened during the night.

Geryon's room was very big to say the least. It had an abnormally large bed, probably because of his three bodies. A simple dresser and closet was in the back with curtains covering the two windows on each side of the room. Besides the large bed and the gun and sword display above it, the room looked pretty normal.

Once Nico and I got comfortable in the bed, I tried to talk to Nico about what happened with him and his sister, but he declared he was tired and soon fell asleep. I could only guess how Nico was feeling, but I knew he needed to vent out his thoughts before he let it all out in a vulnerable moment. He did need time to process what happened though, so I just let him be for the moment and fell asleep myself.

I dreamed I was watching an open field covered in different kinds of flowers. The sky was a clear blue with not a cloud in the sky. There weren't any signs of civilization anywhere. I saw a beautiful woman with grass green eyes and hair as black as a raven's stroll through the flowers, looking like she was in complete peace. She wore a simple white tunic with no shoes and was carrying a bundle of black cloth in her arms. She looked down at the bundle with a smile, and I could hear a delighted giggle come from the bundle. I realized it was actually a baby swaddled in the cloth.

A large booming sound drifted into the area. The woman looked to where the sound was coming from, and her face had turned into a glower. A figure came forward from the distance and approached the woman. He had striking golden eyes, black curly hair, and a long pointy beard. He was dressed in a brown chiton and carried the largest scythe I had ever seen. It was made of all different kind of metals that blended together to make it look even more threatening. He exuded power and strength. He towered over the woman by a good foot or two, but the woman didn't look scared at all. She looked more worried than anything.

"Rhea," the man said, his voice cold and powerful, "is this my new son?"

The woman nodded and gripped the baby tighter in her arms. "Yes, Kronos. This is your son, Hades."

I realized I was dreaming about the early days of the universe when Kronos was king. Annabeth had mentioned Kronos before, but I didn't recognize the name until now.

Rhea turned the baby to face his father. He had hair like his father, but his eyes were black unlike both his parents. The baby had a glow around himself which showed the power he had even as a baby.

At first, Kronos looked joyful, but then his face quickly turned stony. "Let me hold him."

Rhea clutched Hades closer to her chest. "No. You will not eat another one of our children."

Kronos's eyebrows narrowed in anger. "As his father, it is my right to be able to hold him. You would not deny me that, would you, wife?"

Rhea looked conflicted, but she very reluctantly held out Hades to Kronos. Suddenly, I was the baby looking up at Kronos. He looked so content and didn't look like a scary Titan at all. Suddenly, his mouth opened unnaturally wide, and his eyes glared down at me with pure hatred. I tried to scream in protest, but nothing came out as he shoved me down his throat, falling down into the blackness of his body.

Gasping, I shot up in bed with wide eyes. My chest heaved with heavy breaths as I tried to calm myself down from my dream. The dark of the room reminded me of the emptiness of Kronos's insides which did not help me calm down.