Hearts of Greek Fire - A Hades/Meg Love Story

Chapter 11 - How Many Heads Does It Take to Kill a Hydra?

"Are we clear on the plan?" Hades asked, steepling his fingers.

I sighed and crossed my arms. "Pain & Panic will disguise themselves as kids, pretend to be trapped under a rock, and I'm to play the worried citizen."

His lips slid into a villainous grin. "Bingo. Pain! Panic!"

They appeared in a swirl of red and blue and saluted Hades.

"Put on your best innocent tike faces. We gotta sell this if it's going to work." Hades' eyes narrowed into slits.

They transformed into a skinny blonde-haired boy and a portly brown-haired one. A lump formed in my throat. They disappeared, off to play their part.

Hades floated closer to me, dragging the back of his knuckles over my cheek. When we'd first made this deal, his touch might've made me cringe, but now all it did was send shivers down my spine.

"Lure him there and then hide in the cave walls. Understand?"

I frowned. "Why? What are you going to do, Hades?"

He rested his hand on my shoulder, the look in his gaze bordering on concern. "Just do it. Capiche?"

"Yeah. Alright, fine." I stared up at him as if I could telepathically convince him to stop it all.

He patted my shoulder. "Good girl. See you in a bit."

He snapped his fingers, and I appeared in the middle of town. I wrapped my arms around myself, already feeling slimy for what I was about to do. Taking a deep breath, I cinched my brow and ran into the bustling crowds.

"Help! Someone, please help! There's been a terrible accident!" I frantically grabbed one patron's robes, followed by another.

It disturbed me how many people ignored me or straight up shoved me away. What if this really had been an accident? That the two boys trapped under the rock weren't demons? Humanity was losing its way.

"Meg?" Hercules' voice rang out.

I clapped a hand over my chest. "Oh, Wonder Boy. Thank Zeus. Please come quick. There are two boys trapped under a rock in the gorge. We have to hurry."

He gave a curt nod. "Lead the way."

I turned my back on him, pinching my eyes shut. Hades could throw anything at him, but I feared if Hercules could stop it.

As soon as we reached the gorge, Pain, and Panic, in children's voices, wailed from the crack in the rock, claiming they couldn't breathe.

Overkill, much?

Hercules ran over, slipped his hands under the rock, and after a few grunts, lifted the boulder that was a hundred times his size, and held it above his head.

Clearly, I underestimated exactly how strong he was.

"Jeepers, mister. You're really strong," Pain said as the two of them scrambled out.

"Just be careful next time, kids."

"Oh, we will," Panic chirped before the two of them ran off.

As Hercules hurled the boulder to the other side of the gorge, I remembered Hades' warning. Clutching the top part of my dress, I backed away and climbed into the cave walls, leaving Herc alone.

Hades sat on a nearby rock, leaning casually, waiting to watch the show. Pain and Panic arrived, turning into their normal demonic selves.

"Jeepers, mister?" Panic said to Pain through a lisp.