My head was pounding when I opened my eyes. The world around me felt so dark. It all must have been a dream. I started to remember my date, and Hades . . . it couldn’t have been real. There was no possible way.
When I sat up, I quickly realized I wasn’t in my dorm. I had no idea where I was. As I sat on the bed, I looked around the room, trying to figure out clues.
I got up, and started to walk towards the door, and walked into the hallway. It was well lit unlike the room I was in. The area around me looked like a rather large house. My mouth hung open as I stared all around me in awe.
“Hello?” I asked out loud, hoping someone could hear me.
No one answered me back. I picked a direction and went with it. Large paintings hung on the never-ending long hall. Maybe I wasn’t in a house, maybe I was in a museum. That would have made sense.
But why would I wake up in a museum?
“Hello?” I called out again, a little louder than normal. I heard footsteps echoing. I turned to the direction of the sound, and saw Hades at the end of the hall. “Hello?”
“Steffi? What are you doing out of bed? Are you feeling better?” he said, walking up to me. When he approached me, he placed his hand on my forehead, but I waved his hand away.
“I’m okay, really. Where am I?” I asked.
“My home.”
“This is your home?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He rubbed his neck. “Yes, I didn’t know where else to take you, so I thought til you were better, I would bring you here. Was that alright?”
“Yeah, but H, what happened?”
“You passed out.”
I shook my head. “No, H, what happened before that? Was I dreaming? Am I still dreaming?”
“No, you’re not dreaming. And a shapeshifter was about to make you his meal. He was a child of Echidna. He zeroed in on you, and was trying to get you alone. By the way, why were you alone?”
“Well, he was my date. I was on the double date with Debbie, but she asked if it was okay not to drop me off at home-“
“Oh, I see,” H cut me off. “No, no, that wasn’t her.”
“What do you mean?”
“That shapeshifter more than likely made her say that so that he could have his chance. They are sneaky bastards, really. You have to be careful. It really wasn’t your friend, it was that monster.”
I put a hand on my head. “So . . . Debbie didn’t really want to abandon me?”
“I can’t speak for this Debbie, but that sounds like it may have been the case.”
“She must feel bad.”
Hades shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe, but she will be okay. Come, did you want to see the house?” He held out his hand for me, and started to take me down the hall. We even walked passed the room that I was in. It seemed to never end, this damn hallway.
“So, where is here?”
“What do you mean?”
I tried to think of how to explain that. “Well, I’m new to town, so I don’t know the area. But where are we actually? What part of town is this?”
He didn’t say anything, and when I looked up, I could tell he was a bit nervous. “It’s . . . a bit out of town. Don’t worry, I will personally take you back home.”
“Oh . . . okay,” I smiled, trying not to act on the nervous butterflies that attacked all sides of my belly. I saw the back of his neck, the way that his black hair did that little flip thing at the end. I wondered if anyone ever noticed it before.
“Do you want to sit in my office? I have lots of work to do, but I wouldn’t mind company.”
“Sure, I would love to,” I said, almost skipping there. When I looked up, I saw him grinning at me, as if I said something right for the first time in my life. Maybe I wasn’t as big of a dork that I thought I was.
When we got to the office, it really matched well with the rest of the house. It was large, and in the center, it had a matching large oak desk with papers acting like a blanket for it. I sat in the chair in front, and Hades took his seat from behind.
“Are you thirsty? I have imported water,” he said, taking out a bottle of water behind his desk.
“Oh, thank you,” I said grabbing it. “Do you have anything to eat? I’m sorry for asking.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be sorry,” he laughed. “I’ll see if I have something in the kitchen later, before I send you home.”
“That’s a lot of paper,” I told him, eyeing all work.
“Yes, and truth be told, it’s giving me a headache,” he said, getting up from the chair, coming around to in front of me. He lead against his desk, and folded his arms. “You, my dear, are far more interesting.”
I gulped. I couldn’t feel myself move. “I am?”
“It’s crazy. You’ve been running through my head these last few days, and I can’t seem to get you out. Is that . . . normal? Or is that . . .weird?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I never felt this way before,” he said staring into space. “You are a basket case in a way. I’ve never had anyone hook me in like you have.”
“Me?” I asked, my cheeks feeling hot.
“Yes, it’s odd.”
I looked to my feet. “Well, H, if it makes you feel any better, it’s been hard to stop thinking about you too.”
I couldn’t get myself to look up to him for the longest time. Fear settled in on me, having me tell myself he was pranking me, that he was making fun of me, and that I just made a huge mistake in telling him the truth.
“Do you mean that?” he asked.
That’s when I got the nerves to look up, seeing his bright eyes staring into mine. Something about the way he looked at me, it was a way I never seen anyone look at me before.
“I mean, you were really interesting to talk to. And I really enjoyed going to the bookshop with me. Trust me, after this date I had, I don’t think I can handle another one.”
That gave him a good laugh. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t go on dates anymore. They all maybe shapeshifter monsters.”
“Is that true?” I asked.
He thought about it. “Well . . . I was joking, but it may not be far from the truth.”
I couldn’t help myself to smile at him. I started to think about last night, causing me to lose the happiness on my face. He seemed to notice. “Hades . . . how did you know where I was?”
His face dropped. “I was . . .around.”
“Hades,” I said, almost like a challenge. “I saw this . . . sword from you. And he turned to dust. I’m sorry, but . . . can you please tell me the truth. H?”
He sighed. “I was . . . following you. I was told by someone you were in danger, and of course they were right. I was just lucky I had come back from my meeting. When I saw that shapeshifter and you in his grip, I just . . . I had to save you. And trust me, that’s something I don’t do.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s . . . well, I’m not sure-“
“Hades,” I said cutting him off, putting the bottle of water on his desk, and looking at him. I folded my arms. “Where am I?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
I felt my stomach drop, the way he had said that. I tried to act like it didn’t make me melt in a puddle of goo.
“Well, try me.”
He sighed, putting both hands in his pockets. “I took you back home . . . I took you to the Underworld.”
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