Hidden Lycan. (COMPLETE)

Chapter Forty Eight

"This place is still creepy." I mumbled as I followed my father through the underworld. We had long since passed through the place where we entered. Apparently that was just one part of the underworld. Hades was taking me to where he stayed, deeper within the underworld. I wasn't sure I wanted to go deeper, but the deeper we went the less wondering souls we passed. Thank God. 

"You'll get used to it." my father chuckled. "It's not that bad. Some say I was cursed to rule over the underworld and that I was resentful to Zeus for giving me power over it. In reality I asked to rule here. Here in the underworld, Zeus has no say. None of the other gods do. This is entirely my own kingdom, free from the other gods. After Zeus, Poseidon and I defeated the Titans my brothers became hungry for power. Wanting more than we had earned. So I separated myself from them. I have enough power, I didn't need anymore." 

I looked over to Hades in shock. Mythology told us Hades was the one who was power hungry. That he had resented Zeus for casting him into the underworld so Hades tried to rise against Zeus and take his kingdom. Was it really the other way around? Was Zeus really the power hungry one? It wouldn't surprise me. After the titans were defeated he appointed himself the leader. The ruler of all other gods even though his brothers were just as powerful as he was. 

"It makes sense." I said, as I processed my thoughts. "If you listen to mythology Zeus is pigheaded and thinks his power is above everyone else's. He appointed himself as leader of the other gods even though yours and Poseidon have just as much power as he does." Hades looked over at me unbelievingly. "What?" I shrugged. "It's true." 

"Maybe so." Hades said as he regarded me. "I've just never heard anyone say it out loud." I smiled widely up at him. His silver grey eyes were shining down at me. He actually looked happy, and proud at the words I said. I beamed, glad I was the cause. I liked making people happy. "Well now you have." I said in a sing song voice. "Yes, now I have." he chuckled shaking his head. "We're here." He said tilting his head ahead of him. 

I turned to where he pointed and gasped. Before me stood what looked like a medieval castle. It looked ancient but oddly well kept. Towering walls of grey stone were covered in ivy. Towers, reached high into the cloudless sky. A stone archway led to an old oak door that held an old gold knocker in the shape of what I assumed was a demons head. Despite the age of the castle it looked strong. There were no signs of decay or chipping in the stone. "Wow." I breathed. "It's amazing." I said following Hades up to the old oak door. 

He smiled. "It's home. I'll show you to your room and we can start your training after you've eaten something." I just nodded at him as I followed him inside. It was surprisingly modern. Marble floors stretched throughout the building. Antique Victorian era furniture adorned the open space. Portraits lines the midnight colored walls, and a large crystal chandelier hung from the high ceilings. I stayed quiet as I followed him wide eyed up the stairs and through the winding halls to a room with dark oak double doors. 

"This was meant to be your room before....Well it was supposed to be yours." He said opening the door. My jaw dropped. The room was massive. The floors were a beautiful black marble. A four poster mahogany canopy bed sat in the middle of the room, the red lining pulled away from the bed and tied in a perfect bow to each post. The duvet was a scarlet red that matched the canopy, the pillows were black. The walls were a cream color making the room look brighter among the dark of the floor and bed. A fire place and a sitting area saw in a corner of the room with a door not far away. Back behind the bed were double glass doors I assumed led to a balcony. It was amazing.

"Thank you." I said turning and hugging him tightly. I hadn't noticed I did it until afterwards and Hades stiffened being caught off guard. He did eventually relax and wrap his arms around me, awkwardly patting my back. "You're welcome. Let's go eat now that you've seen your room. I will also have one of the maids assigned to you until you know your way around so you don't get lost." 

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great because I was actually trying to figure out how I was supposed to navigate this place, it's massive." Hades laughed, leading me out of the room, closing the door tightly behind me. It didn't take us long to get to the dining room to find food waiting on us. It was small, just sandwiches and soup. We didn't need anything too heavy before training. 

"I need you to remember time runs differently here than it does in your realm." Hades reminded me as we ate. "What passes as thirty minutes here is equivalent to about twelve hours there. So for you, you'll only be here a day or two. But for them, you'll be gone much longer. One hour here is one day for them. So you staying here twenty four hours means you'll be gone from them twenty four days." 

"That..that's a lot." I murmured. "How can I do that to them? They will go out of their mind, what if something happens to them while I'm gone?" I ranted. I was worried, no I was terrified. What would happen with me being gone so long? What would they do? What would happen to them? 

"We'll just start with a few hours then." Hades said smiling. "Four hours. That will give them four days to cool off and think about things. How does that sound?"  I scrunched my nose up. Four days is still a long time, but he had a point. I was not in much of a hurry to go back right now. I would know if something was wrong, I'd feel it through the bond and right now they were still just angry and worried. "Fine." I nodded. "Four hours." 

*******

The first hour passed in a blur. Calling the shadows to me was easy, they came to me with no effort at all. Sometimes they even listened without too much concentration. But damn if it wasn't hard controlling them. It was like they had their own intentions and were dead set on getting it done. Hades said I was doing well for my first practice, but I felt like I was failing. I had only got them to listen a few times. I was thankful we still had three hours left, maybe I would get better control. 

"You've done really well." Hades praised after the second hour passed. "You've gained more control over the shadows than I expected you to. For this last hour I want you to try and call the darkness to you. The darkness is different from the shadows. It will look and feel different. I need you to feel for that power within you." 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt the shadows within me. They felt like a soothing, warm presence within my core. But right beside them was something else, something darker. Where the shadows were warm, the darkness was cold. I called to it, willing it outside of me. I felt it instantly. My body chilled, my core temperature plummeting along with it. It wasn't uncomfortable, and as soon as it spread I could no longer feel the cold. 

I opened my eyes to see my body covered in what looked to be smoke. So the smoke was the darkness, I noted mentally. The darkness swirled around my me, seemingly pouring out of my pores as it covered me. Looking over to Hades I noticed his eyes were wide as he stared at me. "What?" I asked then gasped at my voice. That wasn't my voice not completely. Something was added to it, something more powerful than even my lycan. I felt my body and the earth beneath me quiver with just that one simple word. 

Hades waved his hand, a small hand held mirror appearing in his hand. I furrowed my brow as he passed it to me, but took it and looked at myself. What happened to me? My skin turned white, my silver eyes were now a bright and unearthly sapphire blue and my lips such a deep red it looked as if they were stained with blood. "What happened to me?" I whispered, scared to speak louder. 

"It seems the power the darkness gives you also changes you. When a god calls on their power their appearance changes and their godly form takes shape. Each god is different. It seems this is your godly form." Hades said lowly as he circled me. The darkness pulsed against me under his scrutiny. "You're amazing Fallon." He said facing me. 

Amazing, ya lets go with that. Right now I was scared. I could feel the power the darkness gave me and it was both scary and intoxicating. Unlike the shadows the darkness was more than willing to bend to my will. An idea formed in my mind. I lifted my hand out in front of me swirling my finger gently in the air. The darkness jumped willingly to my hand forming the small tornado I had in mind. I dropped my hand and smiled. 

I wanted to conjure something like Hades does. The darkness sparked with excitement as I waved mt hand in front of me picturing a small but comfortable chair. Just something small to start of with. The darkness swirled away from me, billowing into a cloud in front of me before seeping back to me to reveal a elaborate silver chair with red velvet seat and back. Well, not exactly what I had in mind but it works. 

"You've done well." Hades complimented looking at the chair with an awed expression. "It seems the darkness is more willing to do your bidding than the shadows. That means next time we will have to work more with the shadows than with your darkness." 

I closed my eyes willing the darkness back inside me. I felt it pull back into me slowly, the cold coming back briefly before leaving me warm again. When I opened my eyes I looked at my skin. I was back to normal. "I guess it's time to head back?" I asked. Sadness crossed his eyes before he nodded. "I'm afraid so. You've already been here a little longer than we planned." 

Hades opened one of his portals, doors, whatever he uses to go back and forth and motioned me inside. I looked around me at his home, what was meant to be my home and sighed. I have only been here a few hours and I was going to miss this place. "You can come back whenever you like." He assured me. I smiled at him sadly, giving him a brief but tight hug and stepped through the doorway. I don't know what await me when I got back, but I was nervous to find out.