First Lie || Deception Book I ||

Shadow and Time Pt. 1

"Clarianna," Hades said as he watched me the way a panther would a deer from his throne of fused human bones. "Why are you here?"

I stood up and met his intense eyes. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Me? You've come all the way here just to tell me this?" Hades questioned, his black silk robes shifting, shadowy faces appearing, as he sat forward.

I nodded. "All of us have been played. This entire thing is a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Hades asked, his eyes brightening. "How so?"

"Kro-The Crooked One has played us all. Percy was not the one to have stolen the bolt, nor your helm. It was someone else, who had both the assistance of him and an Olympian."

Hades stood up and walked towards me. As he did, he shrunk from a ten-foot-tall god into a normal man, excluding the silk robes, braided gold crown, and the dark aura. "You're saying that Percy did not steal my helm. But all evidence points otherwise."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Not you too!" I groaned. "I've had enough of Zeus' ramblings about Percy being the thief, I don't need them from you as well!"

Hades raised an eyebrow. "We'll see. As we are speaking, Percy and his accomplices are entering the Underworld. Since the solstice, I have been musing over the details of the theft, and have concluded that no servant of Kronos could have managed to steal it without the assistance of a god, and no children of Zeus would dare help. Percy was the thief on the solstice and the only reason he has managed to evade Zeus for this long is because of his father's protection. The only reason I took his mother is that I know that his weakness is her, and I intend to use every weapon at my disposal to get my helm back."

"So you're saying that you were the one to send the hellhounds and the Minotaur? And the hellhounds again at the camp?"

Hades glanced at me. "What?"

"Were you or were you not the one to have sent the monsters?"

"I sent Alecto. I sent the Minotaur. I sent the hellhounds but you know I recalled them when you stayed behind to ensure that Percy made it. I did not send the hellhounds to attack you, Ally, and Percy during capture the flag." Hades looked indignant. "Clari, you should know that I wouldn't do that to you."

I nodded. "I know. But I just don't understand who else could have. Even if it was the servant of Kronos how would that person be able to summon hellhounds though? Aren't hellhounds, even from the Fields of Punishment, under your jurisdiction?"

"They are," Hades snarled. "He would have had to have explicit permission from Kronos himself or another god. Perhaps a minor one . . . maybe Melinoe or Nemesis." He shook his head. "I do not have time to ponder this. I need my helm back from Percy first."

I sighed. "I can't believe this. Hades, how many times do I have to repeat myself? Percy was not the thief!"

"Do not push me about this, Clarianna," Hades warned.

I crossed my arms. "Fine. I see that you will not see reason, just like Zeus, until your helm is returned. Very well. Just don't kill first, ask questions later. I will get your helm back, I swear it. Then you'll see that I was right from the start."

Hades smiled faintly. "Very well, Clari. You have my permission to do whatever it takes to get my helm back. While I cannot give any guarantees that Percy will leave the Underworld alive, I assure you that I will not strike him dead the second he enters the room."

Just then, the faint sound of the alarm from the Gates reached my ears.

"It seems that they are here," Hades commented. "Go. Remember though, that you must remain out of sight."

I nodded and leaped onto Avalanche. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Go, Ava," I murmured to her, and clung on tight as my wolf bounded out of the safety of Hades' palace for the second time today, back towards the gates. I needed to reach Percy before he crossed the Fields of Asphodel, and for him to take off the shoes. I was too weak, too drained from my endeavour last night, to send a message, so I would have to do it in person.

"Faster," I urged Avalanche as the Asphodel Fields came into sight. I cursed the size of the Underworld silently. Why was it so fucking big? Just crossing the distance between the palace to the edge of the fields took over five minutes by wolf. The palace to the river was over an hour.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Avalanche slowed and stopped at the edge of the fields. I lept off and patted her. "Wait here." My wolf didn't reply, exhausted from her dash, and plopped on the ground.

I scrambled up a poplar tree, trying to spot them in the mass. Since they were alive, they should stick out like a sore thumb. I waited anxiously, time ticking by faster and faster as the deadline approached.

Finally, I spotted them. It was not something I wanted to see. Percy and Annabeth were chasing after Grover, who was skidding down the hill towards me at an alarming speed. I breathed a sigh of relief to see that Percy wasn't wearing the shoes, and then panicked as I realized that Grover was. I flipped my mask on and jumped down from the tree, just in time to see Grover barrel past me. I hissed in frustration and sprinted after him, keeping to the shadows and shadow-walking to keep him in sight.

"Grover! Grab onto something!" I yelled, my voice distorted by the mask.

"Wh-who are you?" he yelled back but scrabbled at the smooth ground in vain. Suddenly, he veered right. Towards the cavern.

I shadow-walked away, abandoning the pursuit, and emerged at the edge of the cavern in the tunnel. Ignoring the whispers of evil in the air, I plunged into the dregs of my power, readying to cast a net of darkness towards Grover, who I could hear sliding down the tunnel.

It wasn't enough. I was still too drained to even send a message, much less cast a shield. If Percy and Annabeth couldn't stop him through physical contact, he would fall into Tartarus. There was nothing I could do. If I helped directly, I risked my identity. Grover was important, but not as important as the war and the backlash if Kronos found out that I was a spy.

Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good, I reminded myself.

No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. I gritted my teeth. I could not allow Grover to fall.

Rocks skittered past me, where I stood in the shadows, as Grover emerged into the cavern and tumbled towards the edge.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled.

"But that's-"

"I know! But Grover's going to fall in if we don't catch him."

"No," I interrupted. "Stay back."

"Who are you?" Percy yelled as he saw me in the shadows, still sprinting towards Grover, who was getting dangerously to the edge.

"You were the first one to bring a smile to Lord Hades' face other than Persephone for over a thousand years, Clari. I couldn't simply just stand there and watch you burn yourself out just to avoid a war between the Olympians over a misunderstanding."

Thanatos' words reached me, the kernel of godly power he'd given me coursing through my veins, and I saw my mother, standing in a whirlwind of white mist, magic and power, flickering at her fingertips. Distantly, I heard her say, "You're my daughter, Clarinna Sinclair. The mist and the magic are your birthright."

I met Percy's panicked gaze. "Who am I? I'm the first shadow-walker child of Hecate since the beginning of time. I'm the heir of magic and the mist. And, I'm your safety net and your spy."

Time stopped. 

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