Children of The Underworld

Chapter 1 Night

Bianca's POV
Dark. It was all I could see as I came to. I couldn't quite figure out if it was my surroundings or my eyes not properly working, but whatever the reason it felt...off. The place had a strong stench of death, not painful or tragic, just death. Something inside of me told me that I wasn't in danger, not immediately. As I tried to get to my feet, flashes of a junk yard and a giant automated robot ran through my head. Everything clicked. I was dead. Or I was supposed to be dead, the real question being if I was dead. I didn't feel dead, in fact I felt more alive than when I...started the quest to look for Artemis. Nico! God, I left my little brother alone...without a second thought too, how could I ever call myself Nico's sister after what I've done. As I got to my feet I felt something...or someone, it's close, too close for comfort. I'm not sure if I can beat a monster one on one, but I don't have a choice, I have to get back to Nico. I spin around quickly drawing my bow and notching an arrow, looking for anything that might try and kill me...nothing so far.

"Little girl, why so hostile? I bear nothing but peace." A whispery voice said in my ear. A jolt of electricity ran through my body, the voice felt old, and more importantly, powerful. Looking around looking for whoever just spoke to me .

"Who are you, a monster? I don't take kindly to those I can't see." This time a different voice answered, a melodic sound echoed around me as the person spoke.

"Forgive my mother, young one, she hasn't been in the presence of a mortal in centuries. It seems you've found your way into a den of snakes."

"Do not scare the girl Hecate, she is the one we've been waiting for. A chance for change...and recognition". A third voice responded, but filled with patients and sorrow.

"My my, what do we have here, a demigod? How have you found your way here? You're very far away from any place safe." A voice echoed out, one filled with power and bitterness.

"Leave the poor girl alone, it's clear that she has no idea what's going on. Someone be the bigger god and explain to her who we are, useless all of you I swear." A fifth voice spoke. There's so many...who are these people, and what kind of name is "Hecate." The voices seemed to blur out as I began to think of ways I could escape, or at the very least get answers. As I slowly tune into the conversation, it's clear that the voices have been arguing back and forth for a while until two men suddenly appeared in front of me. I jump back and aim the arrow at the head of the taller man who seemed to be...asleep?

"It seems my fellow councilwoman has forgotten that we have a guest, so if all of you could please reveal yourselves instead of messing around, we have serious matters to discuss. Greetings Bianca di Angelo, we've been waiting quite a while to finally meet you." The shorter man said with the voice of an angel. Slowly five women stepped out of the shadows, each wildly different from the next but each commanding a presence of power and respect.
Ladies please come forward and introduce yourselves, you are not common folk. I know you have the decency to greet a guest, especially a daughter of Hades." With a snap of his fingers, the room suddenly was filled with a soft yellow light. We...I guess I was standing in what appeared to be a large gothic Victorian council room, considering I have no clue who these people are. The room was well decorated, with small details here and there that pulled the room together, like a grandfather clock with an obsidian pendulum or the black curtain drapes embroidered with silver threat, giving the room a sense of importance. Nine throne-like seats stood in the middle of the room, the middle throne stood out though. Elevated slightly by a few stairs and slightly more extravagant than the rest; in the center stood five women, none of them looking like each other than an...older woman and a taller, more imposing woman who seemed to lead the rest but whose face I couldn't quite see clearly. The two men who had previously been in front of me, moved aside to give room to the leading woman as took a step towards me.

"I am Hecate, goddess of magic, crossroads, witchcraft, sorcery, ghosts and necromancy. I apologize for myself and the others for our first impression." Everything about the woman seemed to be perfect, her skin a flawless olive, her hair was long and luxurious, seeming to reflect the night sky itself. Everything about her was perfect ...everything but her face. It was blurred. Like her face was constantly changing; either way, she raised her arm in a motion to introduce the older woman next to her.

"This is my mother, Nyx, the primordial of night." The older woman who appeared to be in her late forties, or early fifties, Nyx gently raised her head and in the same whispery voice as before greeted me.

"Hello child, it's good to finally meet you. You have a very interesting future ahead of you. Fear not though, you won't be alone if you follow the path we have set for you." Nyx cackled.

"That's for later mother, we shouldn't overwhelm the girl immediately." Hecate responded with a sigh of exasperation.

"Anyways, these two are Styx, goddess of the Styx river of the Underworld." The goddess points to a woman whose skin is the color of honey and whose hair reaches her lower back, and seems to gently sway in the non existent wind.

"And this is Melineo, goddess of ghosts, nightmares, and funerary rights." The woman appeared to be a translucent blue and looks like she hasn't slept in years, which is accurate since she's the goddess of nightmares, I wonder if she gets nightmares... The ghost thing would also explain her appearance. Hecate continued to introduce Nemesis, the grumpy looking goddess of balance, revenge, and retribution. She was dressed in silver Ancient Greek armor and carrying a black sword.

"And finally these two are the twins Thanatos, god of death and Hypnos, god of sleep and dream." As Hecate gestured to the two male gods who appeared in front of me earlier.

"We are known as the Order of Night, unfortunately some of our members are unable to attend this meeting, but we are a group of gods who are quite frankly done with how the Olympians have been ruling. We don't wish to overthrow them, fates know that would cause more harm than good, but we want to see change in how the gods rule and parent. It's in our interest to look after those who the Olympians ignore and have wronged. War is brewing Bianca di Angelo, daughter of Hades and that's why we need you." I stare at Hecate blankly. Quite frankly, I have no idea about what she's talking about. War? Olympians? Me? Why me, I'm new to all of this. I technically didn't even make it through one who quest, why would a group of gods want me to lead whatever this is. Sure I swore allegiance to Lady Artemis, but right now I really need to get back to the camp, whatever it's called and make sure Nico is okay so I can apologize for leaving him.

"About that, we have a... different plan for you regarding your little brother Nico. Now, before you go off thinking that we're going to hurt him, we aren't, our plan is to help you and your brother, anything other than that would be counterintuitive to our cause. We can provide you a place to live in comfort, no need to make children of Hades live in squalor, but we do ask
That you join our cause agaisn't the status quo."

    "Why me though? I'm sure there's more qualified people for this...honor, than I am. It seems redundant to choose a person who basically died on their first quest."

    "Maybe, maybe not, all we know is that you are destined for a greater purpose, all you need to do is reach for it. It also comes down to the fact that we aren't what you call good gods. We all have some negative thing that people focus on but never seem to recognise our greater contributions. We can also give you each of our blessings, something tells me that one day, they might come in handy."

"What exactly do you want me to do? I want to understand what this means for me and my little brother before I make a final decision about joining you or not."

"Simple work for now, until you get stronger and hone your skill, you would be recruiting demigods and other minor gods. You would also train with us for the rest of the summer and we can have a penthouse set up for you and your brother in a nice place in New York City, and everything you could ever need and more. Just as long as you agree."

    "I...I agree to your terms." Suddenly the air around me started to spiral, each of the gods began to chant in an unrecognizable language as seven different colors surrounded me. Then, everything went black.