"I have known some cretins in my time, but you lot take the biscuit."
Hades raged as his palms burnt scorch marks into the table, not caring how long it would take Spike to gorge them out and re-varnish the table. Inside, his heart beat strong and fierce, ready for slaughter.
How had he been so blind. Hades cursed himself for trusting these imbecilic youths, he should have known better. He should have kept a better check on them than leaving them to their own devises. Because of this, Hades was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He had told his demons that all was well, that his master plan was working and soon Hell's gates would be flooded with sinners. But these were all falsehoods caused by defective information and blindness caused by affection. The plan had moved nowhere, if anything, it had gone backwards.
Wide eyed and pale, the students stared fearfully at Hades. As well they should for there are only three sights more terror inducing than the Devil in a craze, and these may not be written or spoken of for the woeful afflictions they would cause. Lydia had scooted her chair as close to Eloise's as she could and Georgie was still gripping Seb's hand, the only thing which was holding him back from the edge. Seated on his own, Advik wished Mats was there so that he too could have a companion to cling to.
It was at this moment Spike bounced in. "Don't panic everyone, I've found the fus.... Ohhhhhh, saints almighty".
Hades did not stir. His hands had sunk half an inch into the table.
Spike looked around the table at the terrified faces mirroring his own. He had heard stories of Hades' famous anger, the rage that could destroy cities and melt souls but no one who told those stories had ever witnessed it for themselves. It was always someone's friends' uncle's girlfriend's grandmother who had witnessed it. Spike wished it had stayed that way.
Georgie caught his eye. "Go", she mouthed.
Spike shook his head, he could not leave them, not after he had come to love him so.
"Please", Georgie mouthed desperately. This time Spike could read the hidden message 'we cannot escape this but there is still time for you'.
Horrified by his own actions, Spike edged slowly from the room. It was true he could do nothing to help his friends, he was a sub-par demon at best, bever really one for violence and only able to conjure enough demonic energy to light a match. Never before had Spike regretted his lack of fury. If only he was more like his sister, then maybe he could cause a distraction long enough for them to escape. But maybe....yes.
Spike took the stairs two at a time. Advik had a cricket bat in his room which could be used to knock a man, or devil over the head. Spike would die of course, killed by his Gov. But it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
In the dining room, a primeval growl rumbled in Hade's throat. "Always so noble, Georgie", he said like a starved wolf, forced into famine by the winter. "It is so deeply sickening. I imagine you will be telling me it was you who came up with the idea of wasting yourselves on a cult like the fools I now know you to be."
"Of course, it was me", said Georgie without missing a beat.
Breathless, Advik started, but Georgie ignored him.
Hades, senses heightened, did not miss the small movement and smiled cruelly, tongue between closed teeth. "There you go again. You are not doing yourself any favours here my girl. You could go far. I have seen the way you think, the way your brain runs a second faster than everyone else's in the room. But for you to succeed in this world, the self-sacrifice must stop. Let others fall while you rise to the top. That way, you can be so much more."
It was as if Hades and Georgie were the only two in the room. He was baiting her, wanting her to react so he could lash out. Hades hated this girl, from her ready smile and unusual sense of humour right down to her heeled Doc Martin's which she thought helped disguise her hight. If he could get her to turn, anything was possible.
"Is that how you got your job?", Geogie asked, "murdering your way to the top."
For a brief spell, Hades' rage faded at this most unlikely of questions. That was not how things worked out in the wider cosmos. "Well, it wasn't exactly an application and interview affair", he offered. But you have taken us off topic."
"No, you took us off topic with your talk of corruption. We were discussing cults, not my fiery rise to power, neither of which are conversations I wish for but for now the former will do. So get on with it or we walk."
"Georgie, no", said Seb hopelessly. They were the first words he had uttered in Hades' presence since the reveal. "He will kill you". It was now Seb who gripped George's hand as though he could keep her in the world through desperation alone.
"Don't worry", said Georgie with a mocking look at Hades. "He doesn't have it in him".
Strangling sounds omitted from Hades. Hate was too weak a term, wish for her eternal suffering and extinction would be a better way to phrase it.
'Why do I do this to myself?' thought Georgie, glumly. She was convinced Hades would not kill her, but that did not mean the next five minutes were going to be pretty.
"What's the big deal about us joining a cult anyway", said Eloise, practically yelling. Georgie may have felt secure in her survival but that is not the way it looked from ever other angle.
Fixing his attention of the medicine student, Hades cocked a brow.
"Now I am disappointed Eloise", Hades said. "I expected less from you".
Eloise remained solid, staring down Hades like he was one of the low lives in her lectures who dared sit too close. She was beginning to see where Georgie got her bravery from, it was all down to honest stupidity and good intentions.
"Yeah, go on", piped up Lydia, refusing to leave Eloise alone in this battle against. "What's so bad about cults?"
"Cults", Hades spat the word. "Do you have no pride?"
Georgie wiped a spot of spittle from her new Aran sweater vest onto the table with a grimace.
"There is no honour in blindly following a few extremists with no imagination. All you get out of it are petty restraining orders, headaches, and strange outfits".
Advik shifted his bad containing his robes further under the table. Hades did not notice. He was too far gone by this point.
"Do not mistake me", said Hades with venom, "much wrongdoing is committed by groups under the pretence of a higher purpose, but there is so much more to villainy than that. You lot, you are all young and intelligent and, in some lights, some of you could be called vaguely attractive, the world is your oyster. What is more, you have me watching over you, ensuring no harm comes to you. The six of you could be great, but instead you ignore your talents and chose the easy path; the one swept every morning of leaves and foliage by an army of gardeners. This is not the path I wish you to take. Instead, you could have taken the darker route, the one filled with potholes and plagued by rodents and unexpected twists but ultimate leads to glory. Instead, you go and join a cult."
Hades finished breathlessly; his rant complete but his anger far from spent.
"So, cults are bad then?", said Georgie.
Seb folded in on himself as Advik put his head in his hands.
"Yessss", said Hades, barely retrained.
"Cool", said Georgie. "Just checking".
'Seriously, I need to stop talking', thought Georgie. But through herself beratement, her mind began to whir. Something in Hades' words had caused the cogs of her brain to start working and she lent back in her chair as her brain took over.
"But we have left the cult", said Lydia in a small voice. "Doesn't that make you happy?"
Happy. Hades was anything but. "That's not the point you fool. I left you alone to make your own decisions because I trusted you implicitly and you proved that you are unworthy. That is not the way to damn your souls."
"But we don't want to damn our souls," Lydia said before she could stop herself. Gasping, she covered her mouth with her hands.
Hades rubbed his forehead with his shaking hands, shoulders trembling with something beyond rage. Suddenly he looked up, revealing his flaming eyes.
"Don't you dare hurt her", Eloise leapt to her feet as Spike ran in at her voice, cricket bat raised.
There was no need for the bat, Hades had stopped in his tracks. There was nothing unusual about Eloise caring if her friend lived or died, she was human after all. But the way she had spoken, as though all the breath had been sucked out of her by the sentence, it suggested something else, something more. Hades saw the way Eloise leant across the table shielding Lydia's body with her own. The look of fear on her face. Like being hit by a falling cannon ball, Hades saw the light. It was not concern for her own safety that had put the fear of God into Eloise, it was fear for Lydia which could only mean.....
"Oh no. No, no, no", Hades waggled a finger at the two of them. "I will not have it. Not under my roof."
The students, baffled by this sudden change in temperament, could not have been any more confused if Hades had suddenly jumped upon the table and started to Can-can. In fact, that would have made more sense.
"Huh?" Advik spoke for them.
"This relationship", said Hades, pointing wildly between Lydia and Eloise. "I will not stand for it. Not here, not now, not ever."
Eloise rolled up her sleeves, death in her eyes.
Georgie lent over to whisper in Seb's ear. "What's going on?"
Turning to reply Seb was hit by the smell of her shampoo. "Eloise and Lydia", he managed to say, swallowinf. "They're sort of a thing".
"Oh", Georgie nodded. "Oh. OH!"
Advik raised his eyebrows at Seb. "She gets it now".
"Oh, shut up you fools", said Hades with a wave of his hand as though trying to put a screen between himself and their conversation. "I don't care who knew first or what you all think of it. I know of it now and I want it stopped. I don't want to see the two of you speaking to each other, sitting together or even breathing the same air. This ends now."
Pale, Lydia tried desperately to drag Eloise down into her seat but to no avail.
"Listen here you overgrown slug", Eloise began. "You may be the devil and we may be contracted to live in this hellhole, and you may control our souls but if you think for one second that I am going to let a homophobic..."
"Hold up", said Hades, eyes returning to their usual deep hazelnut. "Homophobic."
"Yes", said Eloise spitting at him. "It means..."
Sighing, Georgie took off her saturated sweater vest.
"I know what it means", said Hades. "Honestly, young people today think they know everything while those of us a couple of thousand millennium past their prime are insensitive morons." Hades folded his arms and sat down. "I'm just hurt you thought me capable of such a belief."
"What", scoffed Eloise. "Not your area."
"No", said Hades grumpily. "Not my area."
"What so you're trying to tell me that the good lot are responsible."
"Course not", said Hades incredulously. "This is not on us, it's Mans's doing. And note I said Man's", said Hades feverently. "I'm not misogynistic either. Women are obviously better in every single respect."
Georgie coughed. "Suck up".
"Don't try to hide your obvious disgusted", said Eloise. "Why else would you not let us be together."
"Ugh", Hades sunk into his chair with the air of a teenager who had just been asked how their day was. "Because it's just so messy. All right, at the moment everything may be fine and dandy with love hearts and kisses, but one day you will have an argument and it will be loud and annoying and fun for no one, believe me I know. Then, if you break up, you will still be living here, and it will be incredibly awkward. Stony silences over breakfasts as the rest of us attempt to eat our porridge and berries silently. Bitter competition during boardgame night. I don't know about you lot, but I would rather not have to put up with all that. So, save us all a lot of trouble and break things off now before things get too serious."
Hades made imploring eyes at them, entering them to do the sensible thing and come around to his way of thinking.
Lydia grinned evilly, an uncommon expression for her. "So, it will upset you if we stay together."
Glad to see Lydia agreeing with him, Hades smiled in relief. "Greatly."
"Enough that we would go to Hell if we stayed together?"
"I...That's cheating."
"It's a valid question", replied Lydia sweetly.
Hades grumbled, muttering something unseemly about English students.
Eloise, on the other hand was looking at Lydia with awe. "I love you", she said.
Cheering and wolf whistles erupted from Georgie and Advik.
Lydia reddened. "I would quote Shakespeare", she said. "But my mind is black."
"I'll take that as I love you too", said Eloise, leaning in to kiss her.
"Oh for Pete's sake", said Hades throwing up his hands. "That's it, I've had it. You lot are going to spend the rest of your lives wishing your parents hadn't bothered. Mark me."
Hades exited, leaving shoe shaped singe marks on the carpet. He could be heard stomping up the stairs and slamming his door as though it had done him a personal injustice. He probably believed it had.
"You can put the bat down, now Spike", said George.
The demon looked up at the cricket bat he was still holding above his head like the sword of an avenging angel. Lowering it, Spike eased his aching muscles; he had not realised he was still holding it aloft
"That showed him", said Advik, looking at the ceiling where Hades' office was. "Do you think he will leave us alone now?"
"No", said Georgie, resting her chin on her knuckles. "I think we have just really ticked him off. But don't worry, we'll sort it."
"About that", said Eloise, tearing her eyes away from Lydia long enough to have it out with Georgie. "Are you bloody stupid or something? If you keep taking back at him like that, pretty soon you're going to end up looking like the contents of an ash tray. Watching you, you'd think you had a death wish or something."
"No", said George simply. "Just an inability to keep my mouth shut when I'm being bullied."
Eloise held up two fists. Shaking one, she said "There's standing up to bullies" she shook her other fist, "and there's "being a complete and utter pinhead. Guess which one you are?"
Georgie seemed to consider her options like a vegan mulling over the two options available to them on the menu; both rabbit food, but one comes with dressing. "I have a feeling you want me to say the latter. However, I feel the need to plead my case."
"She's right Georgie", said Seb dully. "You are going to get yourself killed one of these days, and then where will we be?"
"I didn't exactly mean it like that", said Eloise gruffly but Seb and Georgie were not listening. He was imploring her with watery eyes, but she had knocked her head back to look at the ceiling, huffing.
"Well at least I say something", said Georgie brusquely, then winced. She screwed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry Seb, I don't know where that came from."
Seb looked at his hands. "No, you're right. You don't have to say sorry."
The table had gone quiet. Georgie reached out a hand as though to touch Seb on the arm but pulled away at the last minute, sensing this was not the time.
"I'll be back in a minute", she said, pushing back from the table. She looked at Advik and inclined her head towards Seb.
He nodded in reply. "Where are you going?"
"Oh", Georgie waved her hand. "To do something stupid."
"Georgie", Spike warned, trying to black her exit from the room.
She skipped past him easily. "It's all right, Spike. Believe it or not, I know what I'm doing."
"I hope", she whispered as an afterthought.