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First Impressions

"There is no fucking way I'm telling the king we found a living girl in hell. I don't have a death wish. I'm in charge here and I'd like to keep it that way. Not-it!" Brazz said, glancing in the rearview mirror at the pale, caramel-faced girl now asleep in the back of the jeep. The other hellraisers—Daw, Rig and Zero—exchanged looks between themselves before simultaneously yelling "Not-it!" like a chorus.

They'd been together for what felt like forever, just four of the many guardians of hell. But they were the best. Their sector of hell had always been orderly no matter where they were assigned. Every 10 years they rotated to a new sector to keep fresh.

Zero was the last to chime in on the chorus, even if only by a fraction of a millisecond. "Shit!" He yelled before sulking into his seat. He joined the team a few centuries prior and always got the short stick. Normally it didn't bother him but the thought of informing king Hades of a serious breach in hell, made him feel dizzy. His wrath against messengers with bad news was infamous. His wrath in general was infamous.

The ride back to the palace seemed long, each man afraid to wonder how long the girl had been in the realm. Brazz continued to steal looks at the girl. Her eyes caved into dark purple bruises as if she hadn't had rest in a very long time. Her cheek bones protruded slightly and her hair lay in a matted, curly halo around her. They had taken over the hell sector for the last week, running their checks and analyzing the data to ensure each torture loop and Elysium house was stable. That's when they noticed the anomaly. A single area of the sector used double the standard energy to function. So, they went to investigate. That's where they found the girl, right in the middle of the power drain.

Zero couldn't stop talking about the house for the first few minutes. How he'd never seen so much gore. And with the girl herself covered in blood, they all wondered if she hadn't deserved to be tortured. To do that to other people, it seemed like the kind of thing that should land her exactly where she was, in hell.

Brazz pressed the call button at the security desk and drove towards the opening gate. At the top of the hill, they quietly hopped out and shuffled around to the sleeping girl in the rear. Then all eyes went to Zero, who sighed and lifted her into his arms. He led the way up the great stone steps, the others trailing closely behind. The palace looked ornate as always, precious stones inlaid in marble columns, large paintings of the different hellscapes, perfectly preserved black and red roses in crystal vases, heavy drapes and candelabras. It was especially breathtaking when the candelabras were lit to signify evening.

They skirted through the maze of marvelous marble halls until they arrived at a giant door, formed from two solid sheets of lava. Hades' throne room. Zero steadied his heart before proceeding. He entered but before he could speak, Hades' voice boomed across the throne room, "WHO THE FUCK LET A LIVING, BREATHING HUMAN INTO HELL?!"

The room vibrated with the force of his words and Zero nearly dropped her. His eyes widened. Hades stood aflame in the middle of the room. The blue-black flames charred the floor beneath his feet but didn't light a single fiber of clothing. His enormous power radiated from a hundred feet away. Zero felt sweat on his brow and he readjusted the girl. He knew better than to answer his king's rhetorical question. Of course, he already knows, he thought. As soon as the hellraisers radioed in their find, dispatch alerted the king—Standard human procedure.

Hades wore nothing but pajama pants as if he'd been about to retire for the night when he received the call. The tattoos on his torso and arms began glowing as the flames danced around them. His normally perfect hair splayed about his head in a reckless manner, as if someone had been running their fingers through it. He had not, in fact, been heading to sleep, but to bed for an entirely different reason.

Hades calmed slightly realizing who stood before him, not wanting to kill a member of his best hellraiser team. They'd only had the sector for a week, it seemed unlikely the breach happened because of them. When the flames finally licked away, he walked toward Zero with his cold eyes scouring the girl. She wore a green crop top with capped sleeves hanging from her silky brown arms. Her distressed jeans slid down slightly just below her belly button.

Her beautiful oval face seemed overly sharp but he could tell that normally, she would be a beauty to behold. Hell had most likely been sucking away her lifeforce, leaving her slightly gaunt. Her large, soft eyes rolled back and forth slightly as she slept. Her calmness only added to her beauty but it wasn't her good looks that caught his attention, it was the blood that splattered across every inch of her. Her knees and legs were soaked in it.

"What the fuck happened to her? Is she injured?" he asked Zero without breaking eye contact with her frame.

"She was found...in a torture loop sire," Zero gulped, "It was particularly gruesome."

"Mmm, shame," he shrugged, "she's no more than a pretty shell then. No human mind could survive it. I suppose killing her would be a mercy." Hades wrapped one hand around her neck, which fit loosely in his palm, and then put the other against her temple. He never thought much about taking a life, especially a human one. Hell teamed with human lives that were all taken in one way or another.

As he prepared to snap it, he felt warmth ebb up his fingers, then wrists, all the way up to his chest. The sensation stirred him, tempted him to lean in and taste her mouth. He hovered closer to her lips, sniffing the smell of a summer storm on her. His body began to react. Hades felt the blood in his extremities and he could hear it in his ears, almost deafening. He never experienced desire this strong, strong enough to be painful. How intoxicating, he thought. He released her neck and stepped away.

"You drugged her for transport?" he asked quietly.

"Yes sir."

"Then take her to the hellraiser dormitory. She'll sleep for a while. I'll send for all of you later."

"Yes, sir," Zero said, bowing deeply. The movement caused the girl's hand to drop to the floor and instantly Hades retrieved it, placing it back against her stomach. Skin on skin sent fire up his arm again. His lungs burned with her scent. It felt overwhelming. His hand automatically smoothed the hair down around her face. He had no idea why he did that. It felt like he had no control over himself. Something in him stirred when he looked at her. Something he couldn't shake.

"And bring me a copy of the surveillance files within the hour," he demanded, turning back toward the throne. He needed to think. The hellraisers silently looked at one another in awe before bowing once more and leaving. Hades had never taken a personal interest in any case. He removed himself from direct oversight long ago. He had more than enough hellraisers to operate and control hell for him. But for this girl, he was somehow personally invested.

Hades held one hand up, palm facing out and quickly a black mist circled until it formed a screen. Once the face of his brother appeared on the other end, he calmly said, "I'm summoning an emergency meeting, inform the others."

"What's going on? Another war?" Zeus asked, knowing Hades was the most practical of the originals. He wouldn't summon an emergency meeting without just cause.

"I'll explain when you all arrive. It's a most urgent matter."

"No, brother....I'm in the middle of something at the moment," Hades could hear the giggles and moans of a woman. Definitely not, Zeus' wife, "Give me some context so I know the level of urgency..."

"A human...has just been rescued from a torture loop. A living human...a girl," Hades breathed calmly, "well, a woman really. She couldn't be older than twenty."

"What?!" Zeus gave Hades his full attention finally, "Who do you suspect?"

"I have no idea. A god...or...no...nevermind it wouldn't be her. Asteria hates mortals enough to never visit earth. Just get here quickly. I need to brainstorm this."

"Absolutely, I'm calling everyone right now," Zeus promised but Hades heard a woman in the background yell that he wouldn't be doing anything other than fucking her for the next few hours. Zeus gave a mildly embarrassed chuckle, "Well, she's already been saved so I guess there's no real danger. Perhaps you could give me a few hours?"

"Fine, carry on brother. Come as soon as you can." Then the mist dissipated.

Hades sat quietly on his throne. He couldn't shake the feeling the girl gave him. It snaked through his veins in a current he'd never felt before. He didn't even notice when a half-dressed Persephone made her way to him.

"You never came back to bed," she pouted. Her slim figure peeked out of the tiny robe she draped herself in. When he didn't respond she tried again, "You know it's rude to leave a woman right in the middle of it?"

"Sorry," he brushed her off, "Something's come up. The hellraisers found a living woman in a torture loop." Persephone's face scrunched into a jealous scowl.

"A woman huh?" she fumed, "I guess I'll just go back to my room then..." Hades rolled his eyes but didn't fight her on it. She stomped away like a child. He grew tired of her ages ago. She grated at his nerves constantly and he found, he didn't actually like her company at all. But she was obsessed with him enough to ignore the fact that he didn't like her. And who was he to turn down sex? He knew at some point he'd have to claim a queen to help him rule. Would it really have to be her? The thought alone made him pinch the bridge of his nose.

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