His eyes had tunnel vision, he had disregarded his brothers' warnings and borderline threats to only make sure the girl was ready for the ceremony and do nothing more for her. But still, the flesh wants what it wants and right now all he wanted was to keep taking glances at the mysterious creature before him.
Methios looked down at the girl, such a petite thing but so beautiful. It had been years since he saw a woman and when they had taken that excursion to earth, he had difficulty restraining himself from taking a mortal girl for the night.
"Don't look, you pervert!" Xanthippeia shrieked snapping him back to reality. She sunk to cover her bare chest as she sat in the tub filled with warm water and healing oils.
"If I do not look then how do you expect me to bathe you, little one?" he asked chuckling and he squatted down the side of the tub.
"I can move my arms, mostly. I don't need your help!" she glared at him and his overtly lust-filled gaze.
"You will take too long, you need to be ready before Leo—"
"I don't give a fuck! And who is this fucking Leo person and why is he so important anyway?" she started to yell but Methios could only find amusement in her ranting. She was truly adorable and she kept trying to fight him at every chance when he brought her down here hours ago.
"I thought we agreed that you have no choice here little one." He gave her a look that left no room for arguments.
"I—I don't want you to touch me." Her face flushed red.
"You have never been touched by a man?"
"How is that any of your business? You kidnapped me but I'm not about to let you touch me!" her eyes widened at his brazen question.
"And what do plan to do to stop me?"
"I'm—I—I'll scream." Xanthippeia's voice cracked and she weighed out her options. In truth there was absolutely nothing she could do, she only had about 60% feeling in her upper body and virtually none in her lower body.
"Please you've already drugged and I don't know what you or your brothers did to me in my sleep so don't touch me." She tried a new approach.
Ah the weak emotions of mortals, Methios thought as he looked at her pouting face. A simple yet most effective trick mortals love to play. He would have just called in Zargreus to force her back asleep but he decided to test her instead. Since the fight, like most of his brothers, he had been curious to what extent her abilities went. Did she have control over the skies as they all did? If so that would mean she is a descendant of Zeus and their half-sister. Could it be possible she could manipulate water or perhaps her powers were over the dark arts? She could very well be a cousin of theirs since the prophecy had not specified which of the three Olympians she descended from.
"Use the water to clean yourself, little mortal," he instructed her.
"How?"
"You know exactly how," he smirked at her.
"Are you kidding me? I thought I hallucinated that whole thing!"
"I can assure you, you did not. Just try it or I will do it myself."
"Look not that I don't appreciate being clean but why do I have to get all pretty for your—whoever this Leo person is?"
"He is my brother dear and certain things need to be done for this ritual."
There goes that word again, 'ritual'. Xanthippeia wanted to know her fate but she feared what knowing would do for her nerves. What this Methios guy telling the truth or just trying to scare her when he said she could die here? Were they going to sacrifice her in some kind of satanic ritual and cut out her heart?
She looked into his intense yet somewhat playful eyes and decided if she couldn't control her death then she could have one thing, her dignity.
"Turn around please." Her voice said. He scoffed stood up to sit at the other side of the room.
Xanthippeia took a deep breath and she could feel more and more feeling coming back to her upper body. She tried to remember the feeling of being back home in her shower…home, a place she most likely would never return to once this whole ordeal is over.
No, don't think about it Xan.
She felt the tingling in her fingertips, it was like a small electrical current. She focused and summoned the water as it vibrated around her submerged body. She flicked her wrist as a large blob of it swish around her, when it touched her skin it was like millions of tiny fingers were scrubbing her clean. The water got away from her, it was moving on its own like a wave cleansing her almost raw. Xanthippeia was in a trance, what she was doing was on a whole different level than what she did in her bathroom. Then she was just making small blobs of water float but right now she was making the water dance around her body and in a moment she caught herself slightly enjoying it.
Methios slowly turned his head in the direction of splashing sounds and quietened giggle. So the girl can manipulate water? Strange. This would definitely be something he had to discuss with the others.
"Are you finished little one?"
"Yes, I guess." she abruptly dropped her control of the water and blushed again.
"Good." He stood up and walked over to her with a dress in tow. "You will put this on."
"And then what?" Xanthippeia's voice was shaky.
"Then you will be fed and thereafter the ritual shall commence."
"Is…your brother, the one you're all waiting for here yet?"
"Soon."
"Whatever." She had so many questions about this ritual. Why were they going through so much effort if they were just going to cause her pain and kill her anyway? Why were they making sure she was clean and fed? What kind of cruel and sadistic things were they going to do to her for the sake of this ritual? Why did they need her and what would it accomplish in the end.
The girl looked solemn, almost like she had finally accepted her fate but was still curious. Methios was glad for it, there was nothing more annoying than a difficult and screaming mortal. Her situation was perilous and there was not much she could do. He handed her the dress and turned around for her to get dressed. Xanthippeia looked at it and even though it looked like someone from the 1800s it didn't make it less beautiful in a simplistic way.
She stepped out of the tub and willed the water to evaporate from her skin until she was dry.
"Do I get shoes?" she pulled the dress on shaky legs and stood up straight looking at her bare feet on the stone floor.
"No, now stay here and I shall bring you some sustenance. You will need all your strength." He left her with those departing words as he opened the cell doors and stepped out. Xanthippeia walked over to him, grabbing his hand and making him turn around.
"Why are you doing this me? What makes me so special?" she asked he sighed deeply in annoyance as he looked at her face again.
"Because little one, believe it or not, you are like us."
"And what exactly are you guys?"
"Hemitheos." He stated and she looked at him confused.
"We are offspring of the gods, their descendants."
"Gods? Like the roman and greek gods?"
"Yes, now enough questions. Stay put and I will be back with something to eat for you." He said with finality leaving her to stew with this preposterous information.
Gods?
Hades looked to his nephew with uncertainty but he always knew him to be determined even from a young age.
"Are you coming uncle?" Leodocus asked at the mouth of the cave wielding a torch of fire in his hand.
"This is your quest young one, you do not need me to hold your hand. You can handle it."
"Do I sense fear in you lord Hades?" Pythia asked with a smirk as she pulled on her hood that covered her eyes.
"Nonsense my lady I could complete this in my slumber but what will he learn if I should do it for him?"
"Gods fine! There is no time to waste, my lady." Leo extended his hand out for her to take as they entered the cave together.
This was the last little detour the threesome would take before going back to Dynodes with Leodocus. Thanatos had other pressing matters being the god of death and all so he left the party shortly after they left the Underworld.
Leodocus needed a dampener on the off chance things went wrong. He did not want to kill the girl, it was not her fault the Fates wove her life string in this horrible prophecy as much as it was not theirs for being scorned by Zeus. He wanted to find a way to preserve as much of her life as he could so he and Hades researched the location of a rare amulet. It was more of a collar to be truthful and there was doubt it would even save her but any chance was worth the shot.
"If it were me, I would just kill her and be done with it." Pythias' voice floated into his ears as they trekked through the cavern.
"Then it is a good thing it's not you."
"Do the rest of your brothers agree with these extreme life-saving precautions you are taking for this mortal?"
"It does not matter."
"You are especially brooding this evening young prince."
"I do not brood." He rolled his eyes, he hated being told that by everyone from his brothers to his mother. He did not brood, he was just focused on the mission at hand.
The solvtis or 'soul keeper' collar was kept and in an ancient cavern from the days of the titans. It is also guarded by a powerful creature. Empusa was equally glorious as she was a terrifyingly demonic beast. Long ago she was in a cult with the goddesses of the Underworld but because of her affinity of surfacing into the mortal world to cause mischieve and terrors became too much and Hades marked her for death.
But because she held a sacred place in the cult and was the daughter of Hecate she did not end up murdered. Instead, she was imprisoned and forced to guard the emulate. Leodocus knew enough about Empusa to know that she was dangerous and crafty with her shape-shifting and her cannibalistic nature. He had to be careful not to get too close to her, the second he gives her an opening, she will no doubt take it and then this will all have been for nothing.
As they reached deeper and deeper into the cavern Leodocus heard a faint sound of metal scraping against the ground. Most likely it was her bronzed sandal she wore.
"She is close, she is probably watching us right now," Pythia whispered.
"Let her come, once she is dealt with we can find the emulate." He steeled his expression even though he was feeling nervous about facing off with this monster.
He couldn't let a fearless goddess-like Pythia see him doubt himself, something that had been ingrained in him from when he was born. He was feeling frustrated that his uncle refused to make this easier for him and simply take care of the beast himself as he did so long ago. But he was right as always, this would be a lesson and as long as he focused on why he was doing it then he would succeed.
"I smell young blood, oh you smell so divine and I can almost taste the ichor running through your veins on the tip of my tongue young one mm tonight I shall feast on Olympian blood..." The smooth and venomous voice of Empusa rang out, bouncing off the cavern walls causing a thick chill to brush across his skin.
"Until now this adventure has been boring but now the fun finally begins." Leodocus could hear the smirk on Pythia's face.
"Are you ready young prince?" her voice was taunting as she removed the hood from her eyes. He looked at her from over his shoulder, not directly at her eyes but at her fighting stance. It was clear a bloodbath would ensue but it didn't matter, what mattered was the emulate and Leodocus would kill anything that stood in his way.