therkalexander:
Hermes pointedly shook the bronze cup several times and slammed the dice down on the...
Hermes pointedly shook the bronze cup several times and slammed the dice down on the stone. He heard a female yelp and a male curse, then the sounds of them fumbling about. Down the stairs came heavy footfall. • “Heh. Thirty six!” A shadow fell across Hermes’s perfect roll. • Hades loomed large, hair hanging loose and bedraggled over pale folded arms, his black himation roughly wound around his waist and slung over his shoulder. He said nothing. Hermes swallowed and stood up, then bowed. He fumbled with the scroll, pulling it from its casing. • “Ah… I bear an urgent message for Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, from—” • The Lord of the Dead swiped the scroll from Hermes’ hands. Papyrus crinkled in his tightening fist. • “Before you tear it up or set it on fire, it’s from Hera.” • “I’ll see she gets it,” he said, teeth on edge, then spun around and marched toward the staircase. Without a backwards glance, Aidoneus spoke to Hermes in perfect Minoan. “Stop reading my wife’s letters.”
Chapter 1, The Good Counselor by Rachel Alexander
