Rupert Blood peeked up at me. "Oh King of darkness, might your faithful servant ask why you graced us with this human form now of all times? Forgive me if my question is unwarranted."

I instantly regretted the next words that flew out of my mouth. "I am searching for a way to the Underworld."

Maybe I blurted that because it was my subconscious desire or maybe the pressure of impersonating someone who's probably watching was overwhelming.

The cultists shot suspicious looks my way. There was only one thing left to do, run.

Queen clasped my shoulder. "Lord Hades had a fallout with Zeus on Mount Olympus. Zeus cursed him to be mortal and made him forget how to get to the Underworld. So now he's in search."

Thanks for the save.

The room exploded into muttering.

"The king of the Underworld," Rupert scrutinized me. "Under a curse from Zeus..."

I gulped. "My big brother is King of Olympus."

"That makes sense." Someone muttered.

"What do we know about Zeus' power?" Said another person.

Rupert Blood spoke up. "How may we avenge you, Lord Hades?!"

Queen feigned shock. "Mortals avenge a god? Is this insult to injury?"

Dexter arched a brow at her. "And if Lord Hades permits, may I ask who these two are?"

Queen puffed her chest. "We are his lordship's mortal servants. He handpicked us to help him navigate the modern world."

"Yes!" I concurred. "So treat them as fellow members for they offer their services to me."

Bryce shuddered. Sweat was dotting his face as he kept his eyes on the floor.

'Don't worry buddy, if we play our cards right we'll be out of here in no time.'

I tightened my grip on the scepter. "Now, since you guys know a lot about me, would any of you happen to know a route to the Underworld? I need to get to my domain, it's the only way to break Zeus' curse."

Rupert scratched his hair. "Unfortunately, it is our...greatest unsolved mystery."

Looks like we'll have to find our own way to Hypnos.

He snapped his fingers. "Wait, I remember! Our spy in the cult of Zeus gave us some intel this morning. Apparently, they recovered a map thought to be drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci."

"What?" Bryce muttered.

"They say it's a map to an Underworld doorway."

"Can you get me the map?"

"I've already told our spy to send a picture of it. But the cult of Zeus keeps it under lock and key, so it might prove difficult. Our spy will send us feedback by tomorrow morning."

If this man was telling the truth, that meant we just got one step closer to stopping the night waves of violent sleepwalkers.

We could try and head back to my family mansion. Tomorrow, we will return for the map.

"You all are indeed faithful servants." I dared make my way to the door---boldly like I wasn't trying to escape. "We shall return tomorrow."

Queen, Bryce, (and to my dread)Rupert Blood followed me. The rest stayed.

Outside was a broad hallway, classy like a mansion's. Chandeliers with scarce candles dimly lit our path.

Fortunately for us, Rupert played tour guide, leading us through twists and turns and stairways.

Finally, we were at a massive golden door. On the floor beside it, lay our takeout bags from the Cheesecake Factory. Hunger swirled within me.

Queen swooped up the bags. "We'll be taking these."

Rupert nodded and held the door open for us, revealing the good old outdoors. Clear evening sky, quiet neighborhood, fresh breeze.

We were finally out.

"Lord Hades," Rupert called from behind as Bryce, Queen, and I walked away. "Not that I doubt your power in this mortal form, but would you consider staying at our humble headquarters for the night to avoid a run-in with the night walkers?"

The three of us exchanged glances, coming to a wordless conclusion. Better to risk the horde.

I turned around. "That is exactly doubting my power. Do not do that again, dear Rupert!"

Queen giggled.

With an apologetic bow, Rupert retreated back inside.

"Whew," Bryce relaxed. "Never thought we'd make it out of there alive."

"You were on a roll back there." I grinned at Queen.

She blushed and stroked back a strand of loose hair. "Survival instincts, I guess. No big deal. You're the one who did all the convincing."

We journeyed down the familiar sidewalks of Short Hills. The field of grass to our left was caressed by the wind's touch. The asphalt to our right, barren.

Ever since the outbreak, people emptied the streets before nightfall. A practice the three of us might want to consider.

"I can't believe it," Bryce stared in awe at my weapon. "You're holding the scepter of a god. No wonder it could kill Thanatos."

Queen dug her hands into her pockets. "I wonder why he gave it to you. Does he have another one?"

I wondered the same things, too. But at least now, a plan was in formation. "Tomorrow, we might be one step closer to finding out."

Bryce cracked his knuckles, contemplating. "Say we get the map and make our way to the Underworld, who do we address first? Hypnos or your father?"

The purplish glow of twilight bathed the sky.

We froze for a second, realizing it wasn't as early in the evening as we thought.

Adrenaline began to course through my veins. "Run!"

We broke into sprinting. Why was I afraid of the night walkers? It wasn't because they had a hive mind, it wasn't even because they left a trail of destruction in their wake.

Run as we might, we couldn't beat the night. The moon glowed above us in the canvas of a dark sky. A signal of danger, a symbol of lost hope.

Further down the road, streetlights came to life. And lurking underneath them were the night walkers. Men, women, and children rocking on the spot, wearing drowsy smiles with their eyes shut---asleep.

The little girl from that video we watched earlier was present. She lumbered forward. Her wandering voice was spine-tingling. "Son of Hades,"

They all chanted in unison. "I have finally found you. Prepare to face my revenge."

Queen held my hand as we stood frozen. Unexpected but not enough to draw my attention away from the sleeping army.

To our right, figures limped in the darkness. An elderly voice boomed from among their ranks.

"Descendant of Leonardo, descendant of William,"

I knew he was referring to Bryce and Queen. Bryce hailed from Leonardo Da Vinci. But Queen, we hadn't figured out her ancestry. And history is filled with many 'Williams' so we might not find out anytime soon.

"Before his last moments," a gruff voice picked up from the elderly one. Hypnos was really playing master puppeteer. "My brother, Thanatos, told me about you two. How you both sided with Raziel West. That makes you two just as responsible for my brother's demise, as the spawn of Hades."

We took a few steps back. Stamping was coming from there, too.

Looking over my shoulder, I confirmed the crowd gathering behind us. I could probably take them. I was stronger and faster than the average human. The scepter in my hand was the same weapon that impaled Thanatos. But none of these guys were Thanatos. Just ordinary people who fell asleep and got attached to Hypnos' puppet strings. I couldn't imagine hurting people who were fighting against their will.

Eying our left, the field of grass was clear. Spaced-out trees poked in the distance. Their scanty leaves hinted they were recovering from winter. But they could still make a good cover.

A glimmer of hope.

Channeling all my energy, I made a fervent dash left. Bryce and Queen were on my tail in a moment.

"There is no running from my wrath!" The crowd echoed, and the thundering of footsteps followed.

My t-shirt flapped with the cold wind, my hair tussling with every step. Scepter swinging with the rhythm of my arms, I darted into the embrace of the woods.

"Give a heads up next time, would ya?" Queen panted from behind me.

"Are you praying for a next time?"

"Guys," Bryce shockingly overtook me. "I see..." he huffed. "Macy's, up ahead!"

There were only trees and open space as far as I could see. But we've come to acknowledge Bryce's inherited gifts. If he said the department store was close by, then it was close by. If we're lucky it would make a good hideout.

"Paint a Mona Lisa already." Queen teased between huffs, holding onto the takeout bags for dear life.

She was referring to Bryce's exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci's extraordinary eyesight.

The whirling sound of chopper wings drowned the crunching of our footsteps and everywhere became breezy.
Its searchlight circled before locking unto us. The blinding light temporarily disturbed my vision.

A sharp slice on my left shoulder---from a pointy tree branch I didn't see on time---had me gritting.

"Son of Hades!" A megaphone blared from above. "There's no use running!"

Bryce screamed at the top of his lungs. "These chopper guys will lead the others straight to us!"

I spared the chopper a glance. It was steady, slow. A possible target for my father's scepter. Thrusting at the flying object was out of the question, but there was another solution.

"Queen," I shouted, barely able to hear myself over the sound of whirling blades and an incoming stampede. "You have a good aim, think you could take out that searchlight?"

She peered at the challenge, nodding with determination.

We slowed down and I tossed her my father's scepter. She caught it gracefully, screeched to a halt, took aim, and thrust it upwards.

A heavy clank followed its collision and the darkness engulfed us once more.

"Nice work." I nodded at her.

"Thanks, but how are we going to find the scepter?"

Leaning on tree barks, we caught our breaths.

Wish I thought this plan through.

Something dug into the nearby soil. Probably the scepter or a searchlight part. Only one way to find out.

I imagined the tips of my father's scepter on fire exerting my will upon the weapon. A greenish flame came alive beside the base of a nearby tree. The scepter was upside-down, flaming tips buried in dirt.

Pulling it out, I dug its pointy tips into the bark of a tree and watched as green flames quickly engulfed it.

"What are you doing?" Bryce squeaked.

Pain was intensifying in my wounded shoulder but I couldn't give in. We had to make it to Macy's. "Creating a diversion. C'mon, let's keep going."

Bryce led the way as we resumed our sprint. Hopefully, the sleeping army will think we are at the burning tree and converge there. By the time they realized the distraction, we would've put some distance between them.

Bursting out of a clearing, we spotted the red logo of the department store from afar. Eventually, we reached the white-painted building. My heart sank at the sight of another makeshift security post.

To my relief, it was abandoned. Perhaps the guard was turned.

Bryce tried the door but it didn't budge. Approaching the nearest window, I smashed it with the scepter using my right hand. It felt weird using right for a change.

Queen and Bryce vaulted inside before helping me get through the window.

"Quickly," I winced. "We have to bar it."

"Way ahead of you." Bryce rolled a stuffed cloth rack and stationed it before the broken window.

After traversing the darkness of this white-painted interior with Queen's phone torchlight, we came to a stop beside the escalator.

I collapsed with a wheeze.

"Raziel!" Queen whipped around, dropping the takeout bags and kneeling beside me.

"I'm...fine."

"The bleeding says otherwise. I've seen this many times in movies though. We need a cloth to wrap around and stop the bleeding."

"Help me take my shirt off, you can use it."