The Son of the Night - Chapter 1: A Man's Needs

Chapter 1: A Man's Needs 

September 2nd, 2028 11:00am

It was unlike Jase to miss sparring practice. It took him a million tries just to learn the ‘death maneuver’, and his mother was drilling him about being ‘prepared’. Jase never understood, growing up, what his mother meant when she called him her ‘savior’, but according to the Oracles and his mother’s variety of spellcasting—he knew now that he was bound to become the Champion of Olympus, again, and defend his people—till death do they part. He was only eighteen, though, and wasn’t ready for the title that the gods wanted him to acquire.

Jase attracted many things, from grown women to riches, and spent most of his life in the Underworld. He was mostly fond of sea-nymphs; finding pleasure in watching them dance in scarce clothing as he drank his white wine. He sat in his Uncle’s Throne Room, watching as a twenty-year-old nymph named Opal moved around him in circles. Her long, golden hair fell gracefully at her sides, and her skin was tinted blue like the depths of his father’s sea. A grin was pleasantly plastered on Jase’s charming face, and he reached an arm out to feel the curves of her body, “I’m late, you know. I should get going.”

He pulled her arm back so that she fell into his lap. Opal let out a light giggle before curling up in his arms, tracing her manicured pointer finger over his bare, tattooed chest, “but we’re having so much fun.”

“Fun can wait,” Jase growled, burrowing his nose in her neck. His teeth grazed her skin just barely, causing goosebumps to appear on her forearms. She shivered and brought her lips to his. They kissed passionately, body against body, until the door abruptly opened.

He looked up from his plaything to see his mother standing there, her long, white dreadlocks tied behind her head and held up in a bonnet. Her creamy eyes looked angry and disappointed. Jase instinctively pushed Opal off of him, causing her to fall on the marble floor and wince.

“I was just going to training, mother,” Jase stood up, dusting his thighs off in attempt to distract her. Opal stood as well, her face turning an embarrassed shade of purple, and she picked up the large fur jacket that she had discarded on the coffee table in front of them.

“I should go,” Opal whispered, and took one or two steps doors the back doors, which led to the courtyard.

“Don’t leave on my regard,” Hecate stated, keeping her eyes locked on her son. Hecate loved, nurtured, and taught Jase the rights and wrongs of the godly world they lived in. He looked at her as more than a mother—she was the only person that Jase actually trusted. His father wasn’t in his life, and he didn’t want him to be. The Sea God abandoned him when he was born, leaving just minutes after he was created. He hadn’t seen the god since, but knew his father was watching him with the eyes that rested in the currents and the pupils of the horses that Jase would occasionally ride. Either way, he considered himself fatherless.

Opal froze at Hecate’s words and glanced at Jase, who longingly looked at his mother to quit the theatrics, “Mom. Please.”

Hecate sighed and clicked her tongue, crossing her arms and looking away as Opal finally found the strength exit the Throne Room. Hecate’s eyes remained on her son, “you need to start taking these trainings seriously, my child. Just because you’ve already won the Trials once, does not mean you can slack off and run around with sea nymphs. Gather your things from the missionary shed and meet me at Arium.”

Arium was the only place in the Underworld that Hades allowed Jase to train. Hecate begged the god of the dead to allow Jase to come live with her, and he agreed, to an extent. Jase wasn’t the easiest child to raise, the gods knew of him as immature, reckless, and greedy. They weren’t wrong—Jase embraced those characteristics—but he had another side that they didn’t care to learn about. He was also strong, determined, and loyal.

Jase nodded and brushed past his mother, who smelled of freshly dried sage and palo santo. The walls within Hades palace were thick, but as Jase walked, he could still hear the murmuring of servants through the doors. One of them spoke about a revolution, the dream of turning against the gods and creating their own system. The other spoke of riches, the finest of gold and bronze that could be found at the bottom of Tartarus. Jase shook his head in disgust and leveled himself up with the winding steps that led him to his quarters. His mother lived away from the palace, in a little cottage right outside the gates, but there was no room for him there. She had multiple servants who lived there, worked for her, and completed practices with her. It was such a blessed and magical place that even Jase was barely allowed inside.

He reached the ground floor within a matter of minutes. It was peculiar that Hades chose to place his throne underground, but Jase didn’t question it. All gods have a reason. He strode through the Dining Hall and out the back doors, towards the old-raggedy missionary shed. Hades didn’t provide them with many weapons here, but Jase didn’t need any. He could kill a man with just his bare hands, not including magic.

He pushed the doors open and scanned the numerous choices in front of him. His normal weapon of choice was a xiphos, which was a sword-like weapon with sharper blades. But, today, he was feeling a pocketknife. The xiphos would hold him down, and he needed to work on his speed. What better than to keep him lightweight than a simple—and sheathable— blade?

Jase grabbed the closest pocketknife to him and sheathed it in his leather combat gear. He ran a hand through his short black hair and exited the shed. It was about to be nighttime in the Upperworld but in the Underworld it was always dark. The palace is surrounded by caves and tunnels, and it gets increasingly harder to escape the more you make your way up to the surface. Jase longed to see skylight again, to see the stars finally shine and finally be able to appreciate a beautiful sunset. He glanced above him at the boulders and crunched his nose in irritation as he walked another two miles to the Arium.

~

“Control it,” Lorcan said, holding Jase’s arm behind his back. A blade was placed to Jase’s throat, causing him to wince, “control the need to use your powers. You don’t need them. Feel it in your bones, don’t let them overtake you.”

Jase listened, steadying his breath. Lorcan was one of Hades’ best warriors and guards. Hecate appointed him to be Jase’s trainer when he reached a reasonable age, as she felt that Jase needed a man’s instruction instead of a woman’s. Therefore, Jase grew up feeling like Lorcan was his father. Lorcan also looked at him as if he was his son, so the relationship developed rather quickly. Jase hooked his left leg around Lorcan’s left ankle, causing the warrior to fall to the ground with a thump. Jase followed him to the ground and held a knee over his trainer’s neck, drawing the sheathed pocketknife from his pants and holding it to Lorcan’s adam's apple.

Lorcan smiled and breathed heavily, “Nice one. You can release your knee, now.”

Jase smiled back and retreated from him, holding out a hand to help him rise, “My pleasure.”

A body emerged from the darkness outside the cave. It seemed like it was holding something, maybe a bag of some sort? The outline of a bow and arrow came into view, and then the curvy body of Jase’s enemy. He groaned and dropped the knife, leaning against the wall, “have you come to ruin my day, once again, Persephone?”

Persephone, Jase’s rival, and competitor had been trying to beat him for years. In what? He had no idea. All he knew is that the Goddess of Spring had something against him, something he couldn’t pinpoint exactly. But, he went along with it, because he needed some sort of entertainment around this hellhole. Persephone grinned, her tan skin glowing in the small amount of light and her curls tied up in a tight bun, “You’re not the only one that trains with Lorcan. Now, move on, boy.”

“We’re the same age, you idiot, do not undermine me by calling me ‘boy’.”

“Boy,” Josephine sang, “boy, boy, boy.”

Jase stuck out his tongue and bent down to pick up his blade, “You’re ridiculous. I’ll gladly leave. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lorcan.”

Lorcan simply nodded. He didn’t pick sides because reasonably he was to serve Persephone. Hades was his deity, and she was his partner. Hades told everyone in the Underworld to treat her with respect and royalty, but Jase didn’t give a crap. He was a deity, too.

Persephone took his spot and hit her shoulder with his, “And by the way, you look shorter today.”

Jase scoffed and ignored her, exiting the Arium. He would normally entertain Persephone and her dramatics, but today he wasn’t feeling it. His mother was irritated with him, and if he got into another quarrel with Hades’ counterpart than he’d be in for more of a scolding. He was already on thin ice because he screwed one of Hades’ servants last week. But what was he supposed to do? He wouldn’t call himself an overly sexual person, but he had needs, just like every man.

He trekked two miles back to the palace and made his way quickly to his room. He shut the door behind him, sighed, and went into the washroom to freshen up. His room was dark, just like every other place in the Underworld. He had to light a few candles in order to see, but only lit two this time in attempt to make himself sleepy. He hadn’t slept in weeks, so tonight was the night where he was going to try. He dressed himself in night pants but refrained from putting on a shirt, and he crawled in bed at last.

Jase snugged into the sheets, closed his eyes, and allowed the candles to take him into oblivion.