"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

- Albert Einstein 

                                                                               ***

The darkness responded this time. 

It tackled him, swarming around him so violently it knocked him to the ground and tore the wolf out of him. Sirius snarled as he scrambled to his feet, muscles crackling with black lightning.

He snapped his teeth at a few shreds of the darkness that brushed against his face, whispering in a language he didn't care to remember.

Galloway.

The name reverberated through him. Her scream still echoed in his head, the sound one of pure terror. He'd never heard her make a sound like that before. He didn't ever want to again.

Hades had her. Hades was playing games.

He needed to hurry.

His claws scrambled on the warm stone beneath him, sending up sparks as he shot down the winding passageway that spiraled deeply into Hell. That image Hades had given him before unlocking his cage was burned into his mind.

Fear trembled through him, dull and easily ignored now that he was in this form.

The old temple. That's where Hades had dragged her. A palace of midnight horrors and dark dreams. A place Sirius had reveled in when the old gods held court and every wicked desire might be met and exceeded. A place he hated for the memories it held.

Sirius ran harder, exulting in the easy speed, the powerful flex and push of muscles in this body. The darkness and wind ruffled his fur, feeling pleasantly like fingers brushing over him. Scents and sounds flowed past, easily cataloged then tossed aside as unimportant.

Maybe he'd stay this way forever if he couldn't save Galloway.

The thought sank insidious claws into his mind and he snarled, shaking it off. That wasn't even an option.

The air grew thicker with the copper scent of blood and the sweet stink of rot. Sirius plowed forward, ignoring the tendrils of darkness trying to wrap around him, whispering at him to slow down. To not charge blindly in to the truly fell places down here.

He had been a fool to ever trust it. To ever think it would pick him instead of bending to Hades' will.

It had been at Hades' beck and call for millennia before Sirius had been born. Its alignment with the underworld lord had been much more rewarding than anything Sirius had ever offered. 

Hades is one of our lords, yes, the darkness hissed. But remember you are dear to us.

Sirius only growled in answer and ran harder, his claws leaving white marks on the stone with every stride. His heart thudded against his ribs, pounding so hard it felt near to bursting. The fur on his back and tail bristled with each step closer.

It didn't matter what waited down there. All he knew was that he couldn't leave Galloway alone with it.

Deeper and deeper he descended into Hell, until the stink of decay abated and was replaced by a more sour smell. Tart, like green apples drenched in honey. It reminded him of nevermore apples—faerie fruit that would leave even a Hellhound in a haze of dreams for days.

He barreled through a tattered veil made of fine spider silk and skidded to a halt, eyes darting over the wild revel in front of him as his ears flattened against the sudden onslaught of noise.

It had been hidden until he passed through the veil. The sights, the sounds—all hidden away from the rest of Hell. The only warning had been the smell. One he hadn't cared to heed.

An Unseelie faerie stumbled past him, thin wires of gold twisted around the horns spiraling from her head. He growled when she stroked a clawed hand over the fur of his back, and she burst into shrieking laughter before continuing on her way.

Sirius slunk into the flickering shadows along the wall. His ears flattened as he watched every foul, fell and fair creature that Hades liked to play with throw themselves into every cruel pleasure on offer. 

Even he had to admit that parties in Hell bordered on epic before they tumbled into obscene.

The air glittered with smoke and powder, smelling of blood, sex and a hint of fear. Unearthly music trilled and throbbed and tripped around them. Sirius prowled through the room, trying to sniff out Galloway without succumbing to any of the nastier things in the air.

Faeries, beautiful and ethereal, danced past him, some even daring to touch him. One blue-skinned male with golden talons and thorns in his indigo hair went so far as to whisper in his ear. This emboldened a slim female in a dress of lilac flowers to press a kiss just under his eye.

But Sirius had spent enough time in Faerie to not be susceptible to their tricks and allures. And faerie blood was too sweet to risk biting one for their irreverence. 

He snapped his teeth in warning, which just made them say wicked, lovely things that would have made him start looking for a private corner a year ago. Sirius shook his head, ears twitching at each scream and moan that sounded through the music.

He moved deeper into the revel and the faeries fell back to their circles, calling after him. Pleading for such a cruel, pretty thing to stay and dance with them.

Sirius stood on his hind legs, but couldn't see beyond the crowd of things. With a sigh, he let the darkness wrap around him and pull him back to a human shape. He brushed the lingering strands off his arms, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

Demons whispered to one another, glaring at him from behind goblets of blood and other, fouler things. 

Satyrs chased after men and women with pale green skin and flowers or leaves  for hair. Dark elves with their ice blond hair and deep red eyes lounged on low sofas, picking at plates of raw meat. Witches drank potions and snorted powders they'd made themselves before tangling around the monsters holding their leash.

Sirius pushed through the crowd, ignoring snarls and threats as he brushed roughly past sensitive wings or tripped over tails.

Gorgons slithered past and he cast his eyes down, not about to give Hades a pretty, new statue for his jeweled gardens. A goddess he didn't recognize brushed against him, sliding her hand over his chest. An incubus winked at him, sharp teeth buried in the pale neck of a Fury whose lips were parted in ecstasy.

He continued to move through the crowd.

Hades didn't share space with the rabble.

His head was beginning to feel cloudy, and he couldn't seem to keep his focus. Ruby light flashing off delicate fangs made him pause. Then a low, sultry moan had him turning, searching for the source. A scent like pine and blood teased him.

Each time, the darkness licked at his neck, whispering for him to find Hades and he was reminded of why he was here.

After an age, Sirius finally broke free of the crowd and he heard them start to murmur as he started up the wide, obsidian stairs that disappeared into the ancient dark above. His head cleared by increments as he moved above the poisoned air, his steps quickening as he caught her scent.

Sirius sprinted up the last few steps high above the revel and burst through a pair of black, glass doors. 

Galloway knelt in the center of the room, still as a statue. Not even her hair was stirred by the smooth breeze playing through the jewel-encrusted columns. She was in a dress of sapphire blue, the skirts spread around her like the petals of some giant flower.

He whispered her name, eyes darting around the gloomy interior. When she didn't so much as flinch, his heart sank toward his feet. Sirius looked around again, but the only thing moving was the black, diaphanous silk hanging between a handful of the columns.

That lack of movement didn't mean anything. Hades was here and had most likely been watching him since Sirius had stepped past that veil into the revel.

So he might as well be bold and insolent. Once upon a time that was one of the things Hades had professed to adore about him. 

Still, he couldn't keep himself from scanning and scenting the room one last time. Nothing. Sirius took a final, bracing breath, then pushed off from the column he was lingering in the shadows of to saunter across the room.

He didn't look to the sides, keeping his gaze pinned on Galloway.

His steps echoed against the stone and his blood was screaming inside of him, begging for him to rush forward, scoop her up and run as far and as fast as he could. Sirius forced his steps to remain slow and confident.

He wasn't stealing anything, he was claiming what was rightfully his. 

A warm breeze swept past them when he finally knelt in front of her. Her grey eyes were blank, lost in whatever was going on inside her mind. Sirius sighed and her blonde hair ruffled under his breath as he took her face in his hands.

But she didn't even blink. She didn't try to claw his eyes out, or yank away from him. There wasn't even the flutter of an eyelash when he brushed his thumb over her cheekbone, savoring the familiar shape. Her lips were parted slightly and he leaned forward, pressing his mouth to hers.

The taste of gasoline and apples and silver flooded over him, making him kiss her harder, but nothing changed. Her breathing didn't hitch, her eyes didn't flutter closed. She was cold as ice.

"It's not a fairy tale, Sirius," Hades' low voice said from behind him. "A kiss won't wake up the sleeping princess and there will be no slaying of dragons. No dances until midnight or tower escapes." He chuckled. "It doesn't work that way when you're the villain—the wolf stalking a little red hood."

Sirius lightly bit her lower lip, but still nothing. Reluctantly, he pulled back, stroking his thumb across her cheek again.

"I liked the one where the queen cut the hearts out of her enemies," Sirius rasped as he uncoiled to his feet. Hades was leaning against one of the columns, arms crossed over his broad chest, dark eyes unreadable. 

The god had been sparring, judging by the black and gold ichor swirled over his bare chest. Several knives hung from a weapons belt at his lean waist, more tucked into the black leather vambraces he wore on his forearms. 

For once, Hades looked just as dangerous as he really was.

"You did always have a weakness for poisoned apples," Hades mused, still not moving any closer. His gaze drifted down to Galloway. "Though you hardly cared for princesses in need of rescuing."

"I prefer queens who bathe in the blood of their enemies," Sirius said with a sharp, brittle grin.

"Am I your enemy?" The underworld god paced to the side, winding through the pillars, fingers glancing carelessly off jewels worth a king's ransom. Ruby firelight flashed off sharp fangs as he asked the question.

Sirius scoffed, shuffling sideways to keep himself between Hades and Galloway. But he managed to keep his mouth shut. Hades would tell him why he was here exactly when Hades wanted to and not a millisecond before.

"I suppose you do think that," Hades said with a sigh, the sound melancholy. Like he regretted that fact. 

"Is it really so unbelievable," Sirius found himself asking, turning as Hades disappeared into one shadow just to emerge from another at his back. "Is it so hard for you to understand why I hate you?"

"I'd rather you hate me than feel nothing at all," Hades whispered, the words echoing around them, multiplying until Sirius could feel Hades' voice in his blood and bones. "You never were what I expected you to be, and I did love you for that, Sirius."

"No." Sirius shook his head. "No, we both know there's only one thing you love."

A scent like wildflowers filled the air, so sweet Sirius nearly gagged. Hades closed his eyes, salt-white hair ruffling in the breeze.

Adored. Reviled. Used. Abused. Delighted in. Those were the things Hades had done to him. The things he'd felt for Sirius. But there had never been much difference between how Hades showed any of those things.

"And only one thing you love," Hades finally said with a sigh, appearing right behind Sirius, who flinched in spite of himself. His fangs lengthened, snagging at his lip when Hades touched Galloway, twisting a blonde curl around his finger. 

Sirius didn't bother responding. A sigh slipped past his parted lips when Hades finally stopped touching her, turning back to him. The god leveled a considering look on him, then reached forward and lightly grasped Sirius' jaw.

A shudder ran through him, but he didn't dare move. Not with Galloway so close by and so vulnerable.

Hades let him go, just to circle him. He stopped just behind Sirius, running a finger down his arm before he whispered in his ear, "What would you do for her, I wonder. I nearly went to war with my brothers for Seph. I played every game she needed me to, just to prove my love."

Sirius didn't respond. He kept his eyes glued to Galloway's blank face when Hades' breath whispered across the side of his throat.

"What would you do for her?" he asked again.

"Anything," Sirius choked out.

Hades hummed, the sound pleased. "Such a lovely answer." Fangs pricked at Sirius' skin, but he still didn't dare to move. "But I'm not sure if I believe you."

"I don't give a fuck if you believe me," Sirius hissed.

"Oh, you'll have to care, Siri." Hades laughed softly, moving away from him. "Because I'm the only way out of this place. For you, or for her."

Sirius just blinked slowly. That wasn't true and they both knew it. Hades grinned, like he had heard those doubtful thoughts. A small smile on his mouth, he tilted his head toward Galloway. "Why don't you take a peek."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Sirius slowly shook his head. He didn't want to. He didn't want to see the full extent of the damage.

Hades was suddenly right behind him again, having jumped through mist and shadow. He fisted one hand in Sirius' hair, forcing his head down so he was staring at Galloway. 

"Look at her," he hissed, the vicious sound slicing past Sirius' ear.

The command plucked at his nerves and slid through his blood. He was unable to resist and stared at Galloway, bringing her Soul up to the surface.

It swirled beneath her skin. Blue and gold. Green and silver. Red and purple. There was more black than he remembered, but less than he would have expected.

But they moved slowly, dully—eddying beneath her skin like a murky river. The different pieces of her Soul didn't move and twist together like they once had and seemed somehow dim. Like one wrong move would have them winking out or snapping apart forever.

A whimper rose unbidden to his throat, pressing against the back of his clenched teeth as he tried to jerk away from Hades.

The underworld god just sighed. "Soul sick. One bad day away from snapping apart and dissolving into nothingness."

Bile raced up Sirius' throat and Hades released him as he retched, nothing in his stomach to bring up. Sweat broke out across his brow and cheekbones, trickling down his temple as he stared at Galloway, willing her Soul back to her core, where it would have the best chance of recovering.

She stayed kneeling before them, catatonic and white as a sheet.

"What are you doing to her?" Sirius choked out, whirling on the god. His claws extended, fangs cutting so deeply into his lip that blood dripped down his chin. 

"I'm trying to keep her in one piece," Hades snapped.

Everything seemed to stop dead around them. Sirius shook his head in disbelief or bewilderment, he wasn't sure which. He stepped closer to Galloway, half-tempted to grab her shoulders and try to shake her into consciousness.

Hades snarled, making Sirius quail slightly. Then the god laughed, dragging a hand through his unusually messy hair.

"I underestimated the damage you would wreak, Sirius. Somehow I always do." Hades was suddenly crouched in front of Galloway, fingers gently tipping her face up. "I didn't want to shatter her."

"Don't lie," Sirius snarled. "You're a lot of things, Hades, but you were rarely a liar. That was more Persephone's thing."

A hand was around his throat, fangs snapping inches away from his eye. "Insult my queen again, Sirius, and the Huntress' Soul won't be the only thing that shatters."

Sirius cast his gaze to the side, not daring to lift a hand in defense. Hades' fingers dug a little harder into his windpipe, making him gasp for air before he was dropped to the ground.   

With a shake of his head, Hades turned back to Galloway. "Shattering her won't get me what I want. It'll turn her into nothing more than a useless lump of clay. I can't use clay to get out of Hell, Sirius."

Silence echoed as those words sank in. Sirius got slowly to his feet, muscles skittish and jumpy around Hades, preparing instinctively for the next outburst of violence. He lightly touched Galloway's shoulder, still half expecting her to look up at him.

"What games would you play, Sirius," Hades suddenly asked, looking weary. "What would you do for her. Would you ruin yourself? Whore yourself? Is there any asking price you would find so unacceptable you wouldn't pay it on her behalf?"

Now the god stood directly in front of him, looking down at him. Sirius stared at Galloway as Hades trailed a finger down his throat.

"Perhaps I should ask what wouldn't you do for her," Hades whispered.

Sirius finally met his black stare. "Nothing," he said, voice little more than a rasp. "There's nothing I wouldn't do."

"Prove it." Hades cocked his head, the movement reptilian. "Prove your love."

His eyes darted around the empty room, but no challenge immediately presented itself. Quiet horror began to seep through his blood as Hades smiled, the teeth in front of his canines sharpening into fangs too.

What wouldn't you do for her?

Slowly, Sirius tilted his head back to stare at the dark ceiling, baring his throat. Every instinct of survival and pride howled at him, but he stayed with his head tipped back for what felt like eternity.

Fingers bit into the back of his neck before Hades' fangs sank into his skin, puncturing the main artery. A yelp was drowned in the blood surging into the wound.

Hades held him fast against his body, drinking deeply.

Only when his vision was sparkling and breathing took every scrap of will he possessed did Hades let him go. He dropped to his knees with all the grace of a sack of potatoes, one hand coming up to press against the wound in his neck.

Woozy, he couldn't decide if the room was weaving back and forth, or if it was just him.

Hades knelt down in front of him, licking a smear of dark blood from his lips. He reached forward and pulled Sirius' hand away, smoothing a thumb over the puncture marks.

The skin healed over instantly, his head clearing as a well of fresh blood burst through his veins. Sirius shot to his feet and stared down at Hades, wanting to bolt like he would have a thousand years ago after such an episode. But he couldn't leave Galloway.

His muscles trembled as he hesitated, stuck between his body's desperate screaming to get away from Hades while his heart demanded he go to Galloway. 

A cry escaped him when she gasped in a shuddering breath, then slumped to the side, her body shaking uncontrollably.

He darted forward, but Hades was already scooping her up in his arms. Sirius' lips parted, his heart thudding wildly in his chest as Hades began to whisper into Galloway's ear.

Even Sirius couldn't pick out what the god was saying, but his heart slowly began to descend from his throat as she stopped shaking. A little color returned to her cheeks.

Sirius swallowed hard. "What game am I supposed to be playing?"

Hades looked up at him, black eyes flashing with unholy light. He arched a pale eyebrow, still cradling Galloway to his chest. Obviously Hades had meant what he'd said about keeping her together, otherwise he wouldn't have wasted the breath on whatever magic he'd just worked on her.

Gesturing to his throat, Sirius said, "That wasn't a game. That was barely even a snack. So what am I supposed to be playing?"

A pleased grin spread over Hades' face. He hefted Galloway up a little higher in his arms, then said, "Fetch."