Chapter Four

The battle between the Atlanteans and the Greeks had been long, hard, and bloody.

Both sides had lost countless soldiers. The ground was caked with blood. There was so much of it that wherever I stepped, the ground made a sickening squishing sound. Screams of agony and fathers sobbing over their dead sons. Women screaming from the villages we'd raided and stormed through, young girls shrieking and wailing as they were viciously raped.

"Xenon." A voice said sternly. I frowned and turned to face my second eldest brother, Zelus. Incredibly tall with shoulder-length dark brown wavy hair and piercing white eyes that were ringed heavily with kohl to the point where he almost looked like his sacred animal, the lemur. His blood splattered gold armor clinked as he made his way over to me, pausing to rake the battle field with a stern glower, before he held his gloved hand out to me. I took it and he heaved me to my feet.

"Brother, what is the toll?" I asked him, afraid of the answer. Zelus pinned me with a grim stare.

"I've collected nearly two hundred souls," He informed darkly, "From just our side alone. The enemy is being taken by their god of death, Thanatos. He's informed me their death toll doubles ours." As a god of death, it was only fitting that Zelus be here to take away the souls of our fallen men. And it twisted my gut that so many lives had perished, even on the Greek's half of the battle.

"And Vinion? Where is she?" I asked. Vinion was our younger sister, the Khalian of battle. She had eagerly joined the ranks and slashed at every Greek who came lunging for her throat. Her battle skills had surely been inherited from our uncle, Zetnos, god of war. Zetnos had already taken off after slaughtering nearly a hundred Greeks. It made my stomach churn, even worse now that the air was pungent with the thick scent of blood, sweat, and misery.

"She's gone to get more recruits," Zelus responded, then paused to look around again before his eyes met mine, "We can't stay here. There are more reinforcements from the east coming quickly and the Titan Iapetus is leading them." My eyes flared at that. Iapetus had been the Greek god who destroyed one of our greatest army and infuriated my father. They had wiped out three hundred men and even killed one of my cousins, Lemosia, the goddess of misery. While we hadn't been close, she was still family and her death at the hands of a mad god infuriated me.

"Let them come," I boosted angrily, "We'll slit his throat and send his body to his wife." Zelus cracked a smirk at that, then shook his head.

"We still need more men. Let us make camp once we clear out the village. Are you ready?"

"I'll pretend to be."

We went in with the men we had left and charged each Greek that dared to flee their hiding place. I caught one man around the waist and slung him at the nearest word, watching it cut his chest open as he wailed in agony. I moved onto the next one, caught him by the waist and threw him over my shoulder to land into two more soldiers. I cut a wide arc with my sword and it cut clean through a man's midsection, slicing him in half.

I paused, breathing hard as I wiped at the blood on my face when I heard Zelus shout. I scowled, then turned as I caught movement from the side. A shadow darted out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground. I gasped in shock that someone had actually gotten the jump on me. Even odder was that I could sense the Atlantean in the attacking soldier, however, I didn't recognize him.

His long black hair was whipping in the wind as he breathed hard. His right eye was an iridescent blue while the left one was milky white, a long pinkish scar slicing through it and forking out near the left corner of his mouth. He wore the gold and burgandy armor of a royal Greek soldier. He was rather young, no older than seventeen, maybe even sixteen... No, he was much older than that. He had to be. There was something about his fighting skills that stunned me for a moment before I caught him by the wrist and went to snap it, but he tore his arm down and slammed his elbow into my nose, blood spurting down my lips.

I cursed and wrenched my hand away from his to punch him square in the jaw. His head snapped to the side, but he didn't make a sound, merely spat blood out and went back to trying to beat me senseless. I curled my lip and kicked him hard, sending him flying back into one of the cottages, knocking the wall down. I jumped back onto my feet, snatching up my sword and stalking toward the cottage where a couple of women fled in fear.

The Greek soldier was pushing himself to his feet, breathing hard. I narrowed my eyes.

He was a god. I could sense it... But Atlantean? I would know him. Our pantheon was actually quite small. So who the hell was this monster?

He lunged at me again, this time picking up a nearby sword and swinging it at my throat, making me reel my head back. Yet, I still felt the breath of the sword hiss against my Adam's apple. I curled my lip and ducked his next swipe at me. I swung my sword around to hit him, but he swung his arm up and blocked it. I was stunned that my sword had cut through his leather arm guard, blood spurting free. He didn't even bat a lash at the attack and used it to grip my arm, jerking him forward and slamming our heads together.

I gasped, stumbling back disoriented. His foot slammed into my chest and sent me falling back into the dirt. I blinked rapidly, seeing his blurry form lift his sword to hack at me, but my vision cleared in time for Anexius to come out of nowhere, tackling the Greek to the ground. I sat up quickly, breathing hard as Anexius wrenched the sword away, then slammed his knee into the Greek's face so hard that I swore I heard his skull fracture. He went limp and Anexius went to deliver the final blow, until I scrambled to my feet.

"Anexius, stop! He is Atlantean!" I shouted, catching Anexius's wrist. Anexius scowled at me, then looked down at the god, confused.

"But he is Greek as well."

"We could have a traitor in our midst," I hissed, making Anexius's eyes flash with fear, "We must take him with us. Does he have a signet ring?" Anexius frowned, picking up the soldier's limp hand and peeling a bloodied glove off, then going still. The soldier's hand was severely scarred and his thumb swollen and purple. But there was no ring.

"Bring him anywhere. We'll find out who he is." I told him sternly. Anexius nodded and let me heave the soldier over my shoulder. Zelus came running over to us and I ignored Anexius's obvious disgust at our older brother's presence.

"We've run out the last of the Greeks-- Whoa. I think father said no raping the soldiers." He added dryly when he saw the god over my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"I'm not taking him for that, fool. I sense Atlantean and Greek blood in his veins. There could be a traitor in our midst. I think it best we interrogate him for answers." I added. Zelus considered that before nodding in approval. Anexius and I picked our way past the broken bodies of both friend and foe until we kicked down the door to an abandoned cottage.

"He is quite young," Anexius commented as I dropped the soldier to the floor and kicked him on his back, drawing his wrists behind him so I could tie them, not that that would do much good given that he was a god, "Surely he's come on his own. Who'd send a child?"

"The gods can be cruel." I admitted. A haunted look came across Anexius's face, then he blinked it away and his eyes followed me as I drew water from the well just outside the kitchen door.

"What are you doing?"

"We can't interrogate him when he's unconscious now, can we?"

"No, I suppose not." Anexius said dryly. I smirked at that, then threw the bucket on the soldier's head. He jolted awake. No groggy eye roll or dazed confusion. He was awake and a second later, the ropes tore from his wrists before he lunged to take off, but Anexius and I caught him by the shoulders and threw him back into the corner. He panted hard, blood leaking from a cut near his hairline, so the droplet ran down the side of his nose.

"Who are you?" I demanded. The soldier said nothing, narrowing his eyes. Anexius looked at me.

"I don't think he speaks Atlantean, brother--"

"Sos eta Hannibal." The soldier snapped after a moment. I blinked, bewildered. Anexius stared at him, then looked at me with a raised brow. Obviously the soldier had grown up in Atlantis long enough to speak the language so fluently. Most Greeks never dared to learn our language, calling it the language of the damned.

They had no idea how right they were.

"Hannibal," I said in Atlantean, "And what is your parentage?"

"Fuck you." Hannibal responded hatefully, eyes glowing with the rancid emotion. Anexius sighed.

"We're not going to get anything out of him. He's like Drak. Useless." He tacked on. I cast him a warning glare for insulting our baby brother, but Anexius didn't even look slightly remorseful. I turned back to Hannibal, taking a step toward him. He reacted more like a cornered animal. He hissed at me and lunged to grab me, but I caught him and spun him around, putting an arm around his throat and another around his waist to hold him firmly against me as he squirmed.

"We're not going to hurt you." I told him. Hannibal spat on the floor at Anexius's feet, making my brother's eyes flash angrily. He lunged for Hannibal and threw him at the wall so hard that Hannibal's skull cracked against it and he sank to the floor, but surprisingly, he wasn't unconscious. He stumbled for a moment, then caught the wall for balance and slowly slid up until he was standing again, breathing hard and wiping blood from the cut on his brow.

"Much." Anexius said, tacking onto my earlier comment. I glared at him and he shrugged innocently. I turned back to Hannibal, who was glaring at us warily past his hair as he ran a thumb down the side of his mouth to wipe away the blood.

"You have Atlantean blood in you," I said, watching him cautiously, "We want to know from whom it came from." Hannibal narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, lips pursing in refusal. Anexius looked irritated.

"Xenon--"

"Anexius, enough," I ordered impatiently, "Interrogation takes much longer than a few minutes. We're taking him back to Atlantis with us." Hannibal's eyes widened and he started to run past me, but I caught him around the waist and he snarled like a wild animal, flinging his head back into my face. I gasped and released him, cupping my nose. Hannibal took off out the door before we could go after him. Anexius cursed, running to the door and looking around in bewilderment before looking back at me.

"Damn, for a kid he's incredibly smart," He commented, then grimaced as he approached me, "Are you okay, brother?"

"You'd think being here with you would protect me from this kind of pain."

"Yeah, well, think of it this way. You weren't holding a regular god or child. You were holding a little monster. You kind of deserved it. Monsters should be put out of their misery for the good of all."

"We'll catch up with him," I promised bitterly, spitting blood onto the floor and grimacing as my nose healed itself, "That's the sixth time today my nose was broken. I need to find my helmet."

"And I need to find my sword. I'm basically useless without it." Anexius snorted. I smiled at that, but I still had a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I couldn't pinpoint.

That night we were attacked again by the Greeks, and again, I came in contact with the Atlantean hybrid we'd attempted to interrogate. He fought like a wild animal, but a very skilled wild animal. He cut through half our ranks. A warrior god indeed.

Come to find out, he'd been bounced around the entire Greek pantheon before he finally fell into the arms of an intriguing incubus. The world was actually quite small.

My memory was sliced open by flickering images of people screaming, of Anexius grabbing at me and trying to pull me onto the Greek shore. My breathing picked up, sharp gasps and I felt someone touching my shoulder. Alarm burst through me and my eyes flew open to find Dorean leaning over top of me, his wide silver eyes full of curiousity. I blinked rapidly, cold sweat making my hair stick to my face. Dorean's expression became worried.

"Xenon okay? You make lots of scary noises when you sleep." He commented. I held my breath for a moment, then let it out slow and careful. I was too afraid to close my eyes again. I also didn't like the way Dorean was leaning over top of me and invading my personal space. I cleared my throat and he seemed to understand as he slid back off me and scooted to the foot of my bed. He was wearing the pajamas I had given him the night before-- before I passed out. Silky black and trimmed in white, it was a stark contrast to his white hair, silver eyes, and pale skin. He looked almost like a ghost, save for his wings and tail.

"Are you okay," Dorean asked curiously, "You sounded like you was crying. It's why I came in here in the first place." I shook my head, rolling over onto my side and grimacing at the throbbing headache in my temples. I pulled myself to the edge of the bed, picking up my clock to stare at the red numbers that indicated it was almost noon. I grunted and flopped back down on the bed.

I almost drifted off if it wasn't for Dorean shaking the bed when he crawled over to me and sat down, rubbing my back. I tilted my head, looking at him past my hair curiously.

"What're you doing?" I asked groggily. Dorean beamed. Christ, how can anyone be this happy in the morning?

"This always makes Adrian feel better after he wakes up cuz of the scary dreams. Adrian does the same thing you do in your sleep." He replied. I frowned at that and part of me wanted to tell him to cut it out and go do whatever it was he did when Adrian wasn't dragging him around in public, but then I vaguely remembered telling him he could design my house to his heart's content.

I sighed at that, closing my eyes to rest a bit longer when a tingle shot up my spine. I cursed under my breath and Dorean withdrew his hand, glaring at me. I pushed myself up onto my elbows.

"Sorry," I said, momentarily forgetting his now swearing or yelling rule, "I have a job to do. I'm going to loan you just enough of my power to summon whatever it is you need to make the house to your liking." Dorean's eyes sparkled at that.

"You trust me?"

"Are you saying I shouldn't?"

"No, no," Dorean said quickly, climbing off the bed as I rolled out and he followed me to the bathroom as I started up the shower, "I just... Well, Malachi doesn't let me do that kind of stuff. He says he likes the place the way it is. And you were drinking lots of that smelly drink and it made you act funny. So... I thought maybe you was joking." I shook my head as I picked up a towel and dropped it on a nearby rack.

"You can do whatever you deem fit. Make this place as comfortable for you as possible," I reached out and touched Dorean's shoulder, making him gasp, his eyes glowing momentarily, "That should be enough for you to summon anything you need. But not people." Dorean didn't even question that part and ran off, making loud excited sounds that pierced my eardrums, but were oddly adorable. I went into the shower and rinsed off before changing into my long jacket, leather pants, and a black v-neck. The tingle was still a fierce roar up my spine.

I went to the kitchen to find Dorean chewing on apple slices. He looked up brightly at the sight of me.

"I have house all friendly by the time you come back, yes?"

"All right. I'll be back in a bit. Don't wait up." I added. Dorean just nodded. I vanished in a column of smoke from my home. And as soon as I did, I felt the loss of Dorean's presence like a kick in the stomach. Even worse as I was summoned into the home of a frantic vampire. He was pacing like a caged panther in his luxerious living room, raking long black fingernails through his equally midnight colored hair, his eyes a deep shade of burgandy. As soon as I appeared, he jumped and whirled on me with a hiss before he abruptly stopped when he realized it was me entering the room.

"Xenon!" He exclaimed, sounding more angry than relieved.

His name was Steele. A popular aristocrat, despite being a lower level demon. He had got in good with Hades after reporting a coup d'état about two hundred years back and as thanks for his services, Steele was given a higher rank and some hefty funds that used to invest in several popular nightclubs in Styx, one of which included the Goth club that Cerberus frequented.

And he was in a social pickle because at said night club not more than a few months ago, there had been two weeks in which the hybrid god, Hannibal, had been sold into illegal prostitution and Steele had stupidly let it happen because it brought it more business for him. However, now that the case had been reopened, Theo was ordering the nightclub to be shut down and Steele wanted to ask for my help to keep his business alive.

It didn't matter that he had half the city backing him up either, because half the city hated Hannibal for raping their precious little lord, Abel.

See what I mean when staying away from the Sons of Hades was a good idea?

Everywhere they went, they caused trouble and ruin for everyone. I knew full well that Hannibal wasn't the vile beast everyone claimed him to be. He was a god, but he'd been raised as worthless.

"Steele." I greeted flatly. He glared at me.

"What took you so long?"

"Traffic."

"You're a bad liar," Steele seethed past clenched teeth, his fangs glinting in the large expensive chandeliers hanging overhead, "I need your help. My club is going to be shut down at the rate Theo is bulldozing all my attempts to save it. He says he doesn't want rape being a sport in his city. He even had the fucking nerve to make a public announcement about it! Who the hell does that brat think he is?!"

"Ah, yeah, I know," I agreed sarcastically, pausing to glance at the television to see the local news broadcasting Theo's speech, "Son of Hades? And his baby boy at that? Bah." I didn't mention Hades's new baby boy, though. Too bad, Theo. Looks like someone was about to take your place. I tuned into the speech as the camera panned in. I was surprised to see Theo even bothering with something like this. He generally shut himself away and made Sept do all of his work for him. Now he was standing on the fountain at the main square in Styx.

"I won't have an establishment that allows this kind of crime," Theo barked, his red eyes flashing across the crowd that had gathered to listen, "I don't really give two shits what his past is like. Abel gave his statement and told you all to back off, but for some reason, even though you preach your love for him, you still disobey him. And it doesn't matter who's raped. It's still a disgusting crime and I won't have it promoted in my city! Steele knew very well what was going on in his club and he let it happen because he was a selfish slug who wanted your good money--" Steele snarled and shut the television off before throwing the remote at the floor, whirling to face me. I lifted a brow, tucking my hands into the pockets of my jacket.

"I need a way to keep my club, Xenon," He warned, "All my income comes from that."

"Maybe you should've thought of that before A) You blew off all the funds Hades gave you, and B) for letting those men rape an innocent man."

"He's not innocent," Steele all but shrieked, "He raped a son of Hades! Why isn't Hades doing anything about this?! Where the fuck is he while his idiotic brats destroy his realm?!" Uhm, maybe freaking out over the fact that he's about to have a baby that he'll need to fight for because Blaine was about as ready to give up this kid as he was his first one. Of course, I kept that to myself, narrowing my eyes on him.

"People make mistakes, Steele. I'm positive you've made your fair share. Like letting them do what they did to Hannibal."

"That wasn't a mistake! It was justice! And I won't have my club destroyed by that ginger toddler! I want you to bring me his mother!" Steele ordered. I stared at him in disbelief. Bring Theo's mother? What was Steele trying to do? Give the kid a heartattack? And it was such a stupid request. He was acting like a toddler himself, calling for Theo's mommy to come save the day. As if Aria would even bother. The coldhearted bitch had spent the whole of Theo's childhood tormenting him and abusing him. It was the reason for Theo's unsettling masochism and current interest in cutting his thighs and wrists to make up for the pain his lover had ceased to give him. Just thinking about her made my skin crawl.

But this was still my job.

And if I could distract the Sons of Hades from Dorean, then by all means, I would take it.

"And what will you give me in return?" I asked. Steele opened his mouth to say money, but I raised my hand at him sharply.

"I don't want your filthy commonor change. I request something of much more value." I warned. Steele gritted his teeth in frustration, fists clenched as he seemed to mull it over. His fangs flashed in the chandelier lights and a smile came onto my face. I could also make this very difficult.

"Give me your fangs." I stated. Steele turned white as a sheet.

"W-What?"

"You heard me, Edward Cullen. Give me those pearly whites and I will bring Aria to you personally."

"You can't take my fangs," Steele cried out angrily, taking a step back from me and covering his mouth, "I won't be able to feed without these! These are a symbol of power, of--"

"And you are giving it up to save your fortune. How much is your wealth and status worth to you, Steele?" I challenged. Steele gritted his teeth and silently fumed, but I could see the gears turning in my head and it sickened me. He was actually considering giving up his fangs, just so he could keep his nice fancy penthouse and dingy nightclub. I don't even see how bringing Aria into this would even stop his nightclub from being shut down.

Well, aside from distracting Theo and scaring him into a corner.

And that disgusted me even more. Using a child's nightmare against him. There was nothing said scumbag more than that.

"Okay," Steele snapped at last, making me frown as he approached me, "I'll do it. Bring me the brat's bitchmother and convince her to help me. I'll give you my fangs."

"You sure about that? What happened to them being a symbol of power?"

"I can buy new ones." Steele said it so casually that it made me wish he'd never summoned me, but it was my job. Besides, those fangs were magical on their own anyway. I could definitely find a good use for them in the future. I reached up and grabbed Steele by the jaw, making him yelp in alarm. I could feel him trembling, his breath coming out in sharp, worried pants. I should've taken mercy on him and knocked him out first, but he was taking no mercy on Theo.

As much as I hated the sniveling cockroach, I wouldn't stoop this low to hurt him. If I wanted to hurt him, I'd kick him in mouth and move on.

I reached in, got a good hold on one sharp fang and yanked it out. Steele screamed in pain and almost fell on his knees, but I caught him around the waist as I held the bloodied fang up to the light to watch the red blood leak over it. I tucked it into one of my pockets, then reached in for the other one. Steele stammered for me to stop, but I'd already begun, so I yanked the other one out and he wailed, sinking to his knees as I released him and stood back.

He was spitting up blood and choking, tears streaking down his face. I ignored him as I tucked the other fang away.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours, or however long it takes to convince the gorgon." I answered, then vanished from Steele's penthouse, mostly to get away from his sobs and screams of pain.

He was an idiot. Sure, he could buy false fangs, but it was going to be a bitch to find a surgeon who'd even want to help him considering how arrogant and rude he was. He'd also just lost half of his power. The fangs were more than just a symbol of power, of what he needed to do to feed.

They were like batteries to the television remote.

And now he needed a new way to power himself up, which could be done, but he'd be digging himself into some serious trouble.

I located Theo's mother after sending my power out in pulses. I picked up on her location and teleported to a small studio apartment in, of all places, Inferi. It made sense. She was just a low level demon. And standing in the kitchen with a silver dagger at the ready was the heifer bitch herself.

Aria was incredibly tall. Taller than Theo, but she had the same blood red hair that was tied back from her sharp featured face and matching red eyes. Her entire left ear was pierced with gold rings and a gold stud in her left nostril. She wore a cropped black tank top and tight leather pants. She didn't look like a mother. She looked more like Lara Croft's evil twin... The Angelina Jolie Lara Croft anyway.

"Aria." I stated, just to make sure. She narrowed her eyes to slits, holding her dagger at me.

"Who are you and what the fuck are you doing in my house?"

"You call this a house? I've seen outhouses bigger than this." I responded. She lunged at me with her dagger, but I caught her by the wrist, snapped the dagger out of her hand so it clattered to the floor, then spun her around and shoved her away from me. She stumbled, then whipped around, eyes flashing angrily.

"My name is Xenon," I told her and her eyes widened slightly in recognition, "I was sent here by an aristocrat named Steele. You know him?" Aria curled her lip, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, I know him. He's been all over the news."

"Your son is having his business shut down." I added. Aria's eyes glowed with so much hatred that it actually stung.

"That cum stain is not my son," She sneered viciously, "He was a mistake. I gave him to Hades and he was supposed to give me my place in a palace and--"

"You should've expected it. Hades doesn't keep any of his mistresses around for long, and not to mention, you were found guilty of child abuse. I'd probably kick you on your ass too."

"You don't know anything! I was training Theo to be strong! To be a warrior, a prince--"

"Yeah, totally. Save your pathetic story for Theo himself," I said, making Aria scowl in confusion, "Steele wants you to help him fight Theo for the rights to keep his club. If you've seen the news, you'll see that Theo isn't too pleased that the club was ground zero for rape."

"I don't support that act."

"He doesn't give two shits. He just wants you to scare Theo, distract him enough so that Steele can do whatever it is he plans to do to keep his nightclub. I'm just here to make sure the deal he made with me carries out."

"Deal?"

"He gave me his fangs in return for bringing you to him."

"And what if I don't want to go?"

"Why wouldn't you? You get to terrorize your son once again and make him cry and beg for mercy. And you get to publicly humiliate him. After all, didn't he do the same to you?" I asked. Aria clenched her fists and ground her teeth together. I could feel the fury rippling off her in waves and it made me sick.

She should have never been a mother. There was no maternal instincts anywhere in this demon. She was the demon that the Christians spoke so fearfully of. The one who would gladly eat your first born child and kill your entire family. She put to shame all the other demons who wanted nothing to do with humanity.

"Fine," Aria sneered, "On one condition."

"Yeah?"

"I get to kill him."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not just going to terrorize that stupid little shit," Aria smirked deviously, "I'm going to gut him on the floor of the palace that should have been mine."

Oh yeah.

She was nuts.

Why do I keep doing these deals with people again?