Chapter Two

My temples in Atlantis were always crowded during spring time, the time when the plants who'd withered during the winter returned bright and vibrant. The warm sunlight of my sister, Atlia, and the day time warmth from my father, Atlan, made the day all the more perfect.

A woman was singing a hymn in my honor as she swung her hips from side to side in dance to the music that her all male band was playing behind her. They had set up just outside one of my main temples, a large white prestine building with my sacred emblem of a phoenix etched into the roof, matching the gold version of it that was spread out across the temple hall.

I wandered in, cloaked from their view as I paused near one of the tall, Atlantean etched columns that held the roof towering over our heads. A statue stood at the head of the temple, white and smooth, it was an almost exact copy of me, but probably slightly more handsome with the long straight nose and stern features that were a little too soft compared to how I really tended to look. A sharp edged shield was etched with my emblem, and the clothes were so well carved that it looked as if any moment the gentle day breeze would ruffle them.

And at the statue's feet was a long gold table with offerings for me. My stomach growled at the sight of the amount of fruits and meats they had offered for me. A few women had given up their greatest jewelry for me, and even the little handprints made by infants in the gold dust on the tables warmed my heart.

"Father told you to stop spying on the mortals, didn't he?" A voice asked. I blinked, then turned to see one of my youngest brothers hidden in the shadows near the forest that lined the outside of my temple. I cocked my head at him and he took that as an invitation. Atlantean custom forbade other gods from entering another temple without permission first.

And Anexius was always invited into my temples. My favorite brother, as much as I hated to admit it, Anexius was the youngest of our group, setting aside the twins, Drulius and Drak. Anexius wasn't quite as tall as the rest of my siblings and I. He was barely six foot, his long black hair in straight locks down to his waist, with two braids that trailed down the left side of his head. His eyes were the same bright clear shade of white as the rest of my siblings and I. And while my robes were white with streaks of green, Anexius's were white and blue.

"I couldn't resist," I told Anexius honestly as he approached me, "These are my people. It should only make sense that I visit them on my sacred holiday." Anexius shrugged, as if he could partially agree with me before he stood beside me as we watched the worshippers come and leave gifts. A few even got on their knees and bent all the way forward so their forehead touched the marble floor, their hands spread out in front of them. As they rose, they drew their hands out and over their hand, then back down on their laps before they rose.

The prayer of rebirth and hope.

"They truly love you, brother." Anexius murmured. I turned to look at him. There was an odd tone to his voice that I couldn't pinpoint, but I wasn't sure whether I should bring it up or not. While Anexius was much beloved as the god of protection and sanctity, he wasn't so much appreciated by the other gods, particularly our siblings. I wasn't sure. Anexius, as a child, had been a very sweet playful and naive god. He was very forgiving and hopeful. But now, as we reached adulthood, there was a bitterness to Anexius that wrenched at my heart.

His happy goofy smiles and silly little games were non-existent. He held himself with a cold reserved state of being. And while occasionally, he would smile with me or laugh at my pathetic jabs, when in the presence of our siblings, he became a marble statue. Expressionless and guarded.

There was no doubt in my mind that it was the mistreatment of our siblings and family that had driven him to become like this. And by mistreatment, I meant that they used to corner him and poke him and push him and even punch him to the point where he'd come running to me with a bloody nose once. As he grew older, he had learned to fight back, which only enraged them further, so they had taken to desecrating his temples and playing the usual tricks most gods played on one another.

If he took a lover, they would rape him or her or seduce them to their side, leaving Anexius heartbroken and enraged. And, unfortunately, Anexius couldn't do anything to them now with our father, Atlan, trying to keep the peace amongst us.

Our enemies were the Greeks, not each other.

Yeah, he should've been preaching that bullshit to our siblings, not Anexius. Even I drew a line with patience with my siblings. I had turned one of Drulius's lover into a peacock because the asshole was flaunting the fact that he had Drulius as a lover when no one else had succeeded in seducing her. Despite the act of hubris, Drulius was enraged that I'd attacked her lover, but Atlan warned her that if she fought back, he would make her the god of dung beetles, so she backed down for now, but whenever we held a reunion or passed in our realm, she would sneer at me.

Funny, she had no sense of humor about it, but her twin, Drak, thought it was hilarious.

Anyway, it was their cruelty that had given Anexius full reason to do the worst thing you could ever do.

Betray the pantheon and their people.

The thought crossed my mind accompanied with horrified shrieks of fright, from both men and women, children wailing. All of those were drowned out by the tidal wave that destroyed them. The sea sucking the once great city beneath salty dark waters, crumbling those beautiful temples, drowning those innocent souls.

And all because of one god's hatred.

I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing hard, eyes flying open to stare up at the ceiling of my room. My heart was pounding a ferocious beat and my body felt momentarily paralyzed from the rude awakening before I sucked in a deep breath, then let it out as my body relaxed. I closed my eyes tightly, clenching my fists in the sheets before I dragged my ass out of bed. It'd been two days since I made the deal with Hades, and worst of all, were the nightmares I had more or so than usual.

But instead of watching my own brother sink an entire peoples, an entire island, and its pantheon, I was haunted by sobs and wails from the one creature I would do anything to protect. Angry cries and agonizingly bloody scenes of the little imp in my own home. I had damned him, without even meaning to.

I just hated being alone here.

I hated waking up in a dark room with only the warm heat of the sunlight to greet me. I was tired of jolting away from nightmares, reaching for someone, only to have my hand go through empty air. I'd had enough of being haunted.

Maybe that was the reason I felt the magnetic pull to the orphans of Styx. The pull of kindred spirits. Abandoned, betrayed, broken, but still hopeful. Well, they held more hope in those innocent eyes than I did anyway.

Now I felt sick with guilt and remorse and I hated it. I shouldn't be feeling bad. No other god in any pantheon would feel awful for ripping a mere imp away from his loveable home. They would take him no problem and force him to enjoy his new life. But I couldn't find it in me to be that cold.

A miserable sigh escaped my lips as I stood beneath the warm water of a shower. Closing my eyes, I could still Anexius's face when he came running to me, robes splattered with blood and hands dripping with it as he reached for me. I had been too horrified to even move as he put his hands on my cheeks, watching that face void of tears gazing at me desperately.

"Xenon, come! Please! I don't want the same fate to befall you, please, brother! You're the only one who ever loved me! You have to come with me! Let me save you!" He'd pleaded. I had been too shocked to even respond or move. Anexius had taken it upon himself to teleport us away from the island that shuddered and sank steadily into the wrath of the sea. We had appeared on the shores of Greece, and even from this distance, far out into the ocean, I could see the spit of land vanish. The waves crashed to the Greek shoreline and the screams of the people had diminished from physical hearing, but I could still hear those screams in my head, the ones who were slowly drowning.

"No," I managed, shoving Anexius away from me and stumbling for the water, "No!"

"Xenon, stop!" Anexius cried out and lunged for me, but I ran away from him and into the water as the rough waves slapped me and threatened to drag me down into the depths, and for a moment, I almost let them, but Anexius had finally caught me around the waist and tried to reel me back to the lands of our enemies.

"Nooo! Get off me! Let go of me! Traitor!"

"Xenon, please! I didn't think... I didn't--"

"You didn't think?! Of course you didn't think, you selfish son of a whore! Get your hands off me! They need me," My voice had become shrill and my attempts to escape Anexius's grasp were becoming weaker as the grief swept through me like the tidal wave that brought them down, "They need me! Let me go to them, brother!"

"No," Anexius sounded angry as he threw me back into the wet sand and I gasped at the force of it, sitting upright and glaring at him as he glared back at me, "They don't need you! And it's too late anyway; they're all dead." I lunged up out of the sand and caught Anexius around the waist, throwing him down into the shallow water. I started throwing punches at his face and while I managed to get a few in, he twisted away from me and slammed me down face first into the water and right onto the sharp shells and rocks. I hissed and drew up, shoving him away and moving to attack him again, but he vanished and reappearing behind me.

This time, he was crying. The same big fat tears that streaked down his face when he used to run to me as a child to protect him from our own siblings.

"I love you," Anexius choked tearfully, "That's why I made sure we both survived. Xenon--"

"Fuck you! Fuck you so much! I hate you, you bastard! You ruined them! You killed innocent people! You killed women and children! There were infants on that island, you selfish bastard! You killed our brothers and sisters! Our father!"

"Good," Anexius shrieked suddenly, making me fall silent in horror as his eyes became wild with hate, "And may they rot in the darkest corners of existence! They deserved what they got! The mortals were just a sacrifice in order to destroy those bastards! Gods are heartless, Xenon! You know that as much as I do! They're nothing, but selfish assholes with power! Nothing is more dangerous, more cancerous, and more poisonous than bastards with power!"

"You're a god!" I screamed back at him, voice growing hoarse. Anexius choked on a sob.

"I know! And I just proved my point!"

"Why didn't you kill me with them?!"

"Because I love you!"

"I thought gods were heartless!"

"I'm sorry!"

"You think sorry is going to bring back several thousand lives?! Are you fucking stupid?!"

"I'm going to pay for my crimes," Anexius gasped in agony, "In return for killing them, I'm being leashed into servitude. But you'll be free, Xenon. You can do whatever you want now. You can even own me. In fact, please--"

"Own you," I spat venomously, "I would sooner own an imp than you! Fuck you! What am I supposed to do now?! My worshippers are dead! My pantheon is dead! The Greeks hate us! The Egyptians only tolerated us for the sake of the mortals! I have nothing left! Absolutely nothing!"

"But you have me!" Anexius blurted. I backhanded him so hard his head snapped to the side and he cried out, clutching at his cheek and looking back at me with tearfilled eyes that used to wrench at my heart and now just made me sick to my stomach.

"You're worthless to me! Don't come near me, you treacherous bastard! You sicken me!"

I zoned back into reality sharply with a gasp. I blinked rapidly, looking around bewildered as I found myself sitting in the corner of my shower, the water having turned cold and hitting me like icy bullets. I blinked a few more times, trying to steady the shakiness of my body. I hadn't even noticed that the memory had crept on me. And it took a strong fissure of power to release me from the vision of the past. I narrowed my eyes and pushed myself to my feet, shutting the shower water off and stepping out. I grabbed a plush black towel and wrapped it around my waist, making my way slowly toward my bedroom.

I saw a shadow pass by my bedroom. I felt my powers surge with rage.

Someone dared enter my realm? My home?

But who?

Hades wasn't stupid enough. In fact, most of the Greeks treated me like the plague and avoided me at all costs. I only dealt with lesser demons and lesser demons had no idea this realm even existed. Most of them thought I'd made my home in the human realm. Which wasn't totally a lie. I had lived there for several hundred years before I realized my realm still existed.

I crept across my room, holding my hand down at my side and summoning a gold dagger. I lifted it slowly, pausing near the doorway. I could feel the person moving back in this direction. I swung around and pressed myself to the wall, holding my breath as the person entered my room and I lunged out, grabbing them by the back of their black cloak and swinging them back into the wall, shoving the dagger up against their throat.

"Whoa, dude! Chill out!" Ashter shouted, glaring at me from beneath the hood of his cloak with dark eyes ringed with kohl. I curled my lip in repungence at the sight of the hybrid trickster god. An AC/DC head scarf held his dark dreadlocks back from his face, his goatee well trimmed and taken care of. The rest of his outfit looked like he raided Hot Topic's clearance section. I stepped back from him, but still held the dagger in his direction as he dusted himself off and folded his arms over his chest.

"What if I had been a horny prostitute?" He demanded. I rolled my eyes. He wasn't a threat to me, physically. More like a threat to my sanity. I lowered my dagger, then let it vanish as I raked him with a disgusted sneer.

"I'd of tried to kill you anyway. What the hell are you doing here? You know better than to enter my domain. So either you're feeling suicidal or your mom bitchslapped the rest of your brains out your ear." I told him, heading to my wardrobe. Ashter stayed where he was, but scowled.

"Rude," He responded sternly, then shrugged and became his usual casual self, "Anyway, I had to drop by for a visit because I need to get rid of something that's been causing me a lot of trouble." I raised an eyebrow, turning to him. I didn't need to ask him what it was. He still had the ancient Atlantean dagger-turned-goblet, somehow. And no doubt it was causing him trouble. And judging from how antsy he looked, the Sons of Hades knew he had it and were hunting him down. About time those guys found something to do aside from flaunting their homosexual romances everywhere.

"You want me to take the goblet off your hands so they'll stop chasing you. But once they get a hold of you, you'll tell them I have it and they'll start gunning for me." I informed him dryly. Ashter smiled sheepishly, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"But you're so much stronger than I am. If they come after you, you can just wipe them all out. If they come after me, they'll buttfuck me harder than a virgin in state prison." He pointed out. His imagery disgusted me. I shook my head, turning away as I snapped my fingers and changed into a pair of black jeans, a button down shirt, and my long black jacket. Ashter cocked his head, pouting at me in the mirror on my vanity.

"But it's useful to you, right? Just think of it as the only thing you have left from your lovely home of Atlantis," He pointed out, daring to take a few steps closer to me so he could give me that mischevious Cheshire cat grin, before it faded and he shrugged, "Well, the only thing aside from your precious brother. What was his name again? Anexius?" My blood boiled and I whirled around, catching Ashter by the throat and pinning him down on the vanity on his back. And because he was slightly brain damaged, he just continued to smile innocently up at me even while I squeezed his throat.

"Do not say his name to me."

"Fine, I'll call him by his new name," Ashter drawled and grinned, "Callias, right? I heard the Oracle of Tartarus named him that. Pretty hilarious if you ask me. Means most beautiful doesn't it? Do you think he's beautiful? Cuz I walked in on him and Apollo--"

"You came with the intention of suicide, didn't you?" I applied pressure to his throat and this time, he grimaced and choked a little. He patted his hand over mine on his throat.

"Come on, I was just kidding."

"Your jokes are as funny as dead baby jokes, you prick," I seethed, then released him and stepped back as he coughed and rubbed at his throat, "Get the fuck out of my realm or I'll fry your ass, and because you've been disowned, I don't think the universal balance would give a shit if I killed you." Ashter pouted at that, leaning back on his hands on the vanity.

"How come nobody's nice to me?"

"Because you're an asshole, maybe."

"Ohhh, yeah," Ashter sighed, then shrugged and pushed off the vanity, "Anyway, take the goblet. It's causing me more trouble than it's worth. I was hoping to trade it to someone else. I even tried to give it to Callias and he told me to fuck off. You're the only one I can think of to give it to." I narrowed my eyes at him, studying his face for any signs of trickery. Ashter was a trickster god after all and he could be giving me more than just the goblet. Which he was in a way. With the goblet came the whole action packed Sons of Hades trying to bring me down... But if I could melt the goblet back down into a dagger, surely they wouldn't keep pushing. Gods, even demigods, weren't that observant. I could hide it amongst other daggers in my closet. And the only way to test if it was the right one is whether or not it kills whoever it's stabbed into and I don't think the Sons of Hades would like to stab each other... Well, not purposely anyway...

Okay maybe purposely.

But not to test a stupid dagger.

"You have to give me something else." I stated. Ashter glared at me now, stomping his foot like an impatient toddler.

"What? I'm giving you the dagger. What the fuck else do you want me from me?"

"A favor," I said slowly, making Ashter frown, "I won't ask for it now, but in the future, if I call upon you, you will come and you will do what I ask." Ashter scowled.

"And why would I do that?"

"Fine, but you can keep your dagger and I hope the Sons of Hades have fun with you when they get their grubby little paws on you. Especially Cerberus. He has a major hard-on you right now for tormenting his precious fae." I pointed out. Ashter paled, then gritted his teeth and slung his hand out so he could shake mine in agreement.

"Fine, you SOB. But it better not involve my death."

"It will if you don't follow through with it. You forget, Ashter," I took him by the hand and he yelped when I jerked him so close that I could see my reflection in his wide black ringed eyes, "I am an Atlantean god. One of first deities in existence. You can run wherever you want, but I will find you and I will torture you until you're kissing my feet and begging for mercy." Ashter gulped audibly and gave me a shaky nod, taking a couple steps back so he bumped into the vanity and pointed down at the drawer in it.

"I put it in there," He said, then cleared his throat and gave me an uncomfortable once over, "I reeeally hope you take eternity to reach that favor."

"I'll try not to. I don't want someone killing you to get you out of this deal." I answered dryly. Ashter grimaced, then vanished from my room with sharp pop sound. I frowned, coming forward and pulling open the drawer to reach inside and take out. A well shaped goblet, but disgusting with the Greek writing on it. I narrowed my eyes and held the goblet out on my palm. Hot white flames coiled up from my palm and completely engulfed the goblet. The flames sparked and shrieked before slowly fading away.

The goblet was now its rightful shape. That of a sleek gold dagger with an Atlantean prayer written down the sides of the blade.

I tucked it back into the vanity before I stepped back. I felt a tingle rush down my spine, a frown working itself onto my face before I sighed heavily. I let the black smoke burst out from beneath my feet and wrap around me. I teleported from my home to wherever the demon was calling me. I had almost expected it to be Hades, but instead, it was a trembling little imp.

He was shorter than Dorean, with very pale blonde hair and wide tearful green eyes, a color that reminded me of the Aurora Borealis. He was completely stark naked, except for silver bracelets and anklets and tinsel braided into his hair. He was shaking so bad, it was any wonder he could stand.

I'd appeared in a very elegant, beautiful bathroom and a rack had been placed under the door of the bathroom. Outside were the sounds of angry shouting and a man bellowing for him to come out.

The imp's name was Simon. Not the English version, but pronounced See-mohn. He had been sold to his master, the one screaming at him, two hundred years ago. Simon had been viciously abused and while it didn't show on his skin, I could see the hauntings of it in those beautiful green eyes, huge tears welling up in them before trailing down his pale skin. He didn't speak English, and only few Greek words, most likely sexual words. He'd been told by another imp how to summon me in time of great need.

And he wanted me to kill him.

"I can't kill you," I told him, watching his expression screw up in confusion before fear tore across his face as they began to bash at the door with something large and heavy, "But I can give you what you need to do it. You must give me something first." Simon stammered gibberish before he went up to me and grabbed me by the hand, placing it on his chest. He gave my arm a desperate tug, choking on a sob.

My chest tightened in pain. He didn't want to die by his master's hand. His master wouldn't make his death quick and painless. He planned to torture him more or so than he already had, and then he would make Simon choke on his own blood.

"You must give me something." I repeated. Simon looked strickenly confused before he dropped to his knees and went to undo my pants, but I caught him by the wrist and jerked him up onto his feet. He whimpered helplessly.

It was useless. He had nothing to give me. He was a slave. Slaves owned nothing.

I manifested a sharp poisoned kitchen knife and put it in his hands. Simon looked at it, still confused for a moment before he gave a jubilant cry and plunged the knife into his own chest. I stepped back, cloaking my existence as the door cracked in half. Simon sank to his knees on the floor, struggling for breath, blood gurgling up his throat and pouring past his lips. He closed his eyes in bliss and fell to the floor, dead.

The door gave way as his master came inside, then bellowed in rage. His guards curled their lips at the corpse of the fallen imp. I didn't want to see what they'd do to his corpse, so I quickly vanished when I felt another calling trickle down my back.

Please let this one not be as depressing. The last thing I needed to see this morning was an innocent's life taken too soon.

I reappeared in a very familiar room. It was beautifully decorated in shades of blue and white, with a nice hot tub sitting in one corner of the room and a round canopy bed in the other. A second later, someone slapped me so hard that my ears actually rang from the force of it. I blinked a few times, then looked down to see Adrian glaring at me so furiously that it was any wonder his room was destroyed.

"Give him back!" Adrian shouted at me, moving to hit me again, but I took a quick step back, scowling at him. I didn't need to ask who he was referring to. Judging from his actions, Hades had gone through with taking the imp away, which meant any second now, Hades would be summoning me to his chambers to finish our deal. I narrowed my eyes at Adrian, who lunged for me again, but I side stepped him and he whirled around to hit me, but I dodged again.

"I don't have him." I told Adrian flatly. Which was true. For now. Adrian's blue eyes flashed with raw anger and there was a sonic power shock through the room that pulsed for a moment, crackling from Adrian's anger.

"Don't lie to me! You're the only one who would take him from me! Give him back! He's not a toy to be bought and sold! I thought you knew that!" He cried out in agonized rage. I didn't move now as he faced me. His power still crackled and bounced around the room, a warning that if I didn't say the right thing, he'd kill me. Or at least, that's what he thought. But he was a demigod.

I was a god.

A primordial god.

An Atlantean.

"He is a slave," I responded monotonously, "He's an imp. And that's funny considering how possessive you were of him. Trying to come up with bullshit lies to trick him into not letting him come around me. I wonder what else you lied to him about to keep him as your personal pet." Adrian's cheeks colored with rage and his eyes welled up with tears.

"He wasn't my pet! He was my friend! And I was protecting him by keeping him away from you! Give him back to me! I'll pay you anything you want! Just give him back!" He choked tearfully. I stepped away when he took a step toward me. He sank to his knees on the floor, the power that had pulsed through the room now sucking itself back into Adrian as he whimpered.

Pain lacerated my heart. This wasn't the god that flaunted his powers about and tried to prove himself strong by hiding his Titan mother. This was the frightened little boy who'd stumbled into a world of horrors and had only sought a friend. I had seen this coming. I had nightmares about it all night.

"I can't," I said at last, making Adrian look up at me, tears sliding down his face, "I don't have Dorean, Adrian. Hades does." Adrian blinked at his tears in confusion.

"W-Why would Hades want Dorean?" He stammered. I said nothing. Just stared at him. Adrian stared back at me. I felt him trying to weasel his way into my head, but I instantly slammed the wall shut on him and he gasped, clutching his head, a drop of blood running from his nostril. He blinked rapidly and I felt that same shockwave of rage pulse through the room as he looked up at me.

"You. You made a deal with Hades."

"I don't discuss the bargains I make with other clients."

"You bastard! Dorean's my friend!" Adrian cried out and lunged to his feet again, trying to run at me, but I whipped out of the way and stepped back from him as he took angry steps toward me. I wasn't scared of him at all, however. If anything, I was angry.

Adrian had Malachi already. He had Abel and Noe and the rest of his friends.

I had no one.

All I wanted was one thing and he was condemning me for it?

I clenched my teeth, but didn't spit my hatred at him. It wasn't his fault. It was mine, and I knew that, but I didn't want to go home to an empty house, to a deserted realm, to nightmares. I was so tired of it. I wanted to have someone there for me and the only person who was even willing to do such a thing was the one person I hated most in the entire world.

A tingle rushed up my back as I felt Hades summoning me.

"I'm sorry, Adrian." I closed my eyes as the black smoke coiled around me and teleported me to the Hall of Hades.