Chapter Fourteen

We teleported to the grand hall as soon as Denarius gave us the news. My heart was a violent drum beat in my chest, rising toward my throat with anxiety. I had no idea what was making me so nervous; seeing my siblings again maybe? Seeing Zeus react to their presence? I had no idea.

With Hannibal and Arikos flanking me as we entered the main temple, we came in through the open doors to the grand hall, which was heavily guarded by an assortment of gods, one of which included Ares, who gave a nod to us as we entered.

Clear across the other side of the room were three of my siblings, bound in golden shackles that I instantly recognized as the shackles created by the primordial god, Alexion. Shackles that sucked the power right out of a god and left them as fragile and defenseless as a mortal. Even more powerful than anything created by Hephaestus, who was currently admiring the workmanship on the shackles as he stood near the squirming Atlantean Khalian.

I instantly recognized Kali. Her white-blonde hair was a wicked mess, and she'd cut it incredibly short, probably in an attempt to disguise herself from Atlan, but it really didn't help. Her sharp pretty features were easily recognizable. She wore a torn black turtleneck and jeans, her bare feet smacking the tiles. A gag had been forced around her head over her mouth, and her white eyes flashed menacingly when Dionysus got too close.

The Khalian beside her I recognized as Teslius. His long black hair fell in haphazard waves around his square jaw and crooked nose, obviously broken, with blood crusted around his nostrils. His white eyes were downcast, his breath coming out labored in pain, and the way he hunched probably indicated his ribs were fractured, if not broken. His attire consisted only of a pair of leather pants, torn in the back and allowing an unflattering view of a muscled thigh.

Xeli was the last Khalian, standing perfectly still with her bundle of thick dark blonde curls piled on top of her head in a neat bun, her white eyes grave with bitter acceptance. She still managed to look like a stuck-up goddess, even bound in god shackles and wearing a glittering gold floor-length gown.

"Well, well." A voice boomed and instantly the gods recoiled away from the Khalian, who all went still at the sound of Zeus's voice. We moved aside as Zeus entered the hall with Poseidon and Hera walking behind him. Zeus, with a tight Men in Black style suit and sunglasses on top of his head, approached the Khalian, who watched him with disgusted glares.

"I thought I was going to enjoy a nice day at the beach in Cuba. Instead, I get a call that we could three of Atlan's bastards. This just pisses me off." He said, removing his sunglasses and hooking them into his breast pocket. Kali snarled through her gag and Zeus raised an eyebrow at him, then at Dionysus, who shrugged.

"She wouldn't stop cursing at me and it was starting to hurt my feelings." He replied. Zeus took that in stride as he approached Kali, snatching her jaw and forcing her to look at him. Her white eyes promised death, but Zeus only smiled and reached up with his other hand to trace her jawline with his fingertips, making Hera clear her throat in annoyance. Zeus chuckled, tightening his grip on Kali's jaw before shoving her back so hard, she slammed into the fresco behind her and slid down, breathing hard.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," Zeus told Hera without looking at his wife's menacing glare, "I'd sooner fuck a turtle than an Atlantean whore." This time, Poseidon laughed.

"Someone you won't fuck? Now that's just sad," He said, raking Kali with a sneer, "So awful not even Zeus would screw you. That's pretty pathetic." Zeus shot Poseidon a glare that Poseidon took with stride as he approached Teslius, who scrambled to get away from them, but Poseidon caught him by the throat and hauled him close.

"I like this one," Poseidon mused, grabbing Teslius's jaw and tilting his head from side to side to study him, "After we're done using them as worms, can I take him home?" Zeus shrugged as if it didn't bother him, and my stomach dropped. Poseidon wasn't generally interested in male partners. From what I'd heard, he'd even killed males who dared to proposition him. To think that he would suddenly change his game for Teslius made me sick.

Then again, maybe it was Teslius's affiliation with the ocean that attracted him to him. Teslius's sacred beast was the shark and Teslius was known to have spent hours in the ocean swimming with packs of sharks. In fact, he never missed the births of the pups in the bay near his home.

"F-Fuck you," Teslius managed angrily, breathing hard through the pain of his wounds, "Rot in depths of the Source!" Poseidon gave him a short, quick smile, then bashed him over the head so hard he cracked Teslius's skull, knocking him out and sending him to the floor. Xeli's eyes flashed and Kali made a noise of horror, jerking and twisting against her shackles as she tried to get to Teslius.

"Don't kill them," Hera chided Poseidon, elbowing him in the ribs, "That'll defeat the purpose of luring Atlan in."

Xeli laughed and the room went dead silent. Zeus turned his head toward her in a way that was almost mechanical, absolutely evil and menacing. However, Xeli had never been easily intimidated. Instead, she stared right back at Zeus defiantly, lifting her chin to stare down her nose at him. Poseidon stepped away from Teslius to raise an eyebrow and Hera curled her lip, arms folding over her chest as Zeus strode over to stand in front of Xeli.

I grimaced.

Xeli, as much as I loathe you, right now would be the perfect time to shut up.

"What do you find so funny, Atlantean harlot?" Zeus asked in a mocking tone. Xeli's eyes glowed and she pursed her lips in silence. Zeus smirked, reaching out and snatching a handful of her hair, ruining her bun and causing locks to hang over her face, her white eyes heavily outlined with black eyeliner that made her look almost demonic as a grin split her face.

"She's insane." Arikos whispered.

"She's arrogant." I said through clenched teeth. Arikos appeared behind me, his eyes wide.

"No, I mean, she's literally insane. Xeli was one of the few Khalian who never flipped out, but she walked a tightrope of sanity. Atlan's betrayal must've caused her to snap. Tell me you don't believe me." He turned to Hannibal now, who was staring at her. He suddenly looked pale and sick as he took a retreating step away and Arikos winced. I turned back as laughter started to fill the grand hall and everyone in the room tensed, even the guards who were standing in the doorway and looking inside.

Xeli's laughter rose high, almost shrieking, as she shut her eyes and threw her head back against Zeus's palm and her tongue flicked out to lave her bottom lip before she spat in Zeus's face. Zeus snarled and yanked hard on her hair, almost snapping her neck before he threw her to the floor where she continued to laugh hysterically and Zeus whirled on Dionysus, who tensed.

"What did you do to her?" He snarled. Dionysus actually paled. I'd never seen the god of wine and excess, and madness, get that panicked.

"I didn't do anything," He exclaimed, "She wasn't like that when I found her. She was just silent. She even came along willingly. Just held her hands out and-"

"She came willingly?" Hera demanded. Dionysus just nodded. Zeus took a threatening step toward him, making Dionysus leap back. Only this time, Ares was there to stand between them, a protective wall barring his father from his brother. A good call considering Dionysus was technically a demigod, not a full fledged god. Zeus's beatings could render the god comatose, and Ares had taken the worst of Zeus's beatings, so he was the perfect stand-in. Or so he thought anyway.

"Back off, father, he didn't know," Ares warned, and Zeus's eyes snapped fire, causing the clouds overhead to darken the skylights, thunder growling and rain beginning to pelt the roof like a thousand bullets, "She's not here by chance. She tricked us." Zeus hesitated at that, but the storm overhead continued to rage. He whirled on Xeli, who was laughing so hard, she was crying, her black makeup streaking down her face.

Except her tears weren't normal, they were bloody.

Instantly everyone in the room recoiled from her, even Kali, who was trembling violently, her white eyes wide in horror as she managed muffled cries.

Bloody tears... That was familiar.

Fuck.

"Everyone get out," I shouted, startling the other gods, "That's not Xeli!" Hannibal looked at me, baffled, and Arikos started to disagree before his eyes widened.

"Oh shit," He managed, then snatched Hannibal's arm, "Gotta go, cuz, we'll explain it on the way out!" I didn't stay behind to see which of the gods were stupid enough to stay behind as we bolted out of the grand hall and down the hallway to a safe distance.

"What's going on?" Hannibal demanded as we ducked into a room and slammed the doors shut. Arikos locked the doors and ran to the windows to snatch the curtains shut.

"The Olympians just allowed one of the worst kinds of monsters into their barrier." Arikos hissed, waving his hands around the room to form a barrier around the room specifically. I grimaced as Hannibal looked at me questioningly.

"I'm sure by now you've heard of the infamous Kirati, am I right?" I asked. Hannibal grimaced and nodded.

"You and Xenon managed to wipe out a good portion of them, but it looks like we're left with the worst one," I turned to Hannibal, who stared at me expectantly, "Drastia, the Kirati of catastrophe. She has the power to possess a person's body and draw in their powers, causing the body to implode. She's like a really hardcore suicide bomber, except she can resemble her soul and jump into another body."

"Fuck." Hannibal declared.

"Fuck indeed." I responded grimly, listening to the sounds of shouting and running. I backed up, wiping my hands nervously at my pants until I realized what room we were in. I blinked and looked at the empty aquarium across from Zeus's bed, my eyes widening as I approached it, ignoring the way Arikos was throwing things in front of the door as if that would keep the Kirati at bay while Hannibal watched him with a frown until he saw me moving.

"Kallisto," I managed, pressing my hand to the empty aquarium, "Kallisto's gone." Hannibal frowned.

"The merman." He said. I nodded, looking around frantically.

"What did Zeus do with him? I have to find him-"

"No," Arikos grabbed my arm before I could teleport and I glared at him, which he returned full force, "Don't be stupid! If you go out there and Drastia gets a hold of you, we're screwed. For once in your life Anexius, do the world a favor and focus on the task at hand. We'll look for your merman later. Right now, we need to figure out how to destroy the Kirati."

"Are you saying an entire pantheon can't destroy that thing?" Hannibal demanded. Arikos shook his head.

"Throwing god bolts and fire at her isn't going to destroy her. She'll just jump into another body until everyone is dead. It's how she kills. We need to come up with a plan before she finds out where we are and decides to possess one of us, and no offense, but I think Hannibal's the most important priority here. If he dies, the prophecy will fail and Atlan will rule the universe." He explained grimly. Hannibal frowned.

"I can't die."

"Can you recover from an explosion?"

"I haven't tried it yet."

"I'm not willing to bet the universe on it," Arikos responded, then clapped Hannibal on the back and he growled, "Besides, you're my favorite. Can't have you dyin' on me now." Hannibal grimaced at him, then backed away to run a hand through his hair.

"So what do we do? We can't get rid of her soul. It resembles itself. We can't blow up her body, because she'll just transfer to another person." He said. I frowned, leaning back on the post of the bed that Arikos had jammed against the door.

"Wait a minute," I said, pushing off the post and looking at them, "Atlantean belief states that the soul is in the head. We can use that." Arikos paused, rubbing at his jaw thoughtfully.

"If we chop off her head, she might still be able to soul jump, though. We need to trap her soul, and as far as I know, only a death god can do that and all the death gods are in the underworlds." He pointed out grimly. Hannibal pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"I might be able to destroy her soul," He offered, making Arikos and I look at him and he frowned, "Just trust me on this. If I destroy her head, that'll destroy her soul." I hesitated at that.

"But it's too dangerous to have you confront her. She could jump you and you wouldn't even know it." I said. Hannibal gave me a droll stare.

"If I start laughing hysterically and spontaneously bleeding from my eyes, you'll probably know." He answered. Arikos shook his head.

"She only does that when she's about to-"

A sonic wave shot through the air so hard that the walls shuddered and the force of it was so strong that we slammed into the floor. The windows shattered and the aquarium cracked and gave way, pouring water and glass all over me as I shielded my face. The columns and walls crackled and snapped beneath the pressure and chunks of the ceiling caved in.

"Shit!" I heard Arikos yell. I scrambled on instinct, slipping through the water as I ran over to Arikos, sliding across the floor on my knees as I threw myself over him. Something inside me snapped. A frayed rope of power and a glowing blue shield flew up and covered us, causing rubble to bounce off harmlessly. I kept a grip on Arikos, trying to see past the rubble and dust for Hannibal, but I heard nothing and saw no sign. Panicked, I sent a wave of power that reached out for Hannibal, finding him somewhere in the corner of the room.

Once the damage was done, the shield went down and Arikos raised an eyebrow at me.

"What was that?" He asked. I grimaced, flexing my fingers and watching the same blue shield, like a wall of blue electricity, spreading between my fingers before disappearing into my fingertips.

"A power I shouldn't be able to use." I muttered. I had long since locked up my protection abilities, declaring myself a god of offense instead of defense, but now that block was breaking and it only broke further when I remembered Hannibal and panic shot through me as I leapt to my feet and scrambled over debris and chunks of ceiling.

Broken water pipes spurt water into the air, dust still clinging to the air and electricity sparking and hissing everywhere. I avoided a few thick metal rods from the ceiling and scrambled over a pile of rubble to where I felt Hannibal's life force pulsing.

I threw aside heavy bits of rock, hearing Arikos breathing heavily behind me as he caught them and cast them aside. I managed to lift up enough rock to see Hannibal sprawled out beneath a huge block of stone that had completely crushed his legs. Something had slit his throat and blood pooled beneath him, bruises and dust coating his skin, choking me.

"Hannibal!" I dropped down beside him and grabbed at the chunk of stone crushing his legs, and Arikos landed beside me. However, before he could help me, I had the piece up and aside, making Arikos stare at me.

"Is super strength another neat power you forgot to mention?" He asked. Yes, but it was none of his concern right now. I dropped to my knees, picking Hannibal's head up and placing it in my lap as I waved my hand over the slit in his throat, healing it instantly and I started to touch his thighs to send power down into his mangled legs when he woke with a snarl and reached for my throat, but I caught him and he stared at me, looking momentarily infuriated and panicked, until he saw it was me.

"Ssh," I said gently, laying his hand down over his chest, "I'm healing you. Just hold on." I paused as a thought occurred to me, and I swallowed as I leaned down to cover his lips with mine. His eyes widened for a moment and he started to shove me back until he seemed to realize what I was doing.

Magic pulsed between our lips and Hannibal's eyelids went lazy as I broke apart and went to healing his legs.

"Is there a reason you just did the lip lock?" Arikos asked dryly.

"It's called A Heaven's Kiss," I replied, making him scowl, "It's a power that protection gods, and angels for that matter, are allowed. It's a type of pain reliever. Think if Vicodin and morphine had a baby, this would be it." Arikos's eyes sparkled at that.

"I always liked Vicodin. Good stuff." He said. I shook my head at him, healing the rest of Hannibal's damaged legs.

"Unfortunately, it'll keep him sedated for the next twelve hours, so he's not exactly going to be useful." I said grimly and Arikos threw his hands up in exasperation. Hannibal just looked up at me drowsily, reaching a finger up to lazily touch my cheek.

"You have something on your face." He said, words slurred. I grimaced, taking his hand and putting it down as I finished healing him and looked up.

"We need to get him out of the cross-fire and deal with Drastia on our own. By now she's probably jumped into someone else's body." I said, dragging Hannibal up under his arms to get him standing. He stood for a solid two seconds before his knees buckled and he almost hit the ground, but Arikos caught his other aside and we held him up.

"Wait," Arikos said, looking at me, "What about your soul thingy?" I scowled.

"Soul thingy?"

"That power you used to push the poltergeist out of Menoetius in Xandria. Can't you use that to push Drastia out of someone's body?"

"I suppose," I admitted, then blinked as realization came over me, "That's right... But I don't know if I can still destroy souls."

"Why not?"

"My protection abilities are unlocked," I said grimly, "Destroying a soul isn't protecting. Destruction is violence and offensive action."

"But it should count if you're saving everyone." Arikos pointed out. I sure hoped that's how it worked.

"Fine," I said, "But we need to put Hannibal somewhere else. Somewhere safe. And away from Zeus. While he doesn't pose an immediate threat, if he were to stumble across Hannibal like this, he'd probably take him into custody and I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do is tell Akin that his husband's become a war prisoner." Arikos's eyes widened.

"Yeah, tell me about it. You think a Kirati is bad? Wait until you see Akin when Hannibal gets a boo-boo. The guy goes apeshit. Come on, let's get him somewhere safe and look for Drastia." He said. I nodded and we picked our way over the rubble as we dragged Hannibal away from the room, stumbling and tripping over debris and rubble from the explosion.

From the looks of things, Drastia had completely destroyed Zeus's temple. An odd little thrill went through me at that and I had to resist the urge to grin.

Boo hoo, your poor temple is in ruins, Zeus.

Still, I had to wonder where the other gods were. Surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to come crawling back here. Although, Drastia was most certainly not here to kill the Olympians- though, I'm sure she had no qualms. No, she was here to exterminate the Khalian.

And probably kidnap Hannibal.

Great, I was starting to think that Heaven's Kiss was a really bad idea. The protective instinct in me didn't want to see him in pain... and the logical battle god in me was infuriated at my stupidity. Sighing, we hauled ass into what was left of one of the dining rooms across from where the grand hall had once been. We dragged Hannibal over to one of the small walls still standing and set him down.

"It's really dirty in here," Hannibal murmured, patting a broken chair coated in dust, then he made a face, "Master's going to be angry if it's dirty in here."

"We'll clean later," Arikos told him, patting him on the head and Hannibal just frowned at the floor, "All right, I'll stay here and keep an eye on Loopy-Ass here. But watch your back, Anexius. Drastia isn't like the other villains who spend time talking about their glory days. She'll jump you without a thought." I nodded, pausing to look back at Hannibal one last time to see him using his hand to wipe up the floor while Arikos shook his head at him.

I left the dining room and inched down the destroyed hallway back to the grand hall. The double doors were cracked inwards and leaning on each other dangerously, the sound of their weight creaking under the fallen ceiling.

I slid inside and ducked under a few more fallen beams, pausing to see that the entire meeting set up of tables and chairs were smashed and the frescoes were destroyed. I started to step over another fallen beam when I heard a moan and I snapped my head to look over where the giant fresco of Zeus's glorious victory over Cronus had almost completely caved inwards.

I felt Teslius's life force beneath the rubble, and instantly went to him. If it had been Drastia, she would've attacked by now. She wasn't one for trickery. One would think her ability would enable that, but she only used it to be cruel- to force her opponent to kill the one closest to them.

And while part of me screamed to leave Teslius to die, the dam had broken and I foolishly wanted to heal Teslius, despite our past.

I scrambled and ducked under rubble until I found where Teslius was buried. I shoved aside a large chunk of destroyed plaster and spotted Teslius laying sprawled out on his stomach, freezing when I saw that his shackles had disappeared. Someone had to have taken them off, otherwise, he never would've gotten free. I would've thought it was him and this was a trap, but there was a gash in his forehead and his arm was bent at a dangerous angle indicating it was broken while a twisted metal rod was shoved through his stomach.

"Teslius, it's me, Anexius." I said. Teslius only replied with a helpless whimper. I frowned, getting down beside him on my knees and grabbing hold of the metal rod. I almost gave him the Heaven's Kiss, until I remembered that he'd been one of the people to beat Dexius. I narrowed my eyes and tore the rod out, and Teslius screamed in pain, jerking his head up.

"Bastard!" He shouted. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be a baby. Shut up and let me save you, unless you want to be Drastia's next explosive vessel." I said. Teslius slumped down in defeat, and I finished pulling him out from under the rubble to roll him over onto his back. His body was battered and bruised, beyond the broken arm, punctured innards, and gash on his forehead. But those wounds were older. I frowned as I set to work healing the hole in his gut.

I frowned, brushing my hand over a massive bruise the size of a melon stretching from his hip bone down to his thigh, and he snatched my wrist, squeezing it hard enough to almost break it and when I went to snap at him, I realized he was trembling and staring at me with wide, horrified eyes.

I'd seen that look in someone's eyes before.

My stomach clenched as I pried his fingers off my hands gently and returned to work, moving carefully and avoiding the area below his waist, swallowing hard as I finished my work. Part of me wanted to find a sick pleasure in what was done to Teslius, but I was never as bloodthirsty as I wanted to be, nothing like the rest of our pantheon. Instead, my heart bled for him and I wedged my arms beneath him.

When my palm brushed the naked bit of thigh, Teslius shrieked and shoved at me, making me hiss as I dropped him. He scrambled across the rubble, breathing hard and trying to claw away, but I caught him and Teslius screamed again.

"Get off me! Stop touching me! You sick bastards!" He shouted, rolling over to try and kick me. He threw his hand out to blast me, but only smoke sputtered and he started to hyperventilate, his eyes wide with terror.

"Teslius, stop," I managed, grabbing his arm now, "Calm down, it's all right. I'm helping you."

"No! Get your hands off me! Stop! Stop!"

"Teslius, enough!"

"Stop touching me! Ulenon! Ulenon!" It was no use. He was having a breakdown, and even worse, his screaming was going to attract Drastia. So I caught Teslius's face in my hands, touching my forehead to his and allowing power to stream through the contact, lulling him into a coma, his eyelids fluttering as I laid him back down gently. A tear slid from the corner of his eye as he managed a weak sob.

"Ulenon, save me." He choked, then passed out. I swallowed. How could I possibly care about this monster after what he'd done to Dexius? He may not have violated Dexius the way Drak and Zelus had, but he sure as hell beat him harshly.

This was why I loathed the protective warmth spreading through me. It saw no judgement. Only someone in need and it bled to help them no matter what, and it infuriated me that I wanted to help Teslius.

I started to get down and lift Teslius into my arms to take him back to Arikos when I heard laughter from behind me and I froze, releasing Teslius and shooting to my feet, whirling around to see Kali standing on a pile of rocks, her white eyes bright with menace and sadism.

"Finally," She called, stepping down from the stones, "I get you all to myself, Anexius." I narrowed my eyes, straightening.

"Kali, get back. I'm not going to hurt him." I said sternly. Kali's eyes flared.

"Oh, please. Go ahead and fuck him like everyone else did for all I care. His sniveling little sobs, please stop, please help me. They make me sick. Even Ulenon couldn't stand him. It's why he left him," She said, and when my eyes widened in shock at that, she laughed, "Oh yeah. Ulenon, Teslius, and I were moving through Paris. Living on dumpster shit and hiding in boxes. Even the humans passed us by, so surely Atlan would... Except it wasn't just Atlan we had to fear. We were traveling the countryside, heading into Spain when they jumped us. Bastard Olympians." I said nothing as I watched her hop down from another pile of rubble, landing dangerously close and I took a step back so I was standing over Teslius protectively, making Kali once again snicker.

"Poseidon, Heracles, and Artemis. With six other soldiers, they made a dash for us and to make sure we got away, Ulenon tripped Teslius and we made a break for it. I can still hear Teslius screaming, but I'm sure you already know how painful betrayal is, don't you, Anexius? The screams of agony and fear. So sweet," Kali shuddered and bit her bottom lip, "And knowing what they did to him. Do you want to know what they did to him?"

"No," I snarled, glaring at her, "Teslius may be an asshole, but no one, no one, deserves that kind of torture. What happened to you, Kali? You were never this terrible-"

"That was before you betrayed us," Kali snarled, flexing her hands angrily as she stalked toward me and I bared my fangs, making her pause, "Before Atlan betrayed us. Before Ulenon betrayed Teslius... Before Ulenon betrayed me. This whole pantheon is a sick twisted shit hole, Anexius. I spent two more days running from the Olympians and Atlan when they found me in Spain, conveniently at the same time Ulenon told me he was going to fetch food... Yeah, fuck you, Anexius. You and Atlan and Teslius and Ulenon." I glared at her.

"Teslius is your brother, he-"

"He's a stupid piece of shit! He clung to Ulenon like some kind of pathetic slug. I'm not surprised Ulenon gave him up when he did. I would've done the same thing sooner or later." Kali sneered. I clenched my teeth, my fists balling up as I tried to think of something to send Kali flying, then froze when I saw something flash in her eyes. A sadistic glint of chaos, something I saw in Xeli's eyes moments before she imploded.

"Drastia." I seethed. Kali threw her head back and laughed before leaning forward, hunching her shoulders and baring her fangs.

"By order of Lord Atlan, true King of Atlantis, I Drastia of the Ancient Kirati, will slaughter the remaining Khalian... But not you, dear Anexius. My King doesn't want you dead. Just the bastard at your feet. Then I will take you and the hybrids to his Majesty and once he obtains the Demon Xiphrus, this pathetic universe will fall at his feet and you will be there to witness it as his eternal slave." She snarled, and my heart darkened at that.

"I don't fucking think so." I responded.

I spent my entire life as Atlan's slave before, under the title of his son, but I wasn't about to return to that nor was I going to let Drastia bring her plan to fruition. I waved my hand out and summoned a sword with a glowing blue blade similar to the blue shield I had summoned to protect Arikos and I earlier. The blade glowed and Drastia's eyes widened slightly before she bared her teeth, sinking down low.

This fight wasn't going to be about violence or revenge like my other stupid attempts at being offensive.

Because this time I was defending, just like my god blood wanted me to do. I twirled the sword before pointing it at Drastia.

"Bring it on."