Chapter Seventeen

Kallisto couldn't walk.

We found out the hard way after I had put him to bed and fell asleep by the bed, only to wake up to glass shattering and a frustrated snarl, more smashing, this time a wooden chair on the floor. My eyes flew open, heart ramming up my chest into my throat as I expected to see Atlan or some demonic entity he'd sent in to do his dirty work.

Instead, Kallisto was slumped on the floor, raking his claws into the carpet, ripping it up and casting it aside. His breathing was heavy, and he hyperventilated at least three times since we'd dragged him from the pool house yesterday. Even after his momentary shock of almost drowning, the Atlantean pleaded to be put back in the water.

Apparently he didn't comprehend the idea of not living in the water, even with legs.

I wanted to get up and help him, but last night, he'd bitten me and told me not to touch him. He was humiliated, frustrated, hurt, in pain. He didn't want to be coddled and while every fiber of my being wanted to cradle him again, I understood how he felt and instead pretended to be asleep again.

Watching him suffer, though, broke my heart. I felt tiny pieces of me breaking up and even more guilt squished my insides and clung to my shoulders like the weight of the world. It was my fault Kallisto had gotten dragged into this. It was bad enough that, because of his attack on me, Apollo felt the need to punish him and his anger led him to sending the merman to Zeus. Then come to find out Kallisto's family would kill him if he returned, because in their culture, Kallisto had become a liability. Not to mention, he could lead more predators to their pod.

Now, Kallisto couldn't walk and couldn't talk. He could still speak telepathically, but when I tried to get him to speak vocally, he just growled and hissed at me, cursing my physical language and mouth movements, telling me I looked stupid.

I didn't take his words to heart, though. I knew he was hurt, and honestly, I deserved his scorn. If I had just left him alone, he'd still be with his pod, safe on Atlantis.

Have a pity party later when you're dying. Now you have to focus on Kallisto.

And Teslius. I still had to make sure Teslius was recovering well, or at least trying to. When I checked with Ares, he said Teslius currently refused to eat or leave his bedroom. I would've gone in the morning to check on him, but I'd stayed up all night with Kallisto and had fallen asleep. Now it was just past noon and I felt awful, both about Teslius and Kallisto as well as the strange sleeping schedule.

Rubbing at my eyes that felt like they were sinking back into my skull, I yawned and feigned just waking up, pausing to see Kallisto was still sitting on the floor, glaring hatefully at the floor, as if it was to blame for all his problems.

"Kallisto, are you alright?" I asked. Kallisto glared.

Kallisto is not! Kallisto have strange heavy feeling in lower regions! Kallisto have to piss! He snarled at me. I nodded and held my hand out to him to make sure he wouldn't mind my touching him. He turned his head away for a moment before he realized that if he didn't let me help him to the bathroom, he'd pee on the floor. Deciding he'd suffered enough embarrassment, he took my hand.

I stooped down and let him put his arms around me as I pulled him into my arms and carried him to the bathroom, leaving him there with at least a shred of dignity to use the bathroom on his own. And then there was indignant cry from the bathroom.

"Kallisto, what's wrong?" I asked, pressing my ear to the door.

Kallisto is confused! I grimaced at that. Yeah, I wouldn't doubt it. Merpeople anatomy, while mostly similar to human anatomy, they did have one major difference, and that was their reproductive organs. Mermaids had vaginal openings in the front where the groin became part of the tail. Mermen had an opening in the same spot, except it was from there where the penis emerged as a thick tentacle.

Suffice it to say, that was not how his manhood would look now.

"Kallisto, it works the same way as your other one."

No, it doesn't! It looks gross!

"I'm sure it doesn't."

Shut up! Was Kallisto's angry snarl. I sighed, leaning my back against the door and rubbing my temples when I heard a soft tap on the door and I looked up to see Arikos entering the room with a cart of breakfast and a big pot of coffee that called my name. I pushed off the door and went straight for it.

"You are my hero." I said, picking up the coffee pot. Arikos gave a small "heh" and held up his own coffee mug in agreement.

"Thank Denarius. The guy makes the best coffee I've ever tasted and I work at a coffee shop when I'm not saving the world." He replied before taking a deep gulp. I smiled and sipped at my coffee. There was another frustrated growl from the bathroom and Arikos looked at me with an arched brow.

"I take it he found out what a human penis looks like." He stated. I bit back a smile on Kallisto's behalf.

"Let's just say he's not very impressed," I said, then looked into my coffee sadly, "I feel so bad and I want to help, but I don't know how. He still can't walk. His legs are too weak and he doesn't how to stay balanced. He still can't talk either. He just keeps blowing raspberries in my face or snapping his teeth at me." Arikos's mouth twitched like he wanted to smile.

"Learning how to talk is a lot harder than people think it is," He offered, and when I looked at him curiously, he shrugged and leaned on the bedpost, "They take it for granted because they have parents who teach them, siblings, other family members, friends, teachers. For someone with no one, it's hard to learn. Kallisto's lucky he has you. Just try not to take his head off or send him to the bowels of the Source when he gets pissy. It's frustrating not to know what you're doing." I almost smiled until I realized he was talking from experience. I swallowed another hot gulp of coffee as I sat on the end of the bed, taking a vanilla cookie off the cart.

"You taught yourself?" I asked. Arikos shrugged, his leather jacket creaking when he did so.

"Mostly. It's not as bad as it sounds. Learning Atlantean was pretty hard." He muttered. I frowned.

"Don't gods automatically know the language from both parents?" I asked. Arikos shook his head.

"Hannibal and I are hybrids. We only speak what we were born into. Hannibal's native tongue is Atlantean and mine is Egyptian. Of course, that's changed since then," He added when I gave him a sad stare, and he shrugged before flashing me a charming smile, "Don't worry, Anexius. Kallisto will get the hang of this. He's got you." His words warmed my heart. I nodded my thanks to him, finishing off my coffee before I went to the bathroom door to knock once.

"Kallisto, are you finished? Would you like to eat?" I asked. I was answered with a growl. I sighed and opened the door. Kallisto sat on the opposite side of the bathroom with his back against the cold tiled wall, knees drawn up with his arms around them. Long muscular legs, fine black hairs sprinkled across smooth rich caramel skin. But Kallisto's angry gold eyes glaring at the floor quelled any desire inside me.

"Kallisto," I said softly, approaching him cautiously, "Are you hungry?" Kallisto clenched his teeth, then squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head against his knees.

No.

"Are you sure," I tried again, "I'm sure Apollo will be willing to give you whatever you want."

Kallisto want legs gone.

"Nobody here has that power," I said softly, coming over to sit down in front of him, "Not even Poseidon can touch you. Atlan has powers we still don't understand completely. If we try to change you back, we might hurt you." Kallisto jerked his head up to pin me with a snarl.

Kallisto don't care! Rather die than have stupid stupid land monster parts! This time, I caught the hint of tears in Kallisto's eyes before he dropped his head down again, his muscles bunching as he tightened his grip on his legs, claws sinking into the skin and drawing blood. I winced, reaching out to pry Kallisto's hands off his legs, taking his hands in mine, scooting closer. Kallisto refused to pick his head up, so I leaned in to touch my forehead against his head.

"Kallisto," I started gently, giving his hands a reassuring squeeze, "I know this is hard. You're scared and confused. I can't change you back, but I can help you... I want to help you, and not because I'm guilty. I want to help you because... Just because I want to help you. But I can't do that if you don't let me. Please, Kallisto." Kallisto didn't answer for what felt like the longest time and I felt maybe he hadn't even heard me over his own internal tirade, but he finally lifted his head to peek up at me with a glimmery gold eye, the other hidden behind his hair.

Kallisto don't want legs.

"I know, sweetheart," I murmured, reaching out to brush the hair back from his face, and his eyes flickered downwards, as if he were embarrassed, "I know. We'll get through this, though. I promise. I'll do whatever I can to help you, all right? But I need you to cooperate. Can you do that? And I don't want you to do it for me. I want you to do it for yourself." Kallisto studied me for the longest time before he gave me a single nod. I smiled in relief, leaning in to kiss him on the forehead. Kallisto made a strange noise that made me tilt my head at him curiously, only to have him look away sheepishly, cheeks pinkening.

Anexius. Was all he said. Nothing more. I smiled again. God, he's adorable. It was amusing to think of this large predator as adorable, but I couldn't help it. It made me want to pull him against me and cradle him again. But knowing he wanted to maintain some kind of dignity, I just picked him up in my arms again and carried him into the bedroom just as Arikos's cell phone rang, playing 21 Guns by Green Day.

"Hello? Yeah... All right, I'll tell him... No, he doesn't have a cell phone... Yeah, all right," Arikos hung up and turned to me, "That was Ares. He says he needs you to come check on Teslius. Apparently he won't eat and he's asking for you." I sighed, placing Kallisto on the bed, only to have Kallisto pull himself over to the end of the bed, snatching a cookie off the tray and sticking it in his mouth. When he bit down, he made a noise of dismay and dropped the cookie on the floor, sticking his tongue out.

What was that?!

"It's a cookie," I answered Kallisto, who made a noise of disgust and wiped his tongue on the blanket, making me smile before I looked at Arikos, who smirked, "Go on ahead and let Ares know I'll be there in about half an hour. I have to get Kallisto fed and settled for a bit." Arikos nodded and teleported away. I turned back to Kallisto, who scowled at the food on the tray.

"Did you want something else?" I asked. Kallisto gave me a dry stare.

Cookie taste terrible.

"How come?"

Taste very... sweet. Too sweet. Where meat? He asked. I smiled and took a small tray out from under the cart, pulling the silver top off to reveal the meat beneath and Kallisto practically salivated. I managed to teach him how to sit up the right way and gave him whatever meat was on the tray as well as a couple loaves of warm bread. He sat on the end of the bed, chowing down on everything Arikos had brought, except the pastries, which I took for myself before Kallisto was finished and fell back on the bed, licking his lips.

Good food. He said with satisfaction. I smiled.

"I'm glad," I replied, then stood up and covered the cart, "I'm going to take this back to Denarius. I also need to stop and see my brother, so do you think you'll be fine here alone for maybe an hour or so?" Kallisto frowned at that and sat up, cocking his head before he shook it quickly.

Take Kallisto.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow, surprised by his statement. Kallisto scowled.

Kallisto don't want to stay alone in big creepy room. Want to see Anexius's brother. Want to see other gods. And land stuff. Kallisto on land now, yes? Must see land stuff. Show me dirt. He added. I almost laughed at the odd request, but at the same time, I was hesitant to meet with his demands. What if he got hurt or one of the other gods took a liking to him? I certainly wouldn't appreciate Poseidon taking an interest in him, especially after what the sea god had done to my brother. Just thinking about it prickled my nerves.

Then again, maybe Kallisto would be safer with me, or better yet, safer with me at Ares's place. At least until the meeting with the other gods began at sunset. If Ares managed to meet Teslius safe for this long, surely Kallisto wouldn't be a problem at least for the day.

"Okay," I agreed and Kallisto's eyes brightened, "Just let me take this to Denarius and I'll be back to get you." I took the cart and dishes back to Denarius, letting him know that I was taking Kallisto with me to Ares's. I returned for Kallisto, taking him into my arms and ignoring his telepathetic grumbling as I teleported us from Apollo's home to Ares's.

Big home! Kallisto exclaimed, squeezing my neck as his eyes widened at the sight of Ares's antebellum mansion. I grimaced at his grip, then offered him a smile before heading up to the front door that was open with dogs going in and out. Occasionally a dog would trot up to me to sniff at Kallisto, who stiffened and growled at them. A few scampered off, one growled back, and another one licked Kallisto's foot, making him gasp.

"Did he bite you?" I asked, heading up the stairs and wishing to the gods Kallisto wasn't a wickedly buff monstrosity. Kallisto scowled.

No. But felt weird. Feet weird. He added, still looking confused. I smiled, deciding to save the explanation for ticklish parts when I spotted Ares, Aphrodite, and Arikos at the end of the hallway where Teslius's room was. A cart of food lay untouched and Arikos looked extremely peeved, his arms folded over his chest and his foot tapping the wooden floors impatiently.

"You brought Kallisto." Ares observed aloud and Aphrodite brightened at the sight of him, her hands clasping together.

"He's gorgeous!" She exclaimed. Ares's features pinched at that, but he said nothing as Aphrodite drifted forward to admire Kallisto closer. Kallisto's eyes widened and he tightened his grip on me, making me wince.

"Uh, Ares, is there anywhere I can leave Kallisto for a bit?" I asked. Ares nodded and gestured for me to follow him back to the large lobby at the top of the stairs where several sofas and a coffee table sat. I placed Kallisto on the sofa, watching him bounce up and down to figure out why it was so squishy and squeaky.

"I'll be right back." I assured. Kallisto said nothing, overly fascinated by the sofa, then the twin pit bulls that had inched toward him for a sniffing fest. I smiled at that, then followed Ares back toward Teslius's room.

"Has he said anything?" I asked, looking at the cart with a frown. Not even a bite of the salmon, and that was Teslius's favorite. I looked at Ares, who shook his head.

"He refuses to eat. When I tried to talk to him about it, he called me trisyo."

Filth.

He gave Aphrodite a droll stare that said the insult was rude. Aphrodite offered him a reassuring smile, then looked at me with the patience of a saint, which belied the fact that Aphrodite could be quite temperamental when it came to an affront to her husband.

"He said he would only speak to you. When we asked if he wanted to speak to Arikos, he locked himself in the bathroom," she paused and her smile took on a forced annoyed look and she turned to Arikos, who avoided her glare with one of his own that was directed at the bedroom door, "And Arikos decided to help by insulting him."

"If telling the truth is an insult, then he has a lot more coming his way." Arikos folded his arms over his chest tightly and looked away. I sighed. It was no use where Arikos was concerned. While he somehow managed to overcome his issues with Hannibal, apparently Teslius was a different story, which made me nervous. Had Teslius done to Arikos what our other siblings had done?

I didn't want to ask Arikos for fear of bringing up bitter memories, so instead I took the cart of food in silence and went into Teslius's room, closing the door quietly behind me. I scanned the room, relieved that it seemed to mostly be neat and tidy in comparison to how it had been during Teslius's mental breakdown. Still, it wasn't perfect. The mattress was overturned and the blankets were all sticking out from underneath the bed, as if Teslius had chosen there to make a nest.

I heard the sound of a sink turning off in the bathroom and looked up as Teslius appeared in the bathroom doorway. His black hair was a bit shorter than the last time I saw it, as if he'd sheared it with a knife, so it was choppy and brushed his shoulders in wet locks. He wore a pair of black sweatpants and a navy Henley that was a tad too big on him. He looked much better than last time, but there was still a glint of terror in his eyes when he saw me, and he stayed safely in the doorway.

"You cut your hair," I commented. Teslius's white eyes seemed even whiter with the dark circles under his eyes, his pallor sickly. He avoided eye contact with me and curled his arms to his chest protectively, his teeth chattering ever so slightly.

"I don't want to look like him." He didn't need to specify who him was. I knew the moment I saw him that he didn't look much like his twin anymore. My heart bled for him and his betrayal, but he needed to focus on getting better, instead of my nagging at his hurt feelings.

"I brought you food." I offered, leaving the cart by the bed and taking a step back. Teslius's teeth ground together so hard, a tic formed in his jaw and he looked at the food like it was poison. I frowned.

"Teslius, you have to eat."

"Why?"

"You have to gather your strength," I said sternly, but gently, "Atlan has already entered Olympus once. If he can do it then, he can do it again. You need to protect yourself; we need to protect each other." Teslius's eyes flashed wrathfully and he threw his arm out to gesture to the door.

"You think I'm going to help them?! Y-You think f-for one fucking second I give a crap what they want? To Xandria with them! I'm not helping them!"

"Teslius, Ares and the others had nothing to do with your attack. It was Poseidon, Heracles, and--"

"I know who it was! I don't care! They're all the same to me! And I don't want their poisoned food!" To emphasize his point, he threw his arm across the cart and sent everything flying to the floor. I glared at him incredulously.

"Teslius! That's enough, you--"

"No," Teslius shouted breathlessly, eyes panicked as he suddenly looked around the room as if he searching for someone, "I'm not going out there! I'm not eating their poison! You can't make me! I hate you! Why didn't you let Drastia just kill me?" I stared at him in disbelief, moving the cart aside to come forward. Teslius flinched as I snatched his hands up and gave them a squeeze, tilting my head to meet his eyes.

"You're my brother!" I exclaimed, desperate for him to hear me and understand me. Unfortunately, his panic attack was too great. He tore his hands away from me and backed up to rub at his arms as if he were cold, and his body shivered as he shook his head.

"That's what Ulenon used to say to me." His words cut me like a razor. I never thought I'd want to weep for Teslius until now. My heart broke over the trust that Ulenon had destroyed. I wanted to reassure Teslius, but I couldn't find the words to do it, couldn't find the passion to convince him because honestly, even I had trouble trusting him. We were never close, and after the incident with Dexius, what little of a relationship we had was crushed and further destroyed when I had sent Atlantis spiraling to the pit of the Source.

"Teslius," I said at last, making him flinch and take a step away from me, but I kept a safe distance to avoid causing him further discomfort, "I can't make you trust me, and I can't make you trust the others. That is a strength you'll have to find on your own, just as I am to do... All I am asking you to do now is eat. Please eat." Teslius kept his eyes on the floor, still trembling and teeth clenched so tight it was a miracle his teeth didn't shatter. I waited to see if he'd at least clean up his mess, but he was in a world of his own now and I sighed in defeat.

I picked up the mess quietly, feeling Teslius's eyes on me the entire time. I moved the cart out into the hallway where everyone was waiting, looking grim-faced. I shook my head when Ares looked at me and he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll make a new cart and just leave it outside his door. He'll want to eat sooner or later." He left us, and Aphrodite hurried after him. I watched them go, then turned to Arikos, who was still glaring at the door as if he had laser eyes to sear through it into Teslius. I frowned.

"Arikos, is there something you're not telling me?" I asked. Arikos looked at me, his features still tight and pinched with anger, but his glare softening slightly.

"You already know how much I hate them."

"Did Teslius...?" My voice trailed. The potent hatred poured back into Arikos's swirling silver eyes, a look that was so similar to Atlan that I dropped the plate that was in my hand so it shattered to the floor.

"It's what he didn't do." Without another word, Arikos spun on his heel and stalked down the hallway. I blinked rapidly in an attempt to recover from the fear of seeing Atlan in Arikos.

While I knew deep inside Arikos was nothing like Atlan, it was still that hateful look in his eyes that terrified me. I scraped up the pieces of the busted plate and took the cart back downstairs before returning for Kallisto, only to pull up short to see Kallisto had somehow pulled himself to the floor and was surrounded by dogs.

A Great Dane sat curled up against his back, a border collie laying across his lap, a pit bull resting its head on his shoulder, and lo and behold, Ares's troubled dog, Missy, was sitting beside him with her tongue lolling out of her mouth as Kallisto scratched her head. He looked up and smiled when he saw me approaching.

Kallisto like land doggies. They soft. He said. I smiled warmly at that as I sat on the sofa across from them to watch Kallisto tilt his head in to bump against Missy's. She bumped him back and nuzzled his ear, giving him a sloppy wet kiss before Kallisto returned to scratching behind her ears.

"That's amazing," I commented, making Kallisto look at me curiously, "Ares said Missy won't even let the other dogs near her. Yet here she is, surrounded by dogs and full on cuddling you." Kallisto shrugged, admiring Missy's deep chocolate brown eyes that melted my heart. The fact that they could hold eye contact like that was impressive.

She know Kallisto not land creature. She have experience with other land creatures and they all bad, much like Kallisto. She know that. She smart land creature. Also, Kallisto hungry again. Food. He stated, looking at me. As if to agree, all the dogs around him sat up at once and started whining and barking. I laughed at that and stood up.

"I'll go get you something to eat, you and the dogs. Be right back," I promised, getting up and heading downstairs. It took some searching, but I managed to find Aphrodite to let her know that I was going to get food from their kitchen, wherever that may be. However, as I approached the study where she was, I slowed as I heard her speaking over the phone.

"Yes... Yes, everything is fine, really... As much as I loathe them, watch your tongue, demon. They're family. Your family may be evil, but mine certainly isn't. At least, not all of them... Look, I never asked to get dragged into this... I'm only doing it for... Yes." Her tone turned sharp and angry.

I frowned slowly, concealing myself as I strained to hear who was on the other end of the line. It was definitely a male, a deep baritone voice that became crisper the more I listened, and this time, there was a heavy accent in the voice.

An accent unlike any I had ever heard.

It sounded ancient and incredibly beautiful. It corrupted my breathing and I clasped a hand over my mouth to quiet my breath.

"What of the Khalian that Atlan seeks? Anexius. According to the hybrid, Atlan was screaming his name during their battle... He's got Atlan distracted, but only for so long." The man on the other line was saying. Aphrodite sighed, leaning against the desk and folding one arm over her chest while the other held the flat touch-screen phone to her ear, her eyes closing in an expression that told me she was seeking patience.

"That's not a good thing. We're not using Anexius as a tool in this."

"What use is he anyway? If anything, he's as rotten as his father."

"He is not," Aphrodite said defensively, pushing off the desk and walking to one of the windows to look outside at a lush garden where nymphs and faes flitted about, "Anexius is good, Jo. I told you that. He's honestly trying to do some good here, and he's shown that through his care of Teslius and the hybrid."

"From what I've heard, he almost got the hybrid killed."

"Not Anexius's fault. Drastia blew up the temple. Besides, how do you almost kill the only thing that's as immortal as we are?"

"Even that thing is more immortal than we are, Aphrodite. Don't get a big head about this. You're forgetting that he plays an important role in the coming battle. Besides, I'm not going to debate politics with you. I have another angelikas I can harass. I only contacted you to check in on your end of the plan."

"Everything's going as planned. The gods are questioning Zeus's methods, Anexius is bringing them into the light. He's also putting Atlan into a weak place right now. But there is one thing that disturbs me... Atlan was seen in Olympus, but he only came to take something and then attack Anexius."

"What did he take?"

"I'm unsure. I'll get back to you when I figure it out. What about you? How are things on your end?"

"Xiphrus is still entrapped in the Khalian's ring. It's been difficult to keep tabs on him with Hades wandering the palace. That rank bastard has an annoying habit of appearing when he is least wanted... which is basically all the fucking time. Anyway, I have to go before he decides to appear out of nowhere again. Keep an eye on Anexius and the key. Find out what Atlan took and for the love of all that's fucking pure in this world, do not let anything happen to the hybrid. If Atlan gets his hands on him, or the key, the universe as we know it will unfold and the Source will be taking us down first."

"First to come, first to die." Aphrodite sighed, then hung up the phone. I retreated a few steps, taking deep breathes to cope with what I'd just stumbled upon.

I had no idea who was on the other end of the line. A man named Jo? And first to come, first to die? Did that mean he was a primordial, one of the firsts to leave the Source? Xenon mentioned something about Xiphrus being the first demon, along with two others, a brother and a sister. He told me who the brother was, but for the life of me, I could not remember his name.

And unfortunately, whoever this Jo was, had to be at Lucifer's palace, because where else would Hades so frequently appear? And something about a plan? What plan? Were they on Atlan's side, or our side? Or was there another player involved in this game that I'm unaware of?

Suddenly sick with apprehension, I quickly went back upstairs to collect Kallisto, who made a big fuss about not being fed and leaving the dogs, who also appeared distressed at the idea of his leaving. After fending off a horde of dogs begging for kisses on the merman, I managed to gather Kallisto up and return to Apollo's home. I dropped Kallisto off in the bathtub to let him at least soak in the tub, which he seemed to enjoy very much, even if he couldn't swim around like he used to.

I headed to Hannibal's room first. By now, the Heaven's Kiss had worn off and he would be lucid enough for a conversation. I trusted Hannibal, was wary of his temper-- not that it was any of his fault, but I trusted him in this. If anyone hated Atlan, it was Hannibal.

I knocked on the door once, taking the silence on the other end as an allowance of entry, and came inside to find Hannibal pulling a shirt off over his head, revealing a healthy set of pectorals and a package of bulging abs to accompany them.

Akin is a lucky man.

"Hannibal, we need to talk about something important," I said, and he cocked his head and gave me a silent dual-colored stare to continue, "Xenon told me there were three demons that came from the Source first, in the beginning. Xiphrus was the one who was tricked by Atlan to kill the other creatures in existence. The sister was imprisoned. And the third one...?" Hannibal's face looked like he sucked on a lemon and any other time, I would've laughed, but now I felt nervous about Aphrodite's conversation. Hannibal gave a slow nod, his lip twitching in annoyance.

"St. John. Lucifer's snake," he answered. That made perfect sense. He was in Lucifer's palace, and Hades was suspicious of him. And if Hades was suspicious of him, then I had even more reason to suspect St. John was up to something.

I told Hannibal about the conversation I listened in on between St. John and Aphrodite, and Hannibal looked as confused as I felt.

"St. John and Aphrodite? And wait, they mentioned something called a key?" At my nod, Hannibal's expression became disgusted as he rose to his feet and went to the dresser to grab a clean sleeveless leather turtleneck. "As if dealing with Atlan and Zeus weren't hard enough, now there's a key. And I'm guessing they gave no indication as to what kind of key and where it goes."

"No," I shook my head grimly, "There's too much going on at once. We have to figure out what Atlan did first. Right now, I don't think Aphrodite and St. John are as big a threat, especially since they don't seem to have this key, whatever it is. Atlan is the one who has something dangerous in his hands. He stole something when he was here in Olympus. According to Kallisto, Atlan took a napkin with something written on it out of Zeus's room just minutes before the temple blew up." Hannibal froze, his back to me and I watched every one of those rock hard muscles lock up. I frowned.

"Hannibal?" I asked. Hannibal didn't look at me, just slowly lowered his gaze to the floor, his expression hard.

"A napkin? You're sure?" He asked. I nodded, then scowled as Hannibal made a noise of supreme distress, wiping his hand down his face before he went to snatch his phone off the nightstand to dial a number.

"Hannibal, what's..." My voice trailed as Hannibal turned away from me.

"Master, it's me," he paused, and for a split second, he looked like he was going to blush, but then he cleared his throat, "It's important." The dire tone of his voice caused the excited shriek on the other line to go dead. There was a short pause as I listened in on Akin's voice that had became serious.

"Baby, are you alright? Tell me you're alright."

"I'm alright, sir. For now. But remember when you told me that there was something Hades had written down on a napkin?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean that weird spell thingy Hades used to kill Rhea and Cronus? Lucifer said Zeus destroyed it," Akin paused for the longest time and Hannibal grimaced, turning to look at me and I winced as Akin continued in a whisper, "Why do I have the feeling you're about to tell me Zeus didn't destroy it?"

"Because Zeus didn't destroy it, sir. He must have done it to keep it from Hades and Lucifer. He kept it in his room and now Atlan has it. Atlan has a way to destroy the gods, and I'm not talking just the Khalian. I'm talking about every single god in every single pantheon."