Chapter Nineteen

"I bet you're mom's a fire breathing dragon goddess. Oh wait, that's what your last mom was. Hmm..."

I rolled my eyes as I channel surfed through the huge flat screen television in Hades's living room. Cain was sitting next to me on the sofa, his legs kicked up on the obsidian coffee table, his arms thrown over the back of the sofa. Decked like a steam punk slut in his whalebone corset and brown leather pants, black button up top that was partially opened at the top, he looked out of place in Hades's black on black living room. Again, like most rooms in the house, the ceiling was made of Aurora Borealis lighting. Everything else looked like it came from some modern goth warehouse in the middle of Hot Topic country.

"Oh, I know," Cain said, holding up a finger matter-of-factly as I changed the channel quickly to avoid the Supernatural marathon Cain was no doubt gonna fight me for the remote over, "A siren! I bet she's some kind of siren."

"She's a goddess, numbskull," I muttered, flipping through the porn channels at lightning speed.

"You can be half-siren and a goddess," Cain drawled, then sighed, "Except you're not pretty enough to be a siren and you can't sing."

"How do you fucking know I can't sing?"

"Because I just know. I've heard everyone in this family sing at least once, except you. So obviously you suck."

"Cerberus sucks, and he still sings," I grumbled, but Cain ignored me so he could look down at his perfectly manicured nails. I settled for an episode of the Simpsons, resting my face on my hand and reaching my hand into my pocket to touch Yiuwa to make sure he was still there.

It'd been a couple days since Hades said he was gonna make Yiuwa a vessel, and he was getting close to being finished. Each hour that passed left me feeling anxious, and even though Yiuwa was playing it cool, I could tell he was nervous about the whole thing too. This universe was completely different from his own. He didn't know how things worked here. Fuck, even the laws of physics was different here than it was where he was from.

And then there was the fact that the shifter hadn't given up on fucking me over.

Not only had the shifter sent shadows in to attack Styx itself, but two oneiroi had been killed the previous night trying to keep my dreams safe, so I'd called the whole oneiroi thing off, even after Morpheus said he'd take over. I definitely didn't want to be responsible for that guy's death.

"You know, it's not your fault," Cain said for the hundredth time as we sat there, watching TV, "They're doing their job. Sometimes they get killed doing it. You don't feel guilty every time a cop dies in your city, do you?" I didn't say anything. I didn't always feel guilty, no. Because it never involved me getting them killed. And I could openly hold a ceremony in the city to commemorate the guy. Now, I couldn't even leave Hades's place. It was frustrating.

"Come on," Cain groaned, stretching out and making me grimace as he spread out on the sofa and dropped his head in my lap so he could look up at me with a cheeky grin, "Quit moping around. What happened to my baby brother who used to set peoples houses on fire for fun?"

"Depressed," I deadpanned and Cain rolled his eyes, sitting up as I pushed him away, "My boyfriend of what? Twenty years or so? Left me. And while I'm getting over that, there's also the fact that I don't know who my real mother is, and if my real mother is still out there, she might hate me more than Aria did. My friend is getting a vessel in a new universe. Oh, and did I mention that some ancient all powerful being is trying to destroy me? Cuz yeah, that's also a thing that's happening. And due to that, I'm not getting any sleep. I haven't cut in how many days now? But every time I pick up a razor, that fucking beast thing comes out and ruins everything. So excuse me for not wanting to go back to a normal that's probably dead forever."

Cain stared at me and I glared back at him before I looked at the television again, curling up in the corner of the sofa to keep away from him. Cain sighed, annoyed, then stood up and picked up the remote before I could grab it. He shut the TV off, then came over and sat in front of me on the coffee table.

"Look at me," Cain commanded, but when I turned my head away, he reached out and whacked me upside the head, making me snarl at him, but he ignored it when I finally made eye contact with him, "I get shit is totally fucked for you, believe me. You think I don't get it? My mom wasn't Mom of the Year either. You think my relationship with Abel is easy? Hell no. You think I haven't done shit to torment myself for years?" I frowned, because Cain never talked about the time he spent by himself in the mortal realm, without Abel.

"Like what?" I asked under my breath. Cain's eyebrows went down, and his blue eyes seemed to darken.

"I may not have taken a fucking razor blade to my wrist, but at least you're straight about it. I purposely got into fights everywhere I went. I pissed off probably a majority of the population before I found my way here. I was too much of a pussy to hurt myself, so I made other people do it for me, alright?" I didn't know what to say to that. First of all, Cain never shat on himself. He always walked around like he was the top dog, head held high, his hands on his hips, voice loud and commanding. He suckerpunched anyone who called him a coward. So having him sit here and tell me he was a pussy was... weird.

"Look," Cain continued, making me glance at him curiously, "Life is not easy. It's not gonna be all hunky dory all the fucking time. It's not supposed to. Didn't we have a huge war about this like a year ago or some shit? And you've seen people go through some rough shit, and you've seen them come out on top in the end. You've seen 'em fall down sometimes and just get back up, and fuck yeah, it's hard to get up again, but you do it anyway."

"Yeah, but--"

"No, buts, brat. Your life is shit right now, no doubt. You've stumbled and fallen down the hill a little bit, but don't lay there at the bottom and let all those fucking jerks step on you. You worked hard to get up there and you'll get back up there. Kick the shit out of those assholes and get back up on your hill and lord over them like the prince that you are. Because who gives a shit who your mom is, man? Hell, who gives a shit who your daddy is? You're fucking Theo, Prince of Styx. You're the patron of lost children. You're the phantom of April Fool's. You're the guy who can name every single actor and their stunt double. You rescued cats because you give a shit. You love playing pranks, you love movies, you love animals, you love taking care of people. You're a good goddamn person, and don't let anyone else tell you different, you got me?"

Well, shit. I definitely had no idea what to say now. See, I would expect an inspirational speech from Abel, maybe Malachi and Charon, but Cain? Cain didn't do speeches. He wasn't motivational or inspiring. He was trashy and hungry and rude. He talked shit and followed through with a good old fashioned beating. He picked on every single one of us, especially me for some dumb ass reason.

But here he was, telling me I was a good person. Reminding me who I am. Not what all this shit makes me. And he was right; that was me. I was letting all this shit going on confuses me, mix me up inside. I had my first heartbreak, and yeah, it hurt for a while, but I was feeling better. Yeah, I didn't know who my real mom was, but would it change who I was as a person? Hell no. I stopped cutting; granted, not because I wanted to, but because my beast wanted me to. Because my beast knew it was bad, knew I needed to practice a little self-love. I was always giving everyone else everything, but myself. I didn't buy myself fancy expensive shit like most of my brothers did, because I felt like I didn't deserve it, not when people were out there suffering.

If my people suffered, I had to suffer too.

But that wasn't true. I could help others, and myself. I didn't have to put myself on the back burner.

"Thanks," I said after a moment, and Cain sat back with a frown, "No, seriously... I really needed to hear that."

"Good," Cain answered, then actually started to look awkward, "Nice. Okay. Then, uh, my job here is done. I think it's time for Malachi to take over the next shift, so you know... Behave or some shit. And no more talk about that cutting shit, man. Quit it. You got some damn good skin and you're fucking it up."

"Okay, get out, now you're just sounding fucking gay."

"Fuck yeah," Cain declared, then got up and reached out, ruffling my hair, making me groan and shrink down on the sofa to escape him, making him laugh, "See ya tonight, squirt." I rolled my eyes and shook my head, watching him leave the room. I reached up to fix my hair, before taking Yiuwa out of my pocket and laying him open on top of my knees.

"How you doing?" I asked him.

Better. Your brother has an odd way of putting things into perspective.

"Yeah, he's gross."

Perhaps. He seems to truly care for you.

"I mean, I guess... Did you have any siblings?"

A younger sister. Her name was Kiwa... I loved her very much.

"What happened to her?"

My beast mistook her for an enemy. We were in the heat of battle and my beast came forth and laid destruction upon the enemy... and my troops, my sister was caught in the crossfire as well.

"Shit. Man, I'm sorry."

Our beasts are very difficult to control, wee one. They feed on anything that gives them pleasure. Most of the time, destruction gives them pleasure. They see red, as well you know. They do not see faces. It was an accident, yes. I know that, logically, but there are times I still wonder why my beast didn't hear her screaming.

"That happened to someone I know," I murmured, remembering Hannibal's story, "He was angry about, uh, well... He was crushing hard on my brother, Cain. He was super angry that Cain wasn't noticing him and going back to the same person over and over again. So the beast took hold of that anger and used it to get revenge on the guy's behalf. When the guy tuned back in and realized what had happened, he was freaking out."

That is not uncommon. I have also hurt many people. In different ways. The beast does not feel as we do. It feels very basic emotions, very basic feelings, and it does not have the capacity to think through logic. It feels and it acts.

"That's what it sounds like. It's kind of scary... But, I don't think my beast is going to hurt anyone right now. Not unless we agree on it. He recognized Cerberus, and Cain."

That is good. You can train your beast, believe it or not. Train it to recognize who is friend and who is foe. Not by appearances, but by feelings. Your beast will feel who is safe and who is not. It is why it kept returning razors to Hades, because it recognizes Hades as safe for you.

"That's so weird," I murmured, "I mean, weird, but cool too. Like training a pet."

Yes. Just do not abuse your beast, wee one. They will feel it and they will become self-destructive. It is why so many of us fall prey to self-harm. The beast has been hurt so many times that it must escape that. Things like drugs, drink, such things are far more addictive for us. The beast wants to feel that pleasure, because it is not getting it from you, from anyone around it. Do you see what I am saying?

"Yeah, that makes sense. Everyone I know who has a beast has had some kind of addiction... fuck, including me," I admitted with a shrug.

Exactly.

I wanted to ask Yiuwa more about the beast, but I heard the door open, expecting to see Malachi coming in to take over Cain's shift, but instead it was Hades. He looked exhausted, wearing a pair of black pajama pants and a tank top with a coffee stain on it. His hair was coiled up out of his face in a hairclip, his arms folded over his chest.

"It's finished," he stated. I nodded, closing Yiuwa and getting up to follow Hades out of the room. It seemed like every step just made the hallway seem so much longer as we made our way to the laboratory.

"It took a bit of work," Hades explained as we walked, "But it should be appropriate for him. I gave him an added height, because from what he told me, people from his universe were a bit on the short side. Oh, and he'll technically be an artificial, but he'll still retain his beast. He'll just have to be careful that the thing doesn't bust him apart."

"That's comforting," I muttered.

"Don't worry," Hades said smoothly, "Menoetius was a god and his vessel is holding up just fine. Even after the whole Atlan possessing him and shit." I didn't say anything. I was still nervous as fuck, and thinking of Yiuwa blowing up into pieces made me even more nervous.

We walked into the laboratory and went to the back where Yiuwa's vessel was waiting in an airtight container, filled with a weird liquid that kept the body from going bad, as Hades put it. I stopped in front of the vessel, my eyes widening as I scanned the body from head to toe.

It definitely looked like the drawing Yiuwa had given us, but so much taller and more intimidating in person. Like, he was ripped as fuck, and at least as tall as Hades. His skin was a smooth dark shade of caramel, his features sharp and angular, his narrow eyes closed, but no facial hair just yet. The hair on his head was a bit on the short side, mostly on the left side as opposed to the right side. It looked almost stylish. Oh, and then there was the fact that he was naked as fuck, so his impressive cock lay between his legs, and damn, he was hung.

"I hope you don't go fucking him too," Hades said dryly, making me roll my eyes as I looked to see him typing information in.

"You shouldn't have given him such a big dick then," I deadpanned. Hades wiped a hand down his face, seemed to be counting to ten in his head to keep from punching me, then went back to typing shit in. I opened Yiuwa up and looked down at the blank pages with a slow frown.

"Please keep talking to me," I murmured under my breath, hoping Hades couldn't hear me.

Always, came Yiuwa's response. I smiled briefly at that, then took a deep breath and closed him up. I turned to Hades, who held his hand out for Yiuwa. I handed him over and stepped back as Hades placed the book inside a glass chamber by the giant tube. Hades did more typing and I came over to stand near him, peering over, but I couldn't make out any of the weird numbers and shit that was on the screen.

"He's going to be alright," Hades said without looking up.

"I hope so."

"I've been doing this for years, Theo. It's alright." I didn't answer, just watched as he hit a couple more buttons, then stepped back and snapped his fingers. The book began to glow, light streaming out through the pages before it flew open and something white and glowing shot out and sailed through a tube that connected to the vessel. There was a sharp crack of magic and Yiuwa's vessel snapped its head back, its limbs stiffening up before it slumped forward.

I'd never actually seen this shit happen before. I'd heard about it, but holy crap, it was intense. The lights flickered overhead, but Hades didn't seem to concerned with it as he watched the vessel intently, like he was waiting for something to happen.

And a second later, it did. A bright flash of light emitted from the vessel's eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and the light seemed to make the skin on its chest glow. And then the vessel seemed to sink a little until its feet touched the ground.

Hades went to his machine and pulled a lever. The liquid inside the tube drained through an opening in the bottom. I approached the tube as the door slid open and I watched as Yiuwa's eyes slid open, his knees buckling. I darted in to help him and Hades warned me to stay back, but I ignored him as I caught Yiuwa, barely. The guy had at least another hundred pounds on himself compared to me, so I bent a little under his weight, but I managed to get a hold of him. His eyelids fluttered, and I watched, amazed at a pair of vibrant yellow eyes, like a tiger's eyes.

"Hi," I managed, staring up at him. He blinked a few times, then stared down at my face.

"Theo?" He asked. Fuck, his voice was amazing. His accent was unlike anything I'd ever heard. The way he said my name just rolled right off his tongue, his Os deep and pronounced, the TH sounding more like just straight up T. So it sounded more like Teh-oh.

"Yeah," I answered slowly, sort of starstruck by having him so close, "It's me." His eyes brightened more at that, and I started to ask if he was alright, but he reached up with both hands to cup my face and leaned down, plastering a fucking kiss right on my mouth. My eyes went wide as his tongue parted my lips and went to work feeling everything, and his hands slid back into my hair and gripped there, like he wanted to feel everything about me.

We broke apart after a second and Yiuwa looked down at me with a warm smile.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you," he murmured. His accent was so goddamn sexy. Lilting, his vowels strong, his Rs thick and rolling.

"Oh yeah," I answered, still sorted numbed out from the liplock... Until I remembered Hades was in the room and cursed under my breath, turning my head to see Hades glaring at us, his arms folded over his chest. I cleared my throat and stepped back, helping Yiuwa out of the giant glass box he was in. He stepped out, then froze and looked down at the floor. He moved his feet around on the floor, then sucked in a deep breath of air, like he'd been holding his breath. He looked around, bewildered.

"What is this?" He asked.

"Air?" I offered. Yiuwa sucked in another deep breath, and another.

"Don't hyperventilate," Hades deadpanned. Yiuwa looked confused by that, but seemed to get what he meant and slowed his breathing down. He flexed his hands and fingers, reaching up to run his hand through his hair, then spent a whole minute messing with it while Hades went to typing some stuff on the computer.

"Get him some clothes, Thee. Bottom drawer, right counter," Hades commanded without looking up. I nodded and went to the drawer, pulling it open and taking out a pair of black scrubs and handing them to Yiuwa, who looked confused by the garments. So I had to help him figure out how to put everything on.

"What're you doing?" I asked Hades as Yiuwa pulled his pants up and shrugged around in his clothes to get comfortable.

"Gonna update him on all the things in the universe. It's something I usually give out to my artificials. It makes settling in easier for them, and we don't have time to teach Yiuwa basic sciences and mathematics, or languages," he explained. Yiuwa frowned and looked up, coming over slowly as he tried to get his footing, until he was standing beside us.

"Do not teach me languages," he said, making Hades look at him oddly, "I want Theo to teach me. He knows many languages, such as Arabic. I wish for him to teach me personally." Hades grimaced, then turned away to continue typing.

"Of course he wants you to teach him. Should've just made your goddamn vessel a eunuch," he muttered under his breath. Yiuwa appeared confused by that and looked at me.

"So... Welcome to Hades's shit list. He automatically hates anyone who makes out with his kids," I answered. Hades rolled his eyes, but didn't deny the accusation. Yiuwa still didn't seem to understand.

"I'm afraid I do not understand."

"You gave me tongue action when you came out of the box, dude."

"Tongue...? You mean my kiss?"

"Yes? Do you always greet people like that?"

"Only people I like very much," Yiuwa answered, making me raise an eyebrow, "There is nothing wrong with it in my world."

"Yeah, well, you don't just make out with people you just met in our world," Hades said, clearly peeved about the whole thing and regretting the vessel part. I sighed, frustrated that this was gonna be an issue, but whatever, it was Hades's idea, and I kept that smug reminder to myself to avoid Hades just blasting Yiuwa on the spot.

"Ignore him," I said, making Yiuwa cock his head, "So. Wow. Still trying to cope with this. Shit, you are ripped." I touched his arms, feeling the hard steely muscles under his soft skin. Yiuwa took a moment to understand what I meant, then nodded.

"I was a warrior in my world. We had to keep in shape. You are well built yourself," he commented, then reached out and cupped my face again, his smile drifting back into place, "And you are very soft." I felt heat rising into my cheeks and Yiuwa watched in fascination.

"Your face is pink!"

"You don't have to say it out loud, man. You're ripping my masculinity down one piece at a time," I groaned, trying to move away from him. But he stepped closer, dipping his head down and brushing his cheek against mine. Fuck, he reminded me of a cat when he did that, and he kept doing it, until Hades smacked a stack of papers in his face.

Yiuwa wrinkled up his nose and stepped back, picking up the papers and looking down at them. He started to ask a question, but Hades reached out and booped him on the forehead with two fingers and Yiuwa froze for a second, then immediately frowned at him.

"Rude," he stated and Hades shrugged.

"You needed the knowledge and we don't have time to teach you. You're here to protect my kid. Protect," he tacked on firmly, then held his fingers up and gestured them slowly outward, "Protect. Meaning, to keep people from killing him. To make sure he stays in the same condition now. Meaning keep your dick in your pants."

"Oh, for the love of fuck," I groaned in frustration, turning to glare at Hades, "Seriously? We have to do this all over again? Does I'm a thousand fucking years old mean nothing to you?"

"Hell no. You could be six millennia old and I'd still be on this shit like white on rice. So shut your trap," Hades responded. I threw my hands up in the air, then looked at Yiuwa, but he didn't seem so pissed. In fact, he was smiling, like he found my exchange with Hades incredibly endearing, which made me grimace.

"What's that look for?" I asked. Yiuwa shook his head.

"I find his love for you to be very beautiful. My father and I often argued in this manner. It brings back memories," he replied. He sounded a little sad when he said that, and I glanced at Hades, who had drifted away because clearly the conversation was making him uncomfortable. He was busy typing something on another computer. I turned back to Yiuwa just as there was a sharp ripple of power in the room. Everyone turned to see Stanton and Xiphrus appear in the room.

Stanton, also known as Death, wasn't really what you'd expect Death to look like. Dirty blonde hair that fell just above his shoulders, rugged facial hair so he looked more like a cowboy, but he was decked out in black on black leather with a long coat that fell to the floor. His facial features were almost exactly identical to Xiphrus's; handsome, badass, sexy. But where Stanton was leanly built, Xiphrus was incredibly ripped with bulging muscles and long black hair that fell down his back, really bright blue eyes, compared to Stanton's dark brown, and Xiphrus was wearing some nerdy eco-warrior shirt and blue jeans.

"Hades! What the fuck did you do!" Stanton barked immediately. Xiphrus grimaced.

"Stanton--"

"Why can't anyone just say hello normally," Hades asked dryly, then scowled, "And what did I tell you originals about fucking knocking before you come storming into my place?"

"There was a rift in the balance," Xiphrus explained calmly, even though Stanton was rolling his eyes and raking his hands through his hair, "Something happened to the prophecy; it was triggered somehow."

"Triggered? How? And how is it my fault?" Hades asked drolly.

"Because it's always your fault something happens," Stanton deadpanned.

"Wow, okay, well at least I didn't go a fucking die for three seconds and push the prophecy forward," Hades responded, to which Stanton sputtered and Xiphrus just patted him on the arm to remain calm. I looked at them confused, until it hit me.

Open the doors to the beast.

I turned to Yiuwa, who was watching the exchange in the room with interest.

Fuck.

Shit.

"I think we just did the shifter's job," I said, making everyone look at me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hades demanded. I looked at him.

"Open the doors to the beast. What if that meant releasing Yiuwa from the book? Yiuwa is the first person cursed with the beast in the history of forever. He made a pact with the Source to remain a book. We just fucking broke that. A rift in the balance at the same time we let him out of the book? Tell me that doesn't sound like a fucking coincidence."

Everyone was silent as they processed the information, then Hades looked up at the ceiling, closed his eyes, and very loudly proclaimed,

"Son of a goddamn bitch." Yiuwa looked at him.

"Quite."