Chapter Twelve

"You... captured him?" I managed.

Hades nodded, nonchalantly plopping down on my sofa, pausing to wrinkle his nose at it and pushing down on the cushions before snapping his fingers. The sofa changed from the old fashioned velvet Victorian to a modern black leather L-shaped sofa that ran along the front window.

"You really need to step into modern conveniences," Hades chided me, scanning the room with obvious distaste, "It's so run down and old in here. It's like you're eternally trapped in the fifties." I couldn't believe he was trying to discuss my decorating skill after what he'd just told me.

But Hades was crafty. He was up to something. I could only guess that Hades knew about Alexion's staying here and that was why he'd come to throw it in my face before insulting my interior design. I wasn't sure how he wanted me to react, however, or what would give it all away. I had no idea how Hades even figured it out in the first place, but I should have known. Nobody could hide anything from Hades. He was the god of the Underworld, a son of Cronus, and brother of Zeus.

"Why did you come here?" I decided to ask, playing it safe. Hades didn't look at me as he scanned the old wooden coffee table and snapped his fingers, turning it into a sleek glass with black coasters that looked like scorched skulls. It almost made me cringe.

"I came here to inform you of what's happened, and what was discussed on Olympus. You know very well that you have to know the new rules and information Zeus decided to come up with one night while fucking a nymph." Hades responded, making me grimace at his crudity.

My heart was still racing a hundred miles an hour, however. Alexion had been captured, and was now back in Hades's dungeon. What about Akin? Had he found out about Akin holding him at his apartment? Did he know about the relationship between Alexion and I? What was he going to do? Was this his way of threatening me? It was driving me insane and my paranoia kept mounting.

"Nothing's actually changed," Hades said dryly, frowning as he looked up at the old light fixtures in the house and snapped his fingers, changing them from the old electrical twin bulbs to elaborate chandeliers made of gold, "Zeus mostly took the chance to rant and rave about all his problems. As if he's the one with all the major problems. He's not the one trying to corral a bunch of stupid little boys into keeping the world safe from Titans. I should just send you all over to him and then see how he likes it. Maybe I'll get some peace and quiet for once in my life." I tried not to get angry at that.

Hades often came here to rant about things, something all his siblings did. However, it was when he started insulting myself and my brothers is when I wished I could kill him. He had no idea how difficult it was. He thought trying to "keep us in order" was hard? How about fighting Titans and other rogue gods and trying to save the world?

Of course, I said none of this. Yelling at my brothers and yelling at Hades were two completely different things. Yelling at my brothers just upset them and worried them. Yelling at Hades would result in disembowelment, something I wasn't too interested in.

"I returned and happened to get a call that Alexion had been spotted in Styx," Hades continued, making me bit my lip nervously, "He was at one of those stupid clubs Cerberus likes so much. He put up a fight, that one, but nothing I couldn't handle. I broke his arms in the process and ordered my guards to start feeding him grigora. I may just keep him at my place than throwing him at Zelios. Gods know Zelios will take pity on the pathetic creature and lower his dosage without informing me." I gritted my teeth, trying not to chatter my tea cup. Instead, I put it down to avoid busting it open as I carefully approached Hades, who sat back on the sofa, his arms tossed over the back of it. He was staring out the window silently now.

His visits normally weren't this long. He'd blow off steam, check my work, insult me a little, then leave to go tend to Persephone, who had also joined Hades on his trip and probably screwed up the weather for the humans, but the gods didn't particularly care what they did with the weather. I'm sure it just upset a few humans that it didn't snow on the holidays.

"I know about Alexion." Hades said at last. I went cold.

"What?" I asked for confirmation. Hades's eyes narrowed, but he still didn't look at me. I could feel a little pulse of irritated power course through the air, as a warning that I should remain silent, so I did.

"Don't worry," He said dryly, "No one told me, so no need to worry about whoever knows. I figured it out on my own. You don't skip work for anything, even after Kyros died, you still worked very hard, like you always have. Then I noticed the slip. Hermes mentioned something during one of our dinners on Olympus. He said there were a lot of traffic back ups in the underworld. You were neglecting your work. Then I had heard that Alexion was running loose. But so was that Hannibal. I wasn't sure which one, but I figured that out too. I know Hannibal. He was my servant before he was Cain's. A violent little shit with a heart made of stone and a craving for a beating. You'd never survive around a person like that, but Alexion?" I held my breath as Hades turned to pin that icy stare on me.

"Alexion is out for revenge. He won't try to unnecessarily hurt someone, well, aside from destroying the world to get revenge. That part's different. But otherwise? Alexion tries to be a pacifist, because he wants to prove everyone that he's not the god killer. A wounded soul with a mysterious past, once a servant and knows how to cook, clean? Yes, he sounded like the perfect culprit." He explained. I swallowed hard, taking a step back, but he vanished off the sofa in a column of black smoke before reappearing in front of me, so I had to crane my neck back to stare up at him.

"You tried to harbor a fugitive under my nose. You even dared to take him for a joy ride on the ferry?" He asked. My eyes widened. How could he possibly have known about that?

"Because the skeletons left their posts here early because you told them to," Hades said coldly, "I'm not stupid, Charon. I know the way your mind works. I know what you want, why you want it, when you want it. The fact that you of all people thought you could slide something like this past me? If anyone's stupid here, it's you, Charon. An incredible disappointment."

That made me angry, and since Hades was obviously going to kill me for my betrayal, I decided to go out with a bang. I took a step back, glaring at him, as rage boiled my blood.

"A disappointment?! Are you kidding me?! I do everything for you! I do all of your paperwork, work that isn't even mine to begin with and just your leftovers because you're too lazy to do it! You punished me for something I didn't even start, didn't even do! It wasn't my fault Prometheus got a hold of me and threw me in the Labyrinth! In fact, that was none of our faults, mine or the others! And yet, for some reason, you punished me! You pile all this work on me! I only wanted to help Alexion, that's it! He's the only one who hasn't treated me like garbage! The first person since I was born! Of course I'm going to choose him over you! You may have taken me under your wing, but you only did it as a formality! Because I'm the only one that knows how to navigate the rivers in this hellhole! None of what you do for me is out of the kindness of your heart! Absolutely none of it! And I'm tired of being treated like this! In case you haven't noticed, I'm considered a Source god! My parents are Nyx and Erebus! I've been around long since you got here and I accepted you as the new god of this realm because I thought you were saving me, that you were going to be different, but you're just the same as them! As all the primordial gods and Titans that treated me like trash, and you're no different!" My heart was racing and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears, my breathing coming out in angry gasps.

I waited for Hades to kill me.

But he didn't.

We stood there in silence for almost two minutes. Hades was just staring at me with an expression I couldn't even begin to read. I couldn't tell if he was angry or homicidal, and that's what made him so terrifying.

"Yes," Hades said at last, making me frown as he spoke monotonously, "That is true. What if it? You expect me to raise you as if I was Aphrodite or Athena? In case you've forgotten, I spent the first years of my life swimming in my father's stomach acid. Nothing says parental affection like being swallowed by your sperm donor. I don't know how to be a father and I will admit that. But I am not a father to begin with. I am a god. I am the god of the underworld, because I drew the short straw of the bunch. The reason I give you my work is because I trust your judgement. You're not impaired like my other sons. They let love and affection and hurt and anger rule over their decisions, making them defected. You do not. You think with your mind. Wisely and unbiased. That is why I trust you with all my work, and I barely trusted putting Kyros with you because he wasn't like you. Kyros only trusted his heart, not his brain. That is why he died. I wasn't going to do that to you again, to ruin your intelligence and your pure mind by getting you mixed up with the trivial matters of the heart."

I held my breath at that. I wasn't sure what to say in response. I'd never heard Hades said that kind of thing before, and telling me he trusted me? Not many people could say that Hades trusted them. For all the love he held for Persephone, he still didn't trust her. He knew very well if she had the chance to escape to the surface world, she would take it in an instant, because she loved her mother and the earth more than she loved Hades.

And now that I thought about it, Hades was also ruled by his heart.

"Exactly," Hades said answering my thoughts, making me frown, "I may be clever and intelligent, but when it comes to certain matters, my heart takes over and that is not strength. It's weakness. Your purity, the way you view the world from both sides. Your strength to think with your mind and not your heart is why you were the only one who could do those duties, to separate the souls into their proper places, to double check my work, and to then proceed with taking those souls to exactly where they belong, never taking pity on the tainted souls."

I had never thought about it like that. I had just felt like Hades was too lazy, too busy torturing other people, to even do his work, so he threw it all on me. He didn't do it because he was lazy. He did it because he trusted me.

"Or I did, anyway," Hades said, snapping me back to reality and grimacing at his words, "I trusted you and you betrayed that trust by hiding that god killer in your home."

"But he liked me." I managed. Hades tsked and raked me with a disgusted glare.

"Liked you? The only thing Alexion likes is stripping the flesh from the bones of my father and brother."

"You're wrong," I blurted, making Hades's eyes glow with anger, "Alexion's not like that! It's because of his revenge that people look at him like he's a monster! He's started to believe that, but it's not true. I saw a side of Alexion that I'm positive people will like."

"Oh, did you," Hades challenged, making me wince, "And you thought that it was real?"

"I--"

"You thought he could actually love you? A person whose only reason in existence is to destroy two of the most powerful gods? A person whose sole purpose in the first place was to kill other gods? In case you've forgotten, you are also a god. You're not a hybrid bastard like the rest of my sons. You are a full-blooded god. The fact that you were thinking with your heart blinded you from the fact that he was using that emotion to trick you." Hades spat. I flinched. I'd already went over that idea in my head, but surely Alexion wouldn't have kept up such an act for so long. Nobody could be that dedicated and then throw it all away.

"What of Hannibal," Hades said, reading my thoughts, "He served under Cain for nearly two thousand years and then turned his back on Cain without a second thought."

"He thought he was going to be with Cain forever." I pointed out, making Hades snort.

"Oh, no, he didn't. He thought he was going to be killed with Cain, forever. He's the most suicidal son of a bitch I've ever had the displeasure of knowing."

"So, what, you're saying love isn't real?"

"It is," Hades said sternly, making me frown, "But it's a weakness. It's not something I want you in particular to have. Your run in with Alexion was a mistake. Even worse, you'll either become jaded when you find out he doesn't actually love you or you'll be desperate to find someone else, like Abel. I've already seen Abel tear himself apart, then toss himself back out to the lion that destroyed him. I'm not about to watch that happen to you, Charon." My heart sank. I couldn't even care less if Hades's orders were out of paternal instinct or simply him being cruel. Either way it pained me.

I know Alexion didn't deserve to be punished.

"If you trusted my judgement so much," I spoke at last, "Why won't you believe me about Alexion?" Hades curled his lip.

"Because he wedged his way into your heart, not your mind."

"But I dream about him--"

"You what," Hades snarled, making me jump at his sudden rage, "He's been in your dreams?!"

"W-Well, yes--"

"Charon, I don't want you anywhere near Alexion," Hades ordered firmly, "I've posted guards all along the inside of the dungeons, so you brats can't break in again. There's also a double barrier set up, so admittance is through invite only. Which you are not. Get back to work, Charon. Clear your head of him. I can't afford to lose you. Souls like yours are far and few between. I don't have time to go looking for another with this situation involving Prometheus and the Khalian, do you understand me?"

"B-But, you can't," I managed shakily, fear rocketing through me at the thought of never seeing Alexion again, "You can't! Alexion's not evil! I know he isn't! You can't--"

"I can do whatever I want," Hades cut me off sharply, "Don't forget who you're dealing with, Charon. I've killed gods before, and I can do it again. Just because you're my son doesn't mean you're immune to my temper. I'll grieve you for a few weeks, then move onto the child that fae is to birth for me." I wanted to scream at him. Pain, sorrow, and anger choked me and I wanted to rip Hades to pieces, and I knew he knew that. He stepped back, eyes narrowing on me.

"Do as I tell you, Charon. It's the only reason you're alive today. And you know that."

He vanished in a column of black smoke.

Pain shredded me as tears sprang to my eyes before I could stop them, sobs erupting from my throat. I sank down to my knees, breathing hard against the pain in my chest. It hurt so much. It hurt as bad as watching Kyros being cut down. And thinking about that brought more sobs forth until I felt like I was going to die from crying so hard.

Why was he doing this to me? Why was he taking everyone away from me?

Why wasn't I allowed to be happy? Why were my other brothers allowed to have lovers and armies and kingdoms to rule over and I was here alone in the dark?

I didn't care if it was because Hades was using me for my purity or whatever it was he was talking about. I didn't care that he trusted me, and that I had destroyed it. What was the use of having Hades's trust, if that was all I was allowed to have? And even that was worthless now.

The way Hades had looked at me stated quite clearly that he would never trust me again. I wasn't even sure what that meant anymore, but I didn't care.

All that mattered was that I was never going to see Alexion again. I was never going to feel the warmth that only he could provide. Never again would we cook together or watch movies or share a meal or a trip down the rivers. I was going to be all alone again and the thought horrified me. I didn't want to go back to it; I didn't! I wasn't going to let this happen.

With deep, shaky gasps, I scrambled to the bedroom and changed into a pair of black jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and my cloak. I jerked my boots on and stood up quickly. A second later, I vanished from my home and reappeared outside Akin's penthouse. I knocked quite loudly, and rudely, but I didn't have time to be polite. I had to figure out what was going on, and I had to find a way to get to Alexion before Hades destroyed the last shred of sanity and kindness that existed in Alexion's battered soul.

Akin opened his door a moment later, his white-blonde hair in a high up ponytail, a blue single sleeve shirt, and black Tripp pants with cargo hooks that had glow sticks connected to it. He looked surprised to see me, then agonized.

"Charon, Alexion--"

"I know," I managed, making him wince, "I had to make sure." Akin looked a little hurt.

"I would never have told Hades about him, Charon. I saw how much you liked him. If I had known Hades was watching him, I wouldn't have even let him leave the penthouse." He answered quietly. I winced.

"I'm sorry, Akin. I just... I have to get him back. I can't let Hades hurt him. I have to do something." I added. Akin's eyes glowed at that.

"Then we're gonna do something about it. Give me one second and I'll be right back. We'll head over to Abel's to get his help." He told me firmly. I just nodded, watching him dash to his kitchen before returning with a black military coat that he slung over his shoulders before he shut the door behind him. He took my hand and we teleported from his apartment building to Cain's palace in the Fields of Asphodel, where Abel resided in wait for Hades to consider him for Elysium's ruler.

Cain's palace was quite foreboding. A modern sleek black manor with a large rectangular pool at the front. A large barrier encased it, causing the souls outside to steer clear, occasionally smashing into it and sent flying through the woods. I led the way to Cain's front door and knocked first. After a moment, his second-in-command, Kat, answered the door. She was a petite young immortal woman with dark hair and large green eyes, and nice muscle tone under her usual Gothic corset attire that was similar to Cain's.

"Lord Charon?" She asked, perplex to see me. I nodded.

"I need Abel right away." I ordered. Kat nodded, stepping aside to let Akin and I enter the main lobby, a small room with only one small black leather sofa before a hallway opened up into the throne room, a large octogon shape decorated like a Gothic castle. Kat left down one of the hallways to go find Abel while Akin and I stood in the throne room.

"How do you think Hades found out?" Akin asked me quietly. I shook my head, shifting impatiently as I looked around the room.

"I don't know. He just figured it out. He should've been the god of cleverness. He may act like he's not paying attention, but 95% of the time, he is."

"What does he do the other 5% of the time?"

"Listening to AC/DC albums."

Akin gave me a weird stare before we turned to hear footsteps rushing toward us down one of the hallways. Abel appeared first, wearing tight black leather pants and a matching turtleneck. Cain followed up right on his heels, unfortunately. He was decked out in another bright red Chinese-style corset with a small jacket that just covered his shoulders, a pair of leather pants hugging long legs and knee-high buckled boots finishing off his attire.

"Charon," Abel exclaimed, worry etched on his face, "I heard what happened. Hades told us. Are you all right? Hades didn't do anything to you, did he?" I saw the threat flash in his eyes, something meant for Hades, which surprised me. I'd never thought Abel would go that far to defend me. I'd save my awe for later, however, because right now my main priority was getting Alexion back.

"He took him," I managed, "He took Alexion. I have to get him back." Cain looked at me incredulously.

"Are you fucking insane? Why the fuck would you want a god killer around, Charon? Are you that suicidal?" He demanded. I shot him a glare, which seemed to catch him off guard because he took a step back.

"He is not a god killer," I snapped impatiently, "He's making mistakes, just like everyone else. You of all people should understand that, Cain." Cain went silent, glaring at me, but said nothing as Abel approached me, grimacing.

"We can't break into Hades's dungeons anymore. The security is too tight now. We need to find another way." Abel warned me.

"I don't care," I insisted, "I'll do anything to get him back. I'm not going to live by myself anymore. I'll go insane if I do."

"Looks like you're a little too late for that." Cain muttered. Abel elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt and glare at him, but Abel ignored him as he turned to me.

"We need to talk to the rest of our brothers. If we can get together, we can confront Hades and get Alexion back up front." He stated. Akin stared at him.

"You been smokin' weed again? There's no fucking way Hades will release Alexion into your custody. He's been vying way too hard to get Alexion back into his cave of doom. You'd have better luck convincing Aphrodite to get a sex change." He snorted indigenously. Cain nodded in agreement, then paused, frowning as he stared off into space thoughtfully.

"Actually, I think she did turn into a guy one time because she found out that one guy she liked was gay, and he said no, so she turned into a guy just so she could have him and when he found out, he killed himself." He pointed out. We glared at him and he held his hands up in surrender before I turned to Abel.

"We have to try. If we can get Persephone present, maybe, just maybe we can get her onto our side." I added hopefully. Surely Persephone's displeasure in my existence wouldn't hinder her kindness to the rest, if we all asked for Alexion back.

"Oh, this is just suicidal," Akin sighed, then shrugged, "But I've been down in the dumps lately anyway. Might as well die, right? Too bad, though. I always saw myself going out with a shot of vodka and listening to Nirvana." Cain gave him a weird look, but we ignored them as Abel turned to Kat.

"Can you keep an eye on things for us?" He asked. Kat gave him a stern, two-fingered salute.

"I'll personally castrate anyone who steps foot on the premises." She informed. We winced, but nodded and link hands, vanishing from there to Cerberus's house. This was going to be particularly hard considering Blaine was still pregnant and Cerberus was very reluctant to leave his side.

Leon was the one to answer the door before he took us into the living room. Cerberus was sitting on the sofa with Ayo in his lap while they watched an episode of Spongebob and Blaine was setting out snacks when he seemed to sense all of our presences, standing up straight.

"Holy crap. If I'd known all of you were coming, I'd of actually made more food." He commented. Cerberus frowned, getting to his feet and setting Ayo down on the floor. Ayo instantly ducked behind Cerberus's legs to peer out at us nervously.

"We're not here to party," Abel said firmly, "We need to get the rest together. Charon needs our help. Hades took Alexion and Charon wants him back." Cerberus looked at me in horror.

"Alexion? The god killer?"

"Nooo," Cain drawled, folding his arms over his chest and cocking his hip, "Apparently Alexion's just actually a hippie dressed in the blood of his victims." I glared at Cain venomously and Abel elbowed him again. Cerberus glared at me.

"Charon, there's no way I can do that. That bastard stabbed Blaine. If we're getting him back, the only reason is so I can slit his throat open and bathe in his blood on my own." He growled. I clenched my teeth at that, then looked at Blaine for his help. He was frowning, looking in my general direction curiously. He held his hand out and felt his way over to me without tripping or anything, thankfully. His hand bumped against my chest and he sucked in a sharp breath, patting at my chest.

"Your heart. It's not black anymore." He murmured.

"Was that your idea of a racist joke?" Cain asked dryly. Blaine glared in his direction.

"No, halfwit. I'm talking emotionally. Last time I talked to Charon, his heart was turning black because of his loss for Kyros, but you assholes probably didn't fucking notice because you're a bunch of self-centered little shits," He spat, successfully making all my brothers look down at their feet uncomfortably, surprising me with their bashfulness about the subject, then Blaine turned his eyes toward me, "But it's changed... I can feel it. It's so warm. Before it was cold. Now it feels like the sun. It's the same feeling I get whenever I'm with Cerberus." I blinked, looking at him curiously, then past him at Cerberus, who flinched as he made his way over to Blaine, leaving Ayo to nibble on Cheez-Its, watching us all with curious blue eyes.

"Blaine, don't." He warned, reaching for Blaine, who smacked in the general direction of his hand.

"Don't you do that to me," Blaine ordered firmly, stepping back from me to turn to Cerberus, eyes searching the air above for Cerberus's concerned face, "No, don't do that to Charon. He's finally found someone who'll give him the attention he deserves. Yeah, I hate Alexion's guts for stabbing me. The weasel deserves a good kick in the sac for it, but I'm not going to be selfish and take something good away from someone else. If Alexion makes Charon happy, then that's fine. Charon makes me happy. I can co-exist... mostly. As long as he doesn't come around me while I'm pregnant, we're good. Otherwise, I might stomp on his foot and break his nose and pretend I tripped." Cerberus grimaced. I could still see him warring with himself. He didn't want to help, and I felt bad for making him, but I wasn't going to go back to that house alone.

I had to have Alexion back if it was the last thing I did.

"Fine," Cerberus seethed past clenched teeth, "But he's not allowed on my property. If he so much as breathes on my lawn, I'll run him down with the lawn mower that we don't have."

"Ew, no," Blaine exclaimed, "Don't hurt the grass just because someone sniffed it, jeez."

"It'd be tainted, baby." Cerberus assured. I ignored their jabs as Cerberus kissed Blaine and Ayo goodbye, putting Leon in charge of the mansion before we teleported to Styx to gather Theo, who was also very reluctant to tag along.

"Aw, come on," Theo whined, "Wasn't my apology enough, now you want me to piss the big guy off? Why don't you just ask me to nail my balls to his front door while you're at it?" Abel looked tempted, but Cain covered his mouth. I looked at Theo desperately.

"Please, Theo. I've never asked for your help before. This will be the only time that I do ask, please. What would you do if Hades took Sept from you?" I added, glancing at Sept, who stood beside Theo. They were both silent for a moment before Sept touched Theo's shoulder and Theo gave a heavy sigh. He turned to face Sept, who smiled lightly at him and leaned down, kissing him on the forehead. Theo kissed him back, quite passionately on the mouth and almost shoving Sept back into the throne. Cain cleared his throat.

"Theo, stop eating his face." He snorted. Theo stuck his tongue out, licking Sept's lips before stepping back. Sept licked his lips and eyed Theo a bit hungrily as Theo turned to face us.

"Let's get this rescue squad on the road before I changed my mind." He announced. We decided to visit Zelios's next. Or rather, the others did. There was one last thing I wanted to do before we risked our lives to confront Hades. I left the task of convincing Zelios up to the others before I teleported back to my home on the river. I went to my room and paused at my desk, scanning all my work, and all the rows upon rows of journals sitting in the bookcases, then caught myself in the bathroom mirror across the hall.

The cloak that hid everything.

I nibbled my bottom lip, reaching up to undo the buttons that kept the cloak closed when I heard a loud thump from the kitchen. I jerked my head up, frowning as I stepped out of the bathroom. I didn't see anyone in the living room. I started toward the kitchen when I heard scuttling across the floor behind me near the hall. I turned, confused.

The rat?

I started to take my cloak off the rest of the way, heading back to the bathroom to watch the cloak fall off my shoulders. I looked down, watching it crumple around me, taking a deep breath before looking up.

The blood drained from my face when I saw Prometheus standing behind me with a wicked smirk.

"It's perfectly ripe for harvesting. Remind me to thank Alexion for his hard work." He said, making me gasp and whirl around. I didn't have a chance to sent a blast of power shooting at him before his fist rammed through my chest and clutched my heart. I choked, grabbing at his arm to try and push him away, but I couldn't even manage enough strength for it. All my magic shot into my heart, a heart that throbbed in utter agony as Prometheus clenched it in his fist. Blood dribbled past my lips and down my chin as I gasped for air.

"Stop." I managed, sinking my fingernails into his skin, but it hardly made Prometheus flinch as he smiled, giving my heart a squeeze that made me whimper low in my throat, legs trembling in an effort to stay standing.

"I've waited far too long, and your heart turning black was quite a detour, but in the end, we managed to fix it." He informed calmly, then pulled back and tore my heart out of my chest. I cried out in pain, collapsing to my knees as blood poured out of my chest and onto the floor. I panted as agony exploded in my chest and my body rushed to heal itself. Prometheus held my heart in his hand and sure enough, it looked like it was wrapped in a transparent white blanket that glowed in Prometheus's palm. He shivered, giving it a squeeze.

"This is perfect. The ritual is almost complete." He breathed, running his fingers over the beating organ.

"W-What'd you mean a-almost?" I managed breathlessly, wanting to heave from the intense nausea that accompanied the blinding pain. Prometheus looked down at me with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"There's one last thing Daedalus failed to mention in his notes," He said, a smirk creeping onto his lips again as he reached down with a bloody hand to take my jaw in his hand, giving it a painful squeeze and shaking my head as if I were a child, "I need a host to keep my new Khalian pets from dying." My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to speak, but Prometheus moved faster, a blur of motion, as he grabbed me by my hair and slammed my head so hard into the tub that there was a sickening crack and I felt my skull split open, blood bubbling out and pooling onto the floor as I fell on my side, breathing hard through the symphony of pain thrumming in my body.

The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the tiny rat laying dead at Prometheus's feet, looking like something had torn its stomach open and climbed out.