Chapter Eighteen

We teleported to one of the small islands in Leanorius.

I recognized it as the island that was home to the merpeople of Atlantis. But they weren't your average sing folk songs and want to walk on land and play with fish kind of merpeople. They were a violent race of bloody thirsty creatures that not only ate their prey while it was still alive, but they loved to play with them, making them think they could escape before dragging them back under.

Suffice it to say, they'd hopefully be out on a hunt rather than sticking around the island we currently stood on.

The island was thick with untamed jungle, the sound of animals rustling and racing to get away from the source of power that had arrived there. We stood in our group until every last person was accounted for before Lea took the lead.

"There are two entrances from here," Lea explained, pointing to the west of the island, "One down in a pool there. You'll have to swim quite a bit to get to the main entrance that lets out near Zetnos's main chamber. The one on the opposite end of the island is protected by a griffin. So. Good luck with that. I rather swim." The desdios grimaced.

"You're making us fight a griffin?" Nikos complained. Valarian elbowed him before turning to Lea with a low bow.

"We'll take the griffin, my goddess. Good luck to you." He said. Lea nodded and gave him a firm handshake before she gestured for our group to follow her. We started through the trees toward the west pool, and Anexius made a noise under his breath that made me look at him to see him pause his trek to glare out the corner of his eye at the main island of Leanorius.

"Anexius." I said, getting his attention. He turned to me with a grim stare before he looked away and moved on ahead of us. I sighed, following behind him as my aunt Lea came up beside me, watching Anexius warily.

"Will he be all right?" She asked, tying her hair up as she walked. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I'd like to think so." I admitted quietly. Lea said nothing to that for a while as we continued walking. I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

"Ah, speaking of all right, what about us? If I remember correctly, this island is inhabited by the merpeople." I said. Lea gave me an innocent stare.

"This one? Really?" She asked. I glared.

"You flashed us here while knowing that."

"I didn't say anything because I didn't want to stir up panic. Besides, the mers should know better than to attack gods, especially you, Anexius, and I. They worship us."

"Just because they worship us doesn't mean they won't hesitate to eat us. You know they tried to eat Teslius once when he came out here to swim with the sharks."

"Yes, but anyone would try to eat Teslius." Lea replied with a snort. I shook my head at her. We continued to trek through the jungle, using our powers to make a path through the thick of it. It was incredibly green with all the foliage, the vines dangling from the trees, the sound of a snake hissing nearby, and a wild pig scampering off to safety while snorting. It wasn't for another few minutes that we finally approached the pool my aunt had referred to.

It was a deep green pool that disappeared into the side of a mountain while the other end of the pool had a small river that led out to the ocean. It was eerily quiet, aside from the gently licking of the water against the steep grassy sides.

"I hope your suits are waterproof." I told Hades, who looked at me, offended.

"Do I look like a nimrod to you?" He returned. I rolled my eyes and looked back down into the water warily. This wasn't going to be easy. Once we got into those waters, we would have to swim fast and hard to get to the entrance to Xandria. Not to mention, if the merpeople had returned and were hanging around, they would know the instant we went into the water that we were there and they would gun straight for us.

"How far away is the entrance from the surface?" Dorean asked, turning to Lea, who hesitated for a moment.

"It's... not too far. I'd say if we swim fast enough, we could reach it in less than two minutes." She offered. Hades wrinkled his nose in obvious distaste.

"I wish you'd told me this earlier. I had masks back at Lucy's place that would help us breath under there, but you know, whatever, surprise me. You Atlanteans are real good with surprises." He added. I shot Hades a glare at his little jab at Hannibal, which Leah swiftly ignored and Lucifer wiped a hand down his face before looking at Hades.

"I take it asking you to quit calling me that will never get through that thick skull of yours, will it?" He asked. Hades looked at him innocently.

"Dunno what you're talking about." He replied. Lucifer looked tempted to push Hades down and take him right then and there, but thankfully, my aunt Lea distracted them by clearing her throat to get our attention.

"No use in ranting about it. Let's get this over with. So everyone take a big deep breath and pray you don't drown. There's no air pockets on the way there, so it's a straight shot. Just follow me and you'll be fine." She assured. Nobody seemed very assured by that, particularly Anexius, who just stood there with his arms folded over his chest and his eyes narrowed.

Not wanting to waste time, Lea dove in first, disappearing below the surface before resurfacing to wave us down. I sighed.

"I'm just lucky I know how to swim." I muttered, moving to the edge. Dorean beamed, taking my hand.

"And I'm lucky you taught me." He replied. I smiled before we leapt into the water together. The water closed over our heads before we resurfaced as Hades and Lucifer jumped in followed by Anexius. Lea dove under first and we followed close behind.

The water burned my eyes, just slightly, though. We made our way under the water, following Lea as she swam quickly through the cavern that was filled to the brim with water. Everything below here was eerily colored from the green that came from the emeralds embedded into the walls, the seaweed that swayed and trembled as we passed by. Fish shot out of their hiding places and darted to another. It was getting darker and darker the more we swam on, and the only brightish light came from Hades's eyes.

We'd swam for about a minute when my chest started to ache. I almost opened my mouth to let in air, but I didn't dare. I glanced at Dorean, who seemed to have no trouble swimming, even with his little wings on his back. He had them tucked as tightly to his body as he could, his tail assisting in his paddling.

I felt the water shudder beside me and I frowned, turning to look behind me, but there was nothing there. I looked back ahead at everyone else, who moved quickly. I could see Lucifer struggling to hold his breath, but he didn't give up and pushed on ahead beside Hades and Anexius watched their backs and Lea continued to lead the way. I kept Dorean in front of me, glancing back every so often when I felt the water ripple beside me. I heard the faint sound of a fish swimming past, the muffled thump of something hitting the cavern floor.

But I didn't need to worry long, because our course changed and we swam up until we broke the surface, everyone gasping out loud as we made for the rocky shore inside the cave. Lucifer pulled himself up on shore first, breathing hard and coughing up mouthfuls of water. Hades knelt by his side and gave him a good whack on the back that made him groan.

"You really need to learn to control your strength." Lucifer grunted, heaving himself up onto the ledge and dragging himself to his feet. Hades shrugged, folding his arms over his chest before a sudden frown changed his features. He cocked his head as if he were listening to something we couldn't hear.

"I hope you're not reading my mind again." I muttered, helping Dorean up onto the ledge. Hades shook his head slowly before his eyes widened.

"Nope, I was reading his." He said, pointing at something past my shoulder. Dorean cried out, but that was the only thing I heard before a strong grasp caught my ankle and tore me back under the water. I cursed before water filled my mouth and I writhed beneath the surface, looking down through the flurry of bubbles to see my worst fears.

A merman had me by the ankle and he looked starving. A surreal and morbid beauty, mercreatures. This merman in particular was about my size with olive skin darkened by the sun, his pale white-blonde hair cut to medium-length around a perfectly chisled face, ripped to the extreme, with a long tail that beat the water as he tried to drag me under. The only things marring this merman's beauty was the mouth full of sharp teeth that reminded me of a piranha's teeth and hard long black claws that sank into the hydra material, but thankfully didn't tear through it. He appeared momentarily befuddled by it, staring at my leg and giving me a chance to kick him in the nose so hard it sent blood swirling through the water.

I started back toward the surface, but another grip caught the front of my shirt and I looked over to see a mermaid hiding beneath the ledge I'd helped Dorean up. She was slender, but muscular with hair that matched the merman's and she bared her teeth in my face.

I tried to smack her, but my movements were far slower than hers and she moved fast. She caught me around the torso and intended to drag me down below to the bottom so she could drown me. I hissed, then choked as I felt the merman come up behind me to help hold me down. I sucked in a mouthful of water and choked, feeling in fill my lungs. I coughed, but it only allowed more water to enter my lungs.

I thrashed, trying to wedge my hand between the mermaid and so I could blast her, but the merman caught my wrists and wrenched them behind my back. The merman laid his mouth against my throat and I felt his teeth sink in, making me writhe.

A second later, something broke the surface of the water above and I looked up, expecting to see Lea or Hades, but I was surprised to see Dorean swimming quickly, and a second splash revealed Lea and Anexius. However, Dorean reached me first and caught his arm around the mermaid's neck, making her scream in the water.

Pain pulsed hot in my head from that high-pitched sound, but Dorean didn't react to it and held the mermaid around the throat so tightly that a second later, I heard a dulled crack and the mermaid went limp. The merman screamed and released me, going after Dorean, but Lea caught him around the waist and Anexius threw his hand out, sending a blast into the merman and caused him to explode in a burst of bloody pieces.

Lea shot Anexius a glare that indicated, any sooner, and that could have been her, but he ignored her and grabbed me by one arm, Dorean grabbing my other, as they hauled me toward the surface, pushing me onto the ledge before themselves.

I choked and gasped for air, heaving up the water that had filled up my lungs. Dorean patted and rubbed my back while Lea pulled herself up onto the ledge.

"What the hell was that?" Lea demanded, moving for Anexius, who gave her a snide glare.

"I was killing him, what do you think?"

"Five seconds sooner and you could have killed me."

"Five seconds later," Anexius spoke through clenched teeth, whirling to glare at her, "And you would have been merman chow. He was snapping at your neck with a speed that makes sharks jealous. But you know, whatever. I honestly couldn't care less what happens to you." He shoved past Lea, who watched him angrily as he approached me and helped me to my feet.

"Are you all right?" He asked. I shook his grip off and gave him a stern glare as I managed to catch my breath.

"I'm fine. Anexius, be careful. Remember what I told you before we left." I said. Anexius gritted his teeth, moving away from him as if I'd smacked him. Dorean patted my arm and pulled me down to give me a kiss before Hades cleared his throat to get our attention.

"This is great and all, but where's your so-called entrance?" He asked, gesturing around the cave. Dorean and I blinked, turning to scan the cave. Sure enough, there was nowhere else to go. The entire cave was just rocky walls with gems stuck into them. Lea snorted at him, moving toward one of the walls.

"If it was that easy, we wouldn't be one of the fiercest pantheons in existence. Stand back, sugar." She said, waving her arm back. Hades arched a brow, appearing amused by her as Lea thrust her hands out at the wall, causing white wisps of magic to shoot out from her fingertips and coil against the wall. A second later, a foggy entrance appeared and Hades just harrumphed as if he were hardly impressed and Lea just smirked at his denial before she waved us forward. We walked through the entrance and into the familiar twisting turning tunnels of the catacombs.

"I'll contact the others." Hades said once we were inside. We nodded and he sent a telepathic message to the desdios. We could've used the communication devices that Hades had made in the past, but Lea warned us against it. It was better to do less talking out loud for fear of attracting anymore enemies.

"They're safe," Hades said after a moment, "The griffin's subdued, not dead. Cowards. Anyway, they're en route to the chamber where Zetnos is. Let's stick close together and keep an eye out. We won't know what we encounter here." We nodded and began to move down one of the hallways, trying to navigate through the catacombs. As we walked, I kept close to Anexius so I could speak to him in a low tone.

"Anexius, what were you thinking?" I said through clenched teeth. Anexius shot me an angry glare.

"I was thinking that I had to save my brother."

"And almost blasting Lea?"

"It was an accident," He said in irritation, clenching his fists, "I didn't mean to. Just get off my back and focus on the task at hand." I didn't say anything. After seeing him lose his temper once and almost break my head open, I decided that now wasn't the time to get into a scuffle, so I hung back until I was walking beside Dorean. It wasn't until I did that, that I noticed Dorean looked a little pale and sick to his stomach. I frowned.

"Dorean, are you all right?" I asked. He hesitated, hugging his arms over his chest tightly before he gave his head a shake. I started to press it further, but a second later, there was a loud shriek.

"Down!" Hades commanded and we instantly obeyed as he threw his hand out and sent a blast of hot flames over our heads, singing my cheeks, and the blast collided with a demonic creature that was thrown back across the corridor. Lea cursed, shooting to her feet.

"The Kirati. They've caught onto us. Stick close, everyone." She commanded. Haded waved his hand to cool it off and Lucifer looked at him.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine," Hades responded briefly, scanning the hall, "We need to move. This place is way too tight for us to get into a battle with those things. Is there a chamber nearby we can set up to keep them at bay?"

"Yes," I replied instantly, "Zetnos's greeting room is just down this hall to the left." Hades nodded.

"Then let's head there. Watch your backs." He added. Everyone nodded and we moved quickly down the hallway. I looked back at Dorean, who appeared shaken and caught up to my side, taking my hand in his. I gave him a reassuring look that promised we'd continue our discussion later. Right now, we had to worry about whether or not we'd even have a later.

As we ran, I heard the sound of another shriek and dared to glance over my shoulder, hissing through clenched teeth when I saw one of the Kirati chasing after us. She kept her head low, teeth bared, her wings beating the air. She moved like a bullet down the hallway and was gaining us on quickly. I cursed, then sent a powerful energy shooting down my arm into the palm of my hand and quickly threw it over my shoulder at her, but she dodged. I threw a second one and this one caught her in the wing, causing her to slam into the ground, but it didn't stop her as she scrambled to her feet and struggled to gain on us again.

Thankfully, we spun the corner and ran into the hallway that opened up into the chamber. We darted off to the sides and Lucifer and Hades took up position on either side of the entrance. From my position near a post in the ground, I could see the Kirati I'd struck come sprinting down the hallway, but the moment she made it to the entrance, Lucifer and Hades threw out a fiery blast of flames that engulfed her completely, causing her to release a high-pitched scream that drove everyone to their knees.

Thankfully, the flames seemed to be enough for her because she collapsed to her knees, burnt to a crisp, before she fell over.

"Well, that was easy." Hades deadpanned.

"That was just one of seven." Lea reminded him. Hades wrinkled his nose at her, but said nothing as Lucifer brushed ash off his sleeves, approaching Hades.

"Your blast was too hot." Lucifer chided, and Hades shrugged.

"I know I am." He responded. Lucifer rolled his eyes, but didn't argue with the statement.

We weren't out of the clear yet, though. Not long after Hades spoke, another shriek could be heard, but this time, it echoed around us and Lea cursed under her breath, whirling around to one of the many entrances to the chambers. A second later, one of the Kirati appeared there... and the same one appeared in all the other entrances.

"Doppelgangers," Hades muttered, "Oh goody."

"Get down!" Anexius commanded just as all ten Kirati held up their hands, generating a massive amount of electrical energy. It was so powerful that I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise and the power of it crackled right through my skin. We ducked, but it didn't do much. Even though all the charges shot out and collided in the air above us, the electricity shot through the air and struck me hard, sending me skidding across the ground into Anexius so we went smashing through one of the walls.

Anexius grunted beneath me and I managed to roll off him to his side, breathing hard as I struggled to my hands and knees. Anexius sat up slowly, breathing hard.

"Shit," He cursed under his breath, "That one is Xolli, the Kirati of Destruction."

"I take it she's the least friendly." I seethed, pushing myself to my feet. Anexius gave me a glare.

"No, she likes to spread the word of love and cheer." He said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes, reaching out and helping him to his feet.

"Which ones have we gotten rid of so far?" I asked, brushing myself off and scanning the room to see the others struggling to recover from the explosion. Anexius frowned, cocking his head for a second before ticking the names off his finger.

"We've gotten rid of Dria and Violeta. Death and Violence. We're stuck with the best ones." He tacked on, venom oozing in his tone. I cursed under my breath, eyeing Xolli across the room as she morphed back into one single Kirati. She screeched, baring her fangs and heading straight for Lea, who was just lifting herself up.

"No!" Anexius and I shouted at once. Lea whirled around to attack, but before Xolli could even reach her, a flaming torch flew out and whacked Xolli upside the head, causing her to shriek and whirl to find her attacker. Dorean stood off to the side, breathing hard with a cut bleeding on his brow. Xolli bared her fangs and moved toward him and I ran to stop her, but thankfully, Lea attacked Xolli this time and sent a powerful blast of black magic swirling at Xolli, throwing her up into the ceiling, then slamming her into the rocky floor.

Lea inched past her to Dorean, taking him by the hand and bringing him over to Anexius and I. Across the room, Hades and Lucifer were recovered and moving toward us, eyeing Xolli warily as she writhed and thrashed to get to her feet.

"Thank you." I told Lea and Dorean both, who smiled at me.

"No problem, buttercup. No one touches family." Lea added, turning to Dorean with a warm smile. Dorean gave her a shaky one.

"This is beautiful and all," Hades said dryly, "But let's not forget our good friend over there, who's eyeing us like the last steak at Red Lobster's." Lea gave him an odd stare. I turned to see Xolli inching across the room toward us, baring her fangs and flexing her claws. She waved her hand out and once again, her ten doppelgangers appeared. Before anyone could move, Hades threw his hand out and sent fire to every single one, causing them all to scream and melt to the floor, except the realm Xolli, who waved the fire off and lunged for him.

Lucifer was there a second later, however, throwing his hand out and sending a vibrant blast of light so bright that everyone had to close their eyes for a second, listening to the sound of Xolli screaming in agony. When we opened our eyes again, Xolli was lying in a bloodied heap on the ground.

"Since when could you do that?" Hades asked suspiciously. Lucifer appeared winded from the attack, clutching at his arm as if it were in pain.

"For a while, but I can only use it once. I say we take this chance to find Zetnos before more arrive." He said sternly. Hades frowned, and for once, I thought I saw concern flicker in his eyes at Lucifer's sudden exhaustion with the use of his latest power. He said nothing, though, but stuck close to him as we moved down the hallway toward the exit that would take us into the area where Zetnos was being held prisoner.

We were tense, waiting to be attacked to the next Kirati, but nothing happened. Well, not yet anyway. We walked through what felt like another mile of catacombs. We passed through a hall that was built under the ocean that was made entirely of reinforced glass so everything beneath the ocean was visible, including a couple of merpeople, who hissed at the sight of us and swam frantically away. A whale shark passed overhead, mouth a gaping hole to catch food, a school of bright yellow fish, and all sorts of creatures. It was eerie, but fascinating.

We passed through that corridor and came to a closed off chamber. Or so we thought until Lea waved her hand out at one of the walls and it faded into a foggy entrance. She led the way inside. It felt like walking through a wall of spiderwebs, before we came out on the other side.

We were in a small cavern littered with brightly colored gems that lit the place up without the help of torches or bulbs. The gems collected closer to the ceiling and led through the cavern, down a tunnel, and into another open chamber.

"Contact the desdios," Lea said after a moment, "Make sure they're safe." Hades sighed, rolling his eyes, but obeyed and closed his eyes. We waited another five minutes before Hades's eyes flickered open and he frowned.

"They're safe, for the most part. Nikos was severely injured, so they had to retreat to a chamber in the catacombs to treat him. Xeno is also injured." He explained. Lea nibbled her bottom lip worriedly at that.

"We need to hurry and get back to them. We can't leave them there." She said. Hades appeared less than pleased by the idea, but he didn't argue. The less talking we did now, the better. We didn't want to attract any enemies. So from there on, we remained silent as we walked through the tunnel and into the larger chamber. The room was completely closed off with tons of cells lining the walls three stories up. Most of them were empty.

"They have prisoners already?" Lucifer asked curiously, glancing at one of the cells where a man lay in a fetal position, whimpering pitifully. I grimaced at the sight and turned away. I had no idea why these people were imprisoned, or when Atlan had found the time to even get prisoners. They could be here for a reason, or no reason at all, but I wasn't sure I wanted to risk finding out.

"Focus on the task at hand," Hades said from behind me, making me turn to frown at him as he met my stare, "These guys aren't all saints. Point in case, one of the men on the second level is thinking about raping your aunt, so let's focus on Zetnos, shall we?" I stiffened at his words, glancing over to see if Lea had heard, but if she did, she didn't let on that she did because she walked past us toward one of the cells. Anexius and I shared looks before following her while the others kept an eye out for any attackers.

As we approached the cell, I was struck by the rancid stench of piss and blood. It made my stomach churn. Worse, the gems didn't allow for much light, so we approached a black abyss until my aunt Lea waved her hand, conjuring a ball of light that shone into the cell. We gasped at the sight of Zetnos laying within on a mattress laid out on the ground.

He looked much worse than the first time I'd gone in and saved him. His hair was matted and stuck to his brow where a vicious cut was caked with blood. His arms were twisted behind his back at a painful angle and shackled there, another shackle attached to his ankle and trailing to the wall behind his mattress. Even worse, the metal collar was still around his throat, making me grimace.

"Zetnos," Lea whispered in agony and she passed the ball of light to Anexius, who stared into the cell as if he wasn't sure what he was seeing, "Zetnos, it's Lea." For a long moment, Zetnos didn't move. I would've suspected him dead if I wasn't certain Atlan would keep him around for his own personal uses and the fact that Zetnos's death would rupture the balance. I clenched my fists and moved to the cell.

"Zetnos?" I called to him. This time, he shifted every so slightly, but only to curl tighter into himself, his hands shaking behind him as if he was fighting to free them.

"Stop," Zetnos seethed hoarsely, making Lea tilt her head in confusion, "Please stop. I conceded. What more do you want from me?" Lea and I shared confused stares before she looked back at him and touched the bar of the cell hesitantly, only to find that it wasn't electrified or anything. It was just straight iron. An iron cell? Whatever Atlan had done to Zetnos was enough to make him feel contained even by iron.

"Zetnos, it's Lea. We've come to--"

"Stop," Zetnos shouted suddenly, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head against the mattress, "Stop it! Atlan, please. I told you everything you wanted to know! I know nothing more!"

"He thinks we're illusions," Anexius said from behind Lea and I, making us turn to look at him nervously, and his expression remained stoic as he spoke, "Atlan must have used an image of Lea to torment him. We both know how Zetnos has felt for Lea. Lea is his weakness." Lea blinked, looking a bit flattered, while at the same time guilty. She'd never really noticed the way Zetnos gazed at her from afar. And if she did, she politely ignored it. Probably because her last experience with a man had been less than exciting.

My aunt may joke about men and tease them on occasion, like she did with Hades and Lucifer, but when it came right down to it, she was too scared to get into a relationship with anyone. Iapetus had ruined her perspective and I loathed the Titan for what he'd done to her. Everyone did. I still remembered the day Zetnos had found out. He'd gone into battle against the Greeks and nearly killed Iapetus, if Anexius and I hadn't stopped him before making a severe mistake.

"Zetnos," Lea whispered, turning back to the cell to grip the bars, "Zetnos, I am not an illusion. It's truly me." Zetnos shook his head quickly and pressed his face against the mattress, lifting his shoulders to try and cover his ears from her voice. Lea blinked tears back quickly, stepping back and waving her hand out, turning the bars to water so it splashed to the ground and she stepped inside.

Anexius and I stayed back to give them space, watching as Lea approached the mattress and knelt down beside it. She reached out, gently brushing the hair back from Zetnos's face. Zetnos squeezed his eyes shut tighter, his whole body so tense, it quivered.

"I am no illusion," Lea murmured, "If I were an illusion conjured by Atlan, how would I know that the truth behind my child... the child you helped protect... Was not kidnapped by Greeks, but Atlan himself. How would I even know that you helped me protect my baby as if you were his father? You were the only one who brought him gifts, Zetnos. And I remember weeping into the night because no one else had shown me that kind of kindness, none to my baby. Zetnos, if I were an illusion, how would I know that you were the only one who was ever there for me in my darkest moments?"

Total silence followed. I watched with baited breath as Lea rested her hand on the side of Zetnos's head as he lay there. And slowly, his body relaxed and his eyes flickered open. He tilted his head to stare up at Lea, who smiled at him sadly. He clenched his teeth for a moment, before speaking in a raspy voice.

"I'm sorry." His voice was so quiet that I wasn't even sure if that was what he said. Either way, Lea smiled a little more, leaning down to touch her lips to his forehead. She waved her hand over the shackles that melted away into water. She waved me inside and I entered as she helped Zetnos sit up and he coughed, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.

"You can't remove the collar," Zetnos told Lea when she touched it, "Only the blood of Atlan can."

"That would be me." I stated. Zetnos turned to me with a grateful nod and arched his neck, allowing me access as I wedged my fingers between his neck and the collar, gripping it hard enough so that it shattered into a million fragments to the ground. Zetnos gasped out in relief, hunching over.

"Here," I said, catching him before he could fall over, "Let me help you. Lea, give me a hand." Lea nodded and we both took one of Zetnos's arms over our shoulders, helping him to his feet. Anexius stepped aside for us to move past him and to the rest of the group.

"He looks like shit." Hades said. Zetnos gave him a wary stare.

"I don't even know you." He said. Hades opened his mouth, but Lucifer covered it and gave Zetnos a warm smile.

"He is Hades, the god of the Greek Underworld, for which it is named. You'll have to forgive him. He's got the personality of a porcupine." He said, removing his hand when Hades licked it. He shook his hand and gave Hades a scolding glare as if to accuse him of being a child and Hades ignored it, cocking his head at Zetnos, who frowned.

"I've not heard of you before." He said. Hades shrugged.

"Might have something to do with the fact that my father swallowed me whole while you guys were doing your oh so fun Titan war. Anyway, we can do a history class later. Right now, we need to get moving. Something about this whole thing doesn't feel right. Too easy." He added under his breath. We nodded in agreement and began to move toward the exit in the formation we had planned. Dorean walked at our back with Hades leading us and Lucifer watching our side, Anexius on the other side while Lea helped me carry Zetnos.

Zetnos seemed to be struggling to stay conscious, but he was slowly losing the battle. When we made it to the catacombs, he was completely out and deadweight, which made him even heavier. It was slow moving for a while as we made our way through the catacombs with Hades leading us toward the desdios.

"When we get Zetnos to Hell," Lucifer was explaining as we walked, "We'll set up the laboratory for Hades to start working on him to nurse him back to health. Once that hard part's over, we can ask him what he's heard Atlan discssing. Hopefully we can get enough information to make our next move quickly. The sooner this fiasco is over, the better."

"Tell me about it." I muttered under my breath.

"This is far from over," Anexius said, making me frown at him, "Just because we make a move on Atlan doesn't mean he'll be beaten into the dust. Atlan is much more powerful than anyone even realizes. He's one of the firsts. Like, the very, very firsts. He's older than the Greek primordials, older than the Christian-Judeo God. Atlan has powers we can't even imagine. And he's got an inflated ego to boot. He won't back down until he's dead."

"Are you suggesting we kill him? Because I like that idea. I like that idea a lot." Hades said with a nod. Lucifer scowled.

"We can't kill a primordial that powerful. First of all, we'd probably die trying and second of all, is everyone conveniently forgetting that it would rupture the universe and not only kill Atlan, but the rest of us as well?"

"That doesn't bother me." Anexius deadpanned. Lucifer gave him an irritated stare.

"It may not bother you, but it bothers me. I have children to think about."

"Exactly. Better they die by your hand than be tortured by Atlan's." Anexius returned. Lucifer's eyes flashed from blue to red for a split second and he stopped walking, obviously intending to turn on Anexius, who faced him stoically. However, before Lucifer could make a move, Hades was there to elbow Lucifer back.

"Come off it," Hades scolded, then looked back at Anexius flatly, "Yeah, I get it. Your life sucks. Big whoop. Boo hoo. But that doesn't excuse the fact that you're hurting everyone else who didn't even do anything." Anexius glared at him venomously.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what Atlan could do to your children. He won't just capture them and torture them like the Titans did. The Atlanteans are an ancient race of gods that invented torture. Even better, your children won't die. My family won't kill them; they'll just give them eternity in torment. They'll take your sons and violate every part of them until your sons won't even know that what's happening to them is a bad thing and they'll begin to accept--"

"You better shut your mouth," Hades warned, his blue eyes glowing as he took a step toward Anexius, who curled his lip in repungence, "It's not gonna happen."

"What? You think because you swallowed the power of your parents that you're suddenly the ultimate god," Anexius sneered at him, "You're nothing, but a cockroach in Atlan's way. He can and will crush you. He'll take whatever made you pathetic and make it ten times worse. You think living under Zeus's thumb is bad? He's a saint compared to Atlan. Atlan can put Hitler, Castro, Zeus, and the Titans to shame. Even they would wet themselves."

"You seem to be boosting for daddy a lot," Hades responded angrily, "If anything, sounds like you're pretty supportive of him." Anexius's eyes glowed and he grabbed Hades by the front of his suit, jerking him almost off his feet.

"That bastard ordered my siblings to rape and kill the only thing in the world that kept me sane." He snarled. Hades curled his lip and shoved him off, only to lunge for him again, but this time, Lucifer caught Hades under the arms and hoisted him back while Dorean actually managed to hold Anexius back as he tried to goad Hades into attacking him.

Something about this situation felt off.

Anexius was angry, yes, but he kept his anger locked up most of the time. It took a lot for Anexius to snap and go nuts. The same thing happened to Hades. He masked his anger with sarcasm and jokes, but now, he looked dead serious.

"Something's wrong," I said under my breath to Lea, who looked at me curiously, "This isn't right."

"I'll say," Hades snapped, glaring at me now, "We wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for you and your damn brother. I was having a perfectly stable life before you come crashing in and whimpering about your damned family. I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"And you didn't," Anexius mocked, "Because you're a coward." Hades hissed at the term and managed to elbow Lucifer in the nose before lunging at Anexius, who broke free of Dorean and punched Hades in the jaw.

"Shit!" I cursed and left Lea to struggle with Zetnos as I tried to get between them, but Hades ended up slugging me in the face and Anexius made a noise of pain for me, reaching for me and pulling up short, to look confused. He hissed through clenched teeth and clutched the sides of his head. Hades started to shove past me to take his chance and break Anexius's face, but he stopped abruptly and collapsed to his knees, breathing hard.

"What's going on?" Lucifer demanded, dropping down beside Hades, who was seething in agony. Anexius curled up, covering his ears to block something out as he breathed hard in pain. I stood up, wiping the blood off my busted lip to scan our surroundings.

"There's another Kirati nearby." I muttered. Dorean looked at me, baffled.

"Why hasn't she attacked us?"

"She has," I answered grimly, "The Kirati Xalli doesn't attack like her sisters. Her very presence creates tension in those of us with the weakest minds to fear and hatred."

"Why didn't it effect us?" Dorean asked, looking around the corridor warily.

"We don't have as much pent up fear and hatred," I replied, glancing down at Anexius and Hades, "They do. Shit. We need to figure out where she is and put her out of commission. If we can kill her while she's in her dormant state, the effect on Hades and Anexius should wear off."

"And how do we find her?" Lucifer asked, pulling Hades closer to him. Hades just shuddered and cursed, sinking his fingernails into the material of his suit, curling in tighter to himself. I grimaced, then glanced at Anexius, who was breathing hard and clutching at his head.

"I'm not entirely sure. Everyone stay here. I'll scout the nearby chambers and see if she's hidden inside. Judging from their reactions, she's pretty close." I told them. Lucifer nodded.

"Please hurry." He added nervously. I nodded and started to move, but Dorean caught my arm.

"Let me go with." He said. I shook my head.

"Dorean, I need you to stay here and make sure Anexius doesn't hurt himself or anyone else," I said, and Dorean's expression seemed hesitant as he started to argue, but I cut him off, "Please. There's no one else I trust more than you to keep my brother safe." My words seemed to reach him because Dorean's eyes widened before he nodded and stepped back to get down so he could try and comfort Anexius, who just whimpered low in his throat.

"Be careful." Lea told me with a stern glare as she hung onto Zetnos. I nodded, then drifted down the corridor, pausing near the corner of the hall to stare at the wall of stones and skulls. I cocked my head, reaching out and taking a skull out of the wall with a wicked cracking sound. I set the skull on the ground to mark my way so I wouldn't get lost in the twisting and turning catacombs. From there, I started a path around the area the group had stopped, listening and waiting for any sign that could indicate Xalli was nearby.

The air began to feel thicker the more I pressed on, more humid and difficult to breath. There was a heavy dread and rage in the air. I felt it beginning to boil my blood, making me angry for no reason at all. I fought the urge to get angry at all the things that were happening, but it was so hard.

I never asked for this. I never wanted my family to be this crazy. I'd always thanked the gods that my family was one of the few pantheons that was normal in comparison to pantheons, like, I dunno, the Greeks? But it turned out, my pantheon was even more fucked up than the Greeks.

Talk about an ego deflater.

All those times Hades had gone on rants about how sick the Atlanteans were now made sense, even though he wasn't even around when the Atlanteans were. He was just basing his opinion on Hannibal.

Which made me even angrier.

Hades had no idea what happened to Hannibal. He had no right to spit and curse at him when Hades had his own dark mistakes. And no one forgave Hannibal for what we did, and he knew that. Even Abel, who smiled and treated Hannibal like a normal person, didn't forgive him for a second and I could just hear Abel's heart rate pick up whenever Hannibal was around like he was expecting Hannibal to just ditch Akin and jump him again.

And Hannibal himself made me angry. He let people treat him like shit and it drove me insane. He had all this power and he didn't even think to use it. If anything, the bastard gave control of his powers over to Akin willingly. It wasn't like Anexius giving his powers to Apollo, which was reinforced by magic. Hannibal just made a vocal promise to not use his powers unless he had permission from his master.

Which disgusted me. That part of their relationship infuriated me. How could Akin take joy out of making Hannibal submit to him like that? Was that even love?

I cursed under my breath, stopping in the hallway to grab the sides of my head as pain split through my skull like a bullet. I struggled to press on, realizing I was getting closer to Xalli with each passing thought that only destroyed everyone I considered a friend and ally.

No, I thought to myself angrily. I didn't hate Hannibal or Akin, and their relationship and what they did was none of my business. If they were both consenting and enjoyed it and weren't hurting people with it, who was I to tell them what they could and could not do?

And Abel... No one could expect Abel to forgive Hannibal. But at least he didn't go out of his way to destroy Hannibal's life. At least Abel wasn't bitter and cold like his brother was. That just made Abel a better man than most. It was why everyone loved him so much. He held a kind of strength and forgiveness that humans were more capable of than the rest of us who were of pure god blood. Abel carried the blood of humans in his veins, and as a human, his ability to forgive was far stronger than those of us who had immortal blood.

And it was understandable why Hades didn't forgive Hannibal. Abel was his son. Hades would do anything for his sons. And he would slaughter anyone who threatened them, which is why he'd reacted so violently to Anexius's words about Atlan hurting his sons. It was why Hades was so easy to manipulate. He was terrified of losing his sons, and furious that anyone would try and take them from him.

With those reassurances, I managed to recover long enough to round a corner into a small dead end where Xalli was floating just a couple inches off the ground with her legs folded Lotus style, her eyes rolled back into her head and mouth wide open emitting a red smoke that sparked and hissed every so often. I narrowed my eyes and took a step toward her.

The moment I did, however, her eyes flew back into their normal position and she screamed at the sight of me, dropping to the floor. She shot to her feet and threw her hand out at me to attack, but I blocked her flames with a wall of my own, then teleported from one end of the hall to the other so I was right in front of her.

She only managed a shriek before I rammed my fist through her chest, then tore her heart out, throwing the black pulsing organ aside before turning to Xalli, who just stared at me with her mouth open. I bashed my head into hers and she fell to the ground, dead.

I sighed in relief, watching the red smoke in the area dissipate. I turned and started to head back to the group. Xalli was easier to beat because she wasn't much of a physical fighter. It was her job to cause disorder, to play on fear and manipulate pain and hatred. It was the only thing that made her deadly, but unfortunately for her, I was a little too rational to stand there and hate everything when there was no need to hate it.

Dorean had taught me that.

I smiled faintly at the thought of him, eager to get back so I could take him into my arms.

I moved down the hallways, starting to round the corner, only to realize there was a wall there instead of a hall. I cursed, turning to go down another corridor, thinking I'd gone the wrong way, but the moment I turned to it, it swallowed in on itself, as if a new wall was materializing itself there. I slammed my fist into it and backed up, sending a blast of power, but nothing happened.

"Shit!" I barked. I tried to send a message out to Hades, but I wasn't getting anything in response, which caused a sliver of panic to cut through me. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself when I heard footsteps moving behind me. I narrowed my eyes as a ripple of unbelievable power coursed through the air and I turned to see a figure step out of the shadows, decked out in ancient black armor with the image of a striped creature carved into the gleaming breastplate.

"You've made a very big mistake coming here, Xenon." Zelus muttered.