Deliverance [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Something possessed me to touch Arikos's hand to ground him, to let him know it was okay. At least Dekokles was with his father, and I was just too tired to be angry at him. Besides, if Arikos was telling the truth, Dekokles was just a child and he was only doing what he was told, what he was created to do.

"Anyway," Hades said slowly, drawing our attention back to the task at hand, "Atlan's made the last move he can make. I don't know about you guys, but I've had it up to here with that prick and I want front row seats when the hybrid rips his innards out." Lucifer arched a brow, folding his arms over his chest.

"What happened to kill the hybrid, serve his intestines to the mortals? I think you even mentioned something about shipping his organs out all over the world too. I remember that one in particular because Akin actually kicked you in the shin for it," he added, frowning at he thought. Hades rolled his eyes.

"I still stand by all of that, but I'm choosing the lesser of evils. Besides," Hades paused dramatically and Lucifer started to smile, but Hades shook his head, "I don't feel like pissing Lea off over something that stupid. I prefer surprising her." Lucifer wiped a hand down his face. St. John grimaced at him.

"Gods, you are not right in the head," he said, making Hades give him a droll stare, and St. John turned to Lucifer, "And neither are you. You know what? That's probably what makes you perfect for each other. You're both insane. Now if you'll excuse me, I have hell to raise and I mean that almost literally considering we have to get our armies synced if we're going to make our next move on Atlan as soon as possible." He vanished, and Lucifer turned to the rest of us, nodding grimly.

"He's right. We need to stop standing around, trying to think of ways to jump him when we should've just jumped him in the first place."

"Sneak attacks work best," Hades deadpanned. Lucifer nodded.

"While I agree completely with that, Atlan is too smart for it. And now we have Menoetius here to relay information he gathered during his capture," he paused to turn to me, "After you're well, that is. It shouldn't be long now. Once you're on your feet, we'll call a meeting with all the major players. Is that alright with you?" I frowned. He was asking my permission? Quite a change in tune considering he'd just accused me of trying to kill his lover... which sounded awfully appealing. Still, the fact that he was asking at all was surprising. I simply nodded and Lucifer relaxed, offering me a smile.

"Alright, then we'll leave you in Arikos's capable hands and allow you to rest. I'll also have someone send over your new uniform," he added.

"New uniform?" I asked. Lucifer nodded.

"You've been added to the front lines with Hannibal. He leads a particular group in my forces. It'll be explained when he comes later to check on you," he replied, then gave me a nod and gesture for Hades to follow him. Hades tsked at that and shouldered Lucifer out of the way as he left the room, with Lucifer smiling like a fool the whole way... because he had a great view of Hades's backside on the way out. I grimaced.

And I thought my parents were dysfunctional.

"Wait, Hannibal's coming here?" I asked suddenly realizing what Lucifer said. A wave of apprehension hit me and I swallowed, twisting my fist up in the sheets. It wasn't so much the nightmare version of him that scared me-- I mean, it did. It scared me shitless, even now knowing it was just a nightmare brought on by a sleep god. It was just dealing with Hannibal that always ramped my anxiety up.

Even worse, Hannibal knew about my daily ritual. How was he going to react? Hades hadn't reacted at all, something that still shocked me. I had expected yet another long rant about how I'd destroyed a perfectly good physical form. He hadn't said anything about it once. Instead, he'd just threatened to destroy the people who'd ruined his work.