Shadow of the throne

Chapter Seventeen The Loss

They had to flood the bunker with enough knockout gas to lay out a Veretion hydra before it was safe enough to extract Zeus and recover Cassandra's body. Doc had volunteered to travel with her back to New Midgard and oversee the arrangements. Tara also had to be contained, she had turned within minutes of being told about Zeus and now both were being held within the massive prison aboard the Titan. Esmeralda slowly walked up the stairs, her boots clicking on the metal. This portion of the Titan had been repurposed by the slavers in order to transport the Lycan they had captured. Although Poseidon had improved the conditions it still resembled a prison, with over a hundred floors and thousands of cells with walkways that crisscrossed between the different levels it looked like a metallic spider's web. Lucky, she found Hades on the twenty second floor, any higher and she would start to get uncomfortable. He was leaning against the wall beside one of the cells. He was very drunk, judging from the number of empty bottles lay scattered around him. As she got closer Esmeralda shook the six pack she was carrying to get his attention and slid down the wall to sit beside him. "I told you didn't have to keep coming up here". She slid an arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder and handed him two bottles, smiling as he kissed her forehead. "I know but you shouldn't drink alone".

He chuckled slightly as he opened the bottles and handed one back to her. "Yeah well I don't like him sitting on his own in the dark". Esmeralda took a sip of her beer and leant back against the wall, it had been a week since Zeus had turned, and they had been here every night since.

" How's Ortaz taking your abdication by the way? She shrugged and continued to drain her beer.

"Surprisingly well. I mean he's not happy about it but he understands". Hades finished the beer he had been drinking before she arrived and chucked it over the railing, it took a while for it to shatter on the floor below. "Poseidon hates it when you do that"

Hades chuckled softly and picked up the other bottle. "Ah he will have to come out of his lab to say anything about it". Esmeralda hooked her arm around his and entangled their fingers and gave them a quick squeeze.

"He still hasn't left then?" Hades shook his head and took another swig. "Na, Falker is keeping him fed and watered. But he's not taking this well". She gave his hand other squeezes before kissing his cheek.

"Well I've got a card game to get to. You gonna be ok?" Hades used the bottle in his hand to point to the four others she had brought with her. "For about half an hour at least".

Esmeralda chuckled softly and then stood up brushing off her trousers. "Well that will have to do, I'll be back in an hour or two". Hades kissed the back of her hand before letting it go and watched as she walked back down to the ground level. He smiled softly, took another sip and went back to listening to the growls and snarls of those imprisoned around him.

❖

"By the Gods Jessica, you are terrible at bluffing". Jessica Veitch had been one of the other survivors of Tenebrae and had been taken to New Midgard with the others but had Imminently signed up for basic training and had rejoined them a few months later. She was a bright bubbly girl, with dusty blonde hair and a ridiculously large number of freckles. But she was touched and passed the training course with flying colours. She was also very intelligent and had known Julia since they were both children and so had been assigned as the Ravensong's personal assistance and had proven herself invaluable ever since. The other woman sat at the table was doctor Marsha Falker, a tall gaunt woman, she had the appearance of a stern headmistress, but those who got to know her knew she had a brilliant sense of humour and razor-sharp wit. She came from one of the planets the marked the border between the Empire and the Alfen domain and had the characteristic dark skin and silver eyes of that region.