Chapter Seventeen
In the days that followed, my family began to arrive one by one in accordance to the emergency family meeting that my father had called.
It was safe to say that, in a way, we were preparing for war. We'd hired in hundreds more soldiers and Raven and Jaques were in charge of training them and preparing them. While Lucifer was sure that were going to war, the rest of the family was still a bit skeptical.
"It's the Titans versus the Olympians," Dania was ranting in the family meeting room one afternoon, "Why would they bother us?" Dania was one of my older sisters. She was slender and petite, with long auburn hair that she currently had stacked up on her head in ringlets, wearing a green peasant top under a brown hunting corset, matching leggings and ankle boots. Beside her was her husband, Alexis. A Greek man that towered over me by half a foot with dark hair swept back from a ruggedly handsome face, wearing a Hell soldier's uniform, he appeared to disagree with her.
"The Titans ruled a lot more than the Olympians do now. If they come into power, they will take whatever they can." Alexis promised grimly. Thorn agreed with him. My third oldest brother with dark wavy hair to his shoulders and deep blue eyes and probably in need of a shave, he stood near the window that looked out over the city, his arms folded over his chest, and dressed in the beige and tan robes that wore commonly considering he lived in the deserts of Purgatory.
"Alexis is right. They'll be gunning for us because we're neighbors to Hades. They'll probably launch themselves at Duat and Hel as well." He explained matter-of-factly. Beside him, his boyfriend, Ambrosius, appeared grim and thoughtful. He was Hades's youngest son, I'd learned, the one who'd run away from home and was a very touchy topic around Hades. Ambrosius was devastatingly handsome, much like his father. And damn did he look almost like Hades. Though, Hades's hair touched the middle of his back, Ambrosius's was cut to his shoulder in straight locks. His eyes glowed eerily just like Hades's. Except Hades's wardrobe consisted of black. Ambrosius's was a pair of low black harem pants and a cropped deep red sleeveless turtleneck with gold designs printed across it, his bare feet not making a sound when he paced on the marble floor.
"Why isn't Hades doing anything about it?" One of my twin sisters, Bali, asked. Bali and Wednesday were my other two sisters, twins in almost every sense of the word. Long dark hair in the same style, deep dark eyes that seemed to see everything, and short black dresses and black and purple striped stockings that disappeared into knee-high Victorian-style boots.
"Because he's a coward." Ambrosius spat with enough venom to down an elephant. Thorn passed Ambrosius a gentle, but stern look that told him to calm down. Ambrosius just folded his arms over his chest and jerked his head in the opposite direction, reminding me of a toddler pouting.
The amount of hatred Ambrosius held for Hades actually made me feel sorry for Hades, but then, I suppose I didn't know the whole story, so it wasn't enough to judge either of them.
"Still," Wednesday insisted, "What about his family? His realm? Surely he doesn't want them stepping all over him."
"He hides behind his sons," Ambrosius muttered bitterly, "He won't defend a realm he hates anyway. I remember many a rant he went on about how much he hated the underworld." Raven, who was standing near Jaques at the doors as we waited for our father, frowned.
"Why does he rule the underworld if he hates it?" He asked. Ambrosius gave him a droll stare.
"Because if he didn't have anything to bitch about, he wouldn't be Hades." He answered flatly. Dania snorted a laugh and Thorn covered his face with a hand as if they were both embarrassing him. Jaques rolled his eyes and pushed off the wall he'd been leaning on to approach the rest of us.
"I'm on Ambrosius's side in this one. Hades is a coward. He's going to hide behind the rest of us while the Titans lay waste to all the realms in existence. He's dropping his baggage on the rest of the universe." He ranted, making Ambrosius nod in agreement. Raven shook his head.
"Either way, that's not our problem. Our problem is keeping the Titans at bay. Hades drugged them up big time on grigoria and even ordered their bones to be smashed. So I think he bought us a bit more time to start planning. Are we still in contact with the Sons of Hades?" He asked, turning to Ambrosius, who nodded.
"Charon and Blaine are on standby if we need anything." He informed. Raven nodded.
"Good. We'll need it in case something comes up. As of right now, we need to make plans. And back up plans. And back ups for our back ups." He explained. Jaques agreed.
"He's right. As of right now, we're on red alert. The Titans could break out at any time, grigoria or no grigoria. Have we heard anything from Zelios in the past few hours?" He asked Ambrosius, who nodded.
"He told Charon that the Titans are currently out of submission. He checked on Cronus and Rhea himself. Cronus has been sleeping the past few days. He can't stay conscious. Rhea has been vomiting, then passing out. Right now, they're weaker than infants." He explained. Jaques appeared reassured by that.
"They don't sound like much a threat to me," Bali admitted with a shrug, making Wednesday frown in disapproval, "What? It's true. If they can't even stay conscious, what makes you think they can just go charging around taking over entire realms?" Ambrosius frowned.
"You obviously don't know the Titans. They're masters of deception. Prometheus managed to move around without being detected for the longest time. It wasn't until he was talked into kidnapping all of Hades's sons by his stupid brother, Epimetheus, that someone picked up on his presence. He'd been hiding in the Labyrinth all that time. Who knows? Maybe those aren't even the Titans in the cells. Maybe they're just dummies and the real Titans are hiding back in the Labyrinth." He said, making me look at him in confusion.
"Labyrinth?" I asked. Ambrosius nodded.
"The Labyrinth is just that. A Labyrinth made for the sole purpose of trapping people inside for eternity or until they go insane. It was built by a man named Daedalus. He was ordered by King Minos to build the Labyrinth to trap his wife's ugly son, the Minotaur. Once he was finished, Daedalus was forced to live in the Labyrinth with his son, Icarus. At some point, Daedalus wanted to make it so that they could escape the Labyrinth, so he created wings from wax and feathers. Daddy tells Icarus not to fly toward the sun, Icarus has a learning disorder and flies toward the sun, falls to his death, Daedalus forced back into the Labyrinth where he probably died."
"Probably?" Raven echoed. Ambrosius shrugged.
"Nobody went in there looking for him. They went in there looking for what he left behind." He replied. Raven shrugged, admitting defeat on that conversation topic.
"Anyway," Jaques said slowly, shooting me a warning glare to pay more attention to the subject at hand, "Ambrosius could be right. Isn't there a way to tell if those are the real Titans?" Ambrosius nodded.
"We need to toss Hades's ass down there to indentify him," He said, then paused and snorted as if the idea was ludicrous, "Except Hades hasn't actually gone to Tartarus since he tossed Zelios down there as an infant."
"He tossed his own son into Tartarus?" I asked in surprise. That didn't sound like the Hades I had met. But apparently it surprised no one else as Ambrosius nodded.
"He was a coward and didn't want to be a real father, so when he found out his mistress was pregnant, after she gave birth, he tossed the infant into Tartarus. The only reason Zelios is alive is because his mother ran in after him and was killed protecting him. Hades was forced to take Zelios under his wing because he was guilty for what he'd done. Since then, Hades has steered clear of Tartarus because he's terrified of his own parents." He explained. I frowned.
"Didn't you say Hades fought his parents in both the Titanomachy and the Titan Escape a decade or so ago?" I asked. Ambrosius gave me a dry stare.
"He probably just threatened everyone to tell people that while he sat cowering under his blankets at home." He replied. I didn't say anything to that. The bitter hatred for his father was making me a little sick to my stomach, so I said nothing more as my siblings continued to argue about what to do about the Titans, even though it really wasn't our problem, according to Dania and Bali.
I really wasn't sure what to think. I knew the situation was dire, because Stanton told me so. I'd seen the cold terror on Thanatos's face when we'd informed him of our suspicions, confirming his own. If the Death gods were frantic, then the whole universe should be frightened, right?
"They're crazy, aren't they?" Raven asked, coming up beside me. I looked at him, then the rest of our siblings. Akin had remained quiet through the whole thing, mostly because I think he was enchanted by the fact that we were all siblings.
"So crazy." Akin said after a moment, smiling at them as he stood beside me, dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans with silver glitter swirling around the knees, matching his silky silver shirt that went to his elbows, a pair of fingerless leather gloves with kitty skulls printed on them to match the scrunchie he used to put his hair up into a long ponytail.
"They're scared." I said at last. Raven nodded grimly.
"Unfortunately, when this family freaks out, we implode. We'll do anything to protect each other and our world." He answered. It made me think about Hades's family and how dysfunctional they were in comparison.
"That's so cool," Akin said cheerfully, making us look at him curiously, "I've always wanted an overprotective family." Raven smiled.
"Welcome to it. You attack one of us, the rest of us will bulldoze you in seconds. Welcome to the family, Akin." He replied. Akin looked tearfully joyful, but quickly blinked the tears back before he paused to glance wistfully at the door to the meeting room. I could tell he was wishing Hannibal was here with him, but Jaques was adamant about not letting in outsiders. So Akin had left Hannibal to wander the palace on his own so he could get used to his surroundings.
"Don't worry," I said, making Akin look at me, "It'll take them a while, but they'll get used to Hannibal. I'm already used to him. He's pretty nice." Akin smiled in relief, this time unable to blink the tears back.
"You have no idea how happy that makes me," He managed, then averted his eyes and quickly wiped at them, "People have been so mean to Hannibal for so long. I feel so guilty for having forced him to stay in Styx for as long as he did. It was so cruel of me. I guess I was just so afraid of leaving the place I've known all my life, of leaving my best friends." Raven and I nodded in understanding.
"You know," Jaques said to us, making me jump as he glared at us, "There's an apocalypse on our tails. You can gossip like a bunch of hens some other time." Akin stuck his tongue out and Raven wrinkled his nose and made a cluck sound. I just shrugged helplessly. Jaques rolled his eyes.
"Don't be such a buttmunch," Dania scolded him, making Jaques grimace at her choice of words, "Maybe we're blowing this whole thing out of proportion. So far, there's no signs of the Titans plotting. And even if they were, they're powerless against all the pantheons that'll stand up to them."
Everyone seemed to consider that.
Lucifer took his chance and entered the room a moment later, still wearing his white leather outfit. As soon as he entered, he dominated the room with a powerful, angelic presence. He gave Akin and I a quick smile, which we returned, before he was all business.
"Now that you've all had a chance to vent, what are our ideas?" He asked, looking around. Raven stepped forward first.
"We're going to have Blaine and Charon on standby with Ambrosius if they hear anything important. We're going to double check the Titans and the amount of grigoria and general damage Hades ordered against them. We've assembled emergency standby troops and medical personal in the cities and upped all patrols. Word has been sent to Helheim and Duat to remain alert and increase their patrols as well. Zelios is reporting directly to Charon who is reporting to us, and he's reporting to Sept, Theo's second-in-command, who has connections in Duat. We're still trying to reach someone to report to Helheim." He explained. Lucifer nodded slowly.
"That sounds good. We're holding off attacks until something is triggered then." He said. Raven nodded, even though Jaques scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.
"We're too cautious. We should just nuke Tartarus and end it." He muttered. Akin shot him a dirty look.
"Oh, sure, go ahead. You'll also be destroying the entire universe. As much as we hate the Titans, destroying them will disrupt natural balance and implode the realms. But hey, whatevs. Non-existence doesn't sound so bad." He said sarcastically. Jaques shot him a warning glare and Thorn sighed wearily, raking a hand through his hair and leaning on the windowsill as a cool breeze swept in and ruffled the curtains.
"Look, jumping at each other won't help the situation. We have a current plan. We'll set up back ups in case any of the borders are attacked. As of right now, Hell is one of the hardest realms to break into. While other realms have one way or another, we technically only have one entrance. We have mountains all around us, except in the southeast where the Lake of Non separates our land from Mictlan. And those waters are heavily patrolled by Mictlan's people and the native water tribe of nymphs that made it their home back in B.C.E. Teleportation is impossible, even for a Titan. If they try to break in, it'll be at the gates in Portius. Trying to get past the mountains would be suicide even for them. We'll set up extra patrols around them anyway to push them back. I'll send word for Hades and his people to do the same."
"That's if he does it," Ambrosius muttered, voice thick with malice, "Chances are he's brushing the whole situation off as he sits tinkering in his basement with stolen treasures." Lucifer looked at Ambrosius, his expression calm.
"Actually, I was just contacted by Hades."
"What?" Everyone demanded in unison. Lucifer gave a short nod, leaning back on the sofa where Dania twisted around to rest her chin on his hand curiously. He gave her a small smile, then looked back at the rest of us.
"Hades does not display his concern in front of his people. That is not a leader's job to show panic and hysteria. I'm actually surprised he's responded so calmly."
"Calmly," I echoed a bit nervously, "I don't think shouting is calm."
"Trust me, for Hades, it is." Ambrosius assured. Thorn put a hand on his shoulder, making him look at him as he shook his head. Ambrosius frowned. Something passed between them before Ambrosius seemed to retreat on his attack on Hades. Lucifer continued as we'd never spoken.
"He's informed of his efforts to keep the Titans in their prison. He's closing the main entrance to the Titan's prison within Tartarus and is only allowing Zelios himself to teleport in and out with the grigoria. The Titans are limited to Zelios only and he has done everything Hades has ordered. Right now, all the Titans are unconscious and even guarded in their sleep by oneiroi centurion sent in personally by Morpheus and Hypnos. Thanatos has called upon his death sprites to also patrol the dream realm just in case they pick up on something the oneiroi do not. I've also received word from Stanton that he's positioned over a hundred hidden Reapers in Hades."
"Hidden?" I asked. Lucifer nodded.
"Hades isn't fond of outsiders. We have to keep them undercover."
"He probably already knows they're there," Ambrosius admitted grimly, "He's just desperate enough to protect himself to let them in." Thorn cleared his throat and Ambrosius held his hands up in defense. Lucifer looked at Ambrosius with a glint of sorrow in his blue eyes.
"I'm afraid I cannot sympathize with your hatred, Ambrosius. My Father may have cast me out of Heaven and had my brother cut me open to do it, but I don't hate Him, either of them, for being cautious and loyal to their beliefs." He responded, pushing off the sofa and giving Dania a pat on the head. Ambrosius scowled.
"Hades isn't cautious or loyal." He assured.
"Even the most callous of souls are loyal to something. Even if it's just themselves, because that's all they have left," Lucifer spoke as if he were quoting someone, then shook his head, "It seems you've all got things well planned. I'm glad I left you all in charge of this. I don't think I'd be able to keep a level head."
"We barely did." Akin admitted, his eyes flickering over at Ambrosius and Jaques for a split second, earning a glare from both of them. Akin shrugged innocently and leaned over to elbow me.
"Don't look now, but I think I'm being eyed like the only bloody corpse at a vampire frat party." He whispered. I coughed, covering up a laugh. Lucifer's mouth twitched, but he quickly recovered and studied each of us.
"I hope you all know what's coming. The war against Hades was crippling for our family. The war against the Titans will be crippling for our universe." He said sternly. The room became solemn until Raven stepped forward with a confidence that gave me goosebumps.
"We'll fight. This is our universe. Our realm. Our people. Our family. And someone is threatening us. We'll fight until the ground is soaked with Titan blood." He announced. Jaques's eyes widened slightly as if he were impressed by Raven's statement before he stood up and took up a military stance beside Raven, giving Lucifer a short salute.
"My duty is to protect my realm and people and my family." He stated. Thorn stood beside them and gave Lucifer a military salute to match Jaques's. Dania leapt to her feet, did a graceful little spin, and landed beside Raven with a bump against his shoulder before giving her own two-fingered salute.
"Officer Dania reporting for duty! Let it rain Titan blood, bitch! Oh, not you, daddy, just... you know. In general." She added with a wicked grin. Bali and Wednesday shared looks, then shrugged and also stood up by their sister, giving their own lazy salutes.
"As the realm's leading experts in torture and woe and misery..." Bali began, then looked at Wednesday.
"We will be happy to bring pain and misery to all those who threaten the realm of Hell and the Luciferian family." Wednesday finished and they both nodded together. I looked at Akin, who bit his lip a bit expectantly, like he was wondering if he should join in. I was a little hesitant about it too, but I didn't want to stand back. I didn't want to let the Titans destroy my family, or the memories I hoped to replace one day. I stepped forward and gave Lucifer the same salute Jaques had given.
"I'm not about to let a bunch of jerks destroy everything I've come to care about. The Titans are going back to the shithole they crawled out of." I declared, making Dania grin and Raven smile in relief. I looked at Akin, who blinked at me in surprise, then smiled slowly and shrugged.
"Ah, what the heck. I may paint my fingernails and fret about my clothes, but nothing gets me going like bathing in the blood of my enemies. Count me in." He stepped beside me and gave Lucifer an almost feminine salute. Alexis and Ambrosius looked at each other before coming forward.
"I'd like to start off by saying that I apologize for my genetics," Ambrosius stated with a helpless shrug, "But I'd be more than happy to take them down several pegs into the dirt."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Alexis agreed. We all stood in a neat row, facing Lucifer, who stared at each one of us before a faint, somewhat sad smile came across his lips.
"If someone had told me once upon a time I would have this kind of family, I would have never believed them," He admitted, making us exchange curious stares before looking back at him as he stepped toward us, "I'm proud of you. I want you to know that. I love each and every one of my children, even Ambrosius and Alexis." Ambrosius looked startled and Alexis blushed to the tips of his ears as Dania elbowed Alexis with a smug look on her face.
"Told you, once you join this family, ain't no way out, bub." She rose on her toes and gave her husband a kiss on his cheek. Lucifer smiled.
"She's right. We stick together. For eternity." He said.
"For eternity!" Dania shouted exuberantly.
"For eternity!" Everyone else agreed with the same level of enthusiasm. Lucifer appeared warmed by our agreement.
Despite the arguments, in the end, this family was close-knit and would fight to the death to protect each other, their realm, and their people. This was the family I was part of. My heart swelled at the thought of being part of something so beautiful. The dark void I'd felt inside myself since the moment I'd woken up from death was no longer there. There were too many people filling that void. My family, my friends, Stanton.
I had been so afraid when I first came back, afraid of not being able to remember, afraid of everything falling apart, but knowing these people were behind me every step of the way was filling me with confidence. I wasn't scared anymore. I was determined. I was... happy.
Even with a war lurking in the shadows every second of every day, as long as I didn't have to face it alone, I wasn't scared or depressed. Dania was right; together, we were unstoppable. If we urged the other pantheons to take our stance, the Titans wouldn't stand a chance against us.
The Titans would be stopped.
With everyone fired up and content, we were allowed to leave the meeting to go off to perform our specified duties. Raven and Jaques went back to the training center in Portius to prepare the new soldiers while Thorn and Ambrosius were forced to return to Purgatory, because the realm couldn't function without its caretakers. Bali and Wednesday retreated to Gehenna to experiment with new chemicals and poisons to use during battle. Dania and Alexis went into town for lunch. That left Akin and I to leave the room and head back to ours.
"This is gonna be a little scary," Akin admitted as we headed up the stairs, "It'd be super lame if something happened to you guys. We just met." I smiled at him.
"I'd say we'll be okay, but I might be lying." I offered. Akin smirked. We were just opening up the door to Akin's room when we saw Hannibal sitting on the bed, and I think we were both startling to see him eating out of a small foam take out box while watching some weird movie. Akin arched a brow.
"Pet, what did I say about eating on the bed?" He asked slowly. Hannibal appeared startled at being caught in such a laidback position. With a speed that would put Hermes to shame, he scrambled out of the bed, closed up the take out box, set it aside, and shut off the television.
"Sorry, master." He said automatically. Akin started to smile, then paused to see Hannibal's boots near the bed, making his smile fade. Guilt flashed across Hannibal's face as he kicked the boots under the bed, not that it would help since Akin had already seen them.
"Did... Did you go outside?" Akin asked. Hannibal clenched his teeth for a moment, then gave a solemn nod. Akin's eyes widened.
"Alone?"
"Yes, sir."
"And... You bought your own food?"
"Yes, sir."
"Are... Uhm, are you okay, sweetie?" He asked. Hannibal seemed confused now as he furrowed his brow, glancing around the room as if he were expecting to see blood splatters, then turned back to his master.
"Yes, sir." He said at last. Akin's expression softened and he looked incredibly relieved. For a moment, I was also confused until I remember what Akin had told me. Back in Styx, Hannibal wasn't allowed to set foot outside their apartment building for fear of being beaten and abused by the citizens of the city because of a mistake Hannibal had made in the past. He was basically in prison. While he loved Akin dearly and put up with all of it for Akin's comfort, Akin knew he wanted to be outside again. To hear that Hannibal had gone outside and returned home alive and well, it was a miracle.
Akin went to Hannibal and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips, stroking his cheeks. Hannibal practically melted beneath his touch. A man who could crush a skull in his face, with enough scars to share with an entire army, and a rugged dangerous appearance that a predator casually wore. And he turned into an oversized kitten with Akin, even gently licking and kissing the inside of Akin's palm. I felt like I was intruding on their moment and cleared my throat, making Akin look at me curiously. I smiled at how comfortable he was displaying his affection for Hannibal.
"I'm gonna head to my room to send a last minute email. Wanna head out into town and see if we can do a little exploring?" I asked. Akin nodded eagerly, taking Hannibal by the hand.
"Sounds good! We'll be waiting." He added. I nodded and left their room to give them their privacy as I returned to mine just down the hall. I walked into my room, shut the door, and went to my laptop on the bed. I opened it up and signed onto my email before typing an address in. I started typing quickly before a strange pulse of power went through the room... But I recognized it a moment later and smiled, looking up to see Stanton materializing into the room near my door.
"Didn't I tell you to knock from now on?" I asked, pushing my laptop aside. Stanton smiled sheepishly.
"I was hoping to stumble upon you dressing." He offered. I laughed and turned to face him as he approached me, leaning down to kiss me on the forehead.
"What're today's plans?" He asked, taking my hands in his so he could lace our fingers together. I savored the warm large feel of his callused hands as I tilted my head to smile up at him.
"Actually, I was gonna head into town with Akin and Hannibal. Come with? Pretty please?" I asked. Stanton sighed wistfully.
"With puppy dog eyes like that? How can I refuse?" He smirked and kissed me again. I grinned.
"Cool, I'll meet you down in the lobby. I just wanted to send something before we left." I said. He nodded and gave me yet another kiss before vanishing from the room. I waited until I was sure he was gone before I pulled the laptop back and skimmed over the contents.
Dear Hades,
I got your email address from Ambrosius. I'm not even sure if this is legit, but I'm going to try it anyway. I know you're probably not used to this... But thank you.
Sincerely,
Alaric
P.S. I know someone pulled me into Tartarus. I don't know who. I don't know how. But I thought you should know... someone was using me to get to you. Be careful.
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: I am so mad it took me so long to write this story, even though it wasn't ridiculously long. I loved meeting Alaric and Stanton, goddamn it. I hope you all enjoyed them as well! But yes, this is the end of The Reaping, which means this is the end of the Hell Chronicles. But is this really the end of all our friends in the underworlds? Heck to the friggin' no. Because the book you've all been waiting for... is finally here... A war is coming. And its up to one group of people to save us all... Lords of the Underworld. The finale to both the Underworld and Hell Chronicles. Hades's book. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and voting! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Now, on wards! To Lords of the Underworld!