“Just be careful you don’t sell your soul to the devil.”
He smiled at the very human turn of phrase.
“What? Does that not make sense to you?”
“No, no, it does, Theo. So we do this, okay?”
She nodded in approval even though she wasn’t at all happy about it.
“Okay, so what do we want out of all this?”
“Ideally what I want is Hades dead, and him, too,” she replied, looking over his shoulder at Maximón, “But our first priority is getting our people back. Vulcan, and Grace, she could be the key to all of this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Her knowledge and her experience. When all the rest of us could do was fight, she was the one coming up with the answers. She might just find the answers to defeating both of them.
“Then we are agreed?”
“So long as he upholds his end of the bargain, and doesn’t try and kill us, yes.”
“All right, this is how it’s going to be,” he declared to them all.
“I don’t think…” began Maximón.
Aaron cut him off as he leapt in.
“I don’t care what you think. You have come to us looking for help, so I’m going to tell you how this is going to work.”
Theo and Ava were taken aback. They’d never seen him be so aggressive in his leadership, nor his approach to a powerful enemy.
“You are going to release Vulcan and return all the weapons you stole from us. And then we are going to face Hades together, do you understand me?”
Theo was impressed and yet surprised. It was clear from her expression that she believed she’d found the champion they needed. Maximón tried to interrupt, but he failed to get a word in.
“You will do those two things before we share another word, and then, and only then, we’ll discuss how we are going to face Hades. Do you understand me?”
There was a tense silence as Maximón considered whether to keep on pushing, but he was looked on with disgusted faces all around.
“You will have your man and your swords by midday,” he snarled.
“Until then, get out!” Theo gestured for the roller shutters to be opened.
“I’m no worse than she is, you know,” he said to Aaron quietly as he walked out on his own two feet.
“How can we reach you?”
“I have a secondary facility. You will receive the location after I have left.”
“Not likely,” Theo muttered under her breath.
Carter rushed out of the door to watch him leave. He stepped out into the morning light, but he’d already gone. He looked around warily as if expecting to find him hiding, but there was no sign of him at all.
“You really trust him?” Theo asked Aaron.
“No, not at all, but he needs something from us, and he’s going to have to pay our price to get it.”
Aaron’s phone buzzed, and he saw a text from an unknown number, with an address he didn’t recognize. He smiled as he showed it to her, proof that Maximón was true to his word.
“It’s a dangerous game you’re playing. If he wasn’t there before us, I’d question if you were really you.”
“Dangerous compared to what? If we had a choice to compare it to, maybe you’d have a scale to judge it by. We can’t run, and we can’t hide. We have to fight Hades, and we’re not strong enough. The choices are to fight alone and almost certainly lose, or risk trusting a trickster to fight alongside us. Worst case, he doesn’t, and we default back to the shitty first option. So tell me again, what I’m really risking? You’ve had time to look for Vulcan, how has that been going?”
She looked angry, but shook her head and smiled at the same time. He was becoming exactly what they needed him to be.
“I’m not him. I’m not Thanatos.”
“You may not be as strong as him, but you are better.”
“Maybe, but we could sure do with him right now. He’s a hell of a fighter, and we need all the help we can get.”
“I’ve pushed and pushed him, but he still won’t support us.”
“Does he know the facts as they are now?”
“Enough.”
“Call him. I want to know for myself.”
She sighed as she reached for a phone, dialed the number, and put him on hands free. It rang for what seemed an age when finally the call was answered. Thanatos was coughing as if he were choking.
“Thanatos, are you okay?” Theo asked, in fear Hades may have got to him, but he coughed to clear his throat.
“What do you want?”
“It’s Miller.”
“All right, what do you want?”
“Hades is back.”
“Yeah?”
“Actually Hades, not the imposter.” He took a deep breath and sighed with exhaustion, “We need you, buddy, now more than ever.”
“I’m done with all this. I don’t care. I don’t have a problem with Hades, and if he wants to come looking for a fight, well that’s his choice. I’m not doing this anymore.”
“Thana….” began Theo.
But she stopped as the called was ended.
“You see?”
“We can only work with what we have, so forget him. We have a lot to do. Come on.”
Aaron moved past the hurdle and focused on what they could achieve. He rushed to the center of the room and leapt up onto a table to address them all.
“Please, listen to me. I’m really sorry I was gone for so long, but I had no idea things could have gone down this way. But I can tell you it was worth it, but only time will reveal why. Right now, we have to prepare ourselves. You’ve all been here before. You were there when we faced Hades and his army last time. It cost us dearly, but not as much as it did him.
With Maximón on side, and Vulcan back, we might just have a chance. We need to gather all the weapons, ammunition, and armor we can. We need vehicles gassed up and ready to go, and every one of you needs to be ready to give everything you have. I know many of you are still healing, but this battle could be make or break time. If there’s any chance you can stand and fight at even half your strength, please, come with us.”
Mikey stepped forward and lifted the sling over his head. He pulled it away, tossing it aside, as he stretched out his aching arm.
“You sure you’re up for this?” Rick asked.
“I’ve still got one good arm, and that’s better than none.”
“Remember who and what you are fighting for. Look around you, because those are the reasons right there. Don’t fight for your country, or because you think you should. Fight because the people around you are depending on you. Their lives are in your hands. Be ready for anything. That is all!” Aaron yelled before leaping from the table.
Theo could barely believe it. He was invigorated and like a new man.
“What?” He saw her giving him a funny look.
“What really happened out there? What did you find, and what happened to you?”
“Nothing I can talk about,” he smiled.
“What? Really?”
“What I found was nothing that I ever expected, but like I am bound by oath to protect the people of this city, I am bound to protect the secrets of what I found. Surely being what you are, you can appreciate that?”
She nodded in agreement, looking disappointed and even more intrigued.
“You are forever a mystery, and perpetually more than you seem,” she smiled.
* * *
“What are you going to do?”
Mars walked back and forth along the length of Thanatos’ living room, as he stretched his legs and began to move once again.
“I’m not gonna do anything. This isn’t my fight anymore.”
“Of course it is. It always was, and always will be.”
“Do you never quit?”
“No, because the Allfather would not.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When we fought, do you honestly believe you were a match
for me? That I could not kill you if I desired?”
“Damn right, I was too quick for you.” He shook his head as he smiled, “Whatever nonsense you’re going to concoct to get me on side, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve heard enough lies for a lifetime.”
“No lies. The Allfather was many things, but not a liar. He withheld information where he thought it was best to do so, but he didn’t lie.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Thanatos sighed as he became ever more agitated.
“Zeus told me I could kill anyone who stood with Hades, anyone but you.”
That caught his attention, but he was still suspicious.
“No way, there would be no reason to save me. We didn’t ever share many words.”
“I don’t know the reasons why, but the Allfather had his reasons. He expressly told me that you were to be saved. That I was to do you no harm, not to stop you from killing one of ours, not even the Allfather himself. Those were his orders.”
“No, it can’t be.”
“I swear to you. I swear those were his words to me. I swear them by Zeus himself. I swear by all I love and cherish in the universe, I am speaking the truth.”
That caught Thanatos’ attention. He was still doubtful, but he knew now that Mars meant business.
“Why, though? Why would he even care? I was fighting against him.”
He took a seat on one of the leather sofas and stretched out, trying to make sense of this new information.
“The Allfather believed you still had a part to play in all of this, a part for good. I don’t know how he could know such a thing, but I never questioned his orders. He told me this in no uncertain terms, you were to live, no matter what.”
“That crazy old fool. It could be anything, some ridiculous prophecy that he didn’t even understand.”
“Some prophecies come true. You may have fought against the Allfather, but what was your first instinct when you arrived here? What did you do with your time?”
“I tried to make money,” he smiled, pointing at everything around him.
“Come on, this is nothing but a distraction. A circus to keep you entertained. What were you really doing?”
“I…I was…”
“Helping Theodosia?”
“Yes, to get her strength back.”
“And that’s all?”
He stuttered.
“You did a lot more than that. You took up the cause, a good cause.”
“I still screwed up. I wasn’t strong enough.”
“And yet here you are. Theodosia is still alive. Hope is still alive. Don’t let it die, not after all this.”
His phone vibrated.
“What is it?”
“A message from Miller, one of the humans who fought with us.”
“Us,” smiled Mars.
“What does it say?”
“It’s an address. That’s it.”
“And what are you going to do?”
He was processing so much information and so many feelings.
“What are you going to do, Thanatos?”
Chapter 17
Aaron slipped the sling for his sword over his shoulder and checked his armor and pistol, readying himself for whatever was coming next.
“You really think we’re gonna get Vulcan back?” Carter asked quietly so that only he could hear.
“Probably, maybe…I hope so.”
“I sure hope you’re right. We had a chance to end that trickster. We could have killed him right here and ended it.”
“And then never get Vulcan back, and have to deal with Hades by ourselves? No, we have to be smart about this.”
“Smart? You’re trusting a trickster to keep his word, twice!”
Aaron exhaled. It was a big ask, but he had to trust his instincts, and Luca knew it, too. He was the only one that hadn’t questioned any of his decisions. Aaron couldn’t tell if that was because he had his support, or if he just didn’t care. He was blank-faced almost all the time. As if the youthfulness had been drained from him, and all that was left was a cool and calculating killing machine.
Maybe that that’s what we need?
His phone vibrated once more on the table where he’d left it to make sure he didn’t miss a thing. All eyes were on the device as he snatched it up, and his eyes widened in surprise.
“Same number, and says Hades is coming for them. They’re stuck where they are, same address.”
“What do we do?” Ava asked.
“It could be a trap,” replied Carter.
“Probably is, so what are we gonna do?” Theo looked to him as their leader.
“We don’t have a choice, trap or not. If Maximón intends to betray us, we might as well get it over with now.”
“And if it’s legit, we could risk losing all of them, including Vulcan,” said Ava.
“You all know what you have to do. If we can get Vulcan out, then so be it, but we only have one goal here. Hades, he dies, today. No more casting him away, no more tricks. We ram these blades deep until he is gone for good. It doesn’t matter how long it takes or what it costs us, we cannot afford to fail, do you understand me?”
There was not a word in return, but everyone was on the same page.
“Load up, and let’s get this done the right way!”
Engines fired up as they leapt into the vehicles. Aaron got onto the back of a pickup with Ava and Luca. There was dried blood in the bed. He caught Theo’s glance one last time as the truck pulled away.
“This is it, isn’t it?” Ava asked, “The battle we trained for. The battle we were always training for, even if we didn’t know it.”
“Treat every battle like it’s your last. Don’t look to the future, and don’t worry about the past. Remember what Aldred taught us. Absolute focus. No matter how much fear you’re feeling, you breathe, you relax, and you let your body and mind work the way they want to. Don’t over think this. This place isn’t far, so be ready for anything.”
The journey was indeed a short one, but it felt ten times longer. They were on a long straight road through another tech park. They could hear gunfire, and people were running for their cars as they fled the area. The road was a dead end and led to a huge glass-fronted establishment. A dozen trucks were parked out front, several military grade Humvees. The doors on many had been left open.
“He wasn’t lying,” said Aaron, as the scene had all the signatures of Hades. Expensive SUVs in a frontal assault, he was never subtle.
“Maybe,” said Ava wearily.
“Where are the lookouts? Who is watching the rear?” Luca asked with suspicion.
“Looking out for what? As far as Hades is concerned, everyone he is here to kill is in that facility. He has no idea we’re en route.”
“You hope.”
“What, you think Maximón could be in this with Hades?”
“Why not?”
“Because Hades wants him dead, and Maximón might be a trickster, but Hades ain’t that subtle.”
“You’ve got it all figured out,” said Ava with a smile.
“I sure hope so.”
As their truck drew to a halt, Aaron was the first to leap off with an AR15 in his hands. He quickly checked the vehicles ahead of them, but they were as abandoned as they looked. Gunfire rang out above as glass shattered down from the third story. A man flew out of the open window and landed dead beside them.
“You still think this is a ruse?”
He rushed on toward the front on foot. The glass frontage had been shot out, and multiple bodies were in the doorway. He rushed on as the sound of gunfire raged throughout the structure. A woman rushed out from one doorway screaming wildly, not in fear, but anger. She was wielding one of Maximón’s blades and was covered in blood, most of which couldn’t have been hers. She stormed across the way ahead of them, but gunshots rang out. She was riddled with them and dropped down dead.
“This is real. This is real now,” said Ri
ck.
It wasn’t his first action, but he’d had limited experience with firearms.
“Just stay behind me, and watch my back,” said Aaron.
“Get back!”
Mikey scolded the younger man and pushed him back even though he winced in pain as he applied too much pressure to his wounded shoulder. Aaron cautiously approached the corner and found one of Hades’ soldiers trying to open a locked door. He was dressed and equipped just as those who’d come for Theo on that fateful day they had first met. He took aim and fired, a single shot at the head, but it glanced his neck. He turned and tried to reach for the weapon dangling at his side on a sling as he applied pressure to the wound with his other. Aaron fired two more. Both struck his body armor, but knocked him back against the reinforced door, causing the wounded man to lose his purchase on his weapon. Another shot rang out, this time hitting him in the forehead, and he was killed instantly.
“Little rusty there?”
“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen a range, Luca?”
Aaron whispered back before rushing out across the open corridor and to the doorway of a meeting room. There was another body splayed across the table. Though this one was unarmed, as if he was a legitimate worker at an everyday business.
“You think they actually do real work here?”
“Everyone’s got to make money somehow, Ava. How’d you think this is all paid for?”
“I just assumed a god that’s been around a few hundred or thousand years would have plenty.”
“Yeah, well life’s a bitch,” replied Aaron with a smile.
He peered in through the locked door and saw bundles of money on the table inside.
“I guess we know why our friend was so keen to get inside.” He pointed for Ava to look through.
“Piles of cash lying around, always a sign of legitimate business,” she smirked.
Aaron signaled for Carter’s team to work to the right, and for Theo to lead her people to the left.
“This place is huge,” complained Ava.
Aaron moved on at a quick pace, but as quietly as he could. As they drew to a corner, a hand reached out and pressed a weapon against his body as a blade thrust toward his chest. Instinct kicked in, just as Aldred had told him it must. He stepped aside, and the tip of the blade narrowly slipped past. He took hold of the man’s wrist, drove his elbow into his face, and ripped the sword from his grasp. As he staggered back, he slashed him diagonally. It was an Olympian blade, and it slashed right through with ease.
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