“That’s unfortunate,” Hades sighed. “For you, anyway.”
Hades reached up and touched Vision/Kala’s forehead.
Kala watched in horror as Vision/Kala dropped to the cavern floor with a small thud and she knew with certainty…
She was dead.
Chapter Two
Kala turned off the television. She didn’t need to see her own death on repeat.
Dead.
As in, what?
If Kala died, did that mean Hades became Atlas? Kala tried to rationalize what she had just witnessed. No it couldn’t mean that, because when Kala consumed Atlas she had destroyed the Titan’s ability to trick humans into doing his job. Essentially, the way it worked before was that whoever killed the acting-Atlas became the acting-Atlas.
It was how Kala snagged the gig in the first place. The Atlas surrogate had been the President of the United States and Kala had been forced to shoot him. Her commanding officer (and aforementioned love of her life) Jack, unbeknownst to her, had been training his entire life to be the next Atlas, so the kill should have been his. But Kala was the sniper of the team and she had a clear shot…
But…death?
How could that be?
What would that mean for the planet?
Would the curse end? Zeus had been the god who created the curse. He had ripped the balance of the universe and placed it inside Atlas, making Atlas responsible for committing one act of atrocity every four days in order to keep the world stable and safe.
So would this mean that balance might go back into the fabric of the universe where it belonged?
The next time you complete the cycle, you will be stripped of all your protections, and we’ll see how you fare against everyone you’ve wronged.
It was from one of her flashbacks from Atlas’s memory, when Cronus had announced that after Atlas’s next mission, he’d strip the curse of all its protections. She had already completed that mission. It had been to destroy Fortski’s cure for cancer.
So, apparently, by taking away her protections, Kala was going to die?
But what about the prophecy? She was some sort of Fated One or to be exact the Fated One. According to Zeus some girl three hundred years from now was going to break the Atlas curse for her. If Kala died performing this next task, then the prophecy meant nothing. It didn’t make any sense. All sides: Titans, Grigori, Malaks, Demons and gods, believed this prophecy was real.
The Fated One will be the last and The Fated One is the first. Those two lines always seemed to conflict with each other in Kala’s mind. Which one was she: last or first? Could this prophecy be spelling out her death?
The only way Kala was willing to risk death was if it meant the curse would be gone for good and that the world would be safe.
But she’d have to complete her mission regardless, wouldn’t she? If she didn’t wake Hades, then the world would end anyway. It was looking like her death was inevitable no matter which way her mind went.
And Hades!?
Hades!?
From Kala’s recent research on her family tree, Hades was the Olympian god of the Underworld. There was really an Underworld? She guessed so. It wasn’t that far out of the realm of reality considering her father and Talan were Grigori angels who had been imprisoned in the 5th Heaven. And Cronus had been hiding out in the 5th level of Hell. It was starting to look like every mythos actually existed. Either that or Kala was in some sort of psychiatric ward living in a delusional dream-state.
Shrugging, Kala figured if that was the case, maybe when she died after waking Hades, she’d be brought back to sanity. Jack would still be alive. She’d just be a soldier. And Kala could go back to getting into bar fights like a normal human being. It sounded so perfect she almost wished it was true.
But she knew it wasn’t.
Kala was Atlas and she needed to wake Hades. No matter what the cost.
The only problem was, she had no clue as to where the cave in the Vision was located. And what was worse, she didn’t know how to find out. Four days seemed like a minuscule amount of time!
With her last two missions, she recognized both locations as at least being on Earth! Kala was soon realizing that a location involving a supernatural being, especially a sleeping one, meant the cave could be anywhere. As in, not on this planet.
There was just no way to be sure.
Four days had felt like four years trying to stall on completing her missions. And she had managed to wait to the very last second for both. But now? Now she didn’t know if it would be enough time to a) locate the place and b) figure out how the hell to get there! Kala hated to admit it, but she needed help.
Maybe Talan would know something.
“What do you need?”
Kala jumped out of her chair, seeing Talan standing in her living room. “How the…”
“I heard you ask for me, so I came right away.” He seemed genuinely concerned.
And completely unaffected by the fact that he had read Kala’s mind!
It was hard not to see the beauty in Talan. The guy was an angel, so being stunning came with the territory. With his short, cropped hair, chiseled face and body, Kala found it hard to rein back her hormones. She wanted what she wanted and in the past Kala would have simply taken the guy. But after falling in love with Jack, then having to kill him for her Atlas mission… It kind of took the thrill out of any kind of romantic connection she might have been considering.
In one of her darkest moments, Kala had turned to Talan to help her forget. It had been Talan who pushed her away, not wanting to take advantage of her emotional state. What could she say? The Grigori was a gentleman through and through. Kala genuinely cared about him; she didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship. Even though Talan believed the two of them were soul mates, Kala reserved that title for herself and Jack. Dead or not, she didn’t think she’d ever love anyone again.
“I don’t like you poking around in my head. If I need you I’ll call you,” Kala said defensively.
Talan was used to Kala’s behavior toward him though. “You did call me. Which is why I came.”
Did she? After thinking about it a moment or two, she guessed that, in the supernatural world, she had actually called him. Telepathy, teleportation and telekinesis, all the tele’s came wrapped-up in the Titan package. Kala just wasn’t used to them yet.
“Well, I didn’t know I was calling you. There’s a difference.” When Talan stood there patiently waiting for her to continue, Kala finally caved, “I saw my next mission.”
Talan took a small step toward her, cautious of her boundaries. “Whatever it is, Kala, I’ll help you through it.”
Hearing Talan be so supportive made her defensive. “Didn’t all the Grigori return like twenty minutes ago? Shouldn’t you be with them?”
The quiet of her apartment had made Kala momentarily forget that she had just come from the epic confrontation between Zeus and his father, Cronus. Cronus couldn’t stop his son from opening the portal that freed all of the Grigori angels from their prison. Kala wasn’t even sure how many Grigori there were. Before she had left to destroy Fortski’s cure, it had looked as if there had been hundreds, maybe even thousands of Grigori pouring through the gateway.
“I have plenty of time to be with my brethren. You are the most important. Besides, Owen will take care of them. He’s better at that kind of thing,” Talan explained rationally. “Now tell me how I can help you.”
Kala wasn’t so sure he’d want to help after he heard what her task was, but she plowed ahead anyway. “I have to wake up Hades, and when I do… he’s going to kill me.”
Talan froze, his face unreadable. He simply stared at Kala as if every one of his cells was about to explode. “That’s impossible,” he said finally.
Kala shrugged. “Pretty possible. I’d show it to you if I could, but basically, I wake the guy up and he kills me with one touch.”
Talan began to pace. Not something Kala had ever seen him do.
She knew she should be flattered that the thought of her dying made him so nervous, but it only amped up her adrenaline. Like she could defy the vision and find a way to survive…?
“Why would he do that?” Talan ran his hand through his hair.
“I don’t know. But you know I have to do it. There’s no other way to save the world from exploding in on itself.” Kala walked over to Talan and placed her hands on his arms to stop him from moving. “Talan, you’re the one who constantly reminds me that this my duty. Maybe it means the world will be back in the universe’s hands if I die. That’s a good thing, right?”
Talan’s eyes flashed fury. “NO, it’s not a good thing!”
“Well, the whole thing is moot anyway because I have no idea where Hades is and have even less of an idea of how to find out.” Kala let go of Talan’s arms.
She knew how he felt about her, but seeing Talan’s temper flare at the thought of losing her reminded Kala of how strong their bond had become in only a handful of days. Going to to Hell and back – literally – had bonded them in a way she couldn’t describe. She might not be able to allow herself to fall in love with Talan, but she cared about him deeply. That was hard to admit, but Kala was tired of being so closed off. It was exhausting.
But Talan’s anger was now replaced by determination. “You may be misinterpreting your vision. From what I know of the curse, just killing Atlas won’t stop it, it’s more complicated than that. I have to talk to Penny – ”
Kala didn’t really want to focus on the whole “death” aspect of her mission. She wanted to figure out where that grotto was located. “My first priority has to be finding a way to accomplish my task. I can’t think of the consequences.” She made sure their eyes met. “Okay?”
It took Talan a few moments to finally nod in agreement. “Okay.” He stepped away from her, walking toward the window as if making eye contact was too painful. “What did the place look like? Every detail. If it’s supernatural I may be able to recognize it.”
Kala sighed, exasperated. “I’m telling you, it looked like a cave. A wet, craggily cave. The amount of moisture down there makes me think it’s under a waterfall or lake or some kind of body of water. But that’s about it.” She walked up beside him and they both stared out the window.
“What does ‘craggily’ mean?” Talan asked.
“You know, lots of bumps and dents and rough surfaces,” she tried to explain.
“But no stalactites or stalagmites?” Talan turned to face her.
Kala looked up at him as well. “No, none. Does that mean something?”
Talan’s expression was thoughtful. “Usually near any kind of moisture, stalactites and stalagmites form naturally. That’s why they’re calling dripping stones. They’re formed from years of water running over inorganic material.”
“Okay, Mr. Science, so what are you saying; because there weren’t any stalactites and stalagmites, that could be some kind of clue as to where this place is?”
“Yes, it could be a very important detail. I just wish I could see it to know for sure.”
Kala moved away from the window and grabbed a bottle of water from the cupboard in her kitchen. “Cronus would know. He’s the one who imprisoned all of the Olympians after the war.” She took a sip of water. “You don’t think he’d tell me where he put Hades, do you?”
Talan gave her a look that suggested she was out of her mind. “Cronus didn’t want you to complete your last Atlas mission. Now he has the singular power to prevent you from accomplishing your next one? I think you know the answer to that question.”
“Yeah.” Kala plopped back down in her comfy chair. “I just wish there was a way for you to see the place. Can’t you just plug into my brain or something? You’ve fiddled in there before, shown me potential futures, blocked out memories, etcetera etcetera.”
Talan appeared bashful, as if he was hiding something from Kala. He finally fessed up, “I admit, I have tried to tap into the memory of your visions, to help you. But it’s blocked off. Only the true Atlas can see. It must be a part of the curse. I can show you the future of what will happen if you don’t accomplish your mission, but that’s about it.”
“What then? Should I Google ‘caves’?” Kala suggested sarcastically. “I have no idea where to start.”
Kala looked to Talan for help. He looked severely conflicted. “What’s that face?” she asked. “I’ve never seen that face before.” Talan seemed as if he were having a full on battle inside his brain.
“I hesitate to even suggest it…” he began.
Kala stood up. This must be good. “I’ll take anything at this point.”
Coming to some sort of conclusion in his head, Talan sighed deeply. “Asmodeus may know where Cronus took Hades. His help had been integral to the Titans’ plans. It’s quite possible that Asmodeus was the one who hid Hades.”
Asmodeus, the king of Demons. The last Kala saw of Asmodeus he was being given an ultimatum from Zeus after the god had used her like a battery pack to restore himself. Asmodeus was pretty narcissistic. She figured he would weigh his options and pick whichever side he thought would win. To be honest, even Kala was curious as to what the Demon’s opinion was on that particular topic.
“How do I contact him?” Kala knew Talan was right. Asmodeus was the best lead they had.
Talan didn’t appear pleased by Kala’s quick acceptance to his proposal, but he shrugged. “You’re the one who seems to find him. How did you do it in the past?”
True though it was, Kala could see that it hurt Talan to admit she had some kind of connection to the Demon. She couldn’t explain it, but before she had control over her teleportation, she tended to pop up wherever Asmodeus was located. Kala supposed it was because Asmodeus had a care-free type of attitude that she needed in her dark moments. Granted, he was probably care-free because he was a selfish, soulless Demon, but sometimes Kala’s life was too overwhelming to handle, so not caring for a while had been the best medicine she needed at the time.
Kala just wished she hadn’t kissed the guy. Sure, it was mind-blowing: the Demon was unnaturally stunning and had had thousands of years to perfect his kissing technique, but it was a mistake she didn’t want to repeat.
Not wanting to go into too much detail, Kala answered Talan’s question. “I hadn’t been in control of my teleportation yet. So I guess since you and Owen were in the supernatural-beings-only hideout, my brain took me to someone familiar. I didn’t do it on purpose. And the second time, I was technically trying to find Zeus. It was only a coincidence that Asmodeus was with him.”
Kala tried to downplay any kind of connection she had with Asmodeus. Talan had never once tried to make her feel bad or guilty about kissing the Demon, but she could see it in his eyes that it hurt.
Talan quickly tried to mask his emotions as he responded, “It’s okay, Kala, you don’t have to deny it. You have a connection with Asmodeus, it’s that simple. So why don’t you try calling him in your head, like you did with me.”
Kala knew that was difficult for him to admit, especially if it worked. It would be further proof to Talan that Kala and Asmodeus truly were bound in some way.
Speaking carefully, Kala said, “I’ll give it a shot.”
She closed her eyes and concentrated on trying to picture Asmodeus: his tall stature, perfectly straight nose, sandy brown hair and his signature sexy-pout. Kala was about to call out to him in her head when…
“Hello, my lovely,” Asmodeus’s voice was right in front of her.
Kala opened her eyes, relieved it only took seconds for the Demon to arrive. She was getting good at this telepathy thing.
But surveying the room, Kala’s heart dropped.
Yet again, she hadn’t summoned Asmodeus to her – she had teleported herself to Asmodeus.
Her chest squeezed in sympathy for Talan. She imagined him standing in her apartment watching as the woman he thought was his soul mate disappear to be with the king of Demons. Kala cared eno
ugh about Talan to know it was a mean thing to do, purposeful or not.
Kala switched into soldier-mode before she allowed herself to feel any worse. The mission was all that mattered.
“Don’t call me lovely,” she chastised sternly.
But Asmodeus only smiled. “How did you find me? I’ve been cloaking myself from all supernatural beings since our last encounter.”
Kala was at a loss and didn’t really want to come up with theories. It would only encourage the Demon and that was the last thing she wanted to do. “Who knows? I need your help, I tried to send some sort of telepathic message and I ended up…” She examined the room they were in. “…Where is this place?”
It was a fairly large room with leather furniture and wood floors. But what made it spectacular were the wall-to-wall shelves filled with thousands of books. Not just any books, but old, ancient tomes, bound in leather with gold plating. Kala was never much for libraries, but this place had a warmth to it that made her want to curl up in one of the plushy leather chairs and read all day.
Asmodeus eyed the room with a hint of pride. “This is my safe place. No one knows it’s here. No one except you. I guess I’ll have to kill you now.” He reached out and brushed his hand against her cheek.
The tingling sensation Kala felt only made her more determined to stay away from the Demon. She took a step back. “If only you could kill me. Immortal, remember?” But she knew he hadn’t been serious, Kala simply wanted to create a slight distance between them.
As usual, Asmodeus was unfazed with Kala pulling away. “So, what can I do for you?”
Kala jumped right to the point. “I need to locate Hades.”
Chapter Three
Asmodeus raised an eyebrow with curiosity. “Hades, hmm? Did Zeus ask you to find his dear brother?”
Kala knew she needed to tell Asmodeus the truth. He had the ability to see through her anyway, so why bother trying to hide it. But she decided she was only going to tell half of what she saw in her vision. She wasn’t sure how Asmodeus would respond to her dying. If she were to guess, he’d probably sabotage the whole mission. It was no secret he was fascinated by Kala. Plus, she wasn’t exactly sure where he stood on the whole world ending issue as well. The first go around with the Demon he had wanted her to fail her task so the planet would be plunged into chaos. He had said it was a Demon-thing, but the more Kala learned about Asmodeus, the more she knew that was just for show. He was a survivor and the Titans were the ones that wanted Atlas to fail. He did what they commanded to keep himself alive. But now?
The Underworld (The Atlas Series Book 3) Page 2