The Underworld (The Atlas Series Book 3)

by Becca C. Smith

Famous last words.

  SLAM!

  The ship jolted hard right and everyone that was standing toppled to the ground.

  “I think your uncle Oceanus found us.” Kala directed her comment to Zeus as she tried to stand, but fell down again ungracefully to the floor.

  Ashliel gained his bearing back first and steered the craft downward, then stopped. “Better strap on those phase-suits, because we’re right above Hades’s cave.”

  Chapter Seven

  After several minutes of General Clifton’s XV-4250 being thrown around like it was Oceanus’s plaything, Kala was finally suited up and ready to go. The phase-suits practically looked like scuba gear anyway, so she’d fit right in at the bottom of the ocean. With the gear adjusted for water pressure and temperature, Kala could at least be assured that her body wouldn’t explode or freeze when exiting the ship. But swimming in the blackness of the ocean… knowing that a Titan was waiting to tear her to pieces… It didn’t exactly make her feel confident.

  Feeling selfish that Derek was right beside her, ready to go, Kala suppressed a wave of guilt. He was immortal, yes, but she still didn’t like putting him in danger. Yet he was the only person she truly trusted. Sure, her father and Talan were a close second, but whether or not they wanted to admit it, they had to think of their people first. They may claim that Kala was their one and only, but if they were put in a position where they had to choose between the entire Grigori race and her, Kala wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t pick her.

  With Derek, he’d pick Kala every time. Even in the past when he had thought she was crazy and had handed her over to Clifton. Once Derek had realized Clifton wanted to kill her, he risked his life, his career, everything to save her. She’d never doubt him. Loyalty was what Kala valued the most. She’d never betray her best friend and he’d never betray her. It was that simple.

  Derek handed her a handgun that appeared to be made of some kind of plastic or resin. “Turner gave me a few toys from his Cog,” he explained. “Thought we might be able to use these.” He placed an identical gun inside his phase-suit.

  Kala took the gun, but couldn’t hide her doubts. “I don’t think a gun will help us down here. Even if it shoots, bullets don’t hurt Titans.”

  Derek smiled knowingly. “It’s no guarantee, but these might. Roberta said she studied your Grigori blades and carved some kind of magic-mojo-something-or-other into the bullets. She’s pretty sure it’ll at least do something.”

  Kala strapped the gun into her suit, grateful. “I’ll take something over nothing any day.”

  The ship swung violently to the left. Kala and the crew were used to the jolts by now and managed to stay on their feet.

  Calling back to Zeus, trying to hide her annoyance, Kala yelled, “I thought you were here to take care of that guy?” She turned to Derek, holding her stomach. “I’m seriously going to vomit.”

  Derek eyed Zeus, who was throwing Kala irritated glances. “You guys really are like family,” he laughed. “And for the king of the gods or whatever, Zeus is a whiner.”

  “Right?!” Kala was glad someone finally saw that too. The Demons, Malaks and Grigori all had a certain element of understanding not only their powers, but where they fit in the world, whereas the Titans and Olympians just seemed like big babies that cried when they didn’t get their way. Kala’s only regret was the fact that by her swallowing Atlas, she had brought all of the Titans and Olympians back to the surface. Life would probably be a lot better for everyone involved if Cronus and his siblings had stayed in the 5th Level of Hell and Zeus had remained on the crazy train rendering him harmless.

  However, as Kala’s Atlas visions were showing her, the universe obviously wanted these upper beings back in the game, otherwise she wouldn’t be on her way to wake up Hades and prison-break the rest of Zeus’s siblings in the Underworld.

  Derek led the way to the decompression chamber and the ship’s exit. Kala was impressed with the durability the XV-4250 exhibited, considering the constant beating it was currently receiving. After a particularly large jolt, Kala grabbed the wall to steady herself. She was surprised she hadn’t vomited yet from all the lurching and jerking.

  Zeus followed close behind, Rotoph on his heels.

  “Do they need suits?” Derek asked Kala, not bothering to talk to the two supernatural beings directly.

  Zeus answered though. “I am a god, human, I don’t need a suit to be underwater. I just wish Poseidon were here. My powers come from the air and sky, not… ocean.”

  “Well, he’s not. So do you think you can break the protection spell and fight Oceanus?” Kala was in no mood for negativity.

  Zeus’s face said ‘no,’ but he nodded. “I’ll break that spell.”

  Rotoph added, “And I’ll break the teleportation field.”

  Two protection spells that needed to be broken. The hardest part for Kala was that Zeus and Rotoph were the ones she depended on to break them. Not two of the most reliable beings in creation.

  Rotoph nodded toward the door. “Let’s just get in the chamber with your…” he nodded awkwardly at the phase-suits, “…rubber clothes.” He turned to Derek. “After she’s in, you’ll have five minutes to return to this ship. That’s all the time Ashliel thinks he has to keep your General’s contraption together before Oceanus destroys it beyond reckoning. With your immortality, you won’t die if you don’t make it, but it will be a very long swim back to shore considering we’re in the middle of the Atlantic.”

  Derek’s nod was barely perceptible. “I can do five minutes.”

  Rotoph nodded back. “Good.” He turned to Kala. “I’ll need to get as close to the chamber walls as possible to destroy the blocking spell. Grigori aren’t great underwater.”

  “Do you need an oxygen tank? We’re using these.” Kala showed him the small lipstick-sized mouthpiece that had enough oxygen in it to last a few hours. The size was important because it fit snuggly underneath the hood of her phase-suit and every part of her body needed to be covered by the suit in order to move through walls. She didn’t want to leave any body parts behind.

  Rotoph shook his head. “I’m Grigori, we don’t need to breathe, we just like to. No, it’s more of the swimming and seeing that will be an issue. Oceanus will target me if he finds me.”

  Zeus breathed in deep, trying to pump himself up. “Oceanus won’t find you. I’ll take care of him. When you’re done, signal me and we’ll take down Hades’s protection spell together.”

  “Two spells. You sure you guys got this?” Kala surveyed them both.

  Rotoph shrugged. “The universe seems to think you can perform this mission, so we must be the reason you do.”

  It made logical sense, but Kala hoped the outcome would be favorable for everyone. It was one thing if they managed to break both the teleportation spell and the protection spell, but entirely another if they mortally injured themselves in the process.

  There was nothing else to be said.

  It was now or never.

  Derek sensed this as well. He shut the door to the decompression chamber, sealing the four of them inside. Kala and Derek placed the small oxygen tanks in their mouths and pulled their hoods over their faces, securing themselves inside their phase-suits. Walking to the holographic wall, Derek punched keys floating in the air like he was playing with lasers in a laser show.

  A loud sucking sound filled Kala’s ears as she felt her body squeeze from the pressure. There was no pain, but it didn’t exactly feel great, either.

  Derek nodded to the three of them, then typed in the final code.

  Water rushed into the chamber from a slot above them next to the hatch that led out. As the water level rose, its icy touch made Kala shiver. She wished it would pour in faster, but having three tons of water rush in at once at these depths would snap the ship in two. It took a few minutes for the entire room to fill with water.

  Derek took the leadership position, being the only one familiar with the ship and its techno
logy. The holograph controls were still visible and useable even in the darkness of the ocean-filled chamber. He swam up to the hatch and typed in a code on the holo-keypad. The door swung downward.

  Kala saw only blackness through the hole. To counter that, she and Derek were equipped with specially made glow sticks that would give them a few feet of light. Rotoph and Zeus would have to rely on Kala and Derek’s light or whatever supernatural powers they could muster. Searching Atlas’s memory banks for any kind of advantage the Titan may have underwater resulted in nada. Kala would have to rely on Turner and Clifton’s gadgets to get her down to Hades in one piece.

  Kala swam away from the XV-4250. Its dim lights cast barely a blip in her field of vision. One thing she did notice: the ship had stopped moving. The ocean currents buffeting it had ceased.

  Oceanus knew the power-hitters were no longer inside.

  Now that they were outside the ship, Kala swam past Derek and took the lead. Around her wrist was a holographic GPS marking the exact coordinates of where to enter the cave.

  Glancing back at Zeus she noticed he had a thin layer of air around him like a second skin. Rotoph had the same and it made Kala wonder if it was some kind of spell she could perform for the future. Not that any of the gods were forthcoming on spilling trade secrets. Also, she’d learned that Atlas had been pretty much useless his entire life, so she wasn’t finding out much from culling through his memories, either.

  Pulling out her gun was an odd sensation, being that she was underwater. Kala had used rifles that worked in water before, but never a handgun. And with Roberta’s extra mojo, she wondered what kind of effect it would have on a Titan. A small part of her wanted to test it out on Zeus just to make sure it worked, but she didn’t think the Olympian would appreciate it very much. Besides, Kala may actually need the guy, considering they were about to face the deity the ocean was named after.

  As if on cue, Kala barely made out the dark swirling whirlpool heading straight toward her. Aiming her gun, she looked around trying to see any sign of Oceanus. Kala wasn’t exactly sure what to look for, but all the supernatural beings had appeared human, so she searched for some kind of human silhouette.

  First things first, she had to avoid the cyclone of blackness about to swallow her whole.

  In her mind she heard Zeus say: Move aside and let me take care of my uncle.

  Within Zeus’s bubble of air, lightning traveled up and down his body. He looked like an electric eel, but ten times more terrifying. The closer the whirlpool traveled the larger Zeus’s lightning bolts grew, until he lit up the blackness of the ocean within ten yards of where he swam.

  The light helped Kala see her destination with the use of her holo-GPS. Only fifty feet away.

  As much of a show as Zeus’s lightning was, the spinning chasm of water still drilled its way toward them.

  Zeus slammed his entire body into the vortex. Lightning shattered the whirlpool to pieces.

  A shock wave crashed into Kala and Derek and they were pushed farther away from their target.

  Upon impact, Zeus’s lightning was snuffed out, leaving them in darkness once more.

  Kala could hear Rotoph chanting in her head. He was using telepathy as well, to let her know when he broke the teleportation block. Since that was just the first of two spells that needed to be broken, Kala worried that – with Zeus busy occupying Oceanus – the protection spell might not be broken any time soon. And that was the most important to her, since she planned on entering the cave with the phase-suit.

  Using the intercom system with Derek, Kala said, “I’ve got to help Zeus if he’s going to take that second spell down.”

  Without hesitation Derek responded, “Let’s do it.”

  Kala didn’t argue with him to save himself. She knew it was useless. Derek would use up every one of his immortal lives if it meant he could help. It was just who he was.

  Swimming toward the newly generated sparks of lightning was the only way Kala could tell where Zeus was located.

  Oceanus had all the advantages. He was a water god, at one with the ocean, able to control it to his will, while Kala was an ex-human, now second generation Titan, with some kind of earth-force Gaia mix in there. If anything would help her at the moment, it would be Gaia, but she had no idea how to tap into that part of herself.

  So she swam blindly into the battle, gun ready, hopeful that the mixture of Roberta’s magic combined with the science of Turner’s technology would take out Oceanus long enough for Zeus to destroy the protection spell.

  THWAP!

  Kala flew back at least a hundred feet, faster than she thought was even possible considering she was underwater. It felt as if she had been hit by a wrecking ball straight to the chest. Unfortunately, the impact caused her to drop her glow stick, leaving her stuck in the blackness.

  “I guess that was Oceanus,” she said through her com-link to Derek.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, can’t see anything, but hopefully I’m on my way back.” Kala tried to shake off the pain as she swam blindly back to the battle.

  Zeus’s voice screamed in her head: I said stay out of this! Go to the location and wait!

  Kala concentrated on Zeus and hoped he could hear her as she thought: I need you to break that protection spell and you can’t do that if you’re fighting Uncle dickface.

  Radio silence on Zeus’s end.

  Kala didn’t have the time to figure out if he heard her or not, she swam as fast as she could once she saw Derek’s light stick glowing in the distance.

  Then she saw Oceanus.

  He was enormous.

  It was the first time Kala actually felt as if she was seeing a Titan. Well over the size of a house, Kala could only see the silhouette of the god. Definitely man-shaped on top, but instead of legs, he had a fish tail. She could only imagine what Derek must be thinking. Two former soldiers staring at a gigantic merman. It would almost be funny if it wasn’t so terrifying.

  Quickly joining Derek’s side she ordered, “If you can, get behind him. We’ll try out these guns of Turner’s.”

  “Copy.” He swam away, carrying out Kala’s orders.

  A lightning bolt hit Oceanus in the eye, but he batted it away like it was a pesky fly. As the lighting flared again, Kala made out Zeus in the near distance. He looked tiny compared to the Titan but, to give him his credit, he held his own.

  No time like the present. Kala unloaded her entire clip of bullets into the god. She could feel more than see Derek doing the same from behind Oceanus.

  The Titan reeled back, causing an enormous wave of force that pushed Zeus and Kala backward.

  Zeus’s angry voice screamed in her head: I told you to stay out of it!

  She called back in her mind: At least it did something.

  The god’s tone was dismissive: It won’t last. The ocean is his domain. He can recharge in a matter of seconds. Then he sounded at a loss: I’m not strong enough to defeat him. Not in his territory.

  Which is why Cronus had him here as a guard dog. Only Poseidon had a fighting chance and he was imprisoned in the Underworld.

  Zeus was right. Kala could make out the shadow of Oceanus swimming toward her, free of the temporary sting of bullets and charging at her with a vengeance.

  Oceanus’s voice reached her mind. It was deep and powerful, giving her goose bumps even under her phase-suit. Cronus warned me about you, Kala Hicks, skinwalker of Atlas and devourer of gods.

  The way he said skinwalker made Kala shiver. He didn’t speak like the other Titans and Olympians she’d met so far. Being in the ocean away from man had made him distant, detached from humanity. Oceanus didn’t see Kala as Atlas as the others did, he saw her as a meat-suit that encased a Titan. She accessed as much as she could about Oceanus from Atlas’s memories and could find only one thing…

  Fear.

  Atlas was terrified of him.

  Like Atlas, Oceanus had switched to the Olympians side in the first
war. After both wars Atlas received disdain and dismissiveness from both the Olympians and the Titans, whereas Oceanus was still feared by all. He was a recluse who drew his power from the biggest entity on the planet: water.

  Kala spoke to him through telepathy: Let me through to Hades. I won’t fail my mission.

  His voice raked on her every nerve as he said: What do I care if your world ends? The ocean will always remain. The human scourge will finally be eradicated.

  Not to be dramatic or anything.

  A blast of water shot Kala back, farther from her destination and nearly shoving her oxygen mouthpiece into her jaw.

  Lightning bolts slammed into Oceanus from Zeus, but it didn’t even make Oceanus budge at this point. He was absorbing the lightning now, turning it into energy.

  Kala yelled at Zeus in her head: How the hell do we get rid of this guy?

  Zeus sounded just as exasperated: If I knew that I would be doing it! This is why I said we needed Poseidon!

  Well, we don’t have Poseidon! Kala shouted the obvious. Then she signaled her com, “Derek, you still breathing?”

  “Not a scratch. Guess I’m not considered a threat. I’m out of bullets though, not that they did much good.” Derek’s voice was soothing in the chaotic darkness.

  “Copy. How close are you to the cave location?” Kala glanced down at her holo-GPS. She was at least a half a mile away at this point.

  “Right above it. Rotoph is still working his mojo. I’m just a lookout at this point.”

  “Just stay there and do what you can. Hopefully, we can – ” Kala began.

  Kala was interrupted by Oceanus’s open-hand to her chest. The fact that his hand was the size of her body propelled Kala even farther from Hades’s location.

  And Ouch!

  Lights flared from behind Oceanus, and it wasn’t Zeus’s lightning.

  It was…

  Lasers.

  The XV-4250 apparently had some firepower and was using it on the Titan.

  Talan’s voice sounded in her head: Not sure how much longer we can stall him, but you should swim back to the location.

  Instead of relief, Kala only felt dread as Oceanus went after the ship.