The Underworld (The Atlas Series Book 3)

by Becca C. Smith

Examining her clothes and body thoroughly, she made sure that she was completely dry. A drop would be enough to hurt her, somehow she knew that as well. The gray landscape didn’t bother her, either, for it was peaceful in its own way. Part of her sensed that it was somehow wrong, though, that there should be…colors.

  The word sounded strange in her head. What were colors?

  A moment later the thought had dissipated.

  It wasn’t important to her. Nothing was important to her. And that somehow felt very good.

  Slowly, she stood up and tried not to look at the water. Her instincts screamed at her to stay away from the river. But a sideways glance betrayed her and she saw something strange on its surface.

  Though she knew it was dangerous she stared at the water regardless, curiosity winning over safety.

  Images formed of two women and four men in some big basement. One of the women she thought she recognized, but couldn’t quite place. White fire came out of the hands of three of them, encasing two of the men. The two men were then strapped down in wired chairs and locked in by the familiar-looking woman. The images repeated after that in an endless loop. She stared at it for hours, not able to pull her attention away.

  Over time she began to see similarities in the familiar woman from the water to her own body. Legs, arms, hands, feet, they matched exactly. She realized that the woman must be her. She admired how the woman shot out white fire from her hands and wondered, if that was indeed her, where she had learned how to do that?

  Was this the past or the future? Should she be worried? Should she figure out why she couldn’t remember anything?

  She found that she didn’t want to know, and the longer she watched the images, the more distraught she felt.

  Finally, the woman yanked her head away and began walking away from the river. It was much calmer now, walking amongst the dry shrubs and cracked ground. There was nothing to focus on and that felt right. It felt peaceful.

  She must have walked for miles and miles, but her feet didn’t ache. It was good to walk. It gave her a strange sense of joy. As if she had a purpose.

  A mission.

  The word stuck in her brain and she couldn’t seem to let it go.

  Mission. Mission. Mission.

  She battled her own mind: the more she tried to push the word out, the louder her head would scream it.

  MISSION.

  It was as if her brain was telling her to do something that she had no understanding of. It surprised her that she knew the meaning of the word. She knew how to speak, she knew what things meant, she just simply couldn’t remember who she was or what she had done in her life.

  “Kala?” A man’s voice sounded from behind her.

  She turned to see who had spoken. It surprised her at first to see the man. He was in full color, which made her instantly know what colors were. Looking down at her own gray skin she found herself envious of his bright, flushed cheeks. Then she realized that he had called her a name. Was she “Kala?” Did he know her? As she examined the man, she realized he was one of the men from the vision she saw in the river. He was tall and nice to look at with light brown swoopy hair, blue eyes and a bone structure that accentuated every one of his perfect features. There was also a warmth about him that she immediately felt attached to. She must know him, especially if he was in her vision. How could she feel such a connection with a stranger?

  “Do I know you?” she asked, hoping the answer would be yes.

  As he stepped closer to her, she found that she wanted him to embrace her. It was such a powerful sensation the woman almost grabbed the man to pull him close, but as she didn’t know who he was, she decided to hold back.

  His voice was soft and low, which comforted her even more, “Kala, it’s me, Talan. Don’t you recognize me?”

  “I saw you in the river,” she said trying to be helpful. “But I don’t remember knowing you. Is my name Kala?”

  The man called Talan reached out tentatively then pulled back as if he were overstepping some boundary. “Yes, your name is Kala. We’re friends.”

  Kala.

  The woman rolled the name around in her head. Yes. She was Kala. That sounded right. “I’m Kala,” she repeated. Then to make the man Talan feel better, Kala reached out and touched his face affectionately. “And you’re Talan.”

  Talan seemed surprised by her affection. “The Lethe really wiped your brain, didn’t it?”

  “The river Lethe is dangerous,” Kala said the only thing she was certain of. The only true memory she had.

  Talan took her hand and held it with both of his, making sure his eyes met hers. His touch sent shivers through her and she wanted him to kiss her. “The water took away your memories. We have to get them back.”

  She pulled her hand away. “No, that doesn’t sound right. I don’t think that sounds right.” Maybe this Talan wasn’t good after all. One thing she was certain of, she didn’t want to remember anything.

  Talan put his hands up as if declaring peace. “That’s a part of the spell the river puts on you. It makes you want to forget.” He gently took her hand in his again. “And Kala, you of all people deserve to forget. I wish I could wipe the pain away from you forever, but you have a mission.”

  There was that word again.

  “Mission?” Kala liked the way Talan’s hand felt in hers, soft yet strong. It helped her erase the pull of trying to remember.

  “Yes, Kala, you have a mission. You’ve been in the Underworld for two days now, and if you don’t return to earth and complete your mission, the world will be destroyed.” Talan made sure she heard every last syllable. “You only have four days to complete it. Do you know what it is yet?”

  She remembered the images in the water and knew instantly that this was the “mission” Talan spoke of. “In the reflection from the water I saw some men in chairs. You were there and we attacked them with white fire. It kept repeating.” It felt good to say what she’d seen aloud after watching the loop for hours and hours.

  Talan nodded, but his face was disturbed. “White fire? Did you recognize these men?”

  The woman shook her head, “No, but they seemed really upset.”

  “That’s your Atlas mission. You only have two days left to complete it and we have to get you out of here. We have to rescue a few friends as well, but we’re going to need to you to get your memories back.”

  The more Talan talked, the more he made sense. She didn’t like what he was saying, but her mind kept tugging at her to listen.

  “How do I do that?” she forced herself to ask.

  “I might be able to help. You just have to trust me.” Talan squeezed her hand slightly and she wanted to kiss him again.

  So she did.

  Talan pulled back at first, but the sensation became so intense he pulled her in close and his lips pressed against hers as if he could never stop. And she didn’t want him to. Nothing had ever felt so right. Even without her memories, she knew down to her soul that she was meant to kiss this man. They belonged to each other. It was almost as if they were one soul when they touched.

  “This isn’t right.” Talan yanked himself away.

  “But it feels right,” she answered, confused.

  Talan’s eyes bore into her with an intensity that made her knees weak. “Let me give you back your memories.”

  She could only nod. If Talan’s kisses felt this way without her memories, she could only imagine what they would feel like with them.

  Talan placed his hands on top of her head and she could feel heat radiate off them. As his grip tightened, the burning grew. In a flash Kala was Kala again. She still had no memories, but she knew who she was. Kala. Talan finally released his hold, shaking his head. “The water from Lethe surrounds your memory cortex. I can’t remove it.”

  “I’m Kala,” she confirmed.

  Talan’s eyes were hopeful. “Yes. Do you remember anything else?”

  Kala shook her head. “No.”

  Talan sighed,
defeated. “I don’t know how to fix you.”

  “How did you make your hands burn?” Kala wondered how he knew there was water in her head.

  “I’m a Grigori angel,” he explained. “I’ve helped you with your memories before when you first became Atlas.”

  Kala liked the sound of Talan being an angel. Better than a Demon she supposed.

  Or a human.

  Something inside of her stirred at the thought of a human. She was human, wasn’t she? What else could she be? Kala needed to know.

  “Am I human?”

  Talan nodded. “But you’re something more as well. You have a Titan inside of you.” His face grew concerned. “I’m just afraid he’ll break through the Lethe water first and take over your body.”

  Kala shook her head. “Gaia said that couldn’t happen. He’s dead now.”

  Talan and Kala both stopped.

  “How did I know that?” Kala wasn’t sure where her statement about Gaia had come from. She tried to follow the memory to recall anything from it, but it was as if she had nothing to draw from, just a big empty space.

  Talan’s face lit up. “You’ve always been able to do things that no one else thought you could. Maybe you can find your memories on your own.” His expression turned awe-filled. “Did you speak with Gaia? She hasn’t been seen in thousands of years, before I was imprisoned.”

  “You were imprisoned? I’m so sorry.” Yet Kala didn’t feel sorry. It was the strangest thing, so she voiced it aloud. “Why don’t I feel bad for you? Shouldn’t I feel bad for you?”

  Talan laughed and it made Kala’s heart warm at the sound. “You’ve expressed on many occasions that I whine too much about my prison. It was in the 5th Heaven, which is quite beautiful.” He brushed his hand against her cheek and Kala could see the love in his eyes. “Your mind is fighting the water. You’re remembering emotions rather than solid visions of your past.” Talan kissed her forehead, which sent a thrill down her spine. “Now tell me about Gaia,” he prodded.

  “There’s nothing to tell. I don’t remember,” Kala confessed. “I don’t know why I said what I said. Who is Gaia?”

  “A part of her is inside you and gives you great power. Like I said, she’s been gone for a long time, if she came to you, then she must believe things are dire. And she must believe in you.” His eyes shone with pride.

  “She’s my mother.” The words came out of Kala’s mouth as if someone else spoke them.

  Talan’s face paled. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak.

  It scared Kala. “Is that bad? Is Gaia evil? Say something.”

  Kala couldn’t remember the meeting with Gaia, but she knew she was Gaia’s daughter. And she knew she needed to tell Talan. She just didn’t know he’d respond this way.

  Talan snapped out of his stupor. “Kala…” he paused, then continued, “That changes everything.” He ran his hand through his hair in worry. “I just don’t know if we can rely on what you’re saying. What if Hades tainted that water to make you believe certain things? It could be part of his plan to throw us off.”

  “Rhea threw me in, not Hades.” Kala shook her head in surprise. “Maybe your little angel hocus pocus is helping me unlock some of this stuff. I don’t know where it’s all coming from.”

  Talan shook his head. “I couldn’t get past the water. This is all you.”

  Kala wanted to kiss him again, but instead she asked, “Are we in love?”

  Talan didn’t answer right away. After a moment he finally replied, “I am. Your heart belongs to another.”

  Kala couldn’t imagine feeling more intensely for someone other than Talan. It was as if her mind and body were being pulled to him by a force she couldn’t control. The mere concept of being in love with another man was… heartbreaking. She wondered if, when her memories came back to her, if she was secretly in love with Talan and hadn’t told the other man. If so, she felt bad for whoever it was she was supposed to be in love with.

  “Who is he?” By asking, Kala could see that it hurt Talan to talk about and she instantly regretted it.

  Talan took a step back from her, keeping his distance.

  It killed her in ways she didn’t expect. All Kala wanted to do was close the distance between them and feel his body against hers again. The sensation was so overwhelming, she almost did it, but she waited to hear Talan’s answer.

  “His name is Jack Norbin,” Talan finally admitted.

  Hearing the name sparked a deep pain inside Kala. The sensation was so powerful she began to collapse.

  Talan was there to catch her before she fell to the ground. When she had regained her balance, he moved to step away, but Kala stopped him with her hand. “Don’t go.” Pulling him in, Kala kissed Talan again. This time he was quick to respond, his hands drawing her into his chest.

  The force of their passion left her breathless, yet she couldn’t seem to get close enough to him. It was as if the more they kissed, the further away he became. Her desire for Talan grew fevered and obsessive. She needed him more than anything she’d ever needed before. She knew this even without her memories. Kala kissed him harder, as if she could devour him whole. Talan’s energy seemed to fill her up. The more she kissed him, the more she felt them becoming one.

  “Kala,” Talan choked.

  With sudden terror, Kala pulled away as Talan dropped to his knees, his face pale, his body weakened. She covered her mouth with her hand in shock. “What did I do?”

  Talan breathed in deep, trying to regain his strength. Kala knelt down next to him, touching his face, kissing his forehead. “I’m so sorry,” was all she could say.

  Though Kala had no memory, she realized what she had done. She had almost consumed Talan like she had done with Atlas.

  She remembered.

  Standing on a beach, the Titan Atlas cowering in fear, Kala being so angry, so full of rage… why?

  Jack.

  Kala had to kill Jack and Atlas was making her. All she could see was red. All she could do was destroy. She wanted to make Atlas suffer. She wanted to make him go away.

  So she did. She swallowed him whole and he died inside her, becoming a part of her, integrating into her soul.

  Kala snapped out of the memory and her heart squeezed with shame at what she had almost done to Talan.

  He must have seen the horror in her eyes because he said, “I’m okay. You stopped in time.”

  “I can’t control it,” Kala confessed in misery.

  Talan reached out and cupped Kala’s face with his hand. “It’s okay, Kala. I’ll be fine. At least we know you still have your powers down here. That’s a good thing.”

  “I almost devoured you whole and you’re telling me it’s a good thing?” It only made Kala want him more, but she reined in her self-control for fear of destroying him. “It’s just, when you said that name… I didn’t want to hear it. It was too painful. My connection with you was strong enough to make me forget.” Kala sighed and stood up. “He’s dead, isn’t he?” She knew the answer before she asked the question.

  Talan nodded, then motioned around the gray landscape. “We’re in the land of the dead, though. I think that’s where you were headed before Rhea threw you into the river. You needed to see Jack. It won’t be him, Kala. He’ll …”

  “He’ll just be an empty shell,” Kala finished, not knowing where the words came from, but they were true, like the others. “I know.” She shrugged. “I guess it’s good I don’t remember him since I don’t feel the need to find him now.”

  Talan stood with her. “We have to get your memories back. You’re too dangerous without them.” He seemed fully recovered as he sighed in frustration, “You don’t know how hard it was for me to get in here, not even Zeus could enter. I’m it until the others can figure out a way to break Cronus’s protections spells.”

  His words didn’t mean anything to Kala except that she’d have Talan to herself for a while and that made her happy.

  But Talan obviously had other
plans. He took a few steps away from her, calling out, “HADES! I know you can hear me! We need your help!” Talan gave Kala a smile. “Let’s see whose side he’s on.”

  “I’m on no one’s side, Grigori.”

  Kala and Talan turned to see a man dressed in a black suit with long black hair to match. His skin was sallow, almost as gray as Kala’s, his body thin as if he was a skeleton with skin painted on.

  Hades grumbled in irritation. “Now what do you want?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kala stared at the god Hades. There was something familiar about him, but she simply couldn’t place it. Maybe she knew him? He definitely seemed grumpy.

  Talan addressed Hades first. “Your mother dumped Kala into the river Lethe.”

  “Very clever,” Hades laughed, which was actually quite terrifying, enhanced by the deep lines creasing his cheeks. His amusement faded after a few moments, though, and his face reverted back to an expression of annoyance. “What do you want me to do about it?”

  “I can see the water swarming inside her head, but I can’t take it out,” Talan admitted with frustration.

  “And you think I can?” Hades demanded.

  “I know you can,” Talan responded with confidence.

  Kala watched the exchange silently. The entire conversation was about her, but she had no attachment to it. Part of her wanted her memories back because her instincts were screaming that she needed them, but another part of her brain was enjoying the silence. Her life was already becoming complicated and she had only been wiped memory-free for a short time.

  Hades shrugged. “Of course I can, but why should I? From everything I’ve heard of Kala Hicks, keeping her muted seems like a brilliant idea.”

  Talan’s anger flared, “She’s Atlas now, did you forget about that? She only has two days to complete her mission!”

  “And?” Hades appeared unfazed.

  “And the planet dies!” Talan was appalled at Hades’s lack of concern.

  “We can always start a new one,” Hades sighed. “I don’t even know why I came when you called. You Grigori are so righteous and this one… I thought I could officially meet the girl who woke me up, but she’s useless, too.”