“What lightning?” Owen asked, his face concerned. Kala remembered seeing that expression growing up when she’d stay out without his permission. She hated it then, she hated it now.
At the word lightning, Zeus’s mumbling turned to screeching with glee.
Kala ignored him and told the others what she had done when Cronus attacked her.
Instead of talking to her though, they started talking to each other, as if Kala was some kind of circus monkey that had performed a radical trick.
When she heard Hephaestus say, “We should start testing her and see what she’s capable of,” Kala had to shut down the whole conversation right there.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You guys are supposed to be on my side! There will be no testing.” Kala had had enough.
She walked away from them all, toward orangutan-Zeus. Time to get some real answers.
But she was surprised when it was Penny who stopped her. “Kala, none of us know what’s going on. The supernatural world doesn’t change, nothing is new, it’s always the same ancient battle within the families. So when someone like you comes along, it’s scary. If you haven’t figured it out yet, we don’t like change.”
Kala sighed. She appreciated Penny’s honesty, but it didn’t change the current situation. Only Zeus could do that. “I get it, but one thing at a time. I want to get rid of this damn curse, then we can figure out why I’m different. Deal?” She eyed everyone in the room for confirmation.
Owen nodded first, but added, “Cronus claims to know what you are. That could be very dangerous. We’ll back burner this for now but, Kala, in your case, knowledge is power. And Cronus has it all.”
“Truer words were never spoken.”
Oh no. Kala groaned to herself.
She turned to see Asmodeus standing over Zeus.
“I knew you faked that whole hero act,” Kala grumbled in annoyance.
Asmodeus smiled. “I had to find this place somehow, and with your heart broken, I figured it was a good bet you’d jump here next.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I could never be interested in a lousy kisser. Too much drool.” It wasn’t true, but she hoped it would sting.
It didn’t.
“Being on the other end of that kiss, you didn’t exactly pull away, but I understand. You don’t want to upset your Angel-Boy over there,” Asmodeus snickered.
Kala didn’t want to look at Talan and his butt-hurt face. Kissing the guy who had stranded him in the 5th Level of Hell to be chopped up by Cronus was pretty awful even on a “friend” level.
“I hope you got everything you needed from Zeus here. I did give you a little extra time. If not, I’m sure the Malaks could help you.” Asmodeus shrugged with a grin. “Good-bye, beautiful. We’ll meet again.”
Before Kala or any of the others could react, Asmodeus and Zeus disappeared.
Chapter Twenty
Kala felt a hand on her shoulder. She was sure it was Owen, since she figured Talan would be upset at finding out about the Asmodeus-kiss. But it was Talan’s voice that spoke.
“Zeus wasn’t going to help you. He can’t. He’s too far gone. We’ll find another way.”
Kala touched his hand softly and squeezed it. “There is no other way.” She turned around. “I have to get him back.”
Hephaestus stepped forward. “It’s better that he’s gone. As crazy as Zeus was, Cronus has always had a way of extracting information out of him. We hid our work while we were down here, but if he had been here when we broke the prisoners out? All would have been lost.”
Owen nodded. “Our brothers and sisters can help, Kala. There are some among them who can track gods. We’ll find Zeus once they are free.”
Kala took a moment, then nodded. “Shouldn’t we move somewhere else? Cronus knows where you are now.”
Penny shook her head. “We can’t. We’ve already established where the portal will open. We can’t just move it.”
“Then you better hurry.” Kala only saw this ending in violence. If Cronus knew where they were, it wouldn’t be long before he sent his family after them. She would. There was no way he’d let the Grigori return and, if he really could extract information from Zeus, he’d know what Hephaestus was up to and send the cavalry to stop it.
But the best part of this situation was the fact that Hephaestus told her that Cronus could obtain info from Zeus. And Kala intended to use that. Even if it meant swallowing Cronus whole. Heck, even if it meant swallowing Zeus whole and reversing the curse herself. She was too terrified to try either option, but more so with Zeus: because if it didn’t work, she’d never break the curse. Then she’d be stuck with a crazoid in her head.
And she was afraid of losing herself.
Kala hadn’t lost herself with Atlas, but it had only been two days! If Talan hadn’t sectioned off her brain to stop her from passing out every time she had a memory, she probably would have been unconscious most of the last forty-eight hours.
Hephaestus and Penny went back to the forge, which apparently held the portal. This was all becoming too sci-fi for Kala. Rotoph and Owen followed to help.
Talan stayed with her.
Then Asmodeus’s words echoed back in her head: If not, I’m sure the Malaks could help you. It had been such a throwaway line, as if he was mocking her, but maybe he knew something about the Malaks that she didn’t. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that Asmodeus was throwing her a bone.
“What did Asmodeus mean about the Malaks helping me?” she questioned Talan.
“I’m not sure. They’re the least powerful beings besides Demons. Ever since Atlas tricked the first human to take over his duties, they’ve been hunting the surrogates down trying to take over the job themselves.” Talan repeated what Kala already knew.
“Are you sure they wanted to kill the Atlas-surrogate to gain the power for themselves?” Kala’s mind was spinning. There was something there. She just couldn’t seem to formulate it into a coherent thought.
“Why else would they want to be the Atlas? Every Malak I ran across always talked of humans being unworthy. Remember Grautlin?” Talan wasn’t trying to shoot her down; he seemed to be rationalizing it through for himself.
“How can I forget? The guy tried to kill me twice.” Kala recalled that Grautlin was pretty adamant about being the next Atlas. As if it were an honor.
But why would Asmodeus bring it up? Was he trying to distract her? Throw her off Zeus and onto something else? It was so hard to tell with the Demon. One moment he appeared to genuinely care, the next he was pretending to be a hero just so he could steal back Zeus, her only lead.
“I need to talk to one. Do you know any? Maybe someone high up on the food chain?” Kala decided it was better to go to the source.
“Aside from a select few, Malaks and Demons don’t know the Grigori are back,” Talan replied apologetically.
“You really are clueless, aren’t you? Do you honestly think the last week has escaped the notice of the supernatural world? Rotoph roped in Malaks and Demons to attack us in the bar, remember? They didn’t seem all that shocked to see him – or you. You underestimate the need to gossip. That’s not just a human trait.” Kala was surprised Talan actually thought that he was still a secret.
From the look on his face, the realization was dawning on him. “Then releasing as many Grigori as we can is our only defense.”
“Defense? No one can touch you without the blades, and I have one at least.” Kala touched the top of the hilt, making sure Asmodeus hadn’t pulled any shenanigans.
Still there.
“There are eleven Titans who have the others, and only three Grigori here. We’ve managed to keep our three other brothers and sister out of this mess in case we fail.” Talan spoke of the Grigori who had escaped with them centuries ago.
Kala had never heard Talan or Owen speak of the other Grigori on earth. “Okay. Well, you guys do your thing and I’m going to find some Malaks.” She fully intended to leave.
&nbs
p; Talan’s eyes stopped her. “Kala. We need you. You can’t leave now.”
“Ten minutes ago you were telling me to get the heck out, so just pretend my human side is killing me and let me go hunt some Malaks.”
“Ten minutes ago we didn’t know how powerful you were. I didn’t want you to leave. I wanted you to be safe. I understand your need to rid yourself of this curse, but don’t you think it can wait until we get some backup?” Talan sounded irritated.
She had actually managed to piss Talan off. It amused Kala for some reason. He was always spouting his love and loyalty, but her one-track mind finally made him crack. “As soon as the family reunion is over, you’re taking me to a Malak,” Kala ordered.
Talan nodded. “I promise.”
Kala smiled at him. There was an affection there between them that she couldn’t deny. It felt as if they had been friends their whole lives. Kala knew Talan had no-no feelings for her, and she was definitely attracted to the guy, but no one could replace Jack. No one ever would. Friendship she could handle though. Friendship was safe. And Talan made her feel safe.
BOOM!
“It’s starting! Talan, we need you!” Penny’s voice yelled out.
Kala walked straight for the forge, followed by Talan.
It was one of the strangest visuals Kala had ever seen. It looked like a tiny tornado drilling a hole into the air itself, growing bigger every second.
Penny, Talan, Rotoph, and Owen clasped hands, then suddenly Penny and Talan grabbed onto Kala’s to complete the circle.
Penny shrugged. “I don’t know what kind of abilities you have, but they’re powerful and we need as much of it as we can.”
Hephaestus stayed out of the ring and chanted some kind of spell.
The tornado grew bigger and louder with each passing second. The noise was so intense Kala wanted to snap her hands away and cover her ears, but she held on to Penny and Talan.
The center of the swirling wind started to open up and Kala could see the Heaven-prison Talan had shown her before. Even through a small opening, it was a stunning view, as if galaxies had collided in one spectacular moment. Why would Grigori want to come to earth when they could be there? Kala still didn’t understand that logic, but she supposed if she had been locked up against her will, she’d want out too.
Penny’s eyes widened with anticipation. “They’re coming!”
Kala couldn’t see anything so she assumed Penny had some sort of connection to the portal that allowed her to sense the Grigori on the other side.
KABOOM!
The swirling hole tilted almost two-feet sideways before it righted itself.
“HOLD ON!” Penny screamed. “DON’T LET GO!”
Hephaestus’s voice grew louder as he chanted.
Kala held on with all her strength, but the force of the portal tried to pry their hands apart.
Then a person was visible from the other side: a stunningly beautiful woman with dark skin and pitch-black hair. It was a shocking contrast between the raging storm and the calm beauty of the angel.
“Antel!” Owen shouted. “Come through!”
The Grigori named Antel’s eyes lit up when she saw Owen and she stepped through the swirling abyss to land safely inside their circle.
Antel yelled over the noise, “The others are coming!”
Penny screamed, “Join the circle! We need your strength!”
Antel nodded, taking Owen and Talan’s hands quickly so the circle wouldn’t be broken for long. Once their hands were clasped, Kala felt the power intensify. Surges of invisible energy flowed through her body and out through her hands. Angels and deities might be able to handle opening magical portals to angel prisons, but half-human Kala felt like her soul was being shredded.
After Antel passed through, a line of Grigori appeared in front of the growing tornado. It was now the size of a small car. One after another they came through, each one joining the circle, until it was ten strong. Five new Grigori already seemed like a lot to Kala; she wondered how many more there were. She tried to count the line of them waiting to pass through, but there seemed to be no end.
The next Grigori started to walk into the portal…
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The portal closed with a loud CLAP!
The energy flow, dead.
Kala looked up and saw Owen, Antel and Rotoph drop to the floor from the blades that slashed their throats.
Three Titans stood behind them: Iapetus, Theia and Hyperion.
Kala saw red.
Even though she logically knew that Owen wasn’t dead, seeing his throat cut sent her into a rage.
Deep within her being, Kala let the power that had consumed Atlas and almost consumed Cronus take over. It scared her, but her rage was stronger. It was as if she was awakening something ancient inside her that had always been there, but she’d never known how to connect with it – until Atlas.
Like before, Kala had no control over the words that came out of her mouth, “YOU WILL BE PUNISHED!”
The Grigori blades flew out of the Titan’s hands to land hilt first into Talan, Hephaestus and Penny’s hands.
Shock registered on every being in the room. Then Talan responded. He slashed his blade at Hyperion.
The Titans didn’t need the blades to attack, they were powerful enough all on their own.
Penny tried to attack Theia, but the Titan threw her across the room. It didn’t stop Penny though. She used her ability to disappear from view and popped back in to surprise Theia with a stab to her chest. Theia screamed in pain, but still had enough power to backhand Penny to the floor.
Hephaestus was the most at home in battle. He’d been doing this a long time and it looked like he was enjoying himself as he stabbed Theia again in protection of his daughter. Being locked away to make weapons for the Titans for thousands of years had given him all the anger he needed to use the blade that he made.
Kala fought inside herself, trying to stem the power she had no control over. She had no idea what it was or where it came from and as a soldier, Kala’s first rule was to always know what her weapon could do. A part of her wanted to use it, but the other part of her warned against it. Last time she let it have free reign, she had devoured a god.
Iapetus was suddenly in front of Kala his eyes curious. “Son, are you still in there?”
He was referring to Atlas, Kala assumed. “He’s dead. I have all his memories, but his soul is gone. It’s only me.” Kala pulled out her own Grigori blade and stabbed Iapetus in the stomach. “You’re not my father.” She nodded to Owen’s still form. “He is.” Then she slashed Iapetus’s throat. “Doesn’t feel so great, does it?”
Kala started to feel normal again. Fighting like a human brought her back to herself.
Iapetus mended a lot faster than the Grigori, his gut and neck healing before her eyes. And he didn’t even appear mad at Kala, only interested. “The Grigori is not your father no matter how many times you tell yourself that he is.” He backed up before Kala could stab him again. “Whether Atlas’s soul is inside you or not, he is inside you, which makes you a Titan. My son.”
“Reality check, I’m a girl.” Kala feigned an attack to the right. When Iapetus moved left to avoid it, she stabbed him in the heart. “It may not kill you, but it’ll make you weak enough to imprison.” She cut his ribs for measure. “I’ll find my answers and take down every one of you to get them.”
Though Iapetus’s wound healed quickly, his body showed that the blows were slowing him down.
Seeing the gravity of his situation, Iapetus called out to his sister and brother. “Now!”
A second later, the Titans were gone.
But so was Hephaestus.
They couldn’t re-open the portal.
“Well, that sucked,” Kala groaned.
Chapter Twenty-One
It took a few hours for Owen and the other two Grigori to regain their strength. Kala didn’t leave Owen’s side. Seeing her only real dad have his n
eck sliced in front of her was something she never wanted to repeat.
The five new Grigori eyed her warily, not sure what to make of her. They didn’t know her like Owen and Talan did, so Kala understood: they didn’t have a reason to trust her. Seeing her rob the blades from the Titans had surprised everyone in the room, including Kala. She wanted to know where her strange wellspring of power came from, but at the same time, she wanted nothing to do with it.
Talan turned to Kala. “I’ll take you to Lotun. She’s the leader of the Malaks.”
Kala was relieved to hear that Talan was willing to take her so soon. Especially since the portal was closed with no way to re-open it without Hephaestus. There wasn’t much Kala could do for anyone there anyway. Talan had kept his promise by asking the other Grigori if they could track down Zeus, but none of them had that particular skill, so Kala was back to the Malaks, her only lead. This news made Penny a wreck. She could care less about Zeus, and had hoped they could find her father. She tried to convince anyone who would listen that their first priority should be getting Hephaestus back. Most of the Grigori seemed to be on the same page as Penny, feeling that their numbers were still too small to take on the Titans.
That was where this whole thing was headed: another war between gods and angels. And probably Demons. Seven days ago, Kala had no idea any of this existed and now she was a major part of it. She was a Titan. At least partially.
And something else.
Something that scared the most powerful of the gods.
The most powerful of the Grigori.
What was she?
Maybe the Malaks could help. It was a stretch, but Kala was running out of options. Asmodeus was a dick, but Kala knew as warped as his feelings were for her, they were real to a degree. To what degree she had no idea, but she didn’t believe he’d mention the Malaks if they didn’t have something to offer her.
And Talan? He claimed that only a few knew he was back. Kala knew that was a joke, now that the Titans and Asmodeus knew. They’d tell the whole supernatural world just to keep the feelers out so they could wrangle the Grigori back to their prison. But maybe this Lotun Malak knew Talan was around. Maybe they had some kind of a relationship or past. Kala found that she didn’t like that so much. She didn’t want Talan, but she didn’t want anyone else to have him either. It made no sense, but Kala was okay with that. Most of what she felt didn’t make sense.
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