by Debbie Behan
He knew Hades was on the line. He could hear him breathing and choking back emotion.
‘Can I see her?’
‘When hell freezes over and even then, not over my dead body!’ Axon gritted his teeth, furiously.
‘Axon please, I didn’t know. It wasn’t us; well it was a family member, but none of us gods from the planets. We wouldn’t do that to her, you know that. Please! I have powers. I can help. Don’t shut me out. I’ll give you any information you need.’ His tone pleaded with Axon and weakened his better judgement.
‘Hades, don’t bloody lie to me. You came to the island, checking she was away from danger, she told me.’
‘I didn’t mean it that way Axon. Dammit! I just meant I was glad no other men were hanging around. I was jealous, that was all. I imagined her on a beach with Earth men, bodybuilders, maybe. She said you were fishing and she was sunbaking. When I saw there wasn’t another soul on the beach but her, and that your boat was heading back, I relaxed and left. That was all. It was innocent on my part, sort of. Well you know how I feel about her, Axon. I love her too but differently from you. Please Axon, let me come see her. I won’t stay long, I’m hurting too. I know how angry you are with me, but you have it all wrong.’
Axon really felt he was telling the truth. He believed Hades would have been jealous. His love for her was new, uncertain. Hades also knew who the culprits were and so, he needed his help. He had to calm down or he would blow his chance to uncover who it was and the motive behind the attack. Kayden and Cassie had also felt it wasn’t the planets. Anger had blinded him and he had jumped to conclusions. It was time he did start to trust the friendship Jett offered.
Hades was quiet on the other end of the line waiting for Axon’s answer.
‘Hades are you sure you’re prepared to help me?’ His anger was now under control.
‘Anything you need, Axon, just don’t close the door on me, us, please.’
‘Give me a minute to get rid of the help. I assume you can track wherever she is in the house.’
‘Yes, somehow I’m connected to her subconscious. I feel her wherever she is.’
‘I see!’ Axon huffed, and although annoyed she had made Hades part of her life like this, it helped him understand the connection they had. ‘Cait is very clever and has obviously connected you to her as the Macro Riders are connected. Is it only her you feel or the rest of the team as well?’
‘Just her!’
‘I’ll be blowed.’ Axon was amazed at her ingeniousness and capabilities. As Lepius said, she was becoming one very powerful woman. Should he be scared of this new ability? Hell yes! But on the other hand he knew the universe was one big mystery. The plan it had for her, for him, was something he would just have to ride out. He did hope though that one day it would all be over and the two of them could find peace alone together.
‘Hades, I can’t believe this has happened. I want answers when you arrive, no stalling.’
‘I know Axon and please, around Caitlin it’s Jett.’
‘She knows you are Hades.’ Axon was confused.
‘She sees Hades as her enemy; I have worked hard to earn her friendship as Jett. If she hears you refer to me as Hades it will all start up again as she works to make peace between us. Axon you are mad, but it is not Hades it should be directed towards. My friendship is still sound between us, I’ll see you shortly.’ He closed off the port of communication.
Could Axon trust him? He had no idea. All he did know was that he had to believe in Cait, and she trusted him. He went back to the room. Cassie was sitting with Caitlin and shook her head with disbelief at the announcement of the soon to arrive god.
‘I have promised Hades privacy.’
As they moved out of the bedroom, Axon discussed with Cassie the reasons why he relented with Hades so she could let the others know.
Axon had a call and tapped his ear. ‘Yes.’
‘The guests have arrived, my Lord,’ Nigel said.
‘Settle everyone in on the lower levels. I want total privacy on this floor and tell Rory I want a meeting with him, Kayden and Woody in the tower ASAP.’
Axon turned back to Cassie. ‘You right to find your way down to meet them?’
‘Sure you don’t need help blowing up that – that rotten god?’ she fumed, still not convinced Hades was the good guy.
Axon didn’t answer for a minute, considering the proposal to get rid of one of his biggest headaches. Knowing she was teasing, he smiled. ‘Not today. But I’ll take a raincheck.’
She gave a slight grin, but behind it was real anger. He was glad she was on her way to meet up with Kayden. He would help her harness the power from it, use it later, and Axon almost felt sorry for the next evil that crossed her path.
Judgement Day
Axon stayed to watch Caitlin until Jett arrived and worried for the stillness of her body.
Jett shimmered in, eyes going straight to Caitlin. He lowered himself on to the bed, his hand finding hers without even looking, his eyes still focused on her face. To speak just yet Axon knew would not be easy as he watched Jett gulp back emotions that threatened to break through his tough façade. Axon for the first time actually felt for the guy. His friendship with her was way beyond normal, yet Axon also knew how much he loved his own wife Melita. Cait would only ever be a much loved friend. Axon had never seen this much devotion. He knew now Jett meant her no harm and put his hand on his back.
‘I’ll give you privacy with her and then we are going to have a brutally honest chat.’
Jett looked up at him gratefully. His eyes were filled with unshed tears and he had big dark circles under his eyes. Axon understood his emotional state. He would be feeling exactly the same if he thought he would never be allowed to see her again. It was soul torturing to love this woman for both of them.
Axon went and stood outside and could hear Jett talking to her. It was mostly just a mumble but his sorrowful voice was shaky and sad. He waited a little longer than he should have, jealousy pinching at him even though he tried to push it away. He wished he was enough for her, but what drove her needs caused her to stretch out to yet another. He listened to Jett softly pleading then heard Cait speak faintly. He opened the door. Jett had her in his arms rocking her and running his hand down her face. He glanced up and grinned, before dropping his head back down, talking to her again.
‘Glow, why did you go there? You would have stayed safe if you didn’t leave the beach. You can’t go putting yourself in danger like that. You have too many of us that love you. Please don’t frighten us all like this. Poor Axon is beside himself, he thought he lost you.’
She touched his face and traced his frown and spoke ever so quietly. ‘He’s not the only one,’ she said and dropped her arm.
He took the hand she touched him with and kissed it. ‘Don’t go giving me cheek young lady, you are meant to be getting growled at, not making me smile.’
He was lovely with her and Axon could see why she was so attached. Thank goodness theirs was only friendship and even though he had another twinge of jealousy and wished it were he who could have woken her, he was thankful she was at least awake. This was the second time Axon had seen Jett use his powers to bring her around. His magic was incredibly strong and right now, Axon was thankful Jett was at least using it for good.
Jett laid her carefully back in bed and told her to sleep, promising he would return to visit her a bit later. She looked at him for a minute and closed her eyes. There was no smile, but she was on the mend.
When they entered the computer tower, Woody and Rory sat scanning the sky for trouble. Kayden was standing impatiently. His barn and one of his prize horses were gone. There had to be a massive rebuild and until then they had to live away from home. He was furious behind the mask of politeness when he shook Hades’ hand.
‘Hades,’ was all he said.
‘Kayden.’ Hades’ response was the same tone.
‘This is Woody and Rory,’ Axon introduced them
.
‘Boys.’ Hades nodded, not extending a hand to the others that he felt were less than his godly status; a trait Axon hoped Caitlin could change in him.
‘Moonjuice,’ Rory offered as he poured one for himself. His eyes flickered with annoyance. Axon guessing it was to settle himself down rather than the ones he offered it to. He would feel Caitlin’s health was still poorly and know Hades held the key to who planted the bomb. He was holding his temper in check, only by the looks of his body language as he leaned up against the wall he was ready to take Hades on there and then.
Woody turned in his chair. ‘Is it Hades or Jett?’
‘Hades to you.’ His own eyes flashed dark and marbly. Black smoke curled up and around him. To these men, in this room, he was a god and ruler of the underworld. The change surprised Axon. He had only ever appeared to Axon and Caitlin as Jett. It was only now Axon got the extent of Caitlin’s powers. She had done a remarkable job and suddenly Axon felt so proud of her he wished she was here so he could hug her with thanks. Jett was so much easier to handle.
It was their first time any of the men had met Hades and the tension was thick as they sat down at the NAVable to talk.
Straightforward in his questions, Kayden was relentless as usual. Hades sat back, and firstly negotiated terms. ‘And furthermore, I insist that none of this leaves the room and that the situation is to be discreetly handled and without bloodshed.’
To reassure him but not to sugar coat it, Axon intervened. ‘As peacekeepers the men here are bound by a code to handle this situation strictly by the law and for your sake, discreetly. However, if all negotiations fail during follow up of what is said here today and the culprits persist in future attacks, this will be out of our hands. They will suffer the consequences, and can expect to feel the full force of our Celestial Laws.’
Axon leaned back in the chair. He allowed Kayden to fire off questions as to why the hit was on his farm and not Rory’s. He wasn’t happy as they had nothing to do with the planets and wanted answers. Kayden and Woody’s jaws dropped as Jett unfold the plot to kill the Cloud Riders and why. It was Hades talking and the no nonsense god was direct and at times quite arrogant. He did soften slightly when Kayden flared up on finding out it was one of his own rulers from the stars.
‘Orion! You mean the ruler of the constellation Orion’s Belt – that Orion!’
‘Yes. The son of Poseidon, Orion.’
‘You’re kidding! Why would he? We have nothing to do with the war going on between the Planets. That’s bullshit!’ Kayden stood, knocking his chair backwards and it smashed loudly into the wall.
Axon stood up calmly and picked up the chair. ‘Kayden, sit man, let him finish.’
‘I will not sit here and put up with my team taking the blame because you lot can’t sort out your own back yards. Hell, Cait’s nearly dead, was dead and I and my boys are practically homeless.’
Hades stood and bellowed so loud they froze. ‘Sit, fool!’
He flicked a finger and the chair slipped under Kayden which forced him to sit. It then pulled in close to the table. ‘Axon!’ Hades gestured for him to sit too.
Axon put his hand up defensively and sat as ordered. It left the men at the table speechless.
Hades continued once he had their attention. ‘Now,’ he sighed and his voice was less boisterous. ‘As I was saying, Orion has been well aware of the war going on between our planets. He has personally attended many of our meetings, willing to lend a hand.’
‘But why us?’ Kayden may have been made to sit but was still vocal.
‘He’s still stewing as it was your Cloud Riders that stopped him and his dogs hunting for cattle on Taurus. He feels he was robbed in the treaty.’
‘You’re kidding!’ Woody spoke up, receiving a stern look from Hades.
‘I will address leaders, Kayden and Axon. If you have to be here, please refrain from comment.’
Woody was about to open his mouth when Hades flicked a finger towards him and his mouth closed shut. He blinked and eyed Kayden and shrugged. Woody was a man with much patience. His love for magic would find this fascinating and most likely would be trying to figure out how to harness it, use it on others that annoyed him.
It was about then that Axon wondered if he should go and get Caitlin to keep the god calm. He had never seen him in action before and his magic seemed equivalent to Zoren’s. Axon could hold his own against the archangel, but about Hades, in this mood, he wasn’t sure. Hades struggled with a need to stay in touch with a friend that he had to have in his life. This made him a dangerous man.
Hades sat forward and eyed Kayden with contempt. Axon could see the god had become annoyed with him interrupting with petty grievances. Gods don’t concern themselves with possessions and material items. Kayden’s concerns of rebuilding were tiresome and an unimportant statement. Hades spoke with authority.
‘What can I say? The man enjoyed a good steak and I agree with him, there’s none better than the taste of that breed of cattle. Anyway—’ He shifted in his seat. ‘Orion stayed reasonably calm until Axon here went down to Earth and sourced what, Orion refers to as “the planet posse”. That’s when things heated up. He vowed revenge because there were going to be two sets of law-abiding do-gooders, and he felt that was two too many.’
Axon couldn’t help but grin at what he called his Riders. Hades noticed his amusement with the name and his eyes smiled in recognition of his reaction. It confirmed to Axon Jett would always be in Hades somewhere for him. They had become mates and it felt good. Seeing Hades’ reaction to the others and then to him made what they had special. Now he understood why Caitlin worked so hard to make it happen. Being enemies with Hades and his family would never have solved anything. Gods don’t give in.
Hades sat back, speaking again. The pauses gave them too much time to think, or was that his strategy? ‘Orion coordinated the first strike on the farms and yes, our family sanctioned the first hit but not this one. The first was more of a test of the waters to see how good the Riders were. We didn’t expect the female to be so strong and that was when we decided to kidnap her, take her out of the equation. Maybe we could turn her to our side. Her being Glow Girl and now known to be Cait, the fiancée of Axon here.’
Axon nodded. ‘Yes it must have been quite a shock when you realised who you had kidnapped.’
Hades saw Kayden’s look and explained. ‘You see, there was a twist of fate that none of us expected. I was away with my family and we met what we thought were tourists, Wolf and Glow Girl, on Delphinus Island. In fact we all lied and introduced ourselves with an alias, for want of a better word. Glow Girl sprinkled me and my family with joy and who would have known the smallest package of us all would turn out to be the most powerful weapon in our planet system.’ His eyes softened as he spoke of her and Kayden saw the change and gave a slight grin. His Cassie has done the same to tyrants in his star system.
Hades ran his hand through his hair as if clearing Cait from his mind. ‘Anyway it has changed a bit for us now. My family, after today, now know Glow is a part of the Macros. They’re not happy with the revelation.’ He turned to Axon. ‘To be truthful, for my part in keeping you both a secret, I’ve been put on the outer for now. Not confided in or trusted.’ His face became emotionless as he continued. ‘Axon, you must understand my position, that even though they are cross with me, I still back them with this move. They have been insulted and it has become a pride issue. They will continue in their quest to have me back in the planets with them so our plans haven’t changed. However, what has changed is that they have no interest in eliminating your team.’
Axon inhaled and stress had him on his feet. ‘Moonjuice anyone?’
‘Ambrosia,’ Hades said.
Woody put his thumb up and Hades removed the magic held over him. Woody grinned, showing no disgruntled mood towards Hades. Axon was a fan of Woody and more so now. He was made of good humoured genes.
‘Yes thanks.’ Woody said.
<
br /> Axon poured the gods’ elixir in a goblet and passed it to Hades. He flipped the lid off two carottles of moonjuice and handed one to Woody. The other he sipped as he contemplated his next move. He had promised to handle this discreetly so needed to settle down.
Once Hades felt Axon was back in control he continued. ‘To cut a long story short, Orion attended our last summit where I persuaded the affiliates to stand down for a few days. This was to give the newly engaged couple some time off.’ He glanced at Axon. ‘It wasn’t opposed by immediate family as they had talked about spending a couple of days at the Island resort, Delphinus. The one that none of us expected to go it alone, was my nephew. We were stunned when we found that Orion would take this opportunity to avenge his loss of Taurus. His plan was to put the Cloud Riders out of action first. He hoped to tie up the watch dog of Taurus, the wizard Aldebaran and his other rival, the warlord Conom. He felt sure they would head to Earth to assist Aldebaran’s daughter, Cassie to get back on track and in the air again.
‘With no interference, he could go to war with the ruler of Taurus. His army has never been stronger and the intention was not to kill the ruler Aurus, but to bring him to his knees and win back his right to hunt there. It was pure luck his father called in to see him and Orion confided in him.’
He shifted in his seat, his body language revealing how stupid he thought it to be. ‘He had no idea the Macros had gone down to stay with the Cloud Riders when he had put the hit on them. Or that Glow would see it coming and try to save the horses. Poseidon told Calyx what was going on, but Calyx didn’t worry about it until I told him Glow was on holidays on Earth. Somehow, Calyx put two and two together. That’s when he confronted me and I had to tell him that Glow and Wolf were really Caitlin and Axon and part of the team that made up the Macros. Calyx, even though angry I had kept it secret, liked Glow and Wolf enough to do his best to prevent it. He wasn’t quick enough, as we now know, to stop the attack or the explosion. By the time he got there it was over and Glow Girl’s lifeless body was lying on the ground. That’s when he summoned his son, Apollo, to fix his “stupid nephew’s mistake”, as he termed it. He’s furious with me for lying to him and Orion’s banished from further involvement in their war.’