The Underworld (The Atlas Series Book 3) (23 page)

Poseidon barely shook his head in the negative. “If I know my brother, he’ll side with mother.”

Demeter was incredulous, “Even after being put to sleep for 2,000 years? And after his sisters and brother have been tortured just as long? I can’t believe it.”

Hestia gave her sister a look that suggested Demeter was insane. “You can’t? You
do
know Hades, right? He’d never go against mother.”

Kala didn’t want to join in the family squabble, but she thought she’d give them the information she had. “Last time I saw him, he was definitely on Team Rhea. He tried to stop us by setting an army of the dead on us.”

Hera snorted in irritation. “Hades is a fool and always has been.” Then she focused on Kala, curious. “I recognize the Grigori and the king of Demons, but who are you? You seem
human.
” The idea obviously confused her. “And you’re
alive
,” she added even more befuddled.

All the Olympians’ eyes were on Kala. She suddenly felt exposed. Kala would never tell them that she was half-Gaia, only Talan knew the truth of that, so she decided to go with what everyone else knew. “I
am
human. I got roped into the Atlas gig by accident and somehow I ate him.” That wasn’t vague at all.

Owen chimed in at their shocked faces, “I raised her, though she didn’t know I was Grigori. Kala has always been special.”

Such a dad.

Hera wasn’t letting it go, though. “
How
did you eat him?”

Kala shrugged. “Apparently, I have some Gaia-mojo inside me, but I really don’t know for sure. It seems to be a skill I have when my emotions run high. I almost consumed Cronus twice and Hades, too, when he turned my dead boyfriend into a puppet.”

Hera and the others kept to themselves after that. Kala could tell that they were processing the information and rating her threa
t level
.

Poseidon was the first to talk, “You were raised by Owen?”

“Yes.” It was hard for Kala not to feel as if she was on trial.

Poseidon nodded, though, as if coming to some sort of conclusion in his head. “Then you’re trustworthy.” And that was all he said.

As far as deities went, Kala decided she liked this crew the best. Of course, she hadn’t seen them in a fight yet, but it already seemed they were a notch above Zeus and Cronus’s style of the
nanny-nanny-poopy-pants
variety.

Suddenly Kala was flying through the air at lightning speed, then slamming hard against a boulder.

Ouch.

Speaking of fights.

Kala was on her feet, whirling around to see whom her enemy was.

Rhea and Hades.

Apparently, they had targeted Kala and Owen as Kala saw that her father had been thrown against a boulder a few rocks down from her.

Take out the most dangerous first,
she guessed.

Not that they needed to.

Kala almost gulped when she saw hundreds of dead soldiers charging the Grigori and the Olympians.

It was already a full out battle.

Rhea and Hades were busy with Asmodeus and Talan fighting side by side. Something Kala would probably never get used to. It still amazed her that Hades could puppet so many dead bodies without having to concentrate directly on them. The zombies fought as if they had minds of their own. The Grigori were making quick work of them, but the dead’s sheer numbers kept the battle going – and their resilience to losing body parts.

Owen joined her side.

Kala instructed, “You take Rhea. I take Hades.”

Her father nodded, already in combat-mode. Not only was he a Grigori, he was also a Navy Seal and Kala put more value in the latter at the moment.

Poseidon had joined in Talan’s fight against Hades while Asmodeus tried to take down Rhea. A small part of Kala felt bad for Owen as he’d now have to fight by Asmodeus’s side, but she didn’t have time to worry about her adoptive father’s feelings.

Hades was the one that controlled the army of dead and Kala needed to take down the source.

Just as Kala and Owen arrived, Hera and Demeter launched themselves at their mother, clawing and ripping at Rhea, taking out a couple millennia of rage.

But no matter how many supernatural beings came at mother and son, nothing seemed to affect them. It was as if they were protected by some kind of force field cased around their skin.

Owen shot out his purple fire at Rhea once more, but this time she laughed and swatted it away as if it were nothing. It didn’t stop Owen, though; he jumped into the fight using his black fire to try and blind Rhea. But nothing anyone did was having any affect.

Before Kala jumped in herself she yelled her observation over the chaos. “They’re protected by something!”

No one acknowledged her, too wrapped up in tearing the enemy to shreds.

Kala knew she was alone on this one, but her knowledge of the supernatural was weak. How would she be able to figure out how they were shielding themselves? Wracking her Atlas brain was no help, big surprise. The Titan had stayed hidden most of his life, like a sniveling coward, so he almost knew less than she did about Hades and the Underworld.

Then something the Grigori angel Ashliel had said to her echoed in her brain:
You do know the Grigori helped create the Underworld.

He may know something.

Kala fought her way to Ashliel’s side. He was at the center of the army of the dead, throwing black fire from his hands, popping zombie heads off like dandelions.

When Ashliel saw her he nodded toward Hades, yelling over the mayhem. “Shouldn’t you be playing with the big boys!?”

Kala had to shout back as she shoved and tossed soldiers aside to reach him. “Rhea and Hades are protected! You said the Grigori helped build this place. Any ideas on how to
un-protect
them?”

Ashliel continued to make heads fly as if he was having fun doing it, but his expression was lost in thought. Taking down any attackers that stepped too close to Kala, she batted them away in annoyance.

Finally, Ashliel nodded his head. “They’re using ‘The Veil’ as their own force field.”

“I’m sorry:
The Veil
?” Kala had no idea what the Grigori was talking about.

“What separates the living from the dead. The Veil was here long before Cronus’s protection spells. They probably figure they’ll finish with us quickly and restore what damage they may have done to The Veil after they’re done,” Ashliel grunted as a zombie lunged at him. He made quick work of the corpse, lighting the whole rotting body with black fire.

Kala kicked a dead soldier into a swarm of incoming zombies, giving her a little more time. “So what are you saying? We take down this
Veil
or something?”

Ashliel couldn’t hide the horror from his face. “I don’t think
that’s
a good idea. Removing the one barrier between the living and the dead would have colossal effects on the
living
world. But we might be able to disrupt it, long enough to capture Hades and Rhea and make our escape.”

Looking back at Rhea and Hades and their lack of injuries, made the decision a no-brainer. “We have to try,” Kala said desperately.

Ashliel nodded and signaled to Antel, who wasn’t far off. The female angel was holding her own against the zombie army, but even in the chaos she turned at Ashliel’s call. He pointed up, shouting, “Hades and Rhea are using The Veil for protection!”

The female Grigori instantly knew his intentions and nodded. Antel motioned to five Grigori, and then to Kala, yelling over the noise of battle: “We Grigori have to combine our powers to do this, so you’ll have to keep the dead off of us. No distractions.”

Since Antel was a distance away, Kala stayed with Ashliel and two of the Grigori while the other three set up a perimeter around Antel.

Giant beams of yellow fire burst out of Ashliel and Antel’s chests, shooting straight up to the Underworld’s gray sky.

It was hard enough fighting off the army of dead before this started happening, but the instant the yellow fire hit the wall of the Underworld, the zombies flew into a frenzy.

Kala could see Hades and Rhea scream in panic at seeing the columns of flames.
They know what it means
, Kala realized with certainty.

And they weren’t about to let it happen.

Corpses climbed over each other, trying to reach Antel or Ashliel. Kala fought with every ounce of strength she could muster, tearing off legs, arms, and heads, anything that would slow the attack.

Talan and Owen caught on before the others and charged their way toward Antel and Ashliel to try to protect them. The other Grigori followed their leads. Before Kala knew it, her small circle of three had become an army of ten. The other half of the Grigori did the same for Antel. Even Asmodeus was quickly by Kala’s side, screeching and causing the zombies to cover their ears long enough for Kala to decapitate them.

The only ones who didn’t abandon fighting Hades and Rhea were the Olympians. For them it was personal. But as the fire began to turn a bright white Hades and Rhea knew they were in trouble. Turning away from the fight, the duo tried to shake off Poseidon and his sisters.

Kala heard Ashliel’s voice scream, “NOW! OWEN! THE PURPLE FIRE!”

Owen’s hands shot out and Hades and Rhea were encapsulated with the purple flames of their prison. Within seconds of struggling to free themselves, they were locked in the Grigori cocoon once more.

All at once, the zombie army dropped, their puppet master no longer connected to them.

The white fire came flying down to disappear in both Antel and Ashliel’s chests.

From the deafening roar of combat to the eerie silence of the Underworld was jarring in its juxtaposition.

Poseidon was the first to recover. “Let’s move.”

Following in line, Kala, Asmodeus, the Grigori and the Olympians went with Poseidon to what Kala could only refer to as the “Ocean Exit,” since no one seemed to want to elaborate.

At a spot that didn’t seem different from any other place in the landscape, Poseidon stopped. He turned to Kala, “You’re the only one with human in you. Can you breathe underwater? I can give you a second layer of skin that will make it possible for you.”

Looking around, Kala realized she was the only one who wasn’t
all
supernatural, which meant she could potentially drown. But, after her experience in the River Styx, she knew she’d be okay. Shaking her head, Kala responded, “I’m alright. I was able to hold my breath indefinitely in the River Styx.”

Poseidon nodded in acknowledgement and turned to the sky. “Get ready to swim.”

Talan was by Kala’s side and said to the group, “As soon as we’re out of the Underworld we can teleport back to the Compound.”

Since some of the members of their team had no idea what
the Compound
was, everyone had to hold hands.

As serious as the moment was, Kala couldn’t help but wonder if they were breaking some kind of world record for the most people teleporting.

Poseidon locked hands with the end of the train and used his free hand to perform the spell that would let them escape. Saying words Kala barely recognized, she didn’t have time to wonder what they meant.

The sky of the Underworld cracked and broke as if made of glass. A giant tidal wave of water rushed through at terrifying speed, slamming down on the small group. It felt as if a skyscraper had landed on Kala’s head, but being more than human made it possible for her to survive.

It took a moment for Kala to appreciate the fact that the water was being dumped into an invisible cylinder the circumference of her party size.

Poseidon had punched a hole in the Underworld directly under the ocean.

Once the tube was filled, the water pressure subsided and the army swam up through the opening.

The darkness of the ocean was strangely vibrant and colorful compared to the grayness of the Underworld. Though Kala had already been resurrected, she felt a flush of energy soar through her as she swam in the icy waters. The sensation was invigorating.

Kala was on earth again.

She was home.

Chapter Seventeen

Talan didn’t waste anytime. As soon as their army had passed the borders of the Underworld, Talan tried to teleport them but…

Nothing.

Being in the ocean, Kala knew the only way to communicate was through telepathy.
What’s happening?
She asked Talan.

His response was immediate.
Something is blocking us from teleporting.

Cronus,
Kala guessed.