Page 9 of Chaos Unleashed

Khaos decides to chime in at this point, “Maybe it would be better to ease them into the name change, especially with them being here. They’re the only supes that will ever see this side of the Underworld, and I’ve got a feeling that we’re going to need them firing on all cylinders.”

Hades nods, “Agreed, you can all call me Grey again, we need to make sure that no one realises that I'm here anyway.”

His glamour falls back into place but quickly recedes again before once again covering him and staying in place.

“Is everything okay, old friend?” Khaos asks, looking concerned.

Grey shrugs, “It feels a lot more restrictive than it did, and when I pulled it on the first time, it made me panic. Like I wouldn’t be able to remove it, like when I was compelled to keep it on, I just had to check.”

“I think that’s understandable, dude,” Rival replies, “you had the choice taken away from you, and before that, you were held prisoner as well.”

“Who put the glamour on you in the first place?” Mayhem asks.

“A goddess told me that she did it, ” Grey replies. “I’m just starting to see that she had a good reason. Although when she first told me, she led me to believe that it had something to do with what happened when the Princes held me prisoner, and I'm now wondering whether it really was her who put it on me, things that I haven't noticed before are starting to make me question the truth of what I've been told.”

“Fucking hell. If it was her, she must have been pretty fucking strong,” Reaper observes.

“I’ll fucking say, which one of the dicks supposedly did it?” Khaos asks, seemingly pissed on Gray’s behalf.

“One of the Fates.” Grey surprises me when he answers, I felt almost sure that he wouldn’t bother or give some vague answer.

“Well, you know that they don’t do anything for no reason, and that reason is not likely to make sense to us. That includes lying about whether it was her that put the glamour on you,” Khaos sighs, seeming to accept the defeat of finding out the reasons behind Grey being forcefully glamoured and having the silencing spell on him as well.

“Wait, the Fates are goddesses?” Zev asks and then adds, “Not just a theory or vague notion but actual gods? Who I’m only now realising are a lot more tangible than they were to me recently.”

“Oh yeah, the Fates are goddesses, sisters, actually. They’re alright as far as the gods go, but tricky fuckers,” Khaos replies before Grey can.

“Wow,” Loki mutters and there’s not really much else that he, or actually any of us can say to that.

“This is fascinating, but if I’m judging what little of the sky that I can see correctly, then it's night here. Shouldn’t we find somewhere to rest and get a plan together?” Mayhem asks.

“Where can we stay? Do they have b&b’s here?” Loki asks.

Grey and Khaos share a look before Khaos speaks up, “I have a place where we can stay, but we need to get moving. It’s right on the edge of town but thankfully in the direction of the palace, so we can set out early.”

“Do we really have to get some rest before we go and find her?” Reaper asks, his eyes shifted to Ryu’s, and I know that he’s likely to be right on the surface until we can find Farren.

I nod, answering him, “Yes, we’ve had a long day, and we’re in an unfamiliar environment. When we set out, we want to make sure that we’re at our best, and we don’t want to make mistakes that could slow us down and mean that it takes even longer to get to Farren.”

“We know that you make sense,” Reaper says, speaking for both Ryu and himself, “but we don’t like it.”

“None of us do,” Grey agrees, his expression grave.

Khaos’s head tilts to the side as he studies Grey curiously, and I wonder what he’s seeing in Grey that is so different from the Hades that he knew.

He doesn’t say anything about it, though, as he simply moves through the rest of us, “I’ve already sent Cerb ahead to make sure that they know we’re coming and to prepare some rooms for us.”

“You mean Poca?” Loki questions.

Khaos nods, “Yes, he was getting far too anxious waiting here. It was best to give him something to do.”

“Good idea,” Rival agrees.

“Follow me,” Khaos orders us all.

I have to admit that I’m feeling ready to go and get our woman, but I know that I need to take my own advice. No matter how hard it is, I will be of no use to Farren if I’m tired and can’t control my magic properly.

You better stay fucking strong, Farren; we’re coming for you.

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