Page 18 of Chaos Unleashed

Khaos shakes his head this time, “It’s unlikely, but even if they did, he wouldn’t be met with fear; the whole Underworld was devastated when he disappeared; he’s very much loved.”

Storm sighs, “There’s a tavern over there, let's see if we can get some more information from there and hopefully a room or two so we can get a couple of hours sleep before we set off again.”

Chapter Seven

Killian

It’s the best option we have right now since it’s not like we can ask a passerby for directions to the nearest place to stay, and more often than not, in small villages like this one, the taverns do it all. We ride around the back of the tavern to where the stables are, but unsurprisingly, there isn’t a stable hand there to take our horses from us.

“I’m not sure I like this,” Khaos mutters, his eyes scanning our surroundings shrewdly. “I’d suggest that we leave the horses untethered in case we need to leave in a hurry, which I’m starting to think is quite likely.”

“Agreed,” Grey replies as he gets off his horse and pats its neck.

“They’ll stay put without being tethered to something?” I ask. So far, we’ve tethered them to the trees where we’ve bedded down for the night.

“They’ll stay put unless they get spooked,” Khaos replies, as he too dismounts, “and it takes a hell of a lot to spook them. Usually, they just eat the things that scare them.”

“Well, there’s a slightly disturbing image,” Loki comments, stretching his back as he lands on the floor.

“Only because we’re used to Fae horses who only eat plants and shit,” Rival points out.

“Good point,” Loki replies.

Once we’ve made sure that the horses are safe and are able to bolt if they need to, we all head toward the door that leads into the tavern. I’ve already reminded myself where each of my weapons are, and my shadows are ready to be called upon if they’re needed. My magic is extremely close to the surface anyway, and it will stay that way until Farren is back with us and safe.

I’m used to willingly walking into situations that are going to get me killed, so I make sure that I’m the first one through the door. That way, I’ll be hit first if they’re hostile, and I can assess the situation before the others even make it through, which allows them precious time to escape and save themselves. At least that’s the theory, I know that if I get attacked they aren’t going to leave me behind.

As soon as we walk in, all movement in the tavern stops as everyone turns to look at us; I try to put them at ease with a smile, the smile that Farren likes to refer to as my kiss arse one. Unfortunately, it must be broken because as one everyone suddenly leaves.

Glancing at the bartender, who is watching us with a scowl, most likely due to us scaring off all of his business, my smile turns slightly sheepish, which seems to surprise him, “Something I said?”

He seems to consider whether he’s going to answer me or not as he looks over at the others standing behind me and comes to some sort of realisation and tension drains out of him.

“They think that you work for the princes,” he explains, “it’s never a good thing when the princes are around.”

Grey tenses, “They’re that afraid of the princes?”

The bartender looks at him like he’s been hidden under a rock before answering anyway, “Everyone is. The princes have made sure that. We need Hades to come back, but at this point, everyone is starting to lose faith that it will ever happen. I think he’s dead.”

I can feel the anger coming off of Grey at the bartender's words, and as his magic starts to build, I know that if he’s not careful, he’s going to burn through his glamour, and the bartender is going to get even more of a shock and have a ton of fucking questions.

Khaos grips Grey’s shoulder tightly warning him to reign it in, and then says, “With the amount of power the princes seem to have gained in Hades absence, I imagine that Hades wouldn’t be able to simply come back even if he was okay.”

Khaos is clever in the way that he phrases his words, and it does what he intended to do and gets more information out of the bartender.

The bartender immediately starts to shake his head, “No, he would need an army and a fucking big one at that. Underworlders are either loyal to the princes or far too terrified to defy them. The Helliers are sent out regularly to take unwilling people Underworlders with them. We have no idea what they did with them, and they're never seen again. "

"They're abducting people?" This time, it's Khaos's anger that fuels the question.

I can't say I blame him; the armies were his responsibility, and from what I've picked up from both him and Hades, Khaos was a fair but ruthless commander, and he believed in only the best. He wouldn't have wanted soldiers who didn't want to be there, and he wouldn't have taken anyone against their will.

The bartender once again looks confused but nods his head in confirmation.

“I think we all hope that Hades appears when he can and in a way that means he can successfully take out the princes,” Storm replies.

“Here, here,” the bartender replies, “you boys look like you’ve been travelling for a while and I can’t imagine that you’ve had a very good welcome here.”

“I can’t say that I blame anyone since the princes are so awful, and they thought we worked for them.” Reaper replies gruffly.

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