Page 21 of Chaos Unleashed

“You may end me, but you won’t stop the uprising; the princes will set us free, and we will devour the realms,” the Wraith hisses.

Through my surprise that he has enough mental function to be able to speak, I manage to reply, “Mate, that’s a creepy choice of words.”

Before he can reply, my sword slices through his neck like butter, and I kick his head away from his body. There’s no time for me to question the fact that a Wraith could fucking communicate and what that could mean, as I see one twice the size of the ones I fought barrelling straight toward Khaos who is already fighting off three of his own Wraith’s. Running toward him, I realise that Khaos is truly enjoying the fight and has a massive smile on his face as he battles, he easily fits in with the rest of us purely because of his bloodthirsty nature.

I’m still too far away to get to the barrelling Wraith before he’s going to get to Khaos, and if he manages to get to him, then Khaos is going to get overwhelmed within seconds. Still running, I call on my shadows and set them free, feeling Storm’s shadows join mine as he must see the same thing that I do. Our shadows wrap around the Wraith and help to stop its progress, giving me enough time to catch up to him and intercept him so he can’t get to Khaos; I quickly dispatch him and then look up, seeing that they’ve all been killed. Not only do the guys have at least two Wraiths dropped on the floor around them, but Meri and Poca must have been following us fairly closely because they’re standing over a few as well.

Chapter Eight

Killian

I’m not really sure why they decided not to stick with us, but they quickly separated from us when we left the first town, probably because it's pretty difficult for them to blend in; I catch glimpses of them every now and then, but for the most part, they stay hidden. I know that the only reason that they’re staying with us and not running off ahead is because they’re watching over us and keeping us safe for Farren.

“Thanks, mate,” Khaos says as he wipes his sword on the grass, a massive smile exposing his sharp teeth.

I grin, “Anytime.”

“They were Wraiths,” Mayhem states the obvious, “Underworld Wraiths.”

“Underworlders can’t turn into Wraith’s. It has never happened before,” Grey says, staring down at the now very dead Wraith at his feet. “I thought that Underworlders were somehow escaping into the Fae realm, and then getting turned into Wraith’s because they can’t handle the differences in the Realm’s, but this suggests that Underworlders are capable of being turned while they’re here.”

“Don’t forget that there is a lot of unrest in the Underworld at the moment; there is a possibility that the princes are having a cause and effect on the natural order of the Underworld.” Mayhem points out the wheels in his mind clearly turning in a direction that none of ours are. “I mean, have you ever been away from the Underworld for this long before?”

Hades shakes his head, looking thoughtful, “No, never.”

“Then it might just be the natural effect of not having the god of the Underworld here and the Princes causing shit,” Mayhem reasons. “Even though you’re not in your role right now, I would bet that the Underworld itself recognises that you’re here and that just your presence will be having a positive effect of balancing things back out.”

Grey’s eyebrows raise in surprise, “I hope you’re right.”

“There’s something different about these Wraith’s though. I don’t know if it's just because they're Underworld creatures but one of the ones that I killed threatened me,” I say, and then repeat what the supe said before I behead him, “normally, Wraith’s are completely mindless and definitely not capable of communication. This one was able to talk in complete sentences and the whole group seemed fairly well organised.”

“That is incredibly concerning,” Grey says as his eyes study all of the wraiths scattered around us.

“You said that he was particularly skilled, so he retained a lot of skills from his past life?” Khaos asks me, and I nod, “Can you show me him?”

“Sure,” I reply, as I glance around the bodies before heading back toward the supe that I killed.

Khaos is silent for a second as he studies him and then curses, “He was one of the soldiers that worked at the castle when Hades and I were there; he was a good soldier.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry, man,” Loki says, offering his sympathy and clapping him on the shoulder.

Khaos shakes his head, “I didn’t know him well, but it's shocking that to see someone I used to know is fucked up.”

“It really is,” Reaper agrees with a frown.

“Can you use your hellfire to get rid of the bodies here, or will it alert people to your presence?” Storm asks.

Grey’s eyebrows dip slightly, but he answers, “It should be okay; there are enough supes here that can use hellfire that it shouldn’t raise any alarms.”

Khaos glances at Poca, who I’m surprised to find hasn’t slunk off again yet, and asks, “Care to help Cerb?”

Poca barks once, and I watch in fascination as he starts to incinerate the bodies closest to him while Grey does some of the others. I had no idea that he could do that. Once he’s finished, he comes around to all of us; Meri curled up on his back and checks us all over, receiving strokes in the process. Once he’s satisfied that we’re all okay, he barks once at us, almost as if warning us not to get into any more trouble, and then moves into the treeline again, disappearing from sight.

We all share a look; as much as I’d like him to stick with us, he probably is safer in the woods, and it’s not like we could force him to stay with us; it’s Poca. He’ll do what he wants. He’s like Farren in that way.

“Come on, let's find somewhere to rest for the night, and then we can head off again soon,” Storm suggests.

Khaos claps Grey on the shoulder and adds, “We’ll figure it out, but you heard the bartender it's not going to be as simple as you just turning back up. The princes have loyal followers here, and you will need an army to take back your realm. Which means you need to find people who are loyal to you and capable of fighting. You may be a god, but they’re demi-gods, and together, they’re fucking strong.”

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