Page 8 of Chaos Unleashed

“Will that get rid of their magical signature as well? There’s not too much in the books about hellfire,” I ask, although me not knowing if there’s anything in the books isn’t saying much. I read enough to pass my classes and defeat my enemies; I don’t go in-depth like Mayhem.

“There’s a reason for that,” Hades smirks and then adds, “but yes, I have control over all of the hellfires, and I can use one that will ensure that there is no trace of their existence here.”

My eyes widen, and Zev looks impressed as he says, “We’re going to have to have an in-depth conversation about everything we don’t know but should know, but right now, we need to get going. I haven’t had a vision, but I have a sense of urgency riding me right now.”

Hades nods and lifts his hand, but before he does whatever the hell it is that he is going to do, he frowns and moves toward the body that’s closest to us. He bends down and then uses his magic to move the shirt away from the body's neck.

“What is it?” I ask curiously, seeing a strange marking I didn’t spot before.

“It’s the mark of one of the Princes and makes the Wraith’s appearance here in the Fae realm even more concerning.” Hades replies with a deep frown. He quickly goes to each body, and sure enough, they all have the same mark on them. “Fuck.”

“We need to get rid of them now,” Zev says urgently, “I’m sorry, but we’re running out of time, and it's going to be too late in a minute.”

Hades nods, and without any fanfare, he simply clicks his fingers as green flames engulf all of the bodies, destroying them within seconds.

“Impressive,” I say.

“Thanks,” Hades says, “we’re going to have to keep an ear out in the Underworld to see if there are any whisperings about the Wraith’s. I don’t like this at all.”

“That’s easy enough to do,” I reply. “Take Zev first, and I’ll keep an eye out for any more Wraiths; he can fill them in about what happened on this side while you come back for me,” I order, my eyes already on the area around us.

“Are you sure? I can take you both through at the same time,” Grey, I mean Hades, asks me.

I glance back and see the worry creasing the skin around his eyes, as Zev nods in agreement looking concerned.

“Yes, I’m sure. You said that it could trigger something and let the princes know that you were in the Underworld. We’ve gotten this far, and I really don’t want to risk anything delaying anymore.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Hades orders, clearly not happy about leaving me behind but knowing that I’m right and if we risk taking me through at the same time, we could compromise how quickly we can get to Farren and a few moments could be all it takes to have the Fates spin things out of our favour. I refuse to allow that to happen.

I turn my back to the door, or at least the area where Hades and Zev disappear because there’s not a door there. I figure that even though they’re in another realm, my team will still have my back, and I don’t have to worry about anything coming through the portal. My biggest threat is most likely going to come from in front of me. Hades kicked off a fuck load of power then, and if there are any more Wraith’s nearby then they would have been drawn to it.

I can’t help but try the link that I have with Farren to see if I can feel anything at all from her. My agitation grows when I can’t, and I wish that we knew more about this strange link that we share or even what it is; it’s not the Warrior Bond because it’s so much stronger than that, and it’s different, more intimate. I also know that it's not the Centre bond, from how it's described in books, what we’re taught, and how it feels. It's still not quite what we have. It's another one of those mysteries that I’m not sure we’re going to be able to look into until after the games, and with this taking as long as it is, I have no idea how long it's going to be until we have the time to look into it.

Movement at the edge of the treeline snaps me out of my thoughts and I tense, readying my shadows. They come quickly and feel stronger than ever but I pull them back when I realise that it’s simply a rabbit. No more getting distracted by the many mysteries we’ve got going on.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately considering how on edge I am, there are no more Wraith’s and it’s not long until I feel the magic start to build in the air again, letting me know that someone, hopefully Hades, is going to walk through the portal imminently.

“Did anything else happen?” Hades asks me curiously as I turn to greet him.

I shake my head, “Unfortunately not. Come on, let's go.”

He smirks at my response and then grips my shoulder. We take a step, and I feel the familiar sensation of the portal enveloping me. It’s definitely not my favourite way to travel.

When my foot hits the floor, though, we’re in the Underworld, and I take a moment to just look around at my surroundings. This is not somewhere that I’d ever thought I’d see, at least not without being dead first. We’re getting a rather unique look at the Realm and seeing parts of it that even those who die won’t get to see.

Where we’ve stepped into is a cobbled alleyway sandwiched between two stone-built buildings. Like most alleys, it stinks of piss and rotting food; I don’t have a wide view through the opening of the alley, but from what I can see, it looks just like any small town. The only difference that I can see so far is the supernaturals that walk past the end of the alley; they’re harsher somehow. I watch curiously as a supe with two tails, cloven feet, and a mouth of sharp teeth that take up most of its face moves across the end of the small alley. I have no idea what it's called, and in all honesty, so far I haven’t seen many that I could name. It brings up a concerning point, and I turn to Hades.

“How badly are we going to stick out?” I ask.

“I told you that was going to be what he was worried about,” Kill smirks, crossing his arms over his chest, his tail wrapped around his waist.

Hades grins, “We shouldn’t, although I’m going to have to put my glamour back on while we’re in the towns, I can’t risk being recognised and it getting back to the Princes.”

“Does that mean we should call you Grey again?” Loki asks.

“Probably for the best, at least while we’re around other supes,” Hades replies.

“Oh, thank fuck,” Mayhem blurts out, and when we all turn to look at him adds, “I was getting confused; I keep almost saying Grey and then having to switch, and it's driving me nuts.”

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