by Maggie Walsh
* * * *
The moment the blackness faded and everything came back into view, Micah knew they were out of the dream and back in the real world. Only a few thousand of Hades’s men remained, and all their other people were fighting them. It looked like Lucifer, Phenex, Ryland, and the others had been busy keeping to the plan and killing the enemy while they slept. He had hoped they would have been able to kill Hades and Minos, but it was not so. Even Minos, who Jesse had killed in the dream, was still standing.
“You are all a lot smarter than I gave you credit for, Prime. That was a genius move if I do say so myself. You were all told that you and your family would have to stand together in the final battle, but I didn’t think you would realize that meant you could get help from all of them. When just the few of you faced me, I was elated, and a bit disappointed I must confess, thinking that it would take me but a moment to do away with all of you, but this,” Hades said, raised his arm, and motioned around him, “is impressive. Put us all to sleep, and you can fight us in the dream world, distracting me while the rest of your family and friends come in and kill my legion as they lay sleeping. Minos and I have seriously underestimated you all. But now I get to have my fun for real this time as I kill all that you love, one by one and make you watch, and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Hades threw up his arm again to the side, and a fireball flew from his hand. Cass screamed out, “No!” Micah turned to see the fireball crash against Shay’s back. He was still kneeling on the ground, crying with Kia’s head in his lap. The fireball exploded around him, engulfing him and Kia. Cass shifted and took off toward Hades, growling and snapping. He flew into the air, claws out, mouth open. Just as he was about to make contact with the god, Hades raised his hand and gave his wrist a twist. Micah could hear Cass’s neck snap right before he dropped to the ground dead.
A wave of loss washed over him, and tears burned the backs of his eyes. Micah clenched his jaw to hold them back. Now was not the time to mourn their loss. He needed to stay focused on the battle ahead.
“Three down. How many more shall I kill? Let’s see, Guardian, you love a good joke from what I hear. So, eenie, meenie, minie, moe, who will I separate from their mate next? Hmmm, how about, you,” Hades said and turned his gaze toward Rory. Rory clutched his throat, clawing at it as his lips turned blue and his eyes opened wide, the whites going red.
Raith threw his hands up, and a wall of water smashed into Hades, throwing him off his feet, and the battle was back on.
Raith and Aaron ran to Rory, but it was too late—he lay dead on the ground. Aaron screamed and cried as he threw himself over Rory, holding him tight. Raith snapped his head in Hades’s direction and ran toward him. Immediately, Lexi, Xander, Xavier, and Liam took off after him. They all stopped short of Hades and clasped hands. A towering vortex came rolling through the forest from the right, one of the highest tornadoes Micah had ever seen. It swirled with mud, water, and fire, shooting lightning out in all directions. A few of the demons that still stood were hit by the lightning and were thrown off their feet. Nuriel, Ryx, Duma, and Zephon ran toward them, stabbing each with their angel swords as the demons fell.
Micah took off toward Hades as he saw him lift off the ground and move away from the vortex, but before he could get to him, a large energy ball flew past him. Micah watched as the blast hit his father, knocking him to his back. Evan sank down beside Raphael and began to cry and wail. He looked up and thrust his hands forward. Everything in the path of his wind blast flew through the air, some crashing into the trees. Gabriel, Taylor, and Shelby were able to drop flat to the ground before it hit, but Aaron, Crew, and Bailey went flying.
Micah saw Jesse stop in front of Minos, and the demigod held up his hand. Immediately, Phenex stepped in front of Jesse and faced Minos. “I will not let you harm my son, Minos.”
Minos gave Phenex a smirk. “We finally meet again, Phenex. Too bad it is on the day I will kill your son, but I will give you one more chance to save his pathetic life. Come to me and be mine and I will spare him and his mate, but refuse me, and I will make him suffer greatly before I kill him. Maybe I will keep him alive for a few years and play with him until he begs for death, remembering that his father could have spared him but chose not to.”
“All of this because you saw me once and wanted me? I don’t get it, Minos. There has to be more to this than that,” Phenex replied.
Minos’s eyes darkened as they filled with anger. “Every time I met someone I wanted, Zeus took them from me. First Lucifer, then you. He had no right. His holier-than-thou attitude and how he is allowed to bed whoever he wants, but the rest of us must follow his rules, the rules he himself doesn’t follow, isn’t fair. I will not let him dictate who I can have or not anymore. I told him my intentions for you, and he sent you to the Underworld for eternity to lead the legion. That bastard needs to pay for the suffering he has caused others. Now enough stalling. Come with me and be mine or say good-bye to your son.”
“You’re such an asshole, Minos,” Phenex said simply as he stared in disgust at the demigod. “After Zeus sent me to the Underworld, where did he send you, you fucking moron?”
When Minos just stared at him in confusion, Phenex rolled his eyes in exasperation as he sighed. “He sent you to the Underworld, too. He made you the head judge. He gave you the strongest power in all of the Underworld besides Lucifer and Hades of course. You told him you wanted me, and he sent me there, but then he sent you there. You had a millennium to come to me.”
“No, because you found Ryland,” Minos sneered.
“That was many years after I was sent to be commander of the legion. What is your excuse then, asshole? You could have come to me at any time, but you didn’t. I would have told you no had you come, but you could have tried.”
“You would have told me no?” Minos asked in confusion.
“Is it such a hard thing to believe that I would have turned you down? Did you think all this time that if you had been given a chance that I would have jumped at the chance to be with you and maybe fall into your arms? Honestly, I may have said yes at first, but probably not. You’re not my type.”
“So all of this…all this time and you wouldn’t have…”
“Do you not remember we did have a night together many years before Zeus appointed me commander, and you walked away? You said that no angel, demigod, or god should ever be tied down to one other. That it was our right to spread the love to whoever we wanted. I said that was not for me. I wanted the one I could love. You walked away,” Phenex said, giving Minos a pointed look.
Minos stood there staring at Phenex for a moment before his brows dropped low and his eyes narrowed. “That was you?”
“Duh. I was still only a soldier then, but yes.”
“Wait a fucking minute here. This asshole fucked you over and walked away, then how many years later saw you again and decided he wanted you? Then Zeus sent you away, but then Zeus sent him there after you, and all of this crap is still because he wants you as his own?” Jesse said in shock.
“That about sums it up,” Phenex replied with a smirk.
“So this shit with him is really all for nothing. He turned his back on the gods and joined Hades for revenge and caused so many a shit ton of pain because he’s a demigod with fucking dementia and forgot that he actually had you once but blew his chance because he was a ho? You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Taylor huffed angrily from next to Jesse, who was just standing there watching their exchange with confusion written all over his face.
“It makes no difference the why’s and the who’s. Minos is a sick, twisted fuck who is evil and deserves to be put down like the rabid dog he is,” Jesse seethed.
“The Heart is right. It doesn’t matter anymore how or why this started and my part in it. I believe in Hades and am loyal only to him. So seeing as you will never come to me, Phenex, prepare to see your son die, then you will follow him into the afterlife,” Minos replied, then threw u
p his hands, but was surprised to realize his powers still didn’t work here in the real world. Jesse let out a loud, angry scream as he ran at Minos and punched him in the chest as hard as he could, driving his fist through skin and bone, impaling the demigod. Minos’s eyes went wide as his jaw fell open and a gurgling sound came out, and blood dripped from his lips. Jesse ripped his hand back, dripping with blood, and held Minos’s heart in his hand. Minos swayed forward and dropped to his face on the ground. Jesse let the heart roll from his grasp and land on Minos’s back.
“Now that’s how you stop evil. Nice job, son,” Phenex said, but Jesse didn’t acknowledge him. Jesse’s gaze was focused across the field, and it appeared as if his body moved on autopilot as he stepped over Minos’s body and headed straight for Hades. Tears ran down Jesse’s cheeks. His eyes, filled with rage and torment, were fixed on Hades. Micah knew he had to get to Jesse so they could face Hades together.
Just then a large Nephilim jumped on Phenex’s back, and he and Taylor began to fight the creature.
Micah raced to Jesse’s side just as Hades faced him, an evil smile on his face. “You two will be my last,” Hades said and lifted a hand toward them, and Micah became immobile. He looked to Jesse from the corner of his eye and saw that his mate also stood unmoving.
“Watch all the fun,” Hades said as he walked around them.
Micah was powerless to help his family. Hades’s gaze directed toward a crop of trees and suddenly Milo, Josh, and Ash flew into the air so high they became small dots. Micah wondered how high the ceiling of the protective barrier Ryland had placed over his lands truly was. Hades turned away from them and continued walking as Ryland and his men, as well as Dare’s dragons and the Legion Warriors, fought with demons all around him.
As Hades walked past a despondent Evan, he flung his hand to the side and swatted Evan away like a bug. Evan shot across the yard and landed hard. Micah could see that he wasn’t breathing.
Hades stepped over a few bodies, and Micah’s heart sank to see that they were the boys from Evan and Dad’s house, Syn, Tucker, and Shane.
A sickening thud that sounded wet with crushing bones came from his left and Micah could just move his eyes enough to see that it was his brother Ash and his nephews Milo and Josh as they landed back to the earth. More tears threatened to fall as Micah started to lose hope.
Valor and Colby ran toward Hades, each blasting him with their fae magic, but it did nothing. Hades reached out with both hands, wrapping them around Valor’s and Colby’s throats, then squeezed. Both men clawed at his hands as Hades lifted them off their feet, then crushed their necks until their heads popped off, rolled away, and their bodies plummeted to the ground.
He heard Harley curse and shifted his eyes toward him. Harley and Falcon were trying desperately to pull three demons off the back of a dragon. One of the demons made it to the dragon’s neck and sliced a demon sword across its throat, beheading it. Dragon blood spurt out and rained down on all around it, including Harley and Falcon, and each of them started to scream in agony as their flesh was burned with the acid from the dragon’s blood. Micah noticed that a few of Phen’s Legion Warriors were also hit with the spray and they too were writhing on the ground.
Christian came into his view, a large boulder hovering over his head. Raffy stood beside him and thrust his hands toward the boulder, and it flew out, hitting a group of demons. Hades spun around and threw out his hand. Christian and Raffy instantly exploded into a million pieces.
“No!” Jesse cried from beside him, and Micah could feel his mate’s anguish.
Hades turned his head to look at them, an evil glint in his eye as he smiled at Jesse. “Not even the all-powerful Heart can save them now,” Hades taunted and turned to face where Crew, Xander, Shelby, and Haven stood fighting. Hades took a deep breath, then puckered his lips and blew in their direction. As the force of the wind hit them, they each froze, encased in ice. The demons they had been fighting laughed as they blasted them with energy balls, shattering the ice and their family within, into a billion pieces.
Three dragons swooped down toward Hades’s head and breathed fire at him. Hades cried out in pain as he tried to turn away. One of the dragons shifted into a wolf, and Micah knew it was Dante. The wolf flung himself at Hades’s chest, taking him to the ground as the wolf ferociously scratched, clawed, and bit the god. Hades threw a punch, hitting Dante in the temple. Dante lost his hold on Hades and rolled away. Hades jumped to his feet and looked down at his mangled chest and grinned. Micah watched as every tear, bite, and scratch healed within seconds.
Dante got to his feet and shifted to his human form, his chest heaving heavily as his gaze locked on Hades and began to glow red. Dante’s fangs sprang from his lips, and his claws shot from his fingertips. He disseminated and reappeared behind Hades. He clasped the god’s head, embedding his claws in Hades’s skull, and bit his neck, impaling him with his long, sharp fangs. Hades yelled out and fought to grasp Dante to dislodge him, but Dante held on tight. The two dragons flew down again, but this time Hades was ready for them. His arm grew to a freakish length, and he grabbed one by the wing and the other by the foot, then slammed them together hard and released them. Once they hit the earth, one shifted back, and Dale lay on the ground dead. The other dragon, Dare, stumbled to his feet, shaking his head. Dante pulled his fangs back and cried, “Bello! Dare!” Dare, still in dragon form, turned to face Dante. As their gazes met, a rogue disseminated on Dare’s back at his neck and swiped a demon sword across his throat, beheading him. Dante froze as tears rained down his cheeks. It was enough of a distraction for Hades. He threw his arm around behind him and seized Dante, ripping him from his back. Once Dante was in front of Hades, long talons grew from the god’s fingers, and he rammed them into Dante’s chest. Dante’s eyes opened wide for a moment as his mouth dropped open in a silent cry. Micah watched as the life left his best friend’s eyes. Hades tossed Dante aside and turned his head to look at Micah, giving him a victorious smirk.
Hades turned away again and began walking through the bodies laid out covering the ground. Then Micah’s heart clenched as he watched Hades walk up behind Phenex, who was battling four demons and grasped him by the shoulders, lifted Phen off his feet, and raised him high above his head. Hades lifted his leg, his knee bent, and drove Phen down hard against the knee. Micah could hear the breaking of bones and Jesse screamed. He could feel Jesse’s anguish. Micah needed to stop this and protect those that were left. He needed to protect his mate. He fought against the hold on him, but nothing worked. Hades raised Phenex high again and brought him down harder, ripping him in two, then threw the pieces to the side as he walked on. “Fuck!” Micah seethed as he kept trying to struggle against the invisible band around him, holding him in place.
Maddy, Sage, Slade, Marcus, Zane, Adam, and Thaddeus all stepped out in front of Hades. Maddy and Sage held hands as they each raised the other, and a black fog shot from their palms, the cloud building as it rushed toward Hades. He stopped in his tracks as he began to cough and choke. Mitchell in his lycan form ran up behind Hades and wrapped his long arms around him, then began to squeeze. Hades cried out in pain.
A bolt of lightning came from Thaddeus’s hand and struck Hades in the head. Marcus threw an energy ball, and Hades convulsed in Mitchell’s grasp. Slade stepped forward and touched Hades’s forehead. A light began to grow, and Hades shrieked. Suddenly Micah could breathe again as his body unlocked and he could move. Jesse sighed beside him, and they grabbed hands, rushing toward the group.
As they went, Micah stopped and looked down at his feet. Aaron lay with his eyes open and lifeless, with Samuel beside him, also unmoving. Jesse gasped, and tears sprang to Micah’s eyes. They each looked around at the destruction, horrified by what they saw.
Liam and Xavier lay together on the ground motionless, both covered in blood. Xavier had a large gash across his chest, his entrails poking out of the hole as blood oozed. Liam was no better as Micah looked closer and
saw that his throat had been cut straight through and his head wasn’t attached.
The ground rumbled and shook violently, and Micah looked up, spotting Lexi standing on a mountain of dirt and rock. He was naked and covered in blood from head to toe, his chest heaving, and his face contorted in rage. He threw his arms up into the air, and the earth around him thrust up over two hundred feet high, then came crashing down around him. More than thirty demons crushed underneath. Lexi sank to his knees. His gaze met Micah’s, and in his head, he heard Lexi’s voice. “They killed my baby. I’ll join him now. Don’t let them win.” Micah saw the light leave his eyes as Lexi fell over sideways and joined Bailey in death.
A loud explosion came from the left, and Micah and Jesse turned. Marcus, Adam, Maddy, Sage, Zane, and Thaddeus were all thrown high as their bodies were struck by lightning. They each came back down with a hard thud and snapping of bones. “No!” Slade cried through clenched teeth and rushed Hades. Mitchell now lay lifeless at his feet. But before Slade could reach him, Hades clapped his hands together hard, and Slade stopped instantly and plunged to the ground.
Viktor and Nicco disseminated right behind him, and each grabbed him, sinking their fangs into either side of his neck. Hades roared out as he spun in circles trying to dislodge them.
A dark black dragon swooped out of the sky, crashing into Hades’s front. Nicco and Vik were thrown free, but each ripped flesh as they went, and Hades was knocked to his ass. Micah and Jesse took off again, and Micah shifted into his wolf and pounced on Hades, clawing and snapping. He felt flesh tear under his paws, and his jaw latched onto Hades’s arm, tearing into muscle. Hades howled and began to grow. In seconds his body doubled in size. Micah dug in deeper trying to remain attached.
Jesse screamed out, “Die, motherfucker!” but nothing happened. Hades continued to grow.
