The Underworld (The Atlas Series Book 3)

by Becca C. Smith

  The need to know who her parents were was never a strong impulse for Kala, especially after Owen and Linda found her. Being lost in foster care was a difficult childhood, but somehow Kala always felt she was destined for something greater. In hindsight, maybe it was the fact that she was half-god. The thought was too insane to consider. It solidified for Kala that her destiny was always to become the next Atlas. To be a part of that crazy prophecy. Linked to the Atlas missions until some girl three hundred years from now frees her from the burden.

  And as always, Kala’s soldier mind took over. “Why are you here?”

  “Ah,” Gaia acknowledged. “Right to the point.”

  “You’re not going to try and stop me are you? Because I need to do this.” Kala really didn’t want to have a smack-down with her newly found mother if Gaia wanted the world to end, and she certainly didn’t think she’d win, but she’d fight to the death if she had to.

  “No. I love this earth the way it is, and as unfortunate as it is that you are now forced to do the unthinkable, it is necessary.” Gaia eyed Kala as if she were inspecting her. “I came here to tell you that the war between the Titans and the Olympians as it stands now is a foregone conclusion. I can’t stop it. I’ve never been able to stop them. But you might. There’s something about you that both sides want desperately. They know there’s a piece of me inside you, but they don’t know I’m your mother. I’m not sure how either side would respond to that.” Gaia placed her hands on Kala’s arms. “I need you to be careful. Stay close to Owen and please try and open yourself to Talan. There are some things you must trust, and his love for you is one of them. Jack was a good man, and he would have made a good Atlas, but that wasn’t his fate.”

  Kala cringed at the mention of Jack. “No, his fate was to be murdered by the woman who loved him.” She shrugged Gaia’s hands off her. “You’re not exactly telling me anything I didn’t know. Except for the you-being-my-mom thing,” Kala qualified. “I’ll always be on Owen’s side, but I want to stay out of a war. I just want to do my job and keep this globe spinning. If Cronus and Zeus get in my way, then I’ll deal with them, but I’m not fighting anyone.”

  Gaia nodded. “It’s more difficult than you think. But that’s what I wanted to hear. I think it best if you don’t tell anyone we met. My offspring can be very petty and jealous and it may turn against you.”

  “I’m not really into sharing, especially with any of your offspring.” Kala surveyed the cavern with exasperation. “Do you happen to know where Hades is?” Might as well ask.

  Gaia nodded, smiling at Kala as if she wasn’t going to see her for a while. “I hope we meet again some day,” she said.

  Before Kala could respond, Gaia reached up and touched Kala’s forehead.

  The grotto walls blurred, then came back into sharp focus.

  Kala wasn’t in the larger cave anymore.

  Sleeping at her feet was Hades.

  Chapter Nine

  Stepping into one of her Atlas visions was something Kala never thought she’d get used to. This was only the third, but it felt as if she were in a virtual reality déjà vu.

  This was it.

  Kala would wake up Hades and he’d send her to the Underworld.

  It didn’t exactly scare her, but it wasn’t something she wanted to rush into either. Maybe she could just sit there for the next two days and let her four-day time limit run to the last minute like the last two Atlas missions.

  But Kala wanted to get started on the next four days: to find Jack, get out of the Underworld, bring home the Olympians and complete her fourth Atlas task.

  There was nothing for it.

  Kala slowly played out her vision and reached down to wake Hades.

  Before her hand could touch him, the familiar grating sound of Cronus stopped her. “Can’t we talk about this?”

  Well, that never happened in Kala’s vision. She pulled her hand away, knowing it still wasn’t quite time yet to fulfill her duty. “What are you doing here?” She almost didn’t want to ask, for the simple reason of not wanting to hear Cronus speak again. It wasn’t as if she didn’t already know the answer.

  But still.

  Kala didn’t want Cronus to stop her from waking his son.

  Turning to see his annoying face, Kala gave him an impatient glare. “Well?”

  Cronus was still having trouble with how Kala addressed him. Being the god of everything pretty much guaranteed that anyone around you showed deference.

  But, yeah, Kala could care less.

  Now, knowing Cronus was her half-brother, made her grateful she was raised as an only child.

  She hadn’t quite yet processed the news of being Gaia’s daughter, though. Why didn’t Gaia’s other children inherit their mother’s powers? They had powers of their own. Kala only had Gaia’s. Was it because she was half-human? Was Gaia’s power the only thing that transferred out of the womb? It wasn’t as if Kala had grown up thinking she was different. She never had any Harry Potter moments where she accidentally performed some kind of magic trick she couldn’t explain. Jumping from one foster home to the next, Kala had developed survival skills that were completely driven by her fists and kicking ability. There were plenty of situations where she could have used some Gaia mojo, if only to scare the living crap out of the kids that bullied her.

  Not knowing her father’s identity was also an itch Kala couldn’t scratch. She respected Gaia’s decision not to reveal him, but it only reminded Kala of how gods loved to have their secrets. Not that Gaia was lording it over her, but it still equated to the same thing: closed lips. Owen would always be her true father; it would just be nice to finally know who her biological dad really was. According to Gaia, he didn’t even know Kala existed.

  Looking over at Cronus, she saw that he wore the same tailored black suit he had on the last time Kala saw him, with his distinguished short black hair and Titan bone-structure that most people would kill for. Cronus was older than dirt, but he looked to be a man in his forties.

  His voice was calm, almost sincere as he pleaded, “You’re here to wake Hades, aren’t you? You’ll start a war, you know.”

  There was that word again.

  War.

  “Keeping the Olympians in the Underworld won’t last. Zeus knows they’re there. He’ll find a way to get them out. Stopping me won’t prevent that.” Kala broke the news.

  Cronus couldn’t hide the shock from his face. “How did you find out?” was all that came out of his mouth.

  Kala shook her head. “Really? It wasn’t that hard to figure out after seeing my vision.”

  “Your vision?” Cronus stared at Kala with venom. “You’re saying your Atlas task is to wake up Hades?” He didn’t seem convinced.

  Kala wished Cronus would just go back to whatever hole he had crawled out from under, but she was stuck with him. “Yes, and he takes me to the Underworld where I spring out your kids.” That wasn’t exactly what the vision told her, but Kala enjoyed watching Cronus squirm. “Apparently, the universe thinks rescuing the Olympians is bringing balance, so if you want to fight the universe…”

  “Are you on Day Two now? I thought you were waiting until the last minute so you wouldn’t have to be tortured and all that,” he said dismissively.

  “Waking up your son didn’t seem so bad,” Kala taunted. “Besides, I still remember Atlas’s memory of when you said to him how on his next cycle, you’d drop the protections on Atlas. Which means I’m pretty much fair game to all the supernatural.”

  Cronus waved her comment away. “You can take care of yourself. You have Gaia in you and I saw what you did up there.” He pointed at the ceiling, indicating the dome of air Kala had created to best Oceanus. “My brother isn’t easily defeated. It’s such a waste that you’re on the wrong side. There’s so much I could do with you!” His face suddenly lit up, animated, excited at ideas only he could see. “If you’d only join me! I could teach you how to use your powers. No one could stop you. Not eve
n me!” He acted as if he admitted something he shouldn’t, but Kala saw right through it.

  “Listen, Darth, I’m doing fine on my own, thanks. And I can stop you any time I like. The one power I know I have is to swallow you whole,” Kala quipped.

  Cronus laughed. “You couldn’t contain me for long. I’d take over your body and Kala Hicks would be gone forever. Your naivety will be your downfall.”

  “Your ego will be yours. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have to wake up your kid.” Even though the moment didn’t match her vision, Kala didn’t know what else to do. She knelt down next to Hades and as she reached out…

  WHACK!

  Cronus threw her across the grotto, smashing Kala against the wall. The wind was knocked out of her, but instinct and training involuntarily moved her muscles and she jumped to her feet in a crouched position. When it came to brute strength, Cronus had her beat, but one thing she learned from her mother: even though the Titans were half-Gaia as well, they didn’t have access to Gaia’s powers, only Kala did. She wasn’t just Mother Earth’s daughter, she was something more. None of her other half-siblings could do what she had done, which was why they assumed Kala had somehow inherited some kind of Gaia-battery hard-wired into her being. If they were to learn that Gaia was Kala’s mother, who knows how they’d react.

  At the moment, Kala didn’t care.

  Jumping to her feet, Kala decided to play defensive: Cronus needed her to attack him, then he could toss her around like he had before.

  Sure enough, Cronus, stayed rooted where he was, hovering over Hades like his protector.

  Kala circled him, keeping at least twenty feet between them.

  Cronus seemed amused.

  Without warning he tossed a lightning bolt from his hand. Kala moved quickly and the jolt of electricity barely missed her.

  “Not very original, are we?” Kala mocked the Titan. She knew how fragile his ego was.

  And like clockwork, Cronus’s face scrunched into a scowl. “I’ll show you original, runt!”

  He had certainly gained some confidence in his ability to beat Kala since the last time she saw him. Cronus must have convinced himself that Kala would never devour him, and that even if she did, he could gain control over her. Maybe that was what he wanted. Maybe he thought Kala’s abilities would give him the edge to win the war before it even started.

  Not having any leverage this time, Kala stayed calm within. Trigging her Gaia-juice only seemed to happen in extreme moments, and unless Cronus planned on killing Hades so she couldn’t complete her mission…

  Kala’s blood froze.

  That was exactly what he planned on doing.

  Her gaze met Cronus.

  Panic flashed in his eyes. “You can’t stop me!” he screamed.

  Cronus reached down to grab Hades.

  Kala ran full speed into Cronus’s body, tackling him to the ground and away from his son.

  The Titan tried to throw her off, but Kala used his momentum to smack him back down on the cave floor.

  Cronus flipped his body over, attempting to drag himself toward Hades. Kala held on tight to his legs. It would almost be comical if Cronus’s intent wasn’t so dire. Elbowing the base of Cronus’s spine caused the Titan to scream in pain. Yet again, Kala wished she had a better grasp on her powers, more specifically what she could or could not do. Kala hated the fact that she had access to a treasure trove of internal weapons that her own mind restricted her from.

  Kicking his feet, Cronus managed to land his heel across Kala’s cheek, causing her to lose her grip. Taking advantage, he leapt toward Hades, his hands wrapping around his son’s neck.

  Could a Titan strangle an Olympian?

  It seemed too easy and absurd, but Kala didn’t have time to wonder logistics. Reaching behind Cronus’s neck, Kala tried the same tactic herself, using the full force of her Atlas strength, squeezing Cronus’s windpipe. He let go of Hades’s throat to clasp onto Kala’s forearms and their vise-like grip.

  At least it prevented the Titan from hurting his son.

  Kala thought that all the commotion might have been enough to wake Hades, but the god still slept soundly on the cave floor. At this point she almost wished Hades would open his eyes on his own if only to help her fight Cronus.

  An electric surge jolted Kala clear from Cronus. Every nerve in her body felt as if it had just been lit on fire. It took a few seconds before Kala had any sensation in her limbs. Her jaw unclenched from the pain.

  Cronus threw his hand out toward Hades. Yellow fire poured from Cronus’s outstretched palm and engulfed Hades’s body in a ball of crackling flames.

  Still the god didn’t awake.

  Without thinking, Kala lifted her arms, pointing to the dripping ceiling. Water poured down from seemingly nowhere to extinguish the deadly fire.

  A twinge inside her.

  That feeling she experienced when being buried in the dirt came back to her tenfold. Kala was connected to the earth. Before it had simply recharged her battery, but now…

  On instinct, Kala imagined holding onto a piece of rock from the wall, then pictured it flying at Cronus full speed.

  The rock lazily fell to the ground.

  That didn’t work.

  Cronus saw the rock and laughed. “Was that you?”

  Kala was about to deny it out of sheer embarrassment, but she nodded. “I’m still learning, and you make a great guinea pig.”

  Cronus stayed his distance and rubbed his neck from where Kala had tried to choke him. “Why are we fighting?” he sighed. “We can be on the same side. It’s you who’s deciding to be stubborn.”

  “Stubborn? Because I don’t want the world to end? You are so delusional.” Kala shook her head in amazement.

  “It won’t end. Nothing ever ends. It’ll just be different.” Cronus pleaded for Kala to see his reason. “And we will be in charge. We’ve lost our power in this world. The humans own it now with their technology and science. And I showed you: it’s only going to get worse. Yet you continue to align yourself with the very man responsible for it all.”

  He was referring to Turner, of course. Kala had seen the future and Turner’s role in it: killing thousands of people to keep the population down. Was that a future Kala could really get behind? The doubts still lingered.

  But side with Cronus? Where billions of human lives would be lost if she didn’t complete her Atlas task? No. Cronus’s way gave no thought to humans. And Kala was human, partly anyway. At least Turner’s future actions were for the greater good, no matter how despicable.

  “Just stop talking.” Kala brushed him aside.

  “Atlas is still in you and I know he’d hear me out,” Cronus seethed. “He’d side with his people, not humans.”

  “I may have Atlas’s memories, but he’s gone. It’s just me in here. I hate to blow your little theory on consumption, but it doesn’t work the same way as when your mommy hid all you kids inside her by eating you whole. I can’t spit the guy out. He can’t take over my body. He’s dead and I inherited all his mojo and knowledge.” Kala loved proving Cronus wrong, just to watch him squirm.

  “You don’t know that for sure,” Cronus fished.

  Kala leveled her gaze at him. “Yes. I do.”

  Before Kala could react, Cronus leapt forward and grabbed her arm.

  Instant paralysis overtook her entire body and a surge of heat traveled straight to her brain from his touch.

  Cronus was inside her head, probing, trying to find anything that would help him figure out who or what Kala was – or more likely: what she was capable of.

  It was worse than when Lotun, the leader of the Malaks, jumped inside Kala’s brain. Even though Kala had been physically paralyzed that time, the pain wasn’t this intense. It was as if Cronus had taken a heated fire poker and jammed it in her ear. And unlike Lotun’s intrusion where Kala knew exactly what the Malak was seeing, Cronus was able to hide his discoveries from her.

  Kala concentrated as much as s
he could, though the searing heat thwarted most of her efforts.

  His voice was like breaking glass as he soothed, “Don’t fight it. It’ll only make it worse for you.”

  But he was wrong: the pain only fueled Kala. She wasn’t the kind of girl who gave in. The fire only made her want to fight harder. Yes, fighting made it hurt worse, but Kala was trained to withstand torture. As an elite soldier, Turner and Clifton had to rely on their men not spill national secrets. Pain be damned, she wasn’t about to let Cronus violate her like this.

  The pain became an isolated thing, like a button in Kala’s brain. She switched it off. Pain meant nothing. Only destroying the source mattered.

  Pulling from deep within, Kala took her free hand and grabbed Cronus’s neck.

  Shock registered in his expression. She relished it for only a second as she squeezed with all her strength.

  As Kala pressed harder into his throat, this time the Titan didn’t budge.

  He was desperate for what was inside her head, positive Kala must be hiding something from him.

  And now she was.

  Kala didn’t want him to know that Gaia was her mother.

  Yanking at Cronus’s neck did nothing. The heat still burned her insides, though her training kept the sensation at bay.

  “ENOUGH!” A woman’s voice echoed through the cavern.

  All at once, the burning was gone. Cronus was no longer touching Kala and Kala was no longer clutching Cronus. Their bodies were forced apart by an invisible hand much stronger than the two of them.

  Gaia stepped forward, her face a mask of rage.

  And Kala saw something she never thought she’d see.

  Cronus.

  Cowering.

  “Mother?” His voice was timid as he stared at Gaia in disbelief.

  “I will not let you destroy this world, Cronus. You will let Kala do her job.” Gaia scolded her son as if she had just seen him yesterday and not the thousands of years it had actually been.

  “But the humans, Mother. They must be stopped.” Cronus slowly recovered from the shock of being face-to-face with Gaia.

  Gaia took a step closer to her son, her expression still livid. “Our time is through, Son. We’ve had this planet long enough. You had your chance, but you and your siblings wasted your lives hiding in the 5th Level of Hell terrified someone would steal your power. The very thing that you did to protect yourself ended up fulfilling your worst fear: the world went on without you. And now the humans are growing more powerful that we ever were.”