Gods of War (War of the Gods Series) (22 page)

“The human you are going to hunt, you need to keep him alive. I have big plans for that one.”

“How are we supposed to do that? Ares has commanded him to die.” Atlanta replied.

“What were his orders exactly?” Aphrodite asked.

“His exact words were, ‘Deal with the human.’” Artemis said

Aphrodite stopped her caressing. With her mouth opened and eyes open wide, and stared at the two with a slack-jawed expression. After starring at them with pity, she finally spoke up.

“If you can’t see the amount of loopholes, I feel sorry for you. With orders like that you can do anything you want, including lying with him.”

“Why should we believe you? We are both in this situation because of you. You put this curse on me, and it was you who gave Zeus the idea to send Artemis to spy.”

“Because of this.” Aphrodite walked up to Atlanta and placed her lips on Atlantis’ lips. Atlanta’s began whimpering as her whole body tightened up and started to convulse. She grabbed onto Artemis squeezing her arm tightly. Finally Aphrodite let go and Atlanta gasped for breath. Letting go of Artemis’ arm, a bright red spot had formed in the shape of Atlanta’s grasp.

“What did you do to me?” Atlanta gasped, trying to regain her breath.

“I have removed the curse. Ares will still feel it on you, but you are no longer under his control. You dear Artemis, we will have to wait until we make our move against Ares. Don’t worry, you will get you revenge. So do we have a deal?” Aphrodite asked.

“We do.” Athena sat down still shaken from the ordeal. “How about you, Artemis? Are you in?”

“I am in,” she answered coldly.

“That is good. By the way Artemis, I love the look.” Aphrodite said looking at her in the dress Ares forced her to wear. Walking past her, Aphrodite pinched her butt. Then she turned around and said, “Perhaps we can celebrate our new found alliance sometime.”

Aphrodite finally left the two young gods to continue with her plan.

“Let’s go Artemis, we better find the human before Ares’ beasts kill him.” Atlanta said as she regained her strength. “Do you have an idea?”

“I am the goddess of the hunt; of course I have an idea. Give me my bow and I will show you how it’s done.”

Where Nicolai was dropped off, he could only count three of the rivers of the underworld. He walked along the bank trying to find any markings to place his position. After walking for what seemed like hours, he decided to head back. As time passed a strange feeling crept up on him, a feeling of both enjoyment and dread plagued his soul. The enjoyment of death filled his soul yet his human side angst as life was sucked from him. Not finding the spot where Poseidon left him, Nicolai decided to sit down.

Pulling out the map, he unfolded it and laid it on the ground. Looking at his surroundings and the map, Nicolai scratched his head trying to understand it. It didn’t help Nicolai as the language was written in Ancient Greek and only one marking was on the map. The marking looked like a pier and there was no pier within his sight. The map showed all five rivers wrapping around various islands and Nicolai could only count three from where he was at. Finally the map showed the rivers emptying into a pit.

Finding the map completely useless, Nicolai turned back to his pack.
Let’s see what else Poseidon gave me.

Searching through the pack, Nicolai pulled out a coin and some food. Tossing the food into the river, he watched a dark cloud of smoke rise where the food touched the water.
How am I going to get out of here?
Nicolai thought.
I am lost and the there is no way to get off this bank and the water is acid.
Looking at the coin, an idea came to his head.
The stories say the dead had to pay the ferryman to cross. They never said how they pay.
Packing up his belongings, Nicolai took the coin and tossed it into the water watching it skip until it was swallowed by the darkness.

Out in the distance Nicolai barely made something out coming towards him. As it got closer, Nicolai made it out to be a small boat with a man shaped figure at the stern steering it towards Nicolai. The figure had a robe draped over him and in his hand was a staff.
So this must be Charon
, Nicolai thought as the boat docked.
He doesn’t look to scary.

As the Charon exited the boat, he spoke. “Took a while to find you. Usually the dead come into the entrance of the Acheron, not the Phlegethon. Yet you are not dead.” He then started sniffing the air. “Human, but not human. You have the faint smell of Hades among you. What do you want?”

“I seek passage across to reach Hades.”

Charon pulled out the coin Nicolai threw. “You have paid the toll. You can pass.”

Throwing his belongings into the boat, Nicolai jumped almost losing his balance as the boat jerked. Softly Nicolai heard Charon mutter, “To Hades” when the boat lurched backwards entering the river once again. Falling down, Nicolai tried to catch himself but failed. The hand that held the map, fell into the water, pulling his hand out he watched as the map dissolved and felt a tingling sensation in his hand.

“Be careful human,” Charon grinned. “Only a god could survive these waters. That is only if he doesn’t get swept into Tartarus.” Charon let out a gruesome laugh, thinking what he said was funny.

Nicolai tried to look at his surrounding as the boat sped through the waters, but the darkness that engulfed the area prevented him from noticing anything out of the ordinary. The wailings of the dead disrupted the silence as they cut through the water. Looking at the dead souls, Nicolai noticed one in particular. It was Celeste’s father wrapped in chains being led to his doom. Laughing to himself, Nicolai looked up to the ceiling and saw it covered with strange bat-like creatures.

“What are those?”

“Guardians of the underworld. Ever since Cerberus failed Hades decided to put in extra security measures.” Charon replied. “If you don’t play by the rules, they go after you. If a soul leaves their judgment place, they go after them. If one leaves the underworld without permission, they go after them.”

This is going to be a lot tougher than I thought. But no one is going to stop me when I am this close.

Further along the river, a bright light pierced through the darkness drawing Nicolai’s attention. Nicolai leaned up to get a better view where it was coming from. Tracing the light to its beginning, he saw an island that was ablaze with light.

“Is that Hades’ Lair?” Nicolai asked being drawn to it.

“No, that is the Elysian Fields,” Charon snarled. “That is where the dead go who did great things in their life.” Charon spit in the water as he looked at the island.

“I need to go there.” Nicolai watched as the island got closer, getting anxious with every moment his hands grasped tightly to the boat. That was where Celeste had to be. She didn’t belong anywhere else. If she was elsewhere, Nicolai vowed to set the underworld on fire.

“You don’t get to choose where you go. This is a one-way trip human.”

Nicolai turned around and stared Charon right in his eyes. “You will take me there or you will feel pain like you have never felt before.”

Charon laughed as he poked Nicolai in the chest. “I live in the Underworld. What pain can you bring me?” Charon started to walk back to the boats stern.

Nicolai grasped Charon’s arm, causing him extreme pain to pulse through Charon’s body. Charon screeched a deafening sound that made Nicolai let go to cover his ears. When Nicolai recovered, Charon had regained his composure standing over him. Wings–that were wrapped around his body to look like a robe—were now extended outwards with deadly claws at the end. His staff was glowing in his hand burning the boat where it touched.

Charon screamed towards the ceiling and the bats woke up. “Kill the human!” Charon yelled pointing to Nicolai.

The creatures dove to the boat to attack Nicolai. They weren’t attacking Nicolai; instead they would just fly right past him and go back to the ceiling. Charon couldn’t believe at what he was seeing. They should have torn the human to pieces by now.

“What is going on? Who are you human?”

Standing up, Nicolai looked at Charon with the mark of death on his face. “I am Nicolai Altukhov, better known as Nicholaus, son of Hades. To you I am Death.” He raised his shotgun which he had pulled out moments before and had it charged to its fullest capability. “Hope you enjoy Tartarus, freak.”

With those last words, Nicolai shot Charon in the chest, causing the lifeless corpse to fly back into the water sinking.

With his last obstacle removed, Nicolai moved to the stern of the boat to steer the ship to the wanted destination. Finding nothing to steer the boat with, he remembered how Charon got the boat to move in the first place.

“The Elysian Fields,” Nicolai tried, and the boat started changing course as it headed towards the island.

It didn’t take too long to reach the island, but to Nicolai it seemed like hours. For the first time in his life he was actually nervous.
I have done terrible things to get this far. I hope she forgives me.

When the boat landed on the island he quickly jumped off. Walking until the sand turned to grass he came up to some sort of field that covered the fields. Pressing his hands to the field he noticed he could walk through it.

He continued walking until he came to the end of a cliff and took in the most amazing sight his eyes laid on. He thought Atlantis was amazing, but this place was far more beautiful. He was staring at paradise. The island had open and spacious meadows and waterfalls that were connected by rivers and streams that emptied into lakes so pure, you could see the bottom. The majestic mountains with their snow top peaks took his breath away. It went as far as he could see and further.

The most impressive sight was all of the people. There were millions of them.
Who am I kidding?
It will take ages to find her.

Nicolai started to pace, trying to regain his composure. Getting angry, he picked up the heaviest boulder he could find and tossed it down into the valley. Going to pick up another boulder a shadow fell upon him. The residents down in the valley noticed the shadow and Nicolai and started to run from the destruction that was eminent. Nicolai turned his attention to the shadow and saw three figures descending out of the sky, landing hard near him.

Staring them down, Nicolai quickly conjured his weapon in his right hand and formed a death ball in his left. “Come and get me,” Nicolai yelled.
I am in a bad mood and you’ll pay for it. “
Now what one of you wants to die first?”

Nicolai was about to throw his ball of death at the middle one until a loud voice yelled, “Enough!”

A burst of black smoke appeared between Nicolai and the three gods. That took on the form of a man that towered over everyone. He was as pale beyond anything Nicolai had ever seen and just as thin. He wore a robe that was blacker than the darkest night. When he looked at Nicolai, his eyes seemed to suck out his soul, leaving him cold. If death ever took on a form, this truly would be it.

Turning away from the new arrival Nicolai saw the others down on their knees groveling.

“Who are you?” Nicolai said to the new comer.

The man in the middle looked up, pure hatred in his eyes. “That is Lord Hades, ruler of the underworld, Ditis Pater, Orcus, Polydectes. He is your doom.”

“Silence,
Rhadamanthus. You don’t know who you are talking to.” Hades turned to Nicolai. “I beg your forgiveness. Help is so hard to find these days. You’ve met Rhadamanthus and the one on his left is Aeacus and the one on his right is Minos,” Hades turned back to the three gods. “This is my son, Nicholaus, or as he likes to be called, Nicolai Altukhov.”

“Enough with the formalities,” Nicolai said interrupting Hades. “I assume you know why I am here?”

“I do. But I wonder why didn’t you come straight to see me first? Why did you have to kill Charon? And most importantly, why did you want to come here? It must be something important if you had to kill Charon for it.”

“There is a woman whom I believe is here. She
better
be here.”

“You killed my most trusted servant for a woman whose whereabouts you are unsure of? You are worse than Thantos. What is her name?”

“Her name is Celeste. Celeste
Ryashkina.”

“
Rhadamanthus, do you recognize that name?” The man in the middle nodded. “Good you will bring her to my palace. Now Nicolai, if you will come with me, we will talk while your love is brought to us,” Hades grabbed Nicolai and they both disappeared from the valley.

When they reappeared again, what Nicolai found impressed him. The grandeur of the palace wasn’t like anything he had seen before, and it was totally out of Hades’ character. Inside the palace held some type of animal sanctuary. It had every exotic animal from earth, even ones said to be extinct.

“I would have never thought you would have something like this,” Nicolai said as he looked around. “How big is this place?”

“It’s as big as I want it to be,” Hades said, following Nicolai as he wandered around the palace. “Yes, who would have thought that the lord of the underworld would actually enjoy life?” He had a depressed look on his face. “I was like you, not caring about anything but death. Then I met Persephone and fell in love. She returned my feelings as well. But of course her mother would not allow us to be together, so she ran away to be with me. She changed my life.”

“The stories said you kidnapped her, raped her, and forced her to be your wife.” Nicolai said.

“Yes and the person who wrote that was a follower of Demeter. It fit so well with my persona that I couldn’t fight it. Who could ever love Hades?” Hades said disgustingly. “I am aware that you had somewhat of the same situation with your woman?”

“Somewhat. Celeste’s father did not approve of us, but it is alright. He is no longer in the picture.”

“Yes, the night when the change happened. You used a lot of your powers that night.” Hades said as he helped a turtle back on its feet. “We do need to talk about the reason you are here.”