Betrayal in Elysium [malexmale]

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

The meeting with Hermes didn't go so well due to the fact that Hermes was about as pissed off as Hades was. The blondie had the crap kicked out of him during the battles and never obviously didn't want to be back in the underworld. Well, if I had the choice to be here or on Olympus with sunshine and birds and music, yeah. I'd be kinda peeved too.

I explained to Hermes to the best of my ability what I had discovered in the Labyrinth, the things that happened, the things that Prometheus told me. I left out the part about my being cursed to feed on Cain's blood. I wanted to keep that private, between Cain and I-- once I told him anyway.

"Fantastic," Hermes said once we finished, his voice oozing enough bitter sarcasm to drown the room as he stood near Hades's throne, where Hades himself sat looking bored as he ran his finger up and down the arm of his throne, "So now we have one of the most powerful Titans in the world hunting down a couple of the Atlanteans most powerful gods."

"You know about Khalians?" I asked. Hermes gave me a sour look, which was only intensified by eyes as bright blue as the sky above the island we'd been trapped on. He folded his arms over his chest, his winged boots fluttering in response to his anger.

"Yeah, I know about the Khalian. As a messenger god, it's kind of my job to meet with the other messenger gods, and the Khalian were some of them. I had to meet with their representative most of the time, and the guy was about as friendly as a wasp that was kicked in the face. I'm not saying he's alive, though. You said there were only two that made it out alive, before Atlantis sunk, right?" He asked. I nodded and Hermes sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his gold hair.

"Great. As if a dozen of those things weren't bad enough, even two is going to be a hassle. And my guess is that nobody knows where they are?" He asked.

"Nope." Hades deadpanned. Hermes gave him a dirty look. Had I done that, Hades of ripped my eyes out, but Hades just shrugged innocently. Hermes rolled his eyes and looked back at me.

"Then you and your brothers have another job. Find the Khalian. When you do, kill them on sight. Do not hesitate." He ordered. I stiffened at that.

"Kill them? They're the remaining survivors of Atlantis. They--"

"Doesn't matter who they are, it's what they are, Abel," Hermes warned, taking a step closer to me, "The Khalian are dangerous. The entire Atlantean pantheon was dangerous. They were warriors and warriors live for battle, not peace. The Khalian may have been just messenger gods, but they were extremely strict. It's where the term don't kill the messenger comes from, because you never have a chance to do it. Khalian are trained to slaughter anyone who gets in their way. They are manipulators. They can shape shift and change their voice, and have powers far beyond our knowledge. They very rarely struck out at us, but only because there was a peace treaty before they attacked Athens and our pantheon fought back and managed to win, just barely. The Atlanteans returned home and as punishment for their humans losing the war, their god sunk the city into the sea, taking everything with it, including the pantheon itself. They're just that fucked up."

"I dunno," Hades mused, making Hermes glare at him again, "I always thought they were kind of entertaining. Bloodthirsty and terrifying and obsessed with sex, but great nonetheless. You ever had an Atlantean whore, little nephew? They're spicy."

"No," Hermes answered after a moment of awkward silence, his cheeks tinting pink, "And the last thing I want to discuss with you is sex. I already get enough from Zeus and Aphrodite." He turned to me.

"You think your brothers are bad. At least you're not related to Apollo and Aphrodite. Dionysus can be a real pain in the ass too," He muttered and I grimaced at that before he shook his head, "Anyway, don't question the orders. Zeus is in agreement with me. Seek out the Khalian and destroy them. While you're at it, find the escaped Titans and throw them back into Tartarus where they belong. Do not kill them, or you're going to rupture the natural balance and then we'll really have a problem on our hands." With that, Hermes vanished with a sharp pop and a pillar of white clouds that faded after him. I swallowed at that.