24 AD

Helix stepped back in shock. There was no mistake. Those were most certainly Sal's eyes.

Nona turned her gaze to Nythis then dropped it, sorrow crossing her face. "I am sorry for my failure my king. She was too quick for me to stop."

"All is well." The king pulled the woman gently to her feet. "Even taking back the sight I count as a victory. Decuma will take time to adjust and it may just serve to lure her back to us."

His grey eyes moved to Helix, "You should be careful. Decuma Salvius is a dangerous enemy even weakened as she is. So is Zeus."

It was then that Helix realized Zeus and Poseidon had vanished. The stranger leaned against the wall looking bored. Ares stood still as stone, still pale. The two Seer sisters were hugging as they walked away and last of all was Cinix slowly walking around the room his eyes closed, head tilted and nostrils flaring.

Questions threatened to fly from Helix but he held his tongue, still remembering where they were. But he did allow himself one, "Where did she go?"

Nythis tilted his head slightly, "My guess is your world. It is easier for her to hide there."

Helix bowed slightly, "Thank you, your majesty."

The king seemed to think a moment when he dropped his chin a fraction, returning the show of respect. "I should like to know you better. When you find the time, please come for another visit." With that he walked away, leaving the two gods, Cinix and Helix alone.

Ares strode forward his expression guarded, "I see you are embracing your new nature."

A sneer twisted his mouth, but before Helix could answer, Cinix stepped between them. "And new friends."

The stranger chuckled low in his throat. "Same old Cinix."

Ares backed away a step, throwing hateful glares at everyone. When he looked back at Helix his expression was stone. "Do be sure not to squander my gifts with the likes of him." He jerked his chin at Cinix. Then he bluntly asked, "Do you seriously intend to kill Zeus?"

It was a moment before Helix could settle on a response. "You already know my intentions. You told me you would give me the power to fight him. Remember?"

The gold eyed god's lips twitched slightly. "Fight, yes. Kill? I did not think it possible. Yet there you are, not a prince, a king. A king I unwittingly blessed. Had I known you were the last living heir you would be dead on that field."

His emotionless words did not phase Helix. Though, being called a king bothered him. Refusing to show anything to the god, Helix shrugged. "I guess gods do not know as much as they think."

To his left, there was a snort from a Cinix, and the stranger flat out laughed. Ares just stared. "We will meet again." In a blink, he shifted into a falcon and flew out through the arching hall.

"It takes a world-altering event for you to come to see me now?" The stranger asked one eyebrow quirked over his unique crimson eyes.

"Ha! I thought it was your turn to come to me?"

Cinix and the stranger met near where Helix stood, the males embraced. A very friendly embrace Helix noted as the stranger gave Cinix's ass a light tap.

"Introduce me to your intriguing new friend." The stranger's eyes assessed Helix from head to foot and back again.

A grin split Cinix's face. "Helix meet Hades, Hades Helix."

Hades extended a hand toward an instantly more wary Helix. "Pleasure to be sure."

Deciding it would be rude to refuse the handshake, Helix accepted. Accepted and put as much of his newfound strength into his grip as possible. "So you are Ares' other uncle."

The look on the god's face was one of pleased surprise as they shook. In his gaze swirled a look Helix could not place, intense, and voracious.

"The fun one. As I'm sure Cinix would be happy to tell you."

Cinix snorted in a friendly fashion, "Don't be stealing my friends bastard."

"I always say the more the merrier." Hades glanced between them before looking at Helix again, his expression going hard, "You can no longer afford to let others use you as a pawn in their games. We also cannot afford for you to do so. Your choice to side with my nephew has irrevocably shifted the world. My brother, Zeus, will hunt you as you most likely hunt him. But, there is also Decuma to consider. Between the three of you, you could easily bring down both the mortal world and this one. Do get some training and think before you act."

"What do you mean, bring down the worlds? What kind of training?"

"If your vengeance takes you into open battle with Zeus and Decuma, the results will be catastrophic. Blood will be spilled like never before. He can level cities with his power, and she, she is dangerous in other ways as I am sure you know. Imagine the chaos if thousands made an agreement such as you did? Even without Ares interference mortals could be forced to turn into any number of monsters."

Helix listened to the information, knowing the truth of it. "You have a strange way of pleading for your brother's life."

A nasty smile contorted Hades face, "I would love nothing more than for you send my brother down to me."

For a moment his mind strayed. Helix knew Hades was the god of the underworld. Everyone knew. "Is this the underworld?"

"No," Cinix said from his side. "This is the Spectral Land." He pointed toward the liquid gold door, "That is the underworld."

Hades tilted his head in a predatory fashion, his crimson eyes going solid blood red as the air thrummed with power.

The hair on Helix's body rose in time to the shifting air. It reminded him of when Ynyr and Eslein used their witch abilities, except there was no breathless pain to Hade's thrum, just warning, and promise. In response, the liquid door dropped away. Molten metal flowed and reformed into golden steps leading down into absolute blackness.

"You asked what kind of training, you need training in how to survive an immortal world and what the ramifications are if you kill the wrong immortal."

"Isn't the whole point of being immortal that you can't die?"

Hade's tone was clipped, "Tell me you aren't that stupid."

"Did you think I could have killed you at the inn the other night?" Cinix asked, amusement written on his face.

"Yes. But I'm not a god or a seer."

"It does not matter," Hades spoke again. "Everything with a soul can go to the underworld. The only difference between immortals and mortals is that immortals can sometimes come back or escape hells clutches. Mortals can not. If you kill a god you make them mortal."

"Everyone goes to the underworld?"

"Of course not. Some souls make it to Elysium." He nodded at the other door. "In most cases, immortals do not want to leave there and again, mortals cannot leave."

With every answer, Helix gained more questions. While he was not keen on the idea of having an actual teacher, he decided that the god might be right about needing someone's help who knew more about all these new to him, twists of the world. Eslein knew some and would, of course, help him, but she didn't know anything about the Specter or its people.

In the midst of his pondering a feeling began tugging at him. Helix looked into the dark blackness, somehow okay knowing the pull came from there. It was familiar in a way, reminding him of something. He couldn't put his finger on it. This place was strange.

"Thank you for the warning. Any idea where Zeus might be now?"

Hades shook his head. "No. I assume he's licking his pride at one of his temples. But..." the god's eyes slid to Cinix, "If you and that one come to visit me more often I can certainly find a way to make finding Zeus easier. The underworld gets lonely."

Helix did not miss the lust filled inflection or the way his gaze grew hungry while looking at Cinix, and curious when again appraising Helix from head to toe.

"Would I make it back from a trip to the underworld?"

"He's a smart one isn't he." Cinix flashed a sharp-toothed grin."

"He is." Hades smiled warmly and pulled a pouch from his belt. The leather of it was a deep brown and soft as silk to the touch. There was a muffled clink of coin as he held it out to Helix, who took the pouch questioningly. "These are Obol. Each one will get you out of the underworld. Simply take one out, think of where you wish to go in the Spectral or mortal realm and swallow it. Poof, you are there.

"The pouch, as well as the coins, are made in the essence of the underworld, so should you die while wearing the pouch or holding a coin, it will come with your soul." Hades eyes again burned with lust. "We can try it out now if you like? We can walk through the door and you can use a practice Obol to walk back out."

As annoyed as he was with the strange looks the god kept directing at him, a time of practice did not sound like a bad idea. Entering the underworld though, that sounded stupid. "I will take your word for it."

"Pity."

Cinix laughed, "If you two are quite through, I'm sure your witch would like to see you safe and treading the mortal realm again?"

Nodding Helix extended a hand, which Hades shook. "To alliances born of strange circumstances."

After he had stepped back, Cinix stepped close to Hades, "I replaced the last bed we broke. You should come to me so we may break another?"

The god laughed, a sparkling sound of liquid passion, then met Cinix's lips with his own.

Helix, uncomfortable with the outward display of affection between the two, turned to walk away. He could wait for Cinix at the outer stairs.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"It is foolish to walk the specter at night. I have a place just ahead, where we can sleep and get some rest."

They had been walking back toward the rift for a couple hours. Best as Helix could guess they were right in the canter of the fell forest. Slowly the light had begun to fade, giving way to long shadows and a change in the trees song. The darker it got, the quieter the trees became.

Glancing about Helix grimaced. He did not relish the idea of sleeping in this foreign place. From the set of Cinix's stiff shoulders as he strode ahead, Helix assumed he did not care for it either but knew continuing would be unwise.

The place Cinix brought them to was so odd that Helix had to stop and study it before entering. At the base of one extremely large tree, there was an indentation in the earth that extended back under the tree itself. The walls of this strange cave were formed from millions of spreading white roots, interwoven like a spiders nest. Feeling them, Helix was grateful they only looked like webs but felt like regular roots. 

The strange cave was deep enough to obscure the sky and most of the receding light. Helix did not care overmuch, his heightened sense of sight shifting to allow him to see like no mortal man ever could.

Cinix scraped back some dirt from a spot near the back wall. After a moment he pulled a wooden box out of the hole and opened the lid. From it, he removed a solid square of what looked like a rock and three blankets. "Hang this over the entrance."

Helix caught the blanket, doing what Cinix directed. Once the entrance was blocked, the strange square came to life with a flickering bluish light that illuminated the cave.

"What is that?"

"Luna stone. A fun trinket they have here if you know where to look." Cinix laid out one of the blankets then tossed the other to Helix before sitting down. "I will treat you to free dinner when we get back to Brews. Until then, here." He tossed a strange fruit over. 

Helix caught the fruit before sitting down on his own blanket, "This looks like a deformed apple." The skin of the thing was red and soft, but also lumpy all over. 

"Cre. It may look like an ugly apple but the flavor is amazing!"

After studying the suspicious fruit a bit longer, Helix took a bite. Cinix was not lying. There were no words to describe the perfection of the cre. 

About halfway through the fruit, a shrieking sound ripped through the quiet night, startling both males. Cinix muttered under his breath, head tilted listening. "Its still a long way off." Anticipating the question he continued, "That was a preta. An unrested mortal spirit, stuck in the Specter. They are not overly smart but tend to cause mischief, with the light it should leave us alone."

"Is there anything else out there I should know about?" Helix asked. 

Cinix flashed his teeth in a strange grin, "There are all kinds of beings and creatures out there. Some friendly, some decidedly not. Not to worry. Most give me a wide berth and know I frequent this place."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Authors Note: I was desperately trying to finish this chapter on Wednesday but I guess 12:17 am on Thursday will do.

Tell me what you think: Do you like the new elements the Specter adds to the story? Are you enjoying this so far? What would you most like to see happen with Helix? Any ships?

If you enjoyed this chapter please vote!

This chapter is dedicated to @MorganMorrow333.Go check out her work! It is amazing!