PART 2 OF THE WHITE DAWN

'We have a name...' 

White Named

"That's it!" I smacked the iron rod onto the wooden table, leaving a dent in the surface. "I've had it!"

I grabbed Hermes by the neck and squeezed, not caring if I happen to snap his neck again or cause his eyeballs to pop out from his skull. My tolerance was done.

"Thana-" Hypnos attempted to stop me, but I was beyond help. "You little prick!" I twisted his neck and the young god gasped for air, his black and blue eyes filling with tears. The cell lit up with screams that sounded more like they should come from a dying pig.

"No, let- h-him!" Hermes coughed and grinned through the pain; "I-I'll just po-p back t-to lif-AH!" I pushed my fingers through his eyes and felt them burst under the pressure, sending blood and juice everywhere. I dropped him onto the floor.

Hypnos groaned; "Dammit! I just had this washed!" He wiped off the streams of blood from his grey cloak.

"Shut up!" I growled at my twin and turned my attention to the crying god on the ground. "I am NOT your playmate, you brainless buffoon! The more time you waste, the more danger Aurora is in! I'm going to strike a deal with you, but only this once..."

Hermes cried out in pain and nodded his head- the torture was finally getting to him. There were only so many times a man could resurrect himself.

I grabbed his face between my fingers and brought it up to mine, my voice low and menacing; "Now listen well, you useless waste of space... If you give us a name, I swear to you I will not tear Autolycus limb from limb with my own teeth and this is the last bargain I offer you. Ever. Take it or watch your precious son die right before your newly mended eyes."

"Lies!" He yelled. Hermes howled in pain as I dipped a finger into his eyes socket. He tried to push my hand away, but without any food or water for three weeks, he was ridiculously weak compared to me. Even at full strength, he couldn't even try to match my power.

"Oh, I never lie about family..." My grin was filled with malevolence. I wanted to see him in pain. It was delicious.

Autolycus has always been Hermes' favourite child. He's the demi-god of thievery and tricks and an expert in hiding away. He was a wanted criminal in the eyes of the kingdom and Hermes had helped him escape Zeus' wrath on more than one occasion. Autolycus was hard to find. Zeus' men struggled long and hard to pin-point the location of the clever young boy. He moved like a ghost.

Then again, I've never had any reason to look for him...

Until now.

Leverage is such a tantalising word.

"Leave my son out of this!"

I rolled my eyes and turned to Hypnos. I nodded to the door and waited for my twin to bring in the one thing that would change everything.

Hypnos pushed in the young boy- he only reached my shoulder, even Aurora was taller. Autolycus saw his father and yelled; "Hermes!"

Hermes immediately recognised the voice and swung open his arms; "Autolycus! Oh, gods, no! Thanatos!"

I grabbed the boy by the hair and tugged him towards me; "You might not be able to see, but your son is in a slightly uncomfortable position at the moment..." I trailed my scythe over the young lad's neck, my patience for playing fair all but gone. Autolycus whimpered, but I paid no attention to it.

Hypnos didn't seem too bothered either.

We'd experienced far greater pain and hardships when we were half Autolycus' age- this is nothing.

Besides, the boy wouldn't get hurt. He was just a necessary tool to end this madness. Hypnos and I both knew Hermes would never sacrifice his son for something as trivial as a partner in crime. Hermes was a sneak. And sneaks we're usually traitors all around.

Aurora was curious of what I had planned and little did she know I had this little scheme running for quite some time- ever since she told me of Hermes' involvement. But the less she knows of my dealings the better. Aurora will not dirty her hands. That's why I'm here- I like the color red for a reason.

"How?" Hermes shouted from the ground and tried to get up, his hand fumbling around to find something to grip onto. 

I laughed, squeezing the boy closer; "I had a party sent out to look for him about a month ago, before we captured you. I had a feeling he might come in handy. Now, tell me..." I kicked the boy's legs out from under him and held him up by his long, brown hair. He cried out in pain; "How badly do you want him to live? You know he's only a demi-god; I can easily kill him and there's no coming back from that..."

Death had its perks.

Hermes yelled at me, his rage burning; "You son of a bitch!"

"You're right there..." Hypnos muttered and leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed.

I chuckled and dragged my scythe against the wall of the dungeon, creating a high-pitched scream. Hermes and Autolycus tried to block it out using their hands, but the shrill sound drilled right through.

I flicked my tongue; "Tsk, tsk, tsk... I'm not hearing a name."

"Leave him out of this!"

"Just like you left Aurora out of this?" I kicked Hermes back down, my boot hitting his chest hard. Autolycus squirmed; "Sure."

"It wasn't my idea to hurt her! Do you really think I would've gone to all that trouble to find her and then just snub her off a few months later?"

"Then whose idea was it?" Hypnos growled. It wasn't something I heard too often, but it certainly was effective. Hermes looked down. I could see his eyes trying to mend and heal themselves back together. It would take some time.

"Promise me you will not hurt my son."

I looked over at Hypnos. His orange eyes were calculating. He nodded to me. I knew I would agree, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth nonetheless.

I looked down at Hermes, my thick eyebrow lifting with suspicion; "The names of your partners for your son's life."

Hermes shook his head; "Name. I only know the one. The other always wears masks and never speaks."

I stepped towards Hypnos, still clutching the young boy in my hand. Hypnos met my eyes with an equal amount of cynicism.

"You're lying..." My twin said as he turned his body towards Hermes. The god was now standing, after finally being able to pull himself up off the ground by gripping onto the table in the corner.

"I swear on my son's life. I know but one of them; the leader."

The leader of this whole operation? Well now... That's exactly what we needed.

I handed the teen over to Hypnos and stepped towards Hermes. I grabbed him by the neck; he tried to shoot back from the sudden touch, but he was weak and my grip was strong. Hermes' eyes looked sickening- dried blood and regenerating cells formed a dark crust over his sockets.

"Calm down; I just need some verification." Before Hermes could ask me what I meant, I dove my mind into his. It was easy enough with all his walls weak and most broken down by torture and starvation. I quickly scanned everything I needed- he knew nothing about the second person.

But the leader he did know; the name locked behind his last little wall- still sealed shut. I smiled. There was no need to break it down. Not that we had the time to try either.

"Alright." I let go of his neck and he gasped for air, filling his lungs. "Let's hear it then, but do be careful- a false name or any form of lie will leave your dear son without a head."

Hermes swallowed hard, his voice raspy and his hand shaking. "If I tell you, you need to promise you'll keep my son and I safe until all of this blows over."

"Of course." I nodded, "And then we'll kill you..."

Hermes furrowed his brows and shook his head; "No-"

"You're part of an operation that killed our king and a prominent goddess. Not to mention, you tried to kill a goddess-to-be. Your son lives, but you'll pay for your discretion against the kingdom."

Hypnos added onto my point, his tone calm and cool; "It's either us or it's Hades and Poseidon; one way or another, you'll get what you deserve..."

"Fine!" Hermes shouted; "Fine! We'll talk about this more later, but for now, just leave my son out of this. Keep him safe."

Hypnos nodded and dropped the boy; "You have our word." The teen rushed to his father. They hugged quickly, not sure how much time they had left together.

Hermes sighed loudly and pulled back from his son, he sneered at us; "You two think you're so untouchable just because you're part of the old family."

The 'old family' was a name our branch of the gods were given. Our grandparent was Chaos- the beginning of everything. Who knew what he, or she, even looked like? They were an enigma, a myth within a myth, but nonetheless feared and respected. Even by Nyx and Erebus, our powerful parents.

All the gods were related in some way, but the kingdom's queens and kings came from a different line than ours, and yet our 'old family' was still the most feared and respected, mainly because we were all in charge of the deadliest and harrowing fields of life and death.

I bared my teeth at the pathetic god- who was he to talk about our family? He came from the other line; the dramatics and the greedy kin. He came from Gaia's line, the Earth, whereas our mother was Nyx, the night.

"A name." It wasn't a suggestion; my boot ached to remind him.

Hermes gritted his teeth and opened his mouth; uttering a name that sent a sliver of dread down my spine...

Trita was blushing.

Yes, Trita was blushing. Good lord. What has Hypnos done to her?

"Stop it!" The red-faced brunette scoffed and tried to hide her flushed cheeks with a napkin. Sonya shot me a wide-eyed stare from across the table, her scrambled eggs hanging from her fork in complete abandonment.

"Tell us, dammit!" I pressed. Trita was being oddly shy and quiet about her 'date' with the god of dreams last night. All she kept saying was that it had been 'nice' and he was very 'kind'.

What in hell has happened to my perverted friend?

"I told you! We had dinner and he showed me how to play a few strings on the harp."

"Is that all he showed you?" I lifted a brow in question. Trita blushed harder.

Sonya's loud laugh was filled with surprise; "No! Come on! You're never this quiet about guys! What happened?"

Trita looked down at her bacon and tried to ignore the question, but Sonya was persistent; "Trita!" She tugged at Trita's shoulder, her lime-green eyes wide with interest. 

I was leaning in as Trita opened her mouth to speak. "He kissed me."

"That's it?" My voice was shocked.

Trita's face twisted up in anger; "What do you mean 'that's it'?"

"Well, nothing, it's just..." I shrugged and rubbed my head; "You've been kissed before. I don't see why you're being so... timid?"

Sonya nodded; "Um... Rora's right. Besides, I thought you two had already kissed?"

"We haven't!" Trita blushed deeper and twirled her bacon around on the white plate; "Last night was the first time..."

"Oh. My. Gods." I stared at my best friend.

Trita and Sonya shot me a confused and worried look. Sonya was the first to ask in a worried voice; "What is it?"

"It's Trita! I think we need to take her the infirmary."

Trita's eyes popped open, all the blood draining from her face; "What! Why? Is there some disease mortal's can catch from kissing a god?" She sounded genuinely shocked and anxious.

I kept my face serious and stern; "No, it's much worse. Have you been feeling a little hot lately, flustered and like your stomach is doing cartwheels all the time?"

"Yes!" Trita almost screamed. Gulped and nodded my head as I looked down. Both girls stared at me with nervous eyes; "Aurora!" Trita yelled; "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Trita, I'm sorry to have to say this, but..." I cleared my throat and a small smirk travelled up to my mouth; "You're in loooveeee...."

The piece of toast flew past my face as I ducked to the side just in time.

Trita shouted; "You little bitch! I nearly had a heart-attack!"

Sonya was laughing her ass off next to the fuming brunette. I joined in, my sides aching from the rush of laughter erupting from my mouth. Trita crossed her arms and tried to frown, but a small grin betrayed her.

She scoffed; "Can't believe I didn't see that coming..."

"So are you?" I asked as I wiped a tear from my face and picked up the toast from the floor. Sonya seconded my question; "Be honest..."

Trita's eyes shifted from my face to Sonya's, her expression filled with nervousness and doubt. She looked so unsure of herself- something neither Sonya nor I was used to.

"I- I'm not sure...?"

"Well, do you like him?" Sonya asked, her hands fiddling with the apricot jam jar.

"Of course I do! He's... He's unbelievable!"

"You're so in love." I grinned as I took a big bite of my buttered croissant, crumbs falling onto my plate. Trita furrowed her brows in distress; "But- I don't... Oh, fuck..." She sighed and hung her head in her hands; "You're right. Am I an idiot?"

"Of course not, why would you even think that?" Sonya shook her head and rubbed Trita's back.

"Because he's a Greek god and I'm- I'm a girl who's supposed to be at university now and who doesn't know the first thing about pleasing a man!"

"You're worried about that?" I chuckled; "Trita, how do you think I felt? Look, we're all in this boat together." I looked over at Sonya and she nodded. Having a reaper boyfriend was pretty much the same thing, if not a bit more morbid. "You don't need to feel alone or embarrassed by it. I realise there are a lot of things you both are unsure of and still worried about, but I promise when all of this is over, we'll make it work."

Trita and Sonya nodded, but I could still feel the insecurity and worry hang in the air. What was going to happen to their relationships when the time came to go back to reality? Would their hearts be broken and left to mend themselves back, or was there a way for all of us to be happy- for forever?

No one knew...

Suddenly, the door swung open with a clang. Speak of the devils...

Thanatos, Hypnos and Barrios rushed in, their faces stern and full of anger. Something bad had happened- or something bad was going to happen.

Either way, I jumped up from my seat, Sonya and Trita followed my movement. "What it is?"

Thanatos was the first to speak as he rushed to my side, his red eyes blazing. "We have a name."

The room's atmosphere shot up in an instant, the wind howling through the thin drapes with a hauntingly curious melody. This was it. What we've been yearning.

"Who?" All three of us asked simultaneously.

Hypnos, who stepped closer to Trita, spoke up, his voice hard and cold; "The leader. We know who's been behind all of this from the very start."

"And the third traitor?" I gripped Thanatos' leather armoured sleeve and pulled him closer, his heat reassuring.

Barrios put his hands on his hips, his gaze steely; "We don't know and neither does Hermes. Apparently they wear a mask and a hood at all times, but the leader knows who it is. Definitely."

Hypnos nodded and added; "Hermes was clearly just a lackey to them."

"Well? Who is it then?" Trita asked impatiently. Hypnos carefully pulled her closer, his hand on the small of her back.

Thanatos was looking down at me, his red eyes intense and filled with hatred. I knew then, without him having to say a word, who the killer was.

I stared up at him and nodded my head in understanding. Thanatos finally opened his mouth to voice the answer to the rest of the room; directing the cold breeze from the lake into our very bones.

"Ares."

We have a name- and the main culprit's name too. Or is he? Now for some intense chess playing. 

VERY EXCITING DEVELOPMENT- This story is now featured on Wattpad along with some stunning books. I'm so elated by this and can't thank you guys enough for helping put this book out there!

NEXT UPDATE- 10th of December