'Mistakes could lead to dangerous situations- mistakes could be fatal...'  

Innocence as White as the Night

"Welcome back!" Trita yelled as we stepped off the black portal, my hands flying up to embrace her.

She flung herself into my arms and Sonya quickly jogged up to push herself into the hug. We laughed and nearly stumbled over, the momentum of Sonya's jump almost too much for my legs to take. "I missed you guys!"

I opened my eyes and spotted Conrad and Alexus watching us. Conrad smiled softly and walked over to greet us, his white robe pressed and neat. I wish I could say the same for his office. It looked far worse now that Sa-

I froze my thoughts. Not now.

Alexus looked far less happy by the two girls holding me. She pushed through and enclosed me in a tight embrace, her smile beaming; "I'm so happy you're back!"

Trita and Sonya ignored Alexus' rude behaviour. They were far too used to it by now and to be frank, they were a little bit scared of her. Alexus didn't share very well with friends.

But it wasn't only Conrad and Alexus who made me feel slightly nervous- Hades stood in the corner too.

All three of them here.

One of them not who they appear to be.

I smiled politely at the dark lord and he nodded, far more interested in the man next to me. "Thanatos, a word."

Thanatos- or should I say, my fiancé- nodded to his master and quickly greeted the girls, but shooting a less-than polite smile to Alexus. She stared after him, something on her face amiss. I caught myself staring. Everything seemed to glow now- every move, muscle and expression was a clue, a hint to a deeper, darker centre.

Why was Alexus looking at Thanatos like that?

Why was Hades here? Didn't he hate coming up to Earth?

Why did Conrad look so happy to see us?

I kept my hands at my sides, hoping no one could see as they shook with a little bit of unease.

We had the plan ready.

It wasn't all that extensive or complicated, but it was foolproof.

And right now, no one knew how things were going to go. We needed foolproof. Mistakes could lead to dangerous situations- mistakes could be fatal.

In my pocket, I'd placed the key pendant I had found at the old fortress in the Underworld, but Thanatos and I had made a light alteration to it.

It was cursed with a simple spell.

The spell Hecate had come up with a long time ago- I'd read about it a few times before, when I was still studying to fill her place. It was called the 'tractatori', which translated to the 'manipulator' spell- or curse, in this case.

It was rather simple- the pendant gets charged with a bit of power from your own supply, not too much to hurt anyone, but enough to sting. The only way it's set off, is by the desired function you wish it to perform.

Thanatos had charged it last night and the trigger was that the charge or current would go off if anyone who has touched it before, touches it now. So of course, Thanatos can't handle it; otherwise he'll get a slight shock.

I held it in my pocket, but I couldn't touch it either. Therefore, instead of handling it with my bare hand, I'd covered it with a handkerchief.

Now, the key to this experiment is this that the traitor, whoever of the three people it may be, will get a shock from the pendant once they touch it, because that person has been meeting with Ares at the old fort since the beginning of this whole mess.

This pendant was Hecate's and whoever killed her, took it from her neck and hid it, probably using it as an anchor to her departed spirit. This pendant, I bet, was how they kept her out of my head and communicating with me. But it couldn't be all; otherwise Hecate would already be back in my dreams.

There was more, I'm sure of it, or... I didn't want to think of the possibility, but if that wasn't the case, then Hecate's spirit was permanently gone.

I tried to focus my thoughts on the goal we had- and Conrad was our first option.

For some odd reason, the thought of him being the accomplice left a strange, but not unsurprised taste in my mouth. Was I suspecting my own mentor?

It seems so.

Thanatos and Hades spoke for a bit, but as soon as they were done, they turned back to the group.

I'd tried to tell Trita and Sonya everything about the trip that might interest them, but of course, they wanted to know every single thing. I left out the little bit about me being engaged...

I wanted Thanatos next to me as we told them.

Like a blessing, the an orange portal opened up in the far corner of the study, and out popped Hypnos and Barrios, their faces stern and almost angry, but the irritation flew off as they spotted us.

Hypnos' smile was bright and full of excitement; "Congratulations!" He swept down onto me and held me tight against his wide chest. I laughed and quickly tried to shoo him off, Sonya and Trita giving me an odd look.

"Wait, are we missing something?" Sonya eyed Barrios and he just shrugged, clearly not following the conversation.

"Hypnos..." Thanatos scolded him quietly and the god of sleep opened his mouth in surprise.

"Oh! Shit, sorry, I hadn't realised you didn't-"

"No, I did!" Thanatos said quietly in his brother's ear and gestured to the two friends. "But Aurora wanted to tell them first, you idiot."

"Ah, oops..." Hypnos rubbed the back of his neck and clasped a hand over his brother's shoulder, giving him a proud smile. Thanatos rolled his eyes, but his small smile was adorably obvious.

Trita rushed into the conversation, her eyes wide; "Hold up! What's going on?"

"Aurora?" Alexus asked, her voice soft and low, like she was expecting bad news.

Conrad kept quiet, looking between the two of us. I eyed Hypnos and nodded my head, giving him my permission; "Go ahead, you spoilsport."

Hypnos ignored my jab, far too happy to care, and grinned like a cat, his voice filled with excitement; "You know, it must be a sad life growing up with no brothers."

I laughed, knowing where he was heading. Thanatos pulled me closer, but Hypnos shooed him away and took his place, wrapping his arm around my waist; "But now you have me, and I plan on making your life a living hell, like big brothers should."

The room died down as everyone was completely lost with Hypnos' cryptic words, until Sonya gasped softly and covered her mouth.

Trita shot her an impatient look; "What?"

Hypnos smirked; "Welcome to the family, Rora." He said and lifted my hand to the light.

Diamond glittered and the room broke out in cries of joy.

I giggled and Sonya and Trita squealed in shock and excitement as they grabbed my hand and gazed down at the beautiful silver ring on my finger. Conrad rushed closer to eye the diamond and his hands found my shoulders; "Oh, child!" He looked like he might weep.

I tried to ignore my thoughts and wherever or not he was putting up a front, but right now, all that mattered were my friends being happy for me and the look of pride on Thanatos' face.

Hades clasped Thanatos on the back, surprising the young god of death, and giving him an awkward embrace. Thanatos, unsure of what to do in the current situation, clapped his hand onto the older god's back and smiled sheepishly.

Hades softly said; "Well done. You deserve to be happy."

"Thank you..." Thanatos said with a soft voice, his eyes searching Hades for some trick or sneer, but the old god seemed genuinely pleased.

Barrios quickly rushed to hug his master, Thanatos' face so comical I couldn't help but laugh. He frowned and laughed in amusement as the younger man smiled broadly, his excitement almost more than anyone else's in the room. Even mine.

"Congratulation, my lord!"

"Barrios," Thanatos said with a soft smile, reminding me of an older brother's nurturing expression; "It's Thanatos, really."

Barrios was taken back a bit; "Oh, um... Okay, yeah..." The young blond-haired man smiled, almost flustered that his hero and mentor was treating him like a dear friend. Thanatos wanted to laugh, but kept it cool.

Suddenly, a hand found Thanatos' hair and pulled.

I laughed while Hypnos pulled his twin into a headlock, clenching his arm around Thanatos' neck. "Congrats, brother dear. You finally found someone who can handle your mood swings."

Thanatos grumbled and tried to get out of the tight hold, but Hypnos was having far too much fun finally torturing his older twin.

"Hypnos, I swear-"

"Oh, shut up!" Hypnos let go of his brother, but before Thanatos could take revenge, the lighter-haired twin grabbed his darker counterpart and pulled him into a hug.

The girls and Conrad were all chattering and fussing over me, asking question after question, but my eyes were locked onto the two brothers as they hugged. It was beautiful.

I smiled while Hypnos whispered something in Thanatos ear and held him closer. Thanatos nodded and chuckled. They pulled back, but Thanatos kept his arm around his twin, his smile wide. Hypnos shot me a wink. "Can I call her sis now?"

Thanatos laughed and nodded; "I don't see why not."

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to all the questions. After some time, the excitement finally died down a bit and Sonya asked the one thing I'd been dreading, "Do your parents know?"

I paused. My mouth opened, ready to tell them how I hadn't formulated how I was going to tell my parents that their only daughter was engaged to the god of death, but Thanatos quickly interrupted; "Yes."

I shot him an astonished look, my mouth hanging open; "What?"

Thanatos fixed me with a loving gaze; "I asked your father before we left to Bora Bora. He gave us his blessing." He laughed softly; "And your mother is over the moon. You better call them as soon as you can."

"You're unbelievable..." I laughed, my heart filling with joy. This made me nerves ease up so much. I would hate for my parents to disapprove of this union. I know I was young, but some things you just knew. And I knew I wanted to be with Thanatos for an eternity.

"Call them!"

"Yes!" Sonya shouted in agreement with Trita and they clapped their hands, urging me on.

I nodded, knowing they were absolutely right, but there was little time for that now. "I'll do it in a bit, but could you guys maybe give Thanatos, Conrad and I a moment. We need to discuss something."

Hades nodded, his dark eyes shifting to Thanatos; "When you're done, follow us to mount Olympus. Apollo says there may already be some trouble brewing."

Hypnos chipped in, his previous irritation resurfacing; "Ares got impatient. A troop of your men were attacked a few hours ago."

"What?" Thanatos asked, his commander mode activated; "How many? Damages?"

Hypnos' mouth was set into a firm line; "Manageable, but he's ready to strike. We need to see Apollo as soon as possible."

Thanatos nodded; "I'll just be a moment. I'll meet you in the throne room."

"Hurry." Hades opened his portal and stepped through, shooting me one last smile.

I watched as the lord of the Underworld, Hypnos and Barrios rushed through, their expressions cold and calculated.

Things had already started. The wheel had begun turning and I was hoping it would still be a while before it was our time to jump.

I opened a portal for the girls, my expression just as serous; "Okay, you guys remember what we discussed? It's time. So go to the palace and barricade yourself in our room. Let Opis in with you and keep Trimorphe close. No one else."

"What about Shadow? Trita asked.

Thanatos nodded; "Keep him closest off all- he'll notify me if you're in danger. And do not open the door for anyone unless they say this word..." Thanatos leaned in and whispered the passwords we'd came up with into Sonya and Trita's ears.

They nodded and stepped towards the portal. As the blue abyss disappeared and my friends along with it, Alexus pushed back a stack of books she was reading and picked up her dress; "Okay, my turn. Let me go close up the academy and make sure all the children are away. We don't need any incidents."

The academy housed some of the worlds brightest and most gifted magical children, but also some of the world's most rich and notorious parents' children; if anything happened to one of them, we'd be in deep shit. To put it mildly.

Conrad nodded and we waited until the door closed and the three of us were alone.

Thanatos shot me the look, his eyes calm and ready, but just like me, I sensed a deep lingering fire burn underneath. I knew what to do.

"Conrad," I said, my voice lacking any emotion; "We need you to examine this." I took out the pendant from my pocket; it was covered in the handkerchief. "I found it in an old fort close to Hades' palace."

I unwrapped it, careful not to touch it with my bare fingers. Conrad's expression lit up, as if recognising it.

Thanatos watched every muscle in the old man's face, waiting for the cue to strike. I hoped we wouldn't have to, but...

"Do you know it?" I held my palm open for the old man to take it.

He nodded then, his voice low and curious and he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and reached for the pendant; "I do... This was Hecate's, am I correct? She used to wear it all the time."

"Correct..." Thanatos said quietly.

We waited for the shock.

Conrad pulled back the handerkerchief and reached a finger out to touch the pendant. We each sucked in a breath and-

Nothing.

No shock.

Thanatos eyes found mine with relief.

Conrad wasn't our man.

"Hmm..." The old man didn't notice as we exhaled in relief and just continued to stare at the pendant; "Yes, yes... Very antique. Beautiful. I wonder if this could have been used to anchor her somewhere, perhaps-"

Thanatos' hand shot out like a sprung trap and wrapped around the old god's neck. He lifted Conrad up into the air and I gasped in shock. "What the hell are you doing?"

Conrad coughed and struggled to breath as the god of death glared down at him; "I'm just making sure."

"I thought we said we weren't going to go the mad-couple route!" I yelled and crossed my arms.

Thanatos shrugged; "I need to be certain, angel."

"Is this what I can expect when we're married? Rash decisions?"

Thanatos smiled at me; "That sounds so cute coming from your mouth..."

I giggled, completely forgetting about the old man hanging in the air from Thanatos' vice grip; "I know! Married! So weird!"

"H-Hello!" Conrad grumbled and spat; "C-can you two tell m-me what is going on h-here, dammit!"

"Oh!" I grimaced, my expression twisted in apology, "Sorry, Conrad!"

"Are you, or are you not in ca-hoots with Ares?" Thanatos asked, bring the old man's face closer, his red eyes menacing.

Conrad shook his head, a look of complete shock and anger flashing across his face; "Don't be preposterous! Ares is a maniac! Now let me go, dammit! I can't breathe you overgrown toddler!"

Thanatos gently placed the old man's feet on the floor again and smiled as he patted down his robe; "I believe him."

"Bloody bollocks you do, you arrogant ass!" Conrad huffed and puffed like a shocked cat, springing his hands in the air and patting down his grey hair and beard; "How dare you? How dare you insult me like that, you- you..."

I quickly interrupted, pulling Conrad's attention towards me as Thanatos smirked down at the old man, like a son rolling his eyes at his father's ranting. "Conrad, I'm so sorry we had to do that, but Thanatos is right- we need to be sure."

"Exactly, old man." Thanatos smirked; "If it's any conciliation, I never thought it was you to begin with."

Conrad rolls his eyes and turns his back to the god of death; "That makes me feel so much better..."

"But this only leaves two more suspects." I thickened the air again, my frown deep and unsettled. Either Thanatos or I were going to get the fright of our life. And if it was Hades, well then... Persephone will definitely be involved too.

I shook my head; "We need to discuss how we're going to do this now."

"Agreed. Conrad," Thanatos took the pendant from the wizard and placed it on the desk. Samaria's desk. "I need you to come with me to Olympus. I need to interrogate Hades and if he is dangerous, Hypnos and I won't be able to hold him down by ourselves. All his servants are there as well."

"Of course." Conrad jumped at the chance to assist, even after Thanatos had treated him so poorly. The old man really did have such a soft spot for the dark lord of death.

Thanatos turned his attention to me, "Go home, right now. I want you with the girls till I call for you. And bring the Aegis with. You remember what the procedure is to open the vault?"

I nodded, my eyes filled with conviction and assurance. Thanatos pulled me in quickly and kissed my forehead, his lips hot and filled with passion. "Be safe."

"What about Alexus?"

"Alexus?" Conrad's eyes widened.

"She's the other one we think might be capable of this." I could tell Conrad had never even thought about it being possible, his eyes widening with shock.

He shook his head in disbelief; "No, no... It's not her. But..." He furrowed his brows; "It's not Hades either."

"It has to be." Thanatos said, his voice completely assured. "Leave Alexus to me. If Hades is innocent, I'll come back for her. Now go."

I squeezed his hand and quickly hugged Conrad, knowing this was a sort of farewell for now. The war has slowly begun, and the tide of conflict was heading this way.

Thanatos waited for me to make my portal before he made his. He pulled Conrad with him as they stepped closer. I did the same, fixing him with a longing gaze; "Be safe, please."

"I love you." Thanatos said and with another step, the two men were gone, sucked in with the speed of light.

I stared after them, my heart jumping to go with. "Love you too..." I whispered.

Suddenly, the door slammed open.

Alexus strolled in her eyes set forward and a hoard of guards on her tale; "Oh, Rora? You're still here?"

I eyed the men dressed in hold armour; "Olympian guards?"

"Yeah, to protect the academy. I'm heading off to the palace, are you coming with or going to Olympus?"

I nodded, knowing Conrad has spoken about asking Apollo for guards when the fight might break up. I gestured to my portal; "Here, let's go."

I couldn't deny her access, she'd suspect something was up and then I'd be giving away our element of surprise, but deep down I knew- or I wanted to think- that Alexus couldn't be the one.

She smiled and nodded to the guards; "Now, when you see Ares, do not hesitate to attack. He's crazed and dangerous." She quickly walked over to the desk and grabbed some books; "You ready for a lock-down?"

Her nervousness and her words made me think Hades was the one.

Fuck- and Thanatos is heading straight for him.

Shit.

I need to go there.

Of course, he had all the access as the god of the Underworld! But why? Why would he? To be king? He was for a bit, but then Apollo overthrew him in a vote. Apollo had support, whereas Hades had only become king because of traditions. 

Hades had all the magical abilities anyone could ask for- a dangerous rival. I need to go there right now!

I swiftly opened another portal; Alexus shot me a confused look; "Are you okay? Aurora, what's the matter?"

"I think Thanatos may be in danger. I need to-"

"Ouch!"

My heart sank to the soles of my feet.

No.

Slowly, like a picture being turned upside down, my vision blurred and I twisted my neck back to look at Alexus.

She was waving her finger in the air, a look of pain and bewilderment written across her pretty face.

I shook my head the portal behind me crumbling and blowing into dust as my magic took my shocked emotions and transferred them into my ability to bend.

The room died down, the guards not moving an inch.

Alexus laughed; "Sorry, I guess the room is a bit static. You were saying?"

"You..."

Alexus lifted a brow, her mouth set in a frown; "Aurora?"

The pendant was clasped in her hand. 

Mine balled into a fist. "It was you all along..."

Alexus eyes slanted and her head shook, she was good pretending to be confused; "I don't know what you're-"

"Tractatori." The mere mention of Hecate's spell shut her face down. 

A small laugh escaped her mouth, but it wasn't happy. She glanced at the pendant; "Clever. I should never have taught you that spell."

I sneered at her; "You bitch."

Alexus exhaled in anger and closed her eyes, as if me finally knowing was a massive inconvenience for her, which I'm sure it was, but also, it looked like she was physically hurt by it.

"Guards!"

Suddenly, there was a man right next to me and with one slam; his shield hit me right over the head.

My blurred vision turned black, but before I was swallowed whole into the deep pit of anger and despondency, Alexus' gentle voice floated through the haze, shaking in my ear, causing me so much heartache;

"I am so sorry..."

Shit's about to go down in a spectacular fashion...

Some of you guessed Alexus, but can you guess her reasoning?