Previously...

"We're done here. Go back to your palace in hell." Nyx said to me, but her eyes held a sliver of sadness.

"There is no way I am leaving here now." I barked at her. She might've been my grandmother, but I felt no need to be respectful towards her. None. I knew the stories and I knew the type of woman I was dealing with. It was as clear as day. "I came here to ruin these sordid games and I am not leaving until I have!"

"Then you should get used to disappointment, little girl." She sneered at me and it was somehow familiar.

"Where's Erebus?"

Nyx's eyes widened at the mention of his name. Simos stared down at me and back up at his mother, but said nothing. He was still in shock and hadn't had the time to process everything that was revealed a few minutes ago. I doubted he'd have enough time in his short mortal-length lifespan to fully deal with all this bad news.

I, however, was trying my best to keep focused and leave the shock for another time and place. Malreus had walked up to stand beside me; his overprotective nature kicking in. "I asked you where Erebus is?" I said again.

"Who? Your grandfather?" She grinned at me.

My throat felt dry as I hesitantly replied; "Yes."

"Don't go looking for trouble you cannot handle, child." She shook her head at me like a disappointed grandmother would.

"Where is he?" I whispered menacingly.

All of a sudden, the large double doors to the room burst open to reveal a familiar face.

Our heads swung back to stare at the twins.

Casseus placed a hand over his heart and with the other, he waved a faded piece of paper around. With a ragged breath, he gasped; "The Labyrinth! He's in the Labyrinth!"

The Green Bargain

Claudeus grabbed the piece of paper from Casseus' hand and held it up high; "Asclepius found the last part of the poem! It's Erebus!" Malreus met my gaze with wide eyes, but we both knew what my brother was about to say next. "Erebus is the werewolf!"

"Twins..." Nyx whispered behind me with her brilliant yellow stare fixated on my brothers. She'd said it softly and to herself, but I'd heard her loud and clear.

I stepped in front of them, blocking her line of vision; obstructing them from her sight. I snarled at her; "Leave them out of this."

"I had the feeling the twin-gene would stick." Nyx smiled softly and nodded her head; "It's a shame they weren't blessed with his red eyes too- the blue is all wrong on them. It makes them look too mortal."

The twins were handsome and built like stallions- I doubted that anyone who saw them thought that they looked plain and not particularly special. Besides, my mother's blue eyes were a gift all their own; that blue was electric and reminded me of home. "What in the hell is she talking about?" Casseus barked from across the room, his glare directed at Nyx.

Little did he know that she was his grandmother. I shook my head and turned my face around to eye them; "Leave now. Go fetch the others and go-"

"In your wildest dreams, sis." Casseus stated bluntly and stepped forward. "Do you honestly think we'd leave you here?"

"Casseus-"

"No, Theia." Claudeus remarked before I had the chance to counter their decision. My brothers stood firmly at the entrance, their minds made up. "You stay; we stay."

"You're idiots." I grumbled at them, but gave in and mouthed softly- 'love you.' They both hid their smiles and instead, directed their angry glowers towards Nyx.

Casseus folded his arms across his chest; "Now are you heading towards the Labyrinth or what?"

"You're not even going to tell them?" Nyx asked me with a pointed look and gestured with her chin to the twins.

I glared at her, while Claudeus walked up to me and asked; "Tell us what?"

"Nothing." I growled at Nyx. "It's not worth mentioning." I hoped my words had hurt her. She wasn't worth mentioning- if my father thought that his own mother wasn't worth his children's time, then I stood by that decision. From what I'd learned these last few days, Xon wasn't the nicest of people. Nyx definitely wasn't much better.

"Oh, but it is." Nyx snapped back and I recognised that sneer. My father and uncle really did share that same look of bitterness when they were upset. How had I missed it before?

"Come on." I grabbed Claudeus by his arm and Casseus around his wrist and led them towards the exit. There was a maniacal and potentially dangerous old god to stop- we didn't have time for family theatrics. "We need to go."

"Hold on, little girl." Nyx walked towards us, but Simos blocked her from getting any closer. She snarled at him and he snarled right back. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What I should've done from the start." Simos said softly, but with a wave of hidden rage just below the surface. "You're selfish. I knew that, but of course I didn't want to acknowledge it. No more." He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her back with him, towards the other archway, at the back of the chamber.

"Where are you taking me?" She growled at her son, but he deliberately ignored her. "Unhand me, Simos!"

"Simos-" I called out his name, but he ignored us all and dragged Nyx away towards the other exit. She shot me one last look of anger and resentment, before she was ripped from my vision.

Simos had left us. I hadn't realised how strong he actually was. Nyx was a goddess- not that she possessed a particular brute strength, but still... He'd managed to pull her along with him without much hassle.

Casseus grabbed my hand, pulling my thoughts back to the room. "What was all of that about? What happened?"

"I'll tell you later." I gestured with my hand to the large doors and beckoned them to follow; "Right now, let's get to the others before something bad happens."

"No, wait." Claudeus reasoned; "The others know what to do from here- eliminate the inner circle. What we need to do is put an end to Manos and more importantly, the wolf. Or..." He paused and his mouth turned up at the side with a disgusted look. "Or rather, put an end to him."

What Claudeus was saying was something none of us could even truly comprehend. End Erebus? What on earth did that even mean or entail? We didn't have the power or the means to end any part of our grandfather's schemes. But leave it to us to completely ignore that small, hindering factor...

"I agree with Claudeus, but..." Malreus' eyes found mine and I saw them soften. "You should check on the rest of the gang, just in case."

I knew why he suggested that. He wanted me out of the picture with Erebus, but that wasn't going to happen. "No way in hell." I scoffed; "I think you should check on them."

"I'm not leaving your side, Theia." Malreus said with utter seriousness. Casseus and Claudeus shared a look and I knew they saw it too- our relationship had changed. It wasn't too apparent, but it was obvious enough.

"Then the twins will go." I shot them both a look, demanding them to agree, but they refused my command.

"Like we said, they can handle themselves. We're sticking to you like glue, Tea." Casseus remarked with gravity and led the way forward; "Come on; I know where the entrance is."

"Wait." I called them back- energies were rising high and we were all fuelled up, but there was no plan. There was no way for us to know what Erebus was really doing down there and what he had planned for us. "Let's just stop and think for a second-"

"Theia, we don't have the time-"

I interjected Casseus' remark; "Yes, we do." He shut up and listened. "We're about to meet our estranger and potentially murderous grandfather for the very first time. He's excepting us, you do know that, right?"

Casseus exchanged a look with Claudeus and then shared a glance with Malreus. They all nodded and agreed. I continued softly; "What are we going to do, exactly?"

"I don't know," Malreus answered; "But I do know that we have to do something."

"You're good at thinking on your feet." Claw remarked and tried to lighten the mood, but his voice hid a level of unease that he very rarely showed. "We'll improvise."

I sighed and closed my eyes for a split second- the stakes were too high to just waltz in there and expect the best. "Claw..."

"Actually," Casseus' eyes lit up and he pointed a finger at me; "You're right."

I frowned at him; "I am?"

"Yeah, we shouldn't go. You should." He shrugged and gestured to the three of them. "We'll let you talk to him."

"That is not happening." Malreus argued angrily, but Casseus wasn't done with his plan. "Hang on; Theia will go, but so will we. We'll hide behind a shroud and make ourselves invisible. There are no magical sensors in the Labyrinth, so no one will suspect foul play."

"And we'll have an element of surprise in case anything goes... wrong." Claudeus nodded, agreeing with Casseus' new scheme.

"Alright, fine."

"You're agreeing to this?" Malreus asked me with wide eyes; his hand found my wrist and lightly squeezed.

I shrugged and tried to explain; "Look, I'm going in there to find out what Erebus is planning- I'm not going in there with my sword drawn and ready to attack just yet. What if this can be settled with words?"

The three men stared at me with dry eyes and vacant expressions.

I cleared my throat and sighed; "Oh, whatever." I grumbled and turned around to head to the exit. "I like the plan, but I'll need more security. Come with me."

Malreus followed me to the compound, while the twins were sent away to go check on the rest of the gang. After a curt and assertive argument, I had convinced my brothers to part ways with us, under the clear understanding that we would wait for them at the Labyrinth. Mal and I snuck through the dimly lit alleyways and shrouded ourselves in the shadows. The rain kept falling lightly and the ground grew slowly wet with the precipitation. Petrichor filled the air and the scent reminded me of the ocean king's domain, where it rained quite often.

The clouds rumbled with the echoing roar of thunder, but the lightning stayed put behind the black mass moving in towards us. It hid away, waiting...

I made my way around to the back. We had no more need for theatrics; it was best we kept hidden, but it was also time we started re-establishing ourselves a the top of the food chain- where we belonged.

We darted around the corner of the large building; disappearing into the shadows as if we were made of the same black matter.

Malreus hoisted me up and I latched onto the side of the building. I scaled the compound with agility and a sense of urgency. Malreus followed close behind; just as eager. I reached for the trap door on the roof and slipped down, into the lounge of our grand chambers. The compound was quiet.

Malreus jumped in behind me and landed on his feet like a stealthy cat. "You didn't think to mention that Erebus was here?" He asked with a dry tone, while I darted towards the lounge.

"We had enough to talk about already." I shrugged.

I couldn't see his face, but I could practically feel him roll his eyes; "Yes, because the notorious overlord of darkness and doom is such a boring topic..." Malreus sighed when I didn't respond. "What are we doing here?"

"I need to fetch something important." I scanned the room as I moved towards the large sofa. The pillows were neatly aligned and fluffed up. The servants had been here to clean. I would've preferred to have gotten here first...

"Very mysterious, Theia..." Malreus said dryly and with a teasing flicker in his eye, but he watched silently as I threw the pillows off the sofa and lifted the cushions up. His eyebrow lifted up with silent question when my face contorted in shock.

"Where is it?" I snarled and ripped out the rest of the cushions. "It was right here!"

"What was?" Malreus asked and leaned over my shoulder to have a look too. He shook his head when my hands ran over the smooth, but empty space.

"This is bad." I whispered and leaned back, my eyes wide with alarm.

"Theia," Malreus crossed his arms; "Did you hide quanti in the couch?"

"What? No!" I scoffed at him and he narrowed his eyes. I sighed and rubbed my forehead in silent anger. This was not good. "What good would gold and silver coins do against a primordial?"

"Well, silver and werewolves don't exactly mix well together, but then again..." Malreus shrugged and scanned the couch where I'd frantically searched. "Erebus isn't exactly a real werewolf at all."

"But definitely a monster." I whispered softly as my eyes darted to the side and my hands flew down to the armchair. Maybe it miraculously moved? It wouldn't be the weirdest thing to ever happen...

Malreus' started to ask; "Then what-"

"Well, well..." But a scratchy, melodic voice chuckled behind us and halted the curious words on the tip of my best friend's tongue.

Malreus and I jumped around to meet Shaban's mocking grin. His smile was alight with joy and a malicious sliver. He looked like he knew something we didn't and it gave me the absolute chills...

"You've been gone quite a while, haven't you?" Shaban remarked teasingly. Of course he'd noticed our absence- technically, no mortal could break out of this luxurious hellhole, but I suspected Shaban knew more than he'd previously let on. He eyed us with a certain distain.

"Don't do something you'll regret, Shaban." Malreus said with a hushed tone that was filled a menacing threat. He wasn't in the mood for theatrics; I knew this well. "I'm warning you." Malreus snarled and moved to slightly cover my side with his body; shielding me from the unsettling compound keeper. There wasn't much this twisted little man could do to me, but I appreciated the sentiment.

Shaban's eyes flickered with a delightful laughter; "I should say the same to you, my dears." My eyes widened with shock and horror when he unsheathed the weapon I'd been looking for in between the couch's cushions. Shaban chuckled when I gasped softly and instinctively pulled Malreus back against me.

My best friend swung his head around to gape at me with wide eyes; "Is that...? Theia!" He hissed at me, but I was too busy trying to think of a way to get Erebus' legendary dagger back from the creepy man in front of us. No doubt he knew exactly what it was.

The dagger of Erebus and the Aegis were two of the new world's most infamous and known weapons to ever exist. They were known all over the new world- them, including the fabled sickle of Cronus, but no one knew what it looked like except the gods who'd had the unfortunate blessing of encountering it during the Granite Rebellion- and of course, the original war; The Great Titan war.

The sickle was practically useless now. After my mother had burned the hard metal; the blade had bent and cracked leaving the weapon incapable of dealing the same damage as before. It left her hands forever scarred. Presently, it was being kept in my father's large vault- hidden away in a glass cage; never to be touched again.

And so was his father's dagger, until I stole it...

Shaban nipped his finger with the sharp point of the polished dagger and smiled down at his own reflection in the blade. "I found your toy in the couch earlier- Estra was kind enough to explain to me how important this little sword is."

"It's a dagger, you imbecile." Malreus muttered with slanted eyes. I knocked him in his side with my elbow and shot him a look. Through my thoughts, I sent him a message- Do you really want to insult the demented, overgrown toddler holding a deity-killing weapon?

Malreus crossed his arms and glared at Shaban with repugnance and disgust. Yes.

I rolled my eyes and tried to do what I did best- be nice. "Shaban..." I cleared my throat and smiled sweetly. I lifted my hands to signal to him that I meant no harm. "Perhaps we can come to some arrangement. I'm sure you don't want to do this. Manos and Estra must treat you so poorly."

"Poorly?" He scoffed and burst out laughing. It was the laugh of a crazed individual. "Estra is like a mother to me! She took me in when I had nothing; when I was no better than a dog on the street. Don't try your twisted little game with me, death-child."

"Catchy." Malreus muttered under his breath and narrowed his eyes at Shaban. He interjected my next words with a tactic of his own- violence. "Look, you sickening, sorry excuse for a skeleton; drop that weapon on the floor and push it towards us or I swear I'll pop your head open like a bottlecap."

"I'd like to see you try..." Shaban pointed the dagger at Malreus and tutted like a parent. "One cut of this, and I was told you'd lose all your healing powers." Shaban chuckled and beckoned Malreus closer. "Come try and get it from me, big boy."

Ignoring the nauseating way Shaban had said 'big boy' and trying to keep this fragile situation calm. I jerked Malreus back and whispered; "Do not get close to that dagger. I don't have the ability to heal you."

"I am aware of that, Theia." Malreus snarled at the spine-chilling cretin in front of us. "But I'm not backing down from this man's idle threats."

"Yeah, I doubt they're idle." I remarked softly and pinched the immortal next to me; instructing him to stay put. "Let me handle this." I took a step forward, my hands still extended, and smiled at Shaban again, but this time, it was a pleading smile.

"Shaban, look..." I tried again. "We can settle this in a way that will benefit us both."

Shaban's smile faltered a bit and he leaned forward, but only slightly; "I'm listening..."

Gotcha. "We have quanti- a lot of quanti. Olympus-level quanti." I smiled and winked.

Shaban nodded absentmindedly and narrowed his eyes; "Yes...?"

I continued; "We'll give you five thousand and then you slide that dagger over to me and we can both walk away from this with ease. Both far better off than how we met. Right?"

Shaban's eyes darted from me to Malreus. They lingered a bit on Malreus, checking to see if the dark prince was going to try and go back on the deal or not, but Malreus gave nothing away. He just glared at the head-servant and kept his mouth shut. Shaban contemplated his options a bit and then quickly made up his mind when we heard a scuffle outside.

The palace guards had found us. Manos was on the lookout for his prize contenders and he wasn't going to let us go without heavy resistance.

"Ten thousand." Shaban stated quickly, eyeing the door. Malreus scoffed loudly and was about to put the mortal man in his place, but I grabbed his arm and squeezed. I nodded; "Deal."

"What?" Malreus asked with shock and stared at me; "Where are we going to get-"

I dodged past him and jogged into the kitchen. I ripped open the last drawer, where the spices were kept, and unhooked the bottom panel. I threw it over my shoulder and placed two heavy bags of coins onto the kitchen counter. They banged against the marble and I stood up to meet two shocked faces.

"-ten thousand quanti..." Malreus lamely finished his sentence. His eyes darted up to mine and he frowned; "Are you going to pull the Aegis out of the oven next?"

"Oh, no. I couldn't get to it in time." I shrugged; "It was in a different wing of my father's vault."

He slanted his eyes and lifted a thick eyebrow in response to my honest answer- I knew he was joking when he asked.

Shaban stared at the quanti; the dagger nearly forgotten at his side. "No wonder that drawer was so damn heavy..." He shook his head and then came to his senses when a knock sounded on the front door of the compound.

A guard's loud bark echoed through the door. "Shaban! Open up!"

"They're going to knock down the door!" Shaban hissed at us and pointed at the quanti. "Throw me the bags!" I wanted to laugh- couldn't he see how heavy these were? His spine would crumble if I handed him one of these pouches- never mind threw it at him.

"Dagger first." Malreus growled and pointed at the weapon in Shaban's hand. The man was shaking. Those palace guards definitely frightened him- more so than two ridiculously, powerful gods.

"No way! Quanti, now."

I sighed and before Mal could argue more, I threw the two bags at Shaban's feet. It was my turn to snarl; "Dagger. Now."

Shaban checked the one bag to make sure that I wasn't cheating him out of the deal and when he was satisfied, he threw the dagger to Malreus. The prince caught the dagger; careful to avoid the sharp end. He seated it behind his back, in a leather strap and hid the sharp blade.

"Shaban!" The guard shouted again. "Shaban; you weasel! Open!"

"HELP!" Shaban let out a bloodcurdling scream. Malreus and I cussed loudly and bolted for the closest window. "They're going to kill me! Help!"

The exact moment we ripped the steel bars from the nearest window, the guards had rammed down the thick doors. I lifted my hand to the glass and it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. A loud alarm was triggered by my magic and the entire compound was closing up, like a metal clam.

Malreus pushed me through the window first and then quickly rushed after. A steel wall slammed over the broken window, including every exit of the large building; trapping Shaban and all the palace guards in the large, now dark, compound.

Malreus and I checked the grounds for any sign of trouble. We moved forward into the thick foliage of the bushes and hid ourselves among the leaves. A secondary troop of guards were stationed at the gate of the compound's grounds, with smaller squads scattered around the large field to cover all possible exit routes.

The loud alarm coming from the building had alerted some of the more elite palace guards and the second in command ordered a few men to ram the steel wall that blocked the first troop inside. They were going to try and bash their way in, while the others trapped inside were going to try and do the same thing from inside.

Malreus leaned over to me; "I see a weak spot." He gestured with his chin to a corner of the field where three guards stood with their backs to us. They were shrouded from the rest of the small army as they stood adjacent to a high terrace, covered with ivy and roses. The one guard was checking the bushes, while the other two glanced around, hoping to spot some movement. The sun was still masked away from the sky by thick, crying clouds and it was hard to tell if it was still day or if the twilight had taken over the heavens by now.

I nodded and let Malreus lead the way.

We scurried along the building's outer line; hiding in the shadows and the bushes as we went.

A loud, angry shout sounded from the front of the building. The second commander was losing his patience with his subordinates. "What in the hell is taking so long? Get the damn door open, you worthless specimens!"

"Commander," A brave soldier tried to reason with the thick bearded man; "It's three feet of pure steel. We-"

"I'm going to push my sword three feet up your asshole if you don't open that door in the next five minutes!"

That got the soldiers pushing. It didn't sound like he was exaggerating. "Yes, sir."

Malreus and I had worked our way closer to the squadron of three. This was much easier than taking on the entire two troops that Manos had sent- and quicker. Speed was of the essence here. We wanted these mortals to linger by the compound and around Mania for as long as possible. That gave us more time to explore the Labyrinth with ease.

Not that I really think any of Manos' guards would go into the wolf's den that easily... They knew the horror that was waiting down there. But still, we needed time and the element of surprise if we wanted to take on Erebus. Let the mortal ants fall over their own two feet while looking for us- they'll avoid the maze for as long as they can.

Gods... Take on Erebus? How on earth was I going to do that? He was... He IS the most powerful god now. Cronus has been trapped in Tartarus for nearly an eternity, Zeus is long dead and my father... I don't even know if my father can stand up to him.

How in Hades am I?

Was I even going to have to fight him, or could this all be resolved peacefully?

This was no time for doubts- or apparently, reasonable thought.

Malreus and I shared a look and I pointed at the guard on the right, while he gestured to the one of the left. We nodded and moved into position.

"Where is that brat?" The guard searching the bushes muttered in frustration. The one to his right sighed and glanced over his shoulder. "She's probably waiting to slit your throat the moment you turn around."

The guard replied with a scoff and turned around to glare at his friend, but the red of my eyes over his comrade's shoulder caught the dry retort in his throat. His eyes widened, but it was too late. I sliced my dagger across the man's throat and threw my knife through the air, hitting the other guard between his eyes. He fell backwards into the bushes and disappeared from sight.

I glanced to my side and saw Malreus had deftly and silently taken care of the third guard. He'd clasped a hand over his mouth and stuck his sword into the man's back and through his chest. The guard hung limply in his arms. Malreus pushed him off the blade and into the nearby bushes. He moved to drag the remaining body into the plants and just like that, the three guards had disappeared from sight. No fuss, no drama. Quick and clean.

It paid off being raised by the best assassin in the ancient Greek world.

"Come on." Malreus used his hands to propel me up and over the wall. I fell on my feet and checked around. the coast was clear. Malreus landed beside me and we quickly placed our hoods over our heads; covering our identities as best we could.

We didn't use magic just yet- if Waldonius could pick up the use of it, who's to say he couldn't pinpoint the exact location of it too? We had to keep to the shadows for now.

"Where to next?" Malreus checked to see if the dagger was still latched on behind his back. It was safe.

"The Labyrinth."

"Theia," Malreus grabbed my shoulder and pulled me towards an alley. "When did you grab the dagger? And since when do we have so much quanti? I thought we only took the minimum amount."

"I grabbed extra when I left the palace this morning. And the dagger too- for insurance."

"Theia," Malreus said and I knew exactly what he was going to ask next. I sighed, but he didn't allow me to interject. "Are you sure about this? If that blade touches you..."

"I know, okay." I grabbed his arm and nodded with sombre eyes. "I just grabbed it. I needed a backup. But I'm not dumb. I know this can backfire."

"Okay." He nodded, not totally convinced.

We stared at each other, until the rumble of approaching lightning snapped our eyes up, towards the heavens. Soft raindrops patted my nose and cheeks; the smell of a storm hit my senses.

"Come; let's get going." I whispered.

He nodded and led the way towards the deep valley, close to Manos' fortress. I silently prayed that none of the others would follow and that Simos was thoroughly occupied with Nyx. I didn't need the fear of more collateral damage- Malreus was already too much to take.

A bolt of lightning clapped against the dark skies and thunder echoed through the chasm.

The Labyrinth was calling... 

Things are heating up...

Xx