Chapter Seven

I heard the sound of shouting.

Muffled, like it was wrapped in a thick quilt, and I felt someone moving me. Hands touching me everywhere, making my skin crawl and my stomach twist in a knot. Pain radiated through every part of me, and a warm artificial heat beat down on me. I felt like I'd been dumped through a trash compactor, then tossed in the road to get hit by a car for added measure.

Through the muffled voices yelling back and forth, I heard the faintest sounds of something beating, a soft whooshing sound, like air being forced through a tube, a nozzle of some kind. Alarmed, I tried to move to find that I was in way too much pain. So much so that the mere thought of moving sent agony slicing through me. I sucked in a sharp, pained breath.

And forced my eyes open. My eyelids felt heavy like lead, and my vision was blurred for a moment. I heard the sound of my heart pounding in my ears, blood rushing through my veins at a steady pace.

My vision steadily began to clear, revealing two people leaning over me, shouting. It took me a moment to realize it was Hades and Lea, and just behind Lea was Akin, looking tear-stricken and agonized. More pain sliced through me like a white hot lance.

Shit. I'm making him cry again.

I am such an asshole.

I was still confused, though, as to what Lea was doing there, shouting at Hades. It was like the world had slowed down around me. She was angry, pointing at me, then Hades, who was rolling his eyes at her. His mouth was moving, but I couldn't make out the words. His long black hair was tied back from his face, deep blue intelligent eyes glowed in the darkness that surrounded us, except a painfully bright flourescent light pointed directly into my face.

Jesus, get that shit out of here.

I tried to move my hand to push it aside, but more pain pulsed through me and I choked, feeling something hot and liquid rising in my throat, then pouring down the sides of my face. Akin screamed so suddenly, and the world came slamming back into me.

"Stop! You're hurting him! Hades, do something! Please!" Akin shouted in agony, new tears streaming down his face as he clapped his hands over his mouth. Lucifer was there a second later to grab him and try to haul him back, but Akin reached for me. I struggled to lifted my hand to reach for him.

"No." I rasped, trying to get up, but Hades slammed me back down on the table I was laying on none-too-kindly and I choked. Hades cursed, then shot Lea and Akin menacing glares.

"Now, look what you made me do. I probably just broke the bones I repaired," He said, making both of them shout at him angrily and he shook his head, glaring at Lucifer, "Get them both out of here before I just leave the hybrid in pieces." Lucifer nodded and quickly managed to wedge his way between Akin and I. I tried to reach my hand out, but Hades shoved a mask onto my face. I growled low in my throat, trying to reach up and shove him back, but whatever was being poured through the mask went straight through my system.

Shit.

My vision spun and my eyes rolled back as I went limp on the table again.

I woke up to pain radiating through my skull, like someone had hit me over the head with a sledgehammer... again.

A wave of nausea followed, twirling and twisting in my gut, forcing burning hot bile up my throat. Without opening my eyes, I rolled over onto my stomach and choked up a mouthful into what sounded like a garbage bin. I was too busy vomiting to notice the delicate feminine hand on my shoulder, giving me an encouraging squeeze. I choked up the last bit of food I'd had in my stomach, feeling it dribble past my lips before I struggled to catch my breath. My throat and stomach burned in protest, but to be honest, I felt infinitely better.

I felt the cold rim of a glass of water touching my lips and I took it grateful, swishing it in my mouth to wash out the taste, spitting it out, then swallowing the rest of the contents. The glass left me and I sighed gratefully, slumping back down on my stomach for a second to catch my breath. I felt the hand leave my shoulder for a second, then return, making me frown.

The fingers were long and delicate, dainty. And while Akin was feminine to an extent, this hand felt more like a woman's hesitant touch than Akin's open stroking. And aside from the foul stench of vomit wafting from the garbage bin, I could smell the faintest hints of vanilla and patchouli mingled with something that was sweet, floral... feminine.

A bad feeling cut through me and I debated whether I should even open my eyes or not to confirm my suspicions. I had a bad case of the stupids, though, and forced my eyes open.

I was first assaulted by bright vibrant lights, making me grimace against them and press my face to the pillow before I forced myself to look back up as I rolled over onto my back against the pillows, propping myself up onto my elbows. My vison was hazy for a moment before clearing and my stomach dropped.

Lea sat on the edge of the bed, her long curly black hair bundled into a ponytail, her blue eyes staring widely at me, her expression as if she'd seen a ghost come back to haunt her. Even worse, her hand was touching my arm and it seared me like a white hot poker. I snatched my hand back with a hiss and rolled to get away from her, but being the graceful fuck I was, I rolled off the other side of the bed and slammed into the floor on my face.

I really need to see about joining the ballerina career.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, seething in pain as my body protested the violent movements. I heard Lea gasp when I hit the floor and the bed creak as she stood up and moved to the other side of the bed to approach me.

"Hannibal!" Hearing her say my name made my skin crawl. She pronounced it in the original Atlantean dialect; a sharp "e" before the "b", and a soft "ah". It left me breathless for a moment, to hear her actually use the name I'd given myself, in a tone of voice I'd stopped dreaming about before I even hit puberty. Rage stole through my veins like the gates of a dam breaking open, and I shot to my feet, whirling around to face her, baring my fangs.

She went stone still, her eyes widening as if she couldn't comprehend the hatred in my glare.

"Where's Akin?" I demanded instantly. A small wave of panic went through me at that. If she laid one finger on Akin... The look on her face said the question was confusing before she cleared her throat, trying to recover from the shock.

"Uhm, safe," She said, too hesitantly for my tastes and I growled low in my throat, "He is, I swear. He was here just an hour ago, but his father summoned him for details on the drakus attack." I narrowed my eyes at her, not trusting her for a second, so I reached out with my powers against the pain pulsing in my head. I found Akin's power source right where Lea had said he would be; Lucifer's office on the second floor.

A sharp pain snapped in my face and I hissed, reaching up to press the heel of my palm against the space between my eyes. I felt a hot flow rush down my nose, tasted the blood as it oozed from my nose.

"Hannibal," Lea said again, looking surprisingly concerned, "Please, sit. You're in no condition to be moving around so soon. Hades strongly advised that you not leave your bed for at least three days." Now that was laughable. Hades strongly advised? Yeah, now I knew she was lying. The only thing Hades would strongly advise would be torturing me slowly and painfully for the rest of eternity. Besides, this wasn't going to kill me, thanks to her.

I wasn't sure what to do now, though, knowing that Akin was safe. I almost asked where Arikos had gone, but I had no doubt he'd taken off to avoid getting questioned or dragged to the palace. I made a mental note to check up on him to ensure his safety... and why I gave a shit about that, I wasn't sure.

"Hannibal, please." Lea's voice was like a blade of ice cutting through my thoughts. She'd moved closer when I shut my eyes. I instantly backed into the corner, hissing at her.

"Don't come near me!" I snarled. Lea went still again, staring at me. There was a mix of emotions in those eyes; hurt, confusion, fear. I almost wondered if I'd seen concern there, but that wasn't possible. Why would the woman who abandoned me ever be concerned for me?

Just looking at her infuriated me. To think that this entire time, we shared a voice, an accent, features, and even a blood line. It chilled me to the bone. Even worse was having her this close to me. This was as close to her as I'd ever been in my entire life. Only a few short feet separated us and it only succeeded in angering me further to think she had backed me into this corner.

And what was with that "Hannibal, please" bullshit? Why was she pretending to show concern for me when she never would have done it before? Hell, she'd been in this realm for several weeks. Surely she would have come to me earlier if she gave a shit. Why wait until this moment to approach me? Was it because I was unconscious and vulnerable? Is that what she thought? Or did she think tending to me while I vomited would suddenly endear her to me?

I'd learned a long time ago to never trust a parent who pretends to do you good.

I'd once taken food from Iapetus when I was a child, and he'd poisoned it to try and kill me, only to learn I'd woken up the next day, fine and well... aside from vomiting for hours. The worst part was having him kneel in front of me with the plate of food, to smile in my face and offer me food after starving me for a week. I remembered how much I cried that night because I was so relieved he didn't hate me, only to choke on my own blood and die later that night... and come back in the morning to learn the truth when I walked outside and Iapetus's eyes had flashed with hatred.

"Son of a bitch," Iapetus had roared, ranting to Clymene without realizing, or maybe he did realize, that I was standing just outside the window where they were meeting, "I swear to the gods, that little bastard is cursed! I gave him venom of hydra, Clymene. Venom of hydra. And still he woke this morning and even had the gall to approach me and attempt to touch me. Damn that Lea bitch for him. Damn her to the depths of Tartarus!" Of course, Clymene held no pity for Iapetus. His infidelity being punished by me was the only reason Clymene didn't beat me as harshly as the others. To her, I was Iapetus's punishment for his betrayal to their marriage.

No, I knew better than to take anything from a parent.

"You need to sit," Lea said, breaking through my thoughts again as I pinned her with a menacing glare, "You're going to hurt yourself the longer you move around." Still, I didn't dare back off. She'd like that, wouldn't she? Convincing me to sit down so she'd have control of the situation. I'd rather stand, coiled ready to retaliate, to have her within my sights at all times, to have our surroundings within sight. There were plenty of things in here she could use to subdue me.

I knew all about the creativity of my enemies. Atlas had once tied my sheets around my throat while I slept and dragged me from my bed. Clymene had used a candle holder to bash my skull open. Even if there were no objects, the pristine white marble floors would make a good weapon by bashing my face into it, as Menoetius often found entertaining.

Lea clenched her teeth. I could see her frustration forming and that only put me on guard even more. She was a tricky goddess. Her powers were known far and wide through other pantheons. Lea, goddess of battle strategy and curses. I'd like to see how she'd fair against me since I also had quite a few centuries of battle strategy under my belt.

"Hannibal, please," Lea tried again, making me bare my fangs, "If you don't lay down, I'll have to make you and I really do not want to do that. It would seem you hate me enough already."

"Try me." I challenged menacingly. I'd like to see her just try and subdue me. No one, but Akin, controlled me. I watched Lea stare at me intensely, and I stared back, tense and ready to strike out if she dared to come near me. We stood there for the longest time, just glaring at each other when I started to feel my muscles relax. A strange heavy haze started to descend on me and panic instantly rose inside me.

She was using magic.

That was one thing I didn't think about and I wasn't sure why. I was too focused on the physical to even think about what she'd do to me using her magic. She was casting some kind of spell, something that was making me weak and tired. My muscles started to weaken and my legs wobbled. I struggled to stay standing, stepping back to lean against the wall, breathing hard as more panic rushed through me.

"Hannibal," Lea said gently, approaching me and I bared my fangs at her again, hissing, but she didn't back away this time, "Please, don't fight it. I'm not doing this to hurt you. I just want to help you." I was too busy having a panic attack to even give a shit about her words. My breathing was labored as I fought to keep what little strength I had left. My legs finally gave out and I slumped against the wall, sliding down onto the floor.

Lea came closer and I snarled at her, flinging my arm out to try and hit her, but she stepped back to avoid it and came closer again. Even worse, her spell was seeping into my every fiber, relaxing me so my muscles no longer trembled as I tried to fight her, my breathing was trying to even out, despite my frantic gasps for air. I tried to lift my arm to shove Lea back, but it was no use. My body refused to obey me as I sat there against the wall, my head tilted back as I glared up at her.

My eyes followed her as she knelt in front of me, her features softening until she looked almost sad. Her eyes studied me and I watched her swallow hard, as if she were fighting tears. She reached a hand out to my face and her touch seared me. Without warning, I turned my head and sank my fangs down into her wrist. She gasped and shoved my head back off her, my fangs tearing through her flesh.

She quickly stepped back, staring down at her wrist in shock as blood oozed from the wounds and onto the floor between us. I breathed hard, struggling to keep my eyes open as I glared at her.

"Don't... ever fucking touch me... again." I panted, trying to lift myself to at least get further into the corner, but my body wouldn't listen. I only managed to lift myself an inch before I fell back down.

Lea swallowed again and clasped her hand over her wounded wrist to heal the damage before she looked at me. There was no malice or anger there for what I'd done to her, which infuriated me more.

What kind of game was she playing here? What did she want from me? Was Raven right when he suggested that she wanted to recruit me for Xenon's stupid war against his father? Or was there something more going on?

I didn't have more time to ponder it because the spell suddenly weighed so heavily on me that my vision was blurring and I was sinking toward the floor completely.

"Sleep, milos." She murmured an instant before I fell back into a deep sleep.

I woke up again a couple hours later. I felt drowsy and heavy still, but my body no longer throbbed in pain and the blood on my face from my nose bleed had been cleaned up. For a second, I wasn't sure what was going on until I remembered waking up to Lea that second time, and I shot upright in the bed in panic, breathing hard and scanning the room. I reached out with my powers, feeling for Lea, but there was no sign of her anywhere nearby.

My breath left me in a long, relieved sigh as I slumped back against the pillows, frowning at the ceiling. I wondered briefly if maybe that run in with Lea had merely been a dream, but I could still smell the floral feminine scent of hers lingering in the air and it made me sick to my stomach.

Wanting to find Akin, I shoved the blankets back and scooted off the bed. My legs trembled for a second and I caught the nightstand for balance. I slowly made my way to the door, letting the strength return to my muscles. I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. I reached out with my powers to find Akin and felt his presence in the lounge at the end of the hallway. Desperately wanting to feel him again, I went down the hallway to find him.

Sure enough, he was seated in the lounge, one leg beneath him, as he sat on the sofa across from a gigantic flat screen that was set to the news station. His long blonde hair was tied in a loose bun and he wore a pair of plaid pajama pants and a long sleeved black v-neck, a hot mug of coffee in his hands. He didn't appear to notice me enter right away, not until I came up to the sofa and he jumped, then looked up, his eyes widening.

"Baby!" He exclaimed, setting his coffee aside quickly. He shot to his feet and ran to me and I caught him in my arms, savoring the feel of him. I held him close, burying my face against his neck as he clung to me, kissing me repeatedly. I reluctantly set him back down on his feet so he could cup my face in his hands, kissing me on the mouth before smiling up at me with tears in his eyes.

"God, you scared me so much. How could you do that to me? You're such a jerk," He added, then sniffled and kissed me, "But you're still my precious baby. Ugh, you scared me, Hannibal. You really scared me."

"I'm sorry, Master." I murmured. Akin smiled, brushing the hair back from my face, pulling me down so he could kiss me on the forehead.

"Don't apologize, honey. I'm just freaking out. I can't stand to see you hurt." He added, studying my face before kissing me again. I smiled faintly at that. Akin took me by the hand and led me to the sofa, letting me lay down with my head in his lap. I closed my eyes in bliss as he ran his fingers through my hair, petting me gently.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Akin murmured softly, "I swear, if I ever get my hands on Atlan, he's going to wish he never even thought of you." I tried not to smile at his threat. While Akin was powerful for an angel, he wasn't as powerful as Atlan, but I would never tell him that. I think he knew it anyway. He was just grateful to have me back, and I him. I wanted to drift back to sleep in his lap when I caught Lea's scent in the air and my eyes flickered back open as a sudden question occured to me. I sat up and looked at Akin, who looked at me curiously.

"Why was Lea in our room?" I asked. Akin blinked, then hesitated.

"I couldn't stay with you the entire time and Hades said he highly recommended Lea watch over you for me while I was out. I normally would've protested, but something about the way Hades said it made me trust him. Not so much Lea as Hades." He explained gently, probably hoping I didn't get angry. I rolled my eyes, mostly at the thought of Hades making the suggestion.

Of course. Hades. Who else would want to torment me?

"And, Hannibal," Akin started, making me frown at him as he picked up his coffee to look nervously into the blackness inside his mug, "I'm just wondering... Could you tell me again what your mother did to you? As much as you can remember." Now I was concerned. Why did Akin want to hear it again? What had Lea, or Hades for that matter, told him to put him at unease?

Even so, it was a struggle to recall details.

"She brought me to Iapetus's in the dead night and left me on the doorstep," I said monotonously, making Akin wince, "Like a really bad version of ding-dong ditch. The only other time after that where I saw Lea was on the battlefield after she nearly took my head off. Iapetus stopped me from attacking her because he wanted her for himself. After that..." My voice trailed as I frowned.

After that, everything was a blank. No doubt Iapetus probably beat me shitless for almost taking his glory of defeating Lea, not that it mattered. From what I heard of Clymene's boostful gossiping, Iapetus had his ass handed to him before Atlan interrupted and took Lea away. Nothing else was said on the matter, nothing that I could remember anyway.

"Why?" I asked after a moment. Akin fingered the rim of his mug before taking a sip and taking a deep breath.

"I don't know. It was something Hades said."

"What did he say?"

"Well, I don't think he knew I was listening, but," Akin hesitated again, then looked at me, "He said, I wish I had a mother like you Lea. Of all the people who ended up with a decent mother, it had to be the hybrid. And see, that really confused me, because from what you told me, your mother was a she-devil. And, don't get me wrong, baby, I trust you. But I also know that Hades doesn't compliment just anyone. He's extremely prickly about relationships and the fact that he developed one with Lea of all people brings into question the situation with your mother." His words sat in my stomach like a block of ice.

What was he talking about?

Was he saying that he was honestly considering Hades's words? How did he know if Hades knew he was standing there? Maybe Hades said it on purpose knowing that Akin was listening nearby... Then again, the only way Hades knew about eavesdroppers was if he could hear their thoughts or not and he couldn't hear Akin's thoughts. Anyone who'd wormed their way past Hades's defenses was excluded form Hades's warped mind-reading.

Yours truly was one of the people Hades adored to mind-rape.

"You don't have to believe him," Akin said after a moment, making me cock my head as I watched him drink the rest of his coffee, "But I stand by what I told you before... Running away from her isn't going to make things any easier, and now we have to stay here. If you leave the palace, someone could attack you and I won't take that risk. You're on house arrest and you might as well get used to your cell mates." I grimaced at that.

"I don't want to." I deadpanned. Not only would I have to deal with Lea, but now I was trapped in a place where 90% of the people occupying said home loathed me to the core of their souls. Even Lucifer, who smiled and played nice for Akin, did not like me. He watched me with his periphreal vision to make sure he had his sights on me at all times... because he didn't trust me.

"Oh, don't be like that," Akin scolded, reaching out to tweak my nose, making me grimace, "Look, I'm not saying you have to talk to them. I'm saying, please. Be nice." I didn't like the sound of that at all. I was frustrated that Akin wanted me to put up with the people who hated me, but he had a point. Destroying Lucifer's palace and killing his boyfriend wouldn't endear him to me anymore than my past mistakes did.

I sighed and reached up to run a hand through my hair when Akin's hand came between my legs and squeezed hard enough for me to gasp and look at him to see him giving me a stern stare.

"And by the way, I heard you bit Lea. I trained you not to bite, unless I told you you could. If I wasn't so convinced you'd do it again, I'd make you apologize. Instead, I'm going to let you off with a warning considering she did invade your personal space to get bit. From now on, no more biting, or I'll spank you, Hannibal." He warned, giving my groin one last painful squeeze before he let go, and I let out my breath as a hiss between my teeth. I pressed my hand against my groin to alleviate the pain. Even worse, I was getting hard from his little warning.

Akin noticed and gave me a smirk.

"I can't play with you right now, Hannibal. You've been naughty. We'll play later. Right now, I'm going to have someone bring you something to eat and we can watch some TV. Also, don't touch yourself or I'll handcuff you." He added, getting to his feet. I whined low in my throat and Akin laughed as he walked around to the back of the sofa, leaning over to give me a kiss on the head while reaching around to stroke my chin.

"Be a good boy from here on out and I'll reward you." He said. I just nodded in silence, watching him leave the room to go to the kitchen down the hall. Everything inside me ached to go after him. Even more so my groin, despite his little strangle hold, wanted to grind against him like there was no tomorrow. I breathed out a heavy sigh and slumped down on the sofa, grabbing a pillow to cover my lap in case someone walked in, and I fiddled with the frills on the side of the satin with a frown.

So. There was no other way around it. I was trapped in Lucifer's palace with enemies around every corner.

And now my cock hurt.

This is gonna be fun... not.