The Underworld (The Atlas Series Book 3) (29 page)

But it had to be done.

Kala was surprised at the ease in which they controlled the gods, making them put one foot in front of the other, maneuvering each to sit down in one of Turner’s brain machines.

There was no more fight in either of them. Their faces transformed into expressionless drones, almost as if they were lost souls wandering the Underworld, as Jack had been. Kala could see Gaia’s power at work, wiping Cronus and Hades’s brains of any individual thoughts or feelings. It was Gaia’s last gift to her offspring. The balance of the planet depended on the two gods being imprisoned forever, but Gaia had the decency to ease their minds from the horrific burden of caring.

Once Cronus and Hades were seated, Turner hurried over, quickly attaching the wires and leads to their heads. He had waited in the wings patiently just as Kala had asked him to do. Turner couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes at the prize he just inherited. Now Kala understood why the white fire didn’t affect Turner as she had seen in her vision. The flames were harmless upon touch, only used to control.

“It’s done!” Turner exclaimed.

Kala let the magic drop from her hands, as did Gaia and Talan.

Gaia nodded slightly to Kala. Understanding what her mother wanted this time, Kala walked over to the two gods and touched their wrists and ankles. A purple glow formed around the areas she touched, locking them into place.

Not needing to see a clock, Kala could feel the Atlas clock reset. She was in tune to everything supernatural inside her body now. There was no one like her, part human, part Titan, part Gaia. It didn’t make her feel special, it made her feel capable and Kala had missed that feeling.

Kala knew who she was and what she could do.

Standing next to Turner, staring at the empty gazes of Cronus and Hades, part of Kala was relieved. These two wanted to make her fail at her missions. They wanted the world to end. The curse of balance found a way to stop them. And, yet again, it involved General Geoffrey Turner.

The man was already tweaking the nodes and leads to his liking.

Harnessing the power of Cronus and Hades…

She knew he would use Hades to control the dead, but what would he do with Cronus?

Kala turned to Gaia and Talan. She didn’t really want to talk. She didn’t really want to do anything. “We should get back to the others. They’ll be worried by now.”

Turner interjected, “I should stay here.”

Gaia answered, “No. You need to return, too. You were right, Harry Clifton can never know about what we’ve done here. Understand?” Her expression left no room for argument.

Since Turner had already forced everyone to make that same promise, he was more than pleased. “I’ll take it to my grave.”

Gaia shook her head. “There will be no grave for you, Geoffrey Turner. This is your burden for eternity.”

Turner seemed both pleased and scared by this statement, but he bowed slightly. “I won’t fail you.”

Kala had never seen Turner act with such deference. But he
was
talking to Mother Earth, and Gaia had just given him everything that he wanted.

Gaia motioned to Talan. “Take Geoffrey back to the Compound. Kala and I have things to discuss.”

Kala wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that, but maybe she could find more answers from her mother. And, considering Gaia had already disappeared once for a few millennia, Kala wasn’t sure if she’d ever see her again.

Talan didn’t argue with the goddess, which only proved to Kala how much he trusted Gaia. If one thing could be said of Talan, he lived to protect Kala. If he even thought for a second she’d be in danger, he would have never agreed.

Turner looked as if he had just received a shiny new toy and was being ripped away from it, but he walked over to Talan without argument.

Before they left, Kala gave Talan a hug. “Thank you for everything.”

Talan’s arms squeezed back, but he didn’t try to kiss her or do anything inappropriate, always respectful. Pulling away, he nodded a goodbye to Gaia and then disappeared with Turner.

That left Kala alone with Gaia. She turned to her mother, wondering what Gaia would say to her.

Reaching out and taking Kala’s hands, Gaia said gently, “It’s time for a proper good-bye.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Before Kala could ask what Gaia meant, her surroundings blurred and shifted and Kala knew she was being teleported somewhere.

When everything came back in focus, Kala had to blink back the intensity of the colors invading all her senses. An onslaught of blues, greens, reds, oranges, yellows and purples from every type of flower imaginable was laid out before her for miles and miles. Long winding cobblestone pathways twisted and turned throughout, making this the most stunning garden Kala had ever witnessed.

“Where are we?” she asked of Gaia.

“The Fields of Elysium,” her mother answered softly.

A lump formed in Kala’s throat. Why had Gaia taken her back to the Underworld? Though this was at least
the nice
part of town so-to-speak. But this was where Jack was supposed to be. Kala wasn’t sure she could bear to see him again, with his lifeless eyes, wandering the Underworld forever because their souls could not exist together on Earth.

Kala finally found her voice, “Why are we here?”

“I thought you could say good-bye.” Gaia’s face was kind and caring, but seeing Jack would be torture. He didn’t even know what was going on around him. But maybe that was okay. Maybe Kala just needed to say the words so that
she
could heal.

Nodding her head, Kala genuinely meant it when she replied, “Thank you.”

“Kala?” Jack’s voice froze Kala instantly.

Only her eyes moved as they locked with Gaia’s. Her mother smiled gently. “I gave him back his consciousness.” Then Gaia spoke in Kala’s head so Jack couldn’t hear.
Now that Hades is no longer the ruler of the Underworld, I’m placing Jack in charge. He’s a good man and will do well. But since he can never be reincarnated on earth again as long as you’re alive, you have to say your final good-bye now.

For both your sakes, I’ll wipe all remnants of your romantic life together, so he can be happy here, and so you can move on. But he needs to know who you are and remember your life together as soldiers so that he remains loyal.
Upon seeing the pained expression in Kala eyes, Gaia continued to explain,
He’d never let you go as long as he remembers his love for you. You know that, Kala. But be content, Daughter, there is one that loves him as much as you do and if his affections for you hadn’t been real, Jack would have returned her feelings. She has volunteered to stay here with him.

Penny.

Kala knew it without Gaia mentioning her name. Always in the way Penny spoke of Jack, the way she looked at Jack, Pandora was in love. It twisted Kala’s stomach with envy that Penny would be able to be with Jack for all eternity, but she knew Gaia was right. She wanted Jack to be happy. He
deserved
that.

Nodding her agreement, Kala turned to face Jack.

He looked almost angelic, standing amongst the flowers, his brown eyes full of life and joy at seeing Kala in front of him. “Jack,” she choked out.

Two steps later, Kala was in Jack’s arms and he was kissing her. Knowing this was the last time she’d ever kiss him again, Kala was determined to make it count. Even though it had only been days, it had seemed like years since his lips were on hers. Her heart squeezed in both anguish and contentment. Being with Jack felt right. Where she was meant to be.

Pulling away, Jack smiled at her and spoke between kisses, “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” Kala smiled back. It was the first time in a long time when she had felt an ounce of happiness – though it was laced with heartbreak at what was coming next.

His lips pressed against hers again and Kala lost herself in the moment.

Then it was time.

Time so say good-bye.

Kala pulled away from Jack, but kept her hands holding his as they faced each other.

“You’re not mad at me?” Kala had to ask him.

His expression was incredulous. “For what?”

“For… killing you.”

Jack sighed as if Kala was insane. “Mad at you? Are you joking? No. I would never be, nor will I ever be
mad
at you. You completed your mission and saved the world. I was a small price to pay.”

“Don’t say that,” Kala shook her head. “You meant everything to me.”

“Which is why it was a sacrifice. That’s your job now, Kala. You have to make horrible choices for the greater good. Penny trained me to accept this from an early age. I was ready to die.” He held Kala’s face in his hands lovingly. “I will
never
blame you for doing the right thing.”

Though it should have brought her relief, it raked her soul with guilt. Then Kala wondered aloud, “Do you remember what happened here in the Underworld… before Gaia brought your consciousness back?”

“You mean when Hades made me say all those awful things to you? Yes, I remember, and none of that was me. That was all
him
trying to break you.” Jack kissed her forehead. “We can be together down here, though. You can complete your Atlas missions at the end of the four days, but spend the rest of the time here.”

And there it was.

An offer Kala didn’t want to refuse.

But she had to.

It was no life. Not for either one of them.

Gaia was right. Jack needed to be wiped of any romantic feelings he felt for Kala. It was the only way he could be truly happy.

And Penny loved him. As ornery and annoying as the girl was, she would love Jack with all her being.

Just like Kala did.

It was time to let Jack go.

Kala reached up and touched Jack’s cheek. “I want you to know: you’re the first man I ever fell in love with and I will always be eternally grateful for that.”

Jack took her hand and kissed it. “I love you, too. And we’ll have all eternity to be together. Not bad, huh?”

Kissing him one last time, their lips finally parted. Turning around to Gaia, she nodded.

Gaia’s hand barely moved, but when Kala’s eyes met Jack’s again the love that she once saw there was replaced by affection and respect. In less than a second Jack went from seeing her as his lover to seeing her as his friend.

It hurt.

A lot.

But it was the right choice.

It was the first time in a long time that Kala actually felt like she had made a good decision.

Jack had a slightly confused look on his face. “I’m sorry. What were we talking about?”

Kala forced a smile as if she were teasing a friend. “We were talking about how Penny will be joining you down here. You have to be pretty excited about that.” Every word of that hurt Kala to the core, but one thing she was good at: hiding pain. Something she learned to do growing up.

Jack blushed slightly as if thinking of Penny made his heart soar. “Ha, ha. Well, I’m stuck down here since you and I apparently can’t exist together in the real world. Might as well live in paradise with my girlfriend.”

Fighting back emotion, Kala laughed to disguise the hurt. “If you’re going to be spending
all of time
down here, you should probably marry the girl.”

“Do gods marry?” Jack asked genuinely perplexed. “That seems like a human thing.”

“Well, you’re human,” Kala teased, hoping Jack wouldn’t sense her sadness.

“A
dead
human, thank you very much.” Then he mock-straightened himself up as if he were royalty. “And now that Turner’s got Hades hooked up to one of his machines, I’m technically King of the Underworld.” He tried to hide his laughter.

It was so Jack that Kala had to smile with him. “King of the Underworld, huh? Well, you’ll be good at it, like you were at everything else when you were alive.”

“Aw, gee, thanks.” Jack joked sarcastically. Then his eyes lit up as he saw something behind Kala.

Turning around, Kala saw Penny standing next to Gaia.

Never seeing her happier, Kala motioned for Penny to walk over to them.

Cautious at first, Penny moved to stand next to Kala. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

Kala nodded, not wanting to elaborate, afraid she might either break down and cry or punch Penny in the face. She knew that wasn’t fair, but it was how her brain worked.

“Come here, you.” Jack pulled Penny into his arms and kissed her. When they parted, Penny didn’t make eye contact with Kala and that was probably a good thing.

“Well, I’ll let you two get to it. Gaia and I have other places to be.” Kala didn’t know if that was true, but she couldn’t be there anymore.

Jack reached down and hugged Kala. Like a friend. But she’d take it.