19. Hel Spawn: Alex

CHAPTER 19

HEL SPAWN

ALEX

I n his long, immortal life, he'd learned that when things seemed to be going smoothly, it usually meant the other shoe was about to drop. Hard. And preferably right on his head.

The explosion proved him right, as usual. One moment they were standing there, watching Fenrir transform from giant murderous wolf to surprisingly hot dude (and wasn't that a mindfuck Alex would have to unpack later), and the next, the world was going to hell. Literally.

The blast knocked Alex off his feet, sending him sprawling across the rocky ground. His head smacked against a boulder, stars exploding behind his eyes. For a moment, all he could do was lie there, ears ringing, trying to remember how to breathe.

"Fuck," he groaned, the word tasting like blood and dirt in his mouth. "I'm getting too old for this shit."

Slowly, painfully, Alex pushed himself up onto his elbows. The world swam before his eyes, blurry and indistinct. He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. As things came into focus, his heart lurched.

Everyone was down. Thor, the mighty god of thunder, lay sprawled on his back, Mjolnir just out of reach. Brynhildr was struggling to her feet, blood trickling from a gash on her forehead. And Fenrir, well, the newly freed and transformed god looked about as dazed as Alex felt.

But it wasn't them Alex was looking for. His eyes scanned the chaos frantically, searching for the two people who mattered most.

"Eryx!" he called, his voice hoarse and desperate. "Zac!"

There—a flash of movement caught his eye. Eryx was on his hands and knees, clearly disoriented but alive. Relief flooded through Alex, quickly followed by a fresh wave of panic as he realized Zac was nowhere to be seen.

"Zac!" Alex shouted again, forcing himself to his feet despite the protest of every muscle in his body. "Kid, where are you?"

A groan from behind a nearby rock answered him. Alex stumbled over, his heart in his throat, to find Zac curled up in a protective ball. The kid looked roughed up but intact, which was more than Alex had dared hope for.

"You okay, squirt?" Alex asked, helping Zac to his feet.

Zac nodded, wincing as he straightened up. "Yeah, just... ow. What hit us?"

Before Alex could answer, a laugh rang out across the battlefield. It was a sound that sent chills down his spine—cold and cruel and utterly inhuman. Alex's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing as he took in the figure hovering above them.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me," he muttered.

Hel, goddess of the Norse underworld, floated serenely above the chaos. Her green Asgardian robes shimmered in the darkness, catching what little light there was and twisting it into something sickly and wrong. But it was her crown that really caught the eye—a circlet of blades that glowed with an eerie green light, looking for all the world like it was eager to slice into the nearest victim.

"Hel," Thor's voice boomed out, the thunder god finally back on his feet and looking royally pissed off. "What is the meaning of this? Why do you attack us? "

Hel's laugh was like icicles shattering. "Oh, dear uncle. Always so quick to assume attack. Can't a niece simply drop in to say hello?"

Alex snorted, unable to help himself. "Yeah, because nothing says 'family reunion' like explosions and attempted murder. I think I've been to that Thanksgiving, actually."

Hel's gaze snapped to him, and Alex felt the full weight of her attention like a physical blow. Her eyes were endless pits, promising an eternity of torment for those unlucky enough to fall into them.

"Ah, the fallen god of death," Hel purred, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "How lovely to see you again, Hades. Or is it Alex now? So hard to keep track of you Greek deities and your identity crises."

Alex bristled, shadow energy crackling around his clenched fists. "At least I don't need daddy's approval to feel important," he shot back. "How is dear old Loki, by the way? Still playing dress-up and throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way?"

The temperature seemed to drop several degrees as Hel's expression hardened. "You know nothing of my father or his plans," she hissed. "Loki sees farther and clearer than any of you stunted, small-minded fools. We will rule over the new order."

And there it was. Confirmation of what they'd all suspected but hoped wasn't true. Loki and Hel, working together to tear apart the fabric of existence. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Alex felt a familiar rage building in his chest, cold and deadly. If he ever got his hands on that silver-tongued son of a bitch Loki, he'd show him exactly why the souls of the damned used to tremble at the mere mention of Hades' name.

But now wasn't the time for vengeance fantasies. They were outgunned and caught off guard. Alex needed to buy them time, to figure out a plan that didn't end with them all dead or worse.

"Big talk from someone who couldn't even keep Baldur in her own realm," Alex taunted, hoping to keep Hel's attention on him and away from the others. "What's the matter, sweetie? Daddy not hug you enough as a kid? Or maybe he hugged you a little too much, if you know what I mean."

Hel's eyes flashed with murderous rage. "You dare?—"

"Oh, I dare," Alex cut her off, grinning with a bravado he didn't entirely feel. "I double dog dare, even. Come on, princess of the damned. You want to reshape reality? Start with reshaping my face if you think you can."

It was a risky move, Alex knew. Pissing off a goddess was generally not high on the list of smart life choices. But he could see Eryx out of the corner of his eye, slowly making his way towards Fenrir. If he could just keep Hel distracted long enough...

"You will suffer for your insolence," Hel snarled, green energy crackling around her hands. "I will make you beg for the sweet release of oblivion before I'm done with you."

Alex's grin turned feral. "Promises, promises. But you're all talk, just like your daddy. Why don't you come down here and prove me wrong?"

With a scream of rage, Hel dove towards him. Alex braced himself, shadow energy coalescing around him like armor. This was going to hurt, but if it gave the others a chance to regroup, to form some kind of plan, it would be worth it.

But the impact he expected never came. Instead, a blur of motion and a war cry that could shatter mountains filled the air. Brynhildr, apparently having decided that diplomacy could go fuck itself, had launched herself at Hel with all the subtlety of a freight train.

The Valkyrie's weapon—a spear that crackled with lightning and promises of a really bad day for whoever it touched—arced through the air towards Hel's smug face. For a split second, Alex allowed himself to hope. Maybe, just maybe, they'd caught the goddess off guard.

No such luck.

Hel's lips curled into a smile that made Alex's blood run cold. With a casual flick of her wrist, she halted Brynhildr's charge mid-air. Dark green magic pulsated around her hands, holding the Valkyrie suspended like a bug in amber.

"Shit," Alex muttered, already knowing where this was going. He'd seen this movie before, and it never ended well for the good guys.

As if on cue, Thor let out a bellow that would have made Zeus himself think twice. The thunder god hurled himself at Hel, Mjolnir singing through the air with enough force to level a small country.

But Alex couldn't focus on that fight, no matter how spectacularly doomed it might be. His eyes scanned the battlefield frantically, searching for the two people who mattered most. There—a flash of movement caught his attention, and his heart lurched painfully in his chest.

Eryx was down, a nasty gash on his forehead painting half his face crimson. And Zac, fuck, the kid was kneeling over him, hands glowing with the eerie red light of his hemomancy as he tried to stem the bleeding.

Alex's protective instincts roared to life, drowning out everything else. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the protests of muscles that felt like they'd been put through a cosmic meat grinder. Nothing mattered except getting to Eryx and Zac.

The distance between them seemed to stretch impossibly, each step feeling like it covered mere inches instead of feet. Alex could hear the clash of divine combat behind him—Thor's thunder, Hel's cruel laughter, the sizzle of magic against magic. But it all faded to background noise, unimportant compared to the tableau before him.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably only seconds, Alex reached them. He dropped to his knees beside Eryx, hands hovering uselessly as he took in the extent of the damage.

"How bad?" he demanded, his voice rough with fear he couldn't quite mask.

Zac looked up, his face pale but determined. "He'll be okay," the kid said, his hands never stopping their intricate dance over Eryx's wound. "My magic's working. The bleeding's almost stopped."

Alex nodded, allowing himself a moment of relief. Then reality came crashing back as another explosion rocked the ground beneath them. Right. Angry goddess of death trying to kill them all. No time for family bonding.

"You got this?" Alex asked Zac, hating himself a little for what he was about to do.

Zac's eyes widened slightly as he realized what Alex was thinking. But he nodded, jaw set with a determination that made Alex's chest ache with a mixture of pride and fear. "Yeah. I've got him. Go."

Alex squeezed Zac's shoulder, trying to convey everything he couldn't say out loud. Then he turned, forcing himself to leave Eryx's side and focus on the bigger picture.

The scene that greeted him was not great. Thor and Brynhildr were giving it their all, but Hel was toying with them like a cat with particularly unimpressive mice. And Fenrir...

Fuck. In the chaos, Alex had almost forgotten about the newly freed god. Fenrir was holding his own, his form shifting between man and wolf as he darted in and out of the fray. But even from here, Alex could see the toll it was taking on him. Centuries of imprisonment had left their mark, and Fenrir's strength was flagging.

"Damn it," Alex growled, shadow energy crackling around his clenched fists. He was going to have to help the overgrown furball, wasn't he? If Eryx ever found out Alex had left Fenrir to fend for himself, he'd never hear the end of it.

With a mental "fuck you" to the universe at large, Alex launched himself towards Fenrir. He'd barely covered half the distance when he felt it—a surge of malevolent energy that made every hair on his body stand on end.

Hel had noticed him.

Alex didn't bother looking back. He knew what he'd see— death with a crown of blades, coming for him with all the inevitability of taxes and really bad hangovers. Instead, he poured on the speed, shadow-stepping in a zig-zag pattern that he hoped would make him a harder target.

The whistle of something cutting through the air behind him told Alex he'd miscalculated. He twisted, catching a glimpse of Hel's bladed hair—because of-fucking-course the psycho goddess had weaponized her follicles—streaking towards him like the world's deadliest party streamers.

Time seemed to slow. Alex could see the blades spinning, edges gleaming with promise of a really bad day for whoever they touched. He could hear Zac's shout of warning, see Thor and Brynhildr struggling to break free of Hel's magic to come to his aid.

But they'd never make it in time. This was going to hurt. A lot.

In that moment, something deep within Alex—some primal, long-buried part of his divine nature—surged to life. Heat bloomed in his chest, spreading through his body like liquid fire. Without conscious thought, he thrust his hands out in front of him.

Hellfire erupted from his palms, coalescing into a shield of flames so dark they seemed to devour the light around them. The blades struck the barrier with a sound like screaming metal, and for a heart-stopping moment, Alex thought they might break through.

But the hellfire held. The blades disintegrated on contact, reduced to nothing but ash and bad memories.

A pained grunt snapped Alex back to reality. Right. Fenrir. Rescue mission. Worry about the unexpected power-up later.

He sprinted the remaining distance to Fenrir, hellfire shield still blazing around him. The wolf-god (man-god? Alex wasn't sure what the proper terminology was for someone who kept shifting between forms) looked up as he approached, green eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and wary hope .

"Didn't think you cared," Fenrir rasped, his voice rough with exertion.

Alex snorted, expanding his shield to cover them both. "I don't. But Eryx does, and I've got enough problems without adding 'disappointed boyfriend' to the list. Now shut up and let me save your furry ass."

Fenrir's laugh was more of a wheeze, but there was genuine amusement in it. "Has anyone ever told you your bedside manner needs work?"

"Constantly," Alex grunted, scanning the battlefield for an escape route. "It's part of my charm."

Before Fenrir could respond—probably with something irritatingly witty, because apparently that ran in Loki's fucked-up family—Hel's voice rang out across the chaos.

"Enough of this foolishness," she snarled, her earlier composure cracking to reveal the rage beneath. "I will not be denied my prize. Fenrir will return to his chains, and the rest of you will beg for the mercy of a quick death!"

The air around them seemed to thicken, reality itself warping under the weight of Hel's power. Alex gritted his teeth, pouring more energy into his hellfire shield. But he could feel it weakening, cracks spreading across its surface like spiderwebs.

Just when Alex thought things couldn't get any more FUBAR, Fenrir decided to up the ante. The wolf-turned-man-turned-who-the-fuck-knows-what-now threw back his head and let out a roar that made Alex's bones vibrate. It was a sound that belonged in primordial forests, in the darkest nightmares of early humans huddled around guttering fires.

"Sister!" Fenrir bellowed, his voice carrying the promise of violence barely contained. "Have you fallen so far that you'd chain yourself to our father's madness?"

Hel faltered, her assault on Alex's shield wavering for a moment. Her eyes widened as she took in Fenrir's human form, surprise flickering across her face before being quickly masked by cool disdain .

"Well, well," she purred, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "I haven't seen you use that form in centuries, dear brother. Are you so eager to play at being human? Or perhaps..." Her lips curled into a cruel smile. "Perhaps you're considering joining us? Help us rule all the realms, as it was always meant to be?"

Fenrir's laugh was a harsh, bitter sound that sent shivers down Alex's spine. "If you think that father will give you what you want for joining him, then you're wrong," he snarled. "He uses us, sister. Always has, always will. We're nothing but pawns in his games."

Before Hel could respond, Fenrir's form blurred and shifted. One moment he was a man, the next a wolf larger than any Alex had ever seen. With a howl that seemed to shake the very foundations of reality, Fenrir charged at his sister.

"Fuck me," Alex muttered, watching as the two divine siblings clashed in a maelstrom of teeth, claws, and magic. "And I thought my family reunions were dysfunctional."

A movement at his side caught Alex's attention, and he turned to find Eryx and Zac approaching. Eryx looked pale but determined, the gash on his forehead mostly healed but still angry-looking. Zac hovered close to him, worry etched across his young face.

"We need to help them," Eryx said, his voice hoarse but steady.

Alex raised an eyebrow, giving his partner a once-over. "You sure about that, sunshine? In case you forgot, you just took a hit to the head that would have turned most people into vegetable soup."

Eryx managed a weak smile. "I'm fine. The healing magic and Zac's hemomancy accelerated the healing process. I'm good to fight."

Alex wanted to argue. Wanted to grab Eryx and Zac and shadow-step them the fuck out of this nightmare scenario. But he knew that stubborn set to Eryx's jaw. Knew that even if he did manage to get them away, Eryx would never forgive him for abandoning the others.

"Fine," Alex growled, not bothering to hide his displeasure. "But you stay close, got it? First sign of trouble, and I'm dragging your ass out of here, world-ending crisis be damned."

Eryx nodded, the ghost of his usual grin flickering across his face. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

With a gesture that looked far too graceful for someone who'd recently been unconscious, Eryx summoned his Bow of Light. The weapon materialized in his hands, glowing with divine energy that made Alex's skin prickle.

As Eryx moved to join the fray, loosing arrows of pure light at Hel, Alex noticed Zac hanging back. The kid's eyes were unfocused, a slight frown creasing his brow. Alex recognized that look—Zac was communing with Absalom, probably trying to come up with a strategy that didn't end with them all dead or worse.

For once, Alex was glad for the creepy vampire consciousness living in the kid's head. If it kept Zac out of the direct line of fire, Alex was all for it. The last thing they needed was for the teenager to get caught in the crossfire of what was shaping up to be the family feud from hell. Literally.

Turning his attention back to the battle, Alex surveyed the scene. Thor and Brynhildr were tag-teaming Hel from one side, while Fenrir harried her from the other. Eryx's arrows of light peppered the goddess, each hit eliciting a shriek of pain and rage.

But Hel was far from defeated. She lashed out with tendrils of sickly green energy, each one seeking to entangle and crush her opponents. Her crown of blades whirled around her head like some kind of demented halo, occasionally detaching to streak towards anyone who got too close.

He reached deep within himself, tapping into the wellspring of power that had once made him one of the most feared gods in existence. Shadow and flame coalesced around him, darkness given form and purpose.

With a thought, Alex sent tendrils of shadow racing across the battlefield. They wrapped around Hel's ankles, attempting to root her in place. The goddess snarled, slashing at the shadows with her blades, but for every tendril she cut, two more took its place.

"That all you got, princess?" Alex taunted, his voice carrying easily across the chaos. "I've seen scarier shit in kindergarten art classes."

Hel's head snapped towards him, her eyes narrowing as she took in Alex and Eryx standing side by side. A cruel smile twisted her lips, and Alex felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that look. It was the look of someone who thought they held all the cards.

"Ah, Hades," Hel purred, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "And the Vessel of Apollo. How delightful to finally meet you in person. My dear brother and his pet mimic have told me so much about you."

"Glad to hear we're famous," Alex shot back, trying to keep her attention on him and away from the others."

Hel's laugh was like ice cracking. "Oh, you are amusing. I can see why my brother finds you so intriguing." Her gaze shifted to Alex, something predatory in her eyes. "You know, Hades, we share a realm, you and I. The world of the dead is vast. Surely there's room for... cooperation? Join us. Help us reshape reality into something grander, something worthy of gods like us."

Alex blinked, momentarily stunned by the sheer audacity of her offer. Was this bitch serious? Did she really think he'd throw in with her merry band of reality-destroying psychopaths?

"Wow," he said, unable to keep the disbelief from his voice. "That's a hell of an offer. Really, I'm touched. But I'm gonna have to pass. See, I've got this thing about working with megalomaniacs who want to unmake existence. It's a real deal-breaker for me. "

Eryx snorted beside him, the sound half-amused, half-pained. "Not to mention the wardrobe requirements," he added, gesturing to Hel's elaborate ensemble. "Black is really more Alex's color. Green washes him out something terrible."

Hel's face contorted with rage, all pretense of civility dropping away. "You dare mock me?" she snarled, green energy crackling around her hands. "I am Hel, goddess of death, future ruler of all realms! I will crush you beneath my heel like the insignificant insects you are!"

She lashed out, sending waves of sickly green power surging towards them. Alex threw up a shield of hellfire, the conflicting energies clashing with a sound like screaming metal.

And so the battle raged on. They threw everything they had at Hel—Alex's shadows and flame, Eryx's divine light, Thor's lightning, Brynhildr's Valkyrie magic, Fenrir's primal fury. But no matter what they did, no matter how hard they hit her, Hel didn't seem to tire. If anything, she seemed to be getting stronger.

"This isn't working," Eryx panted, loosing another volley of light arrows that Hel batted aside like they were nothing more than annoying flies. "We can't keep this up forever."

Alex gritted his teeth, pushing more power into his attacks even as he felt his reserves dwindling. "Got any bright ideas, sunshine? Because I'm open to suggestions that don't end with us as cosmic roadkill."

Before Eryx could respond, a voice cut through the chaos. "Give me an opening!" Zac shouted, his young face set with determination. "Just trust me, okay?"

Alex wanted to argue. Wanted to tell the kid to stay back, to let the immortals handle this. But there was something in Zac's eyes—a certainty, a power—that made him hesitate.

"Alright, kid," he called back, hoping like hell he wasn't about to get them all killed. "You heard him! Let's give the squirt his shot!"

As one, they redoubled their efforts. Fenrir, sensing the shift in strategy, lunged at his sister with renewed vigor. His massive jaws clamped down on Hel's arm, eliciting a shriek of pain and rage from the goddess.

Thor, seizing the opportunity, called down a bolt of lightning so intense it made Alex's hair stand on end. The thunderbolt struck Hel dead on, momentarily stunning her.

In that split second of vulnerability, Eryx loosed an arrow that blazed like a miniature sun. It struck Hel square in the chest, sinking deep before exploding in a nova of divine light.

Alex didn't waste the chance. Summoning his bident—a weapon he hadn't wielded in centuries—he slammed it into the ground. Hellfire erupted from the point of impact, racing outward to form a circle of flames that trapped Hel within.

"Now, kid!" Alex roared, every muscle straining as he poured power into maintaining the barrier. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!"

Zac stepped forward, and Alex felt the air around them shift. It was like reality itself was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

The kid closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again... fuck. Alex had seen a lot of scary shit in his long life, but the look in Zac's eyes in that moment? That was something else entirely.

Gone was the uncertain teenager. In his place stood something ancient, something that radiated power in a way that made even Alex's divine senses recoil. This, he realized with a jolt, was Absalom. The vampire god, merged with Zac's soul in a way that defied explanation.

Zac—or was it Absalom? Or some unholy combination of the two?—raised a hand. Red energy, the color of freshly spilled blood, began to swirl around him like a miniature cyclone.

Hel, trapped within Alex's circle of hellfire, began to convulse. Her eyes widened in shock and pain as she stared at Zac, clearly caught off guard by this unexpected development .

"What—" she gasped, her voice strained. "What are you doing? What are you?"

Zac spoke, but the voice that came out wasn't his own. It was older, deeper, filled with the weight of millennia. "I am your worst nightmare," he said, the words carrying power that made the very air vibrate.

He began to chant in a language that Alex couldn't understand—and considering he was fluent in every tongue, living and dead, that was saying something. The air grew thick and heavy, reality itself seeming to warp around them.

"Let her go," Zac/Absalom commanded, his dual-toned voice brooking no argument.

For a moment, Alex hesitated. Every instinct screamed at him not to release Hel, to keep her contained at all costs. But there was something in Zac's voice—a certainty, a power—that he couldn't ignore.

With a thought, Alex dismissed his bident, the circle of hellfire sputtering out of existence. The others followed suit, stepping back as Zac slowly approached Hel.

The goddess of death struggled to her feet, her earlier confidence shattered. She stared at Zac with a mixture of fear and confusion that would have been comical under different circumstances.

"What are you?" Hel demanded again, her voice shaking slightly. "My father... Loki never mentioned..."

Zac's laugh was cold and utterly devoid of humor. "Oh, I'm sure there are a lot of things daddy dearest forgot to mention. Like how his clever plan might backfire. Like how there are forces in this world beyond even his comprehension."

As he spoke, tendrils of red energy began to snake out from him, wrapping around Hel like vines. The goddess screamed, a sound of pure agony that made Alex wince despite himself.

"No!" Hel shrieked, struggling against the blood-red magic that was slowly enveloping her. "You can't... I am a goddess! I am death incarnate! "

Zac tilted his head, regarding her with a detached curiosity that was deeply unsettling. "Death? Oh, my dear. You don't know the meaning of the word. But don't worry. I'll be happy to educate you."

With a gesture, Zac—no, definitely Absalom now, Alex was sure of it—began to pull. Alex watched in horrified fascination as rivulets of blood began to stream from Hel's body, defying gravity to flow towards Absalom's outstretched hand.

The goddess of death thrashed and wailed, her form beginning to waver and distort as more and more of her essence was drained away. For a moment, Alex thought this might actually be it. That they might actually win, might actually put an end to this cosmic clusterfuck once and for all.

But then, just as it seemed Hel might be destroyed entirely, she let out a scream that shook the very foundations of reality. Green energy exploded outward from her in a shockwave that sent everyone staggering back.

When Alex managed to blink the spots from his vision, Hel was gone. Vanished, as if she'd never been there at all. The only evidence of her presence was the destruction around them and the lingering sense of wrongness in the air.

For a long moment, no one moved. No one spoke. They all just stood there, trying to process what the fuck had just happened.

Finally, it was Thor who broke the silence. "By the Norns," he breathed, his voice a mixture of awe and fear. "What manner of power was that?"

All eyes turned to Zac, who stood swaying slightly, the otherworldly presence that had possessed him moments ago now gone. He looked... small. Young. Vulnerable in a way that made Alex's chest ache.

"I... I don't know," Zac said, his voice trembling. "It was Absalom, but also... me? We were one, and then... I can't explain it."

Alex moved without thinking, crossing the distance between them in a few long strides. He pulled Zac into a rough embrace, ignoring the startled looks from the others.

"It's okay, kid," he murmured, feeling Zac shake against him. "You did good. Real good."

As the others gathered around, Alex's mind raced. They'd survived, barely. Hel was gone, for now at least. But this was far from over. If anything, things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

Loki was still out there, still plotting to reshape reality. And now they had to deal with whatever the fuck was going on with Zac and Absalom. Not to mention the fact that they'd just pissed off a goddess of death who was definitely going to hold a grudge.