Genesis [malexmale]

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four

"Aw, come on, how the fuck was I supposed to know this was gonna happen?"

"Those were motherfucking grenades, you little ginger demon child. Fuckin' A, you just blew up half the fucking realm!"

I grimaced, my head pounding as if a thousand heavy rocks were pelting it from the inside out. Of course, that made sense considering the dirt I was buried in. I coughed, dust flying up around me and I reached up with a shaky bloody hand to reach up and push my hair out of my face. I could make out little streams of light around me, but goddamn, the weight on me was incredible. I swallowed past the dried blood in my throat and squinted at the streams.

"Cerberus, berate your brother later. Keep moving those rocks. Ambrosius, sit down and take a break. You're going to fuck up the splint. Lucifer, here, take this. I think I heard something down there." Hades's voice. Commanding, powerful, authoritative... and pissed off. Gods, I never thought I'd be happy to hear his voice again. And I watched as the light shifted from one hand to another and I felt the weight on me lifting as the rocks began to move one at a time, a few smaller ones falling down around me and one striking me in the brow and drawing blood.

"Jo! Can you hear me?" Since when did Hades think he could call me Jo? What the hell made him so special? I blinked past the pain in my skull and cleared my throat, or tried to anyway. I ended up going into a coughing fit, and vaguely hearing Hades curse as the rocks began to move faster and a second later, a horribly bright light shone directly into my face and I hissed, turning my head away.

"Lower the light, Lucy. Cerberus, get in here. I can't reach him like this. Everyone else, step back," Hades commanded. I winced as the light returned, but this time not directly into my face. I could make out the shadows of Hades and the others behind the light, and then Cerberus stepped into the light and I sucked in a sharp breath.

He looked horrible. His black hair was matted with blood on one side, a huge gash going from one side of his face to the other, crossing over his nose, one eye was bloodshot, and his clothes were coated in a layer of dust and smeared with blood that dripped from cuts, and bruises marred his olive skin. Fuck, he looked like he needed to see a doctor.

And while Hades may be there, he couldn't use his magic to heal anyone.

I couldn't speak as Cerberus managed to wedge down into the crevice I was caught in. His arms went underneath me and hoisted me in a way that made me feel like I weighed nothing. He ducked back out and carried me over to what looked like a makeshift cot from a broken piece of the steel counter tops from the lab, and Theo's velvet cloak.

"Oh, fuck," Cerberus stammered as he set me down and stopped to touch my head, "Fuck, Hades, his head--"

"Get back, move," Hades commanded, stepping into my line of sight, "I'll handle this. The rest of you keep digging through the rocks." I watched Lucifer come around to the end of the cot, holding the flashlight up so Hades could examine me. Lucifer didn't look much better, his battlesuit was mostly unharmed aside from a few dings and marks, but something told me underneath, he was sporting enough bruises to look like an apple tossed in a washing machine. Meanwhile, Hades was in just as bad shape. He'd torn the sleeve from his shirt to use as a tourniquet for his leg, and he was marred by scratches and bruises, and his lip was busted open. He also looked... extremely weak.

Which meant he was using the last of his magic.

"Stop," I hissed when he reached to touch my brow, and he glared at me, "Don't heal me. Hades, I'm fine--"

"You have a hole in your fucking head the size of a grapefruit, asshole. You're not fine. Now shut up and hold still--"

"You're wasting your magic! I can heal myself. My magic won't take a dent in healing, but yours is. Now sit back and give me a minute to collect myself so I can heal. Tell me what's going on. What happened? Aside from your son developing serious pyromania," I tacked on dryly. Behind him, Theo made a rude noise that was a cross between a snort and a shout. I ignored him and so did Hades as he wiped a hand down his face and looked at me, sitting with his legs apart, his arms resting over his knees.