Fate Stained - Part Two
Chapter 20 - Clash Of The Titans

“Don’t you dare cut her thread!”

“You can’t! Not after everything!”

Atropos’s eyes widened, scissors in hand, as she stared at the Shifter Queen’s glowing thread. The thread was glowing, it was illuminated, indicating to Atropos that Quinn’s time had come - even though she knew it hadn’t…It couldn’t!

“I don’t know what to do!” She cried, “Lachesis…did you determine this was her time to die? You established the length of her thread…didn’t you? Did you indicate that today was the day she died?”

The Measurer of the Threads shook her head frantically, her eyes darted to the glowing thread then back to Atropos.

“No! I promise you I didn’t, someone or something has meddled with the tapestry. Do not cut that thread!”

Who could have tampered with the tapestry? Atropos thought to herself. No one entered the room except for The Fates and Zeus…except that time Selene, Artemis and Apollo had been in there…but the sisters were present the whole time, Atropos knew that they hadn’t touched anything.

“I— What do I do—”

Atropos. Goddess. If you can hear me…this is your time to make amends for mistakes m—made. My baby…please save my baby. H—Hades is here. Help m—”

“Oh no!” Atropos cried out as Quinn’s voice tore through her head before being suddenly cut short.

Hades! Hades was there? Suddenly everything made sense…Quinn’s glowing thread!

“It was Hades!” She gasped, turning to her sisters, “Hades tampered with the tapestry. ZEUS!”

Atropos waited, heart thrumming, nerves firing. Where the Hell was Zeus?

“ZEUS! GOD HEAR ME! WE NEED YOU NOW!”

Atropos’s voice took on a different edge, one that her sister’s had not witnessed before, she was desperate. They hadn’t heard Quinn’s prayer but they knew if Hades was involved, like Atropos had said, then time was of the essence - if it wasn’t already too late.

Suddenly a crack of thunder and a bright light filled the thread room. Clotho and Lachesis flinched, cowering into a corner; but not Atropos, she stood there, shoulders back and head held high as their almighty God stared down at her.

“What is the purpose of this?” He bellowed, “Do you have a name for the father of the Shifter Queen’s baby? Who’s bond am I severing?”

Atropos took a breath, knowing the information she was going to divulge next could potentially send Zeus into one hell of a spiral.

“No. I do not know the fath—”

“—then why have you summoned me here?!”

“It’s Hades! He is on Earth…he is attacking the Shifter Queen—”

“WHAT?!”

Lighting ricocheted around the small thread room and Zeus appeared to double in size. Lachesis quickly created a shield around the tapestry, knowing that Zeus’s unrestrained anger had the unintentional potential of destroying anything in it’s path.

“I know! Quinn spoke to me…it might already be too late”

“Not if I have anything to do with it”

With another clap of thunder, loud enough to shake the room and destroy the stone work bench, Zeus was gone with Atropos following close behind.

The sight that Atropos bore witness to was one she had not expected nor wished for. A golden beast - a terrifying blend of wolf, panther and bear - towered in the small cabin they found themselves within. It’s paw wrapped tightly around the Shifter Queen’s neck, her grey and limp body dangling in the air.

“Hades” the Goddess whispered, her hand raising to cover her mouth.

The beast stopped what it was doing, the ears on it’s wolf head pricking up slightly at the mention of it’s possessor’s name. There was no movement from Quinn’s body and, before the monster looked to his new audience, he threw the Shifter Queen to the side as if she were nothing but a piece of trash.

“HADES!” The God of Gods boomed, his voice so loud, so chaotic, that it shook the cabin where it stood.

Pieces of plaster and ceiling fell down around them and the beast swatted a roof beam to the side as it collapsed above his monstrous frame.

“How dare you come to this place and meddle with beings that aren’t within your realm! You are out of line!”

A sadistic and evil laugh echoed throughout what was left of the cabin. The beast did not open his mouth and yet his words rolled through the air for all to hear, Hades’s voice unmistakeable to Atropos’s ears.

“But they were within my realm, once upon a time…and it was you, Zeus, who meddled with me! Did you think I would just allow you to free my children…my possessions?”

Movement from outside the cabin alerted Atropos to the fact they were not alone. There was no doubt in the Goddess’s mind that at least two men that cared deeply for the Shifter Queen would burst inside this building any second n0w, more than likely followed by the rest of the pack and more than likely would all be killed before they even got within several metres of their Luna. So Atropos did what she felt was necessary and with a wave of her hand, created an invisible barrier around the cabin.

“Have you not forgotten who you’re speaking to?!” Zeus roared.

The God was furious now. His almighty fist rose into the air and remainder of the cabin’s roof blew off. Zeus’s power brought on a gust of wind that rolled in with a storm, bringing Gaia’s hurricanes and tornados to shame. Hades knew the power that Zeus possessed, and yet here he was…taunting the ultimate deity like he had no fear of the consequences.

Atropos knew the consequences. She’d seen Zeus smite Gods for lesser evils, banishing them to realms that made the Underworld seem like a walk in the park. She’d also seen Zeus destroy Gods altogether, ordering Atropos herself to cut their threads, ending their immortal existence with a snip of her scissors.

“Have you not forgotten who you’re speaking to?” Hades retaliated.

The golden beast howled into the sky, he stood at least twelve feet tall, now that there was no longer a ceiling to keep his towering height contained. But this wasn’t Hades’s shell, Atropos knew exactly what the God of the Underworld looked like, and this was not it. This had to be Flynn, Quinn’s brother - the Warlock-shifter tribrid.

“Zeus, my lord” Atropos called, her voice straining to be heard over the top of the storm that brewed in the skies above, “You mustn’t kill the beast! If there is a way to deal with Hades without killing the tribrid—”

“Silence!” Zeus boomed.

Thunder rumbled and clouds darkened the sky as the Deity’s power grew. Lightning erupted from his fists and his eyes as he flexed his powers, showing the lesser God that he was not someone who’s word was to be taken lightly.

“Hades. You were to be compensated for the loss of both Warlock and panther from Tartarus. Patience has never been one of your best qualities and had you waited for my attendance you would have found that what I had to exchange for their losses was a much more rewarding treat”

The beast’s glare wavered slightly. Maybe regretting the hastiness in which he’d acted, or maybe wondering what the God of Gods could possibly have to offer that was better than a Warlock, a Panther Prince and a Shifter Queen.

“Why should I believe you?” He growled, gums curling up over his razor sharp teeth.

“What choice do you have?”

The black clouds overhead opened up, a torrential downpour saturating everything beneath. The beast’s golden fur became slick to his body, the muscles on his ginormous frame taunt as he stood before the God of lightning and thunder.

Zeus, as unforgiving and ruthless as he was, was nothing if not honest. Atropos had never known him to lie and from the look in Hades’s eyes, he was hoping that it wasn’t too late to receive his compensation.

“Hades” Zeus warned, his tone low and threatening, “I am giving you two choices. Choices I will not repeat nor utter again, this is a one time offer”

The tribrid stood in silence, nothing to be heard but the gushing of water as rain poured down around them. Zeus stepped towards the monster and his eyes narrowed as he spoke.

“Choice one - you leave the Warlock’s body. No residual magics, no painful after affects, and enough power that he can help his sister. You go back to Hell and you do not meddle in the Shifter Queen’s life again and you wait patiently for my attendance and your compensation…”

The tribrid snorted, his breath visible as the air around the gods took on an iciness that was foreign to a place such as Fern Creek.

“…Choice two - you refuse to leave the Warlock’s body and therefore challenge me as rightful possessor of your former prisoners. To which, I might add, I will win said challenge and vanquish you to a place that I know you would loathe, for an eternity of suffering in your own personal Hell”

“If you vanquish me, then who would rule Tartarus? You need me”

Zeus laughed, a laugh that rumbled through his chest like thunder but held little to no humour. There was no smile and his eyes held a challenge…a challenge that Atropos knew he wished Hades might actually take him up on.

“I do not need you” the almighty God roared, “I owe you no explanation to my answer. Your choices are there. What shall it be?”

The golden beast huffed and Atropos tensed as he turned his head from Zeus, his gaze falling on Quinn as she lay motionless on the floor of the cabin. If Hades took option two then what would come of Quinn? If Atropos didn’t cut her thread then the Shifter Queen would live but without getting close enough to her to see or feel what state she was in…it might not even be a life worth living. There was a possibility Quinn would never wake up, her heart would continue to beat but would serve no purpose. That was an existence no one deserved.

And what of the baby? Once again Atropos was not close enough to hear Quinn’s heartbeat let alone the baby’s - she just hoped…prayed…that it was not too late to save them.

“A worthy compensation?” The monster growled.

“A worthy compensation” Zeus agreed.

“It had better be”

Without another word from either God, the tribrid’s body began spasming in the air. It’s back arched in an unnatural way and Atropos winced as the sound of bones breaking reverberated through the cabin, loud enough to be heard over the rain that continued to pour around them. A sudden and extremely bright light flashed, a shockwave pulsating from the beast that ripped apart any walls that were left standing. Dust and debris coated the air but was quickly settled by the rain that slowly began to die away.

“Hades has retreated” Zeus growled, turning around to face Atropos.

The Goddess let out a long shaky breath and her eyes slowly moved up the larger than life figure to meet Zeus’s. She swallowed nervously and silently waited for her God’s next words.

“You will see to it that the Warlock heals the Shifter Queen. You will assess the situation with the paternity of the baby again. You will not interfere with anything else. Do you understand?”

Atropos nodded her head quickly and with one more parting clap of thunder, the God of Gods was gone.

“QUINN!”

The sound of Flynn’s pained voice was like a slap across the face to Atropos. The emotion behind his sister’s name was raw and heartbreaking. The Goddess turned to watch the Warlock - naked, wet and covered in dirt and blood - scramble to his feet and run towards his sister’s lifeless body as she lay face down in the rubble that was once the former Alpha’s home.

Flynn grabbed Quinn by the shoulder’s and gently rolled her over, lying her across his lap. Blood coated her blue lips, Pooled from her ears and the gaping hole in her shoulder and neck.

“I did this” Flynn cried, his tears getting lost in the rain that coated their bodies, “I did this—”

“And you can save her”

Atropos came to stand by the Warlock’s side as he stroked his twin’s cold cheek. The Goddess allowed her hand to rest gently on Flynn’s shoulder and a relieved sigh escaped her mouth as she felt the life of Quinn humming through her brother’s bond. She was still there, her heart still beating, her essence weak yet not weak enough to give up fighting.

Flynn nodded, hesitantly at first; but then, as if suddenly remembering his true strength and abilities, his shoulders straightened and he looked up to Atropos.

“Bring me the Alpha and the Prince” he ordered looking back down at the Shifter Queen with his palm hovering lightly above her stomach, “If this baby is to survive, then she is going to need all the help she can get”

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