Against All Gods by Maz Evans

Author:Maz Evans [Evans, Maz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chicken House
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

15. Tartarus

Thanatos contentedly surveyed the ranks of his army. As far as the eye could see, row upon row of Elementals and Daemons stood, awaiting his orders. He wrapped his long, bony fingers around the Chaos Stone. With the might of his army and the power of the elements at his command, victory today was now surely certain.

‘Your troops are waiting,’ Nyx whispered in his right ear. ‘And so is your world.’

‘Your troops are waiting,’ mimicked a sulking Hypnos to his left. ‘And so you is your world, bum-head . . .’

Thanatos allowed a small smile to spread across his thin lips. It was time.

‘Army of justice!’ he pronounced from his balcony, overlooking the plains of Tartarus as the Phlegathon raged below. ‘Are you ready?’

A mighty roar came from the ground below.

‘Our time has come,’ Thanatos declared. ‘For too long, we have been treated like vermin. We’ve been treated like we don’t matter. We’ve been treated like we don’t belong.’

Another roar greeted his words.

‘But now, today, this very hour, we are going to take the fight to the Gods! Go up to the Earth and capture our captors! Cast them beneath Stonehenge to rot! The Gods have imprisoned us all for too long! We are going to fight! And we are going to WIN!’

A third mighty cheer rose up. They were eating out of the palm of his hand.

‘Er . . . exthcuthe me, Thanatoth,’ called Sisyphus, propping up his bolder on a nearby hill. ‘But I think it’th only thenthible that people undertht and the conthequentheth of their actionth.’

‘The consequence will be VICTORY!’ roared Thanatos, to a new rousing cheer.

‘That’th all thuper,’ said Sisyphus. ‘But what happenth if we looth?’

The roar came to sudden and uncertain halt.

‘He’s got a point,’ whispered a nearby satyr. ‘Hadn’t thought about that. This could be terrible for my CV . . .’

‘It’s unthinkable,’ said Thanatos, trying to keep the irritation from his voice. ‘We have right on our side! We will WIN!’

A notably less enthusiastic cheer greeted him this time.

‘But if we do lose . . .’ muttered a Sphynx a little further back. ‘I’ve got a family to support. What if the Gods win? What if I can’t go back to my job? I’ve already used all my holiday leave . . . What if—’

‘These are not concerns that need trouble you, my friend,’ Thanatos said smoothly. ‘When I rule the world, I will take care of the immortals. No longer will you have to work. The world will be ours, cleansed of the mortal scum who have overrun it for too long. The few remaining mortals will be our slaves. They will work for us.’

‘Hang on a minute,’ shouted a Nereid. ‘I didn’t sign up for that! I like the mortals! Who else are we going to watch on The Human Channel?’

‘I thought this was a peaceful protest!’ cried a unicorn.

‘I thought this was the queue for the cashpoint,’ shouted a mermaid.

‘I CAN’T TALK,’ a fairy bellowed into her mobile. ‘I MIGHT BE PART OF A MASSIVE REBELLION.

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