Lightning strikes boomed beside Hades, the blue and golden arcs condensing into a muscular, white-bearded man. His immaculate chiton fluttered over his golden pauldrons, sandals, and bracers as a storm brewed in his blue eyes.
"Brother." Hades paused, acknowledging him with a nod. "The mortal can't escape, and your presence sealed his fate."
Zeus clenched his jaw, his voice icy. "Eris cut off his string of fate years ago, making our pantheon the only one without the means to peer into his future. Now, I can't even feel his presence. He has to die today. You hear me, Hades? Today!"
Hades grimaced. Indeed, now that Adam had stolen his cap, they had to kill him before he left his domain, or they wouldn't have any way to trace him—and he wanted his artifact back in the first place.
"He's approaching my castle. Follow me!" His face dripping ink, he melted into the shadows again and bolted toward Elysium.
Behind him, Zeus turned into a streak of golden lightning and cleaved the sky.
