AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And now Tartarus loomed ahead of us as we stared at it through the viewing window on the bridge.
Seth and Lilith would brave the surface, just as the quest demanded.
"The planet is dead, Seth," Azazel reiterated for the umpteenth time.
None of us had known about this little tidbit. Behlial had to have known about it, I was sure of it. We gave Ishtar the benefit of the doubt. She might have never laid eyes on Tartarus, which would have been easy if one stayed in the windowless royal chambers.
"It looks like it has been in its death throes for thousands of years," Grigori remarked, and I agreed with him, even though I didn't know anything about planets, suns, or solar systems.
Tartarus's sun was dark red and obviously dying, and even from my limited knowledge of star systems, planets, and such, I recalled that a so-called red supergiant was a dying sun. It might take a few million years, but in the meantime, the temperatures of the surrounding planets would be cooling since the supergiant wasn't emitting as much heat any longer.
The cooling temperatures would affect all life on the surrounding planets and darken them, interrupting the photosynthesis phases and either killing or changing life and plant forms.
Besides that, there were no signs of life. No satellites or space stations orbited Tartarus as one would have expected from a thriving, technologically advanced species. Even from here, Tartarus looked abandoned.
"We still have to proceed with the quest," Seth insisted.
The quest demanded that the sole surviving prince was taken to the tallest mountain on Tartarus where we suspected he would receive further instructions. In our case, there were four surviving sons, but Seth, as the new King of Darkness, insisted on being the one to go, saying he couldn't lead if he wasn't willing to take a risk.
My heart went out to Lilith. She and I had become close friends, and her love for Seth was as deep as mine for Azazel.
"Promise me to take care of Osiris if—"
I didn't let her finish her sentence when it was time for her and Seth to leave. The two had had many fights about it, but she eventually succeeded in talking Seth into taking her with him to Tartarus.
"You will be back soon to do it yourself," I said. I smirked, Osiris was a two-hundred-year-old man who knew how to handle himself, but I didn't say that part out loud. The sheepish look on her face reflected that the same thought had occurred to her.
Still, our goodbye was tearful, and with tense anticipation, I watched their ferry leave a few hours later. Everybody on the bridge was tense as the ferry slowly vanished from sight upon entering Tartarus's atmosphere.
"How long will we wait?" Osiris asked.
"As long as it takes," Azazel said between clenched teeth.
And so we stood, staring at the slowly dying planet, wondering what was happening on the surface. Until finally, hours later, we heard Seth's voice over the comm. "Requesting extraction."
"I have half a mind to make the bastard wait a few days," Azazel snarled.
His words somewhat lifted the tension, and I heard myself let out a nervous giggle while Osiris barked, "You will do no such thing."
"No worries, pup, I'll get your mommy and daddy back," Azazel laughed and slapped Osiris's shoulder, who shook him off, making him laugh even harder.
It seemed to take even longer before the shuttle finally came back into view.
"What the fuck were they doing there so long?" Azazel muttered, and we followed him as he strode toward the hangars.
Stunned, we watched as several people disembarked the ferry. I stopped counting after forty-six. When Seth and Lilith exited, they were followed closely by a man who looked a lot like Seth, except for a long scar marring his cheek.
"Seth," the relief in Azazel's voice was only matched by Osiris's cry of, "Father, Mother."
"Osiris," Lilith enveloped her son, who was at least a good head taller than her.
"Meet your grandfather, son," Seth smirked.
"Grandfather?" Azazel echoed, astounded.
"We have lots to talk about. Thanks for the ride back, brother," Seth said, clapping Azazel on the shoulder. Even after a couple of hundred years, there were still times of uncertainty left between the brothers, and this would have been a prime opportunity for Azazel, Marduk, and Grigori to rid themselves of Seth.
"Anytime, brother." Azazel smirked back, and the affection between him and his brother tugged at my heart.
