The Underworld (The Atlas Series Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

fail her task so the planet would be plunged into chaos. He had said it was a Demon-thing, but the more Kala learned about Asmodeus, the more she knew that was just for show. He was a survivor and the Titans were the ones that wanted Atlas to fail. He did what they commanded to keep himself alive. But now?
    “I haven’t talked to Zeus, but I’m sure the next thing on his agenda will be to find his fellow Olympians that are missing. Honestly, I really don’t care what Zeus, Cronus or any other deity wants. I need to find Hades because I have to wake him up. It’s my new Atlas mission.” Kala walked over to examine the books. Some of the titles were in languages she didn’t recognize. She wasn’t even sure they were human. “What kind of books are these?”
    Asmodeus went to her side and pulled out a large black-leather book with no writing on its spine. He opened it up and handed it to her. As Kala took the ancient tome, the strange lettering inside began to glow and pulse at her touch.
    Smiling, Asmodeus gently took the book from her hands and placed it back on the shelf. “I’ve been collecting these over the years. Mostly they’re harmless, but the book you just held is the original text of Gaia and Uranus. I wanted to see what it would do when you touched it.”
    “So I can make a book glow. Is that because I have Gaia in me?” Kala wished someone would tell her more about who she was and how she had a piece of a goddess inside of her.
    “Most likely. I recovered it from Cronus’s personal library and replaced it with a fake. I figured it might be useful some day,” he confessed.
    Kala was curious. “I can’t read it, though. Is it magic?”
    Asmodeus shrugged. “Oh yes, there’s magic in there. Unfortunately, I have no way to access it. I was hoping you might be of some help in that department.” He turned to face her, his eyes probing. “But that’s for a later date. Now: Hades. You have to wake him up, but you don’t know where he is, yes?”
    Kala hated admitting she needed help, especially from Asmodeus, but she nodded. “I was hoping you knew where he was located.”
    Asmodeus stared at Kala for a few moments, and then shook his head. “No idea. Cronus didn’t trust me enough to tell me where he hid the Olympians.” He grinned. “Crazy, huh?”
    “Insanity.” Kala felt compelled to smile back, but her heart sank. How was she supposed to complete her task if she didn’t know how to find her target? “Could one of these books help?” she asked, desperate for any aid.
    Asmodeus viewed all four walls of the floor-to-ceiling shelves. “Sorry, beautiful, nothing here that could locate a sleeping god. I can ask around though. Over the centuries there have been plenty of supernatural beings that have tried to track down the Olympians. Cronus did his job a little too well.”
    “You don’t think Cronus would tell me…” Kala thought she’d ask Asmodeus his opinion, but his expression was identical to Talan’s.
    He laughed. “Keep dreaming, sweetheart. Cronus doesn’t want any more gods mucking up his plans. He’s the one who put Hades to sleep in the first place. And you know he wants you to fail, so why ask?”
    “I don’t know. I’m kind of his mother in a weird way. Maybe I could scare it out of him. The guy tends to buckle under pressure when he thinks I’m going to kill him.” Kala knew she was sounding desperate. But she was. Desperate. She was positive none of the Atlas surrogates had ever had to find an unconscious god and wake him up. It was as if the universe couldn’t wait until it had the real Atlas back, no longer an acting-Atlas, but the Titan itself, to do the really hard missions.
    Kala searched her Atlas memories for any indication as to where that damn cave was, but came up with nothing.
    “Cronus knows you won’t consume him if you have a choice. It’s the uncertainty that you’ll lose control and kill him out of raw emotion that scares him. You tend to