Chapter 178: Fate of the prodigal Quinns.
Sunshine snorted. Now she knew why Jon hated Hades sometimes.
"You seem shorter and smaller than you were the last time I saw you." Hades said to Damien. "What happened to you? Did you run into a armored truck?"
Some people’s eyes darted to Morris. He might as well have been considered an armored tank given his monstrous size.
Damien did not answer, but the rage on his face spoke volumes.
Sunshine secretly pinched Hades’s arm from behind, urging him to stop. They had serious business to take care of. She did admit that it was nice to see the prodigal Quinns humbled.
None of the fire they brought over when they first demanded for entrance into the base back then was present.
The world or Morris in this case had taught them a harsh lesson.
"So, what brings you all here?" She asked.
Morris stepped forward, puffing his chest. "They said that they belonged to your family. I will give you these people in exchange for food, water and medicine. A lot of it, that can take my people through winter. We also need some winter clothes, blankets and weapons." He tossed Damien’s gun towards Hades’ feet. "Guns like this, there are things out there in the forest that won’t be killed by bows and arrows. If you give me what I am asking for, these Quinns will live to see the sunrise." His tone was sharp, almost mocking, his confidence fed by the ropes around the hostages.
Sunshine’s eyes burned as she looked at him. "You tied up children and women and brought them here to blackmail us!"
Morris laughed harshly, hiding the anger he was feeling because he had to let them go even though he would have preferred to rip them apart. The anger he tried to hide was prominent in his eyes which burned with deep, sharp, unblinking intensity like coals in a pit.
His jaw was clenched so tightly it looked like it had been molded there with stone and veins pulsed at his temples with the rhythm of restrained fury.
In a voice that came through nearly clenched teeth, he said, "It took a lot in me not to kill them all for the disaster they brought to my village. Many back there would like nothing more than to paint the snow with their blood. But I decided to trade them for survival. It is better than throwing their heads over your walls." He hissed. "So will you deal, or must I kill them right where I stand?"
Hades’ expression did not shift. His eyes were steady, deliberately spitting back willpower. When he finally spoke, his voice carried the weight of a storm. "No deal."
Morris blinked, caught off guard. "No deal? No deal? These are your kin. You would let them die?"
For the first time, the swagger in Morris’s stance faltered. The Quinns looked up in despair, hope shattering against Hades’ refusal. Tears slid down Brigitte’s face while Ambrosia’s sobs filled the air.
The children sobbed even more than their parents.
Even then, Hades remained unmoved.
"Mr. Quinn...." Morris begun
"I said no deal." Hades repeated. "Return to your village with the hostages because they have no home here. I will come and speak to your father about releasing the children to me. He is a kind man; I cannot believe that he allowed you to do this!" He turned to leave but paused when Morris spoke.
"My father is dead!" He shouted. "Damien Quinn shot him in the chest." He added.
Hades spun to face him. "What?"
"Not just him, Damien tried to kill me, returned to my village and crowned himself chief and shot those against him." Morris bellowed. "That is why the people want blood, because your kin murdered ours.
My father’s kindness led to losses that we can never get back. He took them in because they promised you would help the villagers. They paid him back by betraying his trust."
The weight of his words hit Hades like a thunder. Sunshine gasped, shutting her eyes briefly.
She felt a small pinch of guilt for having contributed to the matter indirectly. Because she turned them away, they went to the village, and the end result was the death of the chief.
Every decision she made after her rebirth had consequences. For some, they were good and others, bad.
But the voice of reason within her refused to be guilted into carrying the weight of the actions of another human. She had not put the gun in Damien’s hand.
Everyone was responsible for their choices.
Hades’ face had hardened, and sorrow turned into fury. He recalled the old village chief, a helpful man who never had trouble with anyone. He respected the mountain and the people who lived off of it. Some of the land on which the base was now sitting had been acquired from him.
Why did Damien have to shoot him? His boots scraped against the ground as he moved towards the cart. "Let me kill this son of a gun once and for all!" He clenched his fist, and in a sudden surge of wrath, he leaned down and swung at Damien.
The blow landed hard across Damien’s jaw, but instead of remorse, it drew laughter. Broken, bitter laughter that echoed through the cold air like a caw of a crow.
"Is that all you have got?" Damien hissed, spitting blood of the ground, his grin wide and grotesque. "If I had known that the old man was a friend of yours, I would have made his death even more painful." He let out a hearty laugh like something amused him.
Damien didn’t care for anything anymore. He longed for death.
Hades stood trembling, his chest heaving with rage. Hadrian touched his arm, but he shook him off. He did not want to calm down.
He looked at Morris, his voice came low, sharp as steel. "Supplies you will have, Morris. Take Damien but children stay here. They will not suffer for the mistakes of their parents."
Ambrosia’s eyes widened, horror blooming across her face. "You cannot tear my children away from me. You will have to take me in as well."
"So, you would rather wander with them in a freezing winter?" Hades asked.
Avenn stepped close and laid a trembling hand on her shoulder. "This is what is best for the twins, the children will be safer with Hades. With us they will freeze." His words broke him, but he forced them out.
Sunshine moved forward gently and took the children amidst sobs from the mother. She sank on her knees, her cries ragging until two women disappeared with the children in the fortress.
Hadrian and another soldier pulled the children away from Nora as well. Like Ambrosia, she was unwilling to let go.
"We will not be taking the others." Hades declared.
Morris’ expression was twisted relief mingled with unease. "The truth is the others had no part in my father’s death." He said, voice low. "Damien was the poison, the rest are as victims as we are. Much as I hate them, it does not feel right throwing them out. My father would not approve. But I cannot take them back to the village. They will be killed."
Sunshine whispered something to Hades, and he nodded.
Hades looked at the prodigal Quinns and said, "Leave them, they will be driven to Jon’s base, I will send him more supplies. But as for Damien....." he spat on the ground. "I do not care what happens to him. He can die a dog’s death if fate wills it."