‘You are vital to our plans! That’s why you’ll lead the troops into battle!’ Thanatos declared.

‘No. I will not,’ Nyx said plainly.

‘Shut up, Mother,’ Thanatos muttered from the corner of his mouth, ‘I’ve got this.’

‘If anyone knows about troublesome immortals,’ said Nyx, flying down between him and Hypnos. ‘It’s me. And I don’t trust any of them. Especially not Zeus.’

‘Then what do you suggest we do?’ hissed Thanatos, struggling to keep the smile plastered to his lips.

‘Attacking the Gods on Earth means nothing if you don’t get the Chaos Stone to the Earth’s core. And the Gods know that too. They’re bound to try something to stop you down here. I need to stay here and be on alert for them.’

‘No,’ said Thanatos plainly. ‘I have decided that you will . . .’

‘Absolutely not,’ said Nyx, ‘I need to be here. End of discussion.’

Thanatos stared resentfully at his mother.

‘So be it,’ he scowled. ‘Now may I get on with it?’

‘Please,’ smiled Nyx, bowing sarcastically in the air.

Thanatos suppressed his annoyance and turned to face the ranks once more.

‘Comrades,’ he began, ‘I appreciate that this is a difficult time. Change is rarely painless. Nothing worth having ever is. I won’t lie to you. There will be casualties. There will be loss. There will be blood.’

‘Sounds great,’ said a small yeti. ‘But I’m off, thanks . . .’

‘MY SON REQUIRES SILENCE!’ Nyx screamed, honing in on the yeti and flying down into her face.

‘OK,’ squeaked the yeti sheepishly, returning to her place. ‘Sorry.’

‘But at the end of the day, we will create a new world,’ Thanatos continued. ‘A fairer world. A better world.’

‘Er . . . that’th with you ath thupreme leader, I thuppothe?’ Sisyphus chipped in.

‘I don’t think of it as “ruling”,’ Thanatos countered. ‘I think of it as . . . “supporting” and “protecting”.’

‘And what if we don’t want to be “supported” or “protected”?’ said a gorgon.

Nyx loosed another bolt of red lightning in answer to his question. The gorgon nodded his snaky head.

‘Gotcha,’ he mumbled.

‘Trust me, friends,’ said Thanatos. ‘I know what is best for you. For all of us.’

‘What’s the matter with you?’ bellowed Tantalus, turning to face his squadron. ‘Don’t you want to taste freedom? Don’t you want to taste supremacy? Don’t you want to taste a decent burger?’

‘Yeah!’ shouted Asteria, shaking a spear above her head at her forty-eight sisters. ‘Isn’t it time we fought for ourselves? Rather than with our siblings? Speaking of which, when I find out who nicked my favourite lipstick . . .’

‘I’m thick of living in fear . . . Whoa!’ cried Salmoneus teetering beneath his precarious rock. ‘I’m with Thanatoth!’

‘I’m sick of living in Dudley,’ cried a Chimera. ‘I’m with Thanatos!’

‘I’m with Thanatos!’ another voice cried.

‘I’m with Thanatos!’ a third repeated.