Chapter 18
Eris watched them with cold eyes but made no move closer. The stirring wind made the only sound, one long mournful cry that sang out across the forest. Her black dress fluttered about her legs, shredded from a fight, making her look more like a spectre than a Goddess. Hell, Andromeda as a human looked more like a Goddess in that moment. Fay glanced at Motep, wondering if he knew whom it was but there was confusion and caution in his eyes. He had no idea. Sensing her gaze, he met hers and saw the searching look.
“You know her?”
“Eris.”
Motep’s head snapped back to Eris, eyes narrowed. “Her? She’s not what I imagined.”
“Tartarus changes you,” she found herself saying, wondering how much Andromeda herself had changed. “Be ready for anything but, for now, let me try something.”
“Try what?”
Fay smiled indulgently. “Something.”
“You don’t have a plan, do you?”
Fay was already walking towards Eris, ignoring him. He was right. She had no plan but Eris wasn’t getting any closer, nor was she saying anything. So, someone had to do something. After a beat, Motep followed reluctantly in her shadow, guarding her flank. The soft hum of his shadow magic radiated behind her, assuring her. Whatever he felt about her he was backing her up. She felt a stab of shame, for having treated him – and the squad – so badly. Mainly for not being the squad mate they deserved.
She was within a few feet of Eris when the ancient Goddess finally moved. Her head cocked to the side, considering Fay with curiosity. Black eyes swept up and down, raking in every detail, dissecting it. Beneath that terrible gaze Fay felt exposed but she held her ground, pretending she wasn’t bothered at all. Mainly she just tried to act like Andromeda.
“You’ve grown up,” she said with a humourless smile. “No wonder this place has been such a buzz of activity. You’ve come home.”
Fay glanced around. “Funny, not how I imagined home to look.”
“You know, you can’t go any further. I can’t let you meet her. You do that and the world burns,” she said calmly.
As Fay went to respond Motep took a bold step forward. “Aren’t you the Goddess of Chaos and mischief? Is the world burning not what you like?”
Eris tutted him like a silly child. “There is a time and a place for everything. Besides, I like being the one with the fire in my hands, to decide when the world burns. It’s an artform only I really appreciate.”
Fay sighed. “And if I politely say screw you and continue on my merry way?”
The Goddess’s eyes hardened. “Andromeda isn’t the only one whom has power here. You won’t make it to her. I’ll ensure it.”
A coy smile tugged at Fay’s mouth. “I like a challenge.”
Something about Eris, about being around any of the Gods really, made something in Fay fire up. A defiant nature that their presence ignited. A challenge she was compelled to take up.
Eris scowled, dissolving into a plume of smoke, fading away in the breeze. A cold chill snaked down Fay’s spine. Motep gave her a long, hard stare that she felt ought to make her feel bad. Ashamed, maybe. Only, she felt fired up, a smile stretching across her mouth.
“Well, that went well,” she said.
“Do you have to piss off every God you meet?” He asked, exasperated.
She turned to him. “I have to see Andromeda and Eris knows that. I don’t expect you to understand. This ‘warning’ isn’t to scare us off. It’s to get in our head. It’s what she does. At least my way I got into her head a little. Well, I’d like to think so anyway.”
He opened his mouth to argue but a chilling growl erupted through the air. His mouth slammed shut, head pricking up to the source, eyes snapped away from her. After a beat she followed his gaze to the golden eyes that stared out from the shadows of the trees. Demon eyes.
Motep called on his magic and readied himself, whilst Fay stepped forward, one hand out. The power burned her lips but she felt ready, anxious even, as the demon emerged from the trees. It resembled a kind of tiger with thick, sinewy muscles and large fangs that dropped from its mouth. It opened its enormous mouth again, revealing a snake tongue and rows of sharp, jagged teeth. Perfect from tearing flesh from bone. It stepped forward, then turned and stalked back and forth for a bit. The forked tail flickered about.
Fay took another step closer. The tiger looked up, ears flattened against its head as it let out a low, threatening snarl.
“You’re the first beastie I’ve seen here and if you’re the best that Eris can send frankly, I’m disappointed,” declared Fay, inching closer.
“Fay…” Motep warned. “You sure you can control this?”
“Nope.”
The beast lunged, surging forward with its powerful legs, teeth flashing. Fay dug in her heels, ignoring the rush in her chest, the feeling to run.
“Stop.”
The beast didn’t stop.
Something crashed into her, barrelling her out of the way. Motep. She scrambled to her feet, flashing him a thankful look. There was no time for words as the beast spun around, ready to take another pass. Fay drew her sword, infusing it with shadow magic. She wasn’t a master of it, like Motep, but she’d figure it out.
Hopefully.
“You distract it, give me space to work,” she ordered.
He nodded and darted off to the side, yelling at the beast with his hands waving about. It turned to him and burst forward. Motep rolled out of the way, narrowly missing a swipe of its claws, and hurled a bolt of shadow. It whistled, slammed into the side – and melted off.
The bolt didn’t even puncture the skin.
She filed that bit away for later. If her orders didn’t do anything and bolts didn’t even puncture flesh, she had to figure out some other way to bring it down. She tried to think what Andromeda would do, if she was there. All that came to mind was her fight with Hades and how she stopped him, just with a touch of her hand. Only, that was her magic, whatever it was, not hellhound magic. She looked again, burrowing through the visions for anything, whatever tiny scrap of help she could gleam. Andromeda wasn’t coming to bail her out, not this time.
She was on her own.
No, you’re not, she reminded herself, glancing at Motep. You’re never really alone.
If she couldn’t control that demon, then perhaps she might find something else to control. She closed her eyes and reached out her mind, calling like she had back on earth, willing demons to her side. At first, nothing stirred back, no flicker of life –
Then, a cry. Followed by another and another, resounding cries that rose in her mind, a cacophony of monstrous howls. Demons. Eris was wrong. It wasn’t just Andromeda and her that had power in Tartarus. Fay did, too. The demons answered her call.
She opened her eyes, just as Motep darted out of the way of another blow – and the beast blinked behind him. It swiped at him, claws drawn. Blood sprayed and Motep screamed, stumbling forward. Weakened, he couldn’t move fast enough. The tiger jumped onto his back, sinking his teeth into Motep’s shoulder.
Come on, Demons, obey me!
She rushed forward towards the beast, which as it saw her, released Motep from its mouth and leapt towards her. Already she had her sword out and as the beast leapt, she slid forward, gliding under the beast – and swiftly rolled back onto her feet. It turned, snarling angrily but stayed still. Its eyes flickered behind her, then back and she knew what was emerging from the trees. Felt them, their minds brushing hers, their hunger and low, resounding growls. The air stank of them.
Her own demon army.
She held out her spare hand to the beast. “Leave.”
The demon tiger refused, lunging forward. She swept a hand out from the side, to the beast, and a surge of demons rushed forward. A wave of black rolled over the tiger, consuming it whole with delighted cries. As their screams filled the air, the beast silenced, she spun around and rushed over to Motep, whom was bleeding out heavily from his shoulder. He clutched it with one hand but it his hand was made red by his own blood.
“I said distract it not get yourself injured,” she said, eyes narrowed.
“Sorry, the damn thing was faster than any demon I’ve fought before,” he said, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “I’ll do better next time.”
His gaze strayed to the demons that, having feasted on the beast, gathered around Fay, awaiting her command. There was unease in his eyes, unaccustomed to the show of her power, at being reminded of how different she actually was. It was one thing to stop a demon, another thing entirely to summon a small demon army so easily. That wasn’t the territory of hellhounds.
She turned to the demons, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. They held her gaze for a moment before slinking away, bleeding into the shadows, as if they’d never been there at all. When they were gone, she knelt by Motep, inspecting the wound on his shoulder.
“What kind of Hellhound are you?” His voice was a low whisper.
She met his gaze. “I don’t know.”
He nodded curtly and let her help him up. Lucky for him, his wound was starting to heal, so he’d be fine in a few hours. She stepped back, let him stand on his own, then peered to the distant horizon. Whilst she knew she could summon an army at any time she didn’t want one lingering around, though she didn’t want to be surprised with attacks at every corner. Eris had likely thrown that first beast to test her…and Fay had just revealed her ace.
Rookie move, thought Fay. You’re playing against Gods now. You have to be smarter.
She had a connection to Tartarus, a calling to it. It was time she tested that theory, figured out what she could do. If demons responded what else might she be able to do?
“Andromeda and Eris are battling out for Tartarus. That’s what’s been bleeding into the Underworld. Their power is tearing this place apart,” said Fay. “It was meant to be a prison, not a battlefield.”
“Many unsavoury immortals have come here – it a miracle we have not seen them. I’m sure they’ve fought before. Why are these two different?”
That was just it. Eris wasn’t different to the others imprisoned in Tartarus. Andromeda was. She wasn’t a human, like Fay believed. She was something else, something older…and that felt infinitely scarier. What darkness had she emerged from? Or, rather, what void had spit her out of?
“Tartarus is memories. Maybe they’re just trapped in their own memories, like prison cells. We haven’t been banished here, so we’re not prisoners. We see the echoes from the cells and sometimes-“ She paused, thinking of seeing Amon when she first came. “Sometimes we see inside those cells.”
Motep chewed on the theory, then sighed. “Even if it was true, why the fight? What do they have to gain?”
Fay spread her arms wide, gesturing to everything around them. “Control Tartarus and you’re one step away from controlling the Underworld. Control those and what do you have?”
Awareness dawned on his face. “Death. Oh, hell.”
“Exactly. Have those and no matter what war you raged if anyone died, they came into your camp – human, demon, Gods.”
Suddenly, Andromeda’s mission to get to Tartarus, seemed clear. She was laying the ground work for her own war. Fay rubbed her chin, thoughtfully. If that was the case, how was she playing into it all? Why was Eris so damn afraid of Fay meeting Andromeda? What had Eris said again?
You’ve come home.
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