Chapter 15
When Ben and Mel returned the vision had already retreated to the fringe of her mind. Mel offered a change of clothes; which Fay gratefully took. She was able to change in a small bathroom. She tried to focus on the present, which proved hard enough as it rolled back around to Abe. As she slightly lessened the white noise in the bond she felt the sharp sting as he sent a surge through, trying to find her. She recoiled back, slammed the walls up, and turned to Ben and Mel. The Siren came closest and gestured for Fay to take a seat. Fay obeyed.
“Now, let’s have a look at that leg,” she said, reaching for the bandage wrapped around her upper thigh.
Mel gingerly unwrapped the bandage. Fay let out a low hiss as pain lanced through her leg. For a few seconds she refused to look at the wound. When she dared she saw the punctures where the teeth had sunk in; they were red and festering already. Mel held her hand over the wound and closed her eyes. She opened her mouth and began to sing. Fay had heard the alluring power of a Siren’s song; how it lulled men to their deaths, healed horrific wounds, ended and began enormous battles. She listened, enraptured, as the song flowed through the room.
All too soon it was over. Mel removed her hand and the wound beneath was healed silky smooth. Fay stared down at her leg. Healing magic wasn’t new but there was something fascinating about how a song healed a wound.
Mel stood. She wobbled a little on her feet. Ben rushed to her and caught her. For a moment she held him, then stepped away and walked into the kitchen. Fay wondered if there was anything between her and Ben, given that Fay had seen Mel with her boyfriend, and how she seemed to adore him.
“You and?”
Ben choked for a second, then laughed. “Mel and I? No. I mean, she’s gorgeous, yes but I don’t have feelings for her. A Siren’s heart, she once told me, can only love once and they love hard. She has that with her boyfriend, which is why he’s not here and she’s got him so tightly protected in magic.”
“The Siren’s grief that sunk Atlantis,” said Fay, recalling an old legend.
“That would be Mel’s cousin, Ada. Never met her but Mel did, once. Scary as hell apparently but a bit of a rebel, too. Plays by her own rules.”
“Sounds like my kind of girl,” said Fay with a smile. There was a sudden jolt in her chest, sending pain skittering through her limbs. She winced and Ben came forward, worried. She held up a hand. “I’m fine. Abe’s just getting a little more determined.”
“He cares about you, doesn’t he? More than professionally?” Ben asked, sitting beside her.
Fay stilled. She’d known her own feelings with a startling certainty for some time. Yet, in some way, she did know how he felt, even if he never said those words. In glances, in the hugs he gave when she returned from the Underworld, their banter and how easily they worked together – how they used to work, anyway.
“Yeah…”
“And you?”
She snorted. “Part of me hates him, part of me…part of me cares.” She twisted in her chair to look at Ben. “And you?”
His eyes widened like a deer in headlights. “Me?”
“Anyone special?”
“I think I hear Mel calling me,” he said suddenly and flew off the couch and out of the room.
Mel hadn’t called his name.
After a few hours of much needed sleep Fay got up to the smell of something cooking. She found Ben in the kitchen, grilling away some sandwiches, whilst Mel was leaning over the dining table, eyeing off a series of pictures. Her eyes flickered up to Fay, then returned to the table. Fay took a seat on the nearby couch, eyeing both with curiosity.
“You two haven’t told me how you’re involved in this and don’t think I haven’t forgotten how Ben held weapons of the Gods,” declared Fay, lifting her gaze up as both Ben and Mel finished what they were doing and looked at her.
“Calypso visited me in a dream after the lake attack, instructed me to find Ben, to come here,” explained Mel. “I may be hiding from my people but I can’t exactly ignore my own Queen, as much as I’d love to.”
Fay had heard of Calypso; the city she’d formed on her island she wasn’t able to leave, how she formed the Sirens from her own blood and, as they in turn grew, were able to leave. She’d formed one of the first empires, then retreated to the shadows. Then one of her descendants fell in love with a mortal, whom was slain by an enemy. The grief drove her mad and she sunk the island beneath the waves. The legend of Atlantis was born. Calypso had then cursed the wayward Siren, reminding her surviving children of her power and dominance.
She glanced up at Ben. “And you?”
“After Amanda came to me and I agreed to help her find a way to leave the pack, given she didn’t believe Ryan would willingly let her leave, Leto, Goddess of womanly demure and motherhood-“
“The mother of Artemis and Apollo visited you?”
Ben eyed her, as if expecting her to go on. After a moment he continued on as Fay’s mind whirled. The greatest example of a low-key God had visited Ben? Fay found herself oddly jealous, given that the only Gods who paid her attention just wanted to claim her soul.
“She told me that I’d protect Amanda but, that no matter what I did, she’d be taken. Leto didn’t say who, only that when the time came I’d have two people to help me find her. She gave me the weapons and then this,” he said, pulling down his collar, revealing a small brand on his skin, a she-wolf – the Mark of Leto.
Fay mulled this over. She realised that Mel and Ben were staring at her, as if she had the answers they were after. It occurred to her that two goddesses had given them missions with vague information. She leant forward in her seat, wondering how Calypso and Leto played into all of it. Why was it necessary for Amanda to go missing? The case of Amanda’s apparent kidnapping and the poltergeists were one, bound by werewolves made immortal and someone from the shadows mastering it all. Why? What was the point of it? An army? But for who and for what end?
“Where were those wolves from?”
“As far as we’ve been able to tell, from the few we’ve seen roaming just off Ryan’s land, they’re from different packs. I made some quiet calls. It seems they’re all exiles,” said Ben, taking a seat at the dining table.
Fay brought her hands to her chin, rubbing thoughtfully. “Hades told me once that the Gods were limited in how much they could directly interfere on the mortal plane. There is the rare exception, of course. I wonder if Calypso and Leto knew something, a threat maybe, that they couldn’t deal with and used you both, with me apparently, to deal with it. Of course, I’d then ask why it was just them? Either they’ve seen something Zeus hasn’t or he knows something more than them, that the threat isn’t serious to them.”
“Then why did Amanda have to be taken?” Ben snapped, anger bursting through his calm demeanour.
“To prove to Zeus maybe that the threat is real? If we defeat it then great for them; however, if we fail, if this ‘bad guy’ grows too big then it forces Zeus to act. Hades hated the fact that Zeus seemed to be the only who’d break the rules, interfere if he saw it necessary. Takes a lot to get him of his golden throne, however.” Fay got up from the couch. “This is just a theory, however. I could just as easily be wrong.”
Mel and Ben glanced at each other. They’d probably felt little more than pawns in a bigger game. The theory confirmed it in a way that must’ve disturbed them. What if they had been set up simply to fail just to piss of Zeus? Fay wasn’t surprised or disgusted by the game. It was normal for the Olympians. If their pride was wounded they’d just as easily lay waste to a city or start a war – subtly, of course, like the siege of Troy.
A moment later Mel turned back to Fay. “Sounds like we have to find Amanda. This all centres on her.” Her watch chimed; glancing down, she cursed and got to her feet. “I’ve got to make a call. I’ll be back.”
When she was gone Ben rubbed his neck. “Her Gran gets worried when she doesn’t check in.”
The thought of Mel, a Siren, worrying about the opinion of an elderly human, seemed humorous and, yet, touching, too. A reminder than even a creature of immense power could still be grounded, kind even.
Fay smiled but something Ben had said dispelled the smile. “Amanda didn’t Ryan would let her leave. If she was human she’d simply have to call the council and they’d have a team to extract her. The threat of forced turnings is a serious crime. Ryan would be stripped of everything, imprisoned, if not executed.” When she saw Ben’s eyes, how they flickered cautiously, something inside of Fay twisted. “She isn’t human, is she?”
“Amanda is a hellhound.”
Fay paced the garden behind the house. She had to be alone, to think. For the past two years she’d believed that she’d been the only hellhound on earth not bound to Hades. To find there was another, ironically from the same pack she’d been banished from, left a twisted feeling in her gut. Amanda, to her credit had, according to Ben, found someone to be bound to – though the name hadn’t been disclosed to Ben – and then covered her tracks for the past two years. That, a year ago, she had sought escape but seemingly retracted. Had she, like Fay, learnt the hard way what the bond really meant? Had her master then called her to heel?
She needed to visit the Underworld, needed to get Nebiru’s attention somehow, without alerting Thanatos. Access to the palace was impossible but perhaps there was another way? She’d always amassed a following of demons. Some of the smarter ones she could control. If she could get one to relay a message, get Nebiru to meet her covertly on the surface, then she could talk to him. See if he’d heard anything about another hellhound on Earth and who her master might be. Thanatos might’ve gone to her, as he’d gone to Fay but found her bound already. There seemed to be, however, the small chance that Thanatos and Hades simply didn’t know about Amanda.
“Fay? You okay? Ben said he told you about Amanda,” said Mel, appearing beside her. “It must be a shock to know you’re not the only hellhound.”
“Kind of takes away my infamy,” lamented Fay with a dry smile. “I’ll have to go to the Underworld, which I was trying to avoid.”
Mel laughed but sobered a moment later. “Oh, you’re serious. How long will you be away?”
“Hard to say. Time is funny there. I want to lure my contact up here, where Hades can’t intervene. I’ll have to take measures for Thanatos, though,” reflected Fay. “What will you guys do?”
“Well, we were hoping you’d join us but as it is, Ben and I will track north from Ryan’s land. We’ve found tracks there from these mysterious wolves. When you’re done find a water source and put this coin in it, then call my name,” said Mel, fishing a small coin out from her pocket and holding it out.
Fay plucked it from her hand and held it up to the light. “A drachma?”
“It’s archaic but it’s a handy way to communicate. I’ve adjusted it so my kind can’t intercept it. Anyway-“
Mel’s voice cut away suddenly. In a blink Fay stood in a darkened cave, lit only by a small smouldering fire, casting a dull glow over a sacrificial table. A man was laid out on it. Fay glanced around but saw no one, so she walked over to the table; her eyes fell on the man and she froze, the blood draining from her face.
Abe lay on the table, pale as death.
He’s dead, her mind whispered.
She staggered back, right through someone that charged through her and up to the table. A dark cloak was set about their shoulders. Slender hands pushed the hood down. Fay felt her heart race. It was Andromeda. All the pieces of Andromeda’s life were slowly clicking together. The woman Abe had loved; the man that Andromeda had loved and lost to Zeus, who had seemingly returned to a Goddess who she scorned to resurrect him. A love that went beyond death. No wonder Abe had closed that space between them. There had been a dead woman standing there the whole time.
Andromeda reached out with a shaking hand and brushed his cheek. From where Fay stood she saw the raw grief in her eyes, barely containing that undeniable, vicious rage. Andromeda drew her hand back and turned around. For a moment Fay thought she was staring at her, then she realised it was someone behind her. She turned slowly. Eris strode into the temple, looking ever the Goddess of strife and discord, even in her simple village dress and plainly braided hair. It was the look in her eyes, as though all before her was tiny, and she mistress of all she saw. There was power in her eyes.
“You would not be changing your mind, would you? The deal is, of course, set in your oath on the River Styx. Even I would not break that oath,” said Eris arrogantly, glancing briefly at Abe. “I still believe you stupid for loving him. It put you right in my hands.”
Andromeda seethed but said nothing. Her eyes flickered to Abe and they softened, seemed human for a moment. Kind, loving. Fay envied her. For Abe she’d been willing to sacrifice herself to a Goddess, to become a pawn in a much bigger game.
“He has been the only one who has seen me for more than what your prophecy proclaims. Perhaps I am a fool for finding worth in that,” remarked Andromeda with a small, conspiratorial smile. The softness in her face hardened as she looked back to Eris and moved away from the stone table. “For my hand you must fulfil your end of the deal.”
Eris inclined her head magnanimously and went to Abe. She retrieved a small metal box from a bag on her hip, then set it by Abe’s hand.
“A soul was a tricky thing to steal. Lucky, I know just how to do it but at a great cost, mind you,” said Eris, her devious eyes flickering briefly to Andromeda, then back down to Abe. She opened the box and reached it, retrieving a small orb of light. It glowed warmly in her hand.
A soul, thought Fay with wonder. Eris had stolen Abe’s soul from the Underworld, right from under the nose of Hades himself.
Eris moved the orb over his chest and pressed down. She then set her hands on his shoulders and leaned down, whispering in his ear. Her voice was soft, enchanting, luring Fay forward, so close she could hear the words from her lips – the language, however, was foreign to her. It was something truly ancient.
She stepped back. For a moment nothing happened. Andromeda’s hard gaze might as well have burned right through the stone with it’s intensity.
Abe sat up with a scream. It died in his throat as Andromeda rushed forward, throwing her arms around him. He stiffened, momentarily startled by her presence. Confused by all that happened it took him a moment. Even then, he seemed different. Then he looked down. A heartbreaking look came over his face as he saw Andromeda.
“Meda?”
She pulled back a little and looked up, freezing. In a blink she tore from his embrace, whirling on Eris, her eyes a raging inferno.
“What have you done?”
Eris smiled wickedly. “Oh, you noticed? I had to offer a little more incentive to our deal. I couldn’t quite trust you to be loyal. It’s not in your nature, Andromeda.”
“So, you decreed to make him Immortal?”
“You ought to be thankful. Now he can’t die like before,” said Eris with a flick of her hand. “Or, are you hurt because you’re not Immortal? I told you that you’d never fulfil your prophecy until you undertook the trials and became an Immortal.”
Andromeda snapped. She blurred forward with inhuman speed, a flash of colour, and slammed Eris up against the cave wall. Abe tried to get off the table but he was too weak to intervene, to stop the waves of black energy rolling off Andromeda, the sheer power flowing off her. She seemed to glow like a Goddess, as though she was drawing on that energy by sheer force of will, rather than by being made Immortal.
“I will become Immortal on my terms. I won’t do the trials because I refuse to surrender my soul, so don’t think to force my hand. Though I am mortal I can still destroy you,” she said, her voice threaded with another’s – a far more ancient voice.
A shadow of fear passed in Eris’s eyes but passed quickly. “You wouldn’t want to do that. Your oath, remember?”
Andromeda opened her mouth to speak but the vision shattered. Confusion swam through Fay as she stared up, two worlds becoming world, and she realised she was on her back. Mel and Ben knelt over her, shaking her. She brushed them off and scrambled to her feet, swaying a little. Ben reached out but she shoved him away, a little too hard. He staggered back with a wince.
Mel took a step forward, just one. “What happened? You just dropped and started to have a fit. I thought you were going to die. Then you started talking in some ancient language. I got only figured out a little. You were threatening someone. You mentioned Abe’s name too, chanting it.”
Fay wrapped her hands around her waist, shaking. The vision was still raw in her mind. She looked to the sky and wandered if Zeus was watching her, laughing.
The little hellhound is slowly losing her mind, she imagined him saying.
“It’s a long story but I need to have a chat with someone. You guys take care, okay? I’ll be back soon,” she said.
They stepped forward, as if to speak – or to stop her. She snapped her hand and dissolved into darkness, summoning herself back to the Underworld.
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