Chapter 10
Andromeda stepped back from the circle she’d drawn and straightened her back, wiped the thin sheen of sweat from her brow, then exhaled deeply. There was that burn of determination in her eyes, which seemed more intense than previous visions Fay had experienced. The mission was consuming her. Yet in that small stone room, lit only by two hung torches, when she glanced back as Amon strode in her face softened. That look changed, her eyes warm, open. It was though the wall she had in place for the world fell away. If Fay didn’t know any better Andromeda had fallen in love; then again, Andromeda’s mind and heart had always been complicated. It might just as well be an act, a means to an end in the mission.
Fay watched on cautiously from the shadows.
At first Amon didn’t speak. He smiled in greeting before turning to the circle and inspecting it. As he stood he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“This will get us to the Underworld?” He asked quietly.
She nodded. “I’ve gone over every text, spoken to demons and even one of Hades’s own descendants.”
Amon glanced at her with surprise. “That’s bold.”
“He has an investment in the success of what I must do. That, and I took steps to ensure his silence,” she explained casually.
If Amon was concerned or disturbed at what steps she’d taken he gave no notice. It seemed, unlike Abe, he was much more accepting of whatever steps she took. Perhaps, he too, was in love with her and blind to her faults. Maybe he was playing his own game. Fay had only seen snatches of their lives, brief moments of decisions and actions, culminating in a singular moment that all the visions were leading to. The order and coherence of the visions made Fay feel like she had to see all that had happened before to understand what happened in those final moments of Andromeda’s life.
“I am ready to go,” he announced.
She nodded, then held out her hand over the circle. Her eyes fell shut as she began to chant. The marked circle, summoned by her words, began to glow; steadily, at first, then a blinding burst of light before fading sharply to reveal that, within the circle, a portal of darkness appeared. Andromeda dropped her hand, opening her eyes. When she went to move her legs wobbled, Amon was at her side, a tentative hand on her upper arm. His eyes were on her, searching.
“Andromeda?”
“I am fine. It is…It wasn’t hard, just too easy. The rush of energy that came to me was dizzying but not unpleasant,” she said with a small smile.
A delirious kind of smile.
Amon drew back, releasing his hold on her. Even through his feelings it seemed in that quiet moment he was seeing something else in her. Maybe it was what Abe had seen, what destroyed what he had with Andromeda. It might even be the same as he saw in Fay when he Commanded her. What did they see in Andromeda that made them wary, when all Fay saw was a girl determined to own her cursed destiny. Someone who wouldn’t be destroyed by it or go down without a fight.
Unfortunately, Andromeda didn’t see it in her own delirium as she stepped into the circle. In a flash she was gone. The vision spiralled into darkness and the last thing Fay saw was Amon stepping into the circle after her.
Perhaps he saw something that Abe hadn’t after all.
The squad was training in the sparring yard; only, it wasn’t the normal one-on-one. The squad was attacking in sync on a chained demon – a snake-like beast with heavily clipped wings, a beak like a hawk and a stinger at the end of the tail. The twins rushed forward, then split apart, Nadia bolting up the middle and spinning, carving her blade into its side. Arcus and Motep rushed in from the side, driving their blades in, then leaping back, folding back into the formation. Marcus and Alexander, the Greek brothers, flipped over Lucilla and Tiberius respectively; the latter knocked arrows to the bows they sported and fired. The arrows flew true, slicing past the brothers, straight into each eye of the beast. It howled in fury, thrashing wildly.
The whole group dropped back and Remus ran forward, a sword in each hand. The beast turned to the side. He dropped, slid forward, and dropped one sword down, stopping his slide as he snapped the other one up, dragging it across the beast’s throat. Blood sprayed. The beast let out a gurgled cry and slumped forward.
Remus swiftly retreated to the group which circled but didn’t close in. Fay drew closer – then she sensed it. A flicker of life, one that wasn’t spluttering out, not just yet. The tip of the tail twitched. She burst forward without warning, straight past the squad, sword drawn. The others didn’t have time to react.
The beast snapped up suddenly, a final cry – and Fay drove her sword into its heart, throwing her whole weight into it. The beast fell back, along with her and hit the ground, hard. She sat there for a second, her legs straddling its thick body, her hands still clenched on the blade. Behind her, someone whistled.
She released one hand and got up, then yanked her sword free, blood spraying with the final beats of its heart. She turned slowly. The whole squad was there, staring at her. Only Nadia was smiling, kind of like a proud parent. Fay returned the smile, though a smaller one.
“If you have all your entrances like that I may just have to marry you,” remarked Marcus with a wicked grin.
“This girl is smart, so why would she lower herself to you?” Lucilla quipped, earning a quiet chuckle from Tiberius.
“Besides, you were crowing all night about how you love blondes,” snickered Alexander.
Remus stepped forward and the squad fell silent, watching him, awaiting his command. Though she’d only been part of the team for a little while and as much as she resisted the Commands from Hades, she fell silent too. Not because she was made to, out of respect because he commanded the room effortlessly. He seemed to know what to do and always had a plan.
“Head back. In a few days’ time we begin the trials for the mission – pending our success we go to Tartarus in a little over a week. For tonight, however, rest and relax,” he said.
The squad wasn’t perfect and still had a long way to being a well-oiled machine. At times, they were efficient, other times they weren’t and with Fay, their dynamic had changed. As though no one quite knew where she fit in the machine of it all; at the front with the scouts where her demon abilities were useful? At the trapping, where she might quiet a violent demon? By Remus himself, where her senses might help him make decisions? She saw herself in all those places but no one else in the squad was like that. Somehow, she had to figure it out and from Remus’s lingering gaze, it seemed he hadn’t decided either.
Little care was given though as Remus made the order. At once the squad seemed to disperse. Lucilla linked her arm through Tiberius, dragging him off. The twins were gone, vanishing without a word. Motep murmured something to Remus, bowed, then strode off, as if he had somewhere better to be. Somehow, the brothers dragged Arcus off, proclaiming something about a party one of the squads had arranged. However, at the edge of the training yard, Marcus stopped, untangled himself and turned to Fay.
“You should come, meet the rest of the hounds. Everyone is dying to meet you,” he asked.
Fay glanced at Nadia but she was already walking off with Remus. The two were deep in conversation. So, with her only friend she’d made so far occupied, she agreed and was whisked off by the brothers and a grumbling Arcus.
“This is not going to end well,” remarked Arcus.
The party was in full swing by the time they’d arrived, though the sky was only beginning to darken. It was on the edge of camp, surrounded by a half circle of tents. A large bonfire blazed in the middle, gathering a large crowd of mingling hellhounds. Others lounged by smaller fire pits, some which roasted succulent meats. There was even one that had cushions and rugs gathered around, hellhounds sprawled out across them. One was even in hound form, napping contentedly.
Marcus suddenly strode forward from the group.
“Daphne!” He shouted to the main cluster.
A red-haired girl spun around and burst into a broad grin. She was pretty, in a striking sort of way, and her eyes lit up. It looked like love. She turned around quickly, murmured something to a guy nearby, then hurried off to Marcus.
“You came! Is she with you?” Daphne asked, looking around wildly.
Her eyes latched onto Fay. She shoved past him, striding over to the group. It was then Fay noticed the jagged scar on her neck, snaking from beneath her right ear, across her neck, then slipping beneath her cotton shirt. She wondered what caused it, as hounds, like werewolves, healed so rapidly and well that scars never happened. It was jarring to look at, something strange and out of place. Fay must’ve stared too long because Daphne instinctively touched the scar, looking sheepish.
“Ran off from camp once and found that the Underworld isn’t as safe as you might think. Turns out, some scars don’t heal as well as you might think,” she explained; then, lifting her gaze the sheepish look fell away. “I didn’t think Marcus would get you here. He’s always promising things he can’t deliver on.”
“Hey!” Marcus protested, feigning hurt.
He snaked his arm around her slender waist, drawing her close where he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. She relaxed into his embrace.
“Most of the time he’s fine, though,” she amended with a smile. She twisted in his embrace and carefully untangled herself. “Brutus was after you, said he had what you ordered.”
He nodded, kissed her cheek and went off. When he was gone Daphne turned back to her, shaking her head a little, bemused at Marcus. It was clear she loved him, which left Fay feeling a little jealous. Any attempt at love for her had been disastrous to say the least; first Ben, whom almost broke her; then there was Abe, which was a whole other story, one she was trying to forget, to move on from, to obliterate if she could only figure out how. Cheeks red, she looked away to the crowd.
“I didn’t expect this,” said Fay. “Everyone seems so…happy.”
“You expected us to be mopey?”
She glanced back. “I didn’t know what to expect really. What little I’d seen of other hounds before was Nebiru and his generals. They always seemed so serious, so loyal. I don’t think any of them would ever to come to a place like this.”
Daphne snorted. “Definitely not. You’re right, though. We do these parties as a way to relax, pretend we still have a life of sorts. After all, we’re an army without a war, bound to wait forever.” She stopped herself suddenly, then laughed scornfully. “Gods, we sound so depressing.”
Fay nodded. She didn’t know why Daphne had invited her, what her goal was. It made her feel wary, on edge, owlish, tracking every movement and studying every word closely. Perhaps it was innocent but perhaps it wasn’t. It just seemed strange that after her little talent was revealed she was soon invited to a party? To what end?
“We just need a little fun, that’s all. Come on, I want to show you something,” she said, reaching for Fay.
Instinctively, she recoiled, earning a laugh and a little shake of Daphne’s head, like Fay was acting like a silly child. Something within her stirred, restless, wary. If she didn’t know better she felt Andromeda reaching out, warning her somehow.
“Show me what?”
Daphne sighed, her hand dropped. A tiny flicker of irritation flashed in her eyes, vanishing quickly behind a bemused smile. Fay hadn’t missed the irritation, though.
“Look, Marcus just told me you were looking glum, that you just needed to see the real side of this place. Not the stifling squad that Remus runs or that dodgy fighting ring that Nadia is so fond of. I thought I could help, okay?”
It sounded believable but it was just as likely a lie, too. Only, her feelings weren’t helpful, too vague to judge properly. She knew, rationally, that she shouldn’t be making enemies so soon. After all, she was meant to spend an eternity with these people. That meant friends, allies even, were necessary.
“I’m sorry – show me. I’ll promise to behave,” said Fay.
At the back of her mind she felt Andromeda’s presence stir again.
Be careful, warned Andromeda before bleeding away into the darkness again.
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