Chapter 28
It was pure carnage. The whole camp lay decimated in one singular blow. Tents were shredded, uprooted. Weapons and the remnants of demons painted a bloody scene. Fay sent out a fleeting probe of the camp, sensing the flickering but otherwise still breathing lives of several hellhounds. The squad was bloody and bruised but alive. Relief flooded her chest. The moment, it seemed, was to be short-lived.
With a violent clap of thunder the ground trembled. Eris slammed into the ground before her, frowning. The destruction barely registered to her, whom swept a cursory glance around, then looked at Fay, bewildered. From how ragged she felt, Fay knew she must’ve looked worn down, ready to be killed. A look of satisfaction stretched over Eris’s face as she stalked towards Fay, whom swayed on her feet. She blinked several times, then staggered back. Her legs buckled beneath her, sending her crashing to the ground, little more than a ragdoll.
Her eyes slowly opened and closed, as if fighting to stay awake.
Eris stalked closer, loomed over her.
“Why would you do that?” She asked, genuinely curious. “You gave up fighting me – is that it?”
Fay worked her mouth, as if trying to speak. No sound came out but a hoarse, incoherent whisper. Eris leant in closer. Fay whispered again, ramblings spilling from her lips.
“Gotcha,” said Fay, winking.
Confusion deepened on Eris’s face but she was too slow to react. Fay blinked out from beneath Eris and appeared mid-air above, summoning the sword. Fay dropped and drove the sword into Eris. The Goddess howled and screamed, helpless as Fay wrapped her legs around Eris and drove the sword in. They both fell to the ground. The sword sunk into the ground.
Still impaled, Eris fought viciously, desperately clinging to life as her soul was shredded and the tattered remnants were drawn into the sword. Like ribbons of ink, they streamed from her. Fay leant in close, her breath fanning the neck of the goddess.
“You’re right, death does follow me. You should’ve stayed out of my way.”
Fay yanked the sword up and clear of Eris, the last ribbon vanishing into the sword. It vanished from her hands. She exhaled and looked down, still straddling the dead goddess. The scene might’ve been comical but the rush of the fight fled Fay. She deflated and wearily rolled off the goddess, still too weak, too numb to stand. Wearily, she looked around – and froze. Standing several feet away, smiling, was Tartarus, in his familiar human form. He inclined his head, then faded away into the air. It was just as well. Seeing him was strange and he unnerved her, made her realise what she’d just done was partly from him. Whatever he’d done had strengthened her connection to the underworld tenfold. Where there was once a fumbling, tenuous link, she felt a strong binding tie. Unbreakable, steadfast.
Frankly, it was terrifying.
With a deep breath, she got to her feet. It was time to go find the squad. As she walked off in search of her…comrades, she felt the brush of Andromeda through her. As if she was watching from her castle on high…and was proud.
She closed her mind, driving Andromeda out.
The squad was at the edge of the camp, stirring awake amongst the rubble. The twins were sitting upright on a charred log, holding each other’s hands. Their heads were bent together and as Fay watched them, they never looked more like scared children. She felt a twinge of pity for how early their lives had been stolen, forced to become immortals. Near them, Alexander was sitting up, cursing colourfully. Motep stood close by, his hands clasped behind his back, as he looked pensively out across the carnage. What he made of it, she couldn’t be sure. Arcus walked over to him, murmured something to him, then the pair of brooding hounds walked over to where Remus was kneeling. Diana was out cold, stretched out before him. He touched her cheek tenderly, regret and worry in his eyes.
Only Nadia, Lucilla and Tiberius were absent. Fay hoped they were okay. She hoped they’d all be okay and felt guilty for hurting them. Though she didn’t deserve their forgiveness and she wasn’t one of them anymore. Still, it was over – their mission to Tartarus, anyway and she needed to get them out of Tartarus. Andromeda was her fight – her quest for knowledge – not theirs.
She emerged from the shadows and the squad looked up, sensing her presence. At once, they were on their feet, battle stance. Their weapons weren’t drawn and their magic remained caged. Not attacking her – yet.
Remus stared her down, his gaze momentarily flickering to the ruined camp. “This your handiwork?”
“Yes.”
“And our freedom?”
“Removing a mark is easy – you just have to kill the one who made it,” said Fay carefully.
There was no point trying to hide the fact she’d killed a god singlehandedly. They would’ve figured it out without her and to stand before them, having killed a god. In their eyes, she’d always been an unknown, something to be mistrusted. Her demon abilities, whilst unnerving, had occurred in hounds before. What might they make of her connection to the Underworld? Would they kill her, seeing her as a threat to their esteemed master?
“Was she the one behind the unrest here?”
Fay opened her mouth but a cold rush of air flooded around them. Tartarus strode into the clearing, clasping his hands together with a grin. He winked at Fay, then looked to the hounds.
“Well, you all look well,” he declared and he turned back to Fay. “Splendid work killing her. You serve your master well.”
Clever fox not saying who my master is, she thought.
“Who are you?” Remus demanded.
“Remus,” snapped Fay. “I’d be very care-“
Tartarus raised a hand, silencing her. He cut her a warning look, then turned to the anxious, battle-weary hounds. Then the human mirage began to fade, shift and write, ribbons of energy dancing around him. Several strands snaked into the ground and immediately, the ground blackened. Above, clouds gathered on the illusionary sky. The squad shrank back as the power grew, the air thickening until it grew hard to breath.
He snapped his fingers and all the power rushed back within him.
“You enter my domain because I permitted it with Hades. Nothing more – or less. The threat is no more, so you will leave,” declared Tartarus. When Remus glanced restlessly to the castle where Andromeda resided, Tartarus sighed. “Leave her alone. The woman had her whole life ripped apart by the gods and she has been imprisoned. Let her live her after life in peace.”
No one said anything for several moments; then, without warning, Lucilla and Tiberius emerged. Bruised, bleeding but otherwise okay. They took one look at the tense scene, then fell into place beside Remus, scowling. Nadia emerged soon after but rather than fall into place she broke into a smile at the sight of Tartarus.
“Hello stranger.”
“My dear,” Tartarus purred. “You look ravishing.”
Nadia blushed. “Beast.”
“Reconsidered my offer?” He ventured silkily.
She shook her head with a wistful smile. “Tempting as always but I’ll decline.”
“I’ll have you some day,” he said with a wink.
“Not today. So, why are we all here?” Nadia asked, then saw Diana on the ground. “She okay?”
“Out cold but fine,” answered Remus stiffly.
“Okay, so we’re all fine…So, why are we looking like a standoff here out of a western?” Nadia ventured as she flashed a smile at Fay. “Hi. Figured you’d be at the heart of this mess.”
“Rather unwilling,” said Fay, the ghost of a smile on her mouth.
“Nothing out of the ordinary then,” replied Nadia. “How’s that fellow I saw? The one you were with?”
At the mention of Ben the smile fell from Fay’s mouth. Her face tightened, refusing any sign of grief or weakness. The loss of humour, though, was enough of a reply. Nadia inclined her head sympathetically.
Tartarus looked past Nadia to Remus. “Fay will return with you to the Underworld. For now, rest – recover your wounds. I can ease your passage but you must make the walk to the gates yourself. No creatures will bother you tonight.”
With that, he gave a lingering look at Nadia, seeming regretful at having to go. Then he sighed, gave a wink and dissolved into thin air. Nadia walked over to Fay and embraced her, rubbing her back.
“Sorry about your friend,” she murmured. “Glad you’re okay, though…and don’t worry about the others. They’re just shaking off the effects of Eris’s little mark.”
Fay looked over her shoulder at Remus. There was no warmth in his eyes. It was like staring at Diana from when she first came to the Underworld. Like Fay was a demon he didn’t know how to beat – like she was the enemy.
No one stopped her when she walked away from them. Nadia followed, however. A few feet behind, little more than a shadow. At the remnants of Eris’s command tent Nadia hung back. Fay crossed the distance to Ben and knelt down. She brushed his cheek, shivering at how cold he’d become. Grief clawed at her from the inside, tearing her apart from the inside.
“Forgive me, Ben. I wasn’t fast enough,” she whispered, though deep down, she knew his soul had already scattered into Tartarus.
She just hoped that he might find the other parts of himself. Problem was, if that happened, he would be truly lost to her forever. She closed her eyes and tried to make herself okay with that.
A hand closed over her shoulder. She opened her eyes to Nadia beside her, looking down.
“Why didn’t he-“
“Eris said if you died here the rules were different. Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe she was lying. Maybe it was because he wasn’t a whole soul anyway, just a fragment. Who knows?” Fay pushed herself up. “It doesn’t matter. Tartarus is settled, so the mission was a success. Hades will be pleased and that’s all anyone cares about, isn’t it?”
Nadia frowned but said nothing. Her gaze swept over the camp, lingering, considering. When it returned to Fay, there was no suspicion in her eyes. No fear.
“How’s the new squad?” She asked, holding out a hand to Fay.
Fay stared at her hand, then at Nadia. “Um, fine. I don’t know if I’ll be kept there given-“
“Given you ran off to Tartarus?” Nadia said with a smile.
At that, Fay threw her head back as laughter erupted from her chest. She laughed until tears sprang from her eyes and her sides ached painfully. When she sobered, she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. She grabbed Nadia’s hand and got to her feet.
“You go ahead. I need to clear my head but I’ll be back soon,” said Fay.
Nadia hesitated for a second, then nodded. As she walked away Fay held her ground, as if needing more time to say goodbye. Once Nadia was out of sight for enough time, Fay turned towards the castle. The time for answers had come, for better or for worse. There was no way she was going back to the Underworld without getting the answers she was promised.
She set off through the carnage, picking her way over the remnants of demons and debris. With care, she bled into shadow and traversed the final leg of the camp. At the edge of the camp, she lingered. A long clearing separated the lone slope that curved up the cliff to the castle to the camp itself. It stretched out to either side, seemingly on to the horizon. A gulf of nothing, a divide between two warring powers. With a deep breath, she stepped out from the camp and continued up to the slope.
On her way up she half expected the others to jump out from nowhere. No one did. Her heart started to race. Sweat gathered on her brow. Her whole life had finally boiled down to one moment – a meeting that was, in truth, something she’d been waiting for the moment she came screaming into the world. Fear and doubt clouded her mind, thickening until it stifled her breathing.
By then, the ground flattened and the front doors – polished black obsidian gleaming – loomed before her. She didn’t hesitate as she raised her hand to the door. Her breath hitched in her chest as the door swung open without her touch. A shuddering groan resounded as it completed its arc and stopped, revealing a long hallway beyond. Fay released the breath and crossed the threshold.
Her footsteps echoed like soft drums against the polished obsidian walls, lit only by a regular series of lanterns. A dull, amber glow guided her way. At the end of the bare hall was another door, which like the last, groaned open as she drew closer. This time, it revealed a throne room. Small and plain compared to the Underworld.
Yet the woman that rose from her simple throne was anything but simple. Clad in a resplendent obsidian gown with a skirt like the night sky, diamonds glittering like a blanket of stars, was the face that haunted Fay. As eerily youthful as the day she was first betrayed by Zeus, yet with eyes darkened by knowledge and a painful past. She smiled at Fay…and it was downright terrifying.
Fay steeled her rattled nerves and found her voice.
“Hello Andromeda. I believe you owe me some answers.”
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