Chapter 7
Sunlight trickled in through a thin slit in the tent, beckoning morning. A soft murmur of conversation filled the air as the squad rose, dressing for the mission ahead. Fay sat on her bed, lacing up her shoes, when Nadia, taking a seat on her bed next to Fay, looked up.
“You ready?” Nadia asked quietly.
Fay lifted her gaze, frowned. “You mean am I going to go rogue and endanger the squad?”
She didn’t say anything, didn’t have to. The question was there, out in the open, a challenge. Fay was the unknown element in their perfectly balanced squad, the risk that could endanger them all. It was, just for the moment, only Nadia seemed aware of Fay’s demons, how she warred with Commands.
“No, I’m not,” said Fay with a wry smile. “I’ll behave today, I swear.”
Remus strode in as Nadia went to reply, the silent mirror of I’ll behave today on her lips. She glanced up, tracked the captain as she always did, an air of caution. The same, Fay realised, everyone was that morning. Cautious of the mission, maybe, given how the last one ended. It was likely they were determined to prove themselves, to amend their captain’s opinion of them, which seemed low after the mission.
“Gear ready, we head out in ten,” he barked, then stopped at Nadia’s bed, as she shot to her feet and bowed slightly. “Nadia, I’ll have you on point with Fay today, along with the twins in the wing. Show Fay the ropes.”
Watch her and make sure she stays in line, he was saying. Fay didn’t miss the way his eyes darted to her, making sure she knew what he saying. All eyes were on her. She hadn’t failed the last mission, per say, but she should’ve given more warning, been more vocal about her concerns. For all his approval of her reports he must’ve felt annoyed that she’d been so quiet.
He turned back to the others, who were standing, awaiting their orders. Even Diana, stiff and stern-faced, standing at the front, determined to regain his favour.
“Diana, Marcus, Alexander and Motep, you’re our muscle today. Have the netting ready, along with the shackles. Ensure you all have normal blades. I don’t want you killing this demon with Olympian Steel and sending it to Tartarus.”
The four nodded, though Diana seemed disheartened by the request, even though Fay thought it wasn’t a bad job. It was right in the middle of the hunt, the muscle, right where the action was. A place she’d be able to show off easily. Unless, that is, she wanted another chance to lead, to delegate and prove her skill there.
Remus turned dismissively to Arcus. “You’re running perimeter at the rear. You’ve got the best reflexes, so I want you there if anything goes wrong. Be sharp, be flexible.”
Arcus bowed but gave no indication if he was happy or not with the position. Maybe he didn’t let himself have an opinion, treating the order as just another one to be received.
Lucilla stepped forward in sync with her husband, the pair of them like lethal assassins – maybe, in another life, they were.
“What of us?” She asked with her eyes lowered, bowing slightly.
“I’ll have you with me at my side. Once we find a demon I’ll have you both go in, lure it out to where Diana and the others await,” he ordered, then moved to a place in the room where he stood before everyone. “We have been an efficient unit before but not one in situations where circumstances change rapidly. In this, we lack, unlike some squads. If we have any chance of securing this mission, and the glory, for ourselves, then we have to prove we can adapt, think fast, and win. Prove this in our mission and I will ensure we are there when the challenges begin for the mission.”
The squad dispersed after that, gathering up their tools. Fay followed Nadia’s orders, leaving behind all weapons – as scouts they didn’t need them. They’d be in hound form, which meant their weapons was their fangs and claws. She bade Fay to head out and wait, that she just had to chat to the twins and ensure they were ready, too. Fay nodded, a little irked that she was being kept out of a conversation but, reminding herself that she had to earn her way in, didn’t comment. She went outside and moved to the side where she caught Diana’s voice from around the side of the tent.
“We should leave her behind, Remus. She’s too new, too inexperienced. We’ll never get this mission with her,” said Diana, low and desperate – pleading, almost.
“We have to be adaptable. If we can’t adapt with her on the team then how can we expect to survive Tartarus?” He argued.
It was strange. Fay expected Remus to shut Diana down, reminding her she was ranked below him, thus requiring to show obedience. He didn’t. He seemed almost considerate of her concerns, firm in his arguments but not dismissive. Fay swore she detected a trace of warmth in his voice, a tenderness that she hadn’t heard before.
“We need this mission.”
There was a long pause where Fay thought they knew she was there, listening in. She started to pull away when she heard Remus sigh deeply, a heavy sound thick with emotion.
“I know. It is why I am determined to ensure our squad is ready. We have to be the best, adaptable. I have seen that place, if only briefly. We need to be ready,” he said carefully.
“I hope you know what you’re doing then,” she said reluctantly.
Fay hurried back to Nadia as she stepped out, schooling her features. There was no need to let anyone know what she’d heard, for the moment anyway. Still, she felt the weight of their secret on her chest now. Before she blabbed about it she wanted to know it properly before she made a decision; that, and even then, it wasn’t her secret to tell but if it endangered the squad, if they’re not prepared for something in Tartarus, it leaves some of the fault at her feet.
Seeing her troubled expression Nadia touched her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. The twins good?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry I had to chat to them alone. I’m one of the few that actually speak their language, since they’re determined not to let their words be automatically translated by the magic spell on this place. They’re private like that,” she explained. “It’s one of their quirks. We all have them. You’ll learn them all soon enough.”
Fay nodded. The twins appeared behind her, inclining their heads by way of hello, and then turned to each other, chatting in low voices. She caught snatches but knew only a little of their language, having briefly studied under Abe. At the thought of her old partner she felt a pang of grief. Though she’d severed their bond she wondered what happened to him, if he really bonded properly to Amanda and gave her the chance she needed. It was what he owed Fay as far as she was concerned.
“Move out,” bellowed Remus.
The squad was off.
The forest hummed with awareness the second they entered. It didn’t cut them off, as she expected, and didn’t shift like before. Instead, Fay swore it was watching them, deciding if they were a threat.
Light filtered in from above, bands of gold through the canopies, lighting their way into the heart of the forest. It caught on the tiny rivulets of water that clung to the blades of grass, glittering like gems, a path of diamonds. That same moisture hung in the air, thickening as they progressed deeper, as though moving into a tropical land. It hadn’t been like that yesterday. Fay glanced around, searching for demons, any scrap of movement but all was still, save for the movements of the squad.
Nadia trotted over, her fur shimmering in the light. Anything? She sent silently.
Fay glanced over, shaking her head. No. The forest watches us, though. It’s unsure, wary. If we don’t attack and act carefully for now it will let us move uninhibited.
A low, resonant laughter floated through her mind. Nadia.
Until we grab a demon, she sent wryly.
Until then, replied Fay.
Nadia trotted back, reported to Remus, then returned, loping ahead with a soft trot. She vanished briefly through the thicket, her fur flashing amongst the trees. Fay strode ahead, trying to scope out danger, sense anything. Beneath her paws the forest seemed to be aware acutely of her, as if eyes tracked her more closely than the others.
She felt its interest but, also, a trickle of fear.
The warm, mildewy air was tainted with the smell of it – a feint tang that caught on the tongue. It wasn’t afraid of the squad but of her, for some reason. Maybe it was the echoing presence of Andromeda it feared instead. Maybe it was her.
One of the twins came over to her, Fay unsure of which.
Demon, she hissed in Fay’s mind, a forced, brittle word with a biting edge.
Fay nodded, let a low growl ripple from her chest. A moment later Nadia darted through the trees, trotting over with the other twin in tow, shooting glances to where the twin had come from. Then she sensed it. Something other than the forest close by, watching them through the trees. It didn’t feel like Ona but Ona’s presence was tricky to pin down. Fay had searched for it when they arrived and, on their way, but it was fleeting, like the flash of a shooting star. It seemed more whimsical, like it was toying with Fay’s sense more than anything.
Nadia went off, informed Remus. When she returned the squad closed ranks, with then the scouts, including Arcus, darting off as containment. Fay followed suit, though not before Fay caught Diana looking her way, as if warning her not to screw up the hunt.
Fay fell into her spot in the circle around the demon. She lifted her nose up, sniffing the air. The scent of the demon was strong, familiar. Definitely not Ona. Then Fay realised. It was the demon girl from before. Fay didn’t hear if the demon noticed them, though she suspected she at least felt Fay. Demons tended to sense her. She hung back a little as the others closed in. Then, in the corner of her eye, she watched Lucilla and Tiberius in human form, slip through the line, creeping towards the demon. They moved perfectly in sync, acutely aware of the other’s movement, like a well-rehearsed dance.
Jealousy simmered in Fay’s gut.
A scream split the hair.
Nadia and Fay glanced sharply at each other. Then, Remus’s voice bellowed through.
“Squad, advance! Close ranks!”
Fay shot forward, feeling the pull of the demon in the chest. Still, nothing prepared her as she broke the tree line into the clearing. The demon girl was perched atop a rock, her wings splayed. Blood dripped from her mouth, saturated her clothes. At the bottom of the rock lay Lucilla, writhing in agony, holding her stomach. No, Fay realised, not just her stomach…She was also holding her guts in. Tiberius was barely a few feet away, held back by Arcus and Motep. He was cursing, snarling viciously.
“Tiberius, report!”
For a moment Tiberius was too far gone too answer; then, he sucked in a ragged breath and shot Remus a furious look, as if blaming him for not being able to get to his wife.
“It has shadow magic – watch out!” Tiberius’s warning came too late.
The demon girl launched, then dissolved into shadow. Behind Remus Alexander vanished, too, then Marcus. A second later she appeared, pinned down on her stomach by the brothers – their swords pressed into her back. A feral scream tore from her mouth.
Using the distraction Tiberius tore free, rushing to his wife’s side. Without speaking she grabbed his danger – and tore it across her throat. She burst into a plume of smoke, leaving Tiberius sitting there, staring at the ground where she’d been only moments before.
“Fay, focus! Get over here!” Nadia snapped reproachfully.
Fay blinked, refocused and hurried over where the demon girl screamed. As she stopped the demon girl stilled, sensing her. She squirmed and looked up, meeting Fay’s eyes – then everyone else looked up at her, too.
“Seems our little demon has a favourite,” teased Marcus.
Yet Fay couldn’t tear her gaze away. She fell into those dark orbs and the old song of a vision chimed in her ear, pulling her down into another world.
The first thing she saw was Amon perched on his haunches at the edge of a painted circle. In front of him, a demon – no just any, the demon girl the squad had captured. She was kneeling, her wings folded, and her eyes was closed. Amon was talking softly under his breath. When he finished he touched two fingers to his lips, then to the circle before he stood. Then Fay took in the room around him; plain, stone, one doorway framed by tattered cloth. Standing in it, Andromeda, watching him with dark eyes.
“You did it,” she breathed softly, in awe.
He turned, flashed her a dizzying smile. One that even made Fay’s heart race – hell, she even noticed how much more he filled out his tunic, and how his tanned skin, darkened by work in the sun, seemed firm and, well, hot. Andromeda didn’t seem to be immune, either, as she smiled back, somewhat shyly.
“Did you doubt me?” He asked, closing the distance.
She jutted out her chin. “A little.”
He stopped so that only inches separated them. A low laugh rumbled from his chest. “I’m hurt.”
It was the kind of scene that made Fay think time had passed, that they’d become something and, in doing so, she’d kiss him right at that moment. Only, she didn’t. She put a hand on his chest…and pushed him aside, walking instead up to the demon. She crossed her arms, eyeing the demon closely.
“Do you think I’m crazy?” She asked, without looking over. “You’re doing all of this without knowing the full story.”
He moved to her side but didn’t reach for her. Instead, he studied the demon, too. “I saw that look in your eyes when you woke from that trance. Then I saw how the plan became more focused, refined. I know we had the weapons before to put your mark there but that was a desperate attempt to have access to them if you were attacked.”
“It was also about cultivating alliances. The weapons were a bonus,” she said with a smile, which fell as she went on. “I know I won’t fulfil the prophecy in his life. I’m too weak, too mortal. Besides, I have not attained all the weapons and the next one won’t just be for an alliance. I have seen I need it, for several reasons. I need the sword of Hades. It’s the key to everything.”
“But you know what Medea said, that hellhound we met? She spoke that any mortal that held it would risk-“ He stopped short. “That’s your plan?”
“Part of it. I have to but, now you know, will you stop me?” She asked challengingly.
It was like the scene with Abe playing out again. At least, Fay felt that’s how Andromeda saw it playing out. Someone she’d come to trust running when the truth was known. In her mind she must’ve seen it as a solo mission, that she alone would shoulder the burden, aware of the truth. It was a depressing, lonely thought.
Amon saw her fears, too. He frowned. “I vowed I would stay by your side, whatever happened. If I depart know, knowing what I do, I’d be breaking that oath. What kind of man would I be then?”
“One determined to prove himself?”
Hurt flashed in his eyes. “I’m sorry?”
She turned to him. In her mind she still saw him leaving, despite his words; given that he hadn’t run she was driving him away, as though taking an active part in that would hurt her less. That’s how Fay saw it, anyway.
“You admitted to me you came from a family where your worth was little, that you were nothing to them, that you felt as though your life would lead to nothing. Do you think that by staying by me on this suicide mission – for it is exactly that – that you’ll achieve glory?” She snapped and, seeing him flinch, went in for the final blow. “I will not be the vessel you use for martyrdom – I will not be used for your own sanctimonious attempt at glory, at being crowned a hero and finding a place in Elysium.”
The words were cold, cruel and though they left pain on Amon’s face he didn’t cower before her. To his credit he stood before her, an equal, undaunted – bruised, maybe but not broken.
“I stay because I love you,” he said without tearing his gaze from hers, no whisper of hesitation in his words. “I love you, Andromeda.”
ns 15.158.61.17da2
