Chapter 3
Name. He had a name. Right? Something he might define himself by…define what, though? He floated in a void of darkness, with only the briefest snatch of colour that darted by. Sound rushed by, too brief to understand. Confused by his own lost mind, he simply floated there. Whether he had a body or not, he had no way to know, to see. If he felt anything physical, he wasn’t sure. He felt like a loose connection of thoughts, barely aware.
“Run!”
The sharp, feminine voice exploded through the void like a clap of lightning. Bright colour burst before him, blinding. It dimmed rapidly and then he started to fall. Air screamed in his ears, tears blurring the world to a smear until he dimly perceived something rushing to meet him.
The ground.
A hoarse scream tore from him and he saw hands fly out before him. He shut his eyes – if he even had eyes at all – and suddenly, the fall ceased. Cautiously, he cracked an eye open, peered out. The other flew open. He was running. His body seemed to be controlled by some other entity – or, rather, he was inhabiting another’s body. Along for the ride as they sprinted across a stone walkway. A low stone wall guided their left, whilst a sheer drop down into a courtyard below was a warzone as demons battled it out. Someone was running beside him. A woman with flowing blonde hair. He tried to look at her but his head was focused straight ahead. Right where the walkway turned sharply to the right and sprinted along the other edge of the court yard.
“You truly are mad!” The woman cried out, chuckling.
A deep laugh tumbled from him as the corner fast approached. He thought they’d turn, continue on. They didn’t. Instead, he was helpless as his hands grasped the edge of the wall and he hurled himself over the edge.
He was falling again. The ground rushed to meet him but rather than crash he spun, rolling as he hit the ground. Without skipping a beat, he launched to his feet and he was off, the woman was close by his side.
“Remus will have your head, you know that right?”
“Hades wanted this sword, so we got the sword,” he shouted back as they entered into the thick of a dark forest.
They slowed to a stop. The woman laughed, shaking her head, as she rested against a tree. Wisps of blonde framed her face. Sweat beaded her heart-shaped face, droplets running down the side of her face. She wiped it away, her gaze flickering towards the sword that he’d drawn from his back.
“A sword forged in Titan blood,” murmured the woman. “It won’t kill Kronos.”
He looked down at the sword, words not his own forming in his mouth. “He doesn’t need to know that.”
Her gaze snapped up, narrowing. “I thought Remus was lying. You are sabotaging Hades attempt to claim power – why?”
“You think I wish Hades to claim king of all?”
She stared. “Zeus will not be any better.”
“The lesser of the evils,” he replied and stepped forward, his hand on her upper arm. “Calypso, you suspected me allying with Zeus and yet you stayed. Even though Zeus scorns you-“
She touched the side of his face with a look of sisterly concern. “You worry about yourself, little hound. I will stay in this venture as long as I can. I have one question, Cerberus, how far will you go with this?”
He looked away from her to the direction they’d come. Through a thin slit in the trees the sight of a burning castle atop a hill blazed deeply, stark against the darkening sunset sky.
“Until Kronos is dead and this damned war is over.”
She opened her mouth to speak but a nearby rustling made her mouth shut. Her head snapped to the direction of the sound, eyes narrowing. He found himself leaning forward, as if to ask what she was sensing. Then dread darkened her gaze and she spun back to him, her mouth opening for a warning that he didn’t get a chance to hear.
Something slammed into him, sending him hurtling into a tree. His shoulder hit the trunk first, bone shattering on impact. His rapid healing kicked in and his shoulder reform as he threw his arm up, hurling a bolt of blackish energy outwards. It missed as the creature tackled him again, pinning him down. He threw his hands up, fingers sinking into matted fur. A young three-headed hound loomed over him, each mouth trying desperately to sink teeth into him. He flattened his grip on the neck and surged energy upwards.
The hound flew backwards, crashing into a tree with a yelp. He scrambled to his feet, looked to where Calypso was pushing herself up to her feet. A dead three-headed hound lay at her feet, its chest torn open like a bloody smile. Her fingers dripped with blood. She suddenly threw a hand out, a bolt of white light shot from her hand – and hit the hound about to attack him. The bolt cut clean through its neck, severing the middle head clean from the body.
He surged forward, drawing the sword and plunging it into the flailing beast. He drove the sword down until it sank into the soft earth and the beast stilled beneath him. With a deep breath, he yanked the sword free and turned to Calypso, whom approached, cold and calm.
“Beasts of Kronos,” she said quietly. “These two are small, pups really. So, where is mum?”
A resounding roar thundered through the forest.
“I’d say that is mother dearest,” he answered. “We need to split.”
“What, why?”
He handed the sword to her. “Hounds are drawn to magic like mine. You, however, can pass through unseen. I’ll draw it away, just get the sword to Hades.”
Her gaze flickered to the dark blood glistening on the edge. “I’ll have to clean it.” Her eyes darted up. “You owe me.”
He gave a roguish smile and, with a bow, spun on his heel and shifted mid-stride. Bone broke, reformed and soon he felt himself running along on all fours. Around him, in this new body, the forest seemed brighter, shadows unveiled. With each stride the forest passed swiftly by, as though he flew across the ground.
The mother hound suddenly roared behind him and he heard her enormous paws beat a drum against the forest floor. It was closing rapidly on him. He stretched out again, taking on another speed entirely and the forest smeared to strokes of green and brown. Still, the beast continued to close and soon he heard the heavy pants of her behind him. Her rancid smell him too, worse than rotting flesh and death, sour like a curse. She roared at him, angrier as she closed the distance, likely smelling even more of her dead pups on him.
He banked sharply and veered downhill. His lighter body made him agile on the slope, leaping over fallen logs and darting through the trees that knitted tighter together. Behind him, the beast barrelled through tree and bush alike, clearing its own path.
As the ground even out, the beast got even closer. One of her heads snapped at his tail, missing by what felt like was inches. He surged forward again, fighting the rising sense of exhaustion. Fit as he was, running as fast as he was, was taking a toll that couldn’t be continued on for much longer. Limbs burned like fire, lungs about to fail, a heart about to burst in his chest. The roar of his blood and the whistling wind filled his ears.
If he stopped, the beast would have him and he was, at that moment, at a disadvantage. He needed distance to properly wield his magic and without a sword, or even a bow, he had to be clever. Find the advantage in a poor situation.
Up ahead, the trees thinned and gave way to a clearing. He burst into it, a long field stretching out before him. With a final burst, he darted sharply to the side, using his size to his advantage. As he wheeled around tightly the beast surged past him, awkwardly spinning around to face him. He dug his paws into the ground and then let out a guttural howl, a beam of magic exploding from his mouth. The beast jumped clear and surged forward, rearing up onto its back legs. It came down, swiping a paw out – he was too slow to jump clear. Claw sliced flesh. He howled out in agony, crashing to the ground. His shoulder was little more than bloodied ribbons, his arm slick with blood. He had no feeling in his front left leg.
Growling, he dug his paws in again. The beast came at him again, rising up once more – and he opened his mouth once more. A beam exploded outwards, barrelling straight through the beast’s chest. Sunlight burst through the hole carved into its chest, as big as him. With a choked sound the beast crashed to the ground.
For several moments, he stared at the beast. What this man was thinking as he looked at the beast, he had no idea. Maybe wondering if it had been sent or if it was simply chance, they’d been attacked. Whatever he decided, he turned back and limped into the forest. Strangely, it seemed as though the wound on his shoulder was slow to heal. He hobbled along, putting almost no weight down on the nearly shredded leg.
After what felt like an eternity he veered off to the left and entered out onto a small clearing. His arm, by then, had half-healed and simply burned as he put his paw down. With a wince, he lumbered over to the edge of a small pool of water, wreathed by blossoming red flowers. He slumped down and went to dip his face in the water, when a face appeared in the water that wasn’t his own. A woman stared up at him.
Her eyes were dark as night, like staring into death. Then she smiled…and the wind seemed to be ripped from him.
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