Tisiphone had axes on both hands, riding without reigns, chopping in half any demon who managed to avoid her horse's hooves. Behind her lay a trail of trampled and headless demons. Alecto only had the one sword, but she was swiping both left and right, in a single fluid motion, slicing off arms and heads without appearing to break a sweat.
Rommel peered over the sandbags, then stood up as the Furies' onslaught moved back to the south. He turned and waved more troops into battle. He saw the small portal hadn't expanded, and no sign of the heavier demons or dragons. Where were they? At this rate, the battle will be over long before the portal widened enough to allow in the rest of the army.
A few miles to the south, Sorath finally broke free of the crowd, and paused. He saw the Furies on horseback, galloping in circles around his command center. The bodies of demons piled up. Sorath let out a yell of frustration and began running towards the melee.
Tisiphone pulled up and allowed Megaera to catch up with her. They watched as Alecto continued to slice and dice demons, like she was on a late night infomercial for ceramic cooking knives.
"Try to see about closing that portal!" Tisiphone shouted. "We make one more pass and then regroup to the north!"
Tisiphone waved to get Alecto's attention, then they both urged their horses into a full gallop to the east of the demon encampment.
Megaera notched another arrow, one with a larger point than the rest. As she rode past the portal, she let the arrow fly towards the circle of shimmering air.
The arrow burst into blue-hot fire as it streaked to the portal, disappearing into the opening.
"Duck, suckers!" Megaera shouted to the demons as she flew past.
In seconds, the portal was lit up by a neon-purple flash, the shimmering pool of energy bowed outward. It expanded, then burst into a blast of white-hot plasma, billowing outward and engulfing the demon encampment.
The shock-wave spread outward in a circle. Alecto saw it as she rode hard on the outside edge, aiming for her two sisters, riding barely ahead of the shock.
The explosion rolled over the camp, picking up and tossing tents, demons, R'giers and officers. Gear flew in the dust as Rommel stood and watched the Furies ride away.
Sorath arrived to find the camp in tatters, the dead in piles, arms and heads cleanly separated from bodies. He stopped running and just stood, his advance army in complete defeat. He stared at the backs of the Furies as they rode into the darkness.
He walked through the carnage, and found his servant, Themis, his headless body laying by the command tent. Rommel turned and stared at Sorath. He straightened and walked slowly to his commander.
"Your lordship," Rommel said, quietly. "The portal has been closed."
"Well, then, you need to reopen it," Sorath growled.
"You do it," Rommel said, then he spit in Sorath's face. The R'giers flanking Sorath quickly grabbed the Nazi General and held him tightly.
Sorath slowly wiped the spittle from his face and leaned down to look the general in the eye. "Let him go, I deserve this. I was distracted by that woman back there. I should have stayed and fought."
Sorath stood up and turned to look around. "Any engineers here, still alive?"
"Unknown," Rommel said, his voice tight. "Our topside engineers were caught in the attack. I have no idea if they survived."
Sorath took that in as he watched the Furies disappear into the darkness.
As soon as Tisiphone was clear of the area, and pulled up and looked back to where the demon army lay in tatters. Alecto reigned in Issa, then slid her Katana into its saya.
Megaera didn't stop, she aimed Sally to the west.
Tisiphone and Alecto watched their sister ride out across the desert basin.
"Where the fuck is she going?" Alecto asked.
"That mortal," Tisiphone snorted.
"Fighting makes her horny, I guess," Alecto said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The outer edges of Black Rock Desert
Megaera reigned in her horse as she rode into Dan's campsite. Dan was transfixed by her arrival, the firelight making her look like she'd stepped out of a late nineteenth century painting by John Collier. A Grecian beauty. Her bronze armor gleamed in the firelight, her hair glowed.
She leaped off the horse and ran to Dan, pulling him in a tight embrace.
He broke away and grinned. "Need to be careful. Brianna is here," he said, looking around. "Well, she was until that portal closed. She was visible while it was open."
"The energy of the portal. It has a huge radius," Megaera explained. "That's how the beasts were able to fight. But this is far from over."
"Why? You closed the portal!" Dan said.
Megaera looked out across the desert to where Sorath's encamped lay in ruins.
"It's not over until I have that bastard's head in my hands. Separated from his body," she said, looking Dan in the eye.
Her piercing stare gave Dan chills.
"They're working to reopen the portal. There could be thousands of demons waiting to enter, along with those dragons. I've reconsidered," Megaera said. "You and Brianna should leave, now."
"I don't want to leave. I can't just stay cooped up in your house and not know what is going on," Dan objected.
"You tell her, Dan! I'm staying as well!" Brianna said, suddenly visible again.
Megaera and Dan turned as Brianna materialized. Then Megaera looked back across the desert. A bright blue spark flamed into existence close to the demon encampment.
"Don't look! The brightness can blind you!" Megaera shouted, pulling Dan around to face her, just as the entire desert basin was bathed in a brilliant blue-white light. "Hang on! This will feel like a bomb blast!"
A shock wave rolled over them. Ear piercing thunder followed, then another shock wave. Dust was kicked up and blown across them, they were pelted by dirt blown across the desert with the speed of a hurricane. The ground shook, the entire basin seemed to ripple and buck.
Dan dropped to his knees as the ground rolled. Megaera hunched over, protecting Dan. Brianna was thrown past the tent and stayed on the ground.
In a moment, it was over. Megaera stood, wiping dust from her face. Dan's face was covered, and he shook his head to clear his ears. Brianna stayed on her knees with her head down, her clothes covered in dust, coughing.
"My god, that was bigger than the first one!" Dan gasped.
All three looked and saw a shimmering glow, streamers of energy flexing and writhing in the darkness.
"A lot bigger." Megaera turned to Dan and kissed him, hard. "Well, wish me luck!"
She ran to Sally and was on her back in a single leap. She rode out across the dusty plain to rejoin her sisters.
"I hope they have help coming," Brianna said, watching as demons flowed out of the energy field, looking like army ants swarming towards a church picnic.
<<<>>>
Elysium
A large crowd had gathered, watching Persephone as she climbed atop a small boulder.
Small torches lit the area as the people crowded towards Persephone. The light was dimming, and dark gray clouds roiled across the sky.
She held up her hands, almost in prayer, as she surveyed the crowd of heroes.
"Hear me! Tisiphone and her sisters seek your assistance!" Persephone started.
A huge bearded man in the front laughed, waving at Persephone. "Seriously?" he shouted, his teeth showing a brilliant white through the thick black beard.
"Yes, Agamemnon, she needs your help!" Persephone begged.
"My dear girl!" he said, his grin not faltering. "What is she offering for our services? There're scores of US. Only one of her and her sisters."
The rest of the men laughed. Persephone bowed her head. "That's why they seek your help, oh King! They are greatly outnumbered this time!"
Agamemnon shook his head. "Bah! Not even her loins can sooth the stings of being killed on the field of battle for Hades. Even as sweet as her loins may be!"
"True!" Another hero brushed forward. "I fought alongside the sisters ages ago! As soon as I was re-birthed, I went back into battle for them, and your husband! Then he failed to grant my boon of allowing my beloved to enter Elysian! He didn't even have the decency to tell me himself, he sent a demon!"
Agamemnon nodded. "Yes, Achilles is right! We were all rewarded with boons, and he failed to deliver on any of it! I, for one, shall wait another few eons before dying for your husband again!"
Hermes pushed himself forward. He locked eyes with the old king. "You old fraud! You're already dead! Besides, her husband, the god of this realm, disappeared long before he could grant your damned boons!"
Hermes pushed Agamemnon to the side and climbed up to join Persephone.
"And I died a hero! For naught!"
"So, did I!" shouted Achilles. "We ALL died a hero's death. Some of us died a thousand heroes' deaths."
"Yes, you all did that! And what do you have? To spend eternity here, served by beautiful slaves." Hermes pointed out. "All protected by the power of Hades. But for how long, eh?"
He paused to allow that to sink in, then added, "Not if Sorath defeats the sisters! Do you really think he'll stop at the edge of Elysium? Really? Leave this area alone?"
"He only wants Tartarus..." Agamemnon pointed out.
"Like the way you only wanted Troy? Did you really stop there?" Hermes argued.
"Well, winning is a lot of fun, hard to stop when it's going so well," Agamemnon admitted, looking down to examine his fingernails.
"Sorath will not stop. What will YOU do if he succeeds? *I* can leave, I can fly to Olympus. Where will you go? Huh?" Hermes held his hand to his ear, pretending to be listening for anyone willing to argue that they can fly. "I thought not!"
Hermes singled out a tall blonde man in bronze armor. "Odysseus! You fought for Tisiphone. Once, long ago."
The man bowed his head. "Aye, I did! And we kicked Sorath's scaly ass! How'd he get out again? Huh? Anyone care to explain that one?"
"Hades was betrayed, by one of his own daughters. But, Sorath is back, and it's up to the Sisters to defeat him AGAIN. They're up on the surface, just the three of them!" Hermes stopped and surveyed the crowd. They were all quiet, watching his every move. He pressed on. "You all are heroes. But what is a hero? One who defends not only his own land, but the land of those who cannot fight! Those without the strength to fight! THAT is why they STILL sing of your deeds on the surface, still write and sing about you ALL!"
Hermes jumped from the boulder and looked Achilles and Agamemnon in the eye, then he turned and looked Odysseus in the eye.
"Will you still be heroes after Sorath destroys the Furies and starts his conquest of the surface? Will there be ANY heroes after Sorath is successful? When all the earth's souls are here, who will sing of your bravery then?"
The men all looked down at their feet. A tall blond woman, easily towering over Odysseus, pushed through. She stopped next to Hermes.
"Yes, your majesty?" Hermes asked, looking into the eyes of Queen Penthesilea.
"If this ragged lot won't fight, I'm game. Show me where the portal is, I'm on my way," Penthesilea said, softly. She turned and several of the men were unable to look her in the eye.
"Please, allow me," Hermes said, taking the woman's hand, and vanishing.
<<<>>>
Alecto moved her horse close to Tisiphone, watching the demon army clean up their encampment. "They look to be opening up another portal."
"We should attack again, now, quickly before it is opened," Tisiphone said.
That's when the blue spark appeared. They were closer, so the shock wave knocked them from their horses, rolling them across the desert floor. Their weapons scattered, and the horses spooked and took off into the darkness.
Alecto managed to sit up, then she stood. She helped Tisiphone up and both looked to the south at the light show.
Megaera arrived, reigning in Sally as her sisters were trying to recover the weapons dropped when the portal opened.
"Megaera! Go get Issa and Manx! They scattered when the portal opened!" Alecto shouted. Megaera urged her Sally forward into the night. She returned in a few minutes with both horses in tow.
Alecto rubbed Issa's nose, trying to console her.
"We should try to attack right away, before they get assembled," Tisiphone suggested.
Megaera looked around, then pointed. "Too late."
A phalanx of demons wielding swords and axes ran out of the glow and were heading right at the Furies.
Megaera jumped down from her horse and slapped it on the flank. "All of you, head to Dan!" she shouted.
The horses took off in a gallop as the Furies ran like crazy towards a small rise behind them.
As soon as they'd made it to the higher ground, the attackers arrived. The sisters formed up into a triangle, each warrior watching as the demonic army swirled around them, awaiting orders to attack.
Back at the encampment, Sorath's face spread into an evil grin. He ran across the hard-packed desert, now leading a group of three battle dragons, so large they could not even hope to fly, but they were an impressive sight charging across the desert, back lit by the blue glow of the portal.
Across the desert, Dan stood transfixed at the sight of the huge army attacking. He barely felt Brianna clutch him for support. They stood silently, watching.
Megaera notched an explosive arrow and let it loose towards the portal. At that same instant, a huge red dragon lumbered into view, inhaling, ready to flame. The arrow plunged into the dragon's chest. It burst into a huge fireball, flinging burning entrails in a huge circle. The other two dragon broke off the attack and began circling the Furies, outside the mass of attacking demons.
"Good shooting, Meg!" Alecto shouted.
"Good shooting my ass! I was hoping to hit that damned portal!" she replied.
Sorath stood head and shoulder above his army, strengthened by the nearby portal. He pointed at the Furies and roared. His roar echoed across the entire basin and the demons charged towards the Furies.
Megaera swapped her bow and arrow for a Katana, unsheathing it in one movement, slicing outward. Alecto was behind her, swinging her longest sword, which cleanly separated demon heads from bodies.
Tisiphone stood with an axe in each hand. She began to wind mill, catching demons with each swipe. A lethal circle was formed as the Furies began fighting.
After just a few minutes of battle, the demon bodies began piling up. As each demon fell, it landed on other bodies, the attacking demons had to climb over their fallen comrades to bring the attack to the Furies.
Megaera had kept her eyes on the remaining dragons and shouted when she spotted one starting to flame.
"Down! Incoming!" She shouted as she hit the ground. Her sisters piled on her as the jet of flame shot across them, igniting the demons across from the dragon. The demons fell back as the fire spread through them.
Sorath wheeled and reached out, gripping the dragon by its snake-like neck.
"You idiot!" he shouted as he knocked the pilot from the dragon's back. He grasped the pilot and held him up. "Did you not participate in the drills? Flame ONLY when flying OVER the Furies!"
He threw the pilot back to the dragon, who spun in place and snatched the man out of the air, its jaws crushing the man's skull. The dragon then broke away and took off for the dark mountains in the distance. After a short distance, the animal vanished, exiting the magical field. The pilot fell to the ground, his head spilling brains and gore.
Megaera and her sisters had risen again and had resumed slicing the attacking demons. It appeared too easy, as the monsters succumbed quickly to the blades. But Sorath had sheer numbers on his side, as more demons poured out of the open portal. The mass of waiting demons kept growing, stomping on their fallen comrades as they advanced.
As the demons fell, they were crushed flat by the others. This made for a gristly, and sticky experience. The dust mixed with the black blood to form a mass
of slick mud, causing the attackers to falter, slip and go down, only to be crushed by the massing demons.
Sorath watched as his army piled up, but never getting closer to the Furies.
He felt someone at his side and looked down as Rommel arrived.
"Sire, the portal can't stay open for much longer. As soon as the rest of the warriors come through, the engineers say we have to close it, just keeping it active so the energy will keep the dragons and other, assorted, beings solid," Rommel shouted.
"Nonsense! Have them increase the power they're pulling!" Sorath shouted. "Double the power! Make the energy field wider!"
"Sire! The energy source is fading," Rommel tried to explain. "They don't know why, but it's starting to fail.
"Then expand the energy field to the whole valley! Then I want you to split off a some R'giers to attack there," Sorath ordered, pointing to the south at Burning Man. "We have the Furies defeated, so it's time to start the chaos!"
Rommel looked to the south, where the Burning Man festival continued, lighting up the entire horizon. "Attack the humans? What good will that do? We need to focus on those women, THEN the humans!"
"Obey or die!" Sorath roared. Rommel stiffened, saluted, and turned to rush back to the command tent. Sorath turned back the task at hand, defeating the Furies.
In the command tent, Rommel grabbed a small engineering demon. "We can't shut down the main portal, we need to expand its energy circle. The boss wants an attack on the Burning man gathering as well as the Furies."
"Then the portal will stop functioning, the power transfer between here and the Underworld is weakening!" the engineer argued. "Not enough power to keep the portal operating."
"Fine! Make sure to get the rest of the troops here, then shut down all but the power to the dragons! Then expand its effects to that festival!" Rommel shouted.
Descent into Tartarus Page 26