“Easy” I soothed my demon, one that I knew was far too near knife’s edge. The blue glow that came from behind the biggest statue situated at the end of the room glinted off my weaponry the same way it did from all the pale and broken marble in the room. I frowned down at the giant severed arm that lay fallen from the God it was once attached to and all but heard my Demon growl at the thought.
“Not going to happen my friend.” I told him in hopes of eradicating such thoughts. Still I supressed a shudder, forcing my blades back as I finally came to the end.
I looked back at all the severed heads, crumbling torsos and lost limbs littering the cracked marble floor. I tried not to let my mind give in to torturous thoughts but it couldn’t be ignored as I thought back to my own Temple and God’s gift to me that lay bleeding out on the floor.
“She’d better live or you bastards are going to find another damn war at your gates!” I snarled up at the massive statue of Zeus himself sat upon a golden throne.
“Seventh wonder my ass!” I said as I walked past knowing that an exact replica once sat upon the Earth for mortals to worship. It was once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World until its eventual loss and destruction during the 5th century AD. A destruction I might add that was still believed to be the work of his banished father Cronus. The very one that not only tried to have him murdered as a child but the very same one that ruled over the Titans and was defeated by his scorned son.
Ha and the human mortals thought they had drama to shout about! Forgiving the pun, but Hell, they had nothing on the other realms, myself included.
I rolled my eyes at the whole room, feeling now how once a mind of awe had quickly changed to one of disgust in so little time and so few steps taken. None of them mattered to me as they once had as they all represented the same thing and that was the shit storm they had brought to my home. One Keira had opened the door to…and worst of all, I had fucking let her!
I left the temple shaking my head in anger and in doing so barely had enough wits about me to dodge the attack from above.
“Damn Harpies!” I muttered in annoyance looking up from the floor I had just been forced to drop to. I pushed back up from my hands and slapped the volcanic dust from them as I scanned the area. This next space was a courtyard of sorts and was surrounded by jagged mountain rock. It almost looked like black quartz had erupted from the ground and formed natural knife-edged battlements all around us. I say ‘us’ as it became quickly apparent I was no longer alone.
“Ladies” I said nodding my head hoping they could detect my sarcasm over my anger at being detained any longer than I had to be. Unfortunately this turned out to be a failing on my part as even their rancorous teeth could be seen from down where I stood.
The four sisters stood out from the rest of their smaller offspring but it was not only from size alone but also from their higher positioning. They each had perched themselves at the highest point of rock and surrounded themselves with their family of minions at lower points around where I stood.
Given that only one stood tall amongst the sisters I knew there was a divide in the ranks and if there was one that needed taking out first, it was certainly that one. If there was such a thing as a Harpie with greater intelligence than a common dog then this would be the one
“Mine!” One snarled that was crouched down low and clutched the stone with its clawed hands. All three heads snapped round to the claim and each showed their distaste with a growl. The brazen one stretched out her face like a snake getting ready for the feast and spat at the others like an angry cat. The other sisters followed suit and portrayed the famous Harpie trait of displaying their fangs in anger. They then stretched out their hideous wings of sagging aged skin, ones void of any feathers.
Even from down here I could see clearly the pot marks left from where their plumage used to be and it marred along the torn withered skin stretched between the long finger bones, ones that powered their limited flight.
They were more like a limp bat, gliding along and only being fed from the negative energy this place emits like one of Earth’s power stations. I had to smirk at the idea of fighting these pathetic creatures. Oh yes, they might be greater in number than I but what did they take me for?
It took me back to the day I first warned Keira, that assumption is the mother from which all mistakes are born, of course my little Vixen had gone and threw it back in my face not long after.
For the first time since this mess I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Of course the Harpies took this for something else.
“Look sisters, we have one willing I think.” They all snapped their elongated jaws in postulated excitement….well they were soon to taste disappointed in the form of swallowing their own blood and that was a promise.
“Think again Celaeno.” I said pleased to see the twisted mix of both fury and shock that I had guessed right. Celaeno meant ‘Dark one’ and in all the mythology I had heard about these four then it was the dark one that had led the other three to ruin. She held the most of what brains could be had in a Harpie and the other three followed her blindly.
It was said that her obsessive love for Zeus was what drove the maddening need to torture others in a tainted way to gain attention from her maker. Needless to say it backfired but this rage only inflamed their insatiable desire to take men against their will, demon or not.
The other three were recognisable through the power of elimination as they too had their own descriptive names as their sister. Celaeno had the darker body of the four and was slightly bigger with her longer frame. Podarge was named for being ‘fleet footed’ so hence was quicker on her feet than in flight.
Aello and Ocypete were the twins, born it was said with their wings tightly entwined. Aello meaning ‘Storm swift’ and Ocypete ‘The swift wing’ obviously were named for their talents in the air and I could spot two that remained closer together. Their wings were slightly longer and sleeker in shape, no doubt to aid them with quick manoeuvers whilst flying.
“Willing or not, human you are ours to take!” Celaeno’s threat was laughable if she really thought I were a mere mortal.
“Is that so?” I mocked and then looked down at my right hand as I welcomed one of my swords this time. I slowed its release to emphasise the power behind the action and the purple flames licked the blade until it reached the ash floor. I then cocked my head to the side and looked back up at the small winged army that were getting restless.
Celaeno was the only one smart enough to look shocked and as if feeling her anxiety her offspring all whined around her. I readied myself for when her shock turned to blind rage.
“Bring him to me!” She nodded to only two of her lower seated offspring thinking this was all that was needed. Well I couldn’t say I wasn’t looking forward to disappointing her.
One was quicker in its dismount than the other and swooped low trying in vain to sink its footed talons into my shoulder. Well if it wanted a flying companion then I wouldn’t keep it waiting. I twisted at the last moment for it to only brush past me so that I had enough time to quickly grab a hold of its ankle. It snarled down at me as it unwillingly lifted me into the air. I looked down and waited for just the right moment.
“Come on, just a bit higher….there you go!” I said just as I saw the other one coming up underneath us.
“Perfect!” I quickly used my strength in my left arm to pull my upper body up, using its leg as a means to get higher. Then I pulled back my right arm before forcing it forward and plunging my sword into the Harpie’s chest. It threw its head up and screeched in a death call up to its mothers.
I pulled back my sword and went into free fall letting go of the dying Harpie and summoned my other sword to come into the play. I had timed it perfectly as the other Harpie was now directly beneath me mid-flight. With one slashing motion both my swords sliced through their mark and both of its wings were severed.
That too called out to its mothers as I landed facing th
em impacting the ground enough to cause dust to cloud around me. I looked up in time to hear the two dead harpies fall to the grown behind me and I didn’t bother reining in my cocky smirk.
The sisters all let out a mournful high pitched wail and I rolled my shoulders in preparation for the retaliation to come.
“I will enjoy making you scream half breed!” Celaeno roared and the half breed comment was enough to make me snap. My wings erupted from my back, proving just how wrong that statement was before I gave them my own promise,
“And I will enjoy mounting your fucking wings to my wall!”
She screamed and that was all her army needed to hear. They all at once left their perches in a wave of blackened wings and came at me where I stood. I waited for the first few to get closer before I spun round on one foot slicing through three harpies at once. Before their bodies had even hit the ground I launched myself up in the air to take the rest from above.
“Let’s see if you can keep up with this.” My wings expanded and held me mobile above so I could plan my attack. When I saw my opening I went for it letting my wings fold so I would fall, only opening them again at the right moment.
They were still trying to find me when I dropped in the centre and started taking their lives one by one. I had just finished bringing up my sword cutting one in half when I embedded my other blade in the chest of another. I had to use my foot to lever my blade free from its dying form and then kicked it so it went tumbling backwards.
It hit another of his siblings and they fell to the ground in a mass of tangled wings and spewing blood. I landed in time to end its life too before it could free itself from the web of death.
Soon the courtyard was puddled with Harpie blood and butchered remains. I had just used my boot once more to aid me against the head of the last dying offspring and pulled my sword free from its skull when I recognised the cries of grief.
“Unless the bitches of Zeus want to taste the same blade, this is done. Take me to the prisoner Sammael and I will spare your lives!” I slashed my blade down to make my point causing three of the weaker sisters to flinch back.
Celaeno however raked her talons against the quartz leaving deep claw marks in the stone. I tensed my body waiting for the next fight and just as I knew she was about to attack, I unfolded my wings to their full span and let the purple flames ignite in a show of power and dominance. It was all that was needed, that and one last look at all her dead offspring littering the ground around me.
“Who are you?” Podarge asked me and the others frowned at her curiosity.
“King of the mortal realm and son of Asmodeus in this one.” Now this got a reaction. They all sucked in a sharp breath before they clicked their tongues against the roof of their mouths.
“Master…” They all hissed together and I wanted to roll my eyes. Maybe next time a flying hoard of demons wanted to rip me limb from limb I should mention my father’s name….as infuriating as this realisation was, it was a damn sight quicker than engaging in battle that was for sure.
“We shall take you.” Celaeno was the one to comply this time and she did so lowering her head in respect. Ok, so maybe not all of the presidents have turned a blind eye after all. The fact that it was my father was a sobering one indeed.
I let one of the sisters lead me and wasn’t surprised that it was Podarge that wanted the task. She seemed like the quietest of the four or at the very least the more reasonable… if there were such a thing. Maybe I was wrong about their intelligence, as so far the only one to ask the right question was the creature now in front of me.
She walked at a steady pace which was maddening to me. I had to resist the urge to demand her go faster but knew that wasn’t the right move. Granted I had defeated their army, one that would take them at least a few decades to recreate. But this place wasn’t just a prison to keep inmates where they were sent on lockdown but also a place to lose them altogether.
A honeycomb of every horror imaginable just waiting to be discovered and if there was one thing I lacked, then it was time. The idea of roaming these endless corridors and passageways wasn’t something I could afford to do. So for those valid reasons I followed behind the Harpie with clenched fists and grinding my teeth in frustration.
“What must you seek with this inmate?” Podarge asked after turning a corner. I was actually surprised by her question but more at the calm manner in which she’d asked it. After all I had just destroyed her children and I shuddered to think how many of them there would have been if it wasn’t only the sisters that could reproduce.
“Vengeance.” Was all I said causing her to look thoughtful a moment before nodding her head in acceptance.
“We are nearly there.”
“And the Titans, where are they?” I inquired but this time I wasn’t surprised by the reaction I received. She snapped her head round and scowled at me through where her wings were joined. She hissed and clicked her jaw in displeasure before answering me.
“No one goes there, not even your father. You will be good in heeding my warning youngling.” I had to laugh at the youngling bit. She cocked her head in confusion making me clarify,
“I am older than I look.” To which she simply shrugged her shoulders. It was the most human attribute I seen any of them portray as of yet.
“Nothing is older than the Titans or more powerful. Nobody is allowed in the core, not even the Royal blood of the nine.” She said looking back when mention of my father.
“And the Venom of God?” I pushed.
“You will have to ask him that yourself.” She said coming to a stop at what I presumed was the last door. She held open the heavy slatted wood and nodded for me to proceed her.
“I am not permitted.” Was her only explanation and upon looking down at her I saw but a glimpse of the beauty that once radiated from her.
“You’re not?” I questioned wondering if there was more to this place than I first thought.
“We are all prisoners here, even the ones that guard its walls.” Her response made me want to ask about its wardens then but I was here for a single purpose and that purpose was through this door.
“I thank you.” She looked up shocked at such a statement and opened her mouth as if to say something but what she did say I knew wasn’t what would have been her first choice.
“I believe his is the last cell.” After that she nodded her head once more before leaving me to my mission…
And the inmates of Hell.
Chapter 47
Inmates of Hell
Walking into this level of Tartarus was similar to Earth’s prisons in only one way and that was I was now staring down a long pale stone corridor. However that was where the similarities promptly ended. Instead of barred cells being on either side of the walkway there were crude looking pits dug into the ground as if keeping wild beasts hidden from constant view.
The first set of cells were fairly tame compared to the others, being only covered by rows of thick black bars. I will admit that my curiosity got the better of me as I walked closer to the first inmate and looked down.
“Seraphim.”I said its name in disgust and it looked up at me to snarl. When most of my kind heard the name of Seraphims, they first thought of angels, but their souls had a nasty habit of turning sour and now I was looking at the result of that.
Well known to the Egyptians, Babylonians and Assyrians these once angelic figures turned into serpent demons thanks to the first corruption from the serpent Dahaka. In Persian mythology, the serpent Dahaka was the reincarnation of the evil spirit Angra Mainyu. Someone whose evil counted upon the drying of mortal lands and causing famine… hence the foul family offspring reacting to me in this manner now.
I had been the one to put a stop to this plan, banishing Angra Mainyu to Hell but leaving Dahaka to inherit the empty vessel, one gladly accepted. However I didn’t discover that part of the infected soul had stayed within the Vessel, polluting Dahaka, until it was too late. Dahaka created the Seraphim as
an army to aid in the quest to overthrow my throne in retaliation.
Needless to say this ‘war’ was quickly fought and won, and resulted in all Seraphims serving out their sentences in Hell as part of the nine Princes’ lower ranking army. Well clearly from the looks of it, not all had taken kindly to their new positions, forced upon them thousands of years ago.
The word Seraphim came from the plural of the Hebrew word ‘saraph’ meaning ‘to burn.’ This also referred to the burning sensation and inflammation caused by the venom of a snake bite, which was one of their many charms. However it soon became clear that what I only moments ago thought was a tame looking cell was in fact the very nature of their name. This was proven when the Seraphim in question reached up as if to attack me and started burning as soon as its three clawed fingers came in contact with the bars.
Its scaled stretched skin started to blister and split like a roasting pig rotating on a spit and it filled the corridor with not only the smell of cooked flesh but the echoing sounds of agonising pain. Its grey wrinkled face contorted and cracked the larger scales on its domed forehead, causing blood to seep from beneath the cracks. I watched with little pity as its deep set green eyes started to roll back into its low forehead and then its burning body crashed back onto the dirt floor below.
I remembered the creatures all too well and knew how resilient they were to such things. It might not like it at the time but it would be healed and regenerated all damaged skin within the hour, as was the way with Seraphims. And as was the way when the decision to make them the pawns of most legions came to pass. After all, an army that could regenerate itself was one worth keeping close by, if only to keep the enemy busy.
I stepped back and moved onto the next cell, not taking any chances that Sammael was at the end of the row. In fact it was hard at this angle to gauge just how many cells there were in this block, so I let my wings give me the advantage I needed to count them. I was surprised to see only five remained but they were each spaced out by what looked like massive drainage pits simply covered by metal grids.
The Pentagram Child: Part 2 (Afterlife Saga Book 5) Page 3