Avenging Heart

by Desni Dantone

  “You ungrateful little brat,” Circe hissed. She loomed over me as I tried unsuccessfully to scramble to my feet. My vision blurred from the trickle of blood that dripped from my forehead. Regardless, her scowl was evident.

  Behind her, the rest of the group lay scattered in a heap on the ground like knocked over bowling pins. Nathan and Bruce managed to get to their knees before Circe waved a hand behind her. She knocked them back down with an invisible blast of magic.

  “I’m disappointed in you, sister,” she sneered. “I have given up on waiting for you to come through for me. You may have taken the strongest members of my army, but I still have the miserable hybrids.”

  I scoffed. “What good can they do you without immortality? The gods will destroy you.”

  “The gods won’t know what hit them,” she returned vehemently. “I’m close to finishing the curse on my own. I don’t need you, and I will not let you stand in my way anymore.”

  I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out as she wound another chunk of my hair into her fist. She led me by the hair toward the closest lava pit.

  “Were you aware that there are actually three ways to kill a demigod?” she mocked. “A fatal wound with diamond is not the only way, my dear sister. Oh, no. A fall into a pool of Hades’ lava will do it too. Don’t worry . . .” She tugged my head to the side, forcing my gaze to land on Nathan and the others, where they were still held down by Circe’s magic. Her breath was hot on my neck as she continued, “Your friends will be right behind you.”

  With a flick of her wrist, she sent me sailing over the rim of the pit. Heat blasted my face. My hair singed from the intensity as I fell. My gaze landed on the opposite ledge, and I squeezed my eyes shut to teleport myself to safety a second before it was too late.

  Circe’s back was to me—confident that I had been done away with—as she used her magic to toss the others toward another pit. Each of them struggled to catch their footing, or to grab a hold of something, as Circe rolled them across the ground, into and over each other.

  I pushed my hands out in front of me, shooting a wave of power into Circe that knocked her to her knees. Her magic hold on the others dropped, enabling them to scamper away from the edge of the pit. She forgot about them as she turned toward me with a growl.

  “I see I have underestimated the strength of your powers,” she seethed.

  “Your mistake,” I returned brazenly.

  “It’s one I won’t make again.”

  Her hand rose, and I hit her with another blast of power. She teetered on the edge of the lava pit behind her.

  I didn’t know what would happen if she fell in. She was a goddess. I couldn’t exactly kill her . . .

  Except Hera had told me that gods could be destroyed. In theory. At least, for a few centuries before they were reborn.

  Could a fall into one of Hades’ pits do it?

  I gave her another nudge, stronger than the last one, which brought her to the cusp. Her eyes leveled on mine at the same time a blue streak shot from her hands. Whatever it was crashed into me, knocking me onto my back.

  Lightning. I gasped as I rolled onto my side. This is what it feels like to be struck by lightning.

  My eyes darted toward Nathan as he moved slowly across the ground toward me. Behind him, the rest of the gang struggled to move out of Circe’s magical grasp.

  Circe’s head swung in Nathan’s direction. I saw the decision in her eyes. She was done playing games.

  “No!”

  My scream fell on deaf ears. Circe held a hand out toward Nathan. She made a fist and rotated her hand. At the same time, Nathan’s hands flew to his neck. A strangled gasp passed his lips.

  My head spun with meaningless ideas for how to get us out of this alive. We were going up against a goddess, and a very powerful manipulator of magic. She was kicking our asses.

  And Nathan was slowly suffocating to death.

  I scrambled to my feet, and plowed into Circe the old-fashioned way. Her concentration on Nathan subsided as we rolled to the ground—I only knew because I took the time to look for him. That hesitation opened the door for Circe to shoot a hand out at me. I grabbed her wrist before whatever magic she had intended for me hit its mark.

  “You may be a goddess,” I grunted. “But I’m still a better fighter than you.”

  I drove an elbow into her nose with enough force to send her sprawling onto her back. As I crawled across the ground toward her, I heard Nathan shout out to me.

  He wanted me to stay away.

  I wanted to end this . . . if I could. One thing was for certain, I would die trying.

  Suddenly, a set of hands grabbed me around the shoulders, and hoisted me to my feet. Whoever it was pushed me behind them as they faced Circe. I got a glimpse of a porcelain face, smudged with dirt, and a curtain of long blonde hair. A shredded and stain-covered gown billowed around her tall and slender frame. Despite her beaten and vulnerable appearance, I knew she was anything but.

  My eyes darted to Nathan’s as he pushed to a stand. The look of awe on his face matched my own astonishment.

  “Hello, Mother,” Circe snarled. She dabbed the back of her hand to her nose, blotting the blood that had collected there from my elbow. “I wasn’t aware that Hades let you out to play.”

  “He doesn’t,” Hecate returned smoothly. “Your sister broke the spell you and he placed on me.”

  Circe’s glare shifted to me, where I stood behind the protection of Hecate. “Of course she did.”

  Nathan moved to my side, and pulled me back a few steps, out of the zone of the impending battle between the two goddesses. Behind us, the rest of our group hovered. Alec was with them, though none of them knew it.

  His eyes met mine with a nod, and I knew what he had done. He had freed Hecate while I fought Circe.

  As I stepped back to what I hoped was a safe distance, my eyes dropped to the impressive sword in Hecate’s hands. Circe’s gaze followed mine, and a flicker of fear crossed her face.

  “You would destroy your own daughter?” Circe gulped.

  Hecate answered by raising the sword. Circe’s hands shot up, but not fast enough. Hecate thrust the blade into her chest, killing the magic on Circe’s fingertips. Circe screamed as a bright white light exploded from her chest. Hecate withdrew the blade, and Circe’s eyes lowered to the small speck of blood that spotted the front of her gown.

  She was immortal, as a goddess. But Hecate had taken something more important to her than life. She had destroyed her essence, the very thing that made her a goddess. What remained was the shell of a goddess—a powerless immortal.

  “Ga-rah-le-rah . . .” Hecate began to chant.

  “No,” Circe pleaded.

  “Tierme garah peidor . . .” Hecate continued.

  “No, Mother. Please.”

  “Biegharma,” Hecate finished.

  Circe’s image flickered. With a whoosh, she disappeared. She was gone, but . . .

  “Where is she?” I spun, expecting to find her leering smirk behind me. No Circe. Only the wary faces of my friends. All of them, wide-eyed with shock . . . but unharmed.

  “Circe has taken my place in Hades’ prison,” Hecate replied. “We must go. Quickly, before he realizes I am gone.”

  She didn’t give us time to prepare, or to ask questions. Her feet moved quickly, forcing us to run to keep up as she led us away from the palace, in the opposite direction from which we had come.

  The flow of lava diminished as a steady cloud of fog rolled in. The lantern in Hecate’s hand partially lit our way as we entered a dark and narrow tunnel. The fog was much thicker inside, and rolled over us in waves. The light from the lantern did little to cut through the heavy cloud. I had no idea what lay ahead of us.

  The stench of sulfur grew stronger the deeper we went. It stung my nose, and brought tears to my eyes. My hands searched the cold stone wall as I pushed forward. With a start, I realized that I recognized the tunnel—the same as from my vision. Which
meant . . .

  “Oh, no,” I gulped.

  Something was after us. I sensed it now, just as I had in the vision.

  “Quickly,” Hecate urged. “They are coming.”

  Someone’s hand brushed against mine in the dark. I assumed it was Nathan’s, and took it eagerly. I had never told anyone about the sensation of being chased through the tunnel. I had never discovered from what I had been running. From the urgency of Hecate’s warning, I doubted I wanted to find out.

  A distant howl echoed off the walls around us, answering the question I had been too afraid to ask. A series of goose-bump inducing growls and toothy snaps followed. The tunnel carried the terrifying sounds to us. Whatever made them sounded close enough to nip at our heels.

  My first guess was Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog. Except, the beast I had seen earlier couldn’t fit into this narrow space. Instinct told me we were running from something far worse than Cerberus.

  “Through here.” Hecate shoved me through a small opening, into a more narrow extension of the tunnel.

  Head bowed and shoulders hunched, I pushed blindly forward on fear-crippled legs. The uncertainty of not seeing where I was going had nothing on the terror I felt from what chased us.

  I slammed into a stone wall nose first. Forced to a stop, I reached my hands out to search for an opening. Nothing. Only wet, cold stone, and Nathan’s hands searching alongside mine.

  “Where?” I asked breathlessly.

  “I don’t know,” he returned.

  I turned to look for Hecate, and saw the shadowy forms of the rest of the group behind me. Beyond them, Hecate stood with her lantern held out, facing the way we had come. A series of snarls bounced off the walls around us, much closer than before.

  Hecate pushed through the group to come up alongside me.

  “We’re trapped?” I asked her.

  “No, but I’m afraid we may not have enough time.”

  I watched as she moved her hand over the rock wall. Using only a finger, she began to draw a cluster of blood-red symbols.

  More growling from what now sounded like a hundred unknown beasts echoed behind us.

  “What is that?” Nathan asked.

  “Cerberus’s mutts,” Hecate replied grimly. “They will not allow us to escape easily.”

  She moved on to another symbol quickly. I had no idea what Cerberus’s mutts were, but her urgency, combined with the noises coming from behind us, and the string of heated words Nathan muttered under his breath suggested I never wanted to find out.

  “Hellhounds?” Jas shrieked. “We have hellhounds after us?”

  Nathan shifted to my side. “Can they kill a demigod?” he asked Hecate.

  “They are an extension of Hades, and can strip me of my essence. So . . . yes, death by hellhound is one of the three known ways to kill a demigod.”

  A single low growl drifted to us from out of the shadows. Very close. Close enough that the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The clicking of claws on the hard ground drew closer as Hecate’s hand flew across the stone wall.

  I sensed them before I saw them.

  Five sets of fire-red eyes stared back at us from the shadows. One slowly advanced, entering the circle of light cast by our single lantern, and I saw the one-headed miniature version of Cerberus—if the size of a grizzly bear could be considered ‘miniature.’ With black furless skin, long pointy ears, and a river of drool dripping from razor teeth, it was easily the most terrifying creature I had ever seen.

  It was clear that we were on its dinner menu.

  Jas stood the closest to the hound, and took several steps back, bumping into Bruce and Lillian. As a group, we pressed as tightly against the wall as we could.

  “Almost finished,” Hecate volunteered hastily. “Do what you can to keep them back, or we will all be trapped.”

  The leader of the pack growled, and I momentarily wondered if he understood her. But then he charged, and nothing else mattered besides the sound of Jas screaming.

  Bruce lunged forward, knife raised and ready, to help. It quickly became obvious that no one could help Jas. A second beast growled, forcing Bruce to a stop. The lead hound’s blood-curdling snarls peaked, then died along with Jas’s screams.

  “Is he dead?” Lillian shrieked.

  Nathan cursed.

  Bruce backpedaled while the rest of us pushed into the wall as if wiling it to absorb us. Each and every one of them were some of the bravest people I had ever known, but even the bravest could be reduced to cowering at the sight of the beast before us. It had killed Jas in seconds, and growled its intent to take the rest of us next.

  Despite the cramped quarters, Nathan managed to push me behind him. “Stay back.”

  “Nathan, no!”

  I reached for him, but he was already pushing between Jared and Lillian, to join Bruce where he now stood alone on the front line. Over the sound of gunfire, I heard a whimper—the telltale sign of a bullet hitting its mark. But then there were four more beasts prepared to take the leader’s place.

  Behind me, Hecate finished drawing her symbols and began to chant in a low, urgent voice. The wall warped as a blue light grew in the center, between the symbols. As the blue expanded, glimpses of a refreshing river of water, green trees, and sunshine appeared visible on the other side of the wall.

  Over my shoulder, I heard Bruce’s warning shout as one of the hounds howled. I turned to watch as Bruce impaled the beast barreling down on Nathan with his knife. It rolled to the ground as another took its place. Jared had also joined the fight, and placed a bullet into the head of the hellhound seconds before it ripped into Bruce.

  Beyond them, and the river of blood that pooled under our feet, another cluster of red eyes drew closer in the tunnel. So many more of them.

  “Now!” Hecate grabbed my arm, and shoved me through the warped wall. I popped out on the other side, standing in a stream with icy water up to my ankles. In front of me, a rock wall marked with graffiti bent and twisted, permitting me a fuzzy view of the tunnel, and the horror of what was transpiring inside it.

  Lillian momentarily blocked my view as she followed me through the portal. On the other side, the three guys backed up, weapons held out in front of them to keep the hellhounds at bay. At Hecate’s urging, they moved a little quicker. Jared reached the wall first, and threw himself out headfirst. He splashed facedown into the water beside me as Hecate followed.

  It all happened in a matter of seconds, though it felt as if the world had come to a grinding halt. Bruce and Nathan broke for the portal simultaneously. One hellhound sprung. Its jaw enclosed on Nathan’s shoulder as Bruce dove through the portal.

  “No!”

  I rushed toward the rock. Hecate blocked me from jumping through. I pushed against her, straining to get a glimpse of Nathan. Waiting to see him get up and step through. To join us.

  All I saw were his shoes, and a giant paw pressed down onto his chest as a toothy beast knelt over him.

  “No! Help him! Please!” I pleaded with Hecate. Her hand rose to my head, and I swatted it away. “What are you doing? Help him!”

  Her hand touched my forehead, and I swayed unsteadily on my feet. As a calming warmth settled over me, I pictured the beach. Days ago, in Areopoli, with Nathan and Alec.

  That was the last time I had been truly happy. Before I lost both of them, and my world shattered. As the black curtain dropped over my eyes, I envisioned us there. Together.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Here. I like this one on you.” Callie thrusts a light blue gown into my hands.

  I run the fabric between my fingers, feeling its silky texture, as I examine it through a curtain of unshed tears.

  “It’ll match that boyfriend of yours’s eyes beautifully,” Callie continues, unaware of my distress.

  “Who?” I choke.

  She finally turns to me, sees me, my eyes. “Are you okay?” she asks. “Did you guys have a fight? The wedding is still on, right? Please tell me it�
��s still on. I’ve already bought my dress, and the bachelorette party is going to be so much fun . . .”

  I tune her out. She doesn’t understand why her words are so painful. She doesn’t know what’s happened. She doesn’t know that my world has just crashed around me.

  How could I tell her that there is no wedding? There will never be a wedding now . . .

  Chapter 22

  I woke with a start—crying, gasping for air, and unable to catch my breath—as tears streamed down my face. I doubted they would ever stop. I wished for sleep, or for whatever Hecate had done to knock me out, because I feared the pain of being awake, without him, would kill me.

  A gentle hand swept the hair from my face, and my eyes popped open to find Hecate staring down at me with concern. It was the way I always imagined a mother would look at her child when that child’s entire world crumbled.

  For some reason, that only made me cry harder—for Nathan, for Alec, for Jas and Kira, and for the mother I never had until now.

  “I’m sorry, my dear,” she whispered softly. “I will let you sleep.”

  “No,” I exclaimed. No more dreams. As painful as it was to be awake, I couldn’t handle another dream depicting the future I would never have.

  The corner of Hecate’s eyes wrinkled, and her mouth curved down. Despite the look on her face, her words were full of praise. “You should be proud. The prophecy has been fulfilled.”

  On some level, I knew what she was talking about. Yet, I found myself shaking my head. “What?”

  “By destroying the demigods, you have freed the hybrids from their control,” she explained. “They are no longer soldiers in the war between good and evil. They will lead normal human lives now.”

  “That is what I was meant to do?” I sniffed.

  “Yes,” Hecate confirmed with a nod.

  The feared Incantator revealed in the prophecy wasn’t meant to end the hybrids, but to free them? My destiny had not been as bad as I had feared all this time. Of course, Nathan had been right. And he wasn’t here to know that. None of it mattered to me now anyway. What good was freedom without love?