by Amy Braun
My heart thundered, and I didn’t know why. I was certain I’d never seen this man before. But he felt familiar. He smiled at me, and I wanted to run. I curled the box to my chest, its edges digging into my ribs. Not real, it’s not real––
Pain spiked in my broken hand, fumbling my grip again. I crushed the box into my right hand and scoured for the clasp, heedless of pain—
A growl echoed out from the shadows. A deep, thunderous snarl that trembled my skin. I looked up and saw six red eyes glaring back at me.
The whispers came faster.
It hungers for you.
The shape grew taller.
You will meet the Hound soon.
Fear twisted my heart.
There is no escape.
Another roar tore into the room. Three mouths appeared and revealed razor fangs. Dozens of red eyes blinked open from the darkness, surrounding me. More fang-filled maws opened. The shadows were filled with eyes and teeth.
They roared, a sound that drowned out my own cry, and lunged.
I pressed the box against my broken hand, pain tearing up my arm, fumbled then flipped open the latch—
Athena’s blazing magic spilled out from the box, a whirlwind of power and heat that howled up from the box. The force knocked me onto my back and the world exploded into white light again. My eyes burned and fresh tears slipped down my cheeks. Blistering wind snapped against my face and nearly tore the box from my hand. I slapped my broken hand against it, hissing in pain, and Adapted to weigh myself to the floor.
The howling magics rose to a fever pitch, but the light started to fade. A piercing noise swirled through the room as the light plunged down into the box. The box trembled in my hand, drinking in the light. At last, it flickered in the frame, captured and fought to break free of Athena’s magic. I slapped my unbroken hand against the lid and flicked the latch closed. Light faded and silence fell. The box hummed in my grasp. That light, the illusionary magic of the Timeweaver, were locked inside the box.
My heart hammered against my ribcage. My breathing was ragged from screams I couldn’t remember. Any exposed skin felt raw and windburned. White spots danced in front of my eyes. My broken hand throbbed with angry, shooting pains.
I slung my right arm over my chest and pressed it to my broken left hand. The healing spell warmed and reknit the bones, slower than before.
The hex was getting worse.
Sighing, I clipped the box to my hip and glanced over my shoulder. Selena picked herself up slowly, fresh tears streaking her face. I crawled across the concrete to get to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
“You all right?”
She groaned. “Tell me that’s it.”
“We have it,” I assured her.
She pulled away from me and stood up. “We need to leave. It’s still not safe here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t explain it, it just… I know it’s not over.”
I nodded, trusting her instincts.
We filed out of the small room and walked toward the main corridor. The walls remained static and the rooms were empty. The pressure of magic had gone.
It was dead silent as we reached the main construction site. I quickly swiped Adelae’s keycard to call the elevator—
A rush of cold wind slammed through the hall at our backs. We whirled around and listened to furious screams echoing from the corridor we just left.
But these were not like the cries we heard earlier. I had never heard a scream like that before. No mortal, or monster I could think of.
“What the hell is that?” I asked, calling Ki̱demónas into my hand.
Selena focused, then looked at me with wide, terrified eyes.
“Derek—”
Three figures wrapped in black smoke spiraled through the corridor and sped straight toward us. I’d never seen anything move that fast. I raised my hands and sent a blast of fire toward them.
They flew straight through it, winged humanoids bursting through my fire like it couldn’t touch them.
Selena jumped in front of me, hands raised, and pushed fire at the beasts. They drifted back and Selena shouted.
“Get in the elevator!”
Panic punched into my heart. “No, I’m not leaving you alone.”
The creatures hissed and flapped their wings, rising over us and revealing themselves.
They were three female monsters clad in hoplite armor and helmets. Scaled, bat-like wings beat the air at their backs. Their eyes were yellow and cattish, and black claws the length of my hand protruded from their fingertips. Blood soaked and glistened on their bare forearms and turned into runic tattoos that covered their muscled limbs. Piercing fangs filled their mouth like a shark’s maw. Their hair was matted and roughly braided to swing against their powerful shoulders.
One creature was blue-skinned, wore a spiked helmet, and carried a scimitar. Another had dark crimson flesh, wore a Spartan helmet and held a heavy battle-axe. The third was bruise purple, had a studded helm, and hefted a barbed whip.
“Move,” demanded the purple one. Her voice was hissing and sharp, like a snake choking on broken glass. “Move, girl, or we shall slice through you.”
“No,” growled Selena. “You’re not taking him.”
And then I understood. I knew why these creatures had not asked about the Timeweaver. Why they weren’t attacking now. Why Selena told me to run. Only one creature in the entire Greek mythos acted like this.
The Furies.
The purple Erinyes drew back her whip. The barbed ended glinted against the harsh lights. The ding of the arriving elevator was a distant, mocking sound of hope.
I touched the box on my hip, and my challenger curled her body to strike.
“We warned you,” she hissed.
“Shut your eyes,” I shouted to Selena.
I hoped she listened, because I wrenched the box off my hip and pulled open the lid.
Blazing white light speared out of the container. It trembled and nearly pulled out of my hands. My eyes squeezed shut, and even though I only held the box open for a handful of seconds, it nearly blinded and deafened me all over again.
I snapped the box closed and latched it again. I opened my eyes, and in the haze, I saw the Erinyes reeling and swiping at their eyes.
Selena and I raced for the steadily closing elevator door. We wedged ourselves inside and pushed it open. The Furies screamed. I pried the box off my hip and handed if to Selena.
“Just in case,” I explained, right before the Furies screamed again.
I snapped Ki̱demónas to its full length. I hurled the spear through the closing door, aiming for the red Fury. She curled her wings and spiraled away from the elevator.
“Megaera, brace the door! Alecto, halt its rise!”
The red and blue Furies rushed to command their sister. Megaera and Alecto. I scrambled, thinking of the lore I’d read while working for Ares, on the names of monsters… and I remembered the final sister was named Tisiphone.
I commanded Ki̱demónas to burst into flames and slice through the room, but the Furies were fast. In the span of three seconds, Tisiphone snapped her whip around Ki̱demónas and flung it aside, Alecto hacked her scimitar into the elevator control panel, and Megaera smashed her battle axe into the closing elevator door.
Metal screeched as she pulled it apart. The elevator door refused to close, and its overhead lights snapped off. We were trapped.
Selena and I leaped to attack, dousing the Fury with fire and blades.
Nothing we did seemed to hurt her. All we did was anger her.
Muscles bulging, Megaera ripped through the elevator. Alecto swept over her shoulder and swung the scimitar. Selena ducked, the blade missing her by a hair.
I raised my hands and sent out a blast of aether. The dark element swirled and smothered the entrance, creating a barrier between the Furies and us.
I heard them screaming on the other side of the shadow. My magic wouldn’t last long
.
“Call Athena!” I yelled.
Selena gripped the box and closed her eyes. As a last resort, Athena added a magical alarm on the box, promising her aid if something went wrong.
And this had gone very, very wrong.
Only a goddess could contend with the wrath of the Furies. We just had to hold out until—
My hand broke.
The spasm of pain shot up my arm and sliced through my concentration. The left side of the aether wall collapsed. A curved blade swung downward and stabbed into my left bicep.
I roared in pain, the wall slipping further. Selena hurled a fireball over the broken aether wall. Flames sizzled past my shoulder.
I grabbed a knife from my belt and slipped it into the curve of the scimitar. Adapting my strength, I pushed the blade out of my arm. It hurt like a bastard and bled profusely, but I was free.
I grit my teeth and felt my fear give way to Rage.
Staying in the elevator was a death-trap. Going back into the basement was suicide.
We needed time.
I looked at Selena as I quickly healing my hand again.
“I can hold them off until Athena gets here.”
“No,” she growled. “You are not going out there—”
“I need you to guard my back,” I interrupted.
That halted her. She knew what I was asking. The risk I was putting her in. Something I would never do if I didn’t have a choice. I cared about her life far more than I did mine.
The Furies shrieked and snapped their weapons along the top of my aether wall. I commanded Ki̱demónas to throw fire and aether at the Furies. They howled and kept battering at the aether wall.
My magic was strong, but the Furies were stronger. The scimitar and battle axe hooked over the top and pulled. My muscles strained, forcing the magic to harden. Tisiphone’s whip thwacked against the barrier, sending a sharp jolt up my arms. Cracks formed outside of it.
“Okay.” Fire filled Selena’s hands. “On three. One—”
The edges of the aether wall were pulled down. We panicked, throwing magic at the Furies, but they didn’t even flinch.
Tisiphone’s whip cracked. I Adapted my reflexes and leaned away from the barbed edges. I brought my arm up to protect my face. The whip curled around my forearm. I snapped my left hand out and grabbed the barbs at their base before they could dig into my skin.
Tisiphone yanked. Her strength was enormous, and she pulled me like I was a ragdoll, the barbs tearing through my skin. My feet left the elevator and I soon rose in the air and hit the floor hard. I heard screaming and hissing behind me. I focused on the whip and called fire from my skin. Flames curled around the whip and burned up its length. The whip curled away from me, its barbs incinerated. Blood spilled from my wounds.
“Derek!”
Calling Ki̱demónas to circle around and defend me, I risked a glance over my shoulder.
Alecto and Megaera were closing the elevator doors. Once closed, the two Furies gripped the base and hurled the elevator car upward—with Selena still inside.
Metal shrieked as the elevator was tossed like a toy. Concrete shattered and splintered before raining into the basement.
The elevator didn’t fall again. Wherever it was, it had become stuck. I had no idea what happened to Selena—if she was all right or hurt.
The Furies turned to me.
Fighting my worry, I focused on Ki̱demónas. The spear slammed into the ground and exploded in a ring of fire around me. The Furies’ screams echoed beyond the flames. I lifted my arms. The fire curled and formed a dome over my head. Ki̱demónas spun around me, spilling aether and threading it into my fire. I focused, shoved all fear aside as I shaped my shadowfires.
The flames took on humanoid shapes with a skeleton of darkness inside. Flaming swords filled their hands. There was a dozen of them. I sent them out to fight the Furies. I didn’t watch the battles. I called Ki̱demónas into my hand. The spear trembled, and I opened myself to the Rage.
Power crushed through me, erasing fear and pain. It was just me, Ki̱demónas, my magic, my weapons, and my adrenaline.
The Furies cut the shadowfires apart. They crumpled and dissolved into ash and embers. I kept reforming them and used Ki̱demónas to its full extent.
It wasn’t enough. The Furies parted my flames like a curtain. Fire cast demonic shadows across their faces, sharpening their teeth and lighting their eyes. They loomed, wings spread and weapons drawn.
I wasn’t afraid. They dove for me, and I didn’t stop them. I fought them.
I threw Ki̱demónas, slashing and blocking with it. I turned my body into a weapon. Punching and kicking and using elbows and knees. Magic powered me. Shadowfires and flame bursts and whips of aether. I didn’t stop. Didn’t slow. Didn’t relent. The fight became a blur in a ring of fire.
I was thrown. Punched and kicked. Choked and bruised. Cut and slashed. Things I could not feel in the Rage, but wounds that slowed me down.
I fought harder, using everything I had. The Furies hissed at me, unamused. I annoyed them by refusing to die. For every second I lived, they added another blow to kill me.
It became too much.
Tisiphone’s whip snapped around my waist. With a flap of her wings and flick of her wrists, she heaved me off the ground and tossed me into the wall. Construction lights were knocked down when my limbs struck them. I heard the crack of my ribs, felt them shift wrongly in my torso. I tumbled onto my stomach, gasping as the last of my magic sapped away, taking the Rage with it.
The crash of pain nearly blinded me. Every part of my body hurt, from my scalp to my toes. I smelled my blood each time I breathed, tasted it in the back of my throat. Every twitch was agony.
The Furies shrieked again.
Gritting my teeth, I reached for Ki̱demónas. Though my magic was depleted, the spear still held some from when I had powered it. I could use it, heal my wounds, buy a little more time––
My hand broke. I collapsed onto the floor. My mouth tasted like blood and dust.
Heavy boots stomped onto the floor, kicking more dust into my eyes. A boot hammered into my ribs and rolled me onto my back. I cursed loudly, feeling two more ribs snap. I had more broken bones than whole. The fingers on my unbroken hand closed over a heavy shard of concrete. I clasped it and threw it, needing a little more time––
Megaera hissed and kicked my arm. Bones splintered, and both my arms became useless.
Alecto pressed her boot on my chest. She pressed down hard, crushing damaged ribs. Pain shredded through my chest, but I couldn’t move. Bile and blood filled my mouth. I twisted and tried to kick, but she was too strong. She spun the scimitar in her hand and sank it into my chest.
Pain and blood spilled from the wound. I looked down in horror, seeing the razor still embedded just above my heart, and the blue skinned hand that gripped it.
“Hold still,” hissed Alecto, “and hear your condemnation.”
Dread seeped through the pain and buried in my skull. Tisiphone sauntered toward us. Her leather whip trailed behind her, the barbs swishing along the concrete. Megaera loomed over my head, her axe hefted playful in her hand as she smiled like the Cheshire Cat.
It finally hit me for the first time. This was something I couldn’t escape from. A battle I would never win. Enemies who would always be stronger than me.
This was how I would die.
“Derek Areios,” Tisiphone said, “killer of monsters, slayer of gods, murderer of fathers. Your crimes have left behind destruction and pain. You are the Bringer of Shadow and Fire, an abomination set to doom this world to torture and blood. It has been Seen, a future decreed by the very god of Prophecy himself, Apollo, whom you slaughtered in a rampage.” Tisiphone’s yellow eyes seared me. “For this, you are sentenced to die.”
I could have argued. I should have, because whoever had set the Furies on me had fed them nothing but lies.
But the words wouldn’t form, and the Furies wouldn’t listen. Th
ey were executioners. This could only end one way.
“Hold him,” Tisiphone commanded.
Her sisters stepped off me. Alecto ripped the scimitar from my chest. I hissed at the pain, and bit back a cry when the red and blue Furies crushed my biceps in their arms. Their fingers pinched my skin through the armor, drawing more blood. They held my arms apart, lifting me like I weight twenty-five pounds instead of two hundred twenty-five.
“Derek Areios,” Tisiphone said, her cat-like eyes piercing mine. “May you find peace in the Underworld.” She pressed her fingers together, pointing her claws at my heart like they were daggers. “For Elysium will not welcome you.”
Her hand shot forward, jabbing through the armor and pushing through my skin––
Flames exploded throughout the basement. The Furies hissed and recoiled. Tisiphone reached for me, to press her claws deeper into my chest––
A wall of fire smashed into her back, igniting her purple wings. Tisiphone screeched and recoiled, dropping me in a heap.
The Furies spun and twisted away from the flames, but the fire reached and clawed for them.
It also crawled toward me. I gasped for breath, awkwardly crawling away. Sweat poured off me. The flames suddenly curved around my body. The heat became devastating, and I could barely breathe, but I was not burned. I lolled my head to look at its creator.
A figure emerged. She wore a gleaming silver breastplate emblazoned with an owl, and carried a sword and shield in her hands. Her eyes blazed blue with rage.
Athena looked at the Furies. She raised her hands. The flames pressed against the walls, so hot they shattered the concrete walls. The Furies became tangled in the fire and were lost in the goddess’s rage.
“Derek Areios is under my protection,” the war goddess declared. “Go back to your pits. You are not welcome here.”
Another press of magic surged against the walls. The Furies screamed louder.
Athena watched the fire, staying alert for the creatures. She was powerful, but not stupid. She knew what she was dealing with.
The goddess’s head suddenly snapped over to mine. Her eyes widened.
“Derek, no…”
I don’t know what else she said. I don’t know if I replied or moved. All I knew was that my eyes were closing, and I was grateful to finally fall into the black.