Prophecy of Darkness (10 page)

Telius waited until the last of the sun's waning rays crept away and then left his room,
A Histore of Nether
clenched in one trembling hand. The moon wouldn't be up for another hour, but an edge of it would be showing in only twenty minutes or so. He would go to the underground chamber and meditate for a short while, preparing himself for the ritual—and when he was sure that enough time had passed, he would light the candles and begin.

The cold, dark hallways echoed back each footstep, the sounds filling the silence of his deserted home. When he was halfway down the final hall, he paused a moment, thinking that he'd heard something outside—but as the last of his own echoes died away, he couldn't detect any sound.

“Imagination,” he murmured, and the darkness stole the word away, leaving only silence again. Telius shook his head and continued on, as nervous and excited as his tired mind could allow. Just to make sure that he wouldn't be interrupted, he paused at the final junction and armed the indoor traps. He rarely used them, but the extra insurance would give him peace of mind as he prepared.

He was ready, as ready as the world was to rid itself of evil. Nothing could stop him now.

Xena dropped flat in a single motion as a score of sharpened spears shot out of the darkness.

They whistled overhead, the lowest of them missing her by scant inches. She turned her head, and watched them clatter against the stone wall opposite and fall to the ground.

Moving slowly, carefully, she sat up and searched the packed dirt around her feet. Brushing the dried soil away, she found the trigger—a square stone set into the dirt that depressed slightly when she touched it. She could hear the mechanism in the wall, the grating of rock against rock, when she'd stepped on the hidden trigger, the cocked spears had been loosed.

She stood up from where she'd dropped to the ground and scanned the floor of the courtyard, looking for other traps. Precious moments ticked by, but she couldn't be hurried; to miss one could mean death, and she was needed alive to stop Alesandra's prophecy. There had been three keystones, which probably meant three devices . . .

There, another one, ahead and to her right! The dirt was cracked around the edges of the trigger, a circular stone this time.

Xena turned slowly, her sword raised again. If she found the third by accident, she could use the weapon as a defense, slashing at whatever came . . .

Her trained eyes focused on the cracked shape of the third, and she lowered her blade, grinning.

“Gabrielle, Alesandra! Come in, and walk straight toward me!”

The two of them were only pale shapes in the dark yard, and they moved quickly, eager to be reunited. When they reached her, Xena pointed out the stones, making certain that both of them saw the triggers clearly.

“Let's go,” said Xena, and they carefully moved toward what looked like the main opening, Alesandra clutching Gabrielle's hand. When they reached the dark entrance, Xena saw another set of keystones in the frame, identical to the ones at the front gate.

She nodded; of course, the traps would be useless if you couldn't arm them from inside as well . . .

She looked closer, peering down at the stones. It was too dark to see clearly, but—

Beneath the set rocks was another design of raised keystones, this one different than the others. There were five of them—but they could only mean one thing.

Somewhere inside the castle, there were five more traps, probably as deadly as the first, ready and waiting to stop them.

Telius sat cross-legged amid the unlit candles, his eyes closed. He had found his center, a meditative technique that Martus had taught him long ago, focusing his energies on an area a hand's span below his navel. From here, he breathed deeply, drawing the air in and holding it a few beats before letting it go.

With each breath exhaled, he let tension escape; with each drawn in, he felt the cool energy of the world's goodness fill him up. His mind was clear, his body still, his spirit at peace—the prerequisites for casting a spell of this magnitude.

Telius drew in another deep breath and then let it out slowly and opened his eyes.

It was time.

Xena held up one hand, stopping Alesandra and Gabrielle from stepping inside.

“Oh,
no
,” said Gabrielle miserably. “Not again.”

Xena craned her neck around the edge of the doorway, looking up and down the dark corridor. Which way? They couldn't afford to get lost, and there was no time for her to search all of the passages for triggers—

Beside her, Alesandra suddenly swooned, leaning hard against Gabrielle. The girl had gone pale, her eyes far away.

“It's beginning,” she whispered, and she turned her distant gaze up to Xena. “The candles are lit . . .”

Xena grabbed her cold hand. “Alesandra,
where is he
?”

Alesandra clenched her eyes tightly, and when she opened them, Xena could see the horrible fear there.

“That way,” she said, and pointed to the left.

Xena didn't hesitate. She drew her sword again, and stepped into the shadowy hall. “Stay close! Watch my feet, and follow them with your own, both of you! Gabrielle, you bring up the rear, help Alesandra if she needs it—now, carefully!”

The passage was too dark to see the triggers, and there wasn't enough time to move too slowly. Xena could only hope that if they hit one, it would be aimed for her—and that the injury wouldn't kill her.

Together, they moved into the darkness.

Telius stood in the circle surrounded by flickering candles and opened the book to the marked page. In a deep, clear voice, he began to read.

Halfway down the corridor, Xena felt a slight shift beneath her right foot.

“Hold still!” she shouted, and then felt the floor open up, the stones falling out from under her.

She bent her knees and then leapt, pushed hard against the crumbling rocks. She held the sword high, gripped both the handle and the flat of the blade at once, using it as a focal point.

—legs up tuck—

Xena somersaulted over the sword, and stumbled backward when she landed, her heels finding only empty air. She shifted forward to the balls of her feet, leaning into the movement—

—and stepped onto solid ground again. She turned, and saw that Alesandra and Gabrielle were safe, huddled together across the open pit.

Smart, very smart; whoever had designed this castle had known their stuff. Xena looked down into the trap, but the shadows were too dense to see where it ended.

“Gabrielle, can you make it?” Xena asked. The pit was about three paces across, a good-sized leap.

Gabrielle stepped to the edge and then nodded.

Xena sheathed her sword and then stepped to the rim on her side. “Alesandra, this is going to be scary, but you'll be okay. Gabrielle is going to throw you over to me—”

Alesandra stepped away. “I— Do we have to?”

Xena nodded. “It's okay. I won't let you fall, all right? Just hold very still.”

Xena looked at Gabrielle, who nodded back, then smiled at Alesandra. “I'm pretty strong, so don't worry,” Gabrielle said.

She picked Alesandra up easily and then started rocking back and forth, letting Alesandra's weight carry the movement. The child squeezed her eyes closed.

Gabrielle counted as she swung her. “One—two
—three
!”

She threw Alesandra into the air, over the yawning black pit, and Xena reached out—and caught her. The child clutched at Xena's neck, but she didn't cry or scream. Alesandra's bravery was truly amazing.

“I've got you, shh,” Xena whispered, and then set her down gently. “Let's help Gabrielle, okay?”

Alesandra let go, nodding. They stood to either side as Gabrielle backed away from the trap and, with a determined look on her face, charged forward, jumping just as she reached the edge.

She flew across the pit easily, landing on her feet several paces past the rim, and was so surprised at her success that she promptly fell to the floor, giving her tailbone a good whack.

Gabrielle stood up, grinning and flushed. “I guess I made it.”

Xena nodded. “That you did. Come on.”

They started forward again, Xena in the lead. She talked softly as they walked, keeping her senses trained for the trigger stones.

“There were five keystones, but it stands to reason that the traps are all over the castle, not just where we are—if we're lucky, that was the only one we'll find . . .”

They reached the end of the corridor, where they could go either left or right. Alesandra pointed to the right. Xena could see the flickering light of a torch somewhere ahead, past a corner farther along. Bain must have lit a few of them, to find his way to and from the gate.

“We have to hurry, Xena! He's already started speaking, I can feel it. We can't let him finish!”

Xena nodded and stepped forward—

—and felt a stone shift under her foot.

Telius read from the long list of words, looking up often to see what happened.

“. . . aldas, yerick, danetus, circt . . .”

Was the air getting colder?

“. . . phelon, tirered . . .”

A glance to the wall, and then back to the words, but he felt his heart speed up at what he saw. A veil of mist, thickening, covering the runes and clouding the inscriptions.

“. . . giatel, iestus . . .”

A look. The wall was completely hidden behind the gray mist. He read on, reaching the last of the magical words, his voice rising with excitement.

“. . . haestra, lumn, rioxedela, shualduh!”

Telius's eyes widened as the room was filled with a great noise, a sound unlike any he'd ever heard. A deep, moaning cry, both human and inhuman at once and almost deafening in its clamor.

The misty cloud formed and unformed, drifting away into nothingness—as the true gate to Hades was revealed to the world.

“Stop!
” Xena shouted, and crouched low.

Lightning-quick, a rusty metal spike shot out of the wall, piercing the air where her head had been only a second before.

Xena grabbed the razor-tipped spike and yanked herself up, pulling her feet up just as another metal bar sprang from the wall at knee level.

Xena jerked her head to the left, saw where the next would shoot out, and straightened her arms. Her head tapped the ceiling as she pitched forward and rolled herself over the top spike—

—as the third burst out, aimed at a standing man's stomach.

Xena dropped to the other side, in front of the trio of deadly weapons. She turned and saw that Gabrielle and Alesandra hadn't been hurt—although both were pale and shaking.

Gabrielle started to speak, but her voice was drowned out by a horrible, rending moan from somewhere close by, a bizarre cry that echoed and rang through the dark hallway. The very foundation of the castle trembled with the terrible sound, and Xena felt her heart begin to thump anxiously.

“Quickly,” said Xena, and they stooped over, wriggling between the rusty bars to join her.

Xena took off down the hall at a dead run, pulling the others behind her. That was the last trap—it had to be—and if it wasn't, too bad—a quick death might be better, if that cry belonged to their opponent.

From the sound of it, Bain had discovered what he was looking for.

Beyond the wall was a giant hallway, stretching back into shadows that flickered and danced with a deep, murky light. From off in the distance, Telius could hear the cries from his childhood imaginings, the restless, tortured screams of those cursed to remain in Hades—but he barely heard them; he was too entranced by the monstrous beast that snarled and pawed at the ground in front of him.

Cerebrus was huge, three times the size of a normal dog, its dark body thickly muscled and powerful. From its barrel chest sprang three stout necks, topped with three angry and evil faces, their metallic teeth snapping and growling. Six red-rimmed eyes glared at Telius, the long jaws of each head like a wolf's jaws, lean and efficient for their killing purpose. Foam dripped down from each chin, the snouts quivering, taking in Telius's scent.

The middle head of Cerebrus dropped back, howling to the skies, and the other two joined it, the combined noise worse than any nightmare, filling the chamber with the sound of death.

They stopped their cry, and the beast lunged forward, snarling—

—but was held back, as if by an invisible chain. Cerebrus lunged again, but could not come any closer than where the stone wall had been. It was a creature of Hades, and could not leave its post.

Telius gazed at it in wonder and fear, astounded by its very existence, forgetting for a moment everything that he had planned. This was Cerebrus, the guard of the gate!

The animal snapped and whined in fury, trying desperately to get at him. It could not, and that denial seemed to fire its rage to even greater heights, the beast insane in its desire to reach him, to rip him to shreds in its horrible jaws.

Gods, if only Father could
see
this—

The thought of Martus broke his trance, reminding him of his incredible purpose. With a final look at the slavering creature, Telius dropped his gaze to the ritual, having forgotten the three words that would slay the keeper of the gate.

“Sacritil! Zeniphous!
Amithese!
”

As he shouted the final word, he heard a cry from behind him.

“No!
Wait!
”

Telius spun, saw two women and a little girl, but
how did they get in
?

He turned back—it
doesn't matter now—
readying himself for the death of the monster—

—and felt his stomach plummet, his knees suddenly weak with terror.

As the terrible Cerebrus broke from its invisible chain and, snarling ferociously, entered the room in which they stood.

Muscle memory. Without a thought, Xena drew her sword and ran to meet the raging beast.

If Cerebrus knew fear, there was no sign—the dog leapt at her, each of its jaws straining and gnashing to tear at her throat.

Xena slashed, left-right, cleanly slicing through the dark and muscled necks of two of the howling heads. A blood as deep red as to be almost black immediately started to flow, staining the giant chest of the creature—

—and those heads fell back and bayed, a long and deeply angry sound of pain and fury. But even as Xena watched, and the dog leapt backward shrieking, knocking over guttering candles and stacks of old books—the wounds began to
heal,
the cuts mending right before her eyes, the tissue knitting over to close the deep gashes.

Xena raised her sword and the dog growled, its many red eyes filled with blood lust—but it didn't lunge at her again. Her flashing blade had given Cerebrus something to be wary of, and the creature glared at her but circled back slowly.

As she followed along with the movement of the beast, she felt an amazing and horrible sensation behind her—coming from deep within the corridor that glowed with hidden fires—a great wave of oppressive blackness, a feeling and not a vision, seemed to press out from the entrance to Hades. It was as if an invisible wall of every bad feeling under the sun had come together and was pushing to be free of the netherworld.

Even as Xena realized what this meant, Alesandra shouted out from somewhere behind her.

“Don't kill it, Xena! It keeps the souls in, but also the darkness!”

Xena didn't acknowledge the information; she was too busy watching the monstrosity in front of her as its wounds mended and it prepared itself to attack again, rumbling throatily. She could see its intention in the way it watched her, the way it circled, its muscles tensing in anticipation.

But the prophet's words were true—she could feel the wall of despair and hatred pressing against her, almost a physical sensation it was so strong. To kill it would be to release the tortured souls of Hades, yes—but also the evil. Every cruelty that was trapped in the darkness beyond that hallway would be let loose upon the world; the souls of those that had only become
more
murderous in captivity would be free to roam. The prophecy would come into being.z

Then how to stop it?
If she couldn't kill it, there had to be a way to leash it once again . . .

Xena's eyes widened—what had Alesandra said before, about Bain's intentions? To “undo” the beast? Xena had assumed that Bain had meant to kill it, but the wording was deceptive—and thank Gods that whatever he'd done, he had not succeeded in the creature's death! Then there would have been nothing keeping the horrors of Hades from getting out!

Bain
had
undone Cerebrus, probably thinking that Hades would fall without its guard—but it had been a terrible mistake. He had only broken whatever bond had kept the monster leashed to its post. And if the beast escaped . . .

Xena shouted over the dog's renewed howls of anger, still circling.

“Find the spell that will return it to where it was! You must find the spell—”

She was cut off by the monster's sudden movement, the giant dog tired of prolonging the fight. With a scream like the loathsome soul of Hades itself, Cerebrus leapt forward.

Telius had jumped back as Cerebrus broke its invisible chain, and the warrior woman rushed forward to battle it. His shock could not have been any greater if the ceiling had opened up and rained gold.

Why isn't it dead?
Who
were
these people, how had they—

A girl. A warrior. Wait.

The truth was there, spoken in his father's voice—the dream! The painting of Martus that day in the main corridor, it had been a warning—and he
hadn't listened
!

Telius turned wild and frightened eyes to the girl-child as she cried out to the warrior. “Don't kill it, Xena! It keeps the souls in, but also the darkness!”

He reeled from the words, suddenly knowing them to be the truth. He could
feel
it now, the sensation of spite and hatred that fairly projected out from the dim corridor that led to Hades's gate. What had he
done
? How could he have been so blind?

He cursed himself, cursed his impatience and his stupidity. In his desperate need to prove himself worthy of his father's name, he had risked—

Everyone. Everything.

He could barely fathom the reality of what he might have done, the implications of his actions. Even as he fought to deny the truth that welled up inside of him, he knew that there could be no escape from it.

He, Telius, son of Martus Bain, may have sentenced them all to a world of pain and suffering.

Gabrielle watched in horror as the wounds that Xena had inflicted miraculously began to close and heal. She heard Alesandra shout for Xena not to kill the creature, but watching those cuts mend themselves, she wondered if it was even
possible
to destroy the thing.

Xena didn't look away from the snarling dog as she cried out, her words almost lost in the clamor of the beast.

“Find the spell that will return it! You must find the spell—”

Cerebrus suddenly lunged forward, and Xena jumped to the side, and slammed the hilt of her sword into the side of one of the terrible heads.

The dog yelped and turned, snapping—

—and Xena hit it again, dancing forward and then back nimbly, the hilt clunking dully against the skull of one shrieking head, then another.

Cerebrus staggered back in frustration and pain, and Gabrielle finally allowed herself to hear what Xena had shouted.

—must find the spell—

Gabrielle reached out and grabbed the arm of the young man nearby, jerking him around to face her.

“The spell, the ritual! How do we undo it?”

He gazed at her blankly. “What? I don't
—”

His dark eyes seemed far away, his skin pale and sickly. He was in shock, useless.

Gabrielle watched as Cerebrus lunged at Xena again, howling—and what she saw next chilled her heart, made her cry out in fear and surprise.

Xena threw down her sword in the clutter of shredded books and dead candles—and faced the frenzied monster unarmed.