Sacrifice (31 page)

Hades wasn’t having any of it. Victor’s arm grew three times its size in length, and Hades seized me by the neck. His hold seared my neck and caused me to scream out. He held me high in the air as the pain coursed through my body. Suddenly, he let me go and I dropped to the ground. I landed on my back. The palms of my hands blistered, immediately, and the hem of my gown caught on fire. I beat the fabric with my fists and snuffed out the flames.

I scrambled to my feet when I saw Victor’s body stretch out, uncontrollably, as if it were made of rubber. It was as if several people were trapped within him and having a brutal fistfight.

“Victor? W–what’s happening to you?” I bawled.

Now, Victor looked as if he was possessed by one to many souls. He was finally fighting back. He battled Hades for full possession of his body and power. I just wished that I could keep score or tell who was winning. At one point Victor’s body became engulfed in blue flames, again, and then the flames subsided as fast as they had emerged. Then Victor’s face shifted into Hades’ for a few seconds too long. I lost it completely then. I tried to ignite my bolt but couldn’t produce the necessary heat.

Damn!

I felt completely helpless, standing there as the blue flames continued to lick at my gown. I threw my head back and tried like hell to conjure up some heat, but I couldn’t raise my temperature. I tried to pull energy from the flames but failed at that too. How had Victor been able to?

Oh yes, the attack of the Lykanos.

I tore my eyes away from Victor’s body as it was being pull in all directions to where Evan stood –
should
have been standing.

I gasped. My head snapped in every direction as I searched for him. It was then that I noticed Evangelia appear beside me completely engulfed in reddish-orange flames.

“Empress, take my hand. I won’t burn you,” Evangelia said and held out her blazing hand.

I grabbed her hand and she yanked me past the huge opening, which lead us away from Hades’ realm, so fast that I never felt the heat. I stood beside my disciples who had all regained their powers, but couldn’t cross back. They waited for my plan of execution.

I immediately felt my body surge with a stifling heat as I regained control of my power. I held my arms out at my sides and ignited my bolt. I knew what needed to be done. I looked forward and watched the fight that continued within Victor’s body.

“Let me guess, Evan’s in there too, isn’t he?” I asked.

“He is. Evangelia channeled the flames that make up Tartarus, freed herself from Hades’ spell, and dissolved my brother’s icy exterior,” Bethany said, smiling at Evangelia. My heart soared.

“She’s a pretty smart kid,” Nikolas chuckled.

“Evan jumped into my brother’s body, sacrificing himself… in hopes to rescue him,” Evangelia said, and tears filled her eyes. 

“Now they both are having a rough bout at trying to save their souls.” Bethany said.

I choked up when I considered what Evan had thought to do. He risked his own life to save Victor, his former nemesis, in order to save me so that I wouldn’t have to surrender to Hades. The sacrifice wouldn’t be overlooked. At that very moment Victor’s body was flooded and as transparent as water. I guessed that Evan had the upper hand. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a moment as the blue flames encased Victor’s head and torso again.

“We all have our powers,” Bertrand said. His body glowed bright red from within and he spewed arcs of fire from his mouth and eyes. I was in awe of his range.

“Good, because I think I just figured out how we’re going to get out of this hell hole,” I said.

“How?” Julius asked.

“Julius, you, Bethany, and Nikolas will guard that entrance. It’s our way out.” I said, pointing to the archway on the right. “You two,” I said pointing to Evangelia and Bertrand. “Will channel as much fire from Tartarus as you can, and form a ring of flames around me. Get it as high as you can make it. We’ll drag Victor’s body, along with Evan’s, back here while still keeping them within the ring.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Bertrand said.

“Let’s do it!” Evangelia exclaimed.

I prayed to the gods that my plan would work.

Thirty-Five – Cordelia

Monsters

Betrand and Evangelia tore through the blue flames at an accelerated speed, blending with it for a second – creating a beautiful shade of violet. Once on the other side they channeled the red flames from the holes, which made them stronger for some strange and unexplainable reason. Then they chased each other in a circular pattern, becoming one red fiery blur. Their flames twisted and mingled, forming a towering ring-like gate of fire.

“Do it! Do It!” I chanted.

I rose above them and hovered over their wall. My heat was at the hottest temperature that I could raise it, without combusting into flames, and I ignited my lightning bolt. The blinding, white rays cracked and grew in long branch-like stems. I shot many currents and formed a magnetic cell around Victor. I had to get him – them to the other side of the circle of flames. There, Victor and Evan would have their strengths restored and have a fighting chance.

I began pulling his body, but there was resistance since Hades seemed to have no plans on vacating Victor’s body and kept Evan trapped within it. A combination of Hades’ shear, black vapors, and flames wrapped around Victor’s torso like a cobra and squeezed. I knew that I was losing them. Although I increased the heat within me and pushed all of my power through the lightning bolts, I feared that the lack of my anointment played a very important factor here.

It took every ounce of my strength, but I drew Victor’s body several yards and was near the edge of the gaping hole. We were almost there, I thought. Suddenly, Hades sprung out of Victor’s body. He struggled against my barbed wire cage of lightning. Initially, the lightning burned him, but he fought against the currents and broke through the enclosure. Both Victor and Evan fell onto the burning coal, appearing lifeless as the skeletons grabbed them, frantically. They were both in their human forms and seemed unresponsive, as they lay parallel to each other. My heart sank, but I could not lose focus.

Hades glared up at me. My body trembled, uncontrollably.

If the eyes are truly the path to a god’s soul, then Hades’ didn’t possess one, he possessed them all. Looking into the deep, pitch-black pools of his eyes was like watching millions of souls smothered by the Apolluon. He stood facing the fiery wall. Bertrand and Evangelia continued to chase each other. Even though the human eye could not see them, Hades did. A deafening ripple of laughter rose above me. The menacing sound shook the walls of the Underworld, sending more rock and rubble tumbling down onto the coals, and dangerously close to where Victor and Evan lay. Hades seized both Bert and Evangelia and flung them into the direction of the pit.

“No!” I yelled as they flipped in the air with no control.

Julius’ deafening screeched shocked me as he flapped his wings furiously, and flew over the pit of fire. Bertrand landed hard on Julius’ scaly back, but Evangelia bumped into one of his wings, and slip off his side.

“Oh Gods!’ Bethany screamed as Evangelia descended quickly, whipping about in the air as she tried to gain control. Julius glided side-ways in an arc.

“I see you have friends in high places,’ Hades roared and raised his arms as the flames rose several feet higher. Evangelia writhed about and screamed something inaudible just inches from Hades’ ferocious flames when Bertrand grabbed her by her wrist. Julius completed the arc around the hole and landed on the coals. Evangelia and Bertrand leapt off Julius and patted his back with gratitude before joining Bethany and Nikolas.

Sequentially, Evan and Victor rose to their feet and ran as fast as they could to the edge of the circle of flames. Bethany stayed as a body of water and stretched her body over the flames while still maintaining her footing on the safe side of the pit. She grabbed hold of Evan, lending him her aquatic power. He shifted into water, and regained his powers. Evangelia followed Bethany’s example, and stretched her fire-engulfed body over the towering blaze. She wrapped herself around her brother like a warm blanket and Victor was empowered. They both remained on Hades’ side of the lair while Evangelia and Bethany stretched back over to the opposite border. 

Hades levitated and his vapors clawed the air as he whipped around. He was coming toward me. I sprang into action and conjured up more heat to ignite my bolt again. I descended onto the coals as he began to grow in size. He stood as tall as the columns and opened his mouth, stretching it so that it was large enough to swallow me. I jerked my body back when hundreds of unidentifiable, locust-like, flying beasts, with tails as long as lizards, swarmed out of his mouth. They fluttered erratically and aimed for my face. I raised my arm above my head and spun my wrist as if there was a magic wand attached to it. My lightning bolt swirled around me like a whirlpool, barring the hideous little creatures from reaching me. They exploded in bunches; emitting a mossy green mist, which rained everywhere when they were exposed to the crackling, sparks of lightning.

This only worked for a brief moment, to my frustration, because once the little monsters started growing, I had to change my strategy. I sprayed currents in every direction, torching each one as they approached me. Suddenly, a shadow crept across the walls. I had seen this creature before. It was massive, with reptilian skin, a thick tail that thrashed violently, and webbed wings that spread out over a dozen feet wide on either side. The dragon was no less than twenty feet tall and it shot up breaking through the blue-flamed ceiling. It sucked all the flames from the ceiling through its nostrils and belched them out as it descended in an accelerated speed, aiming straight for Hades. Victor slammed Hades through the coal and descended into the flames after him.

“No!” I screamed as Evangelia bolted over the flaming pit and landed next to Evan at the edge of the pit.

In the form of water, he was a sharp contrast to her blazing figure. He took Evangelia’s hand, looked into her eyes, and seemed to make her a promise. He stepped away from her, and sent me a message, telepathically. I looked at him and nodded. Evan transformed into a large body of water matching the size of a small lake. The lake poured into the pit, dousing the blue flames. The boiling body of water rose to the surface from the heat of Tartarus’ flames. We waited, and waited, and waited.

Victor, with reddish-orange fire erupting from his reptilian jaws, emerged through Evan’s lake within the pit. He skyrocketed, webbed wings flapping forcefully, until he reached the canopy of blue flames. Evan rose out of the pit and transformed into his aquatic-human. Victor hovered above us for a moment, screeching and spitting fire. Julius screeched back at Victor as if they spoke some secret dragon language, before descending onto the coal. He transformed back into his human form when he landed.

Victor looked at me and smiled. My heart melted at the risk he had taken to defend me. Both he and Evan had shown just how powerful and how dedicated they were to both the empire and me. I smiled back at him and sent him a message, telepathically. My words caused him to lose his breath for a second or two. Then he regained his composure.

“We only have a few seconds to get the hell out of here or we’ll see Hades again, as well as a few more of his creatures,” Victor said.

“Let’s go!” Evan exclaimed. We all moved at the speed of a blink to make it to the entrance of the Underworld.

I let my disciples lead me out of the realm. I wanted to protect them from whatever it was that was causing quite a commotion behind me. The walls were starting to crumble and the ground shook and quaked around us.

We zigzagged through the labyrinth of flaming archways as the fiery columns crashed all around us. Something was coming for us. It shrieked and thundered from behind us. The odor of it – the potent combination of dead fish and rotten corpses, overwhelmed the intoxicating scent of cinders.

Victor led the way and I fell in step beside him. Finally, we were out of the realm. We all stood on the coal-laden shore of the River Styx, staring down at its deathly mist. I had not thought about crossing the river, which had robbed us of our powers. Now the thought dawned on me. How could we cross it?

“Charon never escorts a soul
from
the Underworld,” Bethany said, nervously.

“No chance of hailing a canoe,” Nikolas chuckled. It amazed us all how Nikolas could always brighten a dreadful situation. We all giggled along with him.

“There’s only one way out of here.” I looked at each of my disciples.

I knew how we could get to the other side of the river Styx without losing our powers, and so did Victor.

“On my back,” Victor said and shifted into a weredragon.

“And mine.” Julius said and within a second, he started thrashing his tail in the coals.

We split up. Bertrand, Evan, and Evangelia climbed onto Victor’s back and Bethany and I climbed onto Julius’ back. Nikolas grew several feet taller and shifted into a centaur. To my surprise, as well as everyone else’s, large, brown, feather wings emerged from either side of the part of him that was a stallion. Nikolas flew up, looking in my direction.

“I always save the best for special occasions,” Nikolas winked and raised his gilded sword and shield.

We were about to follow Niko’s lead, but something in the misty water caught our attention. Suddenly the river began spinning into a whirlpool. At first, I wasn’t sure of what I observed. It wasn’t until the first head sprung out of the water, followed by another, and another, that I realized how bad things just got. All nine heads spewed blue flames at us. The enormous, red serpent’s body rose out of the misty waters of the river while each head slithered in a different direction.

The Hydra was huge – no less than thirty feet, and that was just the portion that was visible. The monstrous creature screeched and spit more flames at us as Bethany and Evan made every attempt to douse them.