Chapter Nineteen

Farren

I t turns out that when I was pulled into the vision, my body landed somewhat awkwardly on Hades' throne. I have no idea how long I've been out, but I do know that it's been long enough that I'm stiff. My head fills woozy as fuck, and I take a few moments to get my bearings before I move.

"Ow," I hiss as the pain in my hand finally registers, and I realise that when I fell I must have sliced it on something on the throne.

It doesn't look too deep, but it must have been deeper if it's still healing now. It buzzes in a strange way that I'm not used to, but it's probably because I've used so much magic recently.

I ignore it and glance around, trying to see where my creatures are. I smile when I see them all standing guard around me, keeping me safe while I'm in a vision.

"Thank you," I tell them all and receive nudges from all of them. "Alright, let's go and get the key fragment. We have another mission; before we can get out of here, we need to check all of the princes' bodies and destroy the bracelets that are draining Hades' power."

"Are you okay?" a muffled voice sounds from my pocket, and I shift as I stand up and pull out Xerxes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was one hell of a vision, and I'll explain more later. Do you want to be put back in my pocket?"

"It would probably be for the best since you may need two hands for your weapons, we have no idea what's behind the wall."

"Good point," I reply, putting him back in my pocket and then turning to the others, "Okay, guys, let's do this."

They all nod, and I love how much they understand me.

Thankfully, the magic is still working and still going through the wall behind the throne dias. I'm assuming that because it's leading me through the wall and not through one of the doors that are around the room that it means that the vault is somehow hidden behind it. I doubt that it's as mundane as finding a special brick or button to press that will open the vault. Which means there's a spell or many spells that are guarding it.

I just want to get out of here now. I want to break the gemstones and give Hades back complete control of his power. I keep referring to him as Hades in my mind, probably because of what I've witnessed in the vision and because this room is completely his, but I wonder what I'll call him when I see him. He's always been Grey to me, but seeing him as Hades means that I'm calling him Hades in my mind. It's going to be confusing.

Sending a spear of my magic out to follow the magic that's guiding me to the vault, I instantly realise just how many spells are guarding the door, it's going to take me hours to try and take it apart.

"Just walk through," a muffled voice in my pocket says.

"Seriously, X?" I ask.

"Yeah, trust me. Just walk through."

I pause for a moment, but he hasn't really steered me wrong, not yet anyway, "Alright, fine, but if I end up dead because of this, I'm going to haunt your arse."

"Deal," he replies, still muffled.

Looking down at Poca, he does this weird shrug as if to say, it's Xerxes. You may as well try it and see what happens. So that's what I do. Putting my hand out in front of me so I don't just walk smack into a wall if this fails and I can't get through. Then I step through the wall, following the magic. My skin buzzes with a tingle of magic as I step through, but it only lasts a second before it calms back down, and I find myself standing in the vault. Vault doesn't seem to be the right word to describe it; when I think of a vault, I think of a relatively small space, but this is far from that. This place is huge and more like a chamber than a vault.

It makes sense for it to be enormous. Hades has been alive for a really long time, and I'm sure he's collected lots of treasures over that time. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about finding the key fragment in here, which would take months, and I'm not even exaggerating, because the magic that led me here is also leading further into the room which I'm hoping means that it's leading to the key fragment.

I cautiously move further into the room and follow the magic around the bend, sure enough the magic ends at a simple wooden box, and when I lift the lid, I find the key fragment nestled inside and lying on a bed of velvet. I don't want to risk taking it out of the box, putting it in my pocket, and then inevitably losing it when I no doubt have to fight for my life at some point on my way out of here, so instead, I create yet another pocket of the Void and store the whole thing in there. I have to admit that I'm kind of surprised that the box itself didn't have any spells on it, but then again, it didn't really need them since it's in Hades' vault, and no one is supposed to be able to get in here.

Once I'm sure that everything is secure, I nod to my creatures and turn back around to retrace our steps to find the princes to break the bracelets and return Hades' full power. On my way out though, two humongous black swords catch my eye. I recognise them from the final fight before Hades was subdued, and I have no idea how they ended up back in here; I mean, the princes sure as hell didn't put them in here. I don't think they even realised where this place was, and it's been sealed since the imprisoned Hades, anyway. I start to move past them, but something makes me pause; I bet Hades would love to have his weapons back, and who knows when he'll be able to come back here.

Decision made, I try to pick them up, realising that they're so fucking big that they reach just under my chin; I decide that the easiest way to transport them would be to use my air to wrap around them and drag them into a pocket of the Void. It's a good job that I just have to think about what I want from the Void, and it opens the right pocket, or I'd never find anything ever again.

Once they're securely in the Void, I make sure that I've got all of my creatures with me, and I head back toward where the entrance is. I have a moment of panic that just because I've been able to get in here doesn't mean that I'll be able to get out, but Poca and Oryn are a couple of steps ahead of me, and they simply walk straight through the wall, so holding my hands out in front of me again just in case, I follow them.

As soon as I'm on the other side I breathe a sigh of relief before I realise that there's an unfamiliar weight on my back. What's more concerning though is that Poca is looking at me in what can only be described as shock, and I don't think that's a good thing. I start to imagine all sorts of terrifying things suddenly appearing on my back. I decide to woman the fuck up; I mean, I have just been through things that would terrify normal people, and I found it exhilarating, but something strange on my back that makes my hellhound stare at me in shock; yeah, that's the thing that I can't deal with.

He's not growling though so I'm going to take that as a good sign, and I metaphorically grab my big girl pants and look over my shoulder, of all the things that had run through my mind, the heads of two wickedly sharp axes are not what I was expecting.

Putting the two swords that I'm carrying into the Void so that they're out of the way, I reach behind me at my waist and grab hold of the handle. I have no idea how they're secured in the harness on my back, but as soon as I touch the handle and pull, the harness seems to let go of them, and it's easy to bring one of the weapons forward so that I can inspect it.

It's beautiful; the head of the axe is pure black and made out of a material that I've never seen before, etched into it are hundreds of shimmering gold runes, and there are only a few that I vaguely recognise. I run my finger over them, and they disappear, leaving behind just the pure black of the blade. The handle is also black but made out of wood, and it fits perfectly in my hand, almost as if it were made for me. Reaching behind me I pull the other one free and realise that it's much like the first, including the buzzing of magic that teases the palm of my hand. It's not an unpleasant feeling, but the magic that is embedded in these weapons is obviously curious.

As I study the second axe closer I realise that there is one noticeable difference, the runes that are dancing all over the axe head are copper in colour, not gold, but there are just as many as there are on the other axe and I again only recognise a couple of them. Unlike the other axe though, as soon as I've acknowledged them they disappear, I don't have to touch them.

Glancing at Poca with the axes still in my hand, I ask, "You know what these are, don't you?" he nods, so I add, "Let me guess, you can't tell me?" he shakes his head, "And, I'm assuming that you have no idea how they appeared with their magical harness on my back?" again he shakes his head, "Well great, I guess that's something else that we can figure out later, right now we need to figure out how we're going to get past the beast out there and find the princes to break the stones and get Hades his power back."

All of my creatures nod, but a muffled voice from my pocket has me pausing in my forward trajectory.

"What's just appeared?" Xerxes asks.

I put one of the axes behind me, and I'm surprised when the harness just seems to grip it again and keep it in place.

"Neat," I mutter.

I then pull him out of my pocket as he adds, "I'm starting to see the disadvantages of being in a pocket for the whole time we're here."

"Do you want to stay out now?" I ask, "You could fly with Oryn and Meri? We shouldn't come across anything else now," I pause and then add, "Oh, apart from the beast in the hallway, after we get past that though, we should be clear."

Xerxes lets out a quiet chuckle, "I think I'll stay put for a while; knowing my luck, I'd get eaten or something by accident."

"How do you eat someone accidentally?" I ask, aware that we've now become thoroughly distracted.

"Trust me, it happens," Xerxes replies and then asks, "So, what happened, oh the axe? I take it you didn't pick it up while you were in the vault?"

I shake my head, "Nope, I don't suppose you know what they are and why they appeared?"

"Unfortunately not. They seem to be even older than I am."

"Well fuck," I reply, "let's get out of here then. Back in my pocket, you go."

Once I've put him back away, I grab my axe from my back; I may as well see what they can do and turn to face the door again. The beast is still there, only distinguishable by the darker shadows. It's not growling at me, and I approach it cautiously. If it weren't for the fact that I have got to break the gems on the princes' bracelets for Hades, then I wouldn't even bother to go out this way, and instead, I'd try and find another exit.

That thought gives me an idea though so I call on my magic and step into the Void wanting it to cross me over to the door where I spoke to the staff member. When I step in though, it's like all exits are blocked apart from the one that I came through. It's really weird, and I have no idea if it's got something to do with being out of the Void for so long or if because I was out of the Void for so long, It's broken something within it. I also can't see as much as I was beginning to, and I miss it.

Oryn didn't follow me in, so I can't ask him what it means, and Laiken doesn't seem to be anywhere to be seen, so I decide that this is yet another thing that can be put in the deal with it later pile, and step back out into the throne room, and the expectant faces of my creatures.

I shake my head, "It's no good all the doors are blocked; for some reason, I can't use the Void to travel."

When I look back at the door, figuring I'll try to reason with the creature before I just race past it and hope that I can run faster than it can, I see that the doorway is empty, which isn't necessarily a good thing. I cautiously approach the door and look both ways as I step out. The creature is sitting to the right of the door, and I freeze, expecting it to do something, but it simply stays still. When I don't move, I swear I hear it sigh, and I watch in fascination as the giant mass of shadows becomes a lot lower. If I didn't know any better I would assume that it had just laid down.

Poca nudges my back, and I take that as a sign to move forward. I'm hoping that he knows something that I don't and that he's telling me it's safe. I move slowly, not wanting to startle the creature and provoke it into attacking. Every few steps that I move forward, I look back over my shoulder to make sure that it has stayed where it's supposed to be. As I get to the corner that when I move around it will put the beast out of my sight, I glance back one final time and realise that it's gone, left in its place is just the usual dark and dusty hallway.

That can't be good.

My creatures are alert but don't seem to be worried, and although I know that I should take that as a good sign, I've seen the destruction that this beast has left behind, and I really don't want to risk his disappearance being a distraction technique and for us to all end up dead. I grip the handles on my axes tighter, momentarily in awe at how right they feel in my hands, before I start to run.

All of my creatures keep pace with me as they return to the formation that they were in before, where Poca is behind, and Meri and Oryn are flying at different heights ahead of me. As I run, I keep an eye on the rooms with open doors on either side of me, checking to see whether the beast is running alongside me and not seeing anything at all. Despite the fact that I no longer have the magic guide lighting up the way, I can somehow see just enough to make it through the hallways without tripping over any of the dead bodies, or anything else for that matter.

The door with all of the bodies stacked behind it suddenly comes into view, but I don't dare to breathe a sigh of relief quite yet. In my experience, if you relax too early and before you're actually safe, then that tends to be the exact moment that you end up getting attacked, and in this instance, there are a lot of bodies stacked behind this door. What's to say that the creature doesn't allow them to explore this side of the castle, and then just before they're back to safety and when they've let their guards down and aren't being so vigilant anymore, it attacks them and tears them limb from limb.

To be honest, if I'd been here for centuries all by myself and had to deal with intruders all the time, then I'd probably get bored and find new ways to entertain myself, too, and if that meant trying to find ways to get my food to entertain me, then I'd probably do it as well. I become even more alert the closer that I get to the door, but the mass of shadows never appears again. When my hand is on the door, I feel a wave of compassion and sadness wash over me at the thought of the beast being here by itself for all of this time; I mean, it has been protecting Hades' private quarters and doing a damn good job at it.

These thoughts prompt me to say into the darkness, "I'll make sure that he comes back soon so that you can rest. Thank you for granting me safe passage."

I don't get any sort of reply, and I don't see any kind of movement to let me know that it's heard me, but I feel better now that I've said it, and I wasn't lying. I will make sure that Hades comes back soon and relieves him of his duty, you know after he's told me what the beast is because I'm incredibly curious. Say what you want about the deadly creature, but it's extremely loyal even when it doesn't know if its master is still alive.