Chapter Twenty-Three
Thalia
Athick black liquid stained the rocks that lined the exit from the passage onto the fields. There was still a half-mile across the grassy plain until they reached the docks. There was no possible way they would make it. Not without bloodshed of their own or some miracle from the Grechi above.
In the distance, sails still clung wrapped around a fleet of ships’ masts, an eerie quiet filling the air. There was no motion coming from the docks, no horses tied by the port from when each crew arrived.
“Something is out there,” Mykonos hissed, her lips peeling back to reveal glistening sharp teeth, the two fangs curling over her bottom lip. “There are no other humans at the dock. I cannot scent them—only death.”
Thalia clutched her sister’s hand in an attempt to still her own. If the crews had not arrived—or worse, if they had and that rancid stench of burnt flesh was theirs—there truly would be no hope for the sick, young, and elderly she’d shepherded this far.
“There is less than a mile to go, but we must be on guard!” Thalia shouted to those behind her. “Hug the base of the mountain until we reach the shoreline. We don’t know what we might encounter on the trail.”
It was a lie. She knew exactly what they could encounter. Images of her vision flashed in her mind. Black wings, oily onyx venom dropping from the sky, Hades’ hellfyre scorching the earth beneath them.
“Stay close to the soldiers!” Dafne echoed, exchanging a pained expression with Thalia. “We are close to the shores! We can make it!”
Worried murmurs swirled from those around them, and Thalia’s spine itched with worry. She unsheathed her sword, signaling to Dafne and the other soldiers to do the same.
“If we are attacked, I need you all to carry who you can to the docks. Has anyone here captained a ship before?” Thalia asked, searching unhopefully through the small crowd they traveled with.
“I used to sail the Anastasia twenty years ago,” one elderly man called.
Thalia shuffled over to him, gripping his hands in her own.
In a low voice she whispered, “My psychí has informed me there are no crews on the docks ahead. Whether they were blockaded, stayed behind to fortify the attack on the castle, or are dead I do not know. If…when we are attacked, you must run as best you can.”
A young soldier slipped up next to Thalia, answering her beckoning hand wave.
She put a hand on the soldier's shoulder and turned back to the old man.
“Go with Renault, he will lead you and as many of the others to the ships. Prepare the smallest one that will fit us all. I will be close behind and can help navigate us from the docks through the shoals.”
The man smiled a wide semi-toothless grin, and though there was a shake to his hands, his gaze remained fearless. “It would be my honor Lady Thalia. I may be well past my prime, but the sea has never left me.”
Piercing screams came from high up in the mountain, a cry akin to a feral chimera mixed with the high pitched squawk of a Nexian hawk as it spiraled to its death. Storm clouds and black mist began to roll down from the peak of the mountain, descending at an unfathomable speed.
“What is that!” several of the young children cried out, pointing their fingers to the sky.
Three onyx-winged creatures rose from the trees, sweeping down the side of the mountain toward them.
Even from a distance, Thalia could see the scaled limbs that dangled along with the snake-like tail whipping side to side.
Fur lined the head with horns protruding from behind the creatures’ ears.
Atop each of the beings, a warrior rode, rope wrapped firmly around the horns to use as reins.
Beneath, the forest rattled with the sound of stomping boots against the hardpacked winter floor.
Again, the screeching wails of the daimons above sounded before one let loose a small barrel. It tumbled to the ground and exploded.
Cobalt hellfyre crept through the field like snakes writhing in the grass. It had begun. There was no longer a chance for grace from the gods. There was only death.
Death for them all.
From the skies, the beasts twisted down, plucking men and women alike from the ground and flinging them to the side like dolls the children clutched closely to their chests. Around them was chaos of screams and people fleeing toward the sea.
“Run!” Dafne yelled over the howling of daimons and beating of wings. Her psychí extended her claws, releasing a threatening growl, and Mykonos matched the sound with her own warning. They each sprinted ahead to the line of the forest.
“There are at least one hundred soldiers approaching in the trees,” Mykonos called down the bond before the two creatures spun around and began racing back toward where Thalia and Dafne stood bracing their legs against the earth shaking beneath their boots.
“The three in the sky we could have managed, but there are not enough of us to defeat that kind of army.”
“We will have to be enough, little one, there is no one else coming for us. And if we die protecting those that cannot defend themselves, it was a sacrifice worth making.” Thalia ground her feet into the dirt before launching in the direction of one of the winged creatures aimed directly for them.
“A sacrifice worth making, indeed.” Mykonos let out an earth rattling growl and she and Nyx aimed their trajectory toward the same winged creature.
As Thalia barreled over the field, her sister slid into stride with her.
There was no longer fear in Dafne’s features, not since the children began crying.
Instead, determination and anger replaced the frightened, wide-eyed gaze.
“I will not die today!” she called as she ran.
Not a reassurance, but a rattling war cry.
"We will not die today!" Thalia yelled back.
The first daimon was almost in reach, only a few paces from the mountain lion and panther that strode in front of the two sisters.
Mykonos broke for the soldiers of the dead that floated out of the forest and to the fields.
Nyx moved closer to her human, launching herself onto the wings of Hades’ beast and slashing her claws through the veiny wings.
Sputters of inky black seeped from where flesh and cartilage broke.
In turn, Thalia and Dafne lunged on either side of the being.
Their xiphe glowed ruby and violet in turn, energy pulsing through the sharp blades as they broke through leathered flesh.
Bloodied venom poured through the wounds, pooling by their feet.
The beast wailed, flailing on the ground before it fell limp.
“Watch behind you!” Thalia, screamed as the cloaked being riding the daimon reached for its bow and aimed directly at Dafne.
Her sister whirled around as the rider pulled the bow back, ready to release three flaming arrows.
Nyx lunged at it, knocking the soldier of the dead to the bloodied grass below, latching her jaw around its throat.
Thalia launched herself over the dead daimon, stabbing her sword into its side.
Beneath the cloak, the blue aura of the soldier faded to nothing and the cloak fell empty to the ground.
“Nyx!” Dafne and Mykonos loosened a wail at the same time. Mykonos paused for a moment before a soldier of the dead began to hack at the air around her.
When Thalia caught her bearings, she saw a small stone dagger protruding from the psychí’s stomach.
Venom dripped from the hilt and the blade and Nyx faltered in her steps.
With wide eyes, Thalia let out a soundless cry as another of the winged creatures soared directly at them, clearly sensing the power of the blades they wielded.
An arm flung out, knocking Thalia to the ground as the beast barreled to the ground, its claws extending.
Sharp talons drove their way into Nyx and Dafne, spearing them both through the gut before shaking them off and flinging them against a pile of broken bodies.
A piercing crack boomed through the air and Thalia did not know if it was her sister’s bones shattering, or those she’d landed upon.
In the distance, a low horn sounded and the creature launched itself into the skies once more, flying toward the beckoning call.
Without another thought, Thalia raced toward Dafne, launching herself over pools of blood from fallen soldiers and weapons discarded by the dead.
Inky blood streaked across her sister’s face, foam dripping from the corner of her lips. Cough after cough, Dafne spewed a mix of crimson and onyx from her mouth, clutching the gaping hole in her body.
“It…it should have been me…” Thalia said between panting breaths. What had her sister been thinking? To risk her life like that.
“No, Thalia, it shouldn’t have. It was never supposed to be you.” Dafne’s voice was hoarse, the words barely audible. “I saw the same thing you did, but Fate is not etched in stone. Your Fate can be changed.”
Hands shaking, Thalia reached for her sister’s hand. “I will get you to the healer’s tent. I can carry you both. Everything is going to be alright.”
“It will not help—my death is woven in the Tapestry of Fate. It cannot be unraveled. You saved me once before, Thalia. It was my own arrogance that had me in that situation in the first place. I did not come for you like you came for me. Finally, I can return the kindness.”
“Daf, please. I cannot do this without you.”
“No—you have to understand. You have to live…you have to…for both of us. I can feel her.” Her sister’s hand wrapped around Nyx’s paw, her face burrowing into her neck. Sanguine streaks cascaded down Dafne’s arms, but she refused to let go.
A scream ripped from Thalia’s mouth as Dafne’s eyes went blank, their ruby tone finally shifting back to the deep brown of their childhood, before they swept over with a muted hue. But it was not the final breath of her twin that rocked Thalia’s soul, it was the cry from Mykonos across the field.
Utter pain rippled through her body, and when Thalia glanced down, an arrow protruded through her gut, tipped in a black oil substance.
Fire seared through her veins and it was not the pain of those on the field crossing into Aidesian—it was so much worse.
Bone shattering. Head pulsing. World defying pain.
“You will not!” her psychí screamed down their bond.
“I…I…” she could not make out the words, not even in her mind.
Hot, thick blood coated the palm Thalia clutched to her stomach as she began to cough. Red spattered down her chin and on the ground below, but all Thalia could focus on was the white-haired mountain lion sprinting toward her.
“I am sorry, little one. I am so very sorry.”
Thalia’s eyes fluttered shut as she fell.