Chapter 19 Eleos #2
Ignoring the appalled onlookers, we burst through the doors and flew down the stairs. Not one coherent thought streamed through our thoughts—Aethra had fallen into a panic, if she even recalled where she was.
Letting Seth guide me, I tried to find a clue in her jumbled thoughts, but only a whirlwind of terror streamed into mine.
What could have caused her to react like this?
Fear caught in my throat.
What, but the man who’d tormented her dreams last night?
Biting his knuckles, Seth let blood stream between his fingers and grabbed the blade forming from their drops. He called to Aethra across her mental link, but she didn’t answer.
She didn’t hear us.
Something was happening up ahead—screams carried from the square, and people streamed in every direction, fleeing from something. Seth didn’t pause to see what was happening—he simply charged into the chaos.
Godsdamned reckless idiot.
A heavyset man crashed into me as I rounded the bend, and I flinched as pain reverberated through my arm. Percy ran into my back. “What’s going on?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” I said through gritted teeth, weaving through the sea of bodies to reach the square.
I found Aethra in an instant—forced to her knees, hands bound behind her back. Lord Icelus gripped the back of her neck—the man in gleaming gold armor who’d interrogated us in the Duat.
Who’d tortured her.
Hearing us coming, his gaze snapped in Seth’s direction. “You!” He gasped, recognizing us. “Seize them!” He ordered.
The Hades Knights turned toward us, glaives pointed forward.
Looking at Aethra, I called out across our link, hoping to snap her out of her fear. “Aethra!”
Hearing my voice, her eyes shifted in my direction, but she did not break from her frozen stance.
One Hades Knight sprinted toward Seth, while the other charged me.
Eyeing the glaive aimed for my chest, I backed up. Music sang through the air, lonely and somber—a spell Percy had woven. But it had no effect. The knight carried on, unfettered.
The immortals here did not fear death the way we did.
Throwing myself to the side, I tried to avoid him at the last moment, but he spun on his heel with practiced precision and raised his weapon.
Scarlet vines wrapped around his ankles, pulling him away from me. More crashed into his chest, throwing him against one of the buildings. Phaedrus stalked toward him, face covered by his deep blue cloak.
That knight would have killed me. Despite our circumstances, Phaedrus was the last person I’d expected to rescue me.
Steel rang as the other knight’s glaive crashed into Seth’s scarlet sword.
“Get Aethra!” Phaedrus barked at me. “I’ll protect you.”
Darting around him, I sought Aethra in the chaos of running bodies. Lord Icelus yanked an elegant blade from his belt and pressed it against her throat, dragging her back with him.
His fingers tapped on the steel. I couldn’t hear the faint sounds they made, but I knew what he was doing.
Creating music.
My head spun as the muse took over my thoughts, seeking my darkest nightmares.
Every person in the square froze and rotated to face me. Strings lanced through their limbs, controlling their movements. An invisible puppeteer loomed in the heavens, wresting control of their minds.
Me.
Slowly, every person locked eyes with me. Women, men. Two children. Seth wavered, noticing what was happening, and took a glaive to the side, knocking him to the road.
One by one, the puppetted people drew knives from their belts—knives that hadn’t been there a moment before—and pressed them to their throats.
Blood pooled from their necks and streamed down their chests. They all gazed at me, accusingly.
No, no, no. I’d promised myself I’d never be that man again.
Falling backward, I landed hard on the road. Beads of sweat dripped down my brow.
This is who I was. Soon, everyone would know.
Percy had already dropped to a knee. He gripped his arm, knuckles white. A grave loomed behind him, drowning him in its shadow.
Grabbing his side, Seth crawled away from the Hades Knight. Lord Icelus slit Aethra’s throat, and she fell to the ground.
The sight of her lifeless eyes was one I’d never forget.
Death surrounded us. A shallow river of blood streamed down the road. The Hades Knight lifted his glaive, prepared to bring it down on Seth’s chest.
“No,” Percy gasped, dropping his arm and throwing his hand forward.
Horrible chords sang through the air as Percy’s spell collided with Icelus’. The song of fear, and the song of death.
I’d heard one of Percy’s dirges—the song he’d written for those lost at Red Bluff outpost. Most expected dirges to be mournful, wailing grief. His music had been happy, joyful. A celebration of their beautiful town and the lives they’d led.
It had faded into sorrow, bidding them farewell.
This song was nothing like it. Menacing drum beats pounded in my ears—a countdown, a threat.
Icelus thought himself immortal. Death was coming for him, nonetheless.
Eyes bulging in terror, Icelus staggered back as Percy’s spell pierced his. The nightmarish illusions faded.
Gasping, I looked up. No lifeless puppets stared at me; they ran in various directions, grabbing the hands of children and leading them away. Aethra was alive, clutched in Icelus’ grasp.
Snarling, Seth drew a bloody lance from the gash on his side and swept the Hades Knight’s feet out from under him. Seth tossed the lance, and it shattered into a dozen jagged knives that slammed into the knight, severing his weak spots.
Stepping over his foe, Seth glanced at the blade pressed to Aethra’s throat. “Do it,” he growled. “Slit her throat.”
What? Rocketing to my feet, I rushed toward him.
Surprised by the ferocity in Seth’s tone, Icelus wavered. The blade against Aethra’s throat shook, cutting a shallow line above her collarbone. Blood seeped from the wound.
It was all Seth needed.
Jagged blades rose from the scrape, framing Aethra’s head like a crimson crown. They pierced through Icelus’ arm and dug into his chest. Dropping his blade, Icelus staggered back.
The blades fell from Aethra’s neck and returned to Seth, swirling around him as he bore down on Icelus.
Darting behind him, I dropped to my knees beside Aethra.
Clarity shone in her eyes when I touched her. Eyes widening, she glanced back at Seth as I fumbled with her bonds, trying to pull them off with only one hand.
The whirling blades burst away from Seth, digging into Icelus’ sleeves and cloak, dragging him to the ground and pinning him in place.
Seth kneeled on Icelus’ wound, digging his knee into the gash under his ribs. The lord cried out, reaching for his dropped blade.
“Does it pain you?” Seth growled. “To be told you’re a god, only to meet such a pathetic end?”
Recognition flared in Icelus’ eyes: not for the prisoner from the Duat, but the exiled prince.
“Set,” he hissed.
A grin made of pure malice stretched across Seth’s face. “You remember what happened to Rameses. I’m going to do the same to you.”
Percy grabbed my arm. “We need to go!” He shouted.
Horses brayed as mounted soldiers pounded in our direction. Breathing heavily, Aethra tried to wrestle out of her bonds, but her hands shook violently. Taking over for me, Percy ripped them off with his pocket knife as Icelus screamed behind us.
Aethra threw herself at me, grabbing hold of my cloak. Wrapping my good arm around her, I helped her stand.
Bloody vines enveloped the square, creating thickets of dead roses, blocking the mounted soldiers from reaching us. Phaedrus returned to my side.
“We’re surrounded,” he breathed.
Furious, I shouted at Seth in my mind. “Seth!”
Yanking a bloody dagger from Icelus’ shoulder, Seth whirled around and noticed the dire straits we were in: every exit from the square held soldiers waiting to take our heads the moment they cut through Phaedrus’ writhing, scarlet vines.
Gritting his teeth, Seth grabbed Icelus’ collar and hauled him to his feet.
“You’ll get to live a little longer. I’m not going to give you an easy death.
” Raising his voice, he presented the bloody noble to the crowd.
“Gods do bleed after all,” he shouted. “Tell your masters their time is up—I’ll be coming for them next. ”
Seth tossed Icelus to the ground, and he fell in a bloody heap. A strange sound—like a quill scraping across paper—whispered beneath the braying horses and shouts.
That was Cerys’ magic. Had she followed us?
Percy pushed me toward the bright orange tarp of a building’s awning. A thin canvas hung from its door, painted with sketchy lines.
Aethra regained her senses, running with me toward Cerys’ portal. Phaedrus crashed into our backs, shoving us through as javelins whirled through the air, chasing us. I glanced back to see two knights a mere pace away before the canvas snapped closed, trapping us in Cerys’ realm.
Gasping, Aethra fell to her knees, breathing heavily. The fury washed from Seth’s face, and he dropped to her side. “Are you alright?” He asked, gently cupping her cheek.
“You came,” she said shakily.
“Of course I did,” Seth breathed.
Catching my breath, I looked around. Most of the world was white, unpainted parchment. A few sketch lines drew a path from us to another door. Disoriented, I tried to look at the people around me instead.
“Well,” Phaedrus panted. “That went about as poorly as it could have.”
“What happened?” Percy demanded.
Snarling, Seth’s head snapped up. “What were you thinking, bringing her near him?”
“She isn’t a child,” Phaedrus snapped back. “Would you have stopped her from saving the life she did?”
Seth looked at Aethra, waiting for an explanation.
“I’m fine,” Aethra said, finding her feet. “But you should have stopped me,” she said, meeting Phaedrus’ eye.
“No,” he disagreed. “You were right. The old me . . .”
He trailed off, but the emotions passing between them filled in the blanks.
Phaedrus had wanted her to run. Aethra hadn’t. Someone still breathed because of her choices.
“Gods,” Seth muttered, wrapping his arms around her. “Don’t do that to me again.”
“I don’t intend to.” Aethra sank against him.
Sudden anger rushed over me, and I rubbed my eyes. “Great. You couldn’t be bothered to stop and think, and now everyone knows you’re here.”
“I don’t care,” Seth said rigidly.
“Well, maybe you should.” Phaedrus pushed back his hood. “You just tortured a noble—a god—in public. This insurgency has escalated far beyond what it can handle. When retribution follows . . .” He lowered his voice. “This city might not survive.”