Author's Note: Wait a second… Rose and Ella, are you actually drawing pictures of Kate and Silence and posting them on the Internet?
And Luna, it's an interesting idea with Kaila, but no. And thanks for dealing with the whole Kilence thing. And what happened with your alarm clock?
I don't own the original Greek myth. I only own the Blackwood Beast.
Welcome to My Side of the River
Sonya
Sil's POV
"This is going to be difficult." Kaila frowned in concentration. "If I remember correctly, that's the Venia section of the wood."
Kaila, Narcissi, and I were studying the maps in the hidden library, to better plan our rescue. Narcissi had showed up to offer insight about the mysterious Wood.
"It is." Narcissi sighed. "Home to the Blackwood Beast." She didn't even have to look at me to know I was confused. I had never heard of the Blackwood Beast, and I'd heard a lot of local legends. "It's the only animal in the Wood who does not acknowledge me as its Queen. It's also the most dangerous."
I almost groaned in frustration. Just when things seem possible…
"But." Narcissi continued. "That doesn't mean that defeating the Beast is impossible. Just very, very difficult. Kaila, if you intend to help Silence, I'm tripling your self-defense time. You're going to need it."
"I understand." Kaila replied.
"Good. We'd best get working on that. Silence, you might want to look up the legend of the Beast." Narcissi hobbled over to a shelf, pulling out a scroll. She gave it to me. "This contains all you need to know about the Beast. Memorize it. Even the smallest detail could save your life." Narcissi left, with Kaila in tow.
I opened the scroll. The parchment was brittle, meaning that it was old. Very, very old. And if the legend was old, so was the Beast. The older something is, the more dangerous it becomes.
The faded writing was in Greek. It was even older than I had originally thought. Carefully, I translated it.
When the gods of Olympus came to power, there were many unhappy with their rule. The angriest was their own grandmother, the earth goddess Gaia. Gaia was angry that Zeus, the leader of the Gods, had imprisoned her children in Tartarus, the Greek Hell. So she plotted revenge.
She freed the monster Typhon to terrorize the Gods. Typhon was a terrible beast that even the gods were afraid of. With only luck on his side, Zeus managed to trap Typhon under a mountain. Typhon's mate, Echidna, fled, keeping her demonic offspring safe. These children were a challenge to future heroes. The most famous were Cerberus, the Hydra, and the Nemean Lion.
But, one day, Typhon managed to escape from under his prison. He had come to realize that he couldn't win against the gods, so he went into hiding, in the Forest of Dreams. And there he stayed, and will stay, until the end of time.
I knew my History well enough that I knew why Narcissi had asked me to read the legend.
Over time, Greece had given way, only to become Krikia. And the Forest of Dreams had become the Forbidden Wood.
Oh crap.
The Blackwood Beast was the mythical Typhon.
And, if I'd read the legend correctly, even the invincible Gods had trouble subduing Typhon. If they couldn't make him submit to their power, how the heck was I supposed to even get anywhere near him without being ripped to shreds?
I would have to have to have faith that Narcissi and Kaila would come through.
Otherwise, this mission was doomed to fail before it even began.
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. If I dwelled on the task ahead too much, I would terrify myself into believing that it was impossible.
There was only one thing I could do in this situation.
I needed to meditate.
***
I sat in the palace gardens, carefully clearing my thoughts.
Kate had taught me how to meditate when we were little. I hadn't been thrilled to learn, but she had said that sometimes, when you meditated, it made complicated situations clearer.
I could definitely use something like that right now.
So I cleared my mind, allowing only the situation at hand to leak into my consciousness. I began with the prophecy, and then slipped in Kate's kidnapping, my Link with her and what it meant, the entrance to her dungeon, and the problem of the Blackwood Beast.
Suddenly, an answer came to me. Mythical beast or no, everything had a weakness.
I needed to learn more about Typhon. Then, and only then, would I have a chance at defeating him.
***
I stared at the book in front of me. Back in the hidden library, I had pulled out every text with even a mention of Typhon. Most of it didn't tell me anything new, but this book had.
It couldn't be that easy.
***
"Interesting theory." Narcissi studied the passage I had pointed out. "I never even though of that. You might just be right."
The book had stated that after Typhon had been trapped under the mountain, he had become the first volcano. It had gone on to say that Typhon's element was fire.
And there was only one thing Fire was vulnerable to.
Water!
Typhon hid in the forest because the trees and surrounding mountains offered plenty of protection against the rain. Everything added up.
Narcissi smiled. "We have become very lucky. Kaila's prime element is water. You have a chance at defeating him after all."
Kaila's relief was perceptible, even though she was even better than Dad at hiding emotions. Obviously, she had been just as worried about this as I had.
"Meditation came in handy after all, didn't it, Sil?" Kaila said.
"Yeah." Wait a second… "Hey! I never said anything about meditation! How did you know?"
Kaila smiled mysteriously. "Trade secret."
As I said before: even though she was a very good friend of mine, she seriously creeped me out sometimes.
