Leader or Not?
Zeno's POV
I looked at the plain gold band on my index finger.
To anyone else it would appear just that, a plain gold band but to me it was a symbol of demotion. True I had worn it for a few years and worn it with pride nonetheless, but when I traded it for the platinum band and the power that came with it, never in my wildest dreams I had thought that I would wear it once again.
Never had I thought that I would have to relinquish my command. True, that any warrior who wished to challenge me for the command of my cohort had every right to do so and if I lost, I would either be exiled or made second in command but till now it had never happened and I never expected it to happen, until today and it would take a great amount of courage to get over it.
Time will take its course. Till then, I shall do what is expected of me.
I sighed in frustration, there was too much behind the veil and I had every wish to tear it down to get to the answers but I couldn't. It wasn't my place. I had to obey the laws that governed our society and military structure. Without those we'd all be in chaos... Chaos, I sighed at the word.
Chaos, Primeval God of the Void, Creator of the Primeval Gods, Lord of all matter and energy, I wonder how the word chaos is synonymous with unpredictability, disorder and confusion. It may be a reference to the state chaos was in before the creation of life.
We walked through the emerald green forest to the Fort, the mist from the mountains disappearing like wisps of smoke into the air and twilight giving way to dawn.
It had been a chaotic night. With the howling of the hounds, the disappearance of the patrolling parties and the coming back of 'Commander' Alec Blackwood, I don't think it could be termed as anything else.
Last time around when Blackwood was commander of Dealers of Death, we were charged with disobedience and flouting of council orders and it so happened he left us in a lurch to take care of the cohort all by ourselves not realising that his self exile had damaged the reputation of the cohort.
"You can't seem to keep your thoughts to yourself." Alec cut in, interrupting my thought process. He then looked at me with his traditional smirk plastered on his face.
"May be you need to stop prying on what others think." I retorted back, each word lined with venom.
He sent another smile my way and started walking again, no doubt with that wicked smirk plastered to his face. I seethed in anger. This was ridiculous, to hell with Council laws. I would not let him drag my warriors into another pit of death like last time.
My fingers clenched into fists. I don't know who was more fortunate that I didn't have my sword on me, Alec or I because if I did, one of us would have been on our funeral pyre in the evening covered with shrouds from our cabin and cohort.
"Angry much?" asked James from behind me. I turned to see him, my emotions mirrored on his face. Looks like I wasn't the only one unhappy from his return.
"I can deal with it." I said trying to avert myself from my current line of thought, "You?" I asked him mockingly, a smile playing on my lips.
His brow furrowed and the lines on his forehead creased, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. I gripped his arm and slapped him across the face. "Are you out of your mind?" I asked him, my eyes boring into his.
His anger was paramount, clouding his mind and thoughts. Anger was the root cause for all evil and pain, especially for a demigod. Anger combined with ADHD could drive a demigod to insanity and ultimately a death sentence.
James was beside himself with rage and if he didn't control himself his anger would not only consume him but us as well. "Are you listening to me? Snap out of it" I said in a commanding voice.
He glared at me, his fists still clenched and his teeth gritting, a growl reverberating in his chest but soon he started to regain control over himself. His began to draw deep breaths and closed his eyes, his breathing eased after a while.
He had restrained himself but I don't know for how long. If there was someone who had been most affected by the way Alec abandoned us all those years ago it was James, his younger demigod brother. Although they were Thanatos' sons from different mothers the bond between them had developed to be that of blood brothers, a bond that Alec had severed by taking one wrong, hasty decision for his matter of pride, not honour.
"I know what you are going through." I said looking him in the eye, "But this doesn't change the fact that he's returned or the fact that he's our commander." I said loosening my grip on his arm.
I felt him relax his hold on the helm of his sword. I then left his arm and continued on the path, "Report, What took you so long to reach us?" I asked him out of habit while I walked on, James following me like a shadow; he was still the quarter guard of the Cohort.
"Our search party constituted of ten soldiers. We saw the flare go up in the sky as soon as we exited the Fort." He said in a matter of fact way, "continue" I said, set in the rhythm of a leader.
"We found the girl and sent her back with one of the soldiers for medical attention." He said his voice shaking, I stopped in my tracks. "Is there something you wish to tell me James?" Fear was etched on his face.
I walked to him and kept my hand on his shoulder, "James is there something you wish to tell me?" I asked him again. "I went forward without anyone to track you down leaving others to follow me." He said his voice quivering.
"Yeah, go on" I said.
"I heard the sound of swords clashing and the screams and shouts of fury. I ran towards you, recognising your voice but..." He suddenly stopped.
I heard the familiar sound of crunching of leaves. I looked over James shoulder to see the other warriors of my cohort carrying the injured warriors and demigods of the Masked Messiah cohort. The soldier in the lead carried the petite girl who had fought with the ferocity of a fury against Alec the previous night.
She wore a leather linothorax and from what I could make out a breastplate of steel glazed with silver. She had beautiful olive coloured skin that complemented her fine midnight hair.
"Is that all of them I asked the warrior in lead carrying the leader of the Masked Messiah" I asked with my familiar authority.
The warrior nodded, carefully treading his path so as not to disturb the unconscious form of the girl over his shoulder. It was truly hard to believe that a petite girl like her had challenged Alec in a one on one duel and survived to tell the tale but then again he wasn't trying to kill her no matter how close he came to it.
I simply nodded in recognition and let them pass James and I, so that we could bring the rear. It was important that we kept maximum distance from Alec for now, at least between James and Alec. James was in the mood to cause some serious injury to Alec and Alec... well let us say that his defensive moves alone would be sufficient to kill James, if he confronted with anger coursing through his veins.
As the last of my search party disappeared in the trees ahead I beckoned James to follow them while I brought up the rear. There was much to think upon and I felt quite lost at the moment. Maybe the councillors could guide me...
"...or maybe not." I heard the familiar voice from behind me. The voice was grave and devoid of any emotion. The temperature around me seemed to drop by a few degrees; I lowered my eyes instantly and saw the mist return to the forest floor.
With much conviction I looked over my side and then turned behind to see the familiar figure of my elder brother. He stood there tall and proud, a darkness emanating from him covering the trees in shadow and absorbing the light from the sun on the horizon creating an aura of darkness.
I went down on one knew and bowed deeply.
"There's no need for formalities when we are in private company Zeno." He said his voice tinged with affection. It was rare for him to show affection to anyone above the age of seven, only one of our sisters who had been orphaned about a year ago and was about five years old fit that norm.
He gave me a hand and helped me rise. "Walk beside me" he said. It sounded more like an order than a request or a demand and so I did. I noticed his left hand was on the helm of his two and a half feet long Stygian iron sword.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to behead you for your insubordination to your new commander." He said with a sarcastic undertone and continued "On the contrary, give him hell from me."
It was my turn to laugh now. Nico always had been very proud of Alec; I wouldn't be going far if I said that he was his favourite demigod warrior. Everyone knew the pains that Nico had taken to prove Alec innocent in the eyes of the Council.
"You brought him back didn't you?" I asked hesitantly. It wasn't advisable to question Nico reason being he never answered neither to the Olympian Council nor to our father. Nico's silence spoke volumes and somewhere deep within I was hurt although there was no particular reason to be. I knew he didn't owe me an explanation.
"I think I do." He said. He had read my mind again. I really needed to learn how to shield my thoughts to prevent embarrassing myself in front of him again.
He silently smiled. "The only reason I brought him back is because I knew we'll need all the help we can find in the near future." He said in a slow, even voice.
I looked at him my eyebrow arched in question.
"It's not for you to know but Lord Zeus has summoned a gathering of the Grand Council on the Autumn Equinox." He said answering my unasked question.
"Isn't the Grand Council held on the Winter Solstice?" I asked him unsure about the facts.
He simply nodded and refrained from giving any more information. We walked the rest of the way to the Fort in silence, the shadows following us as we traversed through the thickets of the forest.
We soon reached the tree line that began at the edge of the Fort grounds, vast spaces of clearing meant for carrying out drills and training. While still far from the first outpost, Nico came to an abrupt halt.
I came to stand beside him and was about to ask him why he had stopped when I felt a sudden gust of wind from behind us. I was thrown face forward on the ground.
With my face covered in dirt, I tried to get up but failed due to a sharp unbearable pain in my abdomen. I brought my hand there to inspect it and as I touched the wound I yet again howled out in pain. My abdomen had been slashed open; I could feel my entrails peeking out of the wound, the grime of the forest floor sticking to them.
I was in no condition to get up or move. Unarmed and defenceless, I was easy prey for any predator. I made peace with my father knowing that some monster was about to feast on me. I growled again as I turned over, my right hand covering my wound forcing my entrails to stay inside. It would be one hell of a mess to clean them out later.
The sun shone with a dull gleam, the shadows surrounding me but there was something strange about them. With every fleeing second they seemed to darken, blocking out the sun's light. It felt as if I was shadow travelling.
The shadows engulfed me into the nothingness of their void. I could feel the cold shivers running down my spine with the sensation of my life force being drained drop by drop from my body. My head was spinning from exhaustion. I could smell the metallic stench of blood in the air and couldn't keep awake anymore and as the light from the sun faded away so did my will to stay awake and I gave into the force guiding me to the nothingness I was entrapped in.
Nico's POV
I felt a familiar presence around us or rather a presence I had felt before, a presence I had felt while shadow travelling. A force strong enough to send shivers down my spine. It felt as if the shadow world itself had become conscious, shadow travelling was no longer safe not until I figured out the nature and strength of this dark presence and I guess my chance was now.
My entire body went into shock as I felt the presence about me, its strength had increased manifolds since the last time I had experienced it. I brought my hand to my blade but I was already too late. A strong gust of wind had picked me up and had thrown me up into the air, spinning about myself.
I hit a tree with such force that it broke into two at the point where I hit it. In the far distance I heard the bugles on the outpost of Fort Olympus blow loudly, alerting the entire Fort. I tried to get up despite the splinters all over the body and the numerous cuts and wounds.
I hauled myself up on an elbow and saw my stygian sword lying in its sheath on the far end of the clearing but my focus quickly shifted as I felt another strong pulse of power. I looked around to try and spot Zeno but all I saw was a swirling storm of shadows at the point where I had stood with him moments before.
No, I couldn't let him be taken away from me. I had promised to myself that I wouldn't lose anymore siblings after Bianca. No one could ever separate me from my siblings again.
A strong surge of power ran through my body, an electrifying force that lit my entire body on fire. I heard agonized screams of those damned souls who had to spend centuries in the field of punishment.
I cried out as I saw the storm of shadows take form and materialize itself into a near human shape. Before me arose a man from the shadows, robed in living shadows, his face covered with a cowl.
He radiated pure energy and force. Force strong enough to rival the strength of Gaea but I wasn't deterred. In my infinite rage at the loss of a brother I focussed all my strength and power, channelling into one single attack.
I called my stygian sword to myself. Grasping it tightly, I charged at the figure with blinding speed. I raised my sword to cut his head off from his shoulders in one stroke and as I began to slash I saw a twisted smile appear on the man's face. His lips curved into a sadistic smile and I felt myself being thrown back, I felt pain instead of energy coursing through my body.
I cried out in agony I was thrown back into the air slashed all over multiple times by what I felt was wind. I didn't realise when I made contact with the ground. I had already passed out due to the pain by then, unaware of the man cloaked in shadows running his hand down my face marvelling at my strength with a twisted smile plastered on his face.