~ Evil Twin Demon Sisters ~
SAPHIRA
It's not often that the tables turn like this, but whenever this feeling arises, it puts Saphira at a great unease. She is used to being the one doing the hunting, not being the hunted. Yet, this is the case as she, Lykos, and Terry guide Masie through the city at a brisk pace. Something is trailing them. She can sense it, and she knows Lykos can too. The Wolf is constantly looking behind them, with his ears turning this way and that way, and his nose twitching in its never-ceasing sniffing.
Dracaena and hellhounds. Two species that raise concerns. Dracaena don't target demigods like that unless they were commanded to do so, and the reptilian women don't listen to just anybody. They are a prideful race, led by a queen. The only one in recent years to have had dracaena under their rule was the Titan Lord of Time, Kronos, but he's chopped up with his remains scattered through Tartarus, defeated once again. It took him more than six thousand years to reform the first time. Surely he couldn't be rising again so soon, could he? So that raises the question.
Who else could it be, pulling the strings that Saphira is certain are lying around.
Hellhounds also can't be ordered about by any average being. It would have to be a child of Hades or the Lord of the Dead himself, or otherwise a very powerful immortal. The last time Hades sent hellhounds out to hunt a demigod, was on Thalia to get vengeance upon Zeus… but that was a long time ago and Hades has changed, so it can't be him either.
A brush of fur against her hand has Saphira looking down to Lykos. He's staring directly ahead of them. It's already late into the sunset so the streets have cleared up quite a bit, and through the lessened crowds, Saphira spots something that starts getting her adrenaline flowing in anticipation of conflict. Two hellhounds are poised in their path, sniffing about. The Mist is doing its job well, because the mortals don't seem to notice the monstrous dogs at all, despite both being quite sizable. Not bigger than Lykos, but unlike the Wolf's leaner, more graceful build, the hellhounds are bulkier, built like mastiffs. They must be downwind, because neither of the hounds have detected them yet, but this is where the gang had come when they first arrived. Their previous scent is still in the air.
"This way," Saphira says, keeping her voice steady and pulling Masie by the hand. Lykos and Terry follow suit, letting her lead them into the closest alley. Argus' van isn't too far from here. Maybe they can sneak around-
"Grrrr!"
A deep, guttural growl brings them all into a halt as they are suddenly face to face with a third hellhound, and this one is much larger than the other two. it's easily twice Lykos' size, perhaps even heavier than a grizzly. Not to mention it looks far angrier than the other hounds, with saliva drizzling from its open maw, revealing its massive, nasty-looking teeth.
"Damn it!" Saphira hisses, letting go of Masie's hand and yanking an arrow from her quiver. "Stay close to me! Terry, do not let go of her no matter what!"
She takes aim at the hellhound, preparing to fire while Lykos keeps himself between them and the beast. His mane is in full bristle with his lips curled to show his fangs. Bless his spirit and his loyalty. He is greatly outsized by the enemy, yet he refuses to back down.
Before Saphira can release her arrow, she hears more growls from behind them. A quick glance over her shoulder shows her the other two hellhounds have discovered them. They're trapped between the three hounds in an alley with no other way out.
Except through them.
"Can you keep that one busy?" Saphira rasps to Lykos.
The Wolf responds with a harsh woof, as if to say 'please. I've fought bigger.' Which he may very well have.
The hellhounds burst into action, with the two smaller ones hurtling straight for Saphira, Terry, and Masie. The bigger one tries to as well, but its attempt to shoulder past Lykos does not go without punishment. The beast yelps as his fangs slam deep into the side of its neck, with enough force behind Lykos' tackle to send them both crashing into the dumpsters and trash cans, sending litter and can lids sprawling everywhere.
Masie squeals as the two smaller hounds close in, but they don't seal the distance before Saphira nails one in the chest with a perfectly placed shot. It goes down hard, thrashing for only a few seconds before it begins to melt into liquid shadows. Despite that, Saphira doesn't have enough time to reload before the other hellhound lunges at them. In a split-second reaction, she shoves Terry and Masie out of the way and holds her bow up to take the teeth of the hound as it comes down on her. She grunts the moment her back makes impact with the ground, but her strength doesn't falter even under the weight of the hound, keeping her bow as a barrier between its teeth and her head.
Saphira manages to crane her head up enough to see Lykos and the biggest hellhound still locked in struggle. At first, he seems to be doing a good enough job of keeping it away from Masie and Terry… then suddenly things go wrong. The hellhound seems to realize that it won't get anywhere like this, and quickly turns on the Wolf, finally giving him its full attention. With its overwhelming size, the hellhound soon begins to manhandle Lykos, catching his scruff in its jaws and thrashing him about. Even being ragdolled, Lykos fights back, turning his head to sink his teeth into the beast's cheek and holding on with all his might. They both struggle and thrash and roll about, crashing into every object in the alley and sending it flying.
Returning her full attention to her own problems, Saphira growls as she struggles to hold the hound at bay. Her eyes dart left and right, searching for something, anything that can give her an edge, until suddenly a tin can bounces off the hound's head. Both she and the hound snap their gaze to her left to see Terry looking like he regrets everything… but it's the opening she needed. Without giving the hellhound time to react, Saphira slips one of her silver knives from its sheath on her hip and slashes it through the monster's throat.
The hellhound yowls and yelps, choking on its own blood while it falls to the side and wriggles about. Saphira rolls onto her side and prepares to stand when Lykos comes smashing into the debris beside her. She gasps and looks to where he had come from to see the remaining hellhound already charging towards her. It's close, too close for her to do anything before it rams into her with its massive head and flings her high into the air. She collides with a fire escape railing, knocking the air out of her lungs before she crashes back down to the ground.
"Ugh!" she groans, but she's not out just yet. She scrambles to reorient herself. Lykos seems to be dazed and only just now coming back around. The hellhound however, has turned its attention towards Terry and Masie. Both look terrified, with Masie letting tears stream down her cheeks as she sobs and screams.
"N-no!" Saphira growls, reaching out for her fallen knife. Mustering up all the coordination she can, she hurls the knife across the alley and embeds it right into the hindquarter of the hound.
The beast snarls in pain, throwing her a glare, but it seems far more interested in the satyr and the child… or maybe just the child as its stare is focused solely on her. Terry picks up a nearby pipe and waves it at the hound.
"Back off! Back off you… you goat-eater!" he cries, but the hellhound is unimpressed by his display and promptly snatches the pipe in its teeth and hurls it down the alley, with the satyr still attached to it. Terry lands in a dumpster with a squeak.
Leaving Masie all by herself… by herself, but not defenseless.
Saphira's eyes widen as she sees the little girl's eyes begin to brighten like a solar flare, with an aura of power taking the form of tiny stars swirling around her. Lykos is dumbstruck as well, and the hellhound suddenly has lost all confidence as it begins to back away from Masie, but it's too late.
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Masie's scream is deafening, booming, not like Zeus' thunder but more like a meteor just struck the earth, and it certainly feels that way from the sudden explosion of power from her body. A wall of energy, multi-colored like the galaxies within her eyes, sweeps over them like a tsunami. Saphira cries out as she and Lykos are both hurled against the wall of the alley and all manner of debris are swept out. The impact was like being hit by a full-grown cyclops times a hundred, and when Saphira comes back around, she finds it difficult to regain her senses. Her ears are ringing, her body is aching, and her vision simultaneously blurred and obscured the flash imagery of stars that linger and dance in her sight.
It takes a few minutes, but thanks to her training and natural resilience, she manages to focus enough to examine their surroundings.
The alley is decimated. Cracks have been left in the walls and even the asphalt. Litter that had once filled the alley has been completely swept away… and where the hellhound has once stood was now just four pawprints scorched into the ground, making it seem as if it was completely incinerated by the blast. Actually, Saphira thinks it was incinerated. She stares at Masie in shock. The girl's aura of power has thankfully disappeared again, but she's far from calm. Her shoulders rapidly rise and fall with her rasping breath as tears stream from her panicking eyes, and she trembles.
Suddenly, it makes a lot of sense how the child hasn't been captured by monsters.
Saphira grunts as she crawls to her, not quite able to stand just yet.
"Masie. Masie, it's…" she grimaces from the ache that shoots throughout her body. "It's okay."
Masie doesn't seem to hear her, her petrified gaze focused on the ground in front of her. Tentatively, Saphira reaches out to touch her shoulder and the contact jolts Masie out of her state.
"Shh. You're safe. The monsters are gone," Saphira coos. She needs to calm her down before she… explodes again.
Masie stares at her for a moment before flinging herself into her arms. She buries her face in Saphira's chest, muffling her sobs.
"Why don't they just go away?" she cries.
"This is what they do," Saphira softly replies. "But it's okay. They're gone now."
Lykos and Terry rejoin them, both looking totally in shock with Terry having quite a bit of fear.
"What the heck is she?" the satyr demands.
"A child," Saphira says.
"She is not just a child. She just exploded and made a hellhound turn into ashes! No child her age, Big Three or not, has that kind of power!"
"It doesn't matter. She just put out a huge surge of power and every monster within five miles probably sensed it," Saphira retorts with a curt tone as she gathers up the little girl in her arms. "We need to move fast. Lykos, get my bow. Oakleaf, you get my knives."
Lykos nods and bounds to where she had lost her bow, picking it up in his teeth while Terry finds her lost knives. They get out of the alley and back onto the street, where a small crowd is starting to form to investigate the commotion. A great many questions rocket through Saphira's mind, but no answers follow them. Who is this child? Who is her godly parent? How powerful is she truly?
Most importantly for the moment… will they get her back to camp in time?
. . . . . .
They made it back to the parking lot where Argus was waiting for them. He was just about to leave, as per their arrangement if they didn't make it back before late after dark. His many eyes widened in surprise when he saw them arrive with Masie in tow, who had fallen asleep in Saphira's arms on the way there. Whatever she did in that alley must have consumed all her energy, because she was as dead asleep as a rock.
Now, they are riding back to camp, already out of the city and back on the Long Island road. The sun has since disappeared below the horizon, casting them in almost total darkness if not for the dim light of a half-moon and the stars of the night sky. Saphira is seated with Masie still cradled in her arms, dozing peacefully. Lykos sits in the aisle right in front of them, watching the girl sleep. Terry is seated as far back in the van as he could be, eyeing Masie as if she was a bomb… which isn't too inaccurate of a comparison.
"She's got to be cursed or something. A sorceress infused her with some dark, ancient magic," the satyr says.
Saphira rolls her eyes. "She's not cursed. She's just… different."
"Understatement. She destroyed a hellhound with raw power. I have never heard of any demigod in history managing that at her age." Terry gasps when Masie sniffs in her sleep, like he was expecting her to wake up and go on a rampage. "There is no way that the council will let her hang around. She's way too dangerous."
"If your camp proves itself to be less than adequate for her, then the Hunt will take her," Saphira growls, starting to get annoyed with the satyr's constant commentary on the girl. She's just a child. She didn't choose to be a demigod. How can anyone blame her for what she is, when she's so young?
"I-"
One look from her shuts him up, finally taking the hint that she has heard enough. Saphira shifts her focus to the open divisor window between the cab and the back of the van.
"Argus, how much farther is it?"
Argus holds up a hand for her to see, with two fingers extended. He then makes a zero with his fist. Two, zero. Twenty minutes. She nods and utters a soft word of thanks before shuffling herself to better support her own body and Masie's. Sighing, Saphira leans back and rests her head against the seat. Lykos hasn't taken his eyes off them since they got into the van, staring with an intense, but curious gaze. Saphira had felt something when Masie looked into her eyes at their first meeting. She's not sure what it was, but she feels tied to her somehow, like destiny wants them to be together.
"You felt it too, didn't you?" she whispers to Lykos. He glances up at her, those intelligent icy eyes showing her that he knows exactly what she's talking about as he nods.
"We should talk to Artemis when we get back. She may know something about what we felt," she says.
She gently shifts the sleeping girl around to get a better look at her face, without waking her up. Saphira wonders how long she'll be asleep for and softly brushes some of Masie's hair out of her face. That's when she notices something hidden in her little jacket; a cord coming down from around her neck and along her collarbone. Curious, Saphira carefully pulls the cord, feeling a small weight being pulled along with it from beneath the jacket. It's a small, circular pendant made of a material unknown to her, but she wants to stick it to some kind of... meteoric rock. It's black and smooth.
Saphira notices a symbol engraved on the pendant face, one she doesn't recognize at all. It's a spiral, with 3 long trails reaching in an outwards curve, with 3 smaller trails in between them. At the center is a circle, making it all resemble a vortex, or a galaxy even.
"I don't suppose you would have any idea what this symbol is, would you?" Saphira asks, holding the pendant up as far she can without pulling it from Masie's neck, and showing it to Lykos. The Wolf tilts his head before shaking his reply. Then, Saphira notices something else on the other side of the pendant. Letters, written in ancient Greek. She interprets the inscription immediately.
Asteria.
It's a name, Greek origin, meaning 'of the stars'. This must be Masie's true name! Saphira doesn't want to disturb her rest, but she needs to know what Masie, or possibly Asteria, knows about this pendant. It could be tied to her past.
"Masie," she calls with a soft voice so as to not startle her. "Can you wake up?"
With a little gentle prodding, the child stirs from her sleep, looking around drowsily. At first, she looks confused about where she is, though slowly her memory seems to kick in about today's events.
"A-are we there yet?" she inquires curiously.
"Not yet, but I have something to ask you." Saphira holds up her pendant, turning it slowly to show both sides. "What is this?"
Masie studies the pendant before giving a sad shrug. "I don't know. It was with me when I woke up by myself in some alley. I don't know what the picture is, but I could read the word on the other side."
"I think it could be your real name. Does Asteria ring any bells?" Saphira asks.
"Not really."
Damn it.
"Well… I think we should call you that from now on. I have a strong feeling that this name on this pendant in your possession, isn't random." She tucks the pendant away, back into the hoodie. "Does calling you Asteria at least feel right?"
Masie- er, Asteria now- ponders for a moment before nodding her head. "It's making me feel something. I don't know what exactly."
"Okay. Until we know for certain, I think this is the safest bet, Asteria." Saphira cradles her closer. "Thank you. You can go back to sleep now-"
She sensed the impact coming before it actually happened.
CRRRRASH!
The world is sent astray, spinning and rolling, throwing Saphira from one side of the van to another. Her head strikes a wall, maybe more than once, but she isn't too sure. Asteria was hurled from her arms, powerless to stop it from happening as she's hurled about. When the van finally stops rolling, she's on the floor- er, the ceiling, of the van, with a throbbing head and spinning vision for the second time in less than two hours.
"Nngh," she groans, rolling onto her side and clutching her head, squeezing with her fingertips in a vain attempt to make the sharp throbbing go away. She can't yet tell what state the others are in and strains to clear the pain so that she can concentrate.
Asteria.
She needs to find her… where did she go? Struggling to stay balanced even on her hands and knees, Saphira searches for the missing child, and spots her curled up and unconscious near the back doors. One of the doors was broken off entirely. Shattered bits of glass lay scattered around the interior of the van. Lykos and Terry are both sprawled out, with the latter completely out cold and the former just now coming to. Saphira begins to try to crawl her way to Asteria, but she can barely move so her progress is slow going… too slow.
The remaining back door is suddenly ripped off, and Saphira begins to sober up faster than she was before. Her eyes widen and her breathing begins to quicken, staring at the now dangerously-wide opening. The window dividing the cab from the back is too small to squeeze through. They're trapped!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The noises slowly pace to the opening from around the side of the van. Their rhythm and volume lead Saphria to the swift conclusion that they footsteps; heavy footsteps belonging to something very large. Then, a huge shape blocks the opening, with a single large eye peering inside. It flicks from Saphira, to Lykos, then finally lands on Asteria. A gruff noise emits from the creature before it reaches in with one large, meaty hand, going straight for Asteria.
"Found small girl, take small girl," the cyclops mutters, only inches away from closing its fist around Asteria. Saphira snarls, ripping a knife from her belt and lunging forward to plunge it as deeply as she can into the cyclops' hand.
"Graah!" the cyclops cries out, withdrawing its hand for just a moment and dragging Saphira along with it as she refuses to let it go, a decision that costs her for her rashness before the cyclops flicks its knuckles into her chest and sending her flying into the farthest seats.
"Ugh!" she yelps, feeling her lower back strike the corner of the seat. It's a sharp pain, but what really winded her was the cyclops' strike. Once again, she is struggling to reorient herself, only retaining enough of her focus to see the cyclops lift the still knocked-out Asteria and pull her out of the van.
"N-no!"
Saphira scrambles to get moving, but before she can even get close to getting outside, a new monster appears to block her path. Another hellhound, bearing burning red eyes and a drooling, snarling maw. It bores into her gaze with its own, prowling its way into the van. She's lost her knife, spotting it beneath the hound, too far away to go for, and the beast is too close for her to go for her second blade. Then, the hellhound lunges- only for a blur of shadow to slam into it and pin it against the floor.
Lykos.
The Guardian of the Hunt has the hellhound's throat in his jaws, furiously snarling and clenching the muscles of his powerful jaws despite the hound's violent thrashing and gurgling. Placing his claws firmly on its head and body to keep it in place, Lykos rips back with his teeth, tearing a chunk of flesh clean from the hound's throat, resulting in the rapid melting of the hellhound's body as its essence returns to Tartarus.
"Lykos!" Saphira cries, rushing forward to give him a quick embrace to show her gratitude, but it's short-lived. Pulling away, she urges him to get moving. "They have her! Come on!"
Lykos turns towards the ruined, open rear of the van and charges outside with her right on his heels. Argus is just barely dragging himself out of the driver's side, looking bruised and a little rattled, but otherwise okay. Then, Saphira spots the cyclops marching away from them only twenty meters out, with Asteria dangling like a ragdoll in his hand.
"Argus, grab Terry! He's knocked out in the back!" Saphira yells, pulling her bow from her shoulder, it thankfully still being in working condition. Argus nods and wastes no time in heading around to the back of the van. Saphira turns to Lykos and throws a sharp gesture at the cyclops. "You're with me!"
They race after the cyclops, quickly closing the distance as Saphira loads her bow mid-sprint and, taking no more than a second to aim, fires her shot right into the cyclops center-back. Normally, that would have been a killing shot, right through the heart, but cyclops skin and muscle is tough and thick. It only causes the monstrous being to bellow in pain, dropping Asteria to the grass in its furious attempt to reach behind itself for the arrow. Quickly loading another arrow into her bow, Saphira fires a second shot, this time nailing it in the flank for just as much -or as little- effect as the first shot. She needs to hit it in the eye or in the throat to take it down.
"Stupid arrow girl! Stop shooting pointy sticks at Barak!" the cyclops -Barak- bellows furiously. "I crush you- agh!"
Its threat is cut off by a cry, courtesy of Lykos fearlessly springing at its face with open jaws. Barak was just intelligent enough to shield himself with one arm, leaving Lykos' fangs to dig deep into its wrist. Barak roars, stumbling around with his arm fully extended and shaking, trying to throw Lykos off. On his hindlegs, Lykos reaches almost seven feet tall, but he is still dwarfed by the cyclops by at least four feet. Even so, the Wolf attacks him with a ferocity that Saphira is glad to be on the right side of. His claws scrape and slash at Barak's arms and chest, shredding the flesh to ribbons.
"Ow, ow, ow! Bad puppy! Bad puppy! No biting!" Barak wails before he bats at Lykos with his free hand. With a yelp, Lykos goes tumbling into the grass. Barak charges after him with both fists clenched together and held over his head, preparing to smash the Guardian into the ground.
"No!" Saphira screams. Her voice catches Barak's attention and he turns towards her with an angry look in his eye. That's it!
Saphira swiftly takes aim for his orb, but he must have seen her actions coming because he quickly shields his face with his hand and barrels towards her next. Hastily, she fires anyway, piercing the palm of his hand for little effect. There's no time to reload, so she dives out of the way to avoid his grab, rolling over the grass while pulling a fresh arrow from her quiver. He's faster than he looks, because by the time her string is drawn and her arrowtip pointed, he's already reaching for her again, this time knocking the bow out of her hands. The force flips her over but thanks to her reflexes, she lands on her feet to dance away from him again. She briskly looks for her bow, only to see it ruined on the grass, snapped in two.
"Skatá!" Saphira curses.
Barak bellows in triumphant laughter, his eyes welling up with glee as he stands over her broken bow. She falls back on her knives, drawing the two foot-long silver blades from their sheathes. Getting in close quarters with a cyclops is not something any sensible warrior should do, but she has no choice now. Luckily, she is not alone.
"Grah!" Barak wails. Lykos is recovered and sinking his teeth into the cyclops' achilles tendon. Perfect! A crippling wound! Barak stumbles about, trying to chase after Lykos after he retreats, but the bite to his vital tendons renders his mobility impaired. She has to take the chance now!
Saphira darts forward while Barak's back is turned to her and springs upward, running up his back and plunging her knives deep into his shoulders for leverage. Barak roars and thrashes his arms about, narrowly missing her more than once. She twists one knife in deeper, using it to pull herself higher to gain enough height to rip out the other knife and prepares to go for his neck, but the cyclops' erratic movement makes her miss and only cut off his ear.
That only enraged him even more.
With a growl, Barak closes his fist over her body and tears her off his shoulders to hurl her into the grass. Saphira gasps as the wind is knocked out of her, finding it hard to inhale and get her breathing back in order. It's like her lungs closed off from the impact and for a brief moment, she panics, but the sensation is short-lived before oxygen is suddenly able to reach her lungs once again. Despite her swift recovery, she still isn't fast enough to get out of the way of his stumbling charge. The next second, he's towering over her huddled form with both fists raised up and clenched, ready to crush her.
But once again, her faithful Guardian is there for her.
Lykos slams his own body into the knee of the cyclops' last good leg and despite his much smaller size, he managed to do so with enough force to draw a sickeningly loud snap from the bone. Barak cries out as he topples over, almost flattening Saphira and he would have had she not rolled out of the way in time. Snatching up one of her knives, she hammers it into his wrist and interrupts his attempt at rising again. She rolls again to get further away and avoid his furious flailing before she tries to get to her feet, failing a couple times before she regains her balance.
"Ah!" Saphira cries out from the sharp pain shooting through her hip, making her fall again. She must have been injured worse than she originally thought after getting thrown. Gritting her teeth, she tries to ignore the stabbing pang of agony in her hip and makes another effort to stand, this time managing to stay upright, even if wobbly. Her injury doesn't go unnoticed by Lykos, who quickly breaks away from his assault on the downed cyclops to check on her.
"Don't worry about me. We have to kill him now!" she declares, but the Wolf evidently doesn't agree. As urgently and gently as he can, he nudges her away with his muzzle. He wants her to get out of here, but what about the cyclops?
She gets her answer when Lykos turns back to Barak with a snarl, keeping himself between the monster and her. Saphira's eyes widen, realizing he intends on continuing this fight by himself so that she can escape.
"Lykos, no! We fight together!" she tries to protest, but he isn't having it. He throws her a glare over his shoulder, barking once and gesturing his head at Asteria, who is still out cold on the ground. Saphira is torn. She hates when he puts himself on the line for her and her first thought is to refuse his demand and see this fight through at his side… but Asteria is hurt, and there is no way of telling how bad. She was thrown about during the crash and was roughly dropped again when they attacked Barak. They need to get her medical attention.
Once again, Lykos snaps at her, his way of yelling at her to get moving. With a bristling mane and lashing tail, he faces Barak. The cyclopes' legs are both injured now, and he's reduced to his knees, but his bulging arms are still functional. Even with his legs out of order, he would pose one hell of a fight to Lykos on his own.
But there is no other way.
Fighting back the tears that threaten to spill, Saphira turns away from her friend and hurries to Asteria's side. Her limp makes her movement limited, but she does her best to ignore it. She breathes a heavy sigh of relief when she sees that Asteria is still breathing with no raggedness, but there is a trickle of blood dripping from a wound hidden by her hair. Saphira tries to gather her up in her arms, but the moment she tries to stand with the girl's weight, her leg buckles from the pain of her hip.
"Agh!" she grunts, barely managing to remain on one knee and keep herself from dropping Asteria. Desperately, she looks around and spots Argus emerging from the back of the van with an unconscious Terry in one arm. "Argus, help!"
His many eyes zero in on her and he rushes to her side. She strains herself to lift Asteria again and hold her out to him.
"Please! I can't carry her like this!"
Argus doesn't hesitate to take the girl in his free arm, carrying both her and Terry effortlessly. Thank the gods for his giant's strength.
"Go! Get them out of here! We'll be right behind you!" she urges him. Argus nods and with a brisk, grim glance at the ongoing fight, he turns and begins jogging away, heading for a stretch of woods. Saphira rises to her feet yet again, her leg threatening to give out for a third time, but she fights the pain. She snaps her eyes towards Lykos and for the first time in a long time, witnesses the kind of ferocity that only he can possess. He is all over the cyclops, teeth snapping and claws slashing, ripping gashes here, there, everywhere and anywhere he can on Barak's arms, legs, body, and face. They roll around on the ground and every time it looks like Barak has him pinned, it's really just his attempts at feverishly fending off the Wolf's assault.
Saphira makes a move to rejoin the fight, but she stops in her tracks when she makes eye contact with Lykos. Again, he snaps in her direction. She hates it, but a second of thought tells her he's right to make her leave this to him. Her injured hip will render her vulnerable in this fight. She'd be a liability more than she would be of help. With her stomach churning from the hatred of leaving him behind, Saphira turns to limp as fast as she can after Argus.
He'll be okay. This is Lykos. He can handle himself just fine.
She tells herself this over and over again, despising every step she takes as it brings her farther and farther away from him. He's too devoted to his duty as her Guardian. He would just as readily take on an army of monsters by himself than risk her safety and it's one of the many things that makes her love her best friend. A single tear burns from her eye and she does nothing to wipe it away. When this is over, she will do whatever it takes to show him appreciation, because he truly goes above and beyond in his duty.
Saphira catches up to Argus just as they exit on the other side of the wood stretch. She can no longer hear the sounds of fighting, but she knows that is only from being farther away now.. She hopes Lykos will pull through okay.
The pain of her hip still fires through her with every step, causing her to stumble now and again. She grits her teeth in her effort to push back against the jolts and push onward. This goes on for another few minutes, but soon, relief floods through her when she spots the pine tree on the hill crest in the near distance ahead of them, the landmark that represents the camp's borders. They're so close! She can get help for Lykos, if they can just make it a little farther.
Once again, the universe proves to have a surprise around every corner.
She only heard the rapidly approaching footsteps when they were already on top of them. A burning flash of reds and yellows sears right past her, the harsh light forcing her to shield her eyes and obscure her vision. She can hear a dull thump and Argus' startled grunt, and by the time her eyes adjust enough, she only has enough time to see a hoof flying right at her.
"Agh!" she grunts, the kick nailing her right in the chest and knocking her on her back. Normally, she could have taken such a hit and recovered instantly. Her spars with her sisters have proven that, but tonight, she has taken too many beatings, and the effects are starting to pile up on her. Pinned and thrown by hellhounds, blasted by Asteria's power surge, battered by the crash, thrown by the cyclops… her strength and energy is beginning to sap itself. She can feel it despite the adrenaline coursing through her.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? One of Artemis' little virgins?"
The conniving, sneering female voice has Saphira's skin beginning to prickle with unease before she's even focused enough for her sight to confirm her suspicions. Very few monsters that can speak are female, and even fewer can speak in such a manner that drives her anger upwards. Her gaze starts at the speaker's legs; one bronze, the other a donkey's leg, supporting a feminine body that would have passed as human… if not for the wickedly cruel grin showing off fangs, and the flame-ridden hair that burns so harshly that it still hurts to look at.
"Empousa!" Saphira spits, getting to her feet and drawing her knives once more. "You better back off, you demonic filth, before I put my blade through your skull!"
"Oh sure, sure! I can leave, just as soon as you hand over that little cutie and we'll be on our way!" the empousa snickers, pointing a clawed finger at Argus- no, not Argus, but Asteria in his right arm.
Saphira growls and raises her blades into her defensive stance, with both held in reverse grips. "Over my dead body. What do you want her for anyway? Your kind only feasts on males."
The empousa bares her fangs in a cold sneer. "Oh, she's not for eating. She's the-"
"Kelli, spoilers!"
A second female voice interrupts her and they both turn to see -much to Saphira's dismay- a second empousa, this one with darker skin but otherwise the same monstrous features as the first.
"Oh, don't worry, Tammi!" Kelli says. "It's not like this little virgin bitch will live long enough to tell anyone!"
Tammi shakes her head at her… sister? "We can't risk anything. You know Aspa's orders."
"Aww! We just can't have our fun anymore, can we?" Kelli says with a pout and a sigh. "Oh well. You want to take the freak with a bunch of eyes while I tear this little Hunter apart?"
Saphira hadn't noticed Argus standing at her side this whole time. His fists are clenched and his many eyes are narrowed into a glare. At least she isn't alone, but she doesn't know how well Argus would fare in a fight with the empousa. As a giant, he has great physical strength, but against these demons… that may not be enough.
The two empousai ignite their hair into flames, their already-long claws growing even longer. Saphira tightens her grasp on her knives, trying to show a fearless exterior but on the inside, she's afraid. She's hurt and there is not a doubt in her mind that the empousai don't already know that. Terry and Asteria lay side by side in the grass nearby, with the former moaning in his unconsciousness. For a few seconds, the two parties size each other up, each side preparing for what is about to happen next.
"Hyyyaargh!" Tammi screams, lunging at Argus with her claws outstretched, but he catches her by the wrist and with a mighty spinning heave, flings her away. She lands on her feet and launches herself at him again, this time sinking her claws into his chest. Argus audibly grunts but he stands his ground, grabbing her by the shoulders and starts the struggle, with him landing heavy blows on her while she scratches and tears at him with her razor-sharp nails.
That leaves Saphira to deal with Kelli alone.
"It's simple, you little virgin. Give the girl to me and you'll find yourself in considerably less pain than if you refuse," Kelli hisses.
Saphira growls back through clenched teeth, letting some of her zealous Hunter side slip free.. "Go to Tartarus, demon whore."
Kelli didn't like that response very much.
With a feral shriek, she attacks and Saphira rushes to meet her, knives against claws in a furious exchange of slashes and stabs. At first, she's able to match Kelli move for move, step for step. She slashes left first, then right, both times deflected and dodged by Kelli who retaliates with a wide swing and a sharper, tighter right hook. Saphira backsteps her swing and ducks the hook, simultaneously stabbing at the empousa's midsection, but her opponent is fast.
Kelli manages to sidestep just enough to avoid getting stabbed, but at the same time, Saphira twists her knife and rips it back to catch her with a cut across the waist. Kelli lets out a gasp and jumps away, putting some distance between them. She takes a glance down at the blood trickling from the small gash, then snaps her surprised gaze to Saphira.
Saphira can't help the satisfaction from seeing a little of the empousa's cockiness slip away, even though she knows that things are about to get much more dangerous. An empousa is one thing. An angry empousa is another.
"Oh, you are so going to regret that," Kelli snarls.
Mustering all her remaining energy that she can, Saphira fires back her reply. "Take your best shot."
The cruel ferocity in Kelli's stare tells Saphira that she will come to regret that statement.
The next instant, Saphira finds herself on hard defense, deflecting and parrying swing after swing of claws, just barely managing to keep up with the empousa's assault. She backs up with every countermove, losing more and more ground as Kelli viciously attacks. Saphira tries her best to search for an opening to take advantage of but every time she divides her attention, Kelli gets way too close for comfort. A tear of her clothes, a knick of her arm… a scratch of her shoulder, a slash on her hip. Every strike, her opponent gets more confident and more aggressive, and every second, she's losing stamina to both the assault and her prior injuries. Saphira intercepts a left swing, then a right, then barely avoids getting clawed in the throat with a sidestep, only to receive a raking slice down her upper back.
Crying out, Saphira whirls around and in her desperation, tries to lunge at Kelli for a downward stab, but the empousa saw it coming. With a gleeful sneer, Kelli dips out of the way, catching Saphira's wrist on its way by with her claws and ripping it open. Before she can even fully process what happened, Saphira feels an excruciating pain in her right thigh and glances down to see her silver leggings have been torn, along with the flesh beneath. Blood is pouring from the wounds of her thigh, wrist, hip, and back. If her energy wasn't draining quickly enough before, it certainly is now. Already, Saphira feels exhausted and lethargic. Her knees are beginning to turn to jelly and her head is still throbbing painfully.
Despite this, she makes an attempt to locate and face Kelli. Her rival is circling her in a laid-back, unbothered manner, as if they hadn't just been trying to kill each other. With her vision beginning to blur and darken and her body swaying, Saphira staggers towards her. She tries to tighten her grip on her knives, but finds herself lacking the strength even for something as simple as that. Kelli cackles with glee, as if seeing her like this is the greatest moment of her life. Managing to summon the last of her willpower to serve in place of her energy, Saphira stumbles at her with a slow, heavily misguided slash of her knife. Kelli easily avoids it and responds with a kick to Saphira's chest, delivered from her bronze leg. It felt like getting hit with a battering ram, and it throws Saphira onto her back… and she doesn't have anything left in her to get herself back up.
"Aww! Look at you! Trying so hard just to not die!" Kelli sneers. "Pathetic! I almost feel sorry for you."
Saphira's vision is getting darker, so dark that the only thing she can really see is the blur of reds and yellows from the empousa's flaming hair. She's lost her knives and her strength, and horrifyingly, it seems like she may be about to lose her life.
No… not like this. Please not like this.
"Oh, you can feel it, can't you? The fear, the terror." Kelli's voice seems to echo around her. "You know you're about to die, and there is nothing you can do about it."
"Kelli! Stop toying with her and finish it!"
Tammi joins her fellow empousa, looking a little battered but otherwise unharmed. Saphira can barely make her out to be holding something in her arms, but it looks vaguely child-shaped… child-shaped with white hair.
"A-Aste-..." she struggles to speak, desperately wanting to call the child's name. Where is Argus?! Did Tammi kill him?!
"That freak with a hundred eyes put up a better fight than I thought, but it didn't matter. He'll bleed out within the hour," Tammi says matter-of-factly, unknowingly answering Saphira's silent question.
"Well, this was fun!" Kelli says cheerfully. "But alas, all good things must come to an end. Aspa has to be getting impatient by now."
She returns her focus to Saphira, looming over her with her claws raised and ready to deliver the final blow.
"Send all your dead sisters my regards, bitch!" she cackles and poises herself to pounce.
She never gets the chance.
Saphira isn't even sure what happened. A blur of nightmare-black shadow and a ferocious, thunderous snarl, and suddenly Kelli is out of the peripherals of Saphira's limited vision. She hears the empousai's screams, savage growls, and the sound of flesh being shredded and blood being spattered. She's fading, fading, fading...
Then finally, everything goes black.
A/N:
Hello, readers! I hope you enjoyed the latest update. To one of the last reviewers, who commented on Asteria's name, be pleased that you basically saw the future! When that review got posted, this chapter was very close to being finished and I thought it was pretty funny that you had commented on her name given what I had already planned. I really wanted to reassure you but as the writer, I cannot give any spoilers. Anyways, I hope you like her new name reveal!
Chapter 6 is also very close to being done as we speak. I do my best to try and get ahead on chapter progress as to never fall behind. It will be posted probably at the end of next week and if not, a little later than that, so stay tuned.
That's all from me for now. Everyone be safe and I will catch you all later!