Hades and Persephone Ch 10 3.docx

1、Hades and Persephone Ch 10 3What is below us?Nothing, Hades said pointedly.Persephone shivered. She followed him to the center of the stone bridge if it could be called that and stopped when he did. He tensed, his heels digging into the ground, alert. Then she heard it a soft hissing and staccato sh

2、allow breathing. They looked up at a crack in the ceiling far above and saw pupilless white eyes set in a shadowy gaunt face staring back at them. The creature clung to the rocks with wiry limbs, its black leathery wings fanning out, beating without flight. Its head was turned completely around like

3、 an owls. The daimon stopped breathing and stared right at her.Persephone. Hades took a step back to shield her. She stared up, as transfixed and frozen as the creature, then startled when it skittered into the crack, its claws loosening gravel that pelted the pathway ahead of them.Th Her mouth went

4、 dry. That wasOne of the Keres, Hades finished. Daughters of Nyx. The daimones of violent death.A whistled shriek tore through the cavern, echoing off the walls, lost in the nothingness below them. They heard it answered by another wail from ahead, and a third from behind them. Then they stopped. Al

5、l fell silent again.A high-pitched ping sounded against her helm, then a steady rain of dust and small pebbles fell from above. Hades and Persephone looked up, the ceiling alive, crawling, running, from every crevice a mass of thin wings, whispered hisses, and tapping claws.Persephone, get back and

6、lower your helm.She stood frozen as he quickly pulled his sword off his back and held it ready, the torch in his other hand. Silence. The Keres had stopped moving.A shrill in a thousand voices an earsplitting chorus filled the cavern. The daimones peeled off the walls and ceiling, flapping madly tow

7、ard the light of the torch.Lower your helm! Hades yelled back at her.She pulled it down and stumbled back from him, watching her husband disappear into the darkness with the light of the torch. Everything around her moved and swirled dark and chaotic, the Keres shrill cries unbearable. A wail sounde

8、d behind her, getting closer. Persephone dropped to the ground as it flew past where her head had been moments before, the Ker sailing, claws outstretched, in the direction of where Hades stood invisible. She backed up and lay prone against the cold rocks. Screams and trills filled the darkness, pun

9、ctuated by the nauseating wet slice of a sword cutting through flesh and bone.Persephone heard him yell and saw the flash of torchlight appear again. A Ker chewed on his arm above the gauntlet, and he appeared, his ability to remain invisible momentarily lost amidst the pain. With gritted teeth and

10、wild eyes, he pushed his blade through the daimons skull, shaking its body off of his sword and casting it into the abyss. On the backstroke, Hades sliced clean through the wings of another, then slashed in wide circular arcs as the black mass of Keres swarmed around him, eclipsing the torchlight. H

11、e disappeared again and all went darker than before, her night sight ruined by the white torch. But it was too late. The Unseen One had been seen.Persephone blinked hard as the burning light trailed across her vision again. She muffled a shriek with the back of her hand as a Ker grasped at Hades hel

12、m and threw it clear of his head. It landed on its side and rolled next to her, the empty faceplate and eye slits staring at her accusingly.You did this,it said to her.You wanted this.The daimones attached themselves to Hades like iron to a lodestone. Their talons scratched at his head and arms, tea

13、ring his cloak. He used the torch in concert with his blade to beat them off of him. Its lit end swung through the air and shattered a Kers face. Against the burning white light, he turned and she finally saw him. Bites and gashes lacerated his arms. A dark scratch stretched from his eyebrow to his

14、jaw leaking a stream of gold-flecked blood down his neck. Ichor. She stopped breathing.Gods above, what have I done? Why didnt I listen?Persephone panicked.We should never have come here. I shouldnt be here. Aidoneus, my love, what have I done?She was about to draw her sword and rush in to help him,

15、 heedless of falling into nothingness or being slashed to ribbons by either the Keres talons or her husbands blade. Hades fell to one knee and Persephone watched helplessly as he fought them back and rose to his feet again.Praxidike?Whos there? She looked around her, seeing no one.Not so loud, Praxi

16、dike,the many voices said in unison.They should not hear you before they see you.Make them stop! she whispered. Make them stop hurting him!They do not hold allegiance to us. Or to him, Praxidike.What do you mean?! Hades is theirThe Keres do not recognize him. He bears the likeness of the Enemy.Kotto

17、s?No, Praxidike, I am Gyges. Kottos is my brother. Hes the pretty one.The many-voiced one chuckled at his own remark.Hades bellowed in fierce determination, fighting his way above the twisting fray of black limbs and wings. He swung his sword overhand, cleaving through the daimones, separating wings

18、, arms, a foot, a neck as it came down. The torch fell from his other hand and rolled away.This isnt funny, she whispered to Gyges. Do something!I cannot. Only you can. You are their queen, after all.What?! Persephone said in disbelief.Their queen?What do I do?Stand. Take off your helm. Let them see

19、 you.Are you mad?!Not so loud, Praxidike. Please trust me, my queen; they saw you disappear and thought he was to blame.RUN! Persephone,run! Ruuu her husband screamed out into the cavern. His words turned into a cry of pain as a Ker buried its claws into his neck.Gyges spoke gently, if such a thing

20、were possible for the many-voices that personified the abyss.It is the only way to save your consort, Persephone. They will recognize you.Tears formed in her eyes. She watched Hades fall to his knees once more, faced away from her. He didnt rise. The Keres dove in over him, their mass pushing him cl

21、oser to the drop off. There was no time. Persephone stood tall and pulled her helm off her head.Stop this instant! she yelled out over the fray. I command you to stop!They ceased and stilled, as though she had bid time itself to halt, and not these creatures. A thousand pairs of eyes turned in her d

22、irection. She held her breath as they cleared away from the path. All fell silent. She heard Hades breathing hard, his body shaking; his sword paused in mid air before it clanged at his side, his arm no longer able to hold it aloft. She took a step forward and watched the Keres retreat in kind. They

23、 scattered away and formed a wide circle around her as she made her way toward her husband. He crumpled forward.Aidon! Persephone ran the last few steps and fell to her knees in front of Hades, catching him. She cradled him in her arms, his form slumping forward onto her shoulder. His hand came up a

24、nd smacked against her cuirass, trailing a crooked smear of blood down the breastplate.No. run. he quietly slurred against her neck between pants, disoriented. S-sephone, run.Her fingers ran through his disheveled, bloody hair as she held him close. Aidon, its over, she whispered in his ear. Its ove

25、r. Look.Still trying to catch his breath, he weakly brought his head up and looked cautiously from side to side. The Keres held their positions, almost motionless, soundless, waiting. He brought his eyes back to his wifes face. She was safe, unmarked by the violence, so very beautiful, so very worri

26、ed for him. Hades smiled at her. Persephone.My sweet Aidoneus, Im so sorry! she said, shaking, tears welling up in her eyes again. Please forgive me, I should never have asked you toNo, no, its not your fault. Ill be fine. Here, see? he said, holding a shaking hand up. The cuts from their talons and

27、 the punctures from their teeth were already closing. The angry gash across his cheek, precariously close to his right eye, quickly knit itself shut until the only evidence it even existed was a thin trail of blood left in its wake. She wiped it away with her thumb, crying in relief as Hades gave he

28、r a weary half smile. There are. many benefits. to being one of the most powerful gods in the cosmos.She just held him and wept, kissing him on top of his head, her lips staining with traces of his blood.Not many benefitstoday, but some, Hades said, his face somewhere between a wince and a grin. Per

29、sephone dried her eyes with the edge of her peplos and stood him up slowly. The frenetic terror of fighting the Keres raced through his veins. She picked up the fallen torch and held his hand within hers. He looked around again, disbelieving his own eyes: creatures that had been slicing into him wit

30、hout provocation a moment ago were standing back in. reverence. Why did they stop?I. she began, meekly, I told them to.He stared at her, his lips parted in shock. A whisper went up, filled with ancient words from dead languages.Wanakt-ja! the hollow voice of a Ker called out above the others. The wo

31、rd echoed in whispers through the throngs of daimones.What did it just say? Persephone whispered.Queen, Hades replied. Persephone stood tall, her stomach turning in circles, her skin prickling, blood thrumming in her ears. Kore no more. She was Queen of the Underworld.Listen to me! she called out to

32、 the Keres. I am She Who Destroys the Light! They ceased their chatter. I am Persephone Praxidike Chthonios, your undoubted Queen, and you will heed my words!Wanakt-ja! Praxidike! the Keres chanted in high-pitched unison, Wanakt-ja! Wanakt-ja! Wanakt-ja!They nearly drowned out what she said next. The man before you is my