Chapter Fifty-Two

Alex

I had always heard stories of vicious beasts the Fates controlled. Beasts that did their bidding and brought back the bodies of those who had wronged them. Myths. Such a beast never existed. Except that it did. A topic that I had not only learned, but also was experiencing.

The creatures ran behind me, a snarling mass of claws and fangs. And they weren’t slowing down. If anything the more I ran, the more they felt the need to kill me.

“Psst, in here,” someone mutters. “Go around the block twice and then slip in through the back entrance. It has a red sign on the door. The Terrors won’t see you come in. More than that, they can’t follow you in here! Now hurry!”

Taking my chances I do as the person says. Diving into the door that had a red sign on it, I fall to the floor hard.

“That had to hurt,” the person says.

I look up and see the last person I had expected to be here. The one and only Nykole Hellhound. Growling I spring up and grab her by the collar of her jacket. I shove her against the wall.

“What are you doing here?” I demand.

“Saving your life?” she asks.

“Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn’t kill you?” I hiss.

“Because I just saved your life?” She says, restating her first response.

“Not good enough,” I snap, throwing her off to the side.

I pace the floor, mumbling to myself.

“She has to know what’s going to happen here. She just has to. Otherwise why would she be here. She knows. I know that she knows. There’s no doubt in my mind that she doesn’t know.”

“What are you talking about?” Nikki demands, glaring at me.

“YOU DIE HERE!” I shout at her.

She blinks, “Come again?”

“YOU WERE FOLLOWED! THEY FOLLOWED YOU AND THEY’RE GOING TO KILL YOU! AND YOU KNEW THAT YOU WERE BEING FOLLOWED! YOU DIDN’T CARE!!!” I scream.

She freezes, her entire body goes still, “How did you know that?”

“Wow, so it is true!” I accuse her. “How can you do that?”

“Because I don’t care?!” She shouts back, it comes out sounding a little bit like a question. “Because I don’t matter and I’m already dead! I betrayed you guys! I betrayed the enemy! I have no one! And nothing! And Hypnos’s men are here to kill me! I’m okay with that.”

Suddenly, a plan forms in my head. Flickering like a light bulb.

“So we let you die. Hypnos’s men won’t do anything over it. They’ll just report back to their master that you’re dead! And then you can take my place and the Terrors will take you to Clotho!!”

“What are you talking about?” Nikki demands.

“It’ll be fine!” I say, smiling. “No one will know if you’re really dead or not cause you’ll actually be dead!”

“Come again?” Nikki demands. “I thought you were here to help me not die.”

“Oh no, you’re totally going to die. I need you to die,” I say, shaking off her response.

“Are you serious here?” Nikki demands. “I don’t want to die.”

“Then why are you here?” I ask. Looking around the room with a frown, before turning back to her. “Like you know that you’re going to die here, so what are you doing here?”

“Helping you apparently,” Nikki grumbles. “But I swear, if I remain dead I’m going to haunt your a*s.”

“I can easily prevent you from doing that,” I say.

“But you won’t,” Nikki point out. “Cause your conscience won’t allow it.”

“I think you might be surprised. My consciousness lets me get away with a lot of things.”

“Honestly, I seriously believe that,” Nikki says.

“And you should,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Now let me kill you.”

“Wait, shouldn’t they kill me? Otherwise Hypnos will send out a full-fledged investigation until he finds out who did kill me.”

“Oh. I suppose you’re right about that,” I say. “Well then you wait here until you die, and I’ll hide up there.” I point up at the rafters. “They shouldn’t see me up there so we’ll be fine. Honestly.”

“You’ll be fine, I’m the one that’s going to die,” she grumbles.

“And I’m sure you’ll do absolutely amazingly wonderful at dying, but please, get on with it,” I say, reaching up and pulling myself into the rafters.

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” she mutters, and then she leaps outside. “HEY! IDIOTS COME AND GET ME!”

She leaps back into the shop and slams the door.

“Now what?” She asks me.

“Shut up and die already!” I retort, glaring down at her.

She glares up at me, but her attention shifted when the door was thrown open. Men that looked like they were literally made of clouds come barreling through. Nikki backs up to the far wall, eyes wide with terror.

“I don’t want to die,” she whispers.

The cloud people simple stare at her, but I knew that last line was for me. I didn’t blame her, I had been around death for so long, until the moment when I had finally become death. I knew better than anyone how scary it was. But there was nothing I could do, other than close my eyes.

I had never grown accustomed to death, you would think since I was the child of death, and now death itself that I would be. But I’m not. So like a coward I closed my eyes and hid from the sight.

I didn’t open them once, not when I heard the sicking sound of a knife being sunk into flesh, over and over again. Or when Nikki screamed. Not even when her life force surrounded me, angry and dull. The sign that someone had just… given up.

I finally forced my eyes open when I heard the cloud people leave. I jumped down from the rafters. Kneeling before Nikki’s body I touch her forehead.

“Protect and have honor on the warrior that has fallen in the name of bravery. Shield her from the depths of Hell and keep her from the Fire. Until the time when she is to be brought back to life and fight once more for those she loves,” I whisper.

Before waving my hand and making her take on my appearance. Then I pick up her body and throw it out of the hut. Slamming the door closed before the Terrors can get through.

I hear their champion calls screaming outside, as they found her body. As they stabbed her a few extra times with their own blades to get credit. And then they took her back to Clotho. I fall to my knees.

“Don’t worry,” Lachesis says from behind me. “Your plan will not fail.”

I turn slowly, not leaving my kneeling position, “At the moment that doesn’t really matter.”

“The scars of death will never leave her,” Lachesis says. “And worrying about that will get you nowhere.”

“That doesn’t really matter to me,” I snap.

“I don’t see why,” she replies. “After all, you will eventually get used to this, whether you believe that’s true or you don’t. It will happen.”

“Maybe it did for you,” I say standing up. “But I would rather die before I let that happen to me.”

I turn and start walking away. But as usual, she wanted to last word.

“Then death shall come to you!’ Lachesis calls after me. “And you will not like how or when it arrives.”

“Well you know what I say to that?” I ask her, not even bothering to turn around. “The sooner the better.”

“Your death is not something you want to come to you!” she calls after me. “It will break you!”

I stop, tilting my head slightly, but not fully looking over my shoulder, “In that case it’s a little too late. I already am broken.”

“You only think you are,” she replies.

“Can’t wait,” I shrug. “Death comes to all and I’m tired of avoiding it.”

۝

Mutt

I had absolutely no idea how I was still alive. Caltaya’s sword had killed me, I know that. It was the only thing that wasn’t foggy in my memory. Somewhere… I think that I remember seeing Alex.

But the memory wasn’t set in stone, and therefore I didn’t trust it. Especially since she had looked so broken. Alex was strong, she wouldn’t break. Therefore I knew that she wasn’t gone yet.

And that the Alex I had seen must’ve been a hallucination. She didn’t exist. I had just used her to make me think that I was dead and being brought to life since she was the daughter of death.

Since it was my fault she was dead.

The reality of the truth it me hard. I staggered back, I had sentenced Alex to death. During the Trials. Alex died at the Amazon camp, because of a choice that I had made. It was my fault.

I inhale deeply, the weight of the choice that I had made crushing me. Alex was dead cause of something I did. A choice that I had made.

I fall into the chair next to Moon’s bed. Leaning my head against her bed. I inhale again, tears threatening to spill. Was it really my fault? Was I reason that one of my closest, most bestest friends in the entire world was now dead.

I look up at Moon.

“Hey,” I whisper, though she was still comatose. “I know that I’ve been saying goodbye a lot lately and always coming back. But this time I’m a little uncertain that it’s going to work out that way. Because this time I’m not going to go to fight. I’m going because there’s something I need to figure out. And the thing is, once I figure it out, I’m not really that sure if I’m going to come back.”

I didn’t get any reaction, she didn’t wake up. She didn’t move. I wasn’t expecting one, but it still brought me a harsh disappointment that she didn’t. I sigh.

“You’re gonna be okay no matter what happens. You know that? I love you. Always, forever and an eternity after that,” I whisper.

I stand up, and turn towards the door. Tapping it lightly with my fingers as I tried to figure out if there was anything else I should say. I had been saying ‘goodbye’ my entire life. And yet, I still had no idea what to say when I was doing it. Because there’s no right way to say goodbye. Because goodbye is something you’re not supposed to say in your lifetime. Everything’s supposed to be a world of, ‘see ya later’ and ‘catch you next time’. Goodbye is final.

Finally I open the door and walk out of the room. Leaving Moon behind. No matter how much my heart told me not to. No matter how much it pleaded with me to stay. I walked out.

۝