The Pentagram Child: Part 2 (Afterlife Saga Book 5) (3 page)

A bluish glow emanated from behind the opening making me squint against it for a moment until my eyes adjusted. As the door opened further it was almost as if the space behind it had its own blue moon. I stepped inside and was not surprised that I wasn’t that far off.

I had heard about this place but never before seen its haunting beauty. The sound of the echoing doors closing behind me only emphasized the size of the room I now stood in.

“The Temple of Lost Olympia.” I felt compelled to speak its name as an emotion I don’t usually feel overtook me. If I was to compare such a thing, I imagined it to be as simple as a young boy seeing something from his childhood stories now in the flesh.

The Temple of Lost Olympia was said to be on top of Mount Olympus and also known as the Temple of Worship, but when the mountain split so did the Temple, half of which became the Titan’s prison. Knowing that I would be seeing one half was enough but this part was something else. It was as though a piece of Heaven itself had fallen down into the lowest depths of Hell and remained here untouched yet still broken.

The colossal pillars that once framed the great space were now crumbling marble and looked like slabs of broken, stone cogs lay amongst the rest of the rubble. Parts of the many giant statues of fallen Gods lined the long room and remained in various states of decay.

I walked down the centre that had strangely remained cleared of debris and couldn’t help but look up at the hundred foot statues in awe. Gods that had once walked these very steps as I and could have gazed upon their own commemorated grand image of themselves.

To be honest I thought it was all slightly egotistical myself but that’s what you usually found from the Gods and considering they got most of their power from being worshipped I guess it made sense…well that was until you saw for yourself where that worship got them. Broken and immortal remains in Hell, is where!

I had to shake my head at it all as I frustratingly had to move painfully slow through these parts, knowing what lurked in the shadows of Tartarus…

Harpies.

Chapter 46-

Beauty Twisted Ugly.

As if I didn’t have enough to contend with, one wrong move in this place and Zeus’ throwaways would come by in swarms. Harpies were known as the hounds of Zeus, created for the sole purpose to steal for the arrogant God. He created a new race consisting of four sisters. They were beautiful bird like creatures with the faces to rival any Goddess. Long elegant bodies adorned with half milky skin and plush white feathers. As such they each were gifted with a set of magnificent wings that outshone any Angel known.

But as Zeus started to lose his powers as a God, so did he lose his patience with such things. His beautiful gift to the Heavens turned bitter and with that ungodly behaviour followed. The sisters became vicious, cruel and violent forcing Zeus to banish them to where he saw they would best suit.

It was said that as they fell from their God’s grace they were stripped of any power gifted to them. They lost the power of flight and fell first to Earth to then keep falling until they landed in the pits of Hell. Their own feathers circled their twisting bodies as they plummeted to their demise. For our kind to be stripped of our wings there is no greater punishment on either side.

Zeus’ wrath sent them straight to the same place he had banished the Titans, giving them what they had grown to enjoy best, a place they could torture freely. In time the once beautiful creatures turned into a form more fitting for their new home. But down here it isn’t only the harsh environment that can seep into your very skin… It is the pure hate that can seep into your very soul.

So now they roamed freely amongst this mountainous prison as its shadowed wardens with no understanding of keeping peace within its walls. No, only pain and suffering is their goal…that and the continuation of their abominable race.

It was a sickening thought to know my kind, even the guilty and the worst of the worst would often be forced to lay with a Harpie. But the higher ranking Demons, the presidents of Hell like my father were more than happy to turn a blind eye to the likes of these creatures and their, shall we say, insatiable habits.

I had hoped in what was still considered a holy place that the Temple of Lost Olympia held nothing but bad memories for the sisters. Therefore I assumed it was not only free of them but also their mutated offspring. However I couldn’t take my assumption for granted which added greatly to my frustration. Taking steady steps still echoed in the vast space and my unease meant my blades forced their way from my vessel without the mental command given.

“Easy” I soothed my demon, one that I knew was far too near knife’s edge. The blue glow that came from behind the biggest statue situated at the end of the room glinted off my weaponry the same way it did from all the pale and broken marble in the room. I frowned down at the giant severed arm that lay fallen from the God it was once attached to and all but heard my Demon growl at the thought.

“Not going to happen my friend.” I told him in hopes of eradicating such thoughts. Still I supressed a shudder, forcing my blades back as I finally came to the end.

I looked back at all the severed heads, crumbling torsos and lost limbs littering the cracked marble floor. I tried not to let my mind give in to torturous thoughts but it couldn’t be ignored as I thought back to my own Temple and God’s gift to me that lay bleeding out on the floor.

“She’d better live or you bastards are going to find another damn war at your gates!” I snarled up at the massive statue of Zeus himself sat upon a golden throne.

“Seventh wonder my ass!” I said as I walked past knowing that an exact replica once sat upon the Earth for mortals to worship. It was once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World until its eventual loss and destruction during the 5th century AD. A destruction I might add that was still believed to be the work of his banished father Cronus. The very one that not only tried to have him murdered as a child but the very same one that ruled over the Titans and was defeated by his scorned son.

Ha and the human mortals thought they had drama to shout about! Forgiving the pun, but Hell, they had nothing on the other realms, myself included.

I rolled my eyes at the whole room, feeling now how once a mind of awe had quickly changed to one of disgust in so little time and so few steps taken. None of them mattered to me as they once had as they all represented the same thing and that was the shit storm they had brought to my home. One Keira had opened the door to…and worst of all, I had fucking let her!

I left the temple shaking my head in anger and in doing so barely had enough wits about me to dodge the attack from above.

“Damn Harpies!” I muttered in annoyance looking up from the floor I had just been forced to drop to. I pushed back up from my hands and slapped the volcanic dust from them as I scanned the area. This next space was a courtyard of sorts and was surrounded by jagged mountain rock. It almost looked like black quartz had erupted from the ground and formed natural knife-edged battlements all around us. I say ‘us’ as it became quickly apparent I was no longer alone.

“Ladies” I said nodding my head hoping they could detect my sarcasm over my anger at being detained any longer than I had to be. Unfortunately this turned out to be a failing on my part as even their rancorous teeth could be seen from down where I stood.

The four sisters stood out from the rest of their smaller offspring but it was not only from size alone but also from their higher positioning. They each had perched themselves at the highest point of rock and surrounded themselves with their family of minions at lower points around where I stood.

Given that only one stood tall amongst the sisters I knew there was a divide in the ranks and if there was one that needed taking out first, it was certainly that one. If there was such a thing as a Harpie with greater intelligence than a common dog then this would be the one

“Mine!”
One snarled that was crouched down low and clutched the stone with its clawed hands. All three heads snapped round to the claim and each showed their distaste with a growl. The brazen one stretched out her face like a snake getting ready for the feast and spat at the others like an angry cat. The other sisters followed suit and portrayed the famous Harpie trait of displaying their fangs in anger. They then stretched out their hideous wings of sagging aged skin, ones void of any feathers.

Even from down here I could see clearly the pot marks left from where their plumage used to be and it marred along the torn withered skin stretched between the long finger bones, ones that powered their limited flight.

They were more like a limp bat, gliding along and only being fed from the negative energy this place emits like one of Earth’s power stations. I had to smirk at the idea of fighting these pathetic creatures. Oh yes, they might be greater in number than I but what did they take me for?

It took me back to the day I first warned Keira, that assumption is the mother from which all mistakes are born, of course my little Vixen had gone and threw it back in my face not long after.

For the first time since this mess I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Of course the Harpies took this for something else.

“Look sisters, we have one willing I think.” They all snapped their elongated jaws in postulated excitement….well they were soon to taste disappointed in the form of swallowing their own blood and that was a promise.

“Think again Celaeno.” I said pleased to see the twisted mix of both fury and shock that I had guessed right. Celaeno meant ‘Dark one’ and in all the mythology I had heard about these four then it was the dark one that had led the other three to ruin. She held the most of what brains could be had in a Harpie and the other three followed her blindly.

It was said that her obsessive love for Zeus was what drove the maddening need to torture others in a tainted way to gain attention from her maker. Needless to say it backfired but this rage only inflamed their insatiable desire to take men against their will, demon or not.

The other three were recognisable through the power of elimination as they too had their own descriptive names as their sister. Celaeno had the darker body of the four and was slightly bigger with her longer frame. Podarge was named for being ‘fleet footed’ so hence was quicker on her feet than in flight.

Aello and Ocypete were the twins, born it was said with their wings tightly entwined. Aello meaning ‘Storm swift’ and Ocypete ‘The swift wing’ obviously were named for their talents in the air and I could spot two that remained closer together. Their wings were slightly longer and sleeker in shape, no doubt to aid them with quick manoeuvers whilst flying.

“Willing or not, human you are ours to take!” Celaeno’s threat was laughable if she really thought I were a mere mortal.

“Is that so?” I mocked and then looked down at my right hand as I welcomed one of my swords this time. I slowed its release to emphasise the power behind the action and the purple flames licked the blade until it reached the ash floor. I then cocked my head to the side and looked back up at the small winged army that were getting restless.

Celaeno was the only one smart enough to look shocked and as if feeling her anxiety her offspring all whined around her. I readied myself for when her shock turned to blind rage.

“Bring him to me!” She nodded to only two of her lower seated offspring thinking this was all that was needed. Well I couldn’t say I wasn’t looking forward to disappointing her.

One was quicker in its dismount than the other and swooped low trying in vain to sink its footed talons into my shoulder. Well if it wanted a flying companion then I wouldn’t keep it waiting. I twisted at the last moment for it to only brush past me so that I had enough time to quickly grab a hold of its ankle. It snarled down at me as it unwillingly lifted me into the air. I looked down and waited for just the right moment.

“Come on, just a bit higher….there you go!” I said just as I saw the other one coming up underneath us.

“Perfect!” I quickly used my strength in my left arm to pull my upper body up, using its leg as a means to get higher. Then I pulled back my right arm before forcing it forward and plunging my sword into the Harpie’s chest. It threw its head up and screeched in a death call up to its mothers.

I pulled back my sword and went into free fall letting go of the dying Harpie and summoned my other sword to come into the play. I had timed it perfectly as the other Harpie was now directly beneath me mid-flight. With one slashing motion both my swords sliced through their mark and both of its wings were severed.

That too called out to its mothers as I landed facing them impacting the ground enough to cause dust to cloud around me. I looked up in time to hear the two dead harpies fall to the grown behind me and I didn’t bother reining in my cocky smirk.

The sisters all let out a mournful high pitched wail and I rolled my shoulders in preparation for the retaliation to come.

“I will enjoy making you scream half breed!” Celaeno roared and the half breed comment was enough to make me snap. My wings erupted from my back, proving just how wrong that statement was before I gave them my own promise,

“And I will enjoy mounting your fucking wings to my wall!” 

She screamed and that was all her army needed to hear. They all at once left their perches in a wave of blackened wings and came at me where I stood. I waited for the first few to get closer before I spun round on one foot slicing through three harpies at once. Before their bodies had even hit the ground I launched myself up in the air to take the rest from above.

“Let’s see if you can keep up with this.” My wings expanded and held me mobile above so I could plan my attack. When I saw my opening I went for it letting my wings fold so I would fall, only opening them again at the right moment.

They were still trying to find me when I dropped in the centre and started taking their lives one by one. I had just finished bringing up my sword cutting one in half when I embedded my other blade in the chest of another. I had to use my foot to lever my blade free from its dying form and then kicked it so it went tumbling backwards.

It hit another of his siblings and they fell to the ground in a mass of tangled wings and spewing blood. I landed in time to end its life too before it could free itself from the web of death.

Soon the courtyard was puddled with Harpie blood and butchered remains. I had just used my boot once more to aid me against the head of the last dying offspring and pulled my sword free from its skull when I recognised the cries of grief.

“Unless the bitches of Zeus want to taste the same blade, this is done. Take me to the prisoner Sammael and I will spare your lives!” I slashed my blade down to make my point causing three of the weaker sisters to flinch back
.

Celaeno however raked her talons against the quartz leaving deep claw marks in the stone. I tensed my body waiting for the next fight and just as I knew she was about to attack, I unfolded my wings to their full span and let the purple flames ignite in a show of power and dominance. It was all that was needed, that and one last look at all her dead offspring littering the ground around me.

  “Who are you?
”
Podarge asked me and the others frowned at her curiosity.