by Mario Routi
“What in the name of Zeus? That’s incredible. Is Leylah all right, Doctor?”
“I can’t say for sure... Okay, I think you’re strong enough now,” the doctor stood up and pulled the Flame away from him. “Come, we’ll talk more on the way to the fortress.”
The two of them headed back into the forest not stopping until they were able to see the Demonic army sitting out in front of the castle. Doctor Afterland was left gasping for breath from the effort of keeping up with Alexander’s powerful legs.
“The shield is up,” Alexander whispered. “So we can’t fly in. We’ll have to go up the wall.”
“How?” the doctor wanted to know. “We have no rope.”
“Are you forgetting who my ancestor is?”
The doctor nodded his understanding and they moved cautiously along the edge of the forest before bursting into the open space between the trees and the wall. They ran at full speed, reaching the wall before any of the Demons could realise what was happening. Alexander crouched down at the base of the wall and cupped his hands, signaling for the doctor to step onto them.
“Oh lord,” the doctor muttered as he found himself being launched up into the air, arms and legs flailing wildly. He sailed over the wall, his head just missing the stone parapet. As his body landed hard on the ground inside the fortress, he let out an involuntary groan and pulled himself up rather painfully. Alexander landed in a cloud of dust beside him, slapping him on the back and laughing from the sheer exhilaration of scaling the wall.
“Remind me to leave you trapped in the forest next time,” Doctor Afterland muttered as he struggled to walk.
“Ah, don’t be like that, Doctor! That was fun. Admit it.”
“Alexander, you should know that your double, having fooled Larisa and everyone else - including your mother - is now in the fortress with Leylah.”
At that very moment the shield exploded across the sky.
“That means the Chimera has joined the fight,” the doctor said. “I hope that Bitho can deal with her.”
“Hold on to my back,” Alexander shouted.
With the doctor clinging to his back Alexander ran towards the headquarters. Passing the Chimera along the way, he saw another section of the Demonic army besieging the fortress. Alexander charged into them, using his sheer strength to force a path through the bodies. He could feel caltrops stinging his feet as he ran.
As they entered the headquarters, Felicia immediately noticed the state of his feet. When the doctor had climbed down she put her arm around her son’s shoulders. “What happened?” she asked.
“Caltrops,” he said. Despite being a descendent of Hercules he still felt like a helpless child when he was in his mother’s arms.
“Oh dear,” Felicia said as she pushed him onto the ground in order to pluck out the spikes. “Let me get those out for you.”
Alexander banged his head as he landed on the ground. “Mum, pay attention to what you’re doing! C’mon... Ouch!”
“Oooh this one is a bit...” she straightened up and stared at him, “Wait! Why aren’t you with Leylah?”
“I’ve been trapped in the blacksmith’s cave for a week. Larisa had me go down there with her to get a weapon that she thought would be helpful when saving Leylah, but before I could climb back up the steps, the rocks started falling down on the poor Amazon.
Rebecca jumped up. “What are you talking about? You were here just a few minutes ago. Leylah is at the Flame and you are supposed to be with her!”
“The one with Leylah isn’t Alexander, but a double,” Doctor Afterland explained. “Alexander, you need to go help Leylah. She has no idea that the man with her isn’t you.”
“There’s a rope on the second floor that will help you get to her. They left so fast it’s bound to still be there,” Bull said.
Alexander jumped to his feet, forgetting the pain of the caltrops, and ran without waiting for any further explanations.
49
Present time
Alexander hurtled down the hall towards the second floor staircase, praying he could make it in time to save Leylah. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Turgoth following a few steps behind. No doubt the king was worried that the double might prove to be a challenge for the young prince who hadn’t eaten for a whole a week.
Alexander didn’t bother with the rope when he saw that Bitho was shakily climbing up the side of the mountain. He pushed his legs to run harder, crushing the ground beneath his behemoth strides. He could tell that Bitho was fighting against someone. As the cliff came into view, Alexander skipped once and then leaped into the air using the full force of both his legs. He flew through the sky like a bullet, landing in front of his double.
He took his eyes off his enemy for no more than a second in order to glance at the fallen Leylah, but that was enough of a window for General Varta to make his move. A sudden pain pierced Alexander’s stomach and he looked down to see the blade covered in a black flame.
“How does it feel to see the very Flame that gives Orizons immortality making sure that you will truly remain immortal for good?” General Varta sneered.
The pain increased tenfold as the black Flame spread through him. Alexander watched in agony as his body turned to diamond, frozen and unable to move while General Varta began to walk away.
***
Turgoth watched as Alexander abandoned all caution and sprung into the air, landing in front of General Varta. He took the path along the mountainside, picking up speed when he saw Alexander freeze and transform into something shiny. He could not tell what it was from a distance but he knew it wasn’t good.
Planting a foot on the sidewall, Turgoth leaped up and came down behind General Varta, making him spin round to face him.
“Do all Orizons have a death wish or something?” General Varta snarled.
Turgoth unsheathed his sword. “Some of us might have.”
“I see. But look here,” Varta gestured towards the frozen prince, “don’t you think Hercules will be proud to see that his grandson has a statue of his own now?”
“What did you do to Alexander?” another voice interrupted.
Leiko was standing beside Turgoth, his battle cloak billowing in the wind.
“I have simply given him... shiny immortality... my Lord,” Varta mocked.
The two of them charged at Varta simultaneously, but they were too late. He held up a gold sheet in front of himself and disappeared into thin air. Leiko and Turgoth knew that they had lost a crucial part of the battle. Turgoth ran to Leylah and saw that she was breathing steadily. He then turned to see most of the Flame still intact.
“He’s stolen enough to let loose at least a few Titans,” he said. “We need to inform the Gods immediately to prepare for war in the Elysian Fields.”
“He will not be able to make it straight to Tartarus with the Golden Fleece,” Leiko said, “Take your daughter to Doctor Afterland and I’ll get my son. We need to tend to Leylah’s wounds before we lose her to the same curse that Varta used on my son.”
“I will also look after Bitho; his life is not yet lost,” Doctor Afterland said as he appeared from the side of the mountain. “We will need him here to guard the Flame if we are to venture anywhere.”
Doctor Afterland walked up to the Flame and placed his lantern inside it. An eerie light erupted from inside as the lantern filled up. Once he was satisfied that he had enough, Doctor Afterland pulled the lantern out but didn’t bother to close it. He first went to Leylah and gave the Flame to her. “She will be fine,” he said and then returned to Bitho’s side, emptying the Flame into the gaping wound before going straight back for a second dose. He repeated the routine and, in a rush of blinding light, the wound closed up and Bitho awoke to see the three of them standing around him with concerned expressions on their faces.
&
nbsp; “King Turgoth, I failed in protecting the Flame. And I am sorry about your son, Lord Leiko,” Bitho rumbled. “I saw General Varta next to Leylah wearing Alexander’s face. I immediately knew who he was. I can see through any disguise but I wasn’t able to fight him in my weakened state.”
“Bitho,” Doctor Afterland said as he tended to Leylah, “you had just fought a legendary creature as strong as yourself. You managed to kill the Chimera and save us all. No one will place the blame on you for any of this. It is a miracle you were even able to get back up the mountain so soon after engaging in such a ferocious battle.”
“Exactly,” Turgoth agreed. “You delayed Varta long enough, giving us time to get here and to prevent most of the Flame from being taken. However, we need you to continue to guard the Flame while we deal with whatever happens next. Lord Leiko, I’m taking Leylah with me now but I think it might be best to leave your son here for the time being so that we do not risk the enemy taking him, or him being damaged by any transformations. We don’t know what else the Titans have up their sleeves.”
“Indeed. We shall leave him beside the Flame and Bitho will guard them both,” Leiko said, understanding what needed to be done.
50
The Elysian Fields
In the Land of the White Sun, Utopia was still besieged and the Lomani was in full progress as Leylah awakened to feel the wind brushing against her cheeks and to see the sky moving above her. Rebecca looked down at the sight of her daughter’s fluttering eyelids. She smiled thinking about how much of herself she saw in Leylah. She was strong willed and Rebecca was pleased to have been with her for her first real combat encounter, to have been able to explain to her what had happened and to reassure her about the unexpected reactions to war that can occur in your body when you are taken by surprise.
Leylah looked around the chariot being pulled by Pegasus and Lenus and saw that her father was also there, along with Lady Felicia and Lord Leiko.
“Alexander...” she began to say, but felt so weak she couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“We are heading now to see the Gods,” her mother reassured her. “They will know what happened with Alexander and how to return him to his natural form.”
Leylah nodded and closed her eyes again. She had suffered a near death experience from an attack that she had been warned was coming in advance. She had let her guard down because she needed to trust someone. She had wanted to trust Alexander completely and Rebecca felt sorry for the emotional pain she knew she must be going through.
The chariot did not stop at the edge of the Elysian Fields this time but travelled all the way to the Palace of the Gods. When they landed on a roof top balcony, Hercules was already there to greet them and he led them straight to his father, the King of the Gods. Turgoth carried the sleeping Leylah in his arms and laid her down gently on a bed that Hercules showed him.
“It is as we have feared since the beginning of time,” Zeus said. “The Titans are able to manipulate the Flame to serve their sinister intentions. We were lucky that they didn’t manage to grab all of it.”
“They did not get the entire Flame, oh mighty Zeus,” Turgoth confirmed, “but General Varta was able to get a small amount before disappearing with the Golden Fleece.”
“That would explain why the door to Tartarus has appeared in the middle of the Elysian Fields,” Zeus said. “A Titan or two will probably try to sneak out through it soon, but we’ll give them the welcome they deserve. You shouldn’t worry about that right now. So, tell me, what’s wrong with my great grandson, Leiko?”
“Varta turned him into a diamond statue right in front of our eyes after stealing some of the Flame. The strangest thing was that the stolen part of the Flame turned from blue to black.”
“It changed from Sacred Flame to Cursed Flame,” Zeus explained. “And now, alas, it is that very part of the Flame - the one which burns on the surface of the blade that General Varta stabbed Alexander with - that we need in order to reverse the transformation and bring Alexander back to life.”
“But why can’t the Flame work to heal him?” Felicia asked.
“The Flame has a personality of its own. Just as the Titans make things hard for us to figure out, so too does the Black Cursed Flame hide things from the Blue Sacred Flame. The Black Flame has become a separate entity until it is used. We also need to retrieve the Black Flame to prevent the Titans from replicating the Flame and put it to full use. The first thing that Varta will do is deliver it to Cronus. Thus you need to go to Tartarus and get as close to them as possible and try to retrieve it. It’s only a matter of time until they try to use the Flame for more than just escaping.”
“We’ll go!” Rebecca assured him.
“You will need to take the Titan Slayer with you,” said Hercules.
“The Titan Slayer?” Turgoth asked.
Hercules took out the sword that Leylah had witnessed being made by Bull. It shone with a brilliant light, the blade enhanced with the Flame along its edges.
“Here!” Hercules held it out proudly. “We had chosen to keep it inside the Palace of the Gods so that it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. This is the only weapon in existence that can be used by Orizon hands to wound Titans, although you still can’t kill a Titan; you can only injure them. We think it may even allow you to bring them close to death, although we can’t be sure of that yet. But no matter what, only the Gods can actually vanquish a Titan and remove him from existence.”
Hercules bowed his head towards Rebecca as he presented the sword to her.
“A few years ago, you dared to face a Titan and even managed to stab him. This courageous act nearly cost you your life. Therefore - for now - the Titan Slayer is yours to hold. Please wield it wisely.”
Rebecca bowed to Hercules in turn and lifted the sword up respectfully, amazed at how light it was. She was expecting it to be incredibly heavy because of its sheer size, but it weighed less than one of her crystal daggers.
“You should know that they now have a new guard at the gates to Tartarus,” Zeus warned. “The Titans have created a monster that commands a legion of Hellhounds. In ancient years, none of the warriors who fought against these creatures ever survived.”
“May we take Bull with us, oh mighty Zeus?” Turgoth asked.
“And we shall need some Flame to be able to survive in Tartarus,” Leiko added.
“Just like the last time, you’re all going,” Zeus assured them. “And this time, as the Keeper of the Flame, Doctor Afterland will be joining you, carrying some of it within a lantern as only he knows how to change the Black Flame back to its original state. This must be done on the spot once it’s been retrieved. This time things will probably be much more difficult than they were on your last trip.”
Hercules pointed to Leylah, who was sleeping soundly. “We will take care of her for you during your absence.”
Rebecca and Turgoth nodded and they all returned to the waiting chariot. As they landed at the Gates, Bull and Doctor Afterland were already waiting for them. The Gate itself was a formidable sight, towering up into the sky. It consisted of many doors, each determining which entrance to the Underworld would open and which force would be there to meet you. The largest door led to the Tartarus prison that held the Titans, who had been waiting for them for eternity.
51
Tartarus
Bull forced open the door at the very bottom level and a hellish heat spewed forth, sweeping over their faces and singeing their hair and skin. The ferocious barking of the Hellhounds shattered the air and chilled their blood. It was daunting enough dealing with this assault on their senses without having to prepare themselves to face whatever challenges now awaited them.
As they walked through the Gate they knew that the Hellhounds were close by. Bull took the lead while Rebecca walked beside him, holding the sword in readiness for whate
ver might pounce at them. Leiko and Felicia flanked their sides while Doctor Afterland stood in the middle, holding up the glowing lantern that contained the Flame. Turgoth guarded the rear. The moment they crossed the threshold an enormous creature arched its head up above them while the Hellhounds charged towards them; a slathering, snarling pack.
Their powerfully muscled bodies, cloaked in purple flames, supported monstrous heads - three for each hound. The pack stretched on as far as their eyes could see, like a river of death flowing towards them. Rebecca held her ground and swung the magic sword in front of the faces of the frontrunners.
None of them faltered for even a second in their charge. The pack was almost upon them.
Rebecca swung harder and still nothing happened. She let the tip of the sword drop to the ground and the surface rumbled in response. Rebecca raised her eyebrows at Bull and slammed the point into the ground again, this time using all her strength. It was hard to keep her balance as the rock shook violently beneath her.
Summoning all her energy she stabbed once more and the floor beneath the Hellhounds erupted with blades that scythed through many of their legs; but those that were spared the cuts kept coming, clambering over the howling bodies of their fallen comrades. Pulling the sword out of the ground, Rebecca concentrated on feeling as if she were actually stabbing the air and, in a flash of light, the air itself exploded with invisible blades, shredding many more of the Hounds as they ran through them. Yet, still more kept coming.
The creature towering above them continued to watch, apparently unperturbed by the number of Hellhounds being slaughtered below.
“How is the sword doing that?” Felicia shouted over the cacophony of barking and yelping.
“My guess is that the Flame inside the blade is using the wielder’s intentions to determine how to alter the environment,” Doctor Afterland replied.
“No wonder the Gods wanted to keep it inside their Palace,” said Leiko.
