Beyond Hades

by Luke Romyn

  Talbot gritted his teeth, obviously in pain. "This thing landed without you, and since you hadn't splattered on the ground I figured you must still be up here. I jumped into the saddle - something which I might add was a lot of fun, right up until my arm almost got torn off - and I got up here just in time to see you fall."

  "I tell you what, Talbot," said Wes. "If I was into man on man lovin', you would be the first on my list." He planted a huge kiss on Talbot's cheek. "Now do you reckon you can land this bitch, or what?"

  Talbot grinned despite his obvious pain, hauling the pegasus around to land behind the Olympian wall. Wes's own grin immediately disappeared as he glimpsed the first of the giants approaching the wall. The giant picked up a huge boulder from the ground and hurled it at one of the catapults, smashing it to pieces as though it were made of straw.

  "Oh shit," Wes muttered. "I'm gonna need a bigger horse for that bastard."

  ***

  Talbot jumped down off the pegasus and stared up at the head of the colossal figure, just visible, approaching the outside of the wall.

  "Hang on," said Wes, leaping down from the stallion and gripping Talbot's left arm with his right. "This is going to hurt."

  The commando wrenched his arm, and Talbot howled in agony as he felt the joint pop back into position. Tears streamed down his face, and he almost fell to his knees.

  "Okay, princess, you can stop crying," said Wes. "We don't have time for you to feel sad. Crack mine back in, would ya?"

  Talbot bit back a curse and gripped Wes's dislocated shoulder, replicating the wrenching movement and hearing the joint snap back into position. He was also rewarded by a groan of pain from the commando. A distinct tear glinted in the corner of his eye.

  "No time for crying, remember?" said Talbot, grinning maliciously.

  "Yeah, laugh it up, chuckles. But don't forget about the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man there." Wes pointed toward the first giant approaching the wall. It was still perhaps a hundred yards away, but Talbot could see the malevolence etched upon its features as it pushed onwards, ever closer to the wall.

  "Come with me," said Wes. He led Talbot swiftly toward the stable, shouting out to Olympians as he went. Two-dozen warriors ran toward him.

  Once inside the stable, the air heavy with the odors of livestock, it took Talbot a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom, and when they did, he audibly gasped. Toward the front of the stable there were stalls housing the ordinary horses, such as those the Olympians had ridden when they'd escaped Tartarus. Beyond these, however, were separated areas within the stable where rows of larger stalls lay, each containing either a pegasus or -

  Unicorns!

  The huge, one-horned beasts stood proudly, seeming to appraise Talbot as he stared, mouth agape, in the shadows of the stable. The unicorns appeared almost twice the size of the largest pegasus - which in turn resembled a big horse from Earth. The unicorns were saddled and ready, with Talbot noticing stable-hands securing the reins to a final one. Wes must have ordered them to prepare the huge beasts when he'd ridden out on the pegasus.

  "Saddle up, boys," shouted Wes, in a horrible parody of John Wayne's drawl - something which was completely lost on the Olympians anyway, who simply stared at him as though the commando had lost his mind. "Just get on the horny horses, okay?" he snapped.

  Talbot moved swiftly to one of the mighty unicorns, a beautiful mare, checking to make sure his sword was still in the scabbard at his hip and accepting the boost from the stable-hand. He needed a lift in order to reach the stirrup, which hung some six feet off the ground. A part of Talbot was perturbed when he glanced around and saw the Olympians and Wes leaping nimbly into the saddles of the enormous beasts, but he shrugged the feeling aside. Now was hardly the time to worry about his pride feeling bruised.

  Outside, Talbot heard the crash of a catapult projectile smashing into what he assumed was the closest giant - which must now be terrifyingly close, judging by the sound. How the hell were they going to stop such huge creatures?

  "Our primary targets are those big fuckers," shouted Wes. "Try to take out their Achilles' tendons from behind, and when they fall to the ground chop the fuck out of their necks before they realize what's going on. The main host still hasn't reached the walls yet; they're probably hanging back waiting for those giants to smash apart the walls first. So at least we have a bit of room to move for the moment. Any questions?"

  The only issue was confusion about the Achilles' tendon; none of the Olympians understood that this actually referred to the tendon at the back of the heel. The irony of Achilles being part of Greek mythology was lost on everyone else, and Wes swiftly explained where the tendon was.

  "Try not to die, okay?" Wes called to them all before leading the way out of the stable, riding high atop his own horned stallion.

  Talbot, along with the Olympians, followed the Australian out, kicking their unicorns into a trot to keep up. Talbot felt the contained power within the beast he rode, and was momentarily awed that he should be carried by such a thing.

  And then he looked up and saw what was in front of him.

  Looming high above the huge outer wall of the city was the upper torso of the first giant. It carried a rough club the size of a full-grown oak tree in its gnarled right hand, which Talbot guessed would make short work of the wall if the giant were allowed to approach unhindered.

  They had to hurry.

  Wes shouted an order to the Olympians manning the gate and they - apparently having been advised to obey the strange Australian - swung the colossal gates open wide enough to allow all the riders to exit.

  Wes kicked his unicorn into a gallop, and Talbot copied the action, grabbing the saddle pommel just in time to stop being thrown backwards by the power of the beast as it surged forward. He adjusted his grip and drew his sword, noting the glimmering power running along its edge.

  Talbot followed Wes, and they shot across the open ground beyond the city walls, directly toward the right leg of the nearest giant. He could hear the pounding of hooves as the Olympian riders followed closely behind. The SAS commando darted in close to the giant. At precisely the same moment, Talbot saw the monster raise its right foot as Wes tried to attack the tendons at the rear of its heel. Seconds later, the enormous, uncovered foot came crashing down right behind Talbot. Riders hauled on their reins and some veered away, but two were just not quick enough, the sound of crushing bones sickening to hear.

  Talbot dragged his mount's head around to the right, the enormous unicorn responding brilliantly and practically spinning on the spot. The huge foot was now directly in front, the heel facing him, and he urged his mount into a run, angling to the left of the heel, his sword tightly gripped in his right hand. Talbot felt excitement coursing through him as he envisioned what he was about to do; he would topple the giant with one sweep and be a hero.

  He swung the blade.

  It bit deeply into the heel of the giant - too deeply.

  He was holding the blade too tightly.

  The next moment, Talbot was on the dusty ground, winded. He glanced around, first noticing his unicorn still running forward, and then becoming aware of the fact his sword was quivering, embedded in the heel of the giant standing directly above him.

  The enormous creature roared in outrage and pain as Talbot leaped to his feet, rushing over to the heel and climbing the rough skin of the giant's foot in an attempt to retrieve his sword. The blade lay embedded around twelve feet up, thanks to the height of the unicorn he'd been riding.

  Just as Talbot's hand closed around the hilt of the sword, he felt himself rising. The entire foot was lifting impossibly high into the sky while Talbot gripped the hilt of the sword helplessly, praying it didn't come loose. He saw the giant's hand coming closer at the same time as the foot reached the height of the giant's waist, and Talbot realized what was about to happen.

  The giant was going to swat him like a mosquito!

  Talbot looked around for some method of escape, but
nothing was forthcoming. The ground would kill him just as surely as the giant's hand if he decided to drop, and there was nothing he could reach by jumping.

  He was going to get squashed like a bug.

  Just as Talbot contemplated trying his luck and letting go, the giant's hand paused and it roared once more before Talbot felt himself falling. The giant's other leg seemed to have collapsed beneath it, and the ground rushed toward Talbot with sickening swiftness. He scrambled to the other side of the ankle - the side facing away from the ground - and pushed his body flat against the rough skin of the giant, hoping it would be enough to cushion the blow.

  It was... barely.

  Talbot hit the ground astride the giant's ankle at about the same speed as a car crash, the impact tearing loose the sword still embedded in the flesh of the giant's Achilles' and hurling Talbot a good twenty feet through the air, crashing into the ground, once again winding him, and causing his newly repaired shoulder to scream in agony.

  Sucking in huge gulps of air, he struggled unsteadily to his feet. Checking himself over for injury, Talbot picked up his sword and sheathed it, gazing at the giant figure lying prone upon the ground, blood gushing from both its ankles. It struggled in vain to stand once more, holding its heels with its massive hands. Instead, it merely flopped around like an enormous fish out of water.

  Wes appeared, holding aloft the bloodied sword of Chiron and rode his unicorn directly for the giant's huge head. Its hand moved too slowly to defend itself, and Wes slashed his blade viciously into the creature's throat.

  Blood gushed from the horrific wound, covering Wes and his mount, almost knocking the Australian from the saddle. He held on to the pommel with difficulty and bolted out of the way as the massive hands reached up to staunch the wound in the giant's neck. It was too late, though, and within moments the huge creature bled out and crumpled while the bloody river slowly lessened.

  Hearing hoof beats behind him, Talbot spun, scrabbling for the hilt of his Olympian sword as he did. His unicorn mount approached hesitantly, a look not unlike concern upon its equine features, and Talbot wondered if the horned animal was much more intelligent than its smaller and hornless counterpart.

  When Talbot refrained from drawing his sword, the unicorn seemed to decide it was safe to approach and drew alongside him. It then kneeled down on the blue grass to allow him to mount more easily, and Talbot felt certain there was a higher level of astuteness in the large hazel eyes which regarded him.

  Nodding slightly to the unicorn, Talbot leaped smoothly into the saddle, grabbing the reins as the huge mare rose to her feet once more. Wes swiftly rode over to him, wiping blood from his eyes and face as he did so.

  "Did you enjoy your ride?" the commando asked, a wide grin splitting his crimson-splattered features.

  "Hardly," replied Talbot. "Well done on your kill; only two more to go now."

  "Yeah, I sent those other boys on to begin the attack, but wanted to make sure you were still pretty."

  Talbot grinned. "I'll be okay. How did you avoid getting your sword stuck in the heel like I did?" he asked.

  "Simple," replied Wes, turning his horse toward the nearest giant. "I pulled the fucker out instead of letting it pull me out...or off... whatever."

  He let out a whoop and charged toward the next giant, which was already being attacked by the Olympian riders. Talbot moved to follow, but then saw something which caught his eye, making him gasp.

  It was Cerberus!

  When Talbot had gazed out at the initial attacking force, he hadn't seen Cerberus simply because he'd been looking for the gigantic, three headed dog with the tail of a snake. He hadn't thought to look for the tiny puppy within the monstrous horde.

  And there it was, running in front of the advancing line of Titans, its two remaining heads sweeping from side to side with jaws agape, tongues lolling, the stump of its tail wagging slightly.

  Then it saw Talbot. Recognition seemed to pass across the puppy's features as it identified him and snarled. Cerberus's hackles rose, and a loud growl reverberated across the battleground while it suddenly doubled in size repeatedly, until it towered some twenty feet high in the sky and pounced toward him.

  Talbot had no time to think, no time to decide the wisest course of action. Instinct kicked in, and he turned the head of his unicorn toward the demonic beast, urging his mount to charge.

  The unicorn responded instantly and surged forward without hesitation toward the two-headed Cerberus. The unicorn picked up pace, and Talbot gripped the saddle's pommel and the reins in order to steady himself upon the galloping beast.

  At the very last moment, his unicorn dropped her head, lowering the three-foot-long horn to aim directly at the chest of Cerberus. The giant dog realized at the last moment and tried to turn away, exposing itself in the process. The horn smashed into Cerberus's unprotected chest, smashing through the ribcage and skewering a lung.

  Cerberus was thrown sideways with the force of the impact, sliding clear of the horn in the same motion. White blood gushed from the wound, filling the huge dog's lung from inside, and as it tried to howl, froth spewed from its mouths. Within seconds, the gigantic canine stopped twitching, shuddering heavily before seeming to sigh slightly.

  Cerberus was dead.

  Talbot patted the unicorn's neck with a trembling hand. "Well done, girl," he muttered.

  Glancing around, he saw one of the giants suddenly drop to one knee before pitching facedown to the ground. The vibrations of the impact reverberated to where he sat atop his ride almost three hundred yards distant. One of the Olympian riders darted in and severed the giant's carotid artery. The colossus reached up and smashed him and his mount into the hard ground with its left hand, causing another vibration.

  Something flashed by Talbot's head, and he turned to see Titan warriors rushing toward him, spears flying from their hands. In his focus upon Cerberus, and then the felling of the second giant, Talbot had momentarily forgotten about the Titans - a mistake which had almost cost him his life as a spear had only missed him by half a foot!

  Kicking the unicorn into motion, Talbot raced toward Wes and the Olympians, where they moved to take out the third and final giant.

  Or so they hoped.

  ***

  Wes angled his new mount directly toward the bulging legs of the last giant, sucking in a huge gulp of air as he did so. He'd been extremely lucky to escape the last one; it had fallen almost completely on top of him when he'd sliced through its Achilles' tendon, and he'd only survived by hurling himself away from his unicorn, whose spine had been smashed as the giant's knee had crashed into it. The mount he now rode belonged to an Olympian who would need it no longer - he'd jumped the wrong way and ended up beneath the falling giant instead of getting clear.

  The unicorn had initially run from him, and he'd had to chase it across the battlefield. He'd finally given up and yelled out for it to stop, and miraculously it had obeyed. Wes had mounted the trembling beast and now rode it directly for the last giant, which was rapidly approaching the outer wall of Mount Olympus.

  He wasn't going to make it in time.

  The ten surviving Olympian riders galloped ahead of Wes, when the giant suddenly turned and jumped, both feet leaving the ground and stomping down simultaneously directly on top of the tightly bunched Olympians and their unicorns, killing them all instantly.

  "Shit!" shouted Wes.

  His chances of stopping the last giant on his own were almost zero. Even Wes, with all of his cockiness, knew that. He glanced around and saw Talbot riding swiftly toward him, but this didn't lift his hopes too much. This third giant seemed the smartest of the bunch - his actions to destroy the threat of the Olympians attested to as much - and Wes couldn't see how the two of them stood a chance at stopping the behemoth. Wes slowed his steed, waiting for Talbot to catch up.

  "What took you so long?" he asked.

  "Cerberus," grunted Talbot.

  "Is it dead?"

  "I hope so," re
plied Talbot. "How the hell are we gonna take this guy down?"

  "I was just about to ask you the same thing. You're supposed to be the one with all the brains."

  "And you're supposed to be the deadly warrior," retorted Talbot with a wry grin.

  "This is true. I guess that means we're really fucked if your brains and my brawn can't figure out a way to take this big bastard down."

  "What's that?" asked Talbot suddenly, pointing up at the crenellated battlements.

  Wes followed where he was pointing and squinted. It looked like they were loading something huge onto one of the catapults. And what was that sprouting from all around the thing, were they... arms?

  "Holy shit. That's one of those Heca-thingies like your mate Briareus," gasped Wes.

  "Hecatonchires," corrected Talbot absently, shielding his eyes. "I think it's the one called Kottos, he was wearing the green loincloth."

  "What the hell are they playing at?" Wes glanced along the wall, noticing one of the other fifty-foot-tall Hecatonchires was sitting atop the cup-like section of the catapult arm at the other end of the wall.

  As he was watching this, Wes saw the gates open and Briareus stride out, his hundred arms flexing and fifty heads all fixed upon the giant, now almost within reach of the wall. A few more steps and it would be able to bring its huge club crashing down onto the only defensive feature of the entire city. It would smash the wall to rubble in moments.

  Briareus began to run forward and the giant peered down at him, raising the huge club in order to smash the Hecatonchires into the ground. At the same time, however, both catapults released. The arms whipped forward, throwing the two brothers directly at the giant.

  The two multi-limbed and multi-headed brothers soared through the air, crashing simultaneously into the giant's chest at precisely the same time as Briareus hit it around the waist. Each of the Hecatonchires was fifty feet tall, and the combined impact of all three hitting the giant at the same time smashed it off its feet and into the ground.