Akhill

Chapter One: Nightmare II

Marcus dived towards Katherina's direction to push her away from the flying dart. "What! The cave has traps in it!" Katherina befuddled.

"Yes, you muscle-head, thus the reason for William's demur." Marcus scolded as he pulled the dart out of his side.

"Easy Marcky, I can handle myself. The more the merrier papa always says."

"Your papa, the drunk thinker." Marcus looks at her stupefied. "I will inform your mama when we get back. Muscle-head."

"No Marcky, not ma—" A sound broke in as a flint flew there way. Katherina's reaction was so fast she blocked everyone of the dart in an instant.

"See, I can do it."

"Mama, would still hear, you let papa influence you too much."

"Enough, family discuss." Selene broke in. "We need to get through this trap infested cave in and out one direction." She said, pondering. "We might as well die today."

"Yea, Captain." The siblings said in unison. "But a glorious death it will be. Papa always say."

"Ah! mama would hear." Katherina threatens Marcus. "A truces, sister for death awaits our victory." Marcus wrapped his bleeding side and they all set to conquer the cave in order to find the woman, little did they know that she wasn't there.

***

"What is that?" A hunter asked another as they journeyed into the cave."

"Shh, Plush-ears, If the Marshal smells your fear, you will be in luck if he doesn't kill you himself."

"Equin, how deep his this cave." Marshal asked.

"200 mile by Bats cry."

"Samantha, go with Equin towards the left. You two are with me."

This cave, unlike the cave Selene stumbled into, had little or no trap but the interior was a labyrinth that had swallowed the most seasoned warrior from Caldwell the great of the Northern county to Maximus wolf of the East. Every warrior's quest ends in the belly of the cave having a wall of bioluminescence algae and spontaneous eating away of oxygen. The wall slippery and floor far from uniform, the ingenious occupant of his cave; the bat, fell victim of the warrior who fell victim of the cave. A writer once wrote concerning this cave; 'The life its breaths are digest of the Mighty it consumed. The warriors flee yet the kings intend to conquer'. The reputation of this cave has little to no Jolly. To be afraid was an honourable thing before this cave.

"This woman sure is bold."Equin looked sternly observing every spikey feel, every bladelike projections. The sound of bones crunching with the echo, the rats and slithering creatures laid muted against the boot which raised and fell, dragged and paused upon it.

"What now Marshal, it is—"

A creak sound from behind. The one with the voice, had an excellent hearing turned sharply and observed a glowing eye floating seven feet above ground, growling.

"Ma-Mar-Marshal. I, I, I think the gatekeeper is angry." He stuttered.

"Gate wha—" the Marshal looked back and saw the creature, though fear knocked his door. He chose to stand stern, unmoved.

"Cebe, ceba—"

"Raw!" Another crippled by fear shouted.

"Cerberus?" Equin, though distant from Marshal, heard the sound carried by the air.

"Calm down, Plush-ears. It is just an oversized dog." The marshal moves backwards signaling the two to follow suit. "It doesn't even have three heads, it can't be cerberus." Skillfully calming his team.

The fear stricken Plush-ears, crawling backwards.

"Death, why? this is my first job with the hunters. Why?" The Plush-ears struggled with his thoughts as he had a growl loud beside him and a drool splash close to his hand.

"Argh," He jumped up, turned and ran without thinking which did more harm than good as it was recorded of the creature in the Lords library.

'The creature they called Cerberus, the Hound of death, lived for the hunt. It never attacks a prey who stays calm'. Needless to say, plush-ear was doomed.

Cerberus roared and another like it with the glowy eye came out from within its bones out of skin to chase the Plush-ear.

"Marshal, its head is now two." The last Plush-ear left with the marshal muttered. "This creature can duplicate itself." He stood transfixed.

The creature lowered its head and growled and the last one standing with the Marshal heard 'You, don't be a bore, run and I will fetch.'

"It is waiting for us to run also." The Marshal said,"Hold your ground and stay still."

After a while the defeated cry of the fled Plush-ear flowed back. The Hound with eye like fire and body disperse in the black dark cave, a perfect ground for this predator to hunt the hunters. It walk forwad from the boring Marshal and walked pass to meet the its duplicate and sled its tail along the late man standing with the Marshal for to get a reaction but none received.

Cerberus ran straight then sped back with his one head morphed into three paused breath distance from the man.

"By the gods!" The man collapsed, devoured by fear, and struck his head on the cave's ground.

"Plush-ears are ridiculous."

***

"So far, nothing." Equin said, his chained blade in hand ready to be let loose. "Samantha, what do you see." She looked. "Nothing Equin only bones and rags."

"Its be a good thing to have one who can see clearly at nig—"

A breath, stained with blood found it way into Equin's nostrils so much he turned to check and saw this glowy eye with no obvious body growling.

"Samantha, don't look back."

Samantha curious about why one of the team's strong would say to her 'dont look back' with a voice that vulnerable. She turned and saw this creature which stood tall seven feet and wide three feet. A eye as big as the human head and a claw that can slice through diamond. The muscle of this creature was designed to outrun the fastest prey and jaw to chew through metal. It fur glittery black and skin sturdy than the hardest leather.

"What, what is that!" She froze in a spot, asking with taking her eye off the creature that shook it head and two other heads grew out of it then this head separated from the body and had their own body.

"What is this?"

"They call it Cerberus, the Hound of death."

"Cerberus, is that not a fairy tale."

"It is more of a myth than a fairy tale, samant—"

The Cerberuses roared at something behind them which made the space they stayed illuminated.

Samantha, like a gate with a stiff hinge, turned to see what creature would make the hound of death feel uneasy but instead was met by a dart. Samantha's vision blurred as she went down unconscious noticing a creature less than six feet tall. "What is that?" She quizzed as she hit the ground.

"Samantha." Equin sensing she was down, thought to himself, "I either run towards one and be killed or wait for them to fight and be stomped on. He choose the former. Dashed towards one of the Cerebuses with the belief that the creature behind is much worse.

"My death shall be as one of a warrior." He threw the blade of his chained weapon but noticed it had no effect, twirled mid air but discovered he was lying faced up on the ground in a flash.

"Howw…" He tongue tangling and a creature he believed to be the one who made Cerberus uneasy, walked on two legs and bent beside him and said.

"My child will live." in sob.

***

"Levesque, wake up you weak fool." The Marshal kicked the man who laid unconscious.

"Marshal!" Levesque shouted. "I think I need to see the physician. I see weird things."

"No Plush-ear, Cerberus stood fierce before us."

"Mar, Mar, Mar, Marsh—"

"Speak up, what is—" The Marshal looked back as his sword dropped at the sight he beheld.

"Equin, No, Samantha—" The Marshal stared heart bleeding. Before him approaching was the body of his mates hanging, breathless. The eye within the blood of the Marshal opened and he felt an anger that he had never felt in all his years and it was targeted towards one. "That woman."

Levesques stepped backwards, scared of not just the seven foot flesh devouring Hound but also of the fire crowned Marshal.

"Levesques, make sure you don't—"

"Argh!" Levesques pulled backwards by something pierced through his shoulder. The Marshal saw a moving amber then rushed skilfully but the speed was beyond his legs.

"Marshal!" The voice of levesques flowed from high, low then silence.

The moving amber fizzled out and the darkest of the cave crawled back leaving the Marshal with echoes of himself as sweat slithered down his back.

"If it was not for that wo—" A sound dashed through the air towards the Marshal who swung his sword cutting the sharp object that approached him. The Marshal with his senses heightened as he blocked, dodged, blocked the stream of darts that flew towards him.

"Who is—" A growl sounded behind him as a cold sweat flowed down his body. "By the gods, death seem to be at my door." He swung his sword backwards but felt no impact.

"What is this?" He thought, and heard the growl again, swung his sword yet no impact but the Hound stood before him. "What sorcery?" He jumped backwards, muttering.

Standing his ground, the Marshal rushed towards the Hound to confirm his theory but was punched backwards, his back hitting the wall.

"Yea, it is most certainly real." The Hound approached him in full Majesty, bowed to sniff the Marshal who drove his hand towards the Hounds eye but his hands went through without any ounce of impact. The Hound growled, drool dropping, opened its mouth wide to devour and the Marshal thought being pinned down by the huge paw "what a sad way to go." But to his surprise the Hound sounded affright, moved back tail between legs and ears down.

"What can make scared this beast." The marshal looked in the direction the Hound was looking at and saw the amber that accompanied the snatching of levesque and the shadow of a figure walking on two legs approached. The closer the shadow the clearer the image formed within the Marshal eye and the clearer it formed the more he was sure it was a human and the more he was sure the more he could swear that he was a woman.

***

"Katherina, watch your step, aye." Marcus pointed towards the area of her foot, where there was a paralytic thong. She looked and repositioned her foot then she noticed an amber run from afar. She instinctively chased the amber without a conscious plan on how to defeat whatever it is.

"Katherina! Be care—" Marcus stretched his hand towards her direction but chose to stay behind. "Impulsive muscle-head."

"What now Selene, should we go after her or what?" Marcus looked towards Selene who was still in shock of what she observed that moved with the amber before Katherina.

"Uhm, Selene, are you still there?" Marcus snapped his fingers within the frame of Selene's eye.

"Marcus, pull out your weapon and go after Katherina now!" Selene shouted. Marcus is familiar with this state of Selene, the state that made her the only hunter revered by the Marshal; her ability to weigh the possibility of death regardless of situation both in battle and in the average discussion. Marcus ran in towards Katherina but as he closed in a sound cut through the air, he skillfully moved his upper body leftwards, evading the four inch long dart.

"Argh!" Katherina's voice echoed

"Kathy!" Marcus shouted, ran faster, seeing by the fragrance of the wind. "Where?"

The sound of the clanging metal sounded louder and Marcus followed but the closer he got, the lower the clangs and sways which made him put more effort to his legs to run faster.

"Not again." He swerved then cut through the flying darts that came his way with his swords then returned running forward in Katherina's direction.

"Bullocks, I give up." Katherina said has her legs squiggly and her two hands dropped, surrendering her two mid range axes.

Marcus made a sharp turn and was met with a school of bat which he instinctively ripped some apart. Shredding wings, dropping many as he moved through. The bat scattered more, giving way for him to see his beloved sister lying breathless on the floor.

"Kathy," Marcus usheathed his dagger, sobbing, kneeling beside his sister, head to head, then the amber moved behind him, he hastily stood, ran to catch the amber.

"I will aven—" Marcus' body went down frozen and was made breathless.

"War and battles, thus, look mad at night." A voice said.

***

The mad tracker looked up the sky, with a voice more stern than his usual way a speaking.

"The stars are being swallowed by the clouds, Agnes."

"Ye-yes. Uncloaked." Agnes replied.

The Uncloaked stood up, dusted and readjusted his cloth. "Let's get going, Aggy." Agnes pricked by what he called her but responded regardless feeling she had been called worse.

"Where are we going, Un-Un-Uncloaked." Agnes constantly hopping to catch up with the Uncloaked's urgency pace.

"To the cross Bridge. And you can call me U."

"U is-is-is, is that yo-yo-your name?" Agnes asked curiously, chasing after the quick paced tracker.

"It is to save you the headache, Aggy."

"Oh, Wh,wh, why Bridge?"

"I have an inkling, and it is located at Styx." The Uncloaked said, looking around the floor taking in the air.

"Styx bu, bu, but I tho,tho,thought we,we,we are going to see—"

***

"William!"

A voice called, as a pointy edge cut through the air. William pulled an arrow out of the quiver tied to his leg and shot it to counter the arrow flying towards him. He stood up, ran forward abit, looked around.

"Who is there?"

Another of such a pointy edge, cut through in air in twos, William with such mad skill shot one and almost simultaneously shot another countering the approaching arrow. "Show yourself!" William glanced the landscape and noticed a figure some meters away.

"Wow" he said. "You are good." Williams impressed, shot three consecutive arrows towards the dot afar off. In consent his arrows were cancelled. He ran forward towards the figure coming down the height he stayed as a sniper, shot consecutively non-stop towards the figure that also ran towards him cancelling his arrows with arrows. William, some inch close to this figure leaped, felt his quiver and discovered it was empty. Undeterred, he flipped himself switching from bow to knives and threw in series but was countered in succession by the enemies arrows. At the throw of the last knife, he pulled out the sword horizontally placed at his back then drove it down to strike the enemy only to discover his body frozen as an arrow like dart stuck in his forehead.William's pulled sword dropped and he landed face flat.

"A showey archer thou art."

"Teacher." William thought as consciousness fizzled out.

***

"U, Styx is tha-that's wu-wu-way why ar-ar-are you going this route." Agnes, unsure what goes on in the mad tracker's mind.

"Aggy, say, I am wrong, tell me why the c**k crows and the hen don't, Aggy." U observe the sky, looked at Agnes who was breathing heavily from her attempt to keep her pace with the Uncloaked.

She lifted a finger, which the Uncloaked interpreted to mean 'give me a moment."

"Pre-pr-pray d-d-do tell." Agnes replied standing upright, setting her huge axe better on her back.

"On basic knowledge, Aggy, it is Territory."

"Terr-ter-terr-terri-ritory, Ah-ah-ah-How?" Agnes asked her, stuttering in a worse condition because of her panting.

"Ease in defeat becomes hard when the enemy dictate the time and place." The Uncloaked picks up his pace. "Aggy, go hide your axe under that rock, We don't need it where we are going."

Agnes, a Plush-ear, isn't fond of brute force. She made haste towards the rock U mentioned and marked the spot for her ease in relocating it.

"Haste, my dear Aggy, we might miss—"

***

"William!" Selene running out from the cave."Are you asleep again? William!" She looked around and noticed someone laying faced down.

"William!" Selene ran down the high cave to check on William but had a strange felling of being followed. She turned again and again to confirm her heightened sensory art which rarely deceives.

"Show yourself." Selene stopped and pulled out her glassy crafted sword which reflected the crescent walking into a distance giving way for the morning light."I know you are there. Who are you?"

Selene pulled out a Hunter signal flare and shot it upwards towards direction of the Marshal.

"You Coward! Show yourself!" Selene unlike Samantha have no clear sight in darkness but can sense the slight intent of a living being. A dart flew her way, which she blocked with the flat side of her sword.

"Show, thyself, Coward!" She shouted, as she walked backwards facing where the high life stood. A growl jolted her but she ignored it, kept walking backwards and strangely walked through the growling figure then struck an orb and the growling figure dispersed. "Coward, I am from the sensory clan, this does not walk on me."

"Oh, Selene, I knoweth that thou art a sensor." The voice came from behind, Selene turned swiftly to attack the voice but felt her hand refuse to respond to her then her leg fell and the face of her skin sagged. "You are—"

***

"I am become craze this day. How this beast be affrighted by a frail human." The Marshal muttered.

"No, Marshal thou art apt." The voice of this figure was that of a woman the Marshal knows too well.

"Thetis! how?" She dropped his sword beside him and sat beside the strength devoid Marshal.

"Selene, did inform me of your direction." Thetis said as blood walked out her body.

"How?" The marshal inquired. "I see you look bad."

"Yea, Marshal, the dusk of this day, my days won't enter." The marshal as he spoke moved his hand towards his sword. He got hold of the sword but before he could make a move he felt a sharp stab on his neck.

"Sleep now, my dear Marshal."

"Paralys—" the tongue of the marshal tingled as his body function feel into silence.

Thetis stood up, blood dripping, leg dragging as she walked out, stopped, looked back at the affrighted Hound and felt her face broaden with a smile as a flash of the child came to her.

"Cease thy fear, thou Hound of death." She dropped a stone-like thingy that broke on impact to the ground as she journeyed back to her beloved Child, making the Hound fade into nothingness.

"Thy eye thus deceives thee, dear Marshal."

The back to her child was filled with more joy than sorrow, the cave at Styx had kept her Child safe, the child's purser silenced and finally escape awaits them.

***

The crescent moon had returned home to rest for its time was accomplished as the sun stretched its arm waking up from slumber, getting ready to begin its time. The Uncloaked communed with Agnes as they picked the pace to the cross bridge in Styx and Agnes intermediately quizzed the uncloaked. "Faith, not just an Inkling, Aggy."

Gentle were the air that blew, soft the dew and silence the creatures of dawn. The rattle of leaves and the frequent kicking of dust, surrounded by Mountains with fountains a common place, such was the blessedness of Styx. Bandits, Theft, Murder go unhindered for Styx provided safety even to the most undeserving.

"Aggy, do you know why Styx is not counted as any Counts' Territory." U asked, seeing the cross bridge far off.

"Be-be-because it is in the centre of ev-ev-every County." Agnes replied.

"No, No, No my little Aggy." U said returning briefly to his crazed state then snapped back.

"Little Aggy, I am due for betrothalment." She soliloquized. "Wh-wh-why then?"

"It houses the worst of outcasts. You can call Styx, a place of the excommunicated, discarded, disowned and such as that."

"So-so-so why is it, th-then re-re-revered, if it-it it for Outcasts." Agnes asked afterwards.

"Hero and the greatest of villains also are born from here." U looked around, spotted a well and remembered. "I am tasty Aggy, Let's rest here for awhile."

"But th-th-thats the Cross bridge is over there." Agnes, confused to the reason he chooses again like he did before to sit when his destination is at sight range.

"They call me the Uncloaked, for I am unmatched, the throne honors my presence, for my real —" The uncloaked ignored Agnes and drew water while humming his self-gratifying song.

"Uriel—"

***

"Easy now my Child, Mother is back." Thetis sat still beside the child then rose to watch herself the streaming lake found with the cave and wore her cloth which she wore into the cave, washed and having its original glistening of royal white, the blacks eliminated. She approached the child who laid away, lifted it up and took the Child to be cleansed also. "Haste, we must make my Child for the war still linger."

Thetis returned to the position she laid the Child, picked up her phylactery, opened it and brought out a feather and a little bottle, set it down beside the baby.

"My end thus draws near my Child but your beginning is far from start." She dipped the feather into a bottle as one intended to write on a parchment, moved closer to the child and wrote on his left hand. The child cried in pain as its blood drop, dripped.

"Bear, my Child, your story's past, that I write." She kept writing until she covered the Child left hand in marking of words in her native tongue but the last she wrote in words understood by all.

"Forgive me my Child." She strub the Child and gave suck, laid the Child back to dress it. She tore her warrior's clothing and made a swaddling cloth for the child and made something else that from far away looked like a Child in a swaddling cloth.

"Lets go my Child, the chariot arrives soon."

"It's almost time." U muttered.

"You-you-your name is-is -is Uriel, No."

Excited by the words of Agnes the man with the sprinkles of gray on his head, smiled, almost to tears. "You were listening, my sweet little Aggy." The word 'little' still had an unsettling ring to it by Agnes seeing through the man's eye knew he had the right to call her that.

"Aye, Aggy, My real name is Uriel—no one calls me that anymore— the last surviving pure blood of my people as of today."

"Don't let her escape." The pitch of the voice delivered the wordings to the location of Uriel and Agnes.

"It started already." Uriel smiled as he spotted the woman he was chasing for a whole day.

"Tha-th-that is-is-is the lord's wife. The Marshal missed her." Agnes attempted to pull out her axe then remembered she had left it behind.

"Yo-you-you knew this would happen, why did you ask me to hide my weapon!" She, drowning in vexation. "The lord would have your head for treason."

"Easy now little—"

"Don't call me little or Aggy, I am a recognised mate of the Hunters and soon to be betrothed." Uriel, surprised that anger could cure a stutter.

"Forgive me, Agnes but the Lady and the Child would meet an end regardless. I just want to see her once more."

The stream of vexation almost disappeared from Agnes for by nature, she was the Hunter of sympathy. Thus the reason she was only included till a point where sympathy was allowed.

"Wh-wh-why do-do-do you-you want to se-se-see her once more, she mi-mig-might survive."

"The gates of the afterlife await her. She is running by a will not for her survival but the Child's." Uriel pointed and directed Agnes' gaze towards the woman's cloth, now tinted in red. A stream flowing from her side, stuck with an arrow and bruised hands.

"Goo-goo-good right." Agnes now with little or no ounce of vexation.

"Yes, Agnes, good but that is the reason I will be the last pure blood of my Townspeople." Realising that, Agnes' eyes were flooded with liquid and her heart unhappy with herself, pull her hand close to her chest, was down with words struggling to escape her lip. "I am —"

***

"Sorry, my child." Thetis looked at her hand in tears standing midway of the close bridge. "I have failed you my Child." The enemies chasing her hold a picture of her, arrived at the edge of the bridge but saw that she stood in the midst of the bridge.

"Why is she not running?"

"Surrender that Child, we have no business with you. Resist and meet the same fate."

Thetis with tears raining down her face and blood almost empty from her pulled out a knife from within her hair and shouted. "I would rather die holding close to his embrace than give my beloved Child to the likes of thou folly brains."

Thetis skillfully with one hand the knife and the other the Child, swung the knife which went through the side ropes of the bridge like a heated knife through butter. The bridge turned leftwards pouring Thetis out like water, falling heights from the ground.

Agnes covered her eyes for her nature could not look at the gruesome death of a Child and a mother but the eyes of Uriel stayed on the woman as she fell slowly out of sight, tears unwithheld.

"I am now alo—" Uriel paused as his eye caught the Child falling strangely beside it Mother and Smiled.

***

"What a waste of effort." The herd of chasers different from the hunters said in anger as the returned. "Her bounty was enough to make all of us return to our county's king."

The chase that began with the hunters turn hunted and the hunted became hunter, revolved into the chase between royals turned outcast and outcast turned royal. A mother's heart she has and a warrior no less. She bruised, demeaned but a mother no less a price she paid for the child of her womb. Out of the chaff of injustice she strove a hero in the eye of one but a rebel in the eye of many. She chose the route of hatred over love without her Son. In the end she was seen as a—

"Thetis! Why?"

Can this be the end, can the life of a book end in its first chapter, I wonder. Until the time ceased to speak. A chapter is all that it takes to —

"Forgive me?"

Thetis falling remembered the one she loves that sort her son's life, how they dance, the mesmerising and courting, above all she remembered the blond hair and faint blue eyes color that swept her out off her desire to be wild to become a wife worthy of envy and how she willful received his seed which she transformed into a son like never seen. Yet now falling down a bridge was the don she loves that she killed with her own hands by writing the world understood.

"I left you because your father rejected you."

Then rose cry rose from within a carriage.