“Do you treat all your guests that way, Erebus?” Annoyance bubbling inside of me, I strode toward him, not stopping or slowing down. I threw all my momentum and weight behind it, punching him square in the nose with all my might. “How dare you put me in that position!”
I couldn’t let him stay here. While the realm he created was beautiful, it was lonely and cold. I knew what happened to the souls in Propalyia. Eventually, they all flung themselves over the gates, only to be impaled, and returned to their homes. They hated me for it, which was why I kept my distance, why they moaned throughout the forests. Every human desires peace, and there was no peace in Propalyia.
Polus takes a deep breath, and the air rises from the ground, swirling and shimmering around his arm, his eyes turning dead-white. The Lord of the Axis in his absolute power now stands before me. I open my wings to their full extent and gather the shadows around me. My scythe appears in my hand, blazing with light.
Mmmmm. Finally. A tranquil moment. No questions, no prodding, just calm water forgiving the weight of the world. As my body welcomed the relief, the scent of oakmoss settled my soul. A hint of neroli diffused my thoughts, and the aroma of spruce took me home. Home. It’s been almost a year since I left. A gentle breeze stirred the forest as I lay beneath the canopy. Serenity eventually occupied my body. Stillness was achieved.
I was a bit surprised. Minotaurs were rarely seen in the mortal world anymore. There were small groups in various mountainous regions, but I hadn’t heard reports of them being in Greece in several centuries. Had Alastor recruited some help in his imagined fight with me?
Ky’Elli and I stared at him in shock. He was barely bigger than a gerbil, and yet he had the heart of a lion! I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing, not wanting to hurt his feelings.
I stopped at every satyr’s corpse and laid drachma over their eyes, praying that Charon would give them swift passage to Elysia.
