**** Aria ****
Aria drifted to sleep on watch. It was not a full dead on sleep where she was not aware of things. But the kind that her ability would wake her if anything new came around. Nox's dreams were the most familiar to her, Jacinda she couldn't begin to fathom the depths of her mind, not yet. Things could change, Aria wasn't sure if that was going to go well or not, but only time would tell.
The sun peaked its head over the horizon and Aria stretched. The sun rise was always a pretty thing to see. It was something she typically caught just as she went to sleep, being a normal hunter on Nox's hours had change that. It kept Lucas happy, they saw a bit more of each other. But there were times when she would go for days on end with her night owl ways.
Aria woke the fire with a few more twigs and started some coffee. Food would have to be whatever they had in their packs, Aria wasn't in the mood to cook, but she knew better than to not have coffee when Nox woke up. His normal sarcasm turned dark and mean and he was just a pain in the butt without it. It was just safer, she was pretty sure Jacinda was pretty dependent on it herself.
Aria pulled up her wallet and started combing through the relatevant articles again. There was little to no information on the artifact itself. But they had a location, Aria supposed that was the best thing to do. Though they would have to play tourist for a bit before they could wander off into the cavern that was cordoned off.
Breakfast was quiet, everyone seemed in their thoughts. Nox felt better, she was tired though. Aria was glad that Jacinda hadn't asked about the blow to the head. Might not have gone so well knowing that Nox had smashed her upside the head to keep her quiet and malleable.
They packed up in relatively silence, it wasn't overly strained but still it was there. They drove the distance to the Tourist trap. The cavern was deep and there were many tours, it wasn't difficult to find one, but it was difficult to take their weapons down below, safety. Thankfully Nox was there, he had his weapon, whatever they found down below hopefully he could dispatch it, if there was anything more than the artifact they found.
They joined their tourist group and headed into the cavern of rock. It was a 90 minute tour, and it wouldn't take them long to be deep with in the earth. It was eeirly quiet for Aria, the deeper they went the more she only felt the people with her, the rock or the depth barring her senses. Either way it was almost silence.
It really was a majestic site. It was an interesting tour, but when Aria saw the ropped off area, they fell to the back, slowly falling back until the group rounded a corner and they slipped underneath the rope and headed deeper into the cavern they needed.
**** Jacinda ****
The morning had been quiet but Jacinda was ok with that. Her head pounded and she took a couple of pain pills. She wasn't stupid. The guy had been clearly dead when nothing smacked into her head. It didn't take a genius to figure it was Nox that had done it.
Not that she begrudged him that. She would have done the same thing in his shoes. When you're in a tight situation and don't have a lot of time, you don't stand around arguing with people. You make sure what needs to happen happens as quickly as possible. Gun to the head, a blow to the head, whatever worked.
The more she thought about Nox and that whip of his the more excited she got. Not simply because it was pretty cool to see. More what it represented. With Aria to track, Nox as the muscle, and her as the brains and leader, there was no telling what they could do. The image of the panther and the tiger came to mind again and she smiled tightly.
They were quiet as they ate and drank their coffee. Aria took the lead in explaining where they were going. Jacinda had never been to these caverns before, but she'd hunted in caves often. Oni preferred them.
Used to be that the idea of being in a cave scared her a bit. Mostly it was the fear of getting lost or trapped down there. There wasn't much pattern to it and if you weren't careful getting lost was pretty easy, especially if you were chasing after or running from something.
Gradually, though, she'd learned how to do it properly. They were going to be going on a guided tour for the first part, but they'd be spelunking after that. Jacinda wasn't sure if Aria and Nox had ever done it. From the way Aria packed, she didn't think she had.
They couldn't look like they were going to ditch the tour so a hard hat with a light was out of the question. But she put a forhead strap light in her pack, a first aid kit, gloves and knee pads, a couple flashlights with fresh batteries, some bright flagging tape to mark their trail, some water and food. She packed efficiantly and her backpack didn't bulge.
They headed out and to the caverns and paid the fee and before long they were underground. The guide was giving them useless information about the history of the cave and how it had formed, about stalagtites and mineral drips or whatever. She did have to admit that the place looked pretty cool though, what with all the half-melted looking formations and the colors of the walls. It was cool down here and she was glad of her light jacket.
The hung back and gradually the group moved further and further away. When it was clear, they slipped beneath a rope and headed down one of the tunnels. Jacinda let Aria take the lead, what with her tracking skills and all. With her dark hair and black jeans and shirt, she looked sleek and deadly though she hadn't been able to bring her swords. Jacinda definitely enjoyed watching her from behind. She thought of the panther again.
Nox brought up the rear. Her own jeans were tight and blue. She hoped Nox was enjoying the view. Her tiger, right behind her. The was really enjoying this.
**** Nox ****
It was an odd occurance that Aria was without her swords. Tourists just don't carry them. The rest of their gear was pretty easily take in, but her sword, that wouldn't work, she knew it and hadn't even thought to bring it with her. No arguements, no nothing, surprised him, she would fight over wearing it in public, but when it mattered she didn't, he'd have to remember that for the future.
The tour was boring, the site was interesting, the colors, the shapes, it was probably something every local child came to see at least once in their early childhood. Public schools were like that, private too, but with technology the way it was now, they probably had virtual tours too, ones from the safety of your own home, the comforts of your nice warm bed instead of the cold damn and dark that followed them here.
Once they were well out of sight of the crowd and down in their own little world down under the ground, Nox grabbed the power and Aria turned around and looked at him, almost like she was afraid of what he'd do. He grinned at her and held his hand out flat and created a glowing orb of air and fire. It didn't flicker like a lantern and it had far more light than the flashlights they had. They couldn't see into the darkness beyond, but that was what Aria was for. If Jacinda wanted to hunt with them, she'd hunt with them. Nox doubted that there were monsters here, but you never know, something had happened to keep this section away from the public. And that was what they were here to find out.
The ball floated in mid-air he was proud of it. It wasn't his typical weave but Aria insisted he learn a few other useful things. Nox knew that she wished he'd learn a lot more helpful things, things like healing. But he had no skill, or any patience in that. He didn't want to be the only one doing things around here. He knew that was his laziness talking, Aria did plenty.
The caverns were narrow at some points, wider at others. Nox wondered if Aria knew where she was going, or if this was just some kind of treasure hunt. They came to a fork in the caverns networks. Before it was pretty easy to guess where where they were going, as there really was only one way, this was really the first choice. He smiled, Nox was glad he was not in charge for once he was glad of that fact.
**** Aria ****
Nox grabbed at the power and Aria stopped suddenly, it was not like it was unusual, but the sheer presense of the emptiness made his vanishing act all the more perlious in her eyes. She turned around and looked at him. Nox grinned back at her, his charm seeping through the seams. She couldn't feel him, but she knew what he felt like with it. Residual memories, not actual feelings. It was something she had had to get used to knowing people well enough, that they understood her, and didn't hide from her. The ball of light floated just high enough they could see above and below. All powered by things Aria would never understand. She wondered what Jacinda thought of Nox's tricks. He wasn't showing off, not this time, he was doing his job. He'd learned a lot since their first meeting, and Aria pushed him to learn more. He disliked the mundane things, but he enjoyed using his power more, so he tolerated her suggestions. Might have even found a few useful at least.
Aria turned back around after a she smiled at him and lead their until there was a fork in the cavern. Split up? or stay together? That was the real question. But it was a deep place, darkness could swallow any of them at any time. It was probably best just to stick together. It was going to be complicated now. Aria wished for a pair of land warriors right about now, to map their course, the options. She wished she'd gotten that pair back from her now dead hacker. Such is life. But Jacinda was leaving marker tape at their turns so they could find their way out.
They wound deeper and deeper into the caverns, the place looked less used, older, like it had been abandoned for years before they shut it down. The water had carved nitches in the stone the leaks were so bad. But yet the floor was relatively dry, everything was moist, but nothing was sopping wet, it was an interesting phenomenon.
More turns, more forks. They could easily get lost in this place. Short of the three of them, there was nothing but rock and water and air. It was like being in the wide outdoors, yet, they were deep under the ground. It was peaceful and so very confining. Aria disliked it greatly, it put flying into a whole new perspective. She was almost looking forward to it, almost!
The deeper they went the older things got. Until they found the artifact. They'd wandered for several hours deep down in the earth to find a figure holding a ball in two hands in front of him. Aria assumed it was a him, but there were no defining features. And beyond the half buried artiface an entrance to a cave, a door way nearly showed a different landscape, something that shifted and moved in time, it was like watching a dream unfold before you.
Aria could feel something beyond the doorway, something different, but it was just a hint, a suggestion of something, almost like it was just a memory.
**** Jacinda ****
She was going to get out a flashlight as they moved into a darker part of the caves when suddenly everything lit up as if in sunlight. She turned around and there Nox was holding a glowing ball in his hand. Her mouth fell open at the raw naked display of power.
She couldn't help the shudder that passed through her. She didn't know if it was fear or pleasure. Nox was....interesting. He seemed much more than he had been before. She could well imagine how people might have worshipped people like him millenia ago. It was not often that she had met a godling. Those she had killed had been caught off guard.
But if they were using their power...well that required her to be more clever. Like if a person had a gun and you had a knife. You could do it, but you had to be smart about it. She remembered Damien. She regreted letting him go. Know that she had decided they godlings had their uses, he would've been a great one to have on a leash.
In fact, a godling was a great weapon to have against another godling. She wondered if Nox would be able to kill Damien. If he had to.
The made their way deeper into the cave. Jacinda loved the feeling of the descent. She could almost feel the weight of the earth over her, creating a sort of mental pressure. She didn't know why she enjoyed it, though, enjoyed the cold damp air. For some reason she would have preferred it dark, just to really feel....she wasn't sure what. Almost like becoming one with the earth.
But they were looking for whatever was causing the unexplained events. Eventually, the found a statue of some material she didn't recognize, a figure holding a ball in its two hands. Beyond it was a cave opening but...she didn't really understand what she was looking at. It was beyond strange. And it called to her.
"What is that?" she whispered having come to stand next to Aria. It felt like there was static in the air.
**** Nox ****
The doorway crackled, he could feel the power emenating from everything in the area, the statue rock thing called to him, he wanted to touch it. But since that wasn't his feeling he didn't. He looked to Aria and Jacinda, the latter asking what it was, like he had any clue. Aria looked at him with wide green eyes. Clearly she had not seen anything like it before. But she had the common sense not to ask. He knew he was being hard on Jacinda, it was part of the whole bossy thing, she was giving over way too easily and he didn't like it one bit. She was nailing their coffin shut from the inside. She had crawlled right in with them. And that Nox did not like, he didn't like when the darkness was locked inside with them. Neither needed that, he took a deep breath, but this is the way of the world, he'd deal, he always did.The
Nox dropped the globe of light. The power still held but only that, he didn't want to risk triggering something, the room felt like it was waiting to go off all it needed was a little nudge.
Nox felt compelled to reply, "No idea." And at the same time he stepped through the doorway. The wavering and shimmering from outside stopped, he turned around and saw Aria and Jacinda with their mouths a gap saying something. He stepped back through. They were both yelling "Stop." Nox covered his ears, geez.
It was weird, they would have said that the moment he stepped through but they were now just finishing. Nox had seen enough science fiction shows as a kid to know that meant time flowed differently on that side, faster it seemed. He sighed, this was going to be a very long day. "Well don't just stand there come on." He grinned at Aria and grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. She hesitantly followed him through. "It's kinda weird in here, but shimmering has stopped." He looked at Aria. "This is what we do right, take care of weird things."
**** Aria ****
Nox was stupid, careless and an idiot. She cursed him in her head as he stepped through the thing. And then nearly almost immediate was back outside before she could finishing yelling for him to stop. She blinked at him.
He grabbed her hand and almost dragged her inside, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction, she followed 'dutifully' if resigned. He was right though, they did have a duty to explore the place, to decide what to do, figure out what it was. Aria took a deep breath and nodded. "I guess you are right, but we don't know what this is."
Nox grinned down at her, "And your handy dandy little books aren't going to be much help here either, so let's do what we do and explore."
The place didnt' look too big, at least not considering the shimmering seemed to encase them like a bubble, but yet it felt large, real, almost like it was just outside of her vision, she could see the cavern. But the cavern had different windows. Aria shuddered. She prayed Nox would not go through anymore strange looking doorways.
Jacinda came through cursing them both, but Nox grinned at her, she still had come. Aria smiled, for all her bitching at them, she was still curious too. The job of a hunter.
It was not quite a cavern itself, but it felt like a nest, at least that's how it felt. Aria could feel other presense, but still they felt weird, almost like they were just a memory of an emotion, like when Nox grinned at her. Almost there. "I don't like this place."
They moved deeper in, carefully and quietly. There was a quiet rumble in the distance, at least Aria thought it was the distance, she looked around but could not see anything close by. The smell of sulfer wafted through the air. Nox froze, the whip of fire was in his hands. Aria drew her gun, as she looked around.
**** Jacinda ****
Nox was a moron and walked right through the door. And almost immediately was back out again. It seemed odd. He laughed off their cries and pulled Aria in. God lord, was he really that stupid? Maybe the power did something to your brain. Not like she was ever that impulsive. Some people....
But this was what they had come for, after all. She shrugged and pulled out her gun and walked through. The least they could have done was draw their weapons. Well, Aria anyway. Nox was always packing, apparantly.
The place was odd. It didn't feel right. All that pressure and dampness to the air had disappeared. Somehow, it just didn't feel like they were deep in the caves anymore, though she could look at the door and see the caverns. The trickle of water along one of the walls had slowed, though, so that it seemed like honey. She frowned and looked at her companions and their surroundings.
She also became aware of a deep sound of air moving, like the thrum of an air conditioner. And the smell of sulfer. She looked at Nox and then Aria and with a shrug, gun at the ready, went in the direction of the sound. They'd follow her, she was sure. She wanted to found out what this place was.
**** Nox ****
Nox didn't like this one bit, not anymore, the smell, the sound, the feeling of the place, it made memories come back. The smell of sulfur made him stop in his tracks and weave the whip into his hands. The memory flooded his mind. The same memory that had helped him remember what he was, who he was, and his legacy. His mother died again in his eyes, he felt the fear, the pain, the falling tears on his cheeks. He felt a hand on his arm, but that wasn't his memory, he looked down and saw Aria's small hand holding his elbow, heedless of the whip that flowed from its ends, the fire was warm, he could feel it. She looked up at him with concern, he shook his head. "I'm okay. Memories."
Aria nodded, he wondered if she knew which one. If she'd made the connnection yet. Nox hadn't paid any mind to Jacinda's chiding of him. It didn't matter. They moved, followed the sound, Nox felt fear, memory fear, and his own fear. He was never this afraid, his mind reeled. It was the worst day of his life playing through his mind. He could tell Aria was concerned, her gun was at the ready but she watched him more than their surroundings. If it had been anyone else he'd have yelled at her, but she had a far better radar than any of them, her peripherial vision was enhanced by other senses. He bet she was in the place, the dark places where there was nothing, the place that made her even more a deadly weapon. And that made the fear well up more inside.
Atop a rise Nox saw a beast, a dog, with red eyes. The entire area now smelled of sulfur. It growled low and deep and it looked at them with those glowing red eyes and Nox froze. It was a bare whisper, "Hellhound," but the word carried to the beast itself and it answered with a deafening growl.
Nox took a step backwards and fell over his own feet the whip vanished from his hand, he fought to gain the power back but it was elusive, it slipped from his grasp the more he tried. The fear incited panic and Nox was frozen like he was sixteen again, watching as his mother got mauled by an unseen creature, a creature only she could see upon her death. His worst nightmare living flesh....
**** Aria ****
They followed Jacinda, and that was all it really was, it wasn't far, the surroundings were different yet all the same, the room appeared to move yet didn't. The whole thing made Aria queesy. They didn't belong here, they should leave. The stench of sulfur permeated the air, it almost too thick to breathe in.
Aria watched Nox, she could see the fear and the pain and the panic in his eyes, she remembered the same look the day they met, the day those things had attacked them. He was reliving a memory. Nox uttered the name of the beast and it answered in return, the growl low and deep and nearly deafening in her ears. But yet the sound had not carried through the air. It was meant only for them.
Aria thought quickly, tried to remember all the lore on Hellhounds. No one should see it. But clearly both she and Nox could. From the look in Jacinda's eyes, she saw it too.
Nox was nearly petrified with fear, he stumbled and fell backwards and she could feel the pain, the panic and the fear, it was like being slapped in the face with a two ton weight. Aria pointed her gun at the hellhound. She doubted it would do any good. You only saw a hellhound if you were about to die, if it was hunting you and only moments before you would be dead. Something was wrong, this place was wrong, the hellhound growled and stalked towards them. The first step brought it nearly half way to them. This place was decieving.
Aria put her gun at her back, it would do little good, the thing moved quickly yet it was creeping like it was stalking them but each step brought it closer and closer. Aria turned to Nox and grabbed his hands and tried to calm him down, he looked at her with deep brown eyes, the pain made Aria wince. She smiled at him and sent him calm. He gave her a half grin and took a deep breath. He couldn't reach his power emotional as he was, Aria took his pain, took the fear, the suffering, it was dangerous, it wasn't feeding but she pulled it away and sent the calm, the two together worked. It was a gamble and Aria could feel the darkness encroaching. His pain was too much, his fear was nearly overwhelming, and then he was gone, his power in hand.
He looked back at Aria with near emptiness in his eyes, he grinned a thanks and stood up, helped her up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He was protecting her, from the beast, herself, she didn't care, right now life was at its worst, the hellhound hunted them. Was it this place? or was it real? Nothing about this place felt right, felt out of place, out of sync.
Aria buried her face into the leather of Nox's jacket. It smelled of him, and leather and the comforts of home. It was enough to pull her back. Aria pulled away from him and drew her gun again. Not that it would do much good, but it was all she had. She wasn't going to get close to that thing.
The firey whip was in Nox's hand. Aria didn't know what else was up his sleeves, but she knew his tricks well and eventually that would reveal itself.
The creature was in front of them, almost there. Almost on top of them and it sniffed the air, looked around and Aria could have sworn it grinned as it looked back at them. Atop the hill it had stood were three more great black dogs with red eyes. Aria prayed, there was nothing else to do, they wouldn't go down without a fight, but Aria seriously doubted they'd be getting out of this place alive.
**** Jacinda ****
Gun at the ready she walked down the....hall it felt like. And then it was suddenly like they were outdoors. Light came from above like at noon but at the same time, there was a sense of fog or gloominess. Almost as if the sun's light only made the fog seem brighter and denser. It didn't make sense.
Up ahead on a hill, two glowing eyes appeared and resolved itself into the shape of a large black dog. Behind it were three more slumbering shapes. Nox began to freak out and Aria tried to calm him. Jacinda remembered his story about the hell hound and his mom, her own interest in taking down one of these creatures.
This, more than any other, more even than a godling, was the ultimate hunt. She felt excitement and fear in her stomach. The two emotions seemed almost the same to her. Terror and pleasure all at once. People didn't see hell hounds unless they were meant to die. Any witnesses only reported seeing flashes or bits and pieces of the creature. And here were four of them.
Did that mean that this thing was after all of them? Why four then? Well they weren't going to go quietly regardless. The standing creature began to come towards them, slowly and then faster and faster, an otherworldly growly coming from its throat. It was massive. The others joined.
They spread out and suddenly Nox had that whip in his hand. She had to admire the way he stood there, the fear or whatever it was that had showed before gone. He looked hot. Dangerous, the orange and red and black of the whip playing about him. Aria stood on her other side, gun out, black shirt and jeans and boots making her seem sleek and deadly fast.
Jacinda smiled. This was what she had imagined. As the first beast came closer, she aimed and fired into its eye. She heard a cry that was louder than anything she'd imagined. It seemed to penetrate to the core of her brain. She fired again and again. Oh yeah, it was on. This was the ultimate hunt.
**** Aria ****
Four hell hounds. The world shimmered and skirted the edges of reality and there were four hell hounds. Not one, that was there, but four, the concept was far from belief, a strange phenomenon, something beyond imagining. No matter how hard Aria thought about it or tried to forget the reality of it, the odds of the situation, no matter how she pushed and pulled at it, the harder it was to fathom.
A loud shot, a step closer, a deep growl. Everything happening at break neck speeds, yet it felt like her body was moving through water or something far thicker and dense. Reality sped up and slowed down all at the same time. Reaction time was slow, but she heard the sounds faster than expecte, like her mind was not processing what happened.
It was confusion. Another shot, a deep peircing growl followed by three distinct howls. Blurred objects of black and red surrounded them. Pain. Aria's arm grew warm and wet and when she looked down she saw blood flowing from a gash in her arm. Another shot and the pain radiated through her arm. The world flowed around Aria.
The recoil from her gun made the pain in her arm scream. Aria drowned in the pain, in the fear she was feeling. Aria reached a hand out and put it on Nox's back, she had to know where he was, she couldn't feel him, couldn't see him in her mind. He moved with her, they moved as one, practiced.
Her eyes lied to her, four, five, six, hell hounds? Nothing made sense. The ground held the two heads, Aria had not seen it, but there were somehow more hellhounds. Aria's mind didn't wrap around the creatures. Images of ancient myths came to mind, dogs with two heads. Aria gasped at the reality of it. Cerberus had been one of these creatures, beheaded, and grew a second and third head upon the severing.
The gun did nothing, Nox's fire did nothing, the world was growing dark with their desparation.
More pain, frantic movements. Yelling, screaming, growling. There was nothing but confusion and darkness and the pain, the fear, and the fury it caused. Aria embraced it, she was not going to die like this.
Resurging energies pushed Aria on, she pulled at Nox back the way they'd came. The hounds pushed and gnawed at them, their teeth finding purchase in their flesh. Aria put the gun away, it did nothing more than make matters worse. She grabbed Jacinda by the belt loop and pulled her back. Made sure she was aware they were retreating, as much as the houds would let them.
The sulfur smell in the air was the only thing, it was nauseating. It mingled with the coppery scent of blood, lots of it. Aria didn't want to think about it, didn't want to feel it.
Pain, Aria fell backwards with gnashing teeth above her. Warmth coiled around its neck and blood poured from what had once been a head. Hands pulled at her, she move backwards away from the head that was regrowing before their eyes.
Moments, Minutes, Hours, time flew, slowed, it moved and then everything stopped as Aria was thrust through the shimmering doorway they'd come through. And then blackness....
**** Nox ****
Fear. Aria tried to calm him, had calmed him, but fear peirced through Nox's body. He grappled with it, made it his. Pushed it until it could push back no more. The famous quote screamed in his head "there is nothing to fear but fear itself." It was empowering, pushing it back, grabbing the power, making it his, controling the light. Its glory raged through his body. He stood in new light, without fear, without worry. Do or die. This was his nightmare, he would not let it overcome him. Nox grinned at Aria and wove the whip of fire which was as familiar as it was to his hand.
Without thought, without second guessing, he desparately needed more, he drew upon his power and wove earth and fire into arrows and let them rain down on the three beast atop the hill.
There was no grace in what Nox did, it was brute force, strength he'd never imagined as the rock from the earth jutted up in front of him as one of the beast nearly appeared directly in front of him.
The power coursed and raged through Nox's body. He weilded it with deadly force. Another weave of air thrust at a charging beast moments before it crashed into Aria, but not quick enough, not fast enough, Aria cried out as the claw raked through her arm.
The guns fired into the beasts did little good, nothing was doing anything to the dark black creatures of his nightmares. Nox coiled the whip around one and pulled, the head fell in a pool of blood. Nox watched as it stretched and grew and two heads appeared.
Indestructable, fear, and panic threatened to well up inside and Nox pushed it away, burnt it with the power inside, it would not make him quake, regret, rethink, he swallowed it whole and spat it back up.
The weaves flowed in numbers around Nox. Protecting his family, his friends, exacting revenge upon these foul creators as they tried to pry him from the grips of life.
A hell hound, with a single head got through his defenses, it lunged and wrapped its large jaws around Aria's leg, she fell backwards and it was on her, Nox snapped the whip and it coiled around the head, he yanked and the head fell on top of Aria, spurting blood everywhere, Aria moved but not fast enough he pulled at her, wove weaves to keep it back, keep them back, threw fire and air and earth at them. The power dimmed and drew weak the more he used the tireder he became. Each weave an effort. He pulled at Aria kept her with him, the portal beyond, freedom, peace, safety. Doubt crept in as Nox threw Aria through.
Nox wove a wall of air, three men thick in front of him and Jacinda, just in time for one to crash into it as it lunged at her. He pulled the wall back with them until it covered the entrance. Panting with every breath.
Nox didn't think, didn't analyze, just did. He wove spirit, it was really all he could think to call it, the essense of life itself, into the statue. It found a trigger, the portal snapped shut, as the hellhounds crashed into the wall of air.
Nox sank to the ground, the power slipped from his grasp and everything dimmed, the air grew damp and cold and the darkness encroached upon him. The power was elusive but the light shimmered inside, beckoning to used, the power, the glory the strength. But he was tired, too tired...
**** Jacinda ****
The beast seemed to speed up and slow down as it ran. It made guaging her shots hard, but she did the best she could. She hit more than once but it didn't seem to phase it. Her heart was pounding and she reached for her blade, her heart in her throat as the first beast was on them.
Nox flung out that whip of his and the beasts head flew off. Jacinda turned her attention to the other beasts that were coming when a sound drew her back. Somehow the things head was back- but there were two heads now! The excitement and tension battled with terror inside her.
For the first time in her life, she had no clue how to kill this thing. Before she could move, it was on Aria and the woman was bleeding. Jacinda hacked at the things back, hoping to sever a major nerve, to cripple it. Nox was flinging his whip around, taking heads off the others as they came only to see them grow back. This was bad.
One the creatures swipted at her and she felt a tearing in her arm and belly. It had laid her open, though twisting away, it wasn't deep enough to disembowel her. She scream in agony and dropped her blade. Another one was coming for her and she saw death. She was going to die. Her time had come. Nature had selected against her finally. But she'd had a good run. She pulled a small knife. At least she'd die fighting. She smiled grimly through her wince and could taste the blood in her mouth. The thing moved quickly, bouncing as it ran and then....
It bounced off something, bounced back! She didn't understand it but Aria was pulling her, Nox was pushing at them. All 4 beasts, heads everywhere snarled and snapped and beat at the nothingness that separated them. She looked at Nox and could see he was concentrating, as if each blow against that invisible shield was against him.
They made it through the portal back into the caves and Nox seemed to strain. She didn't know what was happening and it was hard to think through all the pain, but he was doing something. The statue thing began to glow and finally- thank God finally- the portal closed.
Noxed collapsed to the ground. Jacinda droppped as well, trying to hold in the blood that wanted to come out. She couldn't see Aria. She grit her teeth and pulled out the first aid kit and sprayed on the syntheskin to stop the bleeding. It would do for know. She wouldn't bleed out. It helped somewhat, though it hurt to move at all. She went to Nox and gently touched his face. He was cold but still breathing, exhausted it looked like. "Good job Nox," she whispered, stroking his face and smiling at him. "Very good." She didn't know what else she could do for him.
She went to Aria who was on the ground and had wicked tears to her arm and body. She was out like a light. Jacinda took her shirt off and treated her wounds more thoroughly, disinfecting them and putting a numbing agent on before applying the syntheskin. She was gentle as she touched, partly because it hurt to move, but partly because she felt tender towards her.
When she was done she sat down and put her head against one of the walls and watched the two sleeping. Her pack. She shook her head. Without Nox they would have been dead. She felt fiercly protective of them. It surprised her. But when you shed blood together in a battle it creates a bond.
They were a team now, bound in blood. "Sleep well, guys. Sleep well. You did good," she whispered though she knew they couldn't hear her. And then she drifted off herself, exhausted.
**** Nox ****
Nox opened his eyes, darkness was the only thing he saw, the world around him was black, like the skin of the hellhound of his dreams. Not even their glowing red eyes could penatrate the darkness. Sound filtered to his ears, soft breathing, water dripping, small movements. Nox tried to sit up but every muscle in his body ached, he groaned softly as he shifted to lean against the wall.
Stretching the sleep away, the fatigue of his muscles burned. His head pounded like he'd drunk too much. Yet he hadn't had a drop in days. Inside the power called to him. He grinned to himself in the darkness as he grabbed the light, made it bend its will to his. Nox crafted a small orb of light, it lit just the area around him. Against the far wall Nox saw the outline of Jacinda, resting, sleeping, whatever he vaguely remembered the praise from earlier before darkness had encompassed him. On the ground lay Aria, her wounds tended, but she didn't look much better, blood loss had taken its toll on her small body. He frowned. He wished Aurora was here, wished he'd had the desire to learn to heal. Not that Aurora could have taught him, her methods were near disasterous when he tried to replicate them. Nox sighed and watched the shallow rise and fall of Aria's chest. She better not die.
He told himself it was because Lucas would kill him. But it was more to his own fears of being left alone without her, the partner who tempered his impetuous deeds without making him feel like an idiot or a child in training. It was purely selfish in which he wanted her to survive. Nox dare not use his power, to experiment on Aria. No leave that for some other fool.
The cavern that once sizzled with power was now dormant, dead, nothing but the three of them in the depths of the earth. Nox sat in near complete silence contemplating the reality of it. And it was a mass of tangled thoughts. Hellhounds, his nightmares living flesh, four of them, spawning multiple heads like some land walking hydra of myth. Undying, never yielding. Even when you could see a hellhound you could not defeat it. But there had to be a way, someway, the power could do wonderous things. Nox idly wove nets of power in the air, amusing himself in the depths of the deep underground while his companions slept, and healed and washed away the fatigue of the events that transpired.
Nox still couldn't beleive his eyes, but he reveled in the power that flowed in him. It was glorious and wonderous and beyond powerful. It was no wonder men had worshiped his kind like gods. Somedays, like right now, he felt like a god. But it was that very thought that had brought them down, their egos, their manipulations of the human kind. It was their own deeds that brought down their ruin at the hands of the Atharim.
Aria stirred catching Nox's attention. Her eyes flitted open, closing when the light shown through. Nox send his little ball of light farther from her, away from them to lessen the harshness. He scooted over to her on the ground and looked down upon her. She looked haggered, her skin pale, nearly ashen. She'd need a hospital. He grinned at her. "You okay?"
She nodded, almost like she was afraid to talk. Nox reached for his bag and grabbed a bottle of water and opened it, helping her to sit up and to take a drink. She smiled at him, he knew without a doubt she hurt. Her arm hung close to her body, her leg was bandaged, but she was alive. Her green eyes spoke more than her words. She hurt, and it was pulling her down towards even darker depths. Nox tied the orb of light off and floated it to the ground where he left it to continue its radiant light and dropped the power. He put an arm around Aria and pulled her against him. They'd be okay, as long as the team stayed together. He looked over at Jacinda and even included her in that thought. It had worked well, she'd trusted them. It could work.
**** Aria ****
There had been nothing. There was no light, no sound, no emotions, nothing but the sound of her heart beating and darkness. Death? Limbo? It had been nothing, but she didn't beleive in nothing at death. But there had been nothing, and then she woke. The light was blaringly bright, the sounds of breathing, the drip of water on the ground. Aria closed her eyes and reached her senses out. She didn't rememer exactly where they were, why there was only one person present. But the breathing sounds told her otherwise.
If Aria could have moved she would have jumped upright with a start, but her body ached, her arm shot with pain when she tried to move it. Aria pushed the pain away, pushed everything away so that there was nothing but the others present. She looked up and saw Nox grinning down at her. His question escaped her until it finally registered he'd asked if she was okay. She nodded, moving hurt, speaking hurt, breathing hurt. Everything hurt. He moved away and then handed her a bottle of water, helping her to sit up. He dropped the power and suddenly there were two souls sitting in the cavern in the glow of the power Nox had created.
Nox was learning new things and those new things were proving to be useful. She smiled at him as he pulled her close to him, his arm around her. He was feeling protective and concerned, and more, there was always more when she was with Nox. It wasn't what it was with Lucas. It wasn't love, at least not in the same manner. But they trusted each other with their lives, their hope, and their secrets. Nox whispered, "It's called family." Aria looked up at him and he grinned. "I get you too." He laughed like it was some kind of joke, it kinda was, an inside joke, she understoodn him more than most people would ever understand another person. The price of being sentient was that was the case with every other living person on the planet.
Aria huddled against Nox, in pain and really wanting the comforts of her own bed. It really was time to go home. "I'm ready to go home now."
Nox hugged her tighter. "Me too. Never thought I'd say that, like ever. But I am ready to go home. When Jacinda wakes up we'll head that way, see if she truly wants to be part of this so-called team and head our way."
Aria nodded. She wasn't sure whether or not she was happy about Jacinda wanting to join them. They could clearly learn alot from her, but she killed godlings, she killed their families, there was no telling what else she'd do in the name of the Atharim. What of Aurora? Will she be useful? Lucas? Alex? And then there were their friends, Nox's friends - Bas and Pytor. What of them, what if she finds out about all those Aria has given a pass to, to those she's not told the Atharim about. Connor? So many lives could be ruined because of Jacinda in her world. Aria had her doubts, but the potential to learn was much, she was like her, and understood in a way no one else could. Aria was at an impass, she wasn't sure what she thought about the whole thing. She wasn't certain she'd ever know.
**** Jacinda ****