The Tribulations of Jacob Penn

Part 3

“Guess we should knock for now on,” said Warren.  

Enyo groaned in adamant disapproval. They both knocked on the door.  Nina and Jacob eventually came out dressed in sleepwear. Warren tossed them their workout gear, and they all headed out. Though Enyo wouldn’t admit it she wasn’t happy with Vanessa. During the training, she tested Vanessa limits. Warren noticed Enyo’s excessive aggression, and during a scheduled break, he confronted her. Enyo admitted her mothering instincts had gotten the better of her, and she was impressed at how resilient Vanessa was for a mortal. After the break, the training resumed, but Vanessa noticed that the intensity wasn’t the same. 

She implored Enyo, not to take it easy on her. Vanessa refused to be a hindrance. Enyo agreed, and Vanessa pushed through the pain.  After the days training was complete Vanessa rested, later she expressed her concerns about the bar. She and Warren returned to the city, to close it down. Though temporary, it pained her to do so. After a hard good bye, she returned to the island.  Their training continued for months, Warren tracked the days until Aeryn’s eighteenth birthday. Soon the day can for assault on the Jacob’s once home.

Everyone prepared and chose weapon suited to their style. Warren chose a shamshir. It was gift from a Damascene blade smith. Enyo had a Spartan xiphos forged by Hephaestus. Vanessa and Jacob both chose broadswords. They all wore matching black tactical pants, long sleeve shirts, and boots.                        

Once everyone was suited Enyo teleported them to the edge of the Penn’s family property. As they touched down the spell that surrounded the property faded away. It only locked the cursed in, but didn’t keep weary travelers out.  It was a homecoming for Jacob he hadn’t been there in years. From the distance, he could see that his former home had fallen into ill repair. Wild and overgrown grass rose well past his shins hiding the bones of unlucky visitors. As he trekked through high grass, he nearly tripped over a human femur. “What the hell! They eat people?,” he thought to himself. His parent has left that little detail out.  

To say he was nervous would be an understatement. Enyo told him that fear was expected.  She advised him to accept the circumstances and shake it off.  He kept his composure as he passed by the large oak tree that once held their childhood tire swing. It was leafless and in full decay. Edging closer to the house, he noticed a figure standing on porch. Releasing an ear-piercing screech, it unfurled a pair of massive wings and launched itself into sky.   

“Damn is that Celina?” Jacob asked himself. Meanwhile, the others waited and watched the horizon. They expected a battle and it wasn’t long before Zeus acknowledged their presence. In the distance, a massive black stormed cloud formed over the horizon. It barreled towards them darkening the sky. Thunder clashed and the wind whipped.  The storm beckoned Jacob’s attention.  It caused him to flash back to his childhood. “Zeus” he said to himself.  However, that brief distraction cost him. Celina swooped down. Her massive talon plunged deep into his shoulders as she lifted him from the ground. Jacob screamed in agony as her claws ripped into his flesh. His arms were pinned to his side so he couldn’t bend his arms.           

“Celina! It  doesn’t have to be this way!” Jacob yelled.   

Celina said nothing as she climbed higher and higher in the darken sky.  Jacob was at her whelm. Once she reached her height’s precipice, she folded her wings along her side streamlining her body. Like a feathered missile, she plummeted from the sky. Jacob couldn’t move the forceful air and her velocity prevented it.  Second into her fall, she neared the end of her decent. Celina eyed the derelict manor, and smiled as she opened her wings. With a swift graceful glide, she swayed upward and released Jacob from her talons.