The Thanaton Syndrome

Chapter Four

Ten minutes later, Seth found himself squeezing Jeremiah as tight as he could while he sat on a glossy, jet-black Pegasus. After Lydia had skipped over to ride one of the beasts, and he couldn't stop her, he'd given in.

"Okay, before we leave, I need to tell you to loosen up a bit," Jeremiah said. "You'll choke me. Ajax won't let you fall, and if he does, he'll catch you."

This didn't make Seth feel much better, but he forced himself to loosen his grip ever-so-slightly. A little ways away, he spotted Lydia on an elegant, tan colored Pegasus that appeared to change to darker and lighter colors in the sunlight. A few seconds later, he felt the current of wind and saw the creature soar into the sky, leaving only the echoes of his sister's screams of delight.

That left only Seth and Jeremiah, as Christian had already left long ago.

"C'mon Outlander, loosen up."

"I did!"

"A little more..."

Seth let go, until he held only Jeremiah's cloak. He tried to hold it loosely, but the fear of flying did not allow him to be nearly as relaxed as Jeremiah.

Seth could feel Ajax's wings beginning to rotate powerfully. "Ready?" Jeremiah asked, exhilaration flooding his voice.

"No!" Seth yelled back.

His voice was cut off then as Seth could feel the massive bumps of Ajax taking a few steps. Then they were flying, and Seth felt as if his face were going to come off. Ajax glided up at an angle, making Seth feel as though he would fall off backward at any second. Forgetting Jeremiah's flaky assurances that he would not fall, he held on with all his might, squeezing his eyes shut. He could hear Jeremiah whooping with delight, but in that moment, Seth found no pleasure in flying.

And then Ajax leveled off, and Seth felt much more secure about falling backward. He slowly blinked open his eyes, but his fists remained clenched firmly on Jeremiah's cloak.

"Hey, I already told you! You don't need to hold on so tight!" Jeremiah yelled over the blasting wind. "Ajax won't let you fall!"

Seth was too rigid to answer, and still too frightened to loosen his grip. They went on for about five minutes, and he began to get somewhat used to the sensation of flying. Enough so that he started to look around at the view around him, and could admire it properly. Alaisia was a beautiful land. On Pegasus back, Seth could see multiple lush, green forests, and little glistening rivers, and a roaring sea a far ways off. Equally far off, he spotted great mountains, caped with snow and standing dominantly in their region. They were only mountains, but they looked actually quite terrifying and Seth found himself oddly glad they were so far away.

If he strained his eyes, he could see little houses, and a few villages far below. Perhaps the most impressive sight of all these, though, was the supreme palace looming up in front of them. It was stupendous, commanding the eye's attention as it towered impenetrably in the center of all the land. All of Alaisia hummed with life and bright colors and beauty, the palace being the core of it all.

The small exception to this life and light was at the very edge of the world, behind the mountains. Seth could hardly see it, but it lurked there, ever present and disturbing the image of pure happiness. A dark castle, surrounded by a dead wood, stood at the very edge of the beautiful picture. It was very far off in the distance, but Seth could tell, even a hundred miles away, that the place seemed to emanate darkness and death. The spot appeared alive, as any other bit of the Alaisia, however it was tainted with evil and decay rather than goodness and sunshine. He decided to turn his attention the towering palace as it loomed up closer and closer.