The Old Family

(23)Whirlwinds in the Dark

"You're definitely not the first..." Apate muttered and grinned slyly up at the irritated and panicking leader.

"A deal is a deal!" He shouted down at us with anger, but I saw through his steely eyes- there was fear hidden right below the surface. Vikard knew his plan was doomed to fail from the very start. Without Nyx here to back him up, his days were numbered.

Around him, the Pazári crumbled in their fierce stance. They could smell their own defeat.

"I will ask this once and if you refuse to answer, I won't hold them back." I gestured to my family, whose glowering eyes were firmly fixed on the man atop the sharp cliff. "Where is Eleos?"

Vikard lifted his chin and for a moment, he took the time to really think. I applauded his actions, because frankly, I couldn't hold these lovable hooligans back even if I'd tried.

After some time contemplating his next move and what to do from here on out, Vikard had finally reached a decision. I hoped it was a mutually beneficial one, but the man was known to be a tad stubborn.

He raised his voice over the chasm and the hard bellow bounced off the walls on either side; "I'll give you Eleos, but I want something in return."

I looked around, to where Nemesis and Apate stood. They caught my gaze, but showed no emotion.

The Old family does not negotiate with 'the help'.

"Wrong answer."

Right after the words left my mouth, Vikard's confident glaring face faltered with shock and Nemesis cried out loudly. It was pleasantly familiar to us, but shook the Pazári to a standstill, as intended. It was her battle cry.

Apate's arrow broke through one of the front-men's skulls with a crack.

I threw my sword straight ahead at the soldier storming towards me. It cut across his leg and the man buckled with a loud cry. My sword clanged against the cavern floor, but I had no need for it.

With a slice of my hand in the air, a hoard of seven soldiers fell to their knees- their ribs shattered inside their chests.

"No fair..." Dolos smirked at me from the side as he cut down two soldiers at once. The ease of his dance was rather comical to watch. They were so slow.

I chuckled and shook my hand, the pain of Blood magic shooting up into my arm. "Thanatos taught me that little trick."

Thanatos taught me a great deal in Blood magic, but I was still nowhere near as skilled as he was. Though, that didn't mean that I wasn't proficient enough. My eyes lingered on the howling men; their insides were being cut by the sharp ends of their ribs every time they moved and their chest cavities were weak and easily penetrable. Nemesis kicked the one man back with her boot and the mere tap of her foot crushed his heart.

Apate shot four arrows at a time across the gap with lightning speed, until it looked more like rain than pointed metal heads falling on the enemy.

Dolos cut through the centre and worked his way to the one side, while Autolycus took the other side. He might have been young, but he was talented and profoundly motivated.

I looked up at Vikard with a smile and snapped my finger.

The cliff he was standing on cracked in half.

Vikard was extremely agile and quickly dodged across a small gap to latch onto a nearby overhanging ledge. He pulled himself up onto the platform and I narrowed my eyes in annoyance.

It seemed I'd have to try a bit harder with him. How tedious.

"You're all the same, you gods!" Vikard shouted at me from the high platform, "You don't care about anyone but yourselves!"