Helix

Death King

"What?"

The male just grinned again before catching up to Nona.

Helix stayed back trying to wrap his thoughts around everything.  This place, Cinix's words, the fact that he was following a blind woman, his goal for coming here, and now the high likelihood that he was somehow immortal. His head hurt.

As Nona lead them into the strange woods, Helix forgot his worries. Forests were almost always filled with sound, birds, insects, and the rustle of leaves. These trees were different, none of those sounds being present. However, it was anything but silent.

"Are the trees singing?" Helix asked incredulously. It was a low, barely audible symphony of sound. As if each tree had its own unique voice, blending perfectly into the whole of the wood.

"Yes." Nona answered, "This is a fell wood. Each tree has a life of its own."

"Treat the trees well, and they will treat you in kind," Cinix muttered softly.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Time was strange in the Specter. They could have been walking for an hour or a year and Helix would not know the difference. A strange relief flooded him when they, at last, left the fell wood. The landscape opened abruptly into a black desert. A short distance ahead stood a massive tower. It appeared to be fashioned from crystalline red stone. Drawing nearer Helix marveled at the intricately carved stair leading up to solid obsidian doors.

"We are in luck. Decuma's trial is about to begin." Nona muttered. "Zeus will be here. And I won't be late."

Cinix grabbed his arm before he could follow Nona through the entrance. "This place is made of Moirai stone. The walls themselves listen and bind. Make no promises and tell no lies."

"Why would you care? Why tell me this?" Helix found the actions of the male peculiar at best, and his motives suspicious. "And what in the hell is Moirai stone?"

His hazel eyes gleamed brighter as he flashed his again sharpened teeth. "Moirai stone is mined from what you call the Underworld and Elysium. The very ground you stand on now has existed since before time was known as time. It holds more power than any of your gods and most other beings as well." He blinked then and released Helix's arm. "I am telling you because Decuma Salvius will be in there. She will try to bargain with you. Do not let her."

"That is not an answer." What did Sal have to do with Cinix's choice to help him? And why did the male hate her so?

Cinix tilted his head then turned to go inside, "If we survive this perhaps we can discuss my reasons. For now be content in the knowledge that I will help you."

He wanted more answers, but Helix could see that he was not about to get them. For a flickering moment, he wondered if he had made a foolish choice in coming here. He had come to hunt a god, and to do so would have to face Sal again. Both daunting tasks. Growling at his own cowardice he followed the seer and Cinix into the Fate.

The inside smelled strongly of jasmine and sulfur. Reflected crimson light made the walls, floor and ceiling look as if they were made of swirling blood. It was disconcerting. He hurried to catch up.  After climbing hundreds of stairs they passed under a dark archway. The room beyond was strange. Two doors stood to either side, one was made of liquid gold that shifted and moved, yet somehow remained solid. The other was crafted from solid pearls. It was also occupied with a half dozen people. Against the far wall stood a low dais, a throne of black obsidian held a cloaked man. In the center, sneering at him as he entered, stood Sal. Around her throat was a glowing golden collar, from which a golden thread extended to the hand of another stranger. His skin was pale as moonlight, hair black as the obsidian throne, and his eyes blazed a deeper, brighter crimson than the walls. The last three men Helix knew. Ares, Poseidon, and Zeus.