The Children of Tartarus

Preface

Echo snuck across the road, her little brother Callum warned her that this was a suicide mission. But she didn't care, she didn't care about anything he said. If she didn't go on this mission then they would always be slaves to their father, everything would stay the same awful way. She could hear the sound of a gunshot. They were close and they were ready. Echo flattened herself against the brick wall, willing her body to become transparent, just in time. Two men ran past her with guns, she sighed in relief. That was Echo's only mistake. There were a couple of guards sitting around a fire. It was their lounge area. One of the many dogs lifted it's head in its cage and looked right at her, it could smell her. The dog bared its teeth and barked at her, the bark sent a shiver down her spine but the teeth were the worst part. They were gleaming like pearls in the moonlight, razor sharp and ready to cut down anything that their master told them to. One of the male guards walked over to the cage, put the dog on a leash, and let it out.

"What is it boy?" He asked, trying to hold the dog back and looking to see what the dog was barking at. The dog was on a leash but it didn't seem to care. It thrashed, pulled and barked but Echo stood still. She didn't dare move anything let alone breathe, but she didn't need air like normal humans do. The guard sighed and struggled to pull the dog back towards its cage. "It's probably just another rabbit." The others sighed, this wasn't her first time coming here, and it wasn't her first time getting seen by a dog or by anyone for that matter. 

"Not again." They snapped, clearly very annoyed. "How many times have they done that?" Like she just said, this wasn't Echo's first sabotage. She scaled across the wall, her body still transparent, and sat on top of a bench. She quietly watched people walk in and out of the building past her, they had no idea what was about to happen. They were off guard. Perfect. A young man walked out carrying a big box of supplies that went above his nose, he struggled to close the door behind him but it didn't click. Echo took that as an opportunity. She jumped onto the boy grabbing his head, with a swift movement of her hands she snapped the boys neck with a satisfying crunch and he crumbled to the ground.  She could hear the other guards yelling and a woman's scream. But Echo didn't stop. She kept running as fast as her small feet could carry her.

"It's her! It's the girl! The demon girl!" They cried. Echo could feel the bullets bouncing off of her skin, no mortal blade nor gun could penetrate her skin. She stopped at the door and pulled the knife out of her boot. She stabbed the nearest guard and continued to move on. They yelled at her to stop, or else. But she didn't stop, she didn't care. She could hear them talking in their walkie-talkies calling for backup. Alas, by the time they got here she would already be gone. She wished she could stick around for live targets but she had a tight schedule. Echo closed her eyes and imagined herself beside each and every one of the guards, stabbing them in the same spot. She opened her eyes and looked at all the bodies laying in puddles of blood, her lips spread into a thin smile. It was the only personal quality she got from her father, she enjoyed death and she enjoyed being the person who delivered it. Echo finally opened the door and locked it once she got inside. The building was huge, it would take her longer than she'd like to find what she was looking for. She pulled off her black leather jacket and threw it in the trash can, there were bullet holes all over it. Stupid mortals, just because she is impenetrable doesn't mean her coat is. Echo walked down the rows, her hand touching everything they could just to get the feel of cold metal against her skin. Then she heard the sound of a cart rolling down about two aisles from hers. Echo crouched down, she could hear the wheel squeaking. Gods that got on her nerves. It turned and started to come towards her, but it stopped just feet before her aisle. It was almost like it knew she was there. Echo started to stand up when it moved again. She closed her eyes and focused on the sounds. Just a few more steps. She jumped to her feet and onto the person pushing the cart, her foot caught onto the handle bar and she went through the man. She hit the floor with a thud, she wasn't expecting to go through the person that pushed the cart. Echo groaned and rolled over.

"Now darling," the man said. "Is that anyway to treat your father?" Echo looked up and growled, it was a deep animal like growl. A growl that a cornered animal made. A growl that was filled with hatred and fear.

"What do you want." Echo snapped, glaring at him. She was all bark and no bite when it came to her father. She wasted precious time worrying about him when she could've been looking for the object she needed. "You cost me valuable time."

He chuckled. "Now, now. You could've just ignored me, I didn't mean to waste your time." Echo rolled her eyes. Her father looked around, acting like he actually cared. "Where's your brother?" He asked, his face full of fake innocence. He knew where her brother was, he just wanted her to say it. 

"You know good and well where Callum is." Echo snapped. Callum was supposed to be Echo's "superviser", she wasn't supposed to go out alone because she caused too much of a commotion. The last time she went out... It was pretty messy. Her father's eyes narrowed down at Echo who was still laying on the floor.

"Get up." He snapped, one second she was on the floor the next she was standing looking up at him, he was a good foot taller than her. "And go home before I do something I might regret." A bright red light flashed and he was gone, leaving no trace that he was even here.

"'Get up,'" Echo mimics him. "'Go home.'" She laughs, her father terrified her but she could never show him how much, but as the father of fear it's hard not to be afraid. "I'll go home when I want to." She walks around to the other side of the building and picks up the object she needed, her whole mission was about to come to an end, her life's search was finally coming to an end. The whole building began to shake, the walls began to crumble, then the roof caves in, helicopters were flying above her, bullets started to hit her, the door she locked blew up and people started to run towards her.

"Put your hands in the air, and don't even think about using that magic of yours." Officers surrounded her, their guns aimed at her face. She smiled, they thought their silly toys could hurt her. Echo laughed, by the looks on the guards and officers faces they do think that. They looked at each other confused. "Stop laughing." He ordered. She tried to keep a straight face but busted out laughing.

"Sorry, sorry." She took a deep breath. "You puny mortals actually think guns can hurt me?" Her French accent was flawless, all those years in Hell and you learn a few things. The guards looked at each other uneasily, they didn't know what to think of her, to them she was a demon sent by Lucifer himself to stop their plan, that's what everyone thought, not that it mattered. "Go ahead, try to shoot me."

The leader of the group shouted something, in a language Echo had never heard before, and she could speak every language fluently. Maybe it was some sort of a code. "Don't fire, she's obviously bluffing. She has some sort of demon trick." But there was doubt in his voice. Echo walked closer to them ignoring the guns pointed at her chest.

"Maybe I do have a trick, maybe I don't... I can sense the doubt in your voice, the way it shakes when you speak. I can hear your thoughts, you don't think you can beat me. Because I am a devil spawn." Everyone gasps and takes a step back, she only spoke what they already believed. Their thoughts were filled with the horror of devil spawns. Echo laughs evilly just for show and thought of the depths of Tartarus. The poisoned air and the smell of rotting flesh fills her head making her woosy. She gagged at the smell and stumbled against a rock for support. "It's good to be back home."