"We can burn her... if you want" Kassandra had shrugged as Eos had looked down at Chrysis' body, tilting her head as if she couldn't decide on what to do with it. If Kassandra had learned anything from her time with Kyra, it was that a parent - however terrible - was still a parent.
"No" Eos said quietly, she looked over at her, biting her lip, "Can I have your sword a moment".
Kassandra didn't know whether to be impressed or grossed out in the single swing that decapitated Chrysis' putrid head from her putrid body.
"Is that a thing you have" Kassandra asked, Eos raised her brow, "cutting heads off".
Her brother had done it to Elpeanor and she'd been so relieved that she'd had a mask on. Although, she was sure she'd heard the others gasp around her too, a testimony, she imagined, to her brothers power.
"Someone once told me that to kill a snake, you have to cut their heads clean off their shoulders" Eos replied,
"Snakes don't have shoulders" Kassandra said, putting her hands on her hips.
"These ones do" Eos shrugged a shoulder, she smiled, "And now the maters and babes of Argolis can sleep peacefully in their beds knowing that this ones not coming back to life". Eos passed Kassandra's sword back to her, "But now, I need to go to Chrysis' temple" Eos told her,
"Why",
"Because Chrysis begged the Gods to heal Asphodel..." Eos shrugged as she turned around to her, walking backwards "there's only one place she'd do that..." Eos shook her head, scowling at herself, "and it's the only place we wouldn't go",
"Why" Kassandra asked again. Eos had already started to move, heading in the direction of the valley,
"Because it's where all this started for us... lying on an altar with a bat-shit crazy witch screaming in to the night. Your brother-" Eos hesitated. She'd kept so much away from Kassandra, so much that she'd deserved to know, she was worried, if only for a moment that maybe Kassandra didn't want to talk about it - not really - but, as always, Kassandra was more than eager to hear what she had to say,
"My brother what" Kassandra asked, Eos continued,
"Well... as big and mean as he is... he hates the place just as much as any of us do" Eos glanced over her shoulder to look at Kassandra, she wasn't looking at her but looking forward, a determined look on her face as they walked towards the temple. Kassandra was still processing all that had happened but, a grudge against Eos was not one of them. "Only one of us who would go there voluntarily was Asphodel" Eos had added.
"What happened to you and your brother" Kassandra asked, Eos had never really told her.
"Abandoned, left in the woods to starve - or that's what they said" Eos shrugged, "I don't really know if I'm honest" - they'd lied about how their champion had come in to their possession, they'd probably lied about the rest of them too.
"So, she took you there to scream at the Gods to make you strong then" Kassandra asked,
"Yeah, to make us strong and affirm our twin-like bond" Eos said sarcastically. "Glaukos, he washed up on the shore as a babe, she had to scream at Poseidon to make sure that he wasn't about to drag him back in and drown him. Pyros - complete opposite - " she waved her hands in the air, "he was pulled from a burning shack, the palest of Greeks skin almost blackened with ash and sores - you can still see them now" Eos' were like a smudge compared to the ones that covered him, "I was there when she screamed for him, calling out to the Gods to ensure the fire inside him never went out".
Eos had been four. Somehow, she'd decided that following her mater - and almost giving Dolops a bit of a heart attack - was the best idea she'd ever had.
Chrysis had lit so many candles, Eos was surprised it hadn't gone up in flames, and the child, Pyros, three with some memories of the world he'd left behind, screaming for his mater to save him from the fire. Any sane person would have said she was torturing him.
"Akin, a warrior, she called to the Gods to make him brutal, make him vicious, make him strong. And they answered" Eos shrugged, Kassandra was having a little trouble keeping up with both the walking and talking as Eos didn't stop, "Except, the vicious bit never seemed to come to fruition because he's a god given human teddy-bear",
"Teddy-bear" Kassandra asked,
"Don't get me wrong, if he needs to kill you, he will. His strength matches Deimos' - he may be even stronger but, your brothers more tactical. Akin has brute force and not much else".
He'd also had Asphodel.
"Melaina" Eos sighed, "Probably asked the Gods to keep her mind nice and clear so they could fill it with whatever shit they wanted and, Asphodel, of course Chrysis had to ask the Gods to forgive her for her bloodline having failed them and the Greek world".
"Her bloodline" Kassandra asked,
"Yes. The flower is a Persian" Eos told her, "A grand-daughter of some Persian King we were told".
Kassandra wondered if her blind Persian King had anything to do with that.
"The last time I was at that temple Eos. Chrysis set it alight. I do not know if there will be much left there". Kassandra hadn't chosen to wait and see.
"We'll find out" Eos said.
After a few more minutes of walking, they both saw the blackened ruins of the still-standing temple of Hera beyond the trees.
"Maybe we should set it alight ourselves when we leave... just to make sure" Eos said quietly.
"You think Asphodel is in there" Kassandra asked, she'd stopped, eyeing the temple suspiciously with her hands on her hips,
"Well, it is the last place we know she was if she's not" Eos shrugged, and, right now, that was all they had.
Eos stepped over the door which had fallen in to ruin and looked around, it did not help that it had already started to get dark out. That, along with the marble having been blackened, if it hadn't been for Kassandra's eye spotting the dark mass in the corner, Eos might have missed it.
"Eos" Kassandra said quietly, her voice echoed off the walls, Eos turned to her,
"Huh" Eos asked, only to find where Kassandra looked to. Eos stopped.
Huddled in the corner of the temple, there was a dark mass, dirty, skinny and human, a hood covering their face as they hugged the wall, their fingers like spindly strands as it held the darkened marble.
"No" Eos said quietly. Eos took a step towards it, her arm outstretched. Kassandra took a small step back, her hand clenched around her spear, ready.
Eos touched what she thought could be a shoulder, felt the bones jut out of the ragged robes they wore, felt the warmness of life.
Eos took another step closer and knelt in front of them,
"Be careful Eos" Kassandra said from behind her, she had a bad feeling about this. Eos reached out again, slower this time, pulling down the persons hood. She still wasn't sure if it is was a man or woman yet. Pulling the hood down revealed a bald head, a man?
"Are you ok" Eos asked quietly.
The body shook and Eos fell back just as it lunged for her, falling off to the side of her as their arms collapsed beneath them. Kassandra pulled Eos back and she scrambled on to her feet.
The body mumbled something incoherent, blood leaking from their mouths as they looked up.
It was no man.
"Asphodel" Eos choked, pulling from Kassandra's grip and going back towards her,
"Eos" Kassandra lowered her spear as Eos knelt in front of them,
"What did they do to you" Eos asked. Asphodel looked at her, her eyes twitching, her sentences nothing, but a gurgle of words and blood. Then, she grabbed at Eos' shoulders. Eos put her arm up, stopping Kassandra from coming any closer, she could see Asphodel's bloodshot eyes watching her warily, she said something else then, the blood spitting from her mouth, "Calm down" Eos said quietly, putting her hand on her head - her hair, those golden locks, gone.
Asphodel pushed at her, almost as if she was trying to stand. Eos tried to help, holding on to her by her arms but, Asphodel was so thin, her legs so weak, Eos had to grab for her when her legs collapsed beneath them. Eos lowered them both back down again.
Eos didn't know what to do.
Asphodel grabbed at her again, her fingers digging in to Eos' shoulders - or trying to -and Eos sighed, placing her hand on her face. Asphodel closed her eyes then, placing her forehead on hers, breathing shallowly, as if they'd reached some sort of stand still.
"Eos, we need to get her to a healer" Kassandra said, Eos nodded,
"Asphodel..." Asphodel had frozen, her breathing had stopped, "we have to go". Asphodel grabbed for her again, terrified at the thought, "we can get you better" Eos said quietly. Asphodel pushed away from her weakly, her arms scrapping at the air, "Asphodel... please". Asphodel snapped her head over to Kassandra, "she's here to help" Eos told her. Asphodel pointed at her and then she pointed at Eos. Her words were still garbled and bloody. "She's a friend" Eos told her. Asphodel shook her head, it wasn't that. Eos put her hand up again to Kassandra, making sure she stayed back.
Asphodel pointed at Kassandra again, her hand shaking and Eos looked over at her. She was pointing at the spear. Eos looked to it as well, "the spear" Eos asked, she saw Asphodel nod her head. Kassandra took a step forward but, Asphodel fell back, waving her hands again.
Eos sat back on her feet, she didn't understand what it was she was trying to say.
Kassandra didn't come any closer, but knelt instead.
"Asphodel. What are you trying to say" Kassandra asked. Asphodel looked at her, tilting her head, she raised her arm, pointing at her again, her arm reaching out. Kassandra moved a little closer and Asphodel touched her breastplate, where her heart would be.
Eos still had no idea what she was trying to say and neither did Kassandra.
"You can trust her" Eos shrugged,
"Thee" Asphodel managed to say, "Thee" she said again, the rest of the words were gurgled, broken,
"Thee?" Eos asked.
"No, Dei" Kassandra said, she sat back a little, "Deimos", Asphodel nodded her head violently, grabbing at Eos again,
"Deimos" Eos said, Asphodel nodded her head and then, she pointed at Kassandra. Eos looked at her and then looked back,
"She's his sister" Asphodel let out a breath of relief, grabbing on to Eos' shoulder, a smile lighting up the gauntness of her face. Eos took a deep breath and smiled back, feeling that little bit better - then, as if something had changed - Asphodel spun herself around so violently, she smacked Eos in the nose.
Eos took a deep breath, Kassandra sucking in a breath through her teeth as she watched the blood dribble down her mouth, they both looked to where Asphodel was now threating at - the outside. There was nothing there,
"Asphodel" Eos breathed, she put her head back, pinching her nose, "it's okay. It's only us". She saw Asphodel shake her head slowly, looking back to her,
"We need to get her to a healer" Kassandra said again, pushing herself up. Asphodel flung herself back instead, cowering in the corner again. Eos sighed,
"Asphodel, please" Eos said, her voice almost a cry.
Asphodel let out such a shriek, some birds roosting in the roof top burst out from amongst the rubble.
"Asphodel. You're safe. I promise" Eos said. Asphodel shook her head, turning to Kassandra who had bent over; she'd found something. Some sort of vial.
"Eos, does this mean anything to you" Kassandra asked, Eos turned her head and her shoulder slouched, her face dropped. Kassandra passed it over to her. Eos sighed as she brought it closer to her, turning the vial over. There was a dark green remanence coating it.
"Poison" Eos said quietly, she threw it on the ground and Asphodel flinched as it smashed and splintered.
A healer could do nothing. As adept as Asphodel was at making ointments, the poisons she made were so brutal, only she knew the key to the antidote.
"Why Asphodel" Eos asked, "You're not that weak". Asphodel grabbed at Eos' face, making her look in to her eyes, she looked so desperate, so scared but, did that really make up for this?
A cowards way out.
The look almost reminded her of Melaina, which only made her remember what the red rat had said. Asphodel had seen something, a vision from the Gods, something that the Spartan soldiers told her she'd been shouting about before she'd taken ill. "What did you see" Eos asked.
Asphodel, without any hesitation, put her finger on Eos's heart, poking it weakly, a smile on her face,
"You saw Eos" Kassandra asked. Asphodel smiled over at Kassandra. And, in that smile, Kassandra saw then that the girl had once been beautiful, that she could have won hearts all over Greece. Asphodel reached up at Eos' face again, caressing her cheek, trailing her fingers over the tears Eos didn't even realise were there.
"I'm sorry Affy" Eos said quietly, "I'm sorry I couldn't...", Asphodel shook her head slowly, still smiling, Eos put her head down. The last time they'd seen each other, they'd done nothing but bitch at one another. Despite everything though, she was still one of hers. "I wanted to..." Eos trailed off, she didn't even know anymore.
Asphodel raised her face, making her look at her again.
Eos wanted to ask what it was Asphodel had seen in her vision but, she'd never be able to tell her now. Maybe it was just what had happened to her, maybe she'd seen what they had done, knew that the rest of them were at risk, that the cult would rid themselves of them when they got too volatile, too hard to control.
Asphodel shuddered then, her mouth opening and a little more blood dribbling out as if she'd been keeping it in. Eos held on to her as she fell forward, letting her settle on her chest. She put her chin on her head and closed her eyes,
"I wish you'd just waited" Eos said quietly. Perhaps if she'd been there a few moments sooner, she would have been here before she'd swallowed it. Maybe it wouldn't have changed her mind at all.
It didn't take long then. Asphodel's body shuddered a couple more times as she took some of her last breaths.
Kallinos, she'd looked him in the eye when he'd died. He'd looked at peace, a strange kind of peace but, peace none the less. Eos couldn't pull herself to look at Asphodels.
"I'm so sorry Eos" Kassandra said quietly,
"You know..." Eos sighed, "When I first heard that the people had turned against Chrysis" she put her hand on Asphodels head, "I thought that the Gods were in my favour... just this one time... but, they always seem to take much more than they give",
"Eos, this isn't the Gods doing",
"It's the cults Kassandra I know" Eos snapped. Eos regretted it instantly but, Kassandra wasn't fazed - she was more like her brother than she realised. Eos sighed, "But I should be dead. Twice over. How do you explain that if it was not for the Gods".
It was also easier to blame them than to blame herself.
"Eos..." Kassandra trailed off. There wasn't much else she could say - it had been a long day - full of apparitions, truths and promises that seemed to get swept away with the wind as easily as they were made.
Before Eos had stood up, she'd stuck her finger in Asphodel's mouth. It was just as she thought.
"They cut her tongue out" Eos said quietly. Kassandra didn't say anything. Chrysis had done the same to that priest; so that he wouldn't be able to tell anyone what had really happened that night her mater had come here with her baby brother.
Eos was silent as she picked Asphodel's body up. She would never have been able to do it before but, Asphodel was more bone than human now. Kassandra followed behind her. They reached the cliffs overhang just outside and Eos lay Asphodel down on the grass.
Kassandra and Eos spent the rest of the evening dismantling the wooden overhang and piling it up in to a pyre. Then, as Eos just stared at Asphodel's body laying on top, Kassandra collected up some flowers from around the forest, lying them in a circle around it,
"Thankyou" Eos said quietly - she should have done it herself - she owed Asphodel that much - but, the realisation that it was a vision Asphodel had seen about Eos, that had done this to her, made her feel sick.
And Akin. Akin loved Asphodel. If Akin had any hope, it was her and now; she was gone, and Eos didn't know if a world without Asphodel was a world Akin would ever want to stay in. Whether he stayed loyal to the cult or not.
Kassandra lit the temple alight with some well-placed fire arrows and Eos lit the pyre. They both watched as the flames took a hold, lighting up the sky in Asphodels very last performance.
Eos wished Kassandra could have seen her before. She was less than a shell of the girl Eos had knew, it was starting to look like they all were.
Kallinos, Deimos, Melaina, Asphodel...
What hope did that hold for Akin, Pyros and Glaukos?
Early in to the next morning, the temple was completely uninhabitable and, all that was left of Asphodel was buried by both Eos and Kassandra underneath the tree of Herakles as the people of Epidauros slept. A single flower being laid over the dirt before the two of them walked back to the docks.
"What will you do now" Kassandra had asked as Eos had petted Phobos. Last time, the horse had wanted nothing to do with her having been so close to Laelaps.
"Well, most likely head to Argos" Eos said, she pulled out the letter that Kassandra had given to her,
"You know, you could come with us" Kassandra said. Kassandra knew that Eos had her own odyssey to write but, Kassandra didn't know Eos enough to be sure that anymore days like the last one wasn't going to push her over the edge - and, from what she knew now, she wondered if Eos would be the key to her brother reuniting with his real family, and more importantly, being able to live with himself afterwards.
"I'm sure our paths will cross again Kassandra" Eos had said, smiling, "But for now, I need to blind Kosmo and find my companion" Phobos snorted at her angrily, taking a step back as if he knew who she was talking about,
"I hope we do" Kassandra said.
Eos stood on the dock and watched as Kassandra jumped the small gap and looked at Barnabas, who had already hugged Eos very tightly and asked her to say hello to Laelaps for him - as he and Herodotus had both decided that he was a gift from Hades instead of a curse.
"Where too commander" Barnabas asked, giddy at the thought of another adventure,
"Lakonia" Kassandra said, she turned back to look at Eos. "My friend. It might not mean much. You might not even want it. But, I forgive you. You did the only thing you could. I only wish I had been there sooner" Eos smiled, feeling a tear fall as she put her hand up and they got ready to set sail.
Before, Eos might not have wanted it but now, now someone actually knew, someone who had seen it - almost - with their own eyes and accepted it for what it was, it meant everything.
And now, as Kassandra sailed off to her next adventure, it was time for Eos to continue hers.
Argos for Midas, Megaris for a captain and then, back to Attika for a damn wolf.
Although, she did wonder if turning up on Dolops doorstep and asking if he had any robes that weren't blood soaked, should perhaps be her first point of call.