Even with the burning rays of hell on my face, at some point I started to doze off, only waking at a distinct thump nearby. With a yawn, I opened my eyes, expecting it to be Hyperion, but instead I was face to face with something straight out of my nightmares.
The creature that stood before me was the color of snot when you had a cold—you know, that super fluro, greeny-yellow shade that was in no way appealing. It had at least thirty eyes dotted about its large round head, and if thirty eyes wasn't bad enough, there were also the approximately fifty razor sharp teeth, very visible as he dove toward me. Smiling.
What sort of psychopath smiled when it tried to murder you? #Rude #MommaMonsterDidNotRaiseItRight
Rolling out of the way, I clambered to my feet before bolting for the open desert, thinking I'd have a chance to run away. I did not take into account the fact that Eyeballs was also the proud owner of a pair of Go-Go Gadget arms, extending them out in a single flick of his creepy wrist. They wrapped around my throat tightly, like a bound rope, cutting off my air in the same instant, before constricting to the point of pain.
I grasped both of its arms, digging in my nails in an attempt to loosen its hold. Heat burned beneath my hands for a moment, and I didn’t know if it was the monster or me. Either way, the hold loosened just enough for me to cough and splutter, gasping air into my lungs as I spun and faced the creature.
“Maisey,” Hyperion shouted, his voice sounding far away.
Before he could get any closer though, there was a burst of energy in my gut, swirling and churning as it exploded from within me. Pure white light burned my retinas and I felt the hold on my throat relax even further, before disappearing completely.
My legs collapsed and I gasped for air, half sprawled on my hands and knees.
What. The. Fuck. Just. Happened?
It took a few seconds for my eyesight to clear, and almost the exact moment it did, I found myself hauled up into Hyperion's arms, the Titan jerking me close to his body. That movement was so fast that the swirls of energy inside of me turned into swirls of nausea.
“Stop,” I choked out, and he stilled.
Closing my eyes, I worked very hard on breathing, trying to settle my stomach. Thankfully I managed to get myself under control before I vomited. Something Hyperion should be super grateful about.
“Are you okay?” It sounded like he was shouting at me, still holding me above the ground and close to his chest. “Those crutashia demons are nothing to be scoffed at. They’re the strongest of the lower-level demonkin and usually crush their victims in an instant.”
Pushing against him, I managed to wiggle and return my feet to the ground. “I'm totally fine,” I said, voice a little husky but nothing too crazy. #SexyVoiceNotASmoker
I smiled at my worried grandfather. “Eyeballs only had me for a second, and then…” I looked around. “Actually, what happened then? There was this white light and his arms disappeared. Did you save me?”
He frowned. “Nope. Maisey, that was all you. Or rather Thanatos. You must have used some of his power to fight it off. I saw the bastard grab you and I knew I couldn't get here in time. Then the white light burst from your body and blinded me too. By the time I got here, the demon was returning to its primordial form of toxic sludge, and then it was absorbed into the land.”
#TMI #Gross
Pushing my hair back, I sighed. “Not ideal to waste power this early on, especially before we face the Ery-thingy, but … better than being dead, I suppose.”
He was going to roll his eyes for the third time, I was super sure.
Hyperion ran a hand over my arms and shoulders, like he was checking for injuries. “No broken ribs? Or trouble breathing?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I feel fine.” Little nauseous and freaked out, but that was all mental right?
When Hyperion finally seemed satisfied that I was okay, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and started to lead me away. “I’m glad you’re not dead. In better news, I found the portal.”
Yes! That was fucking amazing news, and I felt relief and excitement that we were that much closer to Cronus. Not to mention walking far, far away from the gooey demon mess seeping into the desert floor.
“So, are lots of these types of demons roaming around down here?” I asked as we journeyed in the direction Hyperion had been when I first got attacked.
“No,” he said gruffly. “Not usually on this level … demons were Hades’ thing. He loved surrounding himself with all manner of creatures. Thanatos put an end to that, especially since a lot of the demons feed on souls and energy. Souls are something that this world has in abundance, but once a soul is consumed, it's gone forever, so Thanatos tries to keep the demon population in check.”
Ouch. Fuck. That would have been my fate without Thanatos’ power. I seriously owed him a nice gift basket.
Hyperion was still talking, so I quickly tuned back into him to catch the rest of what he was saying. “The Erynomus is changing the landscape of this world, and with that, it'll be releasing the demon traps we spent centuries putting into place to rid the underworld of its presence.”
I gulped down my next few mouthfuls of air. “Demon. Traps?”
Oh fuck. This was seriously not good.
Chapter 2
Before I could freak out too much about the fact that we were walking through a world that might very soon be filled with the sort of demon I'd just encountered, Hyperion found the portal he'd been searching for.
At first I couldn't see it. Nothing stood out against the stark and arid landscape until we got very close. Then a distinct swirl of energy was visible six feet above the dirt.
“You won't be able to see it,” Hyperion said when we were standing in front of it, “but I'll guide you through.”
I furrowed my brow, wondering if maybe I'd thought the swirl was the portal and it wasn't.
“What's this sparkling swirly looking magic?” I asked him, running my hand near it but not actually touching.
Hyperion did a double take, blinking rapidly at me like I was the one who suddenly had too many eyes and fifty fucking teeth. #Wait #HowManyTeethDoHumansHave
“Humans can't see these portals,” he said softly. “Even with Thanatos’ power and Selene's DNA you shouldn’t have enough energy to see through to the base magic here.”
“So, it's not the swirly thing?” I asked, confused.
“No, it is,” he shot back quickly.
Reaching out, I latched on to his forearm, stopping him from his weird half-pace he was trying to do on the spot. “I'm confused. You're saying I can't see it, but I can clearly see it, so what the fuck do you mean?”
He focused on me, maybe more than he ever had, searching deep into my … soul? “I'm saying that there's something different about you, Maisey Parker. Something I can't quite put my finger on. You should not be able to see that portal.”
#OminousWarningFromGrandpaTitan #YeahIWasFucked
“Maybe it's just a residual overflow from having the power of the sins inside of me … or Thanatos’ power,” I finally said, hoping that we could both latch on and run with that reason. I really didn't need any other freaky things happening to me. “No one knows how that might affect a human, right?”