Wrath "Rise of the Fallen"

What Zeus thought were small rocks grew into titanic boulders as they marched across the grey plain. He paid no attention to how much time had passed nor to the crazy pace Hades maintained. What he couldn’t ignore was how the endless flat plain seemed to just end, rippling into rolling hills and then spearing into the bloody sky in jagged tablelands that closed in on the two Greeks. Hades made a sudden turn and led Zeus into a narrow chasm between two mesas. The path began to descend.

“Will this take us to Demeter?” Zeus asked.

“I need to retrieve something first,” Hades growled.

Zeus raised an eyebrow. “What could you possibly need?” Hades didn’t respond as the path dropped sharply and made several sharp turns between steep cliffs that began to dim the red light until only a slender gash ran overhead. They came to an abrupt halt at the edge of a giant square pit too deep to see the bottom.

“What is this?” Zeus asked.

“The only place those demon bastards could possibly hold them.”

“Hold who?”

As if on cue, there came a low sound tumbling out of the pit like the slow grinding of gargantuan stones. It pitched up into a shrill tri-phonic howl that chilled Zeus’ blood. Hades gave Zeus a glance and leapt into the pit.

“Just like that?” Zeus muttered, but followed, using his eagle vision to spy the pit’s floor and time his landing. He touched down and lit up his lightning staff. The pit was not actually pitch dark but sparsely lighted with torches here and there. In the weak glow of the torches and the lunar light of his staff, Zeus saw Hades standing before a terrible shape looming in the far corner of the pit.

Cerberus, the Guard of the Underworld, the Hound of Hades, stood as tall and wide as an elephant from the exotic lands of the south and east. Its three wolfish heads swayed low on necks clad in studded collars forged from some metal with strange red and blue streaks. A thick chain of the same metal dragged along behind the beast. Six ears perked like mountain peaks over three pairs of polished sapphire eyes that daggered at Hades and Hades alone. A scimitar-like stinger hung at the ready from a long and bulbous scorpion’s tail arcing over its back. In the burnished gloom of the torchlight, the great hound’s rat-like skin was a mottled grey tone prickled with wiry hair. But the teeth were white. Mostly white, streaked with some dark film and bared in triplet snarls, though only meek-sounding whines issued from them.

“They’re unguarded?” Zeus asked.

“Those demons… they’re arrogant,” Hades said. “What is the matter, my hounds?” He cupped his hands under the chin of Cerberus’ center head. The other two head leaned in and Hades stroked all three of those chins and whispered things that Zeus couldn’t hear. Cerberus’ heads ducked down in deference and three tongues unfurled from between those horrific jaws. Ropes of drool swung from them and the animal seemed positively dopey as it moved off to the side.

“Maybe with good cause. Look at those chains. They’re not the work of Hephaestus.”

“Definitely not,” Hades said, gingerly pulling one of the collars away from Cerberus’ center neck to reveal a festering red abrasion. Cerberus let out another sad whine. “We need to get these toxic shackles off my hound. Try your lightning staff on that chain. We may need to think a bit more surgically for these collars. Quickly now!”

Zeus gave Hades a stare, but also a bit of slack for his urgency, and stepped around the giant hound. He launched himself into the air and, with a bellow, hammered down on the chain with the lightning staff.

It was like an entire thunderstorm exploded right there on the chain. Zeus flew backward and skidded to a dusty halt halfway across the pit, momentarily stunned, momentarily deaf and blind. Blinking furiously, he searched for his staff and found it meters away. Cerberus thrashed about and the chains boomed against the ground as Zeus scrambled for his weapon. Surely someone could hear this noise.

“Hmm, so that didn’t seem to work,” Hades said, caressing Cerberus under its chins to soothe the beast. “I guess I’m not surprised.”

“Didn’t think it would work, didja?” Zeus said, finding Hades as his vision returned. The Lord of the Underworld looked to be clearing his own vision. “Had my suspicions,” he said.

Zeus grumbled and climbed to his feet. “So, you have any other suspicions?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. But you made quite the racket. Someone’s bound to investigate.”

“You think?”

“Yes. Now, quickly….” Hades moved toward the demon chain and Cerberus followed him with forlorn eyes. He squatted down and placed a hand on one fat link, running his fingers over the queer metal. “The angel’s Grace, brother. Can you, can you… reach it? Tap into it? Use your Fell Stone to… I don’t know, amplify your thought.”

“I’ll try.”

“Me too.” Hades stood. “Your staff. Hold it out.” He pointed at the link, and when Zeus did the same with his lightning staff, Hades grabbed ahold of it. “Light it,” he said. Zeus fired up the staff, and the area around them glowed blue-white. Then he turned his attention to his ring, and beyond, searching for his Grace.

His ring blazed, and he found his Grace almost immediately. And sucked in a breath at the feeling. Warmth and mellowness. Like the best dream. Like the satisfaction after a hard day’s labor, after winning a battle. Like the first sip of cool water on a parched throat. Like hearing beautiful music. Like seeing a beautiful woman. Like sex.

The lightning staff flared even brighter. And then Zeus sensed Hades in the form of a soft pulsing through the staff’s hardwood. The feeling changed. No less warm or mellow, but… darker. Around them, the glow flickered and dimmed steadily until the lightning staff threw off a blue-black light like smoke. Power coursed through the staff—and through Zeus’ body—such as he’d never experienced before. It swelled, threatened to overwhelm him.

“Look,” Hades whispered.

“I see,” Zeus growled. The staff twitched.

“Black lightning,” Hades murmured.

Zeus grunted and fought the staff, which jumped and flicked as if it were trying to escape.

“Strike,” Hades said. “Strike now!”

Zeus barely flicked his wrist and the staff snapped down on the chain. This time there was no thunderstorm, but instead a sudden bloom of smoky blackness followed by the sizzle of a thousand serpents hissing.

The blackness faded and the Greeks watched the remains of the demon chain crumbling away like soot. Cerberus was instantly away, capering and yipping across the pit like a puppy. Hades whistled once and Cerberus trotted over and sat beside its master, panting happily.

The twin lightning blades of the staff continued to glow black and the new, different power coursed through the weapon, lightly, just standing by waiting to be unleashed again. “Black lightning,” Zeus said. “Very nice.”

Hades leaned toward Cerberus and its three heads came together, and for a few moments, the Lord of the Underworld whispered intensely. Cerberus chuffed excitedly and stamped his forepaws, raising clouds of dust. Then it trotted toward the wall of the pit, crouched, and leapt upward. Zeus barely heard the beast land on the edge. But he heard the beast growl softly and saw all three heads peering down at them expectantly.

“Come,” Hades said, leading Zeus to a narrow opening in the pit opposite of where Cerberus had been bound, “now we go get my wife back.”