The Gift of the Lethe

The Looking Glass

Athena sucks in a breath, reaching one hand out towards the glass as the hellhound jumps towards Pallas' face. The spear lashes out, piercing into the hellhound's side as it desperately tries to escape the weapon. Pallas pulls the spear back in a spray of purple-black blood. The hound cries in pain, the end of the sound punctuates by a snarl as it lunges again.

Pallas is prepared for that attack, but not for the hellhound that attacks from behind. A cry of desperation rises in Athena's throat in an attempt to warn Pallas, but she can't be heard through the glass. Her breath catches in her throat as she watches, afraid to look away from her for even a moment. Pallas is competent, yes. She knows how to fight.

But four on one is not good odds. Just before the hellhound makes contact with Pallas' back, the butt of the spear pushes backwards to hit it in the stomach and send the hellhound launching away from Pallas. The spear moves forward a moment later to pierce into the heart of the hellhound at her front, dissolving it into dust.

Athena lets out a breath of relief as the hellhound dies and Pallas turns to face the three hounds. She wishes she could help so badly, her hands are itching to reach for her own weapons and join her partner, but she has to let Pallas do this on her own. Not just because of Hera's interference orders, but because Pallas needs to know that despite the fact she is in a new body now.

She needs to know that she is just as capable in battle as she was before. Athena blinks and refocuses on the mirror. Pallas is staring the remaining three hellhounds down, the spear held at an angle with one hand positioned lower down on the shaft, where she can easily swing it. The three hellhounds are all positioned together in front of her, and Athena can see as they crouch low to the ground in preparation.

Pallas must notice as well, for she too lowers into a crouch. Two of the hounds lunge, but the other doesn't. Instead it twists to the side, running right for Pallas' feet. She can't block both attacks at the same time. If she tries to defend herself from the hellhounds attacking her throat, the third will take her out at the legs. If she defends herself from that one, the others will shred her throat.

Athena reaches for the mirror as if she could help from her home on Olympus, but she doesn't need to. When the nearest hellhound is only a few inches from her face, there is a rumbling sound and a pulse ripples out from the shaft of the spear. The pulse launches the hellhounds back, but its effects don't stop there.

The image in Athena's mirror begins to ripple, blurring Pallas so she can no longer be seen. Athena twists her hands together in discomfort. She needs to know what's happening. What if the pulse took out Pallas? What if the hellhounds recovered faster than she did? There's so many things that can go wrong in such a short time.

She needs to know what is on the other side of her glass. If something happens to Pallas . . . Hera's rules can go to Tartarus. She will not let Pallas die again. She'll go and fight Thanatos if she has to, but no one is touching Pallas' soul. She rubs at her eyes and looks to the mirror just as the ripples inside it begin to still.

Athena leans forward, eagerness and dread warring in her heart. It must have only been a few seconds that she couldn't see, but it felt like an eon. Pallas stands exactly where she stood before, seemingly unaffected by the pulse. The hellhounds lie on the ground beneath the dark trees of the forest, where they must have been flung by the blast.

Lying across Pallas' shoulders is a mantle, the aegis. It glows with power, a force that extends far below the point on her arms where the fabric itself ends. The shielding force of the aegis protects her whole body, rather than just where it covers her. Athena exhales, overcome with relief for her forethought in melding a piece of her aegis into the spear.

If she hadn't done that, there is a good chance that Pallas would be dead right now. One of the hellhounds raises its head to look in Pallas' direction, only to whine when its eyes lock onto the aegis and it slumps back against the tree. The other hellhound, for it seems one had died before Athena could notice it, struggles to its feet.

Athena watches Pallas tense up, preparing for the hellhound to attack, but it just steps over to its companion. The hound nudges the other until it pushes to its feet and follows the other into the trees, apparently backing down from a continuation of the fight. Athena sags, the tension leaving her body and making her feel boneless. She touches the mirror with a soft smile.

"Well done, Pallas. Well done."

On the other side, Pallas lifts her head just slightly, turning slightly to look around the space. Athena freezes in shock. Did she hear her? How? The mirror is only one way. The image ripples before she can dwell on it further, and once it clears she finds her own face staring back at her.

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What do you think of Athena watching over Pallas through the mirror? What did you think of the fight? We're you expecting the aegis to appear? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out