Siblings of the Deep (Book 1)

Chapter 5: The Sword of Ares

Merideth^^^^^

Ariel's P.O.V

The music abruptly stopped, people froze as they looked up at the god of war in fear. I froze when I saw his face, a face I remembered all too well. I remembered his leather jacket, along with the sunglasses that hid the most malevolent blazing eyes. I shivered involuntarily.

I remembered the day the god of war had mercy on two children, for his own benefit no less. I slipped into the memories of the past, blocking out everything else.

The little girl hopped over a log as she ran. The boy next to her repeatedly looked behind them, as if expecting a monster to come out and eat them. The girl panted as she ran, she gradually slowed as they gained more distance from whatever they were running from. She tugged on the boy's sleeve, her lips formed a pout. "Asher! Can we rest, I'm tired!" she pleaded.

The boy, Asher, glanced behind them, "Fine, but don't let your guard down Ariel. Also, please go find some berries, not the red ones, only the ones I told you about."

Ariel rolled her sea-green eyes, "You mean blueberries? I'm not stupid you know." she grumbled to herself. Asher ignored her sarcasm, instead removing his backpack, bringing out some marshmallows and peanut butter sandwiches.

Ariel hummed Hakuna Matata to herself as she walked towards the bushes. She reached towards the blueberries and picked them unhappily. "I'd like to see Asher pick some damn berries." She muttered.

"Well that's not very nice, is it?" a masculine voice said mockingly. Her black hair whirled around as she heard the voice. Her eyes darted around, looking for an escape. She looked at the blueberries in her hand, "To Tartarus" she muttered, throwing the berries at the centaur. She whistled 3 times. The centaur growled at her as the berries bounced off him. He pawed [Ariel thought it should be called hoofed] the leafy ground. Ariel glanced at the surrounding trees nervously. She kept looking around.

"Did you think that would kill me?" the centaur questioned cockily.

"No, but it did distract you." She answered, glancing behind him.

He brayed in pain as the knife embedded itself into his flank. Blood poured out of his wound, but it wasn't enough to kill him. He charged Ariel, his unusual horn pointed towards her. His silver hair was matted and tattoos marked his arms and bare chest. Even though the horn was tiny it struck her on the cheek, leaving a gash 5 inches long. She touched the gash, staring at the blood covered hand. Even though she was injured she managed to make a sarcastic comment, "Wannabe unicorn." She taunted. She narrowly missed his hoof as she rolled away. She ran to stand next to her brother. Asher looked at his sister's face in horror. He stared at the centaur in rage, "No one, no one touches my little sister!" he roared. He charged the centaur, yanking the knife out of his flank. Ariel looked up to the sky, "Please father, please, help us, please." Nothing happened.

Asher sliced the centaur's horn off. The centaur's nostrils flared, he kicked Asher with both hooves catching him on his left shoulder. Ariel winced as she heard her brother scream in pain. She heard a sickening crack resound through the forest. The centaur turned towards Ariel, grinning maliciously. He charged towards her, his horn just a small stub. Before he could get within five feet of her, he froze. He was suddenly lifted into the air by an invisible force. He gagged and held his neck. He suddenly dropped, exploding into ashes. Ariel looked up, standing before her was a man who looked in his late 20s. His face was handsome, though scarred. Fingerless black gloves incased his calloused hands. His leather jacket completed the tough biker look along with his sunglasses.

Ariel glanced at her brother who cradled his broken shoulder. She kept her eyes on the man as she walked towards her brother. Once she was close enough to her brother she looked at the stranger warily, "Who are you?" she asked.