Betrayal in Elysium [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

"A hydra?!" Theo shouted.

Charon glared at him, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall opposite of  Theo.

"Yeah, a hydra that can hear pretty well." He answered. Theo pursed his lips, but much to our relief, didn't speak again. Malachi cursed under his breath, putting a hand on his hip and running his other through his hair in frustration. Cain wouldn't let go of me, even after we had stood up. He kept his arm around my waist, but this time, it wasn't a possessive gesture-- it was protective.

"Shit," Malachi cursed again, looking around cautiously, "We need to get moving. That doesn't sound like a small hydra."

"It's a full grown male hydra and Charon's right-- It's starving." I answered. Theo scowled at me, folding his arms over his chest.

"How do you know?" He asked dryly. I gave him a droll stare, putting a hand on my hip. I released a small amount of power and my tail came coiling out onto the floor, flicking at the end. Theo didn't say anything now, just looked away with an awkward cough. Malachi frowned, turning to me.

"What do you know about hydras?" He asked.

"Nearly everything," I responded flatly, "Hades made me research them after he fused my body with one. First of all, don't bother going for the tail. They're impervious. Their blood is poisonous, like acid. It eats through your skin. Second of all, we all know the fact that lopping off their heads won't work. Take one, two grow in its place. They have razor sharp claws that make flu shots feel like a pillow fight."

"How did Heracles defeat the hydra then?" Theo asked under his breath. I shrugged, folding my arms over my chest now, tail still swaying across the floor.

"He cut its heads off and before the heads could grow back, he burnt the stump, so it couldn't come back. Actually, it wasn't even his idea. It was his nephew's, Iolaus. Also his lover." I added, making Theo wrinkle his nose. Cain stuck his tongue out at him as a response.

"So, should we just blast fire at each of the heads?" Malachi asked.

"If you can hold still long enough to do it," I admitted with a grimace, "The hydra is really fast and swift. As big as this one is, it can still move quickly. And judging from how that thing roared, it has more than the usual two or four heads. So now you have to watch out big time. If you cut it and its blood gets on you, you'll scream for days." Malachi cursed, but seemed to be thinking about taking the thing on. Charon stood there in silence, glancing between us before his eyes widened as another loud roar tore through the hallways. This one sounded louder and more ferocious, as if there were nearly ten heads all screaming at once.

"Maybe we should start moving." Theo said at last, taking a step closer to Charon, who scowled at him. Malachi nodded.

"We can't fight in this tiny space," He agreed, "It has the advantage of being a serpentine creature and it can move easily through tight spaces-- we can't. Even if we did attack it, the blast from our powers might collapse the hallways. Let's just head in the opposite direction, and move fast, before it catches up." Everyone nodded in agreement to that and started down the hallway. Malachi led the way with Theo and Charon in the middle, Cain and I leading up the rear. Cain and I walked hand in hand, something that warmed me to the core.

"Thanks for that back there, by the way," I said, making Cain look at me curiously, "Healing me, I mean. No offense, but you killed me a good few times and I sort of expected it again." Cain looked pained at that, but he nodded in understanding, giving my hand a squeeze before he leaned in to kiss me on the cheek.