Herculean

Κεφάλαιο IX Μέρος II

I returned to Eros. Already, stymphalions screeched in the distance. One zap from my finger and he awakened, hair on end as sparks ran down his body.

"That's a lot of caffeine," he said.

"We must away." I glanced over my shoulder. The cottage and the beach were gone; only the forest clearing remained. "The Titans are coming for Olympus." I pulled Eros to his feet.

"This is the Fates revelation? And you are to stop them?"

"I can't do it alone, Eros."

Stymphalion cries rose on the wind. The powerful beat of their wings shook the trees...

"You are the son of Zeus. All is within your grasp, Hercules."

And I was cold with the thought. "If we stop Kreon, the Titans will crush the mountain. But if I save Olympus..."

"Then the Titans will take Earth." Eros' jaw was tight, his mouth grimly set.

"How do I make this choice?"

"With no regrets." He cast a troubled glance over his shoulder. "I have failed you, Hercules, and I haven't the time to explain..." A golden, glowing arrow lengthened in his hand. "But I can do this last thing."

"The forest's poison has you confused--you ramble as the birds are nearly upon us!" 

"The stymphalians will hunt us until we reach the portal. We can't risk you not making it out."

"Eros, I will not leave without you."

"For once, don't argue with me." 

Eros used the arrow tip and cut a deep gash across his chest. The bow was his blessing, it was also his curse: the cut would take weeks to heal. Twin pennons of white unfurled at his back. He rose into the air, wings stirring the forest floor as ichor dripped from his chest. The wound shined like gold.

"Stop Kreon--let the mountain burn. The gods will atone, as will I."

What sins had he committed to throw himself in the eye of peril? 

"Give Psyche the apple," he commanded. "Run!"

"Eros!"

He was not to be stopped; Eros zipped through the forest at an impossible speed. I dropped, flattening to the ground as the Stymphalians burst from the trees overhead. Birds of the undead, they were large as dragons and meaner still.  Scarred from battle, their ragged black feathers were fleeting, exposing bones and injuries they would never heal. Their long, pointed beaks were sharp as the curved talons that could slice a god to ribbons. Even if Eros survived the Stymphalian herd, he would not make it back to the portal in time...

His sacrifice would not be in vain.

Riding the lightning was not an option - I had to conserve my power for the general. So I took off through the trees, jumping roots and ducking boughs that blocked my path. With every step I left pieces of myself behind. Eros had stood by my side in every battle. How would I stop Kreon without him? And how could I forgive myself for leaving him behind?

I grit my teeth and ran faster...

A harsh, spine-tingling cry rang above the trees. Through slits in the canopy I spied the stymphalian overhead. It screeched and nosedived; I leaped aside, tumbling head over heels down a bumpy ravine, straight into the banks of a glowing stream whose cold waters shocked me back into my sense. Teeth clenched, I scrambled to my feet, wading waist-deep into the chilly waters. The stymphalian touched down before me, water lapping at it scaled, gray knees. His head cocked, observing me through one bright, beady eye as it cawed in warning. Fists crackling, I yelled right back.