'Something is horribly, terribly wrong...'

To the White of the Bone

"Still nothing?" Sonya asked as I opened my eyes, a painful ache forming right across the crown of my head. I rubbed at the throbbing area and shook my head in annoyance.

"Nothing, I still can't get to her." I'd been trying for days to reach Hecate; to ask for her help and for more clues, but it's like she just disappeared without a trace. I couldn't find her anywhere in my dreams and wherever I called for her, there was no answer.

The last time we spoke, I could tell she'd been in considerable pain. It was getting harder for her to communicate with me, either because the area where her spirit hovered now wasn't meant to be escaped, or because someone on this side was keeping her from contacting me.

Nothing was all that improbable anymore.

But that meant whoever was putting up a wall between us had some access to magic- or someone under their control with magic.

"So what now?" Trita was lying on her back on the white divan, her one foot hanging limply off the edge.

I shrugged; "I go to the fortress unprepared." I knew it was reckless to go down to the Underworld without really knowing what I was getting myself involved with, but after what Aphrodite told me yesterday, about Ares meeting his fellow conspirator at an old fortress, I had to go see it for myself.

I was hoping Hecate could finally give me more information, or some defence against any threat I might find, but the lavender fields in my dreams were just as empty as they'd been a week ago. She was nowhere to be found.

"I don't like this, Rora." Sonya shook her head as her foot tapped nervously on the titled floor. Trimorphe purred next to her, her big blue eyes wide.

I sighed; "Me neither, but something needs to be done. And besides, I can't sit here for another second. I need to go out and do something. This place is suffocating."

"I kinda like it..." Trita smiled at the ceiling as she twirled a cupcake towards her mouth. I smiled and rolled my eyes; "Well, I'm going out of my mind with boredom."

"Typical 'Aurora-thing' to say..." I ignored her sneaky smile.

Sonya still didn't look very happy about the situation; "How do you know Aphrodite isn't lying to trick you? What if they're waiting there for you?"

"Believe it or not, but I actually trust her. I could see some of her thoughts and they were pure. I don't think she's lying about this. Her fear was so..." I shook my head, "-real. But I understand your concern. That's why I'm taking this cutie with me."

I petted Trimorphe's head; she purred loudly. "And I'll be careful. I promise." I gave them a look, making sure they knew I wasn't about to storm into this place guns blazing. Sonya nodded, but still looked worried.

Trita twisted up to look at me with sharp eyes; "How long before we send out a search party?"

I smiled; "Give me an hour; anymore and you can tell Apollo."

They nodded. Trita eyed the clock as I grabbed a dark cloak and hung it from my shoulders. I borrowed a pair of dark brown leather pants from Artemis. She used them for hunting. They were surprisingly comfortable and were easy to move in.

I was just glad to finally be wearing pants again.

I squeezed Sonya's hand as my portal formed up in front of me; "An hour; I promise."

She nodded, her eyes worried. Trita came to stand next to me, her normally assured gaze filling with some uneasiness. "Don't make us come looking for you... Thanatos will have our heads if he finds out you're doing this."

I laughed; "Thanatos will have my head if he knew." And so would Apollo. I wasn't allowed to leave at all. What am I doing?

I turned towards the portal, Trimorphe already at my side; "Lock the doors."

Sonya and Trita nodded their heads and I stepped forward, my cloak tucked tightly against my sides. The blue abyss neared until I felt it suck me in and shoot me forward with a deafening blow.

Trimorphe was the first to land.

My feet landed with a hard thud against the dusty, blackened ground. Quickly I waved my portal away and soon the only noise that surrounded us was that of the wind.

The Underworld was dark.

I took a few steps towards the large fortress. I'd tried to pinpoint my location as best I could, since I'd never actually been here before. I managed it with surprisingly ridiculous accuracy. Hades' palace loomed over the horizon like a menacing marker.

Trimorphe's hair stood up on her back as she moved forward, her growl loud. I motioned to her to be quieter. She did as I asked and crawled towards the broken, stone stairs. She hadn't actually spotted anything suspicious- she was just on edge from the unfamiliar and dark environment.

I tried to calm her down as we ascended the stairs, up to the first level of the decaying structure. It was all dilapidated and the ruins smelt of burnt wood and rotten moss. The wind was cold and howling, ripping at my cloak. I held onto it with tight fists. Trimorphe sniffed around the ruins, her busy tail in the air, careful not to touch the muddy ground.

I searched the opposite area, not really sure what I was looking for, but frankly, anything at this point would be a win.

We spent a few long, cold minutes just rummaging through the rumble. Every now and then I'd hear a creak and my head would lift, my hands ready to send a fireball flaming towards the noise, but it was just the wind.

The search continued. My hands grazed over some stones. I ducked down and began to rummage through them, pilling them up onto a stack. I reached the bottom, but there was nothing to be found. I sighed and tried another batch.

Trimorphe continued to sniff at the other side of the fortress, her nose firmly pressed into a big pile of old weapons and shields. Just as I stood up to walk towards another collapsed pile of rocks, Trimorphe's meow broke my focus. She was calling for me to come look.

I hurried over to her, a shiver running up my spine at the prospect of finding some kind of clue or evidence. Hopefully Aphrodite was right- or at least wasn't lying to my face.

I quickly moved the rocks apart, my hands working deftly, ignoring the jagged edges cutting at my skin. I could tell something was wrong with Trimorphe- she was meowing loudly, her claws scratching at the remaining rocks and her hair standing on end. Something important was down here.

I parted the last remaining rock and instantly my eyes landed on something golden.

A... necklace?

I reached for the gold, thin chain. Trimorphe clearly recognised it and that was the only clue I needed to know who it belonged to- well, the key pendant at the end helped a little bit too.

It was a dark rose-gold, with the Greek symbol for Hecate on the front of the key's base. This necklace belonged to Hecate.

What on earth was it doing all the way down here, in the Underworld?

And what does it open?

Trimorphe's loud growl ripped through the dark sky and in an instant she shot up in front of me, her busy tail standing up like a duster. Her long fangs grew in size and soon enough there were three large and angry snow leopards standing in front of me as she phased and evolved to her true form.

My heart sprinted ahead, but not from their murderous snarls. The thing approaching out from the darkness was what really got my blood pumping.

I'd only ever read about it in Greek myths; imagining just how scared and frightened I'd be if I ever had to come face to face with one of them, but here I was- in an old ruin, in the Underworld with a raging Minotaur charging towards me.

I had no time to react as Trimorphe threw all three of her forms at the colossal beast.

It smacked one of the snow leopards hard across the face, sending it crashing into a nearby pillar. The beast's ugly, deformed bull's face was filled with rage and its large head ducked down to stab at the second snow leopard charging towards it. I held my breath, praying and hoping Trimorphe knew what she was doing.

But I knew that wasn't going to be enough.

I lifted my hands high; channelling the anger I felt inside my bones and quickly tried to duck my psyche into the beast's head. I felt it flinch from my intrusion as it tried to fight off the reaming two leopards. Its brain wasn't much of a match for mine, but I soon encountered a slight problem- it was already being mind-controlled by some other being.

This Minotaur had a latch on its mind; someone behind the scenes manipulating it into doing their biding, meaning I couldn't make it stop until I snapped the other bond. I tried to break it, but quickly my focus was shifted as the second leopard was stabbed in the chest, the bull howling like a mad beast at the dark sky.

Fuck.

Trimorphe could regenerate, but only when she had energy, and she was quickly running out.

I wasn't planning on letting us both die down here, especially over some little trinket- no matter how important it might be.

"HEY!" I shouted loudly at the overgrown cow. Its human body turned towards me, its black eerie eyes filling with determination. I could feel its thoughts- they were like any animal's; primal and simple. And this Minotaur had clearly been instructed to kill anyone who entered this fortress.

This was a strong bond to be able to control a creature like this.

Someone really didn't want this key to be found...

The Minotaur tried to get past Trimorphe, but she bit onto its ankle and refused to let go, her sharp claws latching on and digging into the flesh, seeping a river of blood onto the ground. I gritted my teeth, preparing my head for the worst.

Let's see just how effective Blood magic was in real practice.

I might not be able to manipulate its mind, but I could try to control its body.

I shot my magic forward like a dagger- sharp and deadly. It cut through with ease. I moved my hand up and the Minotaur watched in agony as I extended my fingers. The beast stopped moving instantly.

The fortress fell silent again, the haggard breath and snarls of Trimorphe the only thing filling the cold air. She saw what I was doing and quickly unclasped her claws from the beast. She sprung back.

"Tsk, tsk..." I grinned thinly, the feeling of being able to exert some of my magic unbelievably euphoric. Keeping it at bay was getting so hard lately.

Ripping this thing up with my mind was slowly sounding more and more enjoyable.

Trimorphe saw my mind wander as the beast howled softly in pain. She quickly nudged at my hip, her eyes filling with concern. I gritted my teeth.

The headache grew.

I had to do something.

I knew what I wanted to do, but...

I tried to avoid Trimorphe's inquisitive gaze. I let the monster snarl a bit more before I made up my mind, realising that we only had a few minutes left before Trita and Sonya would call Apollo for help. I couldn't let him interfere too- or even know I'd escaped.

Gods, and if Thanatos found out! Well, he was bound to; I had to tell him about the necklace and the key pendant I held in my hand.

With the flick of my hand, the Minotaur grabbed its own throat and twisted. Its neck snapped.

I felt the wire in my mind connected to its blood pull until the beast fell onto its knees and its body smacked forward onto the wet ground with a thud, sending mud everywhere.

Trimorphe shook herself off, but avoided my eyes.

I knew what I'd done could have been avoided. It wasn't the beast's fault it was being controlled, but I won't lie- it felt too good.

This is bad. So bad.

My mind was slowly slipping down a dark hole. I need to ascend- this power is getting too much for my human body, my human mind. I'm losing it. I'm losing it.

I'm losing it.

Trimorphe nudged my hand that held the necklace in a tight fist. I was squeezing the key's sharp edge into my palm. Blood dripped down my fingers and onto the floor. I shook my head, the pain fading slightly, and quickly hung the necklace around my neck. I tucked it away; making sure it wasn't visible at all. I wiped off the blood from my palm, ignoring the clear sign of a slipping mind.

My hand waved over the sky, forming a portal. The deep blue opened up in front of us. I eyed the dead beast on the ground. The controller of the Minotaur would soon rock up here- knowing the beast was dead. The thin wire of control probably snapped in that person's brain just as it killed itself.

No, you killed it, Aurora.

Shut up.

My teeth grinded together. Trimorphe nudged me towards the portal. I glanced around one last time, just to make sure we hadn't missed anything, but a frightening image stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was a small puddle of rain on the muddy ground, some of the beast's blood seeping into it from its deep scratch and bite marks. But it wasn't the blood and mud mixed together that shot a chill down my spine.

I watched as my reflection looked up at me from the dirty, dark water.

I still had a sickening grin on my face...

We landed with a thud.

I made sure the key was still tucked safely away under my shirt and cloak. Trimorphe shook her paws, mud splattering onto the titled floor. I snickered down at her, but my amusement was quickly interrupted by an anxious cry.

"Aurora!"

I lifted my eyes to the shocked and pained faces of my two best friends. Apollo stood in between them- his eyes filled with rage and... something else.

I gulped and lifted my chin, readying my defence; "Before you start-"

"Aurora." Apollo said loudly, and for the first time, he really sounded like a king. "We'll discuss your conduct later."

I narrowed my eyes, confusion filling my expression. My eyes shifted to Trita's troubled eyes. She dropped them to the floor. Something was terribly wrong. My eyes darted to Sonya's, but she refused to meet my gaze.

Something is horribly, terribly wrong.

Glass shattered in the back of my mind.

"Thanatos-" It was something between a desperate cry and a loud, anger-filled growl, but Apollo was quick to dismiss my assumption.

"He's fine. Relax."

My knees wobbled. I grabbed the desk to hold myself upright. My breath hitched in my throat and I felt like my lungs had emptied out.

"Oh..." It was all I could manage from my dry mouth. I think my body may have shut down.

"Aurora..." Sonya's sad voice filled the room and I immediately knew we weren't out of the woods yet.

So long as it's not him- I can't... I can't image...

So long as it's not him.

Please, God, not him.

"What is it?" My voice was unrecognisable.

Apollo crossed his arms and took a step back. Trita gritted her teeth, steeling herself. I prepared for the worst.

Well, the worst would involve him, but it doesn't. Good, it doesn't.

So long as it's not him...

"It's Samaria..."

*Picture of the pendant above

NEXT UPDATE- 12th of January

Is your heart rushing? Mine is... *Phew*