'What's your move now, lord Death?'  

As hard as Marble

We reached the edge of the tunnel, the end of the cavern almost in sight.

I wasn't entirely sure how long we'd been in this God forsaken cave, but it must've been around two or three days. No one could tell just when or which way the sun was setting anymore. Everything was covered in pitch black and my men were more exhausted from the mental drain than the physical excursion.

It wasn't so much that we had to run around and fight to survive or to drive her out; it was more of a really long and tedious game of hide-and-seek. She was crafty and knew these tunnels far better than us. Her children were a nuisance, but not as bothersome as these little aggravating traps she'd planted.

Hypnos' hand clasped onto my shoulder, slowing me down; "You need to sleep soon, you're pale." I shook my head in stubbornness, causing Hypnos to sigh.

"I'm fine. Rather check the men."

"They're holding up, but you-"

"Stop this." I whispered to his face, pressing my palms onto his chest. The men around us continued to search the large tunnel, making sure every nook and cranny had been thoroughly investigated.

Our two squads had met up the next day at the same crossroad, only to deliver the news that there were many more ahead. Each side found a whole labyrinth of tunnels and pathways, all shrouded in darkness and a putrid mossy stench. Sybaris had burrowed into the very earth; creating a series of twists and turns and uncovering ancient tunnels from far back.

We were all pushed to the limit trying to keep each other alive and clear-headed enough till we managed to sniff her out.

I pulled Hypnos towards a dark alcove; "I need you to stop worrying."

"Thanatos, you're my brother-"

"Yes, and I appreciate the concern, but I just can't deal with everything at once. Just give me another day or two. This cavern is coming to an end- she can't hide much longer."

Hypnos looked around at the four men we had left. Barrios was at the front, directing them to be careful for traps. With the ten men we entered, excluding myself, Hypnos and Barrios, we only had four left. Two were killed by traps- one with an axe falling from the cave ceiling and the other by a trap door onto a set of sharp spikes.

The other four were killed by an ambush yesterday. Sybaris had prepared her lair for any occurrence, and we were finding ourselves more hunted than the actual hunters. But not for long.

After trying to decipher how deep this tunnel still was yesterday, by using earth bending to feel the vibrations in the ground and wall, we discovered a hidden tunnel within the cavern. No wonder we'd been running in circles for days- she was playing with us.

"Thanatos-" Before Hypnos could continue his concerned-brotherly lecture a loud cry shot through the cave.

A reaper scrunched over in pain and through his chest, a blood-covered hand clutched his heart. Dark red blood dripped onto the floor, filling the air with the smell of rust and iron.

I growled as Sybaris ripped her hand out from the reaper's chest and let him drop limply to the gravelly floor. She cackled; "Now, I'm not opposed to guests, but you really should give me some notice before you just barge in..."

After weeks of no sleep, having the thought of Aurora and my men's safety constantly on my mind and not being able to feed for over a month, I was beyond the edge of my patience.

"I'm going to enjoy ripping your ribs out one by one..."

"Still as handsome as ever..." Sybaris' black eyes drifted over my form and then to my brother's. My men stood ready to attack, just waiting for the command. No one wanted to look at the body of their fallen reaper. I believe his name was Denrou. Such a shame...

"But definitely older since the last time we spoke." She smiled widely, her eyes lingering on my dark and thick beard; "Tell me. How's that beautiful, little mortal of yours? Alive, I hope?"

"And your tongue." I gritted my teeth; "I want that too." I pulled out my scythe from my side, the sharp edge glinting in the burning flames of the make-shift torch Hypnos held.

"Careful now..." Sybaris smirked in the dim light of the fire, her black eyes turning malevolent; "We wouldn't want you to be too rash."

I watched in silent dismay as a flock of her children crawled out from dark crevices in the walls, some flying down from the high ceiling of the cave, their wings broad and leathery. They cackled and it sounded like bones being rubbed together; over and over...

I gripped my scythe tighter, knowing I could probably take out this whole cave with my anger, but I wouldn't dare. Not with all my men and Hypnos in here as well. This was going to be a difficult fight. The cave area we were in was large and spacious, but not so easy to move in, with all the rocks and humps. We had to be careful not to fall for their traps.

Magic wouldn't work too well here- it would be a close contact fight, and there would be a high chance of me accidently hitting one of my own with a spell.

Sybaris eyed me with an expectant grin; "What's your move now, lord Death?"

I glanced around. The three remaining reaper's eyes were on her and her children; their weapons drawn and prepared. Barrios' eye caught mine, his face ready for my command. Hypnos' jaw locked and carefully he withdrew his double daggers, letting the torch in his hand extinguish and fall to the ground.

I made a mirror image of my scythe, keeping them both small so I could fight with precision instead of power in the tight spaces. My hands clenched around their handles. I couldn't wait to get some anger and frustration out.

But first-

"Lock down."

It was a simple phrase, but my reapers knew exactly what it meant.

In an instant, the ground underneath Sybaris opened up and sucked her in; my reapers controlling the earth to create a large split. She fell down into a deep pit, having no time to even think of what I'd just said. Her surprised scream was interrupted by the howling of her vampiric children, their anger evidently clear.

I grinned, my smile full of malice.

Did she really think 'I' was the one who was being ambushed?

Oh, please. My name is Thanatos- of course I knew. Besides, I'd never in a million years show weakness in front of my foes; especially someone like Sybaris who was more of a scavenger than a hunter.

Hypnos chuckled and shot his dagger forward and into a winged vampire's chest. It screamed out in agony, black blood dripping down onto the floor and from my brother's gloved hand.

"You were right, she did take the bait."

"Of course I was right." I smirked as I sent an electric shock surging through two winged demons and quickly decapitated them with a swift blow, slicing through both necks. "The moment she heard I was feeling weak; she thought she could best me."

"How sad." Barrios said from the back, his sword ripping through the stomach of a vampire. The creature was clutching onto the sword with both hands, slicing its own palms as it tried to back out of the sharp blade. But to no avail.

Barrios ripped it out with a clean slice and quickly swung it again, taking off the creature's head. The rest of the men gathered their last remaining energy reserves and went to work. The cave filed with loud screams and angry cries.

Some winged monsters smacked against the walls, while others dove down onto the reapers, their claws drawn and their snake-like tongues at the ready. None even dared to look in Hypnos or my direction. We slipped down the pit Sybaris had fallen through.

The clang of sword against flesh and rock rang in the distance. We landed with a thud, the dust blowing up around us. Sybaris was hiding in the darkness, probably not hurt at all. We had to be careful.

Our eyes became accustomed to the darkness, but the smell was something putrid. I pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders to keep my neck from being exposed. She could be anywhere.

"Hmm..." The sound of her voice echoed to my left and I shot out a burning ball of fire in the direction, but as it hit the wall and exploded, we clearly saw the area to be empty. She was using the cavern's hollow angles to project her voice.

Banshee.

"I haven't had a god's blood in so long..."

Hypnos tried to catch her in the corner from where her voice was emanated, but his dagger hit the stone wall with a smack. The blade embedded itself in the hard muddy wall. He snarled.

She spoke up again, but this time from a distance. "Let's strike a deal, gentlemen."

I scoffed, but said nothing. Hypnos eyed the dark corners, the cave echoing her seductive voice down narrow tunnels.

"I'll command my children to leave your men alone, but only if I get to have a taste."

Hypnos and I shared a look. Of course we weren't going to make a deal with an old trickster. We knew better than that.

"No? That doesn't interest you?" Her voice had moved now. She was almost certainly scaling the walls like a lizard- moving with deft dexterity.

We remained silent, hoping to hear her slip up and give herself away. We kept our weapons close and I could feel the electrical current surge in my fingertips. We just need one wrong move...

"How about I kill Apollo for you? I hear he's taken quite the interest in your little mortal..."

Tempting, but no. I could kill Apollo faster and with more skill than she ever could. I don't need a hired hand. Besides, Apollo might be an ass, but he was a powerful ass. Sybaris didn't stand a chance against him. And she knew it. She was just trying to rile me up.

"Rumour has it he's been spending quite a lot of time with her lately... Helping her with her magic."

My eye twitched. Hypnos whispered; "Focus."

My teeth scrapped together in anger and annoyance, but I refused to let her distract me. My eyes darted to the right as she spoke up again.

"Of course, you know Ares is behind all of this. He's watching her closely and is quite surprised at how comfortable Aurora is there."

I felt my hands clench up into fists. Breathe, breathe...

"She's barely alone, what with Apollo inviting her to his chamber for dinner every evening. Or so I've heard..."

No, she wouldn't. She doesn't even like him. She despises him. Calm down.

Sybaris chuckled in the dark, the noise echoing off all four corners, confusing us. "I'm sure the prospect of being the queen of the world would sway anyone; even your precious angel..."

I shot a raging current towards the sound of her voice, but it hit the wall with a loud smack and sizzled out. Sybaris laughed loudly, her tone filled with delight. "Testy, testy..."

"You know she's lying." Hypnos gripped my wrist, his eyes filled with stern resilience. I nodded my head and dropped my hand.

"Lying?" I could hear the grin in her voice; "Would I still be lying if I told you just how close Ares has gotten to... Oh, what's her name? Trita?"

Hypnos snarled; "Son of a-" It was my turn to grab his wrist. I shot him a look. We both know where she got her rumours from. Ares was probably more than happy to feed her information so she could spit out lies to us.

Two can play at that. I shot my brother a look; "It must be hard for you to hear all of this. People in love."

The cave went silent. I pressed on; "What with you always being rejected. I heard even Zeus wouldn't bed you."

Hypnos smirked as Sybaris' angry growl floated through the darkness. I clicked my tongue; "And Zeus would've gotten into bed with just about anyone!"

"Well," Hypnos chuckled; "Apparently not everyone..."

We laughed as Sybaris refused to answer.

"Nice try." She grumbled from the far corner; "But I'm not that stupid."

"Could've fooled me..." I narrowed my eyes.

"Let's settle this in a civil way, gentlemen." She was getting scared, her time for games running out. She knew she couldn't hide much longer and her plan to confuse us and to drain our magic on finding her wasn't working out so well.

I rolled my eyes and sneered at the darkness; "It's a tad too late to regret your mistakes, you old hag. You made your bed..."

"And we're more than happy to let your rot in it." Hypnos smirked; "Alone."

Sybaris ignored the jab and tried to continue her reasoning; "I'll give you some information pertaining to my masters, and if you deem it satisfactory, we'll part ways. In peace. Yes?"

I could feel the desperation in the walls. She was worried her children wouldn't survive this and she wouldn't be able to make any more of them. Sybaris' true intentions were always to make Hera pay- that's what she really wanted. If we gave her a chance to do that, she'd drop Ares just enough for us to overpower his advantages and leave him alone on the battlefield. I was going to make certain of that.

"No-" I squeezed my brother's hand to silence him. Hypnos shot me a surprised look, but I was smiling sincerely in the direction of her voice. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad now."

"What are y-" I gave him a pointed look. Hypnos immediately understood and shut his mouth.

I made my voice louder so she could hear my exact words; "Deal. But I want your full assurance that this information is the truth."

"Oh..." She chuckled; "It is. Ares doesn't tell me much, but I do have something you'll find most interesting."

"Excellent." I waved my hand casually for her to continue; "We're eager to hear."

"But first- I need you both to back up to the wall behind you. No tricks. When I leave this pit, you had better not follow me out until we're all out of this cave."

I held up my hand in the direction I thought she was and smiled softly; "Of course."

Sybaris slowly appeared from the shadows, a few feet away from where we heard her voice. She was smiling, her long dark brown hair grazing her behind. She was scantily dressed, her big breasts pushed out and her eyes predatory.

We didn't pay her the attention she wanted, so she sighed and chuckled; "Of course, what did I expect from Nyx's sons?"

We ignored her and kept our weapons ready for any trickery. Sybaris titled her head in curiosity; "Does she still treat you like soldiers?"

"Get on with it." Hypnos was getting impatient. I too was feeling particularly intolerant.

"The information I wish to trade may not seem like much, but it could potentially make your lives a lot easier."

I lifted a brow; "How so?"

"It would make the search for the third traitor less lengthy."

We paused, our breathing filling the dark cavern. "You have a name?" Hypnos asked, but Sybaris shook her head, squashing our hopes, but not completely.

"I have a clue."

"A clue?" I scoffed; "And is this clue the only thing you have or is this clue the only thing you're willing to divulge for that of your life and your children's lives?"

"It's all I know of the traitor." She sighed and shrugged; "Like I said; Ares doesn't tell me much, but I did pick up this little hint from our previous encounters. Only he knows the third traitor's identity. Not even Hermes knew."

We nodded, but Hypnos was quick to point out a little flaw; "And how do we know you're telling the truth? I suspect Ares wouldn't take too kindly to your betrayal."

She smiled, her long fangs grazing her lip; "That's why I need your assurance that I'm getting out of here alive- and that you'll kill Ares. In the end, we really want the same thing."

Leave it to Ares to trust tricksters. Then again, it's all the help he could probably get. How would a comradeship really work between a man hell-bent on taking the throne, but his ally's only wish is to kill his mother? I suspect the partnership was doomed from the start...

"Doubtful." I narrowed my eyes and nodded my head for her to get on with it. "This clue- what is it?"

Sybaris looked from my face to my twin's. She stepped closer to the exit of the pit making sure we wouldn't follow her up or try to prevent her from escaping. We didn't move a muscle.

"The traitor is a mage- or someone with magical abilities." She smirked and winked; "They have to be, to be able to keep Hecate from contacting Aurora anymore and charming monsters like the Furies into doing Ares' biding. Plus," Sybaris chuckled; "How else do you think Ares was able to break my curse and bring me back to life?"

Everything made a little bit more sense now- of course Ares had no magical talents. Hermes had some, so we always assumed it was him, but he didn't have nearly enough training to be able to keep a goddess of witchcraft from using her own magic, no matter how departed she is from this world. How did we miss this?

And so Aurora was right; Hecate was being controlled on the other side. Could her words be trusted?

"A mage?" Hypnos shot me a look, his eyes filling with worry. I felt my palms start to sweat as I thought of all the names left on the list.

"Well," The vampire giggled; "I'll be off. Do keep in touch..." She winked and before we could respond, she was out the hole, her loud chuckle echoing through the tunnel.

But it was cut short. Very short.

As Sybaris got to the top to find my men standing over the decapitated bodies of her children, covered in blood and guts, she froze. But I suspect that wasn't the only reason...

I smiled at her, my grin wide; "Leaving so soon?"

"But-" She stuttered; her eyes wide and full of fear. She looked from my face to my brothers' who stood next to me, his grin equally wide. "You- you were just down there-"

"A simple mirage trick." Hypnos waved his hand and our doppelgangers at the bottom of the pit faded into thin air, along with all her hope of getting out of this horrid cave alive.

"Did you really think we'd follow you down into a dark pit with no way of knowing where you were?" I laughed loudly, my smirk filled with so much joy at seeing her anger seep out.

She screamed and shrieked with rage, but I was done entertaining.

I shot my scythe forward to her chest, but she grabbed the blade in her palm and bared her long fangs at me. She attempted to bite at my neck, but I was quicker. With the speed of a lightning bolt, I grabbed her around her throat with my other hand and thrusted the scythe through her palm and embedded it in her stomach. She screamed in agony.

I didn't give her any time to recover as I left the blade in her abdomen and took her chin in my hand and squeezed. She opened her mouth from the pain and pressure and I quickly reached in to tear out her long, reptilian tongue. I threw it onto the ground; blood dripped from her mouth like a stream.

"You thought I was joking about the tongue part?" I laughed as she cried out in anger and fear. Sybaris howled out with pain, blood pouring like a waterfall from her blackened mouth.

Hypnos smirked and directed the men to back out of the cave to the top. The hunt was well and truly over. Barrios took the front and led them out, exhaustion evident on his pale face.

Hypnos turned his head to me; "Coming?"

"In a minute..." I smiled down at the vampire in my tight grip; "Didn't I mention something about ripping out your ribs one by one too?"

Her eyes widened and she struggled against my grip with a fierce ferocity. I didn't budge. Hypnos chucked; "Have fun. You earned it."

I ripped out the blade still embedded in her stomach and twirled the tip around the area where her top rib was showing under her skin; "Now, let's see how much you regret going after Aurora when we get to... Let's say..." I poked at her eight rib; "Here, shall we?"

The rest of the night was filled with horrifying screams.

By the morning, I was fairly sure Sybaris would never be a problem- ever again...

*Song- Meditation of the assassin, AC 

NEXT UPDATE- 14th of January

The hunt is over and the men will soon return home, but what's happening on the other side of the spectrum? 

The traitor is someone with magical abilities? Well now...