The Predator's Jungle Den (Part 2)

The jaguar wasn't a patient animal.

Simos and I immediately split up when the large cat shot out from the bushes and raced towards us; its sharp claws drawn and ready for the attack.

Simos ran left and I dodged right. The clearing was small, but made movement far simpler than if we had to fight among the tall trees and overgrown vines. Although, the free space also gave the jaguar a clear advantage. It chose me instead of Simos and sprinted straight for my back.

I jumped to the side to avoid it's claws and the large beast growled out in anger and hunger. Simos had found a sturdy tree trunk and was busy climbing up it in the hopes of catching the jaguar off-guard from the top. Little did we know, there was more than one predator in the clearing.

The jaguar stormed for me again; it's mouth pulled back and revealing a glistening row of sharp teeth. I rolled away and dodged its attack, which only made the animal angrier. I was fast and my reflexes weren't like those of a mortal. The animal eyed me with frustration and jumped again, but this time, I didn't escape. I didn't want to.

The jaguar didn't see the rock I'd snatched until it was too late.

I smacked the sharp object across the side of its head and the large cat went down on the other side of the clearing. It growled and snarled as it struggled to get back on its feet. No doubt the inner circle would be wondering how in the hell one mortal man could knock a jaguar about twenty feet away, but they were not my concern right now.

Simos was screaming like all hell had broken loose.

"Get the hell off me!" I looked up to find Simos entangled in the thick treetop- a large phyton slithering it's way all around the mercenary.

I sighed. Snakes... Did it really have to be a snake?

"Don't struggle too much!" I yelled up at him and quickly ran over to where Simos was being dragged up.

"Oh, what do you know! Just get me out of here!" Simos growled and attempted to fight back, but the giant snake hissed and squeezed tighter. Simos' face turned red and I knew I had to get there fast. That was honestly the largest and thickest snake I'd ever seen in my entire life. And I was running straight toward it- good gods, what's wrong with me?

"Malreus! Behind you!" Simos shouted down at me just in time.

I ducked my head with a grunt and the jaguar flew over me with a howling shriek. It landed on all fours and jolted around. It's deafening snarl filled the small clearing and I leapt back, reading myself for its coming attack.

"Nice kitty, kitty..." I muttered under my breath and moved slowly around it, watching it's muscles move underneath the spotted skin. It was waiting for some sort of gap, because it knew by now that I could escape it's head-on attacks.

"Stop making friends and help me, dammit!" Simos yelled angrily and struggled against the phyton's grip. I looked up and wondered how in the hell he was still conscious. That thing was pressing him so tightly that even a god would've passed out by now.

"Just sit still and don't fight it!" I yelled up and at the slight movement of my head to look up, the jaguar saw an opening.

It pounced onto me with fury and I fell back onto my back, mud splattering everywhere. I rolled the beast around in the mud, keeping its paws far away from my face. It's sharp teeth tried to bite at my neck and I grunted loudly, exerting a great deal of my strength in keeping the big animal at arm's length.

"S-Simos!" I yelled up at him and he gasped for air; "What is it?"

"I need you to do me a favour!"

"Oh, sure thing!" Simos sounded even more sarcastic than I did on a regular basis. "Just let me get a pen so I can jot it down!" He hissed angrily and I could hear he was fighting for dear life.

"Roll yourself and the snake over the branch!"

Simos was quiet for a second and then- "Did you just ask me to commit suicide?"

"No, you idiot! The snake will break your fall! Just do it, dammit!"

"I am not falling this high to distract a jaguar from eating your face off! Forget it! Truce or no truce!"

I snarled under my breath; the sound surprising even the jaguar. "If you don't, we both die here and then I get to wake up and you don't!"

Simos was quiet again. I made a soft whimpering noise as the jaguar's fangs nipped at my throat. That was close- very close. I felt a slight pain and some hotness around my neck and realised that it had scrapped a cut across my collar bone. It growled loudly and tried again, this time, deepening the cut. This beast wasn't as weak as other earthly animals. Something was amiss here. This jaguar had more strength and power than most centaurs and I was running out of options to get it off of me.

Finally, Simos yelled; "You better pay me back for this!" And just like that, Simos dipped over the edge of the branch and fell about three storeys down to the hard ground.

The python splattered against the rocks and Simos sucked in a deep breath when his lungs were allowed to open up.

At the moment of impact, the jaguar's attention was drawn to the loud crack and I had reached up my feet, tucked them underneath the beast's belly and kicked.

The jaguar went flying back and hit the back of its head against a moss-covered boulder. I laid back on my back and looked up to the broody sky. My muscles were aching and I had to take a moment to level my breathing.

Suddenly, a hand appeared.

Simos waved at me to take his palm so he could pull me up; "Come on; no time for relaxation. That snake isn't completely dead and that jaguar is going to wake up eventually."

I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up. I examined his face and body with a questioning gaze. Simos pulled an odd face. "What?"

"Did you break a rib? Did you break anything?"

He felt his waist, touching around it until nothing made him hiss out in pain. Simos shook his head and looked at me with enquiring eyes; "No?"

"You fell all that way and were practically strangled by that python for nearly five minutes and you're fine?"

"What? You're fine." Simos shrugged and crossed his arms, as if it was no big deal.

"You're mortal, Simos. I'm not."

He paused for a moment and then shook his head again; this time dismissing my words. "I got lucky. Don't look so concerned." He turned away and started to walk towards the cave where we'd first spotted the jaguar.

"I'm not concerned." I muttered in annoyance and followed close behind him. "I'm doubtful..."

Simos led us through the opening and then farther down, deeper into the cave. The air was thin, but at least the icy wind couldn't reach us in here. We were both splattered with mud and our faces were streaked with dried blood and dirt. I was fairly sure we didn't smell the best, but that was the least of our concerns at this moment.

Simos and I glanced at an old rusted torch hanging from the wall. It was larger than most and had the inscription; 'Light lights.' We shared a quick glance and decided to move on.

"Do you think there are more of them?" Simos asked with a hushed tone. He was referring to the jaguars, no doubt.

I shrugged as we walked around in the dark, looking for some direction. "Maybe?"

"Why did you take so long to get it off you?" Simos asked; "I thought you were stronger than that."

"I am." I flicked my tongue against the bridge of my mouth and glanced at him in annoyance; "But that jaguar was stronger than any I've even encountered..."

"Yeah, I noticed that too with the harpies from the first trial."

"And the snake we saw in the second one." I nodded in agreement. Look like we could agree, but I wasn't taking it to heart.

"What is Manos doing to these creatures?"

"I have no idea..." I sighed and shook my head. This island was breeding powerful predators, but was it being done on purpose. "So any idea where we are now?"

Simos looked around, but nothing in his eyes seemed like he knew where we were. "No. I've never come this way. The path Keya drew ended right in front of the clearing."

"What is her idol? What does it look like?" I glanced around the narrow tunnel. We were moving forward, but not really sure where we were headed. It was dark and we could hear waterdrops falling to the ground. Other than that soft patter of rain that had escaped through the cracks, the cave was quiet.

"It's a dagger. Medium-sized with a red leather hilt." Simos stopped suddenly and turned around to meet my gaze. "Wait. Did you see that big, steel torch to the side of the entrance?"

"The rusted one? Yes." I narrowed my eyes in question.

Simos jogged back in the direction we'd walked from. I followed after him, eager to see what he was thinking.

"I have a feeling there's something we're missing. Keya likes secret compartments to store all of her... secrets." Simos chucked and walked up to the unlit torch hanging from the side of the stone wall. It looked heavy.

"And you know this how?" I eyed Simos with a wry look.

He grinned to himself; "Keya and I used to do some dealings together in the past."

"Have I met a woman in Mania that you haven't tried to sleep with?"

Simos rolled his eyes and pointed at the torch; "I bet you every last coin I have, that if we light this up, we'll trigger a trap door."

"Or a door holding a trap." I smiled with false enthusiasm. "Your gullibility amazes me."

"Fine. What's your idea then?" Simos crossed his arms and eyed me with irritation.

I matched his expression; "To keep going down the path in the cave until we reach the idol. And whatever is guarding the idol."

"We're doing this first." Simos knelt down and grabbed a thin branch and a rock. He was going to try and make a fire.

If I were allowed to use magic, I'd just snap my finger and viola, but of course, things weren't that easy. I knelt down beside him and sighed; "Let me. I know how."

"So do I." Simos growled.

"Clearly not."

We glared at each other. Simos muttered; "Truce, Malreus. Back off."

My fist clenched around a rock. I reached for a stick and tried to start up my own fire. The longer we fought, the longer I was stuck with him. That's truly what motivated me at this point- the fact that the longer I was stuck in here, the longer I had to listen to Simos rant and make jokes. And the gods know I have little patience for that...

We rubbed the sticks together and the sound echoed through the cavern. My face lit up with delight and some firelight as the small sparks caught light. I gently blew on the growing fire and tried to get it going.

I carefully stood up and turned to Simos with a wide and arrogant smirk, but caught him staring back at me with exactly the same look. He'd managed to make his own fire.

Our faces dropped when we realised that we'd both created a small fire and we rolled our eyes.

"Go ahead, diva." I snarled at him and clapped my fire down, smothering it under my palm. It stung a bit, but the flesh would soon heal.

Simos sneered at me and held his fire up high, lightning the torch. The old, rusted object caught fire fairly quickly and Simos stepped back to admire his work. I was about to comment on how this didn't help us in the slightest, but then...

A mirage of glowing, white light appeared.

Our eyes widened as the entire wall lit up with a glowing picture- it was a map!

Simos laughed and stared up at the twinkling image with amusement. I sucked in my breath and my pride. "Well done."

Simos turned his head to me in surprise and uttered a very surprised laugh; "Did you just compliment me?"

"Savour it. It won't happen again." I leaned closer to the map and examined the area that I knew. We were close to the entrance and the dotted path led all the way up, towards the idol, which was market with a star. The map was vibrating from the glowing light of the torch. Waldonius had definitely had a hand in this. It made sense- Keya seemed like the type to like theatrics.

"Here." I pointed to the right. It was the same way we'd originally walked. "We need to go down this way again."

"You were right, kind of." Simos pulled an impressed face and it was my turn to glance at him in surprise. "Don't let it get to your head." He grimaced and turned towards the path.

I smirked at his back, but decided not to press the issue. We walked on in silence and focused all of our attention on avoiding Keya's traps.

There was a trap door that fell down into a dark abyss, but I'd managed to pull Simos back right before he fell through. He'd tried to push me away from a row of sharp arrows when a line he'd fallen over had triggered them, but in the process, Simos had slammed me against the stone wall and left me with a cut across my forehead.

"What the hell?" I growled at him and Simos shrugged. He was trying his best to hide his laughter as I wiped away some of the blood. "Sorry; I didn't realise my own strength."

"Malaka." I muttered under my breath and we continued on. The air was running low and the little sunlight we'd had was now suffocated by a deep darkness. My eyes were adjusted to the light and I could make out the path ahead.

Simos stayed close and at first I was annoyed by it, but after our third trap scare- a large axe swinging out from the roof and crashing into a nearby wall- I was relieved he'd been standing close enough for me to pull him away just in time.

Theia would be so pissed if anything happened to Simos on my watch...

At the back of the dark tunnel, I spotted a faint trace of light. Simos and I shared a glance and sped up our pace towards the light. It was sunlight. We stepped out of the tunnel and into a large chasm. Looking up, all I saw was the grey clouds of the gloomy sky, but we were trapped in a large bowl-like sphere, with large boulders, stones and rocks blocking our way up.

In the centre of the deep, man-made basin, stood a wooden pedestal and on top of it, the idol.

Finally, we'd made it.

"This is way too easy." Simos mumbled and looked around the chamber for some sort of trick.

I had to agree with him- again. This was too easy. There had to be a trap attached.

"Don't move too quickly." I said softly and stepped closer to the pedestal. I had my eyes locked on the idol- a red adorned dagger with garnet stones decorating the hilt. It was beautiful, if not a bit too tacky. Not really my taste, but no one could deny it looked incredibly expensive. Keya was unquestionably fixated on luxury.

Simos walked towards the pedestal the other way around. We approached it with care and hesitance; nothing in these trails was straightforward.

I nodded my head to him and moved to climb up to the pedestal. Simos followed my lead and jumped up from the other side. We slowly made our way towards the dagger, keeping every step slow. We moved like panthers, approaching their prey.

I reached the top ledge before Simos and stuck out my hand to touch the idol, but just then... A quake.

"Malreus." Simos said with a hint of dread. Our eyes darted around the small clearing, "Did you step on something?"

"No, did you?"

Simos shook his head and we looked around, completely alert and on high guard. The quake stopped. Simos glanced at me and I frowned. The air was still and nothing was happening. My foot moved up one more step to make it easier for me to take the dagger and Simos shrugged when nothing happened.

I tried to reach for the dagger again, except this time, the quake was thunderous.

Simos grabbed hold of the ledge he was standing on and I reached for the dagger. It all happened way too fast.

My hand curled around the dagger and Simos jumped around the ledge, catching onto the wooden plank that I was standing on. Beneath us, the ground was being swallowed whole.

"Quicksand?" Simos yelled up at me, his eyes wide and full of anger; "Who the fuck still uses quicksand?"

The wooden pedestal was slowly sinking down into the dark pits of the chasm below. I looked up to the opening at the very top. It was one hell of a climb and the stone wall wasn't going to be easy to manoeuvre, but we could do this.

We had to do this.

I tucked the dagger into the leather strap at my hip and grabbed Simos' hand. He looked up at me with wide eyes; "Come on!"

I pulled him up until we were both standing on the highest platform of the pedestal. I nudged Simos towards the edge and he shot me a pointed look; "You're not serious?"

"We need to jump." I gestured to the stone wall and pointed up; "It's the only way."

"Oh, fuck." Simos muttered with a sour expression, but eventually, he nodded his head. It's not like he had a choice, either way. "Fine. But you go first."

I didn't waste my time.

Rushing towards the edge, I focused on my footing and leapt off of the platform with a great deal of momentum. I grabbed hold of the stone wall and pushed myself up; jumping higher to avoid the falling rocks. My head swung around and I waved Simos over to do the same. He sucked in a breath and pulled an annoyed face, but did as I asked. Simos jumped for the wall and pulled himself up alongside me.

"Move fast, but follow me. If you fall, just grab my leg." I yelled over the booming noise of the pedestal being sucked into the cave below. Simos nodded and we started our ascent.

We moved with haste, but weren't reckless with our hands and feet. This stone wall was breaking apart and the cracks that appeared in between the folds of the rocks were growing. Our time was running out, but I was nearly at the top.

I felt Simos grab my ankle and quickly looking down to check if everything was okay. He'd lost some of his balance and steadied himself against my leg. I continued on when he repositioned himself.

My hand reached over the edge and I pulled myself up and quickly turned around to grab Simos' hand. I'd manged to pull him up as a rock beneath his foot disintegrated and fell down into the churning pit of hungry sand.

Simos and I sat at the edge- our breathing hard and heavy and the cave below completely destroyed.

I unhooked the dagger from my belt and lifted it up to examine it. "So we have the last idol."

"And now, the Labyrinth." Simos muttered with sombre eyes. He'd been waiting for this moment for a while now, but I could see equal parts of anticipation and dread in his eyes. The wolf was next.

"Come; let's get out of here." I stood up and dusted myself off the best I could, but the dried mud stuck to most of my clothing. The sky had started to cry again and rain was pouring over us; and yet, the mud clung on.

Simos nodded and looked down into the hole. He shook his head and stood up, following my lead as I walked towards a marked path in the dense jungle. Boro was waiting for us somewhere- hopefully. If a jaguar hadn't gotten to him first...

If only.

"This wasn't too bad." Simos remarked with amusement.

I lifted a brow and looked back at him in question; "Really? You expected more than that death hole?"

"No," He chuckled; "I mean you. Doing this trial with you wasn't all that bad."

I couldn't help but chuckle along with him. I nodded in agreement and shrugged; "Guess not. But that doesn't mean I like you now."

"Oh, no." He scoffed at the mere notion. "I despise you, but at least you're a good team player."

"Likewise." I smiled to myself and we walked on in silence.

After a few minutes, Simos walked up beside me and smirked confidently; "But you do know that I'm not going to stop when it comes to Theia."

I slowed down my steps, but kept walking ahead. What I truly wanted was to tell Simos exactly how delicious Theia had been the night before, but her honour and our privacy was more important. I didn't want to bring it up, but I wished he'd just realise that Theia would never be with him.

I rolled my eyes and replied; "Whatever you say, Simos. Let me just say this;" I turned my head to him. "Theia and I share something you will never have with her. And that's that."

My words triggered a temper. His expression changed and he narrowed his eyes at me. "Oh, really? So I guess she didn't tell you, did she?"

I frowned; "Tell me what?"

Simos smiled broadly and I felt my chest contract. That smile... He looked positively delighted. "Theia and I share more than what you can see." He laughed casually and turned his pleased gaze to the front as we walked; "In the cave in the canyon, we kissed."

My feet stopped.

Simos walked on for a few more steps, not noticing that I had frozen stiff. "Hmm, she does have the best taste, doesn't she? Oh, sorry. Not that you would know..." He turned around to smirk at me, but then realised that I was standing behind him.

I was glowering at his back- anger filling my every muscle. I felt my lips curl back and a snarl erupted from my throat. The jaguar's fury couldn't compare to what I had felt at that precise moment.

Simos eyed me with arrogance; "Hurts, doesn't it?" He smirked and my temper snapped.

I reached for Keya's dagger, but my hands grabbed air.

Simos chuckled and my eyes darted up to his when I realised that my belt was empty. He lifted the dagger up from behind his back. "I figured you'd try to stab me when you found out. Can't let your anger cloud your sound judgement, now can we?"

My fists clenched up and I wondered exactly how well the inner circle and Theia could see us now. There were so many ways I could kill him still- I didn't need that stupid dagger. All I needed were my hands.

"We're you really going to cut me now?" Simos asked with amusement in his eyes and he held the knife at his side, readying it for any surprise attack I might send his way. "Tsk, tsk, Mal. So inappropriate."

He was scared of me. I savoured the hidden emotion in his eyes.

I sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm myself. "You kissed her?"

Simos' smile broadened; "I kissed her- she kissed me. Ultimately, we kissed and it was so good..." He was trying his luck. Simos was rubbing it in hard; enjoying the pain I displayed across my face.

I tried to compose myself and hide the anger and disappointment I felt. Why would Theia do that? Never mind that; maybe she had her reason or maybe Simos forced himself on her, but why wouldn't she tell me? Was she ashamed? Had it meant something to her? What else has Simos done to her?

"I think your little fairy-tale of childhood love is over, Malreus." Simos shook his head in pity at me. "Theia and I clearly have a connection and maybe you just need to realise that you two are better suited as friends."

My jaw locked and I gritted my teeth. I wanted to scream at him every single thing I did to Theia last night and how she enjoyed every pleasure-filled minute of it.

Simos' face dropped with false sincerity; "I hope you don't plan on ruining something that makes Theia happy. A best friend wouldn't do that, would he?"

If I had that dagger, Simos would be embedded against a tree trunk by now; his insides twisted and torn out. But I had something better than a dagger in my arsenal.

I had last night.

"You kissed?" I asked softly and Simos scoffed, like he was staring at something pathetic and miserable. "Yes, we did. And it was passionate."

"Really?" I asked with a calm voice and a small smile grew on my face.

Simos' smirk faltered a bit and he blinked; "Yes?" He was expecting me to be angry- to be livid and screaming at him. Oh, I was full of rage, but I wasn't about to scream. Just state some facts.

"That's cute." I smirked with delight. It was my turn to laugh. "It's funny..." I looked to the side and frowned; "She didn't mention anything about the two of you last night."

Simos didn't speak and waited for me to continue, but I knew he knew there was something wrong. "Then again," I smirked to myself and met his eyes with silent superiority. "We weren't doing a lot of talking last night, anyway..."

Simos' face dropped and he sneered at me. With a soft voice, he angrily asked; "You kissed her last night?"

"Oh, yes." I nodded and smiled to myself; "We kissed. Definitely. And then..." My smile broke into a wide grin and I saw Simos' eyes widened with horror. "I made her scream my name."

The dagger flew straight for my head.

I ducked down just in time and stormed straight for his chest. I tackled Simos to the ground and he went down with a loud grunt. He grabbed my neck and swung a hard right hook for my face. It hurt like hell, but my hands around his throat were surely no picnic either.

Simos gasped for air as I tightened me chokehold around his neck; "You bastard!"

I laughed through the main of his hands curled around my own, trying to pry my claws from around his throat. He cut my skin with his nails and snarled at me. "Hurts, doesn't it?" I repeated his mocking line from earlier and Simos' anger boiled over.

I felt his windpipe being crushed against my grip and his face turned red from the lack of oxygen, but he fought on. He was furious- angrier than I'd ever seen him before.

Before I could do any real damage, a few hands grabbed hold of my back and shoulders and pulled me back, away from Simos. Boro shouted at the guards to restrain me; "Get him off! Idiots!"

I struggled against the feeble mortal men, but there were about eight of them trying to calm me down. They were struggling their asses off. I was beyond myself- I was livid. Simos jumped up from the ground and tried to charge for me, but another four guards pulled him back and were surprisingly struggling to keep him in his place too.

Boro whistled for more guards and pointed hastily to the carriage. There were two parked just beyond the jungle's border. "Get them inside! Knock them out if you have to! Manos wants them both alive for the Labyrinth."

The guards pushed me towards the one carriage and Simos towards the other one. The young mercenary was growling at me, his eyes filled with rage; "You bastard, Malreus!"

"Fuck off, Simos!" I yelled back and tried to untangle the guards so I could get my hands around his neck one last time. "You'll never have her! I'll make sure of it!"

"Watch me!" Simos spat at the ground and a guard pushed his head into the carriage.

I was shoved into my own confined space and the door was slammed shut and locked. I yelled out in anger and frustration. These mortals were pushing every last nerve I had. Did they really think that a little carriage door was going to keep me locked in? Me? The prince of the Underworld?

And how dare he kiss her? How dare he touch her with his filthy hands!

My anger was blaring out with monstrous range and kicked the side of the carriage. The wood splintered and Boro shouted at the footmen to drive before there was nothing left.

The horses neighed loudly and the sound of a whip cut through the air.

After about ten minutes of trying to calm myself down and regulating my breathing, I realised something crucial.

Theia had definitely seen me attack Simos and try to strangle him with my bare hands, but that was alright, because I had some questions of my own for her...

Taking a two week break...

D Xx