Ripe for the Taking

Casseus' POV

"Estra's alerted the inner circle." Triton was standing shrouded in the darkness of the alleyway close to our hotel. His eyes darted from side to side. "The others don't know Estra and Manos know that our secret is out."

I leaned forward; "That's alright; they'll manage. Morpheus has a keen intuition and Ash is already on edge after the wolf incident."

"What happened there?" Triton asked with fear in his eyes. "Was what Ash had said true? Did the Wolf really suck up that man's soul?"

Asclepius had ran to us after the whole ordeal in the catacombs with Waldonius and the Wolf- well, right after he'd apparently sent word to my father. Claudeus and I weren't too happy to hear what he'd done behind our backs, but after finding out by Theia that the wolf was really our infamous grandfather, Erebus, I was less inclined to be upset with my meddlesome cousin.

"If it had, then I'm not sure what Theia and Mal think they can achieve alone down there in the Labyrinth." I said softly and more to myself than to my friend.

Triton shook his head; "We should go help them."

"No." I held up my palm just above my belt. "Go finish what we started. Deal with Estra."

Triton's eyes grew hard and his mouth set into a thin line. "She'll be expecting me."

"Then don't disappoint her."

The prince of storms nodded and turned to leave, but quickly glanced back at me with questioning eyes. "What are you and Claudeus going to do?"

I glanced to where my twin brother was collecting a rather large, satin blue pouch from the sweet, old hotel owner. She handed him the heavy bag and he nodded with a dazzling smile. My smile turned knowing and I looked back at Triton.

"Handling reinforcements."

Narray's POV

The job was done- our cover was blown.

I knew the minute the key to my chamber's door turned from the outside that Keya had instructed the other girls to lock me in my room and call for the Aetos guards.

For a split second I stood frozen, with a book in my hand; thinking to myself- do they honestly think a locked door is going to keep me?

But just as quickly as the decision was made to betray one of their own girls, I dropped the book on the neatly made bed and darted for the window. I'd much rather prefer to first get rid of the annoying dress hindering my movement, but time was of the essence and if Keya knew who I really was, she'd already be running for cover.

I pulled open the window and scooted out, grabbing onto the ledge above. I lifted myself up onto the clay slatted roof and glanced over the edge. A squad of Aetos guards had arrived at the brothel; some stationed at the exits and some entering the large manor to comb through the rooms.

They were no doubt heading straight for my room. Should've left them a bomb; payback their kind gesture...

I lifted my head and caught sight of a luxurious gold-accent carriage being rushed around the corner, close to the Agora. That was Keya's carriage.

There was no way in hell that bitch was getting away from me.

I eyed the roof beside the manor and judged the distance- it was far, but I could make it. I leaned back and then charged for the edge. With a leap I scaled the gap between the two buildings and landed onto the hard roof with a loud thud. I rolled to protect my ankles from the impact- I wasn't a full immortal, so my healing took a while longer than most.

Just then, the loud crash of glass rung through the air and the thunder bellowed alongside it. The guards were in my room, most probably pillaging it. I tried to find Keya's carriage through the streets far ahead of me. Luckily, the gold was rather easy to spot in the dim light of the coming storm.

What a perfect setting for a horrid affair...

I ran along the roof of the bulling, towards the carriage; following the same route it had taken form the brothel. I'd have to make some daring leaps and jumps if I'd want to stick to high ground and keep up with the fast-moving carriage, but I've never shied away from a challenge. I hoped she liked the feeling of having an immortal on her tail.

Keya was mine to kill.

I was looking forward to this the moment we'd met...

Asclepius' POV

Obviously Waldonius was going to run; I just didn't think he could, to be honest.

The moment the letter had arrived at the Academy, I sensed something amiss.

Waldonius and I were seated in his study. I was busy taking notes on a new spell he was trying to create. It involved a pig, wet grass, the potential ability to summon acid rain and a wallop of patience on my part.

The messenger had knocked on the door twice, which, in turn, angered Waldonius to such an extent that he'd thrown his empty mug at the young man entering through the door. "What have I said about bothering me when I'm working!"

"S-sorry, Master Waldonius." The man stammered and lifted the small scroll up to Waldonius. His eyes were big and his hand shaking. The white porcelain of the broken cup lay at the messenger's feet. He was dressed in red and his uniform marked with silver- a palace messenger, from Manos.

"Ugh." Waldonius pointed at me to get the letter for him.

I rolled my eyes and dropped the feather pen onto my notes. I stood up and grabbed the letter from the hesitant young man. I was about to open it, but Waldonius snapped his fingers at me like I was his dog. "Give it here. It's from Manos. Must be important."

I felt my eye twitch, but I did as the fat man asked. I handed him the letter with a fake smile and Waldonius sneered at me. He knew I hated his guts- everyone who worked for him did.

He shooed the messenger away and the man bolted for the exit. I crossed my arms and waited for Waldonius to finish reading the letter, but it barely took him five seconds. It was a small note then- quick and clearly important.

Waldonius' eyes lifted up to meet mine.

"Well?" I asked with less respect than an Archmage deserved- but then again, this man was far from a leader. He was an inferior and disgusting replica of Conrad Cell.

Waldonius cleared his throat. He rolled the scroll back up and resealed it as best he could. His eyes lingered on the letter for a moment- he was thinking.

That was horrible; and definitely not a common occurrence. I hesitated.

"Excuse me for a moment." The mage stood up from his chair and patted down his robe. He tucked the letter in his palm and moved towards the door. His eyes were set on the hallway.

I frowned and watched as he left. What was in that note?

Waldonius had a field up around his mind- I couldn't access his thoughts. And so I stood waiting.

A few seconds passed and I stood watching the entrance, until with a loud bang, the wooden door was thrown off its hinges by three fully armoured palace guards storming in- straight for me.

"GET HIM! Kill it!" Waldonius shouted from the back; his face red and flushed and sweat dripping from his forehead.

Two of the guards were dressed in light armour; made for agility and speed; whereas the one that had knocked down the door was dressed in full, battle armour and was wielding a large, broad axe.

The giant guard with the axe shouted; "Kill him. Manos wants them all dead." His words were muffled by the thick, steel helmet over his face, but the other two guards immediately obeyed his orders.

They sprang forward with grace, daggers ready.

I had only a moment to react.

My hands lifted in the air and I pushed the two guards back with a strong gust of wind. The third guard was too strong and steadfast to be moved by that though. I spotted Waldonius gasp and take heed. He bolted for the end of the hallway and disappeared around a corner, alerting more guards to my location.

Dammit. I wanted to get to him silently, but now that was no longer an option.

I eyed the elite guard with a tired glare. "Do you realise who I am?"

The guard chuckled and replied; "Does it even matter, abomination?"

"Oh," I smiled and my hands were engulfed with fire. "You have no idea..."

The guard had barely any time to react. I threw a raging ball of fire straight at his head, but he'd still managed to dodge it. No matter- it hit one of the light guards behind him and the man was immediately submerged in flames. Loud screams of pain filled the hallway and I heard the fast approaching heels of more guards coming closer.

The remaining light guard glanced at his friend and contemplated helping him, but like most mortal creatures he was selfish and decided to rather get revenge. He jumped forward and I sliced my hand across the air, lifting the pair scissors on the desk through the air and plunging it into the guard's neck.

The man made a strange gurgling noise and collapsed onto his knees; blood splattered everywhere and his hands tried to plug the hole in his artery. To no avail, obviously.

The elite brute caught me off-guard. The axe swung at my face and I managed to escape just in time before it took my head completely off. It nipped my cheek and some of my ear, but those wounds would heal quickly.

I rolled away and grabbed the first thing I could get my hands on- a pillow.

The guard swung down again and I held up the pillow in self-defence. The axe cut straight through- like it was made of butter- but the distraction gave me a chance to roll out from under the pillow and rain of feathers and jump up beside the guard.

"Die, abomination!" The guard yelled and swung out to hit me.

I ducked and kicked my leg out against his shin, but his armour was too thick. I barely hurt him. The brute laughed and swung again.

He managed to slam me back against the bookcase, but I swiftly leapt away when the axe fell down and sliced the shelves clean in half.

"Zeus' sake..." I gasped and shook my head clear from the sudden jolt. "Have some respect for the books, man."

"Argh!" The elite guard tried to unhook his axe from the bookcase, but his split-second struggle gave me a gap to muster up a spell, while not having to worry about losing my head through decapitation.

I sent a large blow of lightning at the guard and he screamed from the searing pain, but the sudden jolt had allowed him to jerk his axe free. New plan- let's bring the roof down on this little show...

And that's exactly what I did.

I stomped my foot against the ground and placed my hand onto the wall and the foundation of the building shook violently, until the entire ceiling came crumbling down on us. I placed a shell around myself to stop the blocks and rubble from crushing me underneath, but the elite guard was too slow in his thick armour to move for cover in time. A large granite block crushed him to death.

When the last few bricks fell down and the room grew silent, I removed the spell covering my body and bolted for the academy's gardens. The guards who'd sprinted to help were coughing and dusting away rubble and dirt; distracted and shocked by the unexpected collapse of the large dome.

I hid myself in the bushes and tried to spot where Waldonius was. I couldn't see him anywhere on the outside of the academy- so that meant one thing. He was in the catacombs.

I glanced back at the guards still in shock and when I was happy that they were still distracted by the dead bodies and the bloody scene, I darted off to the side where I knew a cave entrance was that led down towards the catacombs. In my short time here at the academy, I'd already explored most of the grounds, but the catacombs were long and dark- I didn't yet have the time or excuse to comb through it.

I hoped I'd get to Waldonius before he had a chance to conjure up some sort of spell or trick to snuff me out.

The entrance was covered with thick vines and wild flowers growing at its base. I'd found this entrance by chance on afternoon when Waldonius had sent me to go fetch him some food for lunch. When I'd walked past it on my way to the market I didn't think much of the strange, dark cave, but on my way back, my curiosity got the better of me. I'd quickly ducked down and found myself close to the centre room of the tomb where the fat wizard and his cronies worshipped that overgrown dog.

Waldonius wasn't too happy when I returned a few minutes later than I was meant to with his cold lunch, but my curiosity had paid off. Now I had the upper hand- an entrance Waldonius didn't suspect I knew about.

No doubt he'd have the main entrance blocked with guards.

I swiftly made my way into the cave and moved softly towards the main chamber. It was even darker inside the underground cavern than before- now the little sunlight that usually signed through was blocked by the raging clouds outside. It would start to rain soon; it was already drizzling...

I heard a voice.

My feet halted and I leaned against the wall to listen.

Waldonius.

"I want that traitor dead! Do you hear me? I want him burned alive and decapitated!" I knew that overly dramatic voice anywhere.

"But Master, he's a god. We cannot kill him like that."

"What do you mean you can't kill him like that?" Waldonius yelled back, clearly agitated by the fact that a god was trying to kill him.

"Well, that's how you kill vampires-"

"I know how to kill vampires, you dolt!" The Archmage growled and a slapped echoed through the cave. "Just- just-" Waldonius snarled; "Ugh! Just slice his head off! That should take long to heal. And then tie him up. And then slice his head off again, until we figure a way out to end those atrocities! Permanently."

"Yes, master. Right away." The guard scurried out of the cave and instructed some of his companions to stay behind and protect the Archmage.

I leaned forward to see where Waldonius and the guards were standing.

There were about five guards at the entrance and one beside Waldonius. He was seated in a large chair at the back of the room, with a cup of wine in his hand. His hand shook as he lifted it up to his mouth to gulp it down. "Damn gods..." He mumbled; "They always have to ruin everything."

I smirked at his words. He really was a waste of space. This wasn't going to be as boring as I first thought.

First, to deal with the five guards at the entrance. Waldonius was too distracted by his own safety and comfort to really be aware of the guards patrolling the area in front of him. The entrance to the main room was a good distance away from him, so I snuck past the hallways and towards the five guards at the front. Two of them stood still, alert and ready for action, but the other three were patrolling a directed path along the hallways. They were my first targets.

I glued myself to the wall and waited for the first guards to walk my way. He moved to round to corner and I placed my hand over his mouth to mute any screams and used my other hand to stun him with magic. I was very proficient in my magic- Claudeus and I were by far the best among our small friend group.

The guard slumped and I used his momentum to haul him around the corner before anyone would notice. He slid to the floor, completely unconscious. The jolt of electricity I sent through his heart was too much for his body to take- it incapacitated him and his system shut down, but only for a few hours. Or perhaps longer? I wasn't used to dealing with mortal bodies.

I peeked around the corner and spotted the guard walking towards the next corner to check the surrounding area. So I slipped around the bend and quickly scurried to meet him at his corner to do the same thing. A few seconds later, two guards were comatose and down. One more patrolling guard to go.

I peeked over the edge and spotted the guard coming towards me. His eyes were trained to the back and he was speaking to one of the two guards stationed at the front; "Where's Kalitos?"

The one guard shrugged; "He went around to the front."

"Idiot." The guard approaching muttered under his breath and just as he rounded the corner, I had him under my spell. He fell against the wall, making too much of a noise. I cussed softly and heard one of the guards say; "Did you hear that?"

"Demitos?" The guard called his fellow soldier and eyed the corner I'd just pulled him from. There was no answer. The same man tried again; "Demitos? Kalitos? Answer me."

I waited and listened. It was too risky to look around the bend- they might spot me.

I heard footsteps approaching; luckily, it sounded like only one pair.

"Do you see anything?" I heard one of them ask. I closer voice replied; "No... Not really?"

"I'll check the other side."

I sighed in relief. I could still pull this off without alerting Waldonius.

The footsteps were nearly next to me and then, when I saw the guards sword stick out from beside me, I jerked around the corner and grabbed him before he had the time to react to the sudden movement. I stunned the guard and threw him against the wall. He blackened out and the sword fell onto my shoe, stopping it from making a loud clanging noise against the stone ground.

I gently picked it up and placed it on the strap at my belt. At least I had a weapon now.

With haste, I moved back to the other corner where I'd dealt with the first guard. I wanted to reach the body before the other guard did. I made it just in time and grabbed him around his neck, silencing any sounds.

There- the last of them.

Now, for Waldonius and his personal bodyguard.

I slipped back to my shrouded view of Waldonius- avoiding the entrance. But let's face it; drama was my thing. This stealth business was far more Theia, Malreus and Casseus' trade. Not mine.

Let's give this fat wizard a show- Olympus style...

Waldonius didn't even see the sword flying across the gap. He only noticed that the guard beside him had a sword embedded in his abdomen the moment the poor man started making strange gurgling noises.

Waldonius shot up from his chair and his face turned pale; "W-wha-"

"Oh, there you are." I said casually as I leaned against the entrance. The guard tried to say something, but the only thing that fell from his mouth was blood. He collapsed beside the chair and tried to keep himself upright by holding onto the armrests, but his time was over either way.

Waldonius eyed me with hatred and quickly withdrew a dagger from his side- "You. I should've known your magic was too good for an assistant."

"It's not that difficult to best you in a game of wits, Waldo." I smirked and waited for him to make his move. I was ready for it.

Waldonius scoffed and shook his head; "Arrogant parasites. That's what all of you are, anyway! Let me guess, you're here to kill me, on Queen Aurora's orders."

"Oh, no, no..." I chuckled and examined my nails. "She has nothing to do with your eminent death; but I do suspect my aunt will be very happy to hear about it, either way."

Waldonius spat on the ground in disgust. "You're all the same!"

"Witty and devilishly good-looking?"

He didn't find me charming. "Wicked!" Waldonius shot a flaming ball of fire towards me, but it burst through the mirage; creating a puff of purple dust.

I stepped out from where I really stood, beside the now dead guard. Waldonius swung around and tried again, but I had my own hand up before he even realised that I'd fooled him. A whirlwind of magic pushed him back and the mage hit the opposite wall with a loud crack. Waldonius fell to the floor, but he wasn't going to give in the easily. He countered with a roaring and echoing noise that was so loud and piercing that I felt my eardrums were going to burst. I covered my ears and ducked, trying to avoid whatever else he had up his sleeve.

Waldonius chuckled, but the noise was muted by his annoying spell. I screamed and waved my hand across the air; throwing a burst of energy and hot air at him. He shot back against the wall again and his spell broke.

The noise abruptly stopped, but it left an uncomfortable ringing in my ears.

"Do you and your little friends really think you can kill the wolf?" Waldonius laughed loudly, some blood dripping from a gash on his forehead.

"You are aware of who I am, right?" I ducked when he used his levitation magic to chuck a handful of rocks at my face. They smacked against the wall and I countered with a raging fireball of my own.

Waldonius dove for his chair; "Asclepius- the son of Apollo, the Emperor. How sickening to have the monarchy coddled in my academy!"

"Believe me-" I grabbed the brass candlestick beside me and wrapped it in ice; making a speared point at the end. "I was definitely not being 'coddled' in that hellhole of yours..."

I threw the icy weapon at the chair's backrest and it embedded itself into the plush material, the sharp point sticking out on the other side. It had missed Waldonius' mangy face by mere millimetres.

"Ungrateful, cretin!" Waldonius hissed and pushed the chair forward, making a mad dash for the small exit to the side. I wasn't about to let this fool get away that easily.

I grabbed hold of the thick, tacky red carpet at our feet and with a jerk of my hands and a puff of magic, I whipped the carpet around at the end and it crashed onto Waldonius like a dusty wave. The wizard didn't expect it in the least bit.

I jerked the carpet again as he tried to get up from the ground, but the long rug wrapped around his body like a snake. I pulled it closer and the mage was tightly packed into a dust-filled case.

Waldonius screamed loudly and jerked around like a mad man. I started to laugh, but then caught sight of the first flame.

In the nick of time I jumped to the side.

Waldonius burst through the carpet with an explosive bomb of fire. Burnt carpet, soot and flames hit all the corners of the chamber. I'd found some shelter behind an upturned desk, but the wood had caught fire and so I had to move back a bit. Blood fell onto the floor and I touched my cheek with shock. A cut across my face- probably from the flying debris.

I heard him start laughing from the side; "It seems you have much to learn, boy."

Like I said before, there were many things I hated; and nobody was going to try and scar my face and get away with it.

"The game's over, Waldo." I summoned the sword embedded int the dead guard's chest from before and it flew to my hand like a faithful pet.

"It's over when I say it's over." Waldonius sneered and his eyes lit up with dark matter as he harnessed all of his remaining magic. It was a lot of magic...

He was definitely powerful, but... I was a god.

It all happened at once.

Waldonius summoned a furious onslaught of sharp icicles and directed them at my head, but at the very same second, I'd ducked around the chair and swung the sword at his chest.

The end result was nearly the same.

The icicles hit my right shoulder and I was banged against the wall by the sheer force. Blood sprayed everywhere and I felt the wind get knocked out of me from the severe blow.

The sword though, didn't miss.

It cut through Waldonius' fat middle like a hot knife through butter. He staggered back and his eyes that had been clouded over with dark grey magic, flickered back to normal and he scoffed, as if in disbelief.

His wide eyes stared down at the hilt of the sword sticking out of his stomach and he fell to his knees.

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. A small smile spread across my lips as I removed one of the many sharp, icy daggers in my shoulder. I winced from the pain, but my smile stayed put. "Not to rub it in, but I think it's over..."

Waldonius didn't even reply. He just stared at his stomach, completely shocked that he was going to die. I think he'd built up such a reputation already that in his mind, he thought he was immortal.

He wasn't.

I stood up from the ground and touched my cheek. The scar was nearly healed, but my shoulder would take some time. Waldonius definitely fought hard for a mortal. Not bad.

I walked over to him, while plucking out his little icy daggers from my body. "You don't look too good there, buddy..."

Waldonius looked up at me with wide eyes and he opened his mouth wider to be able to speak, but blood dripped out.

I smiled sweetly down at him and dusted off my clothes; "You know, I am the god of medicine and healing."

Waldonius' eyes lit up and he moved his hands together, in a begging and pleading motion. He was asking me to heal him.

I pursed my lips and knelt down in front of him. Sitting on my haunches, I stared into his eyes; "You want me to help you?"

Waldonius nodded quickly, blood dripping along his jaw.

I put the tip of my index finger on the sword's hilt and smiled; "I may be the best in healing, Waldo, but I'm not that good in bringing the dead back to life." I pushed the sword deeper into the man's stomach.

He cried out in pain and I stood up to depart.

Unfortunately, I had to stay to make sure he was really dead, but the moment he fell forward and collapsed from the loss of organ functioning and the loss of too much blood, I was out of that soiled tomb.

One inner circle member down.

I hoped the others were enjoying this as much as I was...

One down, five to go...