Page 56 of The Hellbeast's Betrayal

“But how? Only a God can summon them.”

Suddenly we all looked around to the only God we had in present company.

“But he is of Norse lineage,” Lerna said.

“It is of little matter, for if they are of a God’s making, then the call of a God can summon them, I merely need to speak their names,” Tyr said confidently.

“Aethon, Phlogios, Konabos, and Phobos,” Koro told him, making him nod.

Tyr unsheathed his hammer and placed it on the ground, kneeling in front of it. Then as he started to utter the words in ancient Greek, his axe started to glow. The runes and symbols all glowed brighter as he used his power to summon them, calling each by name. And as if an electrical charge had fired, blue sparks flew from his weapon and snaked across the ground.

“Look! Over there!” Lerna shouted, pointing a finger to where the battle had not long taken place. A bright glow appeared in the distance before four horses started to emerge through the fallen cloud of light. Their speed was incredible, making my brother grumble next to me,

“Fuck, but something tells me I am not going to like this.”

“No, but they will most likely like it even less with your fat ass,” Marcus replied.

“Funny fucker,”Orthrus muttered under his breath.

And speaking of fast, incredibly, they had crossed the vast space in minutes, speeding through the debris of dead bodies that were being collected up ready to burn and honor the dead of the fallen of Koro’s army.

As for the four horses, they were astonishing beasts. But then, they were immortal horses of the Gods, so it wasn’t surprising. Each were distinct by their color. The first was white as the freshly fallen snow, a complete contrast to the one beside it, which was black as night. The third was a deep red chestnut, and the last a bluesish grey. Their manes flowed like spun silk, with their matching tails reaching only an inch off the floor. The muscles on their powerful bodies rippled with their movements, the hair on their bodies glistening with a reflective sheen that made them look unearthly. They were also an incredible size and had we been mortal men, we would have all struggled to mount them, let alone ride them.

I took the black one, reflecting my dark mood. He seemed to be the most unruly of the four, which suited me just fine. I was just thanking the Gods for the saddles that came with them, as each one matched the color of its graceful owner.

My own, a high black glossy leather, with its reins seemingly woven from gold thread, the horn on the front of the saddles represented each horse with its name. Mine being called, Aethon.

Tyr was the next to mount, and he took the white one. As for Marcus, he mounted the red chestnut and was far more graceful doing so than my brother, who was left with the blue-grey.

“Fuck, but I knew it was too good to be true the day the car was invented and we hadn’t needed to use these anymore,” he grumbled, as he had always hated riding. Which was why I told him,

“Think of it as a bike.”

He scoffed before I steered my stead over to Koro.

“Where is the portal?”

“There is a mountain pass to take, before you reach the forest, follow the sound of running water and it will lead you to it. The portal is at the base of the mountain road. You will hear its call.”

“Yeah, just follow the sounds of wailing tortured souls,” Marcus commented dryly.

“I will remain here and try and get word to the others of our plan,” Koro told me, prompting me to ask,

“The others?”

“Those of the Bloodstone Covenant will need time to cross the borders into this realm. As well as my master’s army… I believe you made a deal with him,” he stated, making me grit my teeth, because yeah, I had.

The deal to find his mortal Chosen One and deliver her to what she would no doubt class as a nightmare. A large chunk of my soul knew I had the life of a girl on my head, for the use of his armies to win this fucking war and prevent the end of the world. Which was why I nodded, telling him that I understood.

“Then I hope you are successful but if not, then I will cast my net further and send more spies to see what they may find,” Koro replied, making me nod in respect, before doing something I never thought I would ever do…

“Thank you,” I said, and he looked taken aback for a second before bowing respectfully.

After that, we took off in the direction Koro had given us. Of course, when the horses started to gallop, we were all left holding on for dear life, making my brother bellow in fright. And despite how funny it was, I still couldn’t find it in me to laugh. For there would be no more smiles.

Not until I got my girl back.

Thanks to our new transport, we reached the portal to Tartarus in no time at all. We didn’t have to question the portal being the right one, as like Marcus had said, the moans of pain and agony called out from within it.

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