Page 102 of Hades' Shadow
“Are you sure about this?” Heracles asks with a frown.
“They need her help and I fear what more will happen to the realm if Hades’ helm is in the wrong hands,” Theseus says.
Heracles nods and I turn back to Jayden. “Maybe you should just do what you did to Raven.”
“What exactly did he do to me?” Raven asks.
“He sucked the life out of you, remember?” I say with a chuckle.
“Shit, I was kidding.” She pats at her body frantically like she’s making sure everything is attached.
“The magic would have turned you into a demon,” I say with a chuckle.
Jayden stares down at his arms. The magic swirls angrily as if it knows it’s about to be absorbed.
“Just do it, Jayden. It won’t hurt you.” I pat his shoulder, being sure to keep far away from the magic on his arms.
“Okay,” he huffs.
He places a hand on the writhing mass on his opposite arm and grits his teeth.
The magic thrashes and coils tighter around his arm and I wonder how much more of this magic Jayden can take.
He is sweating again. His muscles in his neck bulge and he squeezes his eyes closed tight.
If magic could scream, this mass would be shrieking in pain. The more he absorbs, the tighter it coils around his arms.
“This is taking too long. It’s hurting him,” I say and chew my lip nervously.
“It’s the only way to get rid of it,” Theseus says.
His corporeal hand pats my shoulder and surprisingly I can feel it.
How is that even possible? He’s not exactly there, just a soul.
“Can you help him like you did before?” I ask, staring down at Jayden.
“We gave him most of our strength last time. It will be a long time before we can help him like that.” Theseus rubs the back of his neck.
I nod because I know I can’t ask them to use more strength than they have, especially when the demon sucked out some of their souls.
Jayden growls, bringing my attention back to him. The magic swirling on his arms is a lot smaller and I heave out a sigh.
“Good, Jayden. Keep going. It’s working,” I say and rub his back.
I hope the encouragement helps. He’s weak. Pulling that magic out of Raven took a lot out of him.
Raven chews her lip as she watches Jayden struggle to get the magic under control.
“It’s not your fault, Raven,” I say as I keep rubbing Jayden’s back in soothing circles.
“That’s the shit he pulled out of me, isn’t it?” she asks with a frown.
“It is but he was the only one who could.” I smile.
He didn’t do it to be a hero. He did it because she’s our friend and I refuse to lose anyone on this mission. I didn’t lose anyone on the last one.
I won’t lose anyone this time.
