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***
Devon was still reeling when the cloaked man guided the narrow boat toward the cavern’s shore. A large gate appeared on the cavern’s far wall, stone inlaid into the rock. Devon could recognize security measures when he saw them. This was an entrance into a fortress.
Another wave of dread sizzled in his veins, his heart pumping faster, which was a slight relief.
If he had a heartbeat, that was good.
Two colossal statues stood sentinel on either side of the gates, looking like soldiers from an ancient era. Alert, spears at their side and swords sheathed on their belts. Had they not been a hundred-foot-tall towers of stone, he would have thought them alive. The details of the carved statues were impeccable.
Devon watched the statues as the boat moved closer, the river’s current aiming them right to the heart of what he knew was his final destination.
As the boat hit the shore, scraping across the rocks as it settled, an enormous cloud of smoke materialized in front of them. It moved to take the form of a person the moment the ferry came to a complete halt.
A large man with pitch-black feathery wings appeared in front of them as the last of the smoke dissipated. The sight caused a jolt of memory to sear into Devon’s brain before it was lost again. His most recent memories were too slippery to hold on to. His mind was circling and finding no purchase on any thought that could make sense of all this.
“Thanatos, this is Devon Aideonous, his soul debt paid—”
“I know, Charon,” the man introduced as Thanatos said as his wings unfurled and flexed
behind him. The black feathers seemed to absorb the surrounding light.
Devon noticed the man had a black sleeveless cloak and tattoos that seemed alive on his arms. He felt another memory simmer under his consciousness’ surface before it was gone just as suddenly. Devon lingered on the wings.
Skeletons, ghosts, magic, and death.
He wondered if he was stuck in a bad dream. His work made him familiar with nightmares, but this was far different than the terrors that had him sweating in his sleep. Much more real.
“Come,” the man, Thanatos, demanded as he turned to enter the gates creaking open in front of them. The ferryman, Charon, offered Devon a hand to help him out of the boat, looking a bit perplexed at the words Thanatos had spoken.
Even with the ferryman’s help, Devon still landed ungracefully on the shore, falling to his hands and knees. A skeletal hand from the river grabbed his ankle and began pulling him with remarkable strength. Devon attempted to kick off the hand at the same moment Charon hit it with his pole as he cackled like a mad man. The hand released its grip and Devon fell back on his butt. Gasping, he scrambled backwards, away from the water.
“Better get a move on then,” Charon stated cheerfully, using the pole to push the boat off the
bank and back into the black, inky river.
Devon watched, dumbfounded, before he pushed himself up and dusted his hands off on his pants. He put a sizeable amount of space between him and the shore. As he righted himself, the noise of tapping against stone reached him.
Slowly, he turned toward the gates to see a massive, three-headed dog standing beside Thanatos at the opening.
Holy hell, Devon thought, it is the size of a grizzly bear!
With pure black fur like Thanatos’ feathered wings, the monstrous thing had three heads beset
with eyes like simmering coals. Flames writhed in its eyes and fanged mouth.
Thanatos patted its flank, and the beast rumbled so loud and deep it made the hair stand-up all-over Devon’s body. As Thanatos whispered something in a strange, guttural language, the animal turned its heads to Devon. They watched him suspiciously as Thanatos continued whispering, rubbing his hand over the animal’s back before giving another liberal pat to the dog’s flank.
At what he assumed was a command, the animal walked up to Devon, its nails clacking on the ground as he moved. After all his time as a mercenary, he could honestly say nothing intimidated him as this hell hound did.
He managed not to shake in fear as each of the gigantic heads sniffed him. All three heads huffed out a breath, which came out sounding like one huge, loud one. Devon took in the animal as it watched him, both of them sizing each other up.
Before Devon could do anything else but blink, the large animal turned and walked through the gates, passing the colossal statues.
“What was that?” Devon asked Thanatos.
“He has your scent now,” Thanatos explained as he himself headed toward the gate at the far wall and gestured for Devon to follow. “As long as you are behind the gates, you are safe. Cerberus will guard and protect you.”
Ahead, the beast let out a huff but did nothing more than that as it continued its walk. That sound did not inspire confidence.
