Chapter 56: Thankfully, Darkness thwarted his first attack. He scored a scratch against Cerberus’s flank, which immediately healed. Great, he was self-healing. I would literally have to hold him down. Getting down from Darkness, I planted my feet in the ground and encased them in ice to combat the heat. The ice formed a thick layer around my boots, providing me with traction and keeping my feet cool. I pulled out my dagger encased in ice. I sure would need it now. I taunted him, "Afraid of my tiny blade?" He snarled, but kept his distance. He knew that my blade was dangerous, and he wasn't about to get close enough to me to let me use it. He pounced at my opposite hand’s side, thinking that he was out of reach of my blade. He was wrong. As he leapt towards me, I let my hand get inflamed with a chill. The cold spread through my hand, making it numb and icy. I thrusted my hand towards his neck, trying to grab him. He was too quick for me, though. He dodged my grasp and landed on the ground in front of me. He growled at me, his eyes filled with hatred. But I had still scored a hit that he could not heal so quickly. One of his heads was out of commission, and whining from the pain. One down, four to go. But one by one, I finished them off with my ice. One I lassoed with an ice rope, another I embedded with ice arrows. The third I simply blinded with the chill air. But the final one was much harder, I could not get it down. It was too fast and too strong. It dodged my attacks and countered with its own. I was getting tired, and I knew that I could not keep this up for much longer. Just when I thought that I was going to lose, I had an idea. I concentrated all of my energy into my ice blade, laced it into a net, and I swung it with all my might. The blade hit Cerberus's head, bringing it down to the final whine. I had won, but it had been a close call. Author's Note: Yeah, very close. *munches popcorn* -Jenna
Chapter 57: “You win. Enter.” Cerberus growled, this time with respect. He stepped aside and melted into a pool of fire. As we entered Hades’s palace we looked around us. It looked like a cross between a luxury hotel and a high-security prison. The walls were made of black marble, and the floors were covered in thick, red carpets. The furniture was all made of ivory, and the chandeliers were made of a blood-red ruby. The air was thick with the smell of sulfur, and the only sound was the dripping of water from the ceiling. But I could see at every door swords and spears clanging in an X form, almost by themselves. Thanatos appeared again. “So you kept your promise!” he said, looking at me with what appeared to be respect in his eyes. Again I was struck by his rich voice and his looks. How could the representation of death itself look so… handsome? I yanked myself from my thoughts. “Yes I did. I wish to see your master, Hades, master of the Underworld, holder of the riches, king of Hell.” Author's Note: Yeah.. how can he look so handsome? -Jenna
