Typhon's Revenge

Chapter Thirty-Nine

FIRE

Someone was nudging me as I slept and I couldn't help but let out a groan and turn to the other side. I was sleeping so peacefully, so comfortably that I didn't want to get up. It felt as if this were the first time I was actually resting in all my life.

"Stop," I murmured as the nudging continued.

"Aileen," Andrew's voice sounded soft but serious as he shook me again.

With a sigh, I finally decided that there was no point trying to fall asleep again and I opened my eyes and they met Andrew's. 

"Did something happen?" I asked sounding a bit drowsy and I quickly cleared my throat. 

Andrew chuckled and pointed to the exit with a slight smile. "The rain is gone and it's close to midnight. Should we leave now or do we wait for the sun to rise again?" He asked slowly and I looked past him towards the exit.

While the cave was brightly illuminated with various orbs of fire floating around us, through the mouth of the cave you could see that outside it was almost pitch-black. Slowly, I tried to straighten but my body had been leaning against the cave wall for so long that my back cried out in pain before numbing as the soreness took over. 

"Ouch," I murmured and Andrew gently helped me to my feet and I gave him a thankful smile. 

Walking towards the exit of the cave, I saw that the moon was shining brightly above us. It was a full moon. 

"I think it's best we go. Better sooner than later," I said before a yawn escaped me and I blushed slightly. 

Behind me, I heard someone chuckle and I turned around to face my cousin who looked amused. "I see that the cave has also affected you."

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Andrew and then back at Mason as I said, "what do you mean?" 

Mason opened his mouth to respond when one of the Oneiroi, Morpheus, appeared behind him with his wings unfolded. My eyes widened and I gulped as I saw how much his wings stretched to his sides. They almost touched the walls of the cave on both sides. And even though they were wings like those of a bat's, they were breathtaking and soft-looking. 

"This cave, The Cave of Dreams, is a sacred place. It has powers of its own. In fact, one could sleep here for all eternity and not realize it. You wouldn't age nor go hungry and die. It's as if time passes differently here. For us, my brothers and I, it helps us channel our abilities and reach the surface with our powers. It's a portal of sorts. But anyway, to mortals, the effect is different. You might even say that you feel reluctant to wake up and that is because of the power of the cave. The longer you sleep, the more in touch you are with it and the harder it is to wake you up. I tried to warn one of you, water, but he didn't seem to believe me since he didn't wake either of you up. It wasn't until he woke up earth that he realized how serious I was," Morpheus said with an amused smile as he looked past me towards Andrew who looked uncomfortable and nervous. 

"Yeah, well. I didn't think it'd affect you so much since you're not entirely mortals," he said sheepishly and Morpheus chuckled.

"That is true, son of Poseidon. Now, are you leaving already?" The god asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at all of us.

I nodded my head and smiled, "we are. It is time for us to head back to the castle so that at first light, we'll be able to cross. Thank you for all your help. It's a good thing we came all the way out here to find answers. Without you, things could have taken a turn for the worst."

Morpheus smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "Indeed and I am glad my brothers went behind my back to get your attention. I should have done something as well."

Mason waved him off and smiled. "You helped and we're grateful. Now, is there a way to get to the castle without needing to cross the bridge?"

Morpheus opened his mouth to respond but one of his brothers, Phantasos, was the one who beat him to it. "I'm afraid not, earth. The only way to get to the castle is through the bridge. It's Hades's way of guaranteeing that he won't be disturbed outside of his usual business hours. A smart move if you ask me. But just because we can't help you reach the castle right now doesn't mean we can't help you get there faster."

Raising an eyebrow, Andrew was the one to speak. "What do you mean?"

"There's another path to get to the bridge. Much faster if you ask me. You will travel underground but at least you'll know you'll be safe. In the night, there could be all kinds of things lurking in the forest. With this war starting, I don't doubt that they're out there and you're traveling with the princess of the realm, of course, you'd be a target," Phobetor explained as his eyes met mine. 

"And how do we get to that tunnel?" I asked slowly and Phobetor smiled. 

"It's just under the cliff you had to climb to get here. in fact, why don't we take you there? It'll do us some good to stretch our wings for a bit," Phobetor said with a mischievous smile on his face.

Before I could realize what was happening, Phobetor and his brothers charged at us and each of us took one of us in their arms. I yelped as they started running towards the exit of the cave with us in their grip, just before they lifted off from the ground and took off flying. 

I let out a gasp of surprise and fear. I wasn't entirely fond of heights, especially when my life depended on someone else. In my case, Phobetor was the one who took me in his arms while Morpheus took Andrew and Phantasos took Mason. The tree brothers flew in a triangle and just as we passed the cliff, they descended and I felt my heart in my throat as the ground approached us quicker than I would have liked.

Holding back a scream, I held tighter onto Phobetor and closed my eyes. The daemon shook his head and chuckled but didn't say anything until he landed softly on the ground.

"Here we are. That wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked in amusement and I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart.

I probably looked sick as I turned to Phobeter and shook my head. "Don't ever do that again without a warning," I said seriously, even though I was still trembling, my voice held a certain tone of authority.

"I'm sorry. That was probably uncalled for," he said sheepishly and I nodded my head.

Looking around, I saw that both Andrew and Mason looked as perplexed and overwhelmed as I felt. None of them said anything as the two brothers joined Phobetor and pointed to an opening in the cliff to our left. 

"There. That is a way to get you to your castle safely. It will be dark, but I think you have that covered," Morpheus said as he looked at me and I nodded.

"What about our horses? Can they fit through there?" Mason asked warily and Phobetor nodded his head.

"Of course. If it's big enough for us to open our wings down there, it's enough for a horse to fit through."

Nodding their heads, Andrew and Mason turned to me and I nodded my head. This was it, time to go.

"Thank you again for helping us," I said as I turned to Morpheus who nodded his head and bowed slightly at me. 

"Anything to help, Your Majesty. Send your father our regards and tell him to keep both eyes open. It's better to be safe than sorry," he replied in all seriousness.

"It was nice meeting you... all of you," Phantasos said with a slight smile and then Phobetor spoke. 

"Until we meet again, halflings," he said with a chuckled and we rolled our eyes at him. He was a fun guy, much more relaxed than both of his other brothers. 

As we waved, the three brothers looked at each other and then took off into the sky, disappearing in an instant. I looked at Mason and Andrew who looked unsure of what to do now. 

"How are we supposed to find the horses?" Mason said with uncertainty. 

Shrugging, I turned to Andrew and nodded my head at him. "Easy, we just need Andrew to call them to us."

Andrew's eyes widened and he looked confused. "Me?"

"Yes, you. You're Poseidon's son. Your father practically invented horses," I said while rolling my eyes. He already knew this, why was he asking?

I guessed that being unable to stop the storm had definitely taken a toll on his self-confidence because he stiffened and hesitated.

Relaxing, I walked towards him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can do it," I whispered and his eyes met mine briefly before he nodded his head.

Without second-guessing, he let out a sharp whistle that almost made me wince. He only held the whistle for a couple of seconds but the sound seemed to echo in my mind and throughout the forest. 

A deep silence filled our surroundings and I was starting to think it hadn't worked until I heard the distant sound of a horse neighing. With my eyes wide, I looked around, trying to find the source of the sound.

A couple of moments later, the sound of hooves thundering through the forest surrounded us and it didn't take long for our horses to emerge from behind us. 

A smile appeared on my face as I saw Thunder looking ready for anything. His eyes met mine and I made my way towards him to stroke his fur. "There you are," I whispered in excitement and the horse huffed. 

I turned to face the others and smiled at Andrew, "see? I told you you could do it. Now let's go."

The others nodded their heads and followed my lead as I walked into the tunnel. Inside, it smelt like wet dirt and humidity, but nothing felt out of place. 

Slowly, I lifted both of my hands and held them out in front of me and a trail of fireballs illuminated the way. 

"Come on. Stay together and keep your eyes open just in case," I whispered and my voice boomed throughout the tunnel in a faint echo. 

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed onto Thunder's reins and began to lead us deeper inside. He seemed nervous but he trusted me and knew that I wouldn't lead him into danger. At least not on purpose. 

Behind me, I could hear the others follow my lead, each holding on to their own hoses. The tunnel seemed endless, I would turn back every so often and would be surprised to see how little it seemed we had moved, then I would look forward and see the neverending trail. 

None of us spoke, and at some point, I reached for my blade and heard the others do the same. There still wasn't any sign of danger but I preferred to at least have a weapon at hand if something jumped our way. I knew that the Oneoroi had been honest when they said this path was the safest to get to the bridge, but they were also right when they said we were at war. And in war, anything was possible. 

I wasn't sure how much time had passed but it seemed like it had been hours because distantly, I started to see a faint light streaming in through an opening. I let out a sigh of relief and quickened my pace towards the opening. The trail of fireballs ended and I was able to pop my head out of the ground and finally breathe in the fresh air.

With a smile, I stepped out and the river come to view only a couple of meters away. 

"We made it," I said as I let out a deep breath. On the other side of the river, I could see the familiar forest and while the bridge wasn't visible, I knew it would be soon.

On the horizon, the first, faint streams of sunlight were starting to appear and it would only be a matter of time before we were back at the castle.