Vampire Greek: The Burning King

Willa burst to the surface of chilling dark water, grasping for something to hold onto. The Oracle reached out to her from the edge of a low gray bridge.

“Get out of the water!” she shouted, her eyes glowing and green smoke billowing off her skin. As soon as Willa grabbed her hand the Oracle yanked her out of the water, and Caitlyn looked at her in fear.

“Who are you? Where are we? Why is she glowing? What’s happening?!” Caitlyn panicked. Willa looked up at her, then the Oracle, the their surroundings. The sky was completely black, with dark gray clouds swirling around above them. In the distance there was a huge stone castle with a big looming shape next to the door.

“What is this?” Willa asked them.

“It’s the Underworld.” The Oracle replied. “We tried to escape Elysium, and failed, This here is Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. All of you, including Antearia, have forgotten who you are and what you came for. If I had not taken control, you all would have drowned.”

“Am I, are we supposed to believe you?! You look like a possessed demon or something!” Willa replied as Caitlyn scooted away from the Oracle and closer to her.

“You have to. You will never see the sun again otherwise.”

Willa still appeared hesitant, but Caitlyn got to her feet.

“Okay. Where do we go?”

“There.” the Oracle pointed to the castle.

“Hades’ palace. We will ask him the pathway to Hypnos, the god of sleep. He will be able to restore your memory. Eventually, Aphrodite will take us to Olympus, where Apollo will take you home.”

“How do you know this?” Willa asked her.

“I am the Oracle. I see the possibilities of the future, and give out prophecies to all who need them .” She turned and started walking towards the castle with Willa and Caitlyn following very slowly behind.

“Is that a giant dog?” Caitlyn asked.

“Yes.” the Oracle replied bluntly.

“Will it attack us?” she asked again.

The Oracle didn’t respond. The closer they got to the castle, the bigger the creature appeared to get. It was lying with its back facing them, and on their right, they could hear voices in the water. Willa looked over and could see shadowy people on the surface of the water, reaching out to them and moaning their sorrows.

“That is Cocytus, the river of lamentation. We are lucky we didn’t end up there, even I wouldn’t be able to save us.” The Oracle said as they walked along the bank.

“How did we get here?” said Caitlyn

“You angered the nymphs when you poisoned their home and killed their sister. They used their power to disrupt our portal, so we ended up here instead of Olympus.”

Everyone stopped as the dog started growling. It didn’t move, it didn’t get up, but it began to growl.

“Is it doing that because of us?” Caitlyn looked afraid.

Again, the Oracle had no answer. She tried to step forward but it growled louder. They were still about a hundred feet away, but it clearly sensed their presence. It didn’t seem to like them either. It’s tail lifted up and pointed towards them, hissing.

“What type of dog has a snake tail?!” Caitlyn exclaimed.

“Cerberus. Hades’ dog.” Caitlyn told her. They took another step closer.

“Isn’t he supposed to have three hea-”

Cerberus lifted all three heads and barked at them, sending a wave of hot disgusting dog breath towards the girls. They pinched their noses but the putrid smell had already stung their nostrils. Cerberus stood up all the way and began to walk towards them, baring his teeth and growling.

“He shouldn’t have a problem with us right? We aren’t dead are we? Glowy girl, say something!” Willa shouted, pulling Caitlyn behind her.

“You two aren’t dead, but I am.” she replied, sounding fearless. Willa and Caitlyn continued to step back, but the Oracle didn’t move. Cerberus starking barking again, each one sounding like a final warning.

“We can find another way. One that won’t get us eaten. Come on.” Willa stepped forward to pull the Oracle back, but she pointed at the door.

“Look.”

The doors opened and a gigantic woman appeared in the doorway. She slowly walked up to Cerberus and placed her hand on one of his heads. He stopped barking and looked at her with two of his heads while keeping one trained on them.

“Go to the gates.”

Cerberus barked in response and ran directly towards the girls. The Oracle didn’t move, but Willa and Caitlyn ducked as Cerberus jumped over them and bounded down the path. They turned and watched as he disappeared in a fog, and when they turned around the woman was normal sized and directly in front of them.

“Oracle,” the woman mused. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The same to you, goddess Persephone.” The Oracle bowed, so Willa and Caitlyn followed suit.

“Who are your friends?” Willa and Caitlyn looked up, then looked at each other.

“We don’t know.” Caitlyn answered.

“We accidentally took a bathe in the river lethe.” the Oracle motioned to the river on the left. “We come to Hades to seek out Hypnos to restore our memories.”

“That shouldn’t take long, Hades will summon him for you. Though you might need to consult with Hades and Thanatos about Antearia.”

“It’s only temporary. We are prepared for the outcome.”

Persephone waved her hands and all of their clothes and hair were suddenly dry.

“Come then. Hypnos doesn’t like to be woken up.”