I lower my hand clutching the mirror as soon as my feet touched the coarse soil of my new destination.
In my unprepared sight, shifting shades of orange, purple and black belonging to a sparse wood spring up with sinisterous prominence.
If I have to guess, it's an evening hour just after sunset.
From my left, I hear the robust sound of a nearby waterfall. In the air, the sharp, earthy scent of freshwater reassures me I've materialized at the right place.
Still, in fleeting, I look around to take stock of my new surroundings.
Except for the large lake basin to my left, same eerie sights enter my field of vision in every direction.
Good thing, I can still see...
My eyes shift up to the skull bounder. As expected, it appears more intimidating in the transitioning light as it perches above the gushing overhanging of waterfall.
It's full moon tonight, so I'll be fine for my impending tasks. Unless...
I glance higher up. Intending only to skim the heaven for clouds--
Instantaneously, my eyes are arrested by the horror cascading from the center of the darkened sky; a bloodied moon.
The discolored large, luminous orb glares down at me accusingly.
I didn't notice before tonight but sun, earth and moon have already partially eclipsed.
Rendering the surrounding night's sky the colours of bruises and bloodshed.
I thought it was the lingering sunset that had caused the purplish red light, gazing at the source of my astonishment in the bloodied sky, I curse in my heart ...Wait, what am I even seeing right now?
My knowledge of the harvest calendar tells me; I shouldn't see a solar eclipse tonight. Let alone a prolonged one like this.
Yet, the glaring evidence is pinning up there, in the darkening red sky.
I don't like this--
My eyes are drawn marginally left of the tainted super-moon to the biggest and brightest star, even just half of it.
Mars. It's already half hidden behind the gigantic moon, far in the sky.
How surreal. It's already in plain sight, admitting this, my chest tightens with unease.
Even though I had expected this, it still perturbs me. This is when I see another bright star behind Mars. Albeit smaller than the red planet, it's still fully visible to the naked eyes: Jupiter.
I stare at this horrific sight for three more breaths before making up my mind.
Wordlessly, I drop my gaze to ground level up ahead. Let's get this over and done with, I tell myself with a grimace as I start walking.
My current location is at the base of a light woodland leading up to the skull bounder surmounting the ledge of the left shoulder of Mount Saphon.
According to Aquila's faint memory of the location, directly behind the start of the spewing waterfall, is an entry to a cave...Typhon's hideout/lair.
Fortunately, my tonight's mission isn't to get inside that cave.
Not tonight, but tomorrow morning, bright and early.
I hasten the upward ascent of the mountainous slope.
I have no intention of using my gift for this little mission. No good showcasing my only weapon to my ruthless enemies before the fight even started.
YOU ARE READING
Serpent In Love (🔞) - Completed
Short StoryBased on Greek Mythology characters. An impossible love? She is the happy-go-lucky serpent with limited emotions. He is the mighty eagle of Mount Olympus and natural predator of serpents and snakes. Converging on them is a calamitous war of worlds t...
