The Daughter Of Night

Chapter Fifty-One - Apollo and Caius Take A Father/Son Trip

Chapter Fifty-One - Apollo and Caius Take A Father/Son Trip
Posted: Monday 23rd September 2024

Apollo
"Back so soon Nephew?" Hades looked as if he hadn't moved since I had last been here. "This time you have brought your son with you? I assure you, trying to get sympathy out of me won't make me let you see Ariadne. It is her wish, not-."

"How do we get to Tartarus Hades?" I asked.

I wasn't certain I had ever seen Hades look shocked, but that's what I saw now. "Why?" He asked.

"Nyx," I replied.

"You mean to move against a Primordial?" Hades raised his eyebrows. "That's suicide!"

I shrugged.

"I will destroy Nyx," Caius offered simply.

Hades looked so shocked I wondered if his godly head was about to explode. His head turned between the two of us as if he was watching a tennis match, or perhaps an intense argument between Zeus and Hera.

"We are serious Hades," I affirmed. "Point us in the right direction and we will be out of your hair."

Hades blinked and shook himself, "Zeus will be furious if you die."

"Zeus is always furious with me," I offered.

Hades snorted, "Well, that's true enough."

"Hades, we are set on our course." I said, "It has not been done before, but that does not mean it cannot be done. Tell us how to descend to Tartarus and we will return shortly." I did not believe a single word I said. I was just as certain as Hades was that I was going to my death, but Caius was set on this course and I could not in good conscience let him attempt this and surely die by himself. If this was how my son chose to die, I would do everything I could to ensure I died in his place.

"Apollo, you're the god of truth, you've never been a good liar," Hades replied. He sighed deeply, "But I can see you will not be deterred. You're close enough to the entrance. Head through the fields of Asphodel, and you'll come across the cliffs. It's a long fall."

"And how do we find the mansion?" Caius demanded.

Hades turned his dark eyes to look at my son. I felt Caius shudder beside me whilst Hades analysed him.

"I think, young god, that Nyx will come to you."

"I am not a god," Caius replied.

"Then what are you?" Hades tilted his head.

"I don't have the answer to that Lord Hades," Caius said.

I looked at Caius as he and Hades stared at each other and wondered if this was how Kronos had felt when he looked at his firstborn Hestia, the first of the gods who would one day overthrow him.

*

Finding the cliffs was not hard, but when I stood on the cliffs overlooking the drop to Tartraus, I started to have second thoughts.

"Second thoughts?" Caius asked as he too gazed into the chasm. His mind was set and I could almost sense the certainty coming off him in waves.

"Second thoughts fill my mind,

My feet start to turn cold,

I can see my decision before me,

There are two paths,

Follow my first decision,

Or turn around and change my mind.

The first path is hard,

Full of sacrifices and tears,

Yearning for home and friends,

Far away from everything familiar.

Which path to take?

Only I can choose for myself,

So why is it so hard?"

"Do you always quote poems when you're nervous?" Caius raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes," I said.

"Why are you doing this?" Caius asked.

I thought for a moment. How to tell him that I had no intention of making it out of this alive? But, Caius had to make it out, to ensure that some part of his mother lived on. It was foolish as I wasn't even certain that it was possible for either of us to make it out, but if it was one of us, it would be him.

"Desiring to protect,

But wanting to let live." I said eventually.

I could almost feel Caius roll his eyes. Before I could indulge my second thoughts any further, I reached my hand out to my son.

"If we're going to do this, let it be now," I offered.

Tentatively, Caius took my hand.

"You're sure?" He asked.

"I'm sure," I lied. Hoping that Caius didn't yet know me well enough to sense the lie. "If you're doing this, I'm doing this."

We exchanged one final look and lept into the abyss together.

*

Caius
I couldn't be certain how long we fell for. But it felt like a significant amount of time. Enough for me to properly ruminate on the fact that I had no plan once we found Nyx.

In the darkness, the only things that I knew were the whipping wind blowing past my face and Apollo's hand in my own.

For the thousandth time in my life, I wished that my mother were here. Certainly, she would know what to do, she would know how to find Nyx, and she would know how to survive in Tartarus. She would know how to take Nyx down.

The last part even I doubted, if my mother had known how to overcome Nyx surely she would have done it herself. As I fell I thought about how little I actually knew my mother, I had known her for just a few days. I was determined to avenge her, but deep down, I believed that if I took Nyx down I could then rescue my mother from Hades and make her immortal on my own.

Slowly, light began to fill the cavern which we were falling through. A dim red light, like a hostile version of the sunset which I had watched so many times over the landscape. I looked at Apollo and saw his face was set. It was bathed in the same red light which made him look unwell, but he looked determined.

After another long but indefinite amount of time, the cavern opened up and we were falling towards the ground at what had to be terminal velocity.

As the ground approached, Apollo and I let go of each other and landed on our feet.

I regained my footing and looked up, taking in my first view of the place my mother had spent most of her life. The air was acidic and burnt my lungs with every inhale.

"Where are we?" Apollo asked. He was now wearing a full set of golden armour, a bow had materialised in his hand and a quiver full of arrows on his back. I was still wearing just my jeans and a plain T-shirt. Seeing Apollo standing there in all of his godly glory, bathed in the red light, made me feel like a child. It made me feel suddenly even more unprepared than I already felt. It made me feel like an inexperienced child.

"We're in Tartraus," I sniped back.

"Yes, but where in Tartarus?" Apollo asked.

"I thought you'd never been here before?"

"I haven't," Apollo affirmed, "but Ariadne pained an image of the layout."

"How do we find Nyx then?" I asked.

"We go diagonally."

The first poem in this chapter is a paraphrased version of Second Thoughts Poem by Michele Weston. 

The second poem in this chapter is an excerpt from Fatherhood by Cole Bradburn. 

Only a few chapters left now guys!