Death Watchers

Introductions

My blood was cold as ice and I was frozen in place with fear. A giant dog was running toward me and all I could do was stand still.

Cole had another idea, though. He stepped in front of me and watched the creature approach. I grabbed the back of his shirt and started pulling but he held firm. When the beast was twenty feet away, Cole held up his arm and said, quite calmly, "Halt, Cerberus. It is I, your prince."

The beast stopped, his three heads panting as he dropped his front paw and lowered his heads respectably.

Cole smiled. "You will bid us entrance. Is that understood?"

The beast nodded the middle head.

"But we aren't allowed exit."

He growled.

"That's what I thought. I was just confirming you were doing your job. Carry on."

The mighty beast returned to his standing position and turned away, running back the way he came.

I continued to stare after him even when he was a speck on the horizon. Fear had locked my joints and I could barely manage asking, "How...?"

Cole turned to me. "It matters not. Come, Jocelynn, for we are late enough already."

"Late? Late for what?"

But he was already walking away, across the now barren desert. I briefly wondered where the dead grass had gone but I supposed the Underworld constantly changed. I forced my shocked body to follow Cole, trying my hardest to ignore the jarring impact on my joints each time my feet hit the ground.

He turned back when he was far enough ahead I couldn't hear his footsteps, which meant he couldn't hear mine. He looked up at the sky before trotting back to me, a scowl on his face. "Come one, Jocelynn, pick up the pace. We must get there."

"What are we even late for? It's not like he's expecting us."

Cole looked at me and those purple eyes suddenly seemed so foreign. "It doesn't matter that we thought we weren't initially expected." He rolled his shoulders and grabbed his neck, flinching a bit. "He knows we're here. Come on." He wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me walk the rest of the way.

After what felt like three days, a castle surrounded by molten lava appeared before us. It seemed to extend all the way up into the sky and beyond. In front, a huge wrought iron fence marked the barrier of the castle's grounds. In the back corner, dead vines curled around the bars, limply falling back to the ground.

The ten foot gate in front of us opened with a giant groan and a man stepped out calmly, a smile on his face. He looked normal, save for the flashing purple eyes surrounded in black orbs. He seemed to have an aura about him that was as dark as the world in which he resided. Terror sliced up my spine and I moved behind Cole, digging my face into his back to keep out of the man's gaze.

His voice sounded genuine when he spoke, deep and consoling. "Welcome to my home, Jocelynn Turner. I suspect you slept well on your travels? I know it can be hard sometimes."

Cole nudged me and I stepped out, choking on a, "Yes, sir."

His smile widened and he held his arms out to Cole. "My son, it is a wonderful surprise to see you here again. I thought you had left me forever."

Cole laughed and embraced his father. "I thought about it, Father, but I wanted Jocelynn to meet you."

"She's quite beautiful, isn't she? Almost more so than your mother."