Of Fire And Shadow [completed]

Chapter 8

"Do you think we should call Malia?" Stiles asked Scott as Lydia and Parrish walked through the door of Beacon Hills Animal Clinic.

"No, let her enjoy Paris," Scott said. "She deserves a break, they all do, especially after last year."

"You're right," Lydia said as her and Parrish moved to stand next to the boys. "Plus, right now, this doesn't seem threatening to the entire town, it seems more personal," she added, glancing at Parrish.

Parrish took a deep breath and looked up at Scott and Stiles. "I guess you both deserve an explanation..." he began, before diving into the story of what transpired the previous night as well as the more recent events of the afternoon. The boys stayed silent for the most part as Parrish spoke, with Lydia interjecting occasionally to further explain.

Once they had finished telling the story, Stiles had begun to pace around the room, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Scott, on the other hand, stayed relatively still, leaning over the table lost in thought.

"So, Thanatos ... or Death ... helped you guys?" Scott asked for clarification. He was having trouble wrapping his head around the whole ordeal.

"Yeah, he allowed me to be able to see the shadows and had us strengthen our connection," Lydia said. "I'm sorry it's so hard to explain. We didn't get much of an explanation ourselves."

Stiles continued pacing and Scott finally got around to asking about the potential threat. "So what's the deal with these shadows, and how do we fight them?" he said.

"Well ..." Lydia looked at Parrish for help but he just shrugged.

"I was almost killed last time I went up against them, remember?" he said.

"So we have no plan and no idea what we're up against," Stiles said with a smirk. "Just like old times."

"Thanatos could probably explain more if he were here," Lydia said. "I wonder what he's up to right now..."

Thanatos strolled slowly down a dark, winding path coated in a thick layer of fog. His black cloak whipped around him as he walked, the winds catching at it. On the edges of the path sat a few crumbling stone walls, remnants of an old forgotten city. A city of the dead.

Thanatos continued walking, not stopping to take notice of his surroundings. He entered a large field enclosed by towering iron gates, and began to weave through the faded ghostly figures occupying the space. Leaving the wraiths behind, Thanatos ascended a few black stairs and passed under a tall archway into a large castle-like structure. The structure was made entirely of obsidian, and seemed to shimmer slightly in the faint light passing through the fog.

Continuing down the halls, Thanatos was careful not to draw too much attention to himself due to the fact that he wasn't entirely sure he was still welcome here. It had been a while since the last time he had returned to his place of origin, and he wouldn't have come back if it wasn't absolutely necessary. He needed more information, and so, here he was.

He entered the library, a dusty old room that was seldomly used, and which housed ancient scrolls filled with prophecies detailing the fates of those of importance. As a child he would spend much time in here, devouring what knowledge he could find, but in his absence it had begun to waste away.

Thanatos searched quietly for a particular scroll, one that had always held his interest but which he had forgotten about until recently. It was stuffed in the back, but he eventually found it, drawing it out carefully so as to not damage the fragile paper. Reading it over with wide eyes, Thanatos knew he needed to get it to the hellhound immediately. He vanished the scroll into the folds of his robe and moved toward the closed door, only to have it open suddenly to reveal a tall hooded shadow figure.

"Why have you come back?" the figure asked in a deep, menacing voice.

Thanatos held his hands up in surrender, knowing full well the power this certain individual held. The figure may not look like much at first glance, but as a member of the shadow king's guard, this particular shadow was graced with increased strength.

"I am only here for information," Thanatos responded, careful not to disclose anything of major importance.

"You are no longer welcome here," the guard said. "You will be brought before the king so he may determine your punishment."

"Or you could just let me leave," Thanatos suggested, although he hadn't much hope it would work.

The guard huffed and gestured to Thanatos to walk down the hallway to the throne room. Two great thick doors swung inward to reveal a large obsidian throne, upon which a dark shadow figure sat. He did not look much different than the rest of the shadows, except for the pointed crown resting on his head.

"Thanatos," the king sneered in a gravelly voice. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Thanatos dipped his head slightly and said "I came to gather information from the library."

The king looked at him strangely. "And what information was this?" he asked.

Thanatos was hesitant to reveal what he had come for, but knew he shouldn't refuse the king. There was still a slim chance he wouldn't understand exactly what the prophecy on the scroll entailed.

He reached into his cloak and pulled out the scroll, handing it to the king to read. The king read it over, becoming increasingly concerned with each line, as it confirmed the suspicions he'd had about the hellhound from the beginning. Cerberus' exaggerated power was exactly why he'd sent his shadows to terminate the hellhound, until Thanatos intervened.

"So you think you have found the ones destined to be my doom?" the king said. He had suspected the hellhound, but now it looked as though the banshee might be a problem as well.

Thanatos merely shrugged. This wasn't going how he'd hoped.

"Well, maybe I'll just have to pay them a visit myself," the king continued. He stood up from his throne and walked over to stand closer to Thanatos. "Too bad you won't be there to help them," he sneered, gesturing for the guards to come forward.

The king had made a grave mistake threatening Thanatos. Although the king was in charge of this place now, Thanatos still had great power there.

Quick as a flash, Thanatos reached out and grabbed the scroll from the king. He drew his hidden sword and vanished the scroll back into his robes in one fluid movement, then prepared to escape.

"Seize him!" the shadow king roared, but Thanatos was too fast. He slipped past the guards, knocking a few out with the hilt of his sword. The king raised a slim silver dagger and prepared to throw it. Thanatos raised his sword into the air and disappeared, but not before the king released the dagger, which disappeared along with Thanatos.

"No!" the king roared, unleashing a mighty wave of power. His guards backed up a few steps until the king composed himself.

"We must go after this traitor, as well as his new friends," the king said. "Bring me the Banshee and the Hellhound."

***

Lydia and Parrish returned to Parrish's apartment just as the sun was beginning to set. They had explained as much as they could to Scott and Stiles, then left them to process everything and figure out what to do next.

Lydia opened the door, but turned back to Parrish and laughed at something he said. Parrish laughed along with her, until he looked over her shoulder into the living room.

Lying on the couch, half-conscious and bleeding black blood from a wound in his chest, was Thanatos.