Kingdom of the Gods: Godkiller (Sequel to Mythical Madness)

Chapter 9

9: The Great Outdoors

MAX'S POV

"Alright, the reports are coming in that Asag's hit the West Coast of England. In order to avoid detection, he'll probably travel underground until he gets to us," Kevin said, turning off the wireless radio we had brought with us.

"Then we can just...wait?" Alice asked.

"I would guess so," Jack said.

We were all seated around a roaring fire in the middle of the woods a couple miles away from the chateau. It was about 10 at night, and a thin mist was creeping over the campsite. We were on top of a small hill, and we were pretty high up.

"We should get to sleep, everyone," Piper said, sitting up.

"I'll take first watch," Alice said, standing up and stretching.

Suddenly, a chilling howl echoed through the woods. It sent shivers down my spine, and it sounded almost like a person. The howl went on for about 30 seconds before turning into a loud roar. It wasn't Asag, but this seemed almost scarier then the rock demon.

"What the heck was that?" Alice asked.

"It wasn't a wolf, that's for sure...Everyone get your weapons ready!" Jack called.

Our camp was situated next to a large cliff looking out over a valley filled with trees. Underneath us in that valley, several birds fluttered up from the forest, screeching and tweeting in terror. Several dark shapes raced through the trees, and I could see that they were headed towards us.

The only way up to our camp was by way of a small natural ramp/wall of stone and rocks. We could defend it from there. Jack must have thought of this too, because he started going over to the ramp. I followed him, and Alice and Kevin backed us up. Piper stood ready in the back.

"We need to hold the ramp! If we can do that, then we'l be fine. And we're outnumbered, but on the ramp, their numbers won't account for anything. We'll bottleneck them in!" Jack said, taking up a position at the top of the ramp.

"Great, so we'll only be facing demonic wolf creatures from one side instead of two! Really nice!" Piper said, nocking an arrow to her bow.

"They're not werewolves or skinwalkers...I can determine that much from the howl...They might be...Herne's hounds," Kevin said in horror, looking at us with fear in his eyes.

And he was right. Several massive shapes gathered at the bottom of the ramp. They were massive black dogs, each wearing a full suit of golden armor. Their eyes glowed yellow in the darkness, and they started to bark and howl up at us. I was too scared to move at first, and they started to swarm up the ramp, bounding up the rocks with ease.

From behind us, Alice picked up a massive boulder and hurled it at the dogs. The boulder crashed down on one of the hounds, and it rolled over two more before tumbling away into the dark woods. I could hear it smash into several trees and create a sound like thunder as it fell. But the hounds were still coming.

The first dog reached my feet. I swung my axe down at its head, and the dog fell back several steps, roaring in pain. Liquid spilled over my feet, and in the darkness I couldn't tell if it was blood or not. A second hound came at me from behind the first. I hacked at this one too, but it bit down on my hand and my axe flew out of my hands, clattering down the rocks to land about 10 feet down from me. The dog came at me, but I blasted it away with a sonic boom and dashed down the slope to grab the axe.

I landed on a rock a few feet down, and instantly three dogs came at me. I picked up a stone and knocked the first one on the snout. The dog fell back, whimpering. The second and third hounds leaped at me, but an arrow from Piper shot one. I tossed the stone at the last one and smashed it right in the eye. I jumped down one more step and reached for my axe. It was just a little too far though.

I jumped down one more level. By now, I was nearly halfway down the ramp, and the dogs were pretty much all above me, fighting the rest of the team. If I could just reach the axe, then I would be able to turn around and attack the hounds from behind. I was about to scoop up my axe, when a black-gloved hand snatched it first. I looked at, and then I saw the wielder of the hand.

It was Herne.

Herne looked just like he had in my dream. He was about 6 or 7 feet tall, and he was dressed in black armor, animal skins, and a purple-black cloak. His face was covered in a black helmet, and a huge rack of antlers sat upon his head. As soon as I saw him, fear shot through my mind. All I wanted to do was run, run and hide, run and die...

"So, boy. I've found you at last. How shall I kill you?" Herne asked, drawing a massive black sword with his free hand.

"You...you won't kill me," I said, my voice shaking.

"Don't be so sure of that," he said, lunging forwards and slashing at my legs.

I stumbled back from the blow, but I tripped up and fell onto the ground. I tried to get up, but Herne came at me again, cleaving down at my head. I rolled aside, and the blade slashed into the ground where I had just been. I scrabbled up the stone cliffs to get back to the rest of the team. I saw Herne throw aside my axe and come rushing after me, climbing up the cliffside with ease and covering ground like an animal.

"Come back, boy! Come back so I can kill you!" he cried.

I was about halfway to the top of the hill, but Herne was nearly on top of me. Suddenly, there was a shriek. I looked in front of me and saw the biggest hound keel over, blood flooding from its front leg. Kevin was standing there with his bloody tomahawk in hand, having slashed it. It got to its feet shakily and stumbled over to Herne. As it did, I saw the Huntsman's eyes widen with concern.

The dog stumbled into his arms. All battle ceased for a second as Herne looked down at the creature. He picked it up in his arms, petting back its hair. He then turned and walked siletnly down the hill, his massive antlered figure moving calmly and swiftly. All of the hounds broke off from their fights and followed after Herne, barking and crying for their leader. Herne reached the bottom of the hill, and he looked back over his shoulder to us.

"This is not over, children. I will be back," he said.

And with that, he and his hounds disappeared into the woods.