Guardians of Rhea by Jose Rodriguez

you, but my people want proof.”
    Lilith smirked. “If you want to see
Pelasgians, all you have to do is ask.” she said, with a doorway
sprouting up from the floor itself.
    The doorway showed a balcony with the
Netherworld's sky in the background, and the sound of a battle
being waged. Lilith stepped through. “Come now, it is safe.”
    Everyone walked through the doorway to find
themselves on the balcony of a circular tower in one of the
Netherworld's cities.
    Below them they could see thousands of
residents braced for the impending flood of Pelasgians on the
opposite side of the wall.
    “This is the city of Gehenna,” Lilith said.
“It's been under siege for two days now.”
    At the forefront in the Pelasgian ranks were
the human-like Corinthians armed with swords and shields. Among
them were the Minotaurs – equally tall creatures with the body of a
muscular man, the head of a bull and an enormous battle-axe.
    The Pelasgians firing arrows were the
Centaurs.
    As typical as such battles were, each side
fired a continuous volley of arrows. The Pelasgians on one side
were using a battering ram on the gate, while Rheans on the other
made every effort to reinforce it.
    Sadly however, it would only be a matter of
time till the Pelasgians would break through, roaring and snarling
as they swarmed the denizens of the peaceful city.
     
     
     

CHAPTER NINETEEN
     
    Back in the safety of Mictlán, Sara and most
of the group were asleep in a rundown barrack.
    Leon woke to the sound of the faintest
whisper. Raising his head slightly he saw Nedim across the room
sitting on his bed.
    Making very little noise, Leon got up and
went over. “You okay there?” he asked.
    “I was praying,” Nedim said, opening his
eyes.
    Leon sat. “Does it work?”
    “It helps.”
    After a moment, Leon said. “Horrible, what
happened to those people.”
    “I agree, but at least when the dead are cut
down here they simply rise from the ground elsewhere.”
    “It's convenient if anything,” Leon said. “We
should be getting ready to go. There's nothing we can do here.”
    Just then there came a knock at the door that
woke most of the group. Leon answered.
    It was Arloff. “You must see Lilith,” he
said, stepping aside to reveal the throne room behind him.
    Everyone gathered around Lilith. “Have you
ever wondered what, or who, opened those portals from the Shadow
Realm?” she asked.
    “I'm not sure,” Leon said. “I've never seen
how it's done. No one knows.”
    “I do,” Lilith smiled. “Ever since the
invasion began I've been sending my own people into the Shadow
Realm. They haven't had much success, but an hour ago they saw
this,” she said, waving her hand to create a live image of the
Shadow Realm in front of the group.
    The only thing that could clearly be seen was
Eris, a hairless female with a large set of raven wings hovered in
midair. Her skin seemed to be made of black latex and her face was
almost completely featureless, aside from faintly glowing red eyes.
Holding her hands out, a huge green portal opened up.
    “Who is she?” Sara asked.
    “I don't know,” Leon said. “I’ve never seen
her before, but eyes like that should mean she's a Myrmidon.”
    Lilith clasped her hands. “And you know what
that means!”
    “Yeah,” said Leon. “We may be able to stop
this.”
    “The next time she opens a portal,” Lilith
said. “I can open one near her location. If you can track her down
and kill her, this could all be over.”
    Leon turned to the group. “If anyone would
like to back out, this is your last chance.”
    Hurok laughed. “And let you take all the
credit! I don't think so!”
    “I think that means we're all in,” said
Janah.
    “Arloff will go with you,” Lilith said, then
sensing another portal. “Well, what have we here? She just opened
another one. There's no time to lose. Are you ready?”
    “Yes,” Leon answered.
    Lilith opened a portal. Leon went first,
followed by the rest.
    Arriving next