Dennis McKiernan - Once upon a Spring morn

Yet bearing their torches, up through the streets they galloped, a howling throng running after. Past broken shy; down houses and collapsed buildings and other wrack and ruin they fled, and beings emerged from the side streets and alleyways and reached out to grasp with their deadly cold hands. But the two and their horses ran onward, sometimes smashing over the corpses, bones snapping and popping like dried sticks under the pounding hooves.

Out through the gate flashed Celeste and Roel, and across the barren cinders and ashes and up the hill toward the ruins of fractured stone columns and broken pave high above.

And the horde of the undead corpses came yowling after.

And in the distance beyond the horizon where the leaden sky glowed red, the air flashed bright crimson, and the ground rumbled and thunder rolled o’er the land.

Celeste and Roel galloped up and up, guiding the horses by knees alone. Finally they reached the crest of the hill, the horses to clatter onto the fragmented stone.

Celeste and Roel leapt down, and casting the flambeaus aside, they took the horses by the reins.

Behind them, skeletal beings, some seeming nought but fleshless bones, came swarming up the hill.

Celeste pointed ahead at the broken stone floor.

“There, Roel, there lies the circle.” Together they stepped into the ring, and as before, at a nod from Roel, in unison they said Phainesaton!

Nothing happened. .

No portals appeared. .

And the horde came howling up the hill.

Again Roel nodded. .

. . and again they said Phainesaton!

And again no portals appeared.

Roel looked over his shoulder, and he drew Coeur d’Acier.

And the undead things came on, their squalling growing louder.

“Why do not the doorways manifest?” asked Celeste, even as she took up a torch.

“I know not,” said Roel. “Mayhap-”

“Oh, wait,” said Celeste, “I think I might know why.” Roel looked at her.

“Remember what Chiron said: ‘Now you must put all else out of your minds except the desire to open the portals, and then, together, say the word Phainesaton! ’

Roel, the word alone is not enough; we must have the intent. Hence, we need to calm our thoughts, no matter that a mob comes.”

In the distance, a huge blast of scarlet flared the entire sky red, and the ground gave a violent jolt, and even as Celeste and Roel and the horses fought to keep their feet, one of the huge pillars on the left side of the ruins toppled and crashed down, stone bursting apart.

Under a now-ruddy sky above, as the aftershocks diminished and died, Roel said, “If the portals do not appear, we must flee from here, and return later when the liches are gone.”

“Agreed,” said Celeste.

WHOOOM! A vast wave of thunder from the distant explosion at last rolled across the hill.

The horses belled in fright and shied, but Roel and Celeste managed to keep control.

And the howls of the oncoming throng grew louder.

Celeste said, “Flee we will, if necessary, but now let us clear our minds of all but the need to open the way.” Roel nodded and Celeste looked down and took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, and she brought her gaze up to where she had last seen the gateways and then glanced at Roel and-

The mob topped the hill and rushed toward the living beings standing in the ruins.

— He nodded, and together they said Phainesaton!

Two black doorways appeared before them.

Squalling, living dead ran forward.

One of the geldings screamed as an undead thing laid a hand upon its flank.

“Left is right and right a mistake,” shouted Celeste, and together she and Roel fled through the leftmost portal, corpse folk hurtling after.

Hades

Through the portal and into the Hall of Heroes dashed Celeste and Roel, the horses clattering after, and right behind them howling undead poured into the great chamber as well.

Across the gymnasium a circle of men turned at the sound of the din, and Chiron shouted, “Cymry!” Achilles snatched up a bronze sword and Ajax a warbar and others took up weapons nearby, all but Heracles, who came running forward armed with nought but his bare hands.

Roel spun about and with shield and sword took on the first of the horde, and even as he struck and fragmented the enemy, the portals began to fade. Celeste flew blunt arrows into the throng to bring down corpse after corpse.

Heracles waded in and smashed left and right, Achilles and Ajax charging after. And then the remainder of the heroes reached the mob, yet-lo! — Heracles’

fists and the champions’ weapons did not break the undead apart, though the squalling foe fell to the blows.

Only the weapons of Celeste and Roel seemed to deal death to the undead. Mayhap it was because, unlike the weapons of Erebus, the arrows were from Faery and the sword was from the mortal world; yet whatever the reason, wherever they struck, the wailing undead fell slain.

Yet it seemed the frigid grasps of the living corpses had no effect upon the heroes of the Elysian Fields, whereas in the midst of the melee whenever one touched Roel he felt the dreadful cold.

On went the battle and the portals closed and no more undead Cymry came through. And soon all the corpse foe lay stunned or shattered, depending on who or what had dealt the blow.

With the fight now over, laughing and slapping one another on the back, Heracles and the men began gathering up the defeated, and they bore them out to the crevice to Tartarus and without ceremony cast them in.

Likewise, they took up the splintered remains of those slain by Roel and Celeste and cast those to Tartarus as well. Then they unstopped wineskins and passed them about, hailing one another as well as Celeste and Roel.

And Philoctetes said to Celeste, “Those arrows of yours: quite deadly,” and he helped her reclaim them from the floor.

“Thanks to the Fates,” said Celeste.

“Ah, yes,” said Philoctetes, “they do work well,” and he glanced toward Achilles, who was sharing a wineskin with Ajax.

Chiron joined them, and Celeste said, “We did not intend to bring enemies into your domain.” Chiron smiled and said, “Princess, I believe the men enjoyed it.” Heracles laughed and said, “I haven’t had that much fun since I performed the twelve labors.” He handed his wineskin to Roel.

As Roel started to tip it up for a small swallow, Celeste said, “No, love. Mayhap ’tis like unto the Elf King’s domain in Faery, and we should forgo food and drink.”

“Ah, oui,” replied Roel, and he passed the skin to Odysseus.

After drinking, Odysseus said, “Did you find that which you went for?”

Celeste nodded and pulled the gray arrow from her quiver and held it up for all to see. From across the hall Achilles looked, and tears sprang into his eyes, and Ajax threw an arm about him in comfort. Celeste sighed and put the arrow away.

Roel turned to Chiron and said, “We cannot tarry and celebrate with you, for our mission is urgent, and it’s to the mortal world and Faery we must go.” Chiron frowned. “Charon will not ferry you back across the Styx and the Acheron; his trip is one-way only. I’m afraid once in the underworlds you cannot return.”

Odysseus shook his head. “Are you forgetting about me, about Aeneas, Theseus, and others?”

“Nay, Odysseus,” replied Chiron. “Yet Lord Hades himself has closed those ways out of Erebus.” A debate broke out among the men, and Celeste called for quiet, and when it fell she said, “Lord Thoth himself told us how.”

“Lord Thoth?” asked Chiron. “Oh, yes, I remember.

You did tell us that he had helped you to come unto Erebus, yet not how you could return.” And so Celeste told the way it was to be done, and the men and Chiron clapped and laughed and saluted her cleverness, for it was worthy of Odysseus himself. Roel merely shook his head in admiration, for such means had not occurred to him.