Nym's hand was frozen on my shoulder.

"It's okay," she said. "We'll wait here to do our part."

I turned to watch as the demons neared us. Just a little bit before they were in range, I had Cerberus bark two short times, indicating for the archers to aim at position two, the left flank.

"Aim!" I yelled. "Draw! And... Release!" 100 arrows flew through the air. Almost all hit a target, wounding and killing 60% of that section. Several cries of pain were heard. Zym and I singled out the leaders.

"Very nice..." I murmured.

Cerberus, bark three times. I told him. Three thunderous barks exploding from his massive chest sounded in the forest.

"Target the left front?" Zym asked curiously.

"Yes," I said. "If we targeted the right front or flank, it would alert them too quickly that something was happening. We'll keep the left side in chaos for as long as we can." Zym nodded.

"That makes sense."

"Aim! Draw! Release!" More shouts of pain.

Two. I said to Cerberus. Two barks ricocheted in the forest.

"Aim! Draw! Release!" This time though, the arrows did not go unnoticed. Mass confusion ensued, and we took this opportunity to shoot the whole swirling ball of enemy.

One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Was the number of barks Cerberus signalled. Shoot anywhere that is within the demons. Very successful.

Cerberus let out another piercing scream, telling us to drop out bows, pick up out swords and head into the very heart of battle. Most of the archers went with me, but a few more skillful ones stayed with Zym, just in case we needed them.

"Stay safe!" I yelled to Zym over my shoulder and charged in. Somehow, before I actually started fighting, I found Hades.

"Ello," I greeted. We fought back to back. At the first time I made contact with my opponent-who I somehow killed in that one shot-I looked down at my sword and gasped.

"Uh Hades," I said worriedly over my shoulder. "Is my sword supposed to melt upon impact? Hypothetically, of course."

He glanced over his shoulder. And cursed under his breath. My swords was liquefying into black ooey gooey slime stuff.

"I forgot!" he wailed. "How could I not think that this was of importance! They're sparkly!" 

"What's important about them being sparkly?" I demanded. If Hades took any longer, we would all be black goop.  

"If they're sparkly, they'll be immune to all metals except for specially made and hardened ones like my sword over here." He indicated as best he could to his own sword while trying to ward off a particularly ghastly looking demon.

"You can only use your mind now!" he shouted, still battling. As a new opponent came to face me, I started thinking of my happiest memory. The memory of Amaryllis and I throwing flowers at each other. The one that left me sobbing.

This isn't working. I thought. Let's try a new memory. Aha! Nope. Just going to have to use the flower throwing one. Thinking of it put me in two different moods; one sad, and the other happy. I concentrated on making it happy. When I dodged the enemy's blows, I tried to put a spring in my step. It worked on making me happier, but I wasn't as focused as I had been before, and with no weapon to block with, I was struck on the side with the heavy, wooden club. The sheer force of the blow made my head dizzy and my ears ring. I nearly crumpled to the ground. But this only made me even more determined.

I dove into the memory, and finally resurfaced victorious. I used my determination and happiness against my rival. Bending, twisting it until he found himself cornered. I used joy as my driving force, wearing my opponent down little by little until he was completely exhausted. He started fading away until I knew that he was completely gone. I moved to my next opponent, along with Hades. This one had a spear. When I pulled the happiness, he reeled with shock, both mentally and physically. He wasn't prepared for this, at least not as much as the other one was. Which only made it easier. I quickly took him down.

The next one I battled was an exceptionally nasty one. He was a swordsman and an excellent one at that. He refused to be overtaken by the memory, refused to budge. This time, I was the one reeling back in surprise and shock.

I tried pulling a different memory. One from long ago, from the depths of my childhood. I was singing, dancing, laughing in the kitchen while my mother was cooking, sometimes joining in on a familiar song. It was practically my only good memory about her, as more recent ones were of disappointment and bitterness.

Using this one, I tried to confront my opponent. No use. Instead, all he did was stab me. Right in the stomach.

Searing pain. That was all I felt. Searing pain. I cried in agony and fell over.

Blast this stupid demon! I thought. I saw my once opponent-now killer loom over me, bringing his sword up in an overhead blow. A killing blow. A death blow. My death blow. By now, I was sure I was going to die. I awaited death, knowing it was coming. Knowing it was inevitable. Knowing there was no other way.

The last thing I saw was the wicked grinning face of my murderer and Hades's desperate one, calling out my name. 

Huh. I guess gods can die after all.

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