Soul Bound Read Online Free PDF

terrifying, but it wasn’t.  I felt a sense of calm transcend over me and I closed my eyes once more.
    When I did, the visions started.  There was blood.
    So much blood.
    Harmonia, Cadmus, Ares, Hecate and Aphrodite stood with weapons in their hands.  A smear of blood was on Harmonia’s cheek, her green eyes glassy in her anger.  Cadmus and Ares were covered in blood from head to toe.  A vein stood out in the side of Ares’ neck as his chest heaved from heavy-breathing. 
    They were clearly battling something.    
    My vision expanded and I could suddenly see my father facing them.  Of course.  I should have known he was involved.  My pulse picked up at just the sight of his pale, emotionless face.   And then my heart practically stopped when I saw that he stood with  Brennan’s father, Apollo.  If I could have taken a breath, I would have gasped.  Why were our fathers together?  Apollo was beautiful and golden, but he was covered in blood as well. 
    Horrible, wretched screaming filled the stadium that they were in.  And that’s when I saw them.  A cage of mortals hovered above the arena, thick gilded bars imprisoning the frightened people.  Fear was thick there, so overwhelming that I could taste it in my mouth.  Something horrible was about to happen.  I tried to open my eyes, to end the visions, but I couldn’t.  I could not physically move. 
    One of the mortals unexpectedly dropped from the bottom of their cage.  He tumbled through the air and landed on his feet on a long platform filled with moving objects.  Swinging pendulums covered in large razor points, spike-tipped columns rammed up and down from the platform itself, massive swinging maces and sweeping logs covered in glistening knives.  The points of each of the weapons glinted in the light, each one of them clearly deadly.  This was a sick, twisted gauntlet.
    The mortal was frozen in terror, but he was forced to move because one of the deadly pendulums was swinging toward him. He leaped forward and somehow, over the course of the next several minutes, he managed to twist and leap through the rest of the challenges.  Fear for his life made him fearless and desperate.
    He emerged triumphantly on the other side of the deadly game.  But his relief was very short-lived. It seemed that his challenge was far from over.  He was dropped from the platform onto the dirt of the arena, amid the dust and circling gods and goddesses.  What was this?
    The mortal tried to run toward my mother, but was thwarted by Apollo, his beautiful face set in determination.  Cadmus, handsome and also deadly, lunged forward and swung a sword at Apollo’s torso.  Both Brennan and I flinched as the sharp blade connected, carving a deep crevice on Apollo’s flawless body.  He growled and retaliated, kicking at Cadmus’ legs. 
    While they were occupied, Harmonia pivoted and rushed around, grabbing the mortal and attempting to drag him with her back to her side of the stadium.  Mormo leaped forward and ran the mortal through with a lance.  I gasped, aware that hot tears were sliding down my cheek as the mortal slid from the lance lifelessly to the ground.  Brennan gripped my hand hard. 
    “What is this?” I whispered, finally able to move enough to speak.  The visions melted away and the beautiful meadow once again surrounded us.  I fought to remain calm. 
    “What is this?” I shrieked at Branwyn.  “Why were they fighting?  Why were they using mortals?”
    Branwyn was calm and placid, standing ever so still at our feet.  Her face was pale, however, an outward sign of her distress.  Yet when she spoke, her voice was slow and expressionless and it wasn’t her own.  It was my mother’s.
    “It is a game, Empusa, between the gods. I appealed to Zeus for your life…to get your curse removed.  Zeus was at first happy to oblige, but Apollo interfered.  It seems that he didn’t realize he had a son.  Now that he knows and he also knows