~ Chapter Twenty-Six - Part 1 ~

When Nathan had finished, Katalina had bandages wrapped around her entire body. Her ankle was in a brace. “There are going to be scars,” Nathan solemnly said as he stood up straight. “Mostly on her back,” he said as he hooked up the IVs. “He must have used a whip made of silver or covered in wolfsbane.”
Damien let out a low growl as he pulled Katalina closer to him. “But she’s going to be okay?” He questioned.
Nathan nodded. “Physically, she’s going to be fine. Mentally we can’t be sure until she wakes up. What she went through….” he shook his head with a sigh. “Trauma like that affects everyone differently,” he explained. “She could be as good as new. Or the trauma could cause some issues. Just keep an eye on her. Watch out for the signs. If you see any of these, then bring her to me immediately. Nightmares, panic attacks, anxiety, hallucinations. Anything like that.”
Damien nodded. “She’s not going to be alone again. From now on, there will always be someone with her,” he promised as he kept Katalina close to his body.
Nathan nodded. “I’ll leave you guys now. Just make sure you guys come and see me for an ultrasound.”
Damien gave him a nod. “Thanks, doc.”
Benjamin sighed as he looked at Cerberus. Then he looked at Jacques. “Want to tell us what happened in Tartarus now?” He asked.
Jacques took several deep breaths before he ran a hand through his hair. He leaned into the chair he had sat in after starting the fire. “I’m not sure how long I was down there,” he said as he gazed into the fire.
“You were in Tartarus for almost a month,” Axel said quietly.
Jacques stared into the fire for a couple of minutes before sighing. “When I first woke up, I had been between a couple of prisoners. I believe there was Tantalus on one side. Then Sisyphus was on the other side. I knew I had to get out of that area as quickly as possible. So without even blinking, I ran. First, I ran right into the barrier. I had to turn around and double back. I walked for a few days, doing my best to avoid the creatures of Tartarus. Finally, I found the cave I was in when I saw Katalina appear. Once I was in that cave, I was pretty much left alone. A couple of hellhounds came sniffing around the entrance, but I had been in Tartarus long enough for my scent to be masked by the environment,” he sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Whoever sent Kat into Tartarus left her in the center of a manticore nest. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I’m thankful I was as close as I was. Or else she may not have survived. She was unconscious when I got to her.”
Damien let out a growl that shook the entire house. “He tried to kill my beloved dove and children without even giving them a chance?” He demanded in a deathly voice that could frighten even the deadliest of beings.
Jacques gave him a single nod. “I guess that Atlas assumed I had gotten trapped in a prison of my own. So he had her sent somewhere she’d be alone,” he clicked his tongue. “Anyway. I managed to get to her just in time. The manticores were so close to her. I suppose I ran off pure adrenaline and got to her in time. I carried her back to the cave, but the manticores followed us. We should have been dead. I felt claws whisper over my back and could have sworn it was the killing blow. Katalina woke up just in time. She burned all of the manticores inside the cave to ash and saved my life,” he shook his head. “She saved both of us. I checked her wounds after that. Yes, the cuts and burns were terrible, but her back….” his voice broke as he pressed a fist to his lips. He took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself. “Her back was a slab of meat. I couldn’t see any remaining skin. It was so bad, and I was too drained to help her.”
“She prayed to Artemis right after that and got help,” Benjamin guessed.
Jacques nodded. “When she returned, she was healed just enough to get through Tartarus. And she had enough blood for me. We rested for three hours before we left for the barrier,” he closed his eyes as he tried to lock up the images of Katalina as she had been when he first found her. “She had to use quite a bit of magic to get us out. First, she had to make us invisible and put a shield of air around us to mash our breathing and footsteps. Then, we had to get past a ravenous pack of hellhounds devouring one of their own. While we were running through the trench, she twisted her ankle. Pretty badly, as you’ve seen. She couldn’t walk on her own. I helped her until we got to Cerberus’s home. As we neared it, six wraiths appeared. We were both weak, and as we all know, wraiths only have one weakness. So we ran as quickly as we could and made the rash decision to run into Cerberus’s home. We were hoping he’d get rid of the phantoms, but it seems they are his weakness.”
Axel nodded. “It makes sense. You can’t fight a phantom. Anything will go straight through them.”
Jacques gave him a nod. “Katalina being the sweetheart that she is, couldn’t leave him alone. So she used her magic again to burn the phantoms to ash. As a result, we now have an overprotective mother men guard dog.”
Benjamin chuckled. “Of course, she saved him. She couldn’t just leave a creature in need of help. It’s not who she is.”
Everyone agreed as Jacques continued. “Because of the atmosphere of Tartarus and her pregnancy, she was so exhausted. At that moment, I didn’t know Katalina was pregnant. She slid to the ground and rested for a while. I only found out because of Cerberus. He sensed it on her and has been protective of her ever since,” he clicked his tongue. “After we rested for a few minutes, we made our way towards the River Lethe. I was carrying Katalina by the time we got to the river,” Jacques looked at his hands that were clenched in his lap. “She had to use magic again to get us across the river.”
“How did she do it?” Axel asked curiously.
“She used her magic and split the river in two. She created a path for Cerberus to run through. He let us ride on his back as he raced across the river. She managed to hold it just long enough for us to get to the other side. Once we were safe on the other side, she fainted. Cerberus carried us to the barrier after that,” Jacques explained.
“How did she manage to break through the barrier?” Benjamin asked. “From what Damien learned from Atlas, the barrier should have been unbreakable.”
Jacques sighed. “Do you remember that queen who was half demigod and half-witch? She had that power that could heal anyone or anything. But, unfortunately, that same power could decimate an entire city in a single wave.”
Benjamin nodded. “Queen Destiny. She was the most powerful queen of her time. No one could take her down until that whole situation with Ares,” he clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Such a devastation,” he frowned. “What about her?”
“It seems that she had at least one child that only a rare few knew existed. And Katalina is a descendant of that queen,” Jacques explained as if that answered all of their questions.
Axel stared at Katalina in shock before looking at Jacques again. “You’re sure?”
Jacques nodded. “I saw that magic myself. It was magnificent,” he said in awe.