Emblazed by Nikki Narvaez

worry about.
    The ground shook as Cerberus ran. Brielle tried to get his attention, throwing orbs
     of Akasha at him, but he ignored her attacks, concerned only with the soul attempting
     to escape.
    I ran after a frantic Brielle, who was unable to keep pace with Cerberus as he pursued
     her mother. I caught up to her before grabbing her around the waist and stopping her.
    “Let me go, Jace!” she cried as she pounded her hands on my arms and struggled to
     free herself from my grasp. If she really wanted to, she could have turned her powers
     on me and gotten away, but I knew she wouldn’t.
    “Baby, she’s trying to save us. She’s trying to distract Cerberus so we can escape.”“
    “No! I just found her! Mom, come back, don’t leave me!” she sobbed loudly as she slumped
     in my arms.
    The others had reached us, and I scooped a distraught Brielle in my arms. I quickly
     explained what was happening before we ran towards the Acheron.
    We reached the opening of the Underworld and there was no sign of Cerberus. I wondered
     if he was still pursuing Brielle’s mom, and I hoped she was okay.
    We stood along the banks, debating our next move. “Is the Acheron acidic?” I asked
     Zane.
    “Nah, just normal everyday water. So are we jumping in?”
    “I think that’s our only option,” I replied.
    I looked down at the water, then at Brielle in my arms. She was fixated on something
     off in the distance, quietly sniffling instead of sobbing.
    I felt her anguish morphing to rage slowly. She wiped her eyes with her palms before
     looking up at me. “Put me down,” she gently demanded.
    I opened my mouth to apologize, but she raised her hand and spoke first, “Don’t. I’ll
     get over it. You were only doing what you needed to, in order to protect me. So was
     my mother. Let’s go home.”
    She threaded her fingers through mine asa deafening roar sounded in the distance, followed by a light tremble in the ground.
     Turning to look behind us, I saw Cerberus barreling in our direction from about a
     mile and a half away. “Shit! Let’s go!” I yelled before jumping in with Brielle.
    The water awoke all my senses, and I gasped from the coldness when I came up for air.
     Brielle popped up after me, pushing the hair back out of her face as she sharply inhaled.
     The others jumped in after us, and we all swam away from the Underworld.
    As we rounded a corner, several splashes echoed behind us. I craned my neck around
     to look back around the corner, and wished I hadn’t. Dozens of demons were swimming
     after us, along with what I assumed were mermen.
    Men with pale green dolphin tails and long green hair leaped in and out of the water
     after us. “Zane, what the fuck are those?” I yelled.
    Zane looked around the corner, as well. His eyes widened before he answered, “Tritons.
     They’re what the mermaid legend is based off, but they’re definitely not like ones
     from the movies. They have teeth like a shark, and the ones down here are evil and
     carnivorous.”
    Shit. I grabbed Brielle’s hand and towed her with me through the water, swimming as fast
     as possible. Everyone swam frantically, desperately trying to distance ourselves from
     the Tritons and demons pursuing us.
    The sounds of their splashes grew closer, and dread filled my body. They were gaining
     on us, and were much faster than we were in the water. I pushed Brielle in front of
     me, wanting to put her the furthest away from the creatures.
    “Jace, stop. We have to face them. There’s no way we can outswim them. Kimber, let’s
     do this,” Brielle called out to her best friend.
    Brielle and Kimber positioned themselves in front of our group, facing the creatures
     that had just rounded the corner. The girls raised both their arms in the air, causing
     huge waves to swell and careen towards our pursuers.
    The demons floundered under the assault, being pushed down deep under the water. The
     Tritons, however, swiftly maneuvered through