The creatures had turned their attention to the child and were moving towards her.
Suddenly, hot spouts of magma flew up and caught one of them mid‑flight.
Blood, green and slimy along with bits of flesh fell into the magma down below. Some splattered on Kahlan.
Where the blood touched her, it burnt red and raw like acid.
Stung by the pain, Kahlan started away from the creatures.
But they were fast. They would soon catch up to her. The giant began struggling with his chains.
He wanted to help her. He felt like he would lose something precious to him if she got hurt.
"Its no use struggling" one of the creatures laughed at him, on seeing him struggling with the chains. "These babies were made in the forges of Hephaestus. Not even a god could get out of them.
Kahlan was trying to outrun the creatures. They were fast. It was only with the aid of the magma sprouts that she could effectively keep her life.
But she was injured and it got in the way of her escaping.
Frustrated, she yelled out to the giant "what are these things?"
"Skelries, they are Zeus's executioners. They were built to torture and maim" he replied her.
She was a bit puzzled. I mean she had heard stories about the Greek gods of lore, but quite frankly, she believed in fact and Greek gods seemed a bit of a stretch.
The giant was explainable. Maybe it was a science experiment gone wrong.
These creatures chasing her could possibly be radioactive AI machines.
It would explain the burns too.
Up ahead, she found a child sized cave and rushed into it.
The monsters swarmed around the mouth of the cave. Clawing at the rocks and seeking entry into it.
"Child" the giant called out to her. "Are you alright?" he stretched as far as he could. Angling his neck to catch a glimpse of the girl.
"Yeah" She whimpered out. Nursing her bleeding calves. One of the skelries had torn into it while she was running. It was taking all she could not to cry out.
She had to be brave. The Giant had probably endured more pain than this.
But he knew that she was in pain. It was like a sixth sense that linked the both of them.
He also knew that she was trying to hold her cries in.
'Brave child' he thought to himself. "I'll distract them. You, get out of here" he called.
"I'm not leaving without you" she yelled back.
But he had already started trashing around. As his blood dripped faster into the magma, walls of lava shot out.
The monsters turned back to him and set out to keep him in place.
They didn't want the place to cave in.
Kahlan took the distraction and ran out of the hole.
He had wanted her to leave, but she knew that she couldn't do it. She couldn't stomach the idea of never seeing him again.
After one of the lava walls receded. She ran to the edge of the ledge and jumped towards the island.
It was a far distance and she was more likely to fall into the lava.
But she took that leap of faith.
And he caught her. Just barely.
He had ripped the chain straight out of the ground in order to catch her.
"Foolish child" he mumbled softly. Bringing her closer to himself and away from the ledge.
Kahlan felt at peace now that she was with the giant.
But he was still bleeding, and a drop of blood fell onto her head from his injuries.
As the blood came in contact with her, a light shone and its brilliance made everything white for a moment.
Once the light receded, the chains broke off.
The giant stood up to his full height. His head brushing at the open enclave at the top of the cavern.
He held the child in his hand so carefully like she was precious jade. She was unconscious as all the adrenaline that kept her running seemingly washed off.
He used a fingertip to brush at her bangs. She was covered in bruises. Bleeding.
That seemed to set him off.
He turned his red furious eyes at the remaining skelries.
They shivered with fear.
The single layer of protection that kept them safe whilst they did their torturing was the chains. And right now, that protection was gone.
They were facing the full wrath of a Titan.
They fled. Of course they did. But the Giant did not let them go far.
One by one, he flung them all into the lava. Grinning at the shrieks they made as they burnt off.
But he was not satisfied yet. The child was wounded.
He felt a primal rage so raw. He had never felt nor imagined anything like this.
At first, all he had felt towards the little girl was compassion. At her foolish resolve to save him; A titan from his pain.
But there was a shift now. Something had changed. Right now, he felt her life as though it were his own.
He could feel her life force, her soul, lodged somewhere alongside his own. Their life bonds entwined to form one. He felt it grow stronger and stronger with each passing moment.
And that feeling was frightening. Yet at the same time, thrilling. He felt more alive at this moment than in the millennia he had lived.
His powers seemed to be bursting to its limit.
He beckoned to the magma and they rose to his command. Creating a path up and out of the cavern, drying up into smoldering rocks as his feet left each boulder.
With a few steps, they were outside.
The titan took a deep breath of the spring air.
Out here was a realm that wasn't open to humans. It was specially created as his prison.
He was chained to look up at the beauty of the world from the open roof of the cavern and yet chained down. Unable to reach it.
It was the most painful part of his punishment.
Yet now, it seemed his Elysium as he was here with this child.
His mate. Their bond seemed to whisper to him.
He had yet to come to terms with the complexity that that entailed.
He who had lived for eons of years had never ever come across that concept except for within the simplicity of the animal world.
Animals took mates, with whom they were bound to for life.
Although he knew that, he had never considered himself, or any other god ever having a mate. Even mortals didn't mate for life.
Yet when he considered the possibility of parting with the little one he held, his heart seemed to collapse in on itself.
He had to heal her, as he couldn't stand the thought of her having to endure any pain for much longer.
His wounds had healed themselves. However, he cut open his fingertip with his teeth and held it to her lips.
As she swallowed the golden liquid, she began to heal. At first slowly, then rapidly.
Her body also began to change. Gaining the sheen and radiance of godhood. Her skin cleared up, her brown hair shone glossily as if oiled and brushed a hundred times.
She became a million times prettier.
As the titan looked at her, he began to feel a fullness in his heart as it swelled to meet the growing affection he held for this little creature.
She was asleep now. No more unconscious.
He could feel the shift in her consciousness.
He could hear her dreams. Fuzzy sounds of her interacting.
Thoughtfully, he listened.
He was learning more about the bond they shared.
They could access thoughts.
That was new as it was unheard of to be able to read thoughts. Even for gods.
From her dreams, he could garner a little about her world.
'A lot has changed on earth' he noted.
There was a little river running by. He laid the girl on the grass and walked over to wash himself.
Taking a look at his reflection, he wondered if the girl would take a fancy to him.
His beard was all grown out and he looked like a wizened old man.
This wouldn't do.
He transformed himself into a fourteen year old version of himself and tidied himself up.
Taking a look at his transformation, he felt satisfied.
Blushing like a schoolboy, he wondered. 'How would she take to our bond?'