by James Hunter
Antiope ran up, shield and spear held in her arms, a strange hairy pelt draped over one arm. She saw we were having a meeting and turned, but we stopped her.
“It’s okay, Antiope,” I said. “We’re just trying to figure out what to do. You can join us.”
She bowed. “I just came to bring you the spoils from our battle with your nemesis, Earl Echo Earl. It is my offering to you!” She thrust the woolly pelt forward and set it gingerly on the table. “However, I would stay, with your leave. I, like all the Amazons, am curious to know your plans for the next attack. Without the southern gatehouse, our city will be vulnerable. Dangerously so.”
“Yeah.” I sighed, fingers restlessly click-clacking on the table. “We know. We’re trying to figure out what to do.”
Antiope set her spear and shield down and picked up a fistful of dates. She ate them, one after another, listening intently.
Phoebe stood with her back to us, arms folded across her chest. Obviously, she had something on her mind, but I didn’t want to push her. She and Brontia had been close—best friends, sisters even—so I’d give her all the time and space she needed. Myrina seemed to feel the same way, since she said nothing. While I waited for the Rune-Caster to collect her thoughts, I examined the strange pelt, which ended up being an enchanted cloak:
Damn, what a find! I closed out of the screen and shrugged the new cloak into place, feeling a surge of raw strength as it curled around my shoulders.
Phoebe whirled around, drawing my gaze as I fastened the clasp in place. “We cannot lose more Amazons,” she barked, her face a thundercloud. “We must keep our sisters alive because now we know the true price of their resurrection. We have been fortunate, so far.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “This speaking is too slow.” She switched to messaging.
Much better. I can almost talk as fast as I think. Before, Jacob, you made some lame joke about god-mode, but I’ve been obsessing about that and the idea of a cheat code. From what you’ve seen, there are different ways to hack the system. While I’m not there yet, I’m hoping one day you and I can rewrite the whole gaming code. Until then, I think I might know of something that can level the playing field. In your video games, a big fucking kick-ass gun can really make the difference between life and death, yeah?
“I do enjoy powerful weapons that kick the ass.” Myrina nodded, completely serious.
Phoebe’s eyes were glued to my face. She was waiting for my reply.
“Yeah, Phoebe, sure. Give me a BFG 9000. One trigger-pull and we’d take out every enemy in sight. But I can’t unlock the final tier of Innovate until level forty, and we don’t have that kinda time.”
Phoebe shuffled around the mess hall, taking sips from a goblet of Mountain Dew, messaging us in a caffeine-fueled rant. Here’s the thing. Ever since we killed Praxidike, I’ve been thinking about the old god, Uranus. Prax was born from the blood of his castration. The Thymos Crystals, which we are in desperate need of, are actually petrified parts of Uranus’s body. Uranus was a great big dickbag who hated his children and wanted to shove them back into his wife’s womb. She raised a hand, as though to preempt my protest. Yeah, super gross and wickedly disturbing, I know.
Anyway, his wife helped her kids murder her husband by giving Cronus, the god of time, a scythe. Some say it was sickle made of flint, but from my research, I believe it was actually a scythe made of crystal. Just like our Thymos Crystals, but even older than that. We’re talking dawn-of-fucking-time shit right here. But if we could find the Crystal Scythe, we could use it not only as a power source, but also as weapon. It already killed one god.
With that kinda firepower on our side, we could go guerilla on Hades and his army. Bring the fight to ’em instead of endlessly playing defense. We get the scythe, infiltrate Hades’ temple, and you, Jacob, could put down that motherfucker Earl Necro Earl for good. Him and all his stooges. I bet if you killed all of Hades’ big shot lieutenants, that would level you up right quick. And then? Then you could recreate the sigil and we could seal off Hades and the underworld forever. Game … fucking … over!
“Fuckin’ A,” I muttered. “Nuke the site from orbit. I like it.” I grinned, trying to lighten the mood. “But there’s one wee little problem.”
“Yes,” Myrina interjected. “Where can we find this weapon?”
Phoebe sighed again. Yeah, it’s anyone’s guess what happened to Cronus. After he was overthrown by Zeus, rumor had it that the old geezer retreated to the Cave of Nyx. But it’s all really hard to follow since it’s ancient myth, and myths get all messy when writers retcon them. People should’ve left Homer’s shit alone, but everyone wants to create something unique. Whatever.
“If it’s a cave,” I said, “well, we’re sitting on top of a cavern metropolis. When we took out Stheno, we saw miles of caves, lava, even the rifts into the underworld. And Stheno’s sister, Euryale, she ran down a secret passageway. I saw it on a scroll when we were looting the lair.”
Phoebe smiled, spun over to me, and kissed my cheek. I bet you a million dollars that Euryale fled to the Cave of Nyx. Gaea created the Gorgon Sisters to help the titans fight the new gods, Zeus, Hera, and the gang. Gaea would’ve known about the Cave of Nyx and she would’ve told her daughter. Holy shit, my dude! I bet you Cronus is there, and I bet he still has the Crystal Scythe. I mean, sure, I could be wrong, but how can we not check at least? Right?
We both turned to see Myrina’s reaction. She pulled apart a glazed donut and bit into one half. She chewed.
Phoebe, Antiope, and I waited in expectation.
The Battle Warden licked her fingers.
“Uh, Myrina, what do you think? Should we go on a little spelunking expedition? See if we can’t turn up a lead on this Crystal Scythe?” I asked.
She gave us a weary look. “I hear maybe, and I hear might, and you speak of legends, and you speak of myths. There is no proof that Euryale’s secret passage led to the Cave of Nyx, nor that Cronus might still be there. Should we really set off on a quest when our city will likely be attacked in less than ninety minutes?”
Phoebe had an answer. Okay, so here’s the thing. If we can actually find the Cave of Nyx, we’ll be good. See, Cronus is the god of time, and in Nyx? Yeah, time doesn’t move at all there. We’ll be outside the normal flow of reality altogether.
“Meaning?” Myrina prodded.
Meaning that, hypothetically, if we took off like right now, once we reached the cave, time would stop for our city. For the whole island. Boom, we could relax a bit, get the Crystal Scythe, and then run back here for the 6 a.m. attack.
“I do not know. There is so much uncertainty in this plan. So much luck.” Myrina closed her eyes in exhaustion and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “Still, I suppose if you are quick and return in time, I do not see the harm. Such a weapon would aid us without a doubt. We have already seen the power of the War Blade, I can only wonder what such a thing as the scythe would be capable of.”
Antiope spoke up for the first time. “When we saw our war god change into the wolf, we were impressed with his power and it gave us hope. If we could win the Crystal Scythe, it would certainly strengthen our hearts and our faith in Jacob.” She smiled widely at me, a new glimmer of optimism in her eyes.
“Yeah, morale is critical,” I replied, nodding along, “especially when you’re the underdog. So, it’s settled. We take off for Stheno’s lair, right now. I’m thinking we have a small strike force, so that way if Earl is watching, it will be less likely that he’ll know we are gone. We’ll take all three generals, definitely, a couple Beastiamancers, a Forest-Witch, and of course Loxo for scouting.”
We should take Sophia as well, Phoebe sent. Sitting around the city won’t be good for her. She’s bumming hard after losing Vara.
“I would like to go, too,” Antiope said. “Speed is a concern, and I am the fastest of the Battle Wardens.”
“Yeah, okay,” I replied.
“Not okay,” Myrina countered, slapping a hand
on the table. “I will not leave the city, and neither should Phoebe. Her place is in the forge, and I cannot leave the city undefended. Not again.”
I offered a different plan. “What if we left the Shield of Perseus with Hippolyta? She’s already used it once to save the city. She could do it again. And if Phoebe is right, time will stop while we’re in the cave. It’ll be like we’ve been gone only a few minutes.”
“If she is right,” Myrina grumbled with doubt in her gaze. “Regardless, Phoebe will stay.”
Nope, not gonna happen, not this time, Phoebe messaged. You need my knowledge of the lore and the physics. I’m betting our messaging system won’t work in the Cave of Nyx. We’re talking old-school, primeval shit down there.
Myrina took Phoebe’s hand. “If I lose you, sister … If we lose you, no other Rune-Caster will ever be able to match your skill.”
“Never fear, sister, I’m way too cool to die,” Phoebe said with a self-assured smirk.
I messaged Asteria. Hey, whale girl, suck down that last mouthful of krill. We need you in a big way. We’re going underground.
Yes, footling land breather! I will come with a full belly and a fishy kiss for you.
Yeah, no time for that, I sent. And you might need to brush your teeth before we make out again.
Not a second later, Loxo broke into my mind. Hey, sexy. We found a new cave entrance not far from the city. I scoped it out a bit, and it looks like some sort of secret passageway that connects to Stheno’s lair. Not sure if this is the highway to hell that Earl has been using to move his troops, but it goes deep. So deep. Crazy-deep. Like my lust for you.
Loxo … damn … I’d thought that maybe after doing the deed, she’d be less flirty and shameless. Not a chance there.
We’re on our way, Loxo. Good work. Great news!
TEN
Deep Down Underground
The clock was ticking down, and we had to reach the Cave of Nyx in half an hour or we’d really be risking everything on this maneuver.
Things, however, fell into place quickly. Loxo had taken a miniature brazier and set up a teleportation pad near the secret entrance to Stheno’s cave about two miles from our southern gate. Sophia ferried Amazons over using her teleportation ability while Asteria acted as our CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, airlifting Buttercup, Thunderfoot, and their riders to the side of the mountain.
On her last trip, Asteria brought Phoebe in a contraption that reminded me of something out of a Rick and Morty episode. It was a steampunk mech, fashioned out of wood, brass, cogs, and beefy rivets. An iron firebox on the back generated steam, which wafted up in a small white plume from a central smokestack behind her left shoulder. Cog-studded servos sat at the shoulders, hips, elbows, and knees, driving sleek brass pistons, which were nearly silent. On the oversized arms were a series of automatic crossbows that looked as deadly as sin.
Not only would the suit allow Phoebe to keep up with us, it was one more badass weapon in our arsenal.
While I waited my turn for Sophia to grab me, I idly wondered if we were going to have to kill the god of time … Or maybe Loxo could just steal the Crystal Scythe without him noticing? Best-case scenario? He might join our cause. He’d battled Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades before.
Unlikely, but not beyond the realm of possibility—assuming, of course, that (a) he existed and (b) we could find him.
Sophia returned a few seconds later, and in short order, I found myself in the jungle, surrounded by boulders, facing a large fissure in the side of the mountain nearest to Lycastia City. I checked my watch. 5:15 a.m. Unless everything went to absolute hell, we had forty-five minutes before the next siege. We’d be cutting it close, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Hippolyta, I messaged, let us know if you see anything from the walls. Toxaris, any sign of enemy forces from the air?
Both my Battle Warden and the Beastiamancer atop Flutterhoney assured me the coast was clear.
Loxo and Sophia quickly disappeared into the crack in the mountainside, silently scouting the way. With Loxo’s handy-dandy Cartography ability, the maps on my gaming display filled in with every step she took. Myrina, Antiope, and Sabra went next, followed by our Beastiamancers, who walked, leading their mounts. The stony crevice was barely wide enough to fit Buttercup and Thunderfoot.
Phoebe’s steampunk mech didn’t seem like it would fit until she pulled on some straps and cranked an operating lever, which released pressure from the pistons and folded the arms in close. She could also bend the legs backwards in on themselves, so it was like she was walking on her knees. By the time she was done, she was able to narrowly squeeze her mech through the fissure and into the cave entrance.
I gave a last glance at the starry sky, which was growing brighter with coming dawn, before heading in after her. Rough-hewn stairs drilled down into oppressive darkness. Water trickled along the rocky walls and puddled on the floor. The whole place stank of nagas: an animal stink of filth, urine, and rot. The stairs twisted around and around, descending into the guts of the Earth.
I spun as I heard the inhuman scuttle of legs on stone behind me. A black widow the size of a horse scurried inside and then rushed over my head.
Even though I knew the spider was Asteria, it didn’t help my arachnophobia or my jackhammering heart.
She messaged me in passing. Sack of blood, I am here to make sure you are safe. Let us catch up to the other sacks of blood. The caves are cool, and the smells are sweet, and soon I will drink the ichor of our enemies. Lovely blood. Delicious blood. Wonderful blood!
All I could do was shake my head.
Phoebe’s mech had lanterns, which lit her way.
As for me, I drew the War Blade, and the crackling lightning dancing along the blade’s edge allowed me to see.
After descending for a solid thirty feet, the staircase leveled off and became a natural cavern. The grizzly and the bull had to creep and squeeze around stalactites and stalagmites. Phoebe walked her mech gingerly around the natural obstacles, her fierce yellow beams carving swaths into the darkness as she moved. The cavern dead-ended at a craggy wall, but our Huntress had her ear pushed up against the stone. We waited, listening to the water dripping, and I looked at my watch again.
5:35 a.m.
Neither Hippolyta nor Toxaris had reached out to me, so I hoped that meant they hadn’t been attacked yet.
We still had a problem. Twenty minutes up, at least fifteen minutes back to the city—even if time stopped for us right then, we’d arrive late.
We have to hurry, Loxo, I messaged. Is this a dead end or not? ’Cause if so, we need to head back ASAP.
No, Jacob, I see the trigger to open the secret door, but I hear noises on the other side. Growls, barks, and chatter. Should we just bust in and kick some ass?
I considered for a long moment. We’d cleared Stheno’s cave, which meant this place should’ve been empty. But it wasn’t. Was it possible we’d finally stumbled on the passage Earl had been using to move his troops? What were the odds that the attack force that was supposed to hit in less than twenty minutes was waiting on the other side of that wall? For once, we could get the drop on Earl. Yeah, let’s do it, I finally sent with a nod.
Loxo drove her dagger into what looked like stone, but instead, her blade slipped into something softer. Almost spongy. She twisted, and the entire wall split open and slid to the side.
On the other side was the lair of Stheno, the grand hallway where we’d killed her. We hustled through the secret door and into the enormous underground room hellishly lit by rivers of lava running under ornately carved bridges and gorgeously decorated platforms. Dozens of nooks, gazebos, and terraces lay all about the huge chamber. The statues of snake men, harpies, and Amazon warriors made the place feel like a maze. The stone figure of a petrified cyclops dominated the room, looming tall over Stheno’s ransacked pavilion.
Packed into the room were dozens of the three-headed dogs and the misshapen imps. They milled around witho
ut purpose, some nibbling at rotten meat, others lounging against jutting stalagmites. All that changed the minute they saw us. A chorus of howls filled the air, echoing off the cavernous ceiling as they surged into action, storming across the bridges to get to us. The imps chattered, the Hellhounds growled, and the stink of wet dog and locker room socks assailed us.
An imp, larger than the rest, stood on the top of the cyclops statue, one gangly arm hooked around the tip of the cyclops’s ear. Dark chainmail covered him, and in one hand he held an ornate flail, the chain crafted from a spinal column, the mace head made from a human skull. Obsidian spikes jutted out of the bone. When the imp chieftain whirled the flail around his head, the skull glowed toxic green. That sure looked familiar. A gift from Earl Necro Earl no doubt.
Bingo! This had to be the attack force, and we’d caught the slimy little bastards by surprise.
Long-dead naga corpses rose from the floor, brought back to life by the imp’s necromancy. The snake men’s scarred faces had rotted away to show their skulls underneath. Chunks of their decayed tails sloughed away on the stone as they slithered toward us behind the wall of imps, curve-bladed scimitars held in the air, ready for battle.
Myrina and Antiope rushed forward, setting their spears and shields, making a skirmish line. The Hellhounds and imps broke into a frenzied charge and launched themselves at the Battle Wardens. The two women adjusted without missing a beat and drove the points of their spears into the hearts of two of the Hellhounds. The imps on their backs leapt off, brandishing swords, axes, and spears. Several met their ends in a flash of my Amazons’ short swords.
And those that slipped by had Asteria to deal with.
She shifted from spider to redwood-sized snake in the span of a heartbeat. She whipped out her azure-colored tail and batted the imps into the air with bone-breaking force, sending them sailing back into the rivers of lava. Their shrieks were soon silenced as the molten rock turned them into charred BBQ briquettes.