by Linsey Hall
“There, ahead.” Cade pointed to the far right of the window.
I leaned over to get a good view, finally spotting a dark hole in the huge rock wall. Nestor seemed to spot it at that moment, too, and he careened for it.
He led us into the dark passage, and Caro expertly steered the vehicle through a tunnel that was covered in incredible rock formations. I let go of my control of the sea—there was no current in here—and dropped my sisters’ hands. We shared a grin.
Slowly, Caro drove us through the tunnel. I couldn’t help the sense of awe that filled me as we powered through the passage. When it made an abrupt upward turn, Caro expertly changed our course.
Nestor swam up through the tunnel, leading us toward the Titans. As we rose, the water became darker. Almost as if it were polluted.
“The Titans’ dark magic,” Maximus said.
I shuddered as it seeped into the sub, making the air stink of rot and decay. Without thinking, I gripped Maximus’s hand. It seemed that I was doing that a lot these days—reaching for him for comfort.
When the submersible popped up into a darkened cavern, Caro announced, “We’re here.”
I scrambled to the hatch, then popped the locks and pushed it open. Carefully, I tested the air. It was stale and humid, but breathable. Green light glowed from the ceiling, illuminating the large cavern that was filled with dark water. On one side, there was a ledge. I squinted up at the green light, using Artemis’s gift. It looked like some kind of plant life.
“How’s it up there?” Caro asked.
“Fine. There’s a ledge we can jump out at.”
“Roger.” She steered the sub toward the ledge.
The vehicle stopped, and I climbed out onto the rock, my friends joining me. Caro followed last and tied the sub off to a little rock outcropping.
I looked around the room. “There’s no exit from here that I can see. No wonder she said it’d be hard to reach the Titans.”
“I’m going to do some recon higher up in the cavern.” Bree’s silver wings flared from her back, and she took off into the air.
I turned around to see Nestor floating in the water, staring at us. His emerald eyes blazed through the dark. I grinned at him. “Thanks for the help.”
He bobbed his head. “Pay up.”
I laughed and strode to him. It didn’t take long to hop into the sub and grab the bag of Twinkies. As Bree flew around the top of the cavern looking for an exit, I handed the Twinkies out to my friends.
Cellophane wrapping crinkled as they unwrapped the cakes, and one by one, we threw them into Nestor’s mouth. He leapt into the air, snagging them with delicate accuracy.
He looked so happy that my heart warmed.
I glanced at Maximus. “Saving the world can be fun.”
He grinned and threw a cake. “Nestor’s a good one.”
In total, we probably fed him about thirty Twinkies, and by the time he was done, he had a blissed-out expression on his face. I waved at him as he left.
“Hey, guys?” Bree shouted from the ceiling. “I’ve found our exit, but you’re not going to like it.”
15
Bree landed gracefully in front of us, folding her silver wings into her back.
“Well, what does the exit look like?” I asked.
“It’s maybe an exit. I couldn’t see where the thing goes. It’s basically a rocky tunnel that leads straight upward, so we’ll have to wedge ourselves in and climb. If we fall, though…”
“Splat.” Ana grimaced. “I freaking hate heights.”
“But it’s the only way out of here that isn’t underwater, correct?” Maximus said.
“Exactly.”
“Then we have to try it,” Ana said.
I nodded, feeling for her. She really hated heights.
“I’ll stay with the sub as planned,” Caro said.
“Thanks.” Just in case we needed an escape route, we couldn’t lose the sub. If someone showed up down here, Caro would have to fight them off.
Maximus looked up toward the ceiling. “How will we get up there?”
“I’m strong enough to carry Rowan up,” Bree said. “But for you guys, I think Ana and I might tag team it.”
“In a pinch, I could manage alone,” Ana said. “But you’re all so damned heavy.”
Lachlan grinned and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Here.” Maximus’s magic swelled as he conjured sets of climbing gear, just like the ones we’d used back at Atlas’s fortress. He gave a quick demonstration.
“Safety first.” I grinned as I took the harness and equipment. “I’ll go first.”
Bree held out her hand, and I grabbed it. She pushed off into the air, silver wings carrying us high. My stomach pitched as my feet dangled, and I squeezed my eyes shut for just a second.
“Nearly there,” Bree said.
I opened them and looked down. My friends appeared tiny. Maximus stared up at me, his brow furrowed. The others looked up, too, though Caro sat on the ledge talking to Nestor.
“Okay, you’ll have to grab that rock outcropping,” Bree said.
We were all the way up amongst the strange rock formations on the ceiling. I could see straight up into a dark crevice that glowed with green light from the same stuff that clung to the main cavern walls.
Bree carried me toward a protrusion of rock near the vertical tunnel, and I grabbed on with my free hand. “I’ll let go of your other hand, then give your butt a boost.”
Since pulling myself up into the tunnel would be the equivalent of a pull-up, I wouldn’t say no to that. She let go of my other hand near the same ledge, and I grabbed on. Then she shoved on my butt, and I hauled myself up into the tunnel, wedging myself in the narrow rocky space.
“I’ve got it!” I said. “You can get the others.”
“Be back soon.”
I climbed a little farther into the tunnel, hammering in the first spike and hooking off my rope. My friends could hook off to the same safety spots, and if we fell, we’d hopefully avoid the splat that Ana had predicted. Safely attached to the wall, I peered down. Ana had shifted into her giant crow form and was helping Bree carry Maximus up. Her dark feathers gleamed under the glowing green light that filled the cavern. Maximus had grabbed onto one of Ana’s talons, and his other hand was gripped in Bree’s. He wore the harness with the rope coiled at his waist.
I grinned. “Good teamwork, guys!”
“Thanks, Coach!” Bree said.
They got Maximus close enough to grab the rock, and he hauled himself up into the tunnel behind me. He didn’t need a butt boost. Probably because he looked like he did pull-ups all day long.
“We’re going to get started,” I said to my sisters, who were headed back down.
“See you up there,” Bree said.
I began to climb through the tunnel, my hands slipping on the slimy green plant that glowed with a strange light. Maximus kept pace behind me. At one point, I nearly slipped, but he reached up and stopped me, pressing one big hand firmly to my butt.
“Thanks.” Despite the chilly sweat that formed on my skin as I climbed, his touch warmed me. Every ten feet or so, I hammered in more of the safety spikes.
“Any time.”
I glanced down to see Ana, Bree, Lachlan, and Cade following us in a line. The tunnel was so narrow that I could only spot parts of them at any one time, but they were all here.
By the time I reached another large room, I was panting. I scrambled out of the tunnel and onto a stone-paved floor, unhooking my harness and ropes. There was no glowing green plant life, so I shook my hand to ignite my lightstone ring. It gleamed golden, and I scanned the space, making sure we were alone. We were, thank fates.
I stood and inspected the large room more closely, looking for an exit. No luck. Just one humongous rock against the wall. Otherwise, it was totally empty.
Maximus climbed out of the tunnel behind me, and I turned to look at him. Grooves were carved in the
stone ground leading toward the hole from which we’d climbed. The rest of the team climbed out.
“I think we just climbed through a drain.” But for what? There was no water in here.
“This space is no longer used though. And since there are no doors…” He walked to an enormous stone boulder as the others climbed out of the drain. “I think this is the exit.”
“Really?” Bree shook her hand to ignite her lightstone ring and frowned as she walked closer to the boulder. “That thing has to weigh tens of thousands of pounds.”
Cade strode up to the rock and pressed his hands to it, concentration drawing his brow lower. His dark hair gleamed in the light of our rings.
“What’s he looking for?” I asked Bree.
“Probably magic.” She pressed her hand to the rock and concentrated, then frowned. “Yep, there’s a spell on this rock.”
“I think it will sound an alert if the rock is moved,” Cade said.
“Crap.” I frowned. “How the heck do we remove the spell? We’d have to know what the original incantation was.”
“I can break it,” Cade said. “Minor spell-breaking is one of my gifts.”
My brows rose, and I nodded appreciatively, vaguely remembering something along those lines. “Heck yeah. Let’s do it.”
I stepped to the side so I could watch him. He pressed his hands to the massive rock, and his magic swelled. It smelled like a storm at sea and sounded like clashing swords. His eyes blazed black, the green drowned out by darkness. His magic changed, filling my head with visions of battle and blood.
Magic snapped on the air, the spell that protected the door breaking.
He stepped back, grinning. “Done.”
“How do you do that, exactly?” I asked.
“God of war. Which means god of death, in a sense. Not like the true gods of death, but I have enough power to kill some spells.”
“Cool. Now we just need to move this big-ass rock.” I looked at Maximus. “Want to give it a try?”
He saluted, then moved to the side of the rock and braced his hands against it.
“One moment.” Lachlan stepped forward. “We don’t know what’s on the other side, so I’ll dampen sound. That thing might be loud when it rolls.”
Lachlan’s magic filled the air, smelling of leather and pine and sounding like distant thunder. Silence descended, and he nodded.
Maximus leaned into the rock and began to push, his muscles bulging and the veins popping. I joined my friends near him, my gaze intent on the moving rock, and reached for a stunner in my potion bag. It took a moment, but the rock began to move, grinding across the floor as Maximus shoved it aside.
He heaved the boulder two feet over, revealing a darkened corridor, then stood back and wiped his brow.
Nothing jumped out at us, but I didn’t release the potion bomb.
Maximus entered the dark tunnel slowly, then turned back and whispered, “Stairs.”
I followed him, with Bree behind me. The rest lined up behind her, and we crept up the dustiest set of stairs I’d ever seen. The room we entered was empty, though dark magic filled the large space. Misery and death permeated the walls.
I shuddered. Dungeon.
It hadn’t been used in a while, I didn’t think, but it was still horrible.
“There are more stairs over there.” Maximus pointed to the far wall.
We followed him to the stairs and began to climb. They were massive stairs, at least three feet tall, and it was a hard climb. At the top, there was a huge door. The handle was at Maximus’s shoulder height.
Titan-sized, like the stairs.
Why did they start right here, instead of deeper within the island? Perhaps the Titans didn’t realize there was an underground lake with access to their fortress?
Maximus gripped the huge door handle and tried to open it, but it held firm. He turned back. “Locked.”
“I’ve got it,” Bree whispered from behind me.
I pressed myself against the wall so she could slip by and trade places with Maximus. She pulled a little pouch from her pocket. Lock-picking tools. When we’d been young and on our own, her skills with a lock had given us many places to sleep. Though all three of us could pick locks, she was the best by far.
It only took a few minutes before she stood. “My tools were almost too small, but done.”
Her voice was so low I barely heard it, and I squeezed her arm in acknowledgement. She pushed open the door slowly and peeked out. Clearly satisfied, she exited. Maximus followed, then me. My heart thundered as I stepped into a quiet hallway.
It was absolutely enormous.
I pressed my back against the wall and looked up at the towering ceiling. It had to be a hundred feet high. The hall itself was equally wide, with an enormous carpet covering the length. Huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling overhead, but they were dark.
“I feel like I’ve shrunk,” I whispered.
“This whole place must have been built for the Titans’ size,” Maximus murmured.
I nodded as I looked down the hall in each direction. I had no idea which way to go, so I looked at my friends. They read the question in my eyes, and each of them shrugged.
“Left, then,” I whispered.
We headed down the hall, creeping silently along. At the end, we reached an enormous door. Maximus pushed it open just slightly, and I peeked out, feeling like a mouse.
It led outdoors, where the day was unnaturally dark. Shouldn’t it be bright out? The sun had been shining when we’d left Crete, and it wasn’t night yet. I looked up, spotting a dark gray dome of magic.
The protective charm that Jude had mentioned. Of course. No one would be getting in or out without the Titans’ permission. The fortress’s inner courtyard was enormous, with huge walls surrounding it. There were buildings situated within the space, all looking like they were of ancient Greek construction.
I ducked back in. “It’s empty. Totally.”
“Can you hear anything?” Maximus asked.
I poked my head back out and listened, using Artemis’s gift. After a moment, I caught the sound of chanting. I searched the courtyard, spotting a huge temple to our left. The sound was coming from there. I ducked back in.
“The only sign of life is coming from a temple. Let’s head there.”
Everyone nodded, and we slipped out of the door, sticking to the shadows as we hurried toward the temple. We had no idea how we were going to get the Titans to consume the weakening potion before we cast the binding spell, but we’d have to figure it out when we got there. It was just impossible to anticipate what would happen in situations like this.
Fortunately, the temple door was open. When I reached it, I peered around the side, catching sight of hundreds of black-cloaked figures. They stood in front of twelve massive statues, and I’d bet big bucks they were statues of the Titans.
The worshippers chanted something, just like the ones at Hecate’s lair. But this time, I could understand them. It was in ancient Greek, so my translation probably wasn’t perfect, but they were saying something about the Titans being great and mighty.
I frowned and pulled back, looking at Maximus. “Can you conjure us long black cloaks? With hoods.”
He nodded and his magic swelled on the air, just slightly. If I hadn’t been looking for the signature, I wouldn’t have noticed it. As he conjured the cloaks, everyone sneaked a peek into the temple. Finished, he handed the cloaks around, and we slipped them on.
I gestured for everyone to gather in a huddle. The six of us bent inward, and I whispered, “I think we should catch one of them and interrogate him. Maybe we can get a clue about the Titans and make this a little easier.”
There was a round of nodding.
Maximus laid a hand on Lachlan’s shoulder. “We’re fast. We’ll grab one and drag them out.”
I nodded. Both of them had magically enhanced speed.
“I can shield you,” Bree said. “Use a bit of illusion to hide y
ou.”
“Once you’ve got him, we’ll meet you in there.” I pointed to a nook in the temple wall. It was tucked behind a series of statues and would provide enough cover.
Maximus and Lachlan nodded, then flipped up their hoods and melted into the temple. Bree stood at the entrance, using her magic to hide them. The gift of illusion had come from Loki, and damned if it wasn’t handy in situations like this.
“Come on.” I grabbed Ana’s hand, and we slipped into the little alcove in the wall. Cade joined us.
I waited, muscles tense, until Bree joined us. A few seconds later, Maximus and Lachlan appeared, a cloaked figure held between them. Maximus had his big hand clamped over the man’s mouth.
I blinked at the guy, surprised. He looked young. And human. And normal.
What was a guy like that doing here, worshipping the Titans? Looks were deceiving, but still, I’d expected a bunch of miserable demons.
Fates, it must be their black magic. They were influencing more and more people as they grew stronger and their reach increased.
The man glared at me as I reached for my potions belt and withdrew a powerful truth serum. I pulled it out and looked at Lachlan. “You may want to dampen sound.”
He nodded, then said, “You’re good. We can hear, but anyone outside of our small circle won’t notice a thing.”
“Perfect.” I looked at the guy. “You’re going to drink this. It’s just truth serum, so it won’t hurt you.”
He shook his head violently, trying to throw Maximus and Lachlan off of him. It didn’t work.
“Fine.” I stepped forward and pinched his nose.
His eyes bulged. Maximus released his mouth, and when he opened it to breathe, I poured the potion in. Maximus put his hand back over his mouth.
Finally, the guy’s throat moved as he swallowed. Maximus removed his hand.
“Open your mouth,” I said.
The guy glared at me. I pinched his nose harder. It was a little thing, but it worked. The man opened his mouth, and I looked in. No potion. Fantastic.
Also kinda gross.
The things we do to save the world.
“Okay, we have some questions,” I said.
He just stared at me, his face set in belligerent lines.