by Holly Hook
The monster dug one paw into Wendy's leg as if to hold her there.
And faced me with all three heads.
Mine, it meant.
I stared directly into six black eyes. Distant stars winked within them, but full of malice. An angry night sky. And I understood.
Serena.
She, the only descendant of Nyx in Cursed Academy, had created this dark force, not Wendy's mother.
"Stop!" I shouted.
Wendy whimpered. Ronin and Maria slid to a stop, just feet from the monster. Cal and Mikey lingered behind. Three mouths spilled drool on the stone. Cerberus glared daggers into me with all three heads.
"This isn't right," Maria said.
Cerberus growled. Mine. He dug claws into Wendy's skirt. She tensed, reaching under for her weapon, pupils wide in confusion.
"Get me out of here," Wendy hissed. "And I won't kill any of you when I'm done here."
"Get away from her," I ordered Cerberus, stopping with the fake dagger pointed at the middle head. My heart raced in my ears. "Wow. Great friend you have, Wendy."
"Friend? Just get me out of here. He's heavy. I can't move."
"Serena's controlling him." I circled on the giant dog, keeping my dagger raised, maintaining just enough magic to keep the sparks dancing around the tip. They reflected off darkness and stars. "She doesn't want you to have other friends. Is that it?"
Wendy's eyes widened.
Yes.
"Okay. Enough with the girl chat." Ronin stepped in front of me. For a moment, I'd forgotten he and Maria were there.
Cerberus growled. It was a feminine growl, almost, but no less terrifying. Ronin steeled his gaze and flexed his biceps. Only he wasn't just showing off. This was serious. He needed this too badly.
My heart raced. "Don't get too close. That force. We saw what it did--"
Cerberus released Wendy's leg and charged Ronin.
The two crashed together as Maria backpedaled, then joined the fray. The space in front of me turned to thrashing bodies, snapping dog heads, kicking legs and trickling blood. The force. It would possess Ronin. Maria. The two hugged Cerberus, trying to overcome him. They rolled closer to the deadly water of the River Styx. My arms trembled. I couldn't shoot sparks without hitting Maria or Ronin. Then I would have to--
Loud techno blasted through the vast chamber.
And as the beat rose, Mikey's smooth, perfect singing voice, something I had never seen before, blasted with it.
Footfalls approached as the fighting slowed. Cal held up his phone, cranked to full volume, as Orpheus's first song from Prison of the Dead washed over the fight.
Mikey's voice, though it was so loud that the words were distorted, hit me. I swayed on my feet before I shook my head. The fight slowed. Cerberus's heads snapped a couple more times, one at Maria and the other at Ronin, before the monster drew away from the battle, leaving the two of them grasping the ground with blood running down their arms. Ronin blinked, stunned.
And Mikey continued to sing something about an underground cage.
Cerberus's black eyes softened as he slowly approached Cal and the blasting music. It was good. Very good. Ronin stood and despite the scratches on his arms, he swayed on his feet, a blank look in his eyes. Maria looked to me and grinned. Mikey's voice didn't affect us girls as badly.
And Wendy slowly rose, sword in hand and jaw dropping.
I lowered the dagger. "You okay?" I joined Maria. Her scratches were shallow. Her strength had come through.
"Um, Ronin?" I asked. "Can you, like, throw Cerberus in the river?" He was almost to Cal, who backed off step by step. All three heads trained on Cal's phone.
Ronin shook his head. He needed this.
"Throw him?"
"Serena made that dark force. We have to get rid of it!" I had to shout over the music.
"That bitch," Wendy said, sidestepping to stand beside Cal. "That jealous bitch. She did do this. That's her magic." She balled her fists as color flushed her cheeks.
"We'll explain later," I said. Cerberus closed the last few feet between himself and Cal. What would he do when he reached Ronin's friend? And Mikey? Mikey still stood very close, and if something happened to Cal--
Ronin charged Cerberus.
Maria ran after him, but I held up a hand to stop her. And amazingly, she did.
"He needs me," she shouted.
"He needs this."
Ronin wrapped his arms around the torso of the unsuspecting, possessed monster. Grunted. Lifted. Four massive dog legs kicked as Ronin turned to the river, waddling, holding Cerberus in front of him as if he were a toddler throwing a tantrum. Ronin's muscles bulged. Sweat rolled down his temples. Ronin grit his teeth as he walked downhill. Cal kept up the music. Mikey sang a line over and over about the gates of the dead opening, voice impossibly smooth and divine.
Ronin lifted the massive dog. Something popped in his back. Cerberus turned all three heads, trying to go back to Cal. But Ronin reached the bank of the river, which sloped downward at a scary angle, and just heaved Cerberus towards the black, flowing ink below.
Time slowed. Cal turned off the music. Air parted with a faint whistle as Cerberus flailed and crashed into the river below. Water rose in a geyser from the impact. Ronin backpedaled from the falling drops, and another joint popped as he did, but the water--and the peddling three-headed dog now flailing around on its surface--settled down with an eerie whisper.
Cerberus turned all three of his heads to face us. The green glow had returned to them. Black smoke--Serena's possessive power--poured from his nostrils and merged with the deadly water. The monster peddled towards us, but then a force from below pulled downward, and all three heads vanished underwater, caught in an undercurrent.
And as the river took our obstacle away, Ronin turned towards us with his trademark stupid grin and flexed his biceps.
Chapter Sixteen
"Ronin. That was amazing," I said, jumping into his arms.
"It wasn't easy," he said. "Without Cal...you know, never mind. My brute strength and these massive guns just won us entry to the main part of the Underworld." He let go, flexing again.
"Ronin," Maria said with mock disgust.
"I told you our album was amazing," Mikey said. "Just not in those words." He separated from Cal, looking to make sure he wasn't putting more than a few feet between the two of them. "You just heard a preview of The Gates Open."
Cal smiled proudly as Mikey, probably feeling the pressure of his monstrous changes, shuffled back to stand with him.
"It was great," I said. If we got out of here, I wanted to hear the rest of their album.
Wendy brushed herself off and lowered her sword. I'd forgotten about her.
"So Serena is my mom's little Nazi," she said, glaring at me as if it were my fault. "What was that about? Who else could have possessed Cerberus like that? That was Nyx's power in his eyes. And Nyx doesn't even live in this part of the Underworld. Her palace is pretty close to Chaos, actually." Demands for answers burned in Wendy's dark eyes. I was to speak, and now. Had I told Serena about this little adventure?
"We...had a problem after we talked in the mall," I said. "Ronin and Natalia and I...we thought your mom did something to our car. Natalia got possessed, and I drew the power out of her and spit it out, and it must have come here afterwards. Serena. Oh, crap. She had time to do this while we were in the store talking. I didn't know she could even do something like that!" I stiffened, waiting for her to attack. I was to thank for this awesome near-death experience. But Ronin had already stepped in front of me, ready to take whatever Wendy had to dish out.
But Wendy, instead of attacking me, moved her sword to scrape the stone behind her. "I didn't think she was manufacturing spirits."
"You don't want to kill me?" I asked.
"I should have known Serena would try something. She's been trying to sponge off my money since I got to Cursed Academy," Wendy said, seething with hurt. "I guess she thinks if someone else
is ever my friend, she won't get to. Joke's on her. Oh, and it looks like this river doesn't have any crossing points right here. We'll have to walk and hope for the best."
What was Wendy saying?
That we could possibly be friends? I looked to Maria and Mikey, who both shook their heads in amazement.
But she left her words hanging there and turned away from us. Wendy motioned for us to follow her.
And then Ronin slipped his hand into mine and smiled. For the first time in months, I saw victory in his eyes. Worth. Yes, he needed to be the hero.
I tucked my fake Chaos Dagger back into my belt and scanned the river for any sign of the monster surfacing, but the water stayed smooth. Cerberus must have been taken far from here, hopefully to a point far down the river. The fog remained thick, revealing nothing on the other side, though the shoreline changed, turning rougher in spots with moss clinging to rocks. Ronin grabbed my hand during those points, helping me not trip. At times, we lost sight of the outer walls of the Underworld and walked through what felt like an expanse of fog. But the wall always came back, and sometimes tunnels branched off from here, sloping back up to the surface.
But distance seemed strange down here, both short and enormous.
"How are we going to find our way back?" Mikey asked Cal just behind me.
"Looks like any tunnel will lead back to the surface," he said. "We'll get out. We come out in some other country, and we catch a flight. Ronin has the money."
"No comment," Ronin said.
"Over there," Wendy said at last.
She had stopped, sword now on her belt, and pointed. Ahead, the shore smoothed out some, though rocks still dotted the landscape. They poked out of black water as the shore merged with the river, and then I saw what Wendy was saying. Scattered rocks formed a natural bridge across the River Styx, a series of scattered, natural stepping stones. I couldn't tell if they reached the opposite shore or if anything would wait for us there, but it was clear the water was shallow here.
I gulped. "Uh, oh."
Wendy whirled on us. "We have no other way across. We're not going to come across a scenic bridge down here." She gripped her sword, but her hand was shaking. With a frown, she steadied herself. Was she even scared to do this?
Yeah. There would be ghosts over there. Other rivers, including the one we needed. And worse.
I didn't know if this water could kill me, but it could kill everyone else here.
Wendy took a breath. "I'll cross first."
Ronin gulped beside me and loosened his grip on my hand for a second. "I was going to offer."
"Wendy has the best chance of making it," I said.
"Good point." Ronin looked at me like he couldn't believe any of this. Wendy, working with us. Denouncing Serena, too.
No way.
"She's going over," Maria whispered in my ear.
Wendy had already walked to the water's edge and put her foot on the first rock, a flat one worn down from a time when the river was higher. Then she put her foot on another. And another, taking big steps across the deadly water as her black skirt flowed. Wendy slowly vanished into the greenish fog. I tensed, waiting for a splash and a scream, but none came.
"The fog clears over here," Wendy said. "Hop on over. And have fun."
"She has a sense of humor?" Mikey asked.
Cal grinned. "Miracles happen every day."
"Maybe when she's about to get her way," I whispered.
"I'll go next," Maria and Ronin said at the same time. Then they stared at each other.
"I was hoping to get it over with," Mikey said.
"Come on. It's not that difficult," Wendy said. "The rocks are dry." Her voice echoed in a chilling manner.
Maria and Ronin went next, hopping across and disappearing, and no splashes came with them, either. "Over!" Maria shouted.
Mikey and Cal followed, hand in hand for more reasons than one. That left me, and it turned out the rocks were dry and I could keep my footing, though I had to take large steps over the shallow water at some points. The trip across the river seemed to take minutes, but it was actually likely only seconds, and I had a moment of panic when I looked back and saw I could no longer see the shore I had come from. Everything was thick green soup. But I took two more steps, almost losing my balance, and then the fog thinned and I could see my friends' outlines on the opposite shore, waiting for me, and another step later, my field of view expanded. Though the green glow remained, lightning everything, I could see Ronin, Maria, and the others standing at the base of a dark, grassy hill that sloped upward, carrying the land out of sight. The top of a massive temple, complete with dark pillars, waited there.
Wendy caught me looking. "The dead are judged there and sent to whatever part of the Underworld they deserve. We can safely skip that place, if I remember correctly."
"The dead. Are judged," I said with a shudder.
"We're not dead," Wendy said. "The three judges of the Underworld can't stop us."
A cold whoosh of something washed over me, and again and again. Ghosts. I could barely make them out, but they seemed to be gathering in this place from every angle. The eerie quiet had turned into eerie activity, bringing that low thrum of dread to the air again. Or maybe that was Wendy, tapping her foot.
"Come on," she said. "We're about to cross the Asphodel Meadows, which should be at the top of this hill. Most of the dead go here. It's for average people. Don't pick the flowers, though. Let me pick them because I should be able to handle it. The blooms should be less potent once we reach the surface world and safe for the rest of you to handle."
"Excuse me?" I asked. Was she lying to get what she wanted?
Wendy sighed. "I'm serious. You'll see. I need you guys alive so you can help me get to Olympian Academy. Down here, the asphodel is probably too powerful for all of you. It might even kill. Just an intuition I have."
"Is that concern?" Ronin asked.
I slapped him on the arm. Things were going better and I didn't want to ruin anything.
“Maybe. Don't push it,” Wendy said. “Come on. Try to ignore the spirits. They can't hurt us in most cases.”
“In most cases?” Mikey asked.
“Don't play your music,” Ronin warned Cal. “They might not appreciate all the references.”
Cal snorted. I was glad for the humor.
We climbed the hill, and as we did, the dark stone slowly turned to packed dirt and eventually, loose dirt that nobody living had ever stamped down. Dark, tall grass slapped at my jeans.
And then we reached the top and stopped at the side of the judgment temple.
A vast field, overcast with high green mist, spread out before us. The space appeared empty, but the chill of spirits settled over my skin and drew a shudder from my spine. Ronin wrapped his arm around me. It didn't help much, and not even his electricity cast away the feeling of dread. Only Wendy stepped ahead, surveying the tall grass, the scattered white flowers, and the distant, distant palace, made of dark marble, that overlooked the miles of grassland that we'd need to cross.
And then I saw them.
The air itself seemed to warp and shimmer, and a moving gray film over everything made me blink. Then I realized. There were so many spirits here that they were just part of the environment, blending with everything else, crammed together in an area the size of a small city. I gulped. “Um, this isn't right.”
Wendy faced me. For the first time since getting down here, confidence bloomed over her face and she turned her red lips up into a smile. “They won't hurt us. And the Underworld doesn't work the way the surface world does. Space means nothing here.”
“Why did you need me again?” I asked.
“Because,” Wendy said. “I'm not sure how facing Hades will go, even with me here. He won't appreciate visitors, probably. And during the this time of the year, his wife's not here to keep him in check.”
Chapter Seventeen
“You want me to help you face Hades?” I asked. “Ho
w is that going to work? What if I have to fight him? I'll go dark and destroy him, which wouldn't be cool since he's never done anything to us.” He hadn't been there with the other Olympians that day, laughing at us Cursed kids while we fought over a stupid trophy.
But he also hadn't been there at all.
“Your presence could help me persuade him to let us get through to the border of the Elysian Fields, where the River Lethe is located,” Wendy said. “That won't be easy to reach. The Elysian Fields is where heroes go when they die."
"Then why can't we get a preview?" Ronin asked.
“This was easy?” Mikey asked.
“It was only difficult because of what Serena did,” Wendy said. “Otherwise I probably could have just petted Cerberus and given him a dog treat.” She reached into the pocket of her skirt and produced one. I didn't know what shocked me more: the fact that she had a dog treat or the fact that her skirt actually had pockets.
“Are you serious?” Mikey asked. He looked to Maria, who shook her head.
Wendy pocketed the treat. “He might be there when we head back. Come on. From what my Magical Meditations have told me, the only two ways to get near Elysium are through being judged or through Hades himself. And since we're not dead, we have one option.”
Gulp. "I don't like this."
"Me, neither," Ronin said. All his confidence shriveled like a raisin.
"Orpheus played music for Hades," Cal said. "We could try. He might buy a copy of our album."
"Dream on," Ronin told him.
Well, it was better than nothing. "So, we cross this big field?" I asked.
Yep.
Wendy waved us straight into the moving, rippling air--the spirits of the dead--and just mowed right through like she was Randy on his rider. But to my shock, the almost-invisible ripples parted for her as if they sensed her authority.