by Linsey Hall
“We’re looking for the Stryx,” I said. “We understand that they worship you, and Tiresias said that you would know where to find them. And maybe what their goal is in raising the Titans.”
She nodded, an annoyed glint in her eyes. “Tiresias.”
“He’s never wrong.” So don’t try to fake that you don’t know.
She scowled. “Fine. Yes. The Stryx worship me, as everyone clever does. And I’ll tell you where they are, but I don’t know that it will help you. Now that they’ve raised the Titans, they’re impossible to defeat.”
“We’ll take care of that,” Maximus said.
“Where are they?” I asked.
“They have a fortress on the island of Lektos, sixty miles off the coast of southern Greece. It is located directly beneath the Mage’s Star. It’s a place they built long ago, specifically for the Titans.”
“They’ve been planning to raise them for a while?” I asked.
“Planning?” She laughed. “The Stryx aren’t the ones in control, dear. The Titans are.”
Cold fear raced down my spine. Until now, I’d considered the Titans to be weapons. Powerful weapons. Basically, nuclear weapons. But not the masterminds.
“What do you mean, exactly?” Maximus said.
“Just what I said. The Stryx are powerful witches. The Titans are essentially gods. And as they grow stronger, they take their rightful place.”
Okay. Okay. Chill.
I should have expected something like this. I’d been so obsessed with the Stryx that I’d developed tunnel vision, but I didn’t have to stay that way. Obviously, the Titans would be the bosses. They’d come out of Tartarus weak from their time in captivity, but their strength was growing.
“This fortress on Lektos, what’s it like?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Big. Impossible to overtake. The walls are impenetrable.”
She was so delighted when she said it that I believed her.
“By an army, you mean,” Maximus said.
“Of course.”
“But a smaller group could sneak in,” he said.
“Perhaps. I’ve heard there’s a tunnel under the water.” She shrugged. “Could be an old wives’ tale. But what is a small group going to do in there? They can’t fight the Titans. Not as they continue to grow stronger. They’ll be invincible soon.”
“Their dark magic is growing,” I said.
“Oh, yes.” Hecate grinned. “So many more supernaturals and humans are turning to the dark side than ever before. Why, in the last few days, the number of my worshippers has tripled.”
Damn. “So you don’t want me to stop the Titans or the Stryx.”
“Of course not.” She waved her hand dismissively. “But you won’t be able to. I’m giving you your answers because you won our race, but I also don’t think you’ll actually be able to stop them. So no harm.”
My jaw tightened. She’d be wrong about that. I’d make sure of it. “How is the Titans’ dark magic growing? Where is it coming from? Is it because they’re no longer bound by Tartarus?” That was Jude’s running theory, at least, though we didn’t really know.
“You’re asking a lot more questions than we agreed to.”
“We didn’t agree to a specific number.”
She sighed, her eyes flashing in annoyance. Her lips tightened. Yeah, she was getting peeved. She’d started out pissed, and it was only getting worse. When she spoke, it was reflected in her voice. “There’s a common understanding of how many questions one gets to ask after succeeding in one measly challenge.”
“So, if I wanted to ask more questions, I’d have to beat you at more challenges?”
“If I agreed to them, which I won’t. Not after you stole my dogs. You may have won, but I don’t like how you did it.” Anger flickered in her eyes.
I needed to tread lightly. Pissing her off when we were this deep in her domain was a bad idea.
“How did you do it, by the way?” Hecate leaned forward. “Convince my dogs, I mean.”
I grinned. “Artemis. She has the most amazing magic. I can communicate with animals.”
Hecate huffed out a breath and sat back. “Oh, Artemis has the most amazing magic? Artemis?” She sounded pissed. Was there a history between her and Artemis I didn’t understand? She shook her head. “Coming into my home. Taking my dogs. Then insulting me.”
“It wasn’t an insult!” Uh-oh.
“Oh, it wasn’t? You come in here and say to my face that Artemis has the most amazing magic?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you.”
“Not like, more amazing than yours,” I said. Oh shit. I’d forgotten how fickle the gods could be. How obsessed they were with status and their petty grievances.
And Hecate’s thing was her pride. I’d been told.
And still, I’d put my foot in my mouth. Shit.
Anger was vibrating around Hecate now, and we’d definitely reached a turning point. I glanced at Maximus, whose muscles were tense. He was ready to move.
He met my gaze and nodded.
Time to get out of here.
“Thank you for the answers.” I stood. “We should be going now.”
“Oh, I think you should be.” She stood, raising her arms. The emerald fire flared bright behind her, and the purple-flame chandelier popped with light. The two colors were reflected in her eyes, and her face took on a crazed expression. Her dark hair began to float around her head, and in that moment, she looked a hell of a lot like the Stryx.
I backed up. “Right. Thanks again!”
I turned and ran, but not before I caught sight of the dirt at the edges of the room moving. We were surrounded by the ring of earth in the large circular room, and the crumbly black stuff was shifting. Hecate’s magic was filling the space. It reeked of rotten vegetables and sulfur, making it hard to breathe.
All around, a loud groaning noise sounded. The dirt in front of the gravestones shifted more. Wait, was that noise coming from inside the graves?
“Necromancy,” Maximus said.
Oh fates. One of her powers was freaking necromancy.
As soon as the thought formed, a hand shot out of the dirt closest to me. We were almost to the smoke-filled archway that acted as the exit, but we were too slow.
Bodies began climbing out of the graves, half-rotted corpses that clawed their way out of the dirt.
Oh, hell no. Not zombies!
Chapter Twelve
The zombies rose out of the dirt around me, and I shuddered.
I hated zombies.
They groaned and staggered toward us, moving quickly. None of those slow, old movie zombies. Nope, these were as fast as humans.
Side by side with Maximus, I sprinted through the smoky archway. Hecate’s laugh was the last thing I heard, and it turned my skin to ice.
We spilled out into the huge cavern with the acid lake. It glowed blackly under the diffuse light coming from the ceiling.
“Left!” Maximus shouted.
We ran left, sprinting around the side of the lake. I looked back, spotting the zombies following us from Hecate’s lair. There were dozens of them, and they were fast. Their clothes and bodies were in every stage of decay, but all of them seemed to have their eyes.
They watched us, ravenous and evil. Maybe they hadn’t been evil in life, but now that Hecate had gotten her claws into them, they definitely were.
And they were gaining on us.
Shit. No way we could fight them all. And they were going to overtake us. They were faster than humans.
We needed to stall them.
I glanced at the lake, and an idea popped into my head.
I reached for Poseidon’s magic, letting it fill my chest with bright, sparkling magic. The water called to me, and I commanded it to rise up as a giant wave. As the lake surged upward, I could feel it like it was part of myself. It formed a massive tidal wave, headed straight for the zombies.
The water crashed down on them, and the creatures hissed. As th
e wave receded, some were sucked into the lake. Others writhed on the ground as the acid ate at their decayed flesh.
“Nice work,” Maximus said.
We sprinted faster, and I glanced backward to check on the zombies. My stomach dropped when I spotted a dozen of them climbing to their feet. They were in way worse shape than they had been, but they were still fast.
“They’re coming!” I shouted.
Maximus looked back, then drew his sword and shield from the ether. “I’ve got this.”
He turned and sprinted for the zombies, weapon raised. He moved like a train, so fast and strong that he was nearly to them by the time I processed what he was doing.
He reached three zombies first and swung his sword. It was so long and his strike so fierce that he beheaded them all in one fell swoop. I wanted to whoop like I was at a sporting event, but we’d be better served if I actually got into the fight.
I drew my blade from the ether and ran for him. He’d already cut two other zombies off at the waist and was moving on to the others. Before I reached him, three zombies crawled from the water to my left. I spun to face them, but they were fast. One was on me in an instant.
Fear tightened my muscles.
The creature’s skin was hanging from its face, and its eyes bulged as it clawed for me. I swung my sword for its arm and took it off. The zombie reached out with its other arm, and I went for the head this time. It toppled to the ground and splatted like a melon.
I’d have gagged if I’d had the time, but another zombie was already on me. I swung for its neck, taking it out easily. The third was harder, coming up so fast that I barely spotted it. The creature reached for my waist, getting its claws hooked into my jeans’ pocket.
It yanked, trying to pull me toward it.
No way in hell.
I heaved backward, using all my strength to break away from the monster. My jeans tore, and I watched with horror as a tiny black stone flew out of my pocket and into the air.
I lunged for it, trying to grab it, but a fourth zombie appeared from the side. He was so fast that I hadn’t seen him coming. He swung his hand for me, trying to smash his fist into my face.
Instead, he smacked the airborne transport charm, sending it flying into the lake.
It splashed into the middle.
My heart dropped.
Oh fates.
There was no way we could retrieve that.
“Rowan! Watch out!” Maximus’s shout snapped me to attention, and I spun, spotting the two zombies as they reached for me.
I lunged out of the way, throwing myself to the ground. I rolled to face them, swinging my sword wildly. I smashed one right through the middle, and two zombie halves landed on either side of me, smacking to the ground with a squishy thud. The other zombie threw itself onto me. I barely got my legs up at the last minute and kicked it off.
I scrambled to my feet and lunged for the creature on the ground. It was pushing itself upward, and I swung my sword for its neck and took off its head in one clean swoop.
Panting, I stumbled back and searched for more. All of me ached from slamming to the ground. Maximus had just finished off the last zombie and was surrounded by more than a dozen of them, all in pieces on the ground.
“Let’s go!” I shouted.
He turned to me, then sprinted forward.
From behind him, Hecate stepped out of the smoke-filled archway. Rage flamed in her eyes, and she raised her hands.
Ah, shit.
Maximus reached me, and I said, “I lost the transport charm in the lake.”
At that moment, Hecate’s magic swelled and the lake bubbled.
Maximus nodded once. “Let’s get out of here and figure it out on the surface.”
Something burst from the lake, and Maximus’s eyes widened. My heart leapt into my throat as an enormous sea snake rose high. Bright purple scales and green eyes glinted, along with fangs at least three feet long.
“Go!” I shouted.
We raced around the lake, covering the distance in record time. The snake struck for us, but we darted out of the way each time. My muscles burned, and I felt like my feet had wings. I’d never moved so fast in all my life.
We were near the exit when a roar sounded from behind us. I glanced back, spotting four enormous boar-like creatures climbing out of the water. Shaggy fur coved their hulking bodies, and enormous horns protruded from their snouts. They turned their fiery eyes on us.
Then they charged.
Panic gave me speed, and I sprinted through the blue and purple flames that filled the arch. The massive room on the other side was still full of cloaked worshippers, forming a nearly impenetrable barrier between us and the exit.
“Get behind!” Maximus plowed through the crowd, parting them with his sheer bulk.
But we were still too slow. Frantic, I looked back. The crowd had closed in around us, but the monsters were still coming. They had to be.
As if on cue, they burst through the flaming archway. They were easily eight feet tall, towering over the crowd. Shrieks broke out, and the cult members began to run, heading for the sides of the room. There were arches that way, too, that I hadn’t noticed. Other exits, no doubt.
We kept heading for the main stairs, though. As the crowd thinned, we could move faster. Unfortunately, so, too, could the hellhogs.
We reached the stairs and sprinted upward. My lungs and legs burned, but I never slowed. Pounding hoofbeats sounded from behind us as they charged up the wide stairs.
Panting, we spilled out into the crossroads. Carriages rolled through the streets, but we sprinted right into the road, dodging the oncoming vehicles.
My heart thundered in my ears as I ran, but the curses of demon carriage drivers sounded through the noise.
When the world went silent and the carriages stopped moving, I nearly stumbled. I would have, if I hadn’t been frozen solid, mid run.
All around, the carriages had stopped. I couldn’t even hear the sounds of the hellhogs’ hoofbeats. Next to me, Maximus looked like a statue in mid sprint.
What the hell?
Dark magic rolled over me in a heavy wave, and my limbs unfroze. I staggered forward, catching myself. Maximus did the same, but the rest of the world stayed frozen.
“I must say, you’re not what I hoped for.” The icy, masculine voice came from the left.
I spun, spotting an enormous man sitting upon an ebony throne, right in the middle of the street.
Hades.
He pinned me with his blazing blue eyes as he tapped his golden scepter against his knee.
“I can’t say that I had any expectations of you.” As the words left my mouth, I remembered the experience with Hecate. “Except that you would be immensely powerful and majestic.”
“Laying it on a bit thick, but I appreciate the effort.”
I shrugged. “I’m not used to being around gods.”
“Well, don’t get used to it.”
From his tone, he obviously did not like me. “Why did you give me your power if you don’t like me?”
“I don’t have to like you.” His gaze turned somewhat wistful, which was weird as hell on such a scary-looking dude. “Though I admit to hoping that you would embrace it more. I wanted to offer you all the bounties of hell. To allow you to sit next to me on my throne.”
Wait, what? “During the months when Persephone isn’t here?”
“Precisely. I gave you one of the most powerful gifts in the universe. And you use it, but you don’t embrace it. The darkness could have been your kingdom, but you reject it every time.”
Um, no thank you. “I don’t want to be part of the darkness.”
“Clearly not. Your loss. I don’t think you’re even capable.” He shook his head, disgusted.
Briefly, I wondered if he would take his magic back, now that I’d proven myself unworthy of hell.
An immediate sense of loss filled me.
I hadn’t liked this power, but I’d come to terms
with it. It was worth it for the good it could do. And now that Hades was here, telling me to my face that I was a dark magic failure…
Well, I felt a heck of a lot better.
Failure to him was success to me, and I’d take it.
I just didn’t want to lose the death power. Crazy as it was to say, I meant it. And considering all that, I thought it meant I’d come to terms with it.
“I’m sorry, Hades. But I’ll do great things with your magic. I promise.”
He scoffed. “Perhaps.” His gaze ran up and down my form. “You are powerful, at least. That says something.”
“Thanks.” I guess. The tone was so dismissive that I wasn’t sure what to make of it. But he seemed done with me, his form already starting to fade as he disappeared.
I stepped forward. “Is there any chance you could help us get out of here? Back to earth, I mean.”
“No.” He was already deathly bored with us; that was clear. “And those hellhogs are still coming for you.”
With that, he disappeared.
Sound and movement blared to life all around. Carriages started moving, demons shouted. And we were standing right in the middle of it all.
Shit.
“Come on.” Maximus grabbed my arm and yanked me forward.
I sprinted alongside him, glancing back to see the hellhogs appearing at the top of the stairs leading from Hecate’s lair. I turned and ran faster, catching sight of a familiar cloaked figure walking out of a doorway, her arm draped around a woman with pale hair.
I tugged on Maximus’s arm. “This way!”
We turned right at the sidewalk and ran toward Mordaca and Aerdeca. Mordaca’s eyes widened when she spotted us. Aerdeca stiffened, her beautiful face even paler than normal.
“Are you going home?” I shouted.
Confusion creased Mordaca’s brow. “We are.”
“Let’s go now!” I skidded to a stop in front of her. “Do you have a transport charm? Can we hitch a ride?”
Maximus pointed back toward the hellhogs, which were only about sixty yards away now. “We’re in a bit of a hurry due to them.”
“Damn it.” Mordaca glared at us, then shoved her hand into the pocket of her long cloak. “Come on.”
She hurled the transport charm to the ground, then stepped into it with Aerdeca. I gave the hellhogs one last glance—they were only ten yards off now, close enough to smell their fetid breath—then jumped into the portal.