by S. E. Babin
“Clotho’s help sure comes with some obstacles, doesn’t it?” Artie muttered.
I snorted. At least she’d gotten us this far. I put my hand against the amethyst searching for weak areas or hidden pockets. Nothing.
Artie looked around and bent down to the bottom portion of the glowing stone. She whispered something I couldn’t make out, and as I watched in awe, it shifted to reveal a small opening. Right into the sewer system.
“Great,” I muttered.
Artie didn’t look especially pleased, either, but shrugged and shimmied into the opening. I followed behind her, trying not to be squicked out at the crunching sounds underneath my boots. It could be bugs. Or animal carcasses. Or…I shuddered. Some things were best left unknown and undiscovered. I had spent most of my life living in blissful ignorance, so I didn’t look down, instead plowing behind Artemis while I tried to think about baseball, gardening, baking…anything but where we were.
Artie busied herself making noises of disgust and once I heard her gag. I tried not to laugh but couldn’t help it. She twisted around and glared at me.
“Hey,” I whispered as I raised my hands, “if the Huntress has the heeber jeebers then you can imagine how I’m feeling right now.”
She shook her head and turned back around. After a few more minutes of mucking through the sewers, we came to three unlocked gates. I was reminded of the Frost poem about the road not taken, but this time we were breaking and entering and door number two could result in our carcasses being the next thing that got stepped on.
We stopped. I tried to peer ahead through each of the gates, but I couldn’t see anything other than soft light ahead in each of them.
“What do you think?” I whispered to Artie.
Her shoulders slumped. “I think it would have been a lot easier if we had bolt cutters and blueprints. Humans sometimes do things a lot easier than we do.”
I didn’t disagree. “Well, Zeus did well when he designed this place. And the only blueprints are in his head. We could see if Dionysus was right and test Tyche’s patience.”
Artie snickered. “Do you honestly think she has your back? After everything you’ve been through?”
I shrugged. “I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
Artie sobered. “I guess you are. So, to claim your prize, Abby, you have to choose the right door. Which one will it be?”
I studied each of the doors, willing them to give me a hint. Which door held the monsters and which door held the jackpot? I finally decided to take the door on the right side. If we were wrong, we’d have to deal with it. If we were right, then I deserved the right to gloat for a little. I pointed at the door and stepped forward. Artie searched my face, and probably seeing nothing but stone cold fear, shrugged and pushed it open. I held my breath and stepped through, waiting to be attacked by a face eating monster, but the only sound was the awful screech of the gate. It would be our luck to get busted because we had failed to bring WD-40.
It looked the same as the tunnel we’d just passed through. Artie stepped in after me and pushed ahead in front of me. She was the only one armed. I had vials of magic and my own power, but Artemis’ bow was nothing to sneeze at. We crept carefully, both of us ignoring the squelching sounds of the mud and the occasional crunch of something.
I breathed through my mouth, the stench of the sewers strong enough to make me lose my last two days of meals. After a few moments the tunnel became lit in a soft blue haze.
“Shit,” Artie whispered. “Wisps.”
My heart stuttered. The souls of the departed floated several feet away, their faces twisted into death grimaces. And there were many. Zeus had never been benevolent, and the evidence of it glowed right in front of us. Now that isn’t to say Zeus only executed innocents – that was far from the truth. The majority of the people Zeus downed deserved it. And that’s what made this excursion so dangerous. The souls of immortal murderers and rapists floated above us, keening wildly.
I closed my eyes. I’d rather face down a hellhound than this. “What do we do?” I whispered.
Unfortunately I whispered a little too loudly. As one the souls turned to face us, their incorporeal forms floating in the air above us.
Artie’s mouth twisted into a grimace. “Fight,” she barked.
29
Chapter Twenty Nine
I was a lover, not a fighter. But right now I was also scared shitless. I scrambled to get my pack off my back so I could save the majority of my magic for any upcoming run-ins. I rummaged through and chose a blue vial. I tore the cork off and threw it into the air toward the wisps and watched as a huge ball of fire consumed the area.
“Abby!” Artie shouted. “Nice show but fire doesn’t work!” She stripped her bow from her back, loaded it with a gold tipped arrow and mumbled a few words over it as she drew it back and let the arrow fly. “Draw their souls into the ground.”
Do what? I stared at her dumbfounded. I was officially the worst fighter ever. I watched as Artie’s arrows rang true into one of the wisps. It screamed a high wail of horror as it spiraled downwards and disappeared into the earth.
How the hell had she done that? I scrambled through my pack again and screeched as Artie ripped it from my hands. “Concentrate,” she screamed as she notched another arrow and drew it back. “Try to use your new power!” She let another arrow loose.
And I stood there like a moron, my mind scrambling to come up with something. Gaia’s magic whispered in my chest. Earth. Gaia’s magic could be immune to Zeus’s spell. I cursed myself again for not just telling him what we were doing. Zeus used the dampening spell to prevent assassins and rampant displays of power inside his domain. It was a wise choice, but it was kind of a pain in the ass for us now. If we let him know we were coming, he could have allowed us to come in with full powers. But our mission could have been over before it started because of prying ears and eyes. I cleared my head of negative thoughts. It wasn’t the time nor the place.
Could I harness Gaia’s energy without my own magic mingling? I didn’t know, but with the number of wisps screaming our way I needed to try. I closed my eyes against my better judgment and concentrated on the ball of energy in my center.
“Good,” a whispered voice rang throughout my consciousness. “Draw the energy in your body and call it forth. Suppress your inherent magic and use mine.”
I listened to the voice, forcing my natural magic to slide deeper into my veins. I called Gaia’s magic to the surface and felt it swirling throughout my entire body. I’d never been stronger or more terrified.
“Don’t be afraid,” the voice snapped. “My magic is of the earth. It cannot be denied. Concentrate on the tortured souls, whisper words of peace and draw their souls home.”
“For gods’ sakes, Abby! This is no time for meditation,” Artie shrieked. I could hear the constant thwip, thwip, thwip as her arrows rang true.
The magic was at my fingertips ready to use. I let it flow and encompass the wisps. Emerald green magic corralled them together. I heard Artie’s gasp but ignored it. “Come back to the earth,” I intoned. “Your resting place is below. I will put your souls at peace.” A collective sigh rose up as I concentrated on opening a pit into the sewers. Dirt swirled and scattered around.
From my peripheral vision, I noticed Artie lower her bow. She was staring at me in horror.
“Concentrate,” the voice whispered to me. “They are skittish. Do not frighten them or you will have to struggle to contain their anger.”
I breathed lightly through my nose, sweat pouring off my face as I slowly lowered the wisps one by one into the ground. Sighs of relief rose around me. Ten were gone, twenty, thirty, and as the last one lowered into the ground, I slowly covered the pit back up until the earth looked like it had been undisturbed. I released the hold on Gaia’s magic and staggered back.
The only sound in the tunnel was that of my ragged breathing. I tore off my stupid toboggan and ran my fingers through my sweaty hair.
/> “What. The Hell. Was that?” Artie asked through gritted teeth.
“A gift,” I said nonchalantly.
“From who? God?”
“Don’t be silly,” I snorted. “You know I’m not a Christian. Just Mother Earth.” I plucked a stray hair off of my black shirt.
“Ah, Mother Earth,” Artie said lightly. “Yeah, she’s always super generous with her ‘gifts.’ Especially her magic. What the hell did you do to get such a gift?” Artie slid the bow back over her shoulder and stared at me waiting for an answer.
“Honestly?” At Artie’s nod, I lifted up one shoulder. “I have no idea. I’m starting to think I’m the most gullible because I get stuck with shit like this all the time.”
Artie grinned and then laughed. “Yeah, chick, you are super lucky,” she said deadpan. “Did she say anything about a time limit on this gift?”
I shook my head. “I wish. It seems like this is here to stay.”
“Daddy is going to be so pleased,” Artie said as she walked further into the tunnel.
I froze. Zeus was the last person I needed to know about this. “Umm, Artie?” I caught up with her before she got too far ahead.
“Hmm?” She drew her bow again and notched an arrow as she carefully stepped forward.
“Are you going to tell Zeus?” I wrung my hands, afraid to hear her answer. She was my best friend, and she’d kept lots of my secrets, but my power was growing each and every day. I already felt the difference in myself, and I could tell from the stares of my friends they could see the differences in me, too.
Artie twisted toward me, her eyebrows raised in confusion. “What? No!” Her eyes widened. “Abby, since when have I ever told Zeus anything about you?”
I winced at the hurt look on her face. “Never,” I mumbled.
“That’s right. It doesn’t matter what sort of weird freaky paranormal crap you have going on, your business is your business. And my business.” She winked and I felt my shoulders relax from their place close to the bottom of my ears.
“Thank the gods,” I whispered. I knew Zeus was keeping an eye on me. If he even had an inkling Gaia had given me some of her power, I was a goner. He tolerated the Twelve Olympians because we secured his power base, but none of us were as powerful as him. At least none of us used to be. I wondered about Ares sometimes, but if he had more mojo, he wasn’t giving anything away. I on the other hand was leaking power like a fifteen-year-old Honda. I didn’t know if I could keep this newest development under wraps. I planned to give it the old college try, though.
“Moron,” Artie mumbled good-naturedly. “All the things I’ve seen you do and you think I’d leak something like this?” She shook her head. “Let’s go. We have to wade through a lot more sewage before we hit the jackpot.”
“Oh goodie,” I said. I hoisted my so far useless pack up on my shoulder and trudged behind her.
30
Chapter Thirty
I’m not overly squeamish. I’ve lived pretty much forever, and I’ve seen some things. Buckets of waste thrown out from two-story windows splashed onto the stones below, dead bodies, mass murders, genocides – you name it, I’ve seen it. But I had to admit, walking through that sewage, smelling the scent of death and worse turned my stomach in a way I’d never felt before. My feet crunched on unknown things, put there by the gods know what, and my boots were soaked through with liquids I hoped would remain forever unnamed.
If Ariadne was not in this castle, when I got home I planned to be in the fetal position sucking my thumb. Maybe for the rest of my life. Even Artie, tough as nails, wild child Artie was suffering. She couldn’t control her gagging, and I pretended not to notice her stagger over to the side of the tunnel and heave the contents of her stomach up. Friends never made fun of friends for hurling while walking through bodily fluids, or whatever we were walking through. I would forget I put a name to it.
We finally reached a turning point in the tunnels. Soft candlelight glowed in front of us. I wanted to strip off my clothes a la the US women’s soccer team and scream my delight once we saw it. Instead Artie pinched the outside of my arm hard enough for me to whimper. “Abby, it’s do or die time. Be quiet and stay watchful.”
I pulled my arm back and punched her in the kidney. Her muffled grunt of pain made me snicker. “Don’t pinch me again,” I whispered. “I’m not twelve.”
“You just kidney punched me. Of course you’re twelve.” Artie rubbed her side and glared at me. “Let’s move up to the gate and see if there’s anything we need to be concerned about.”
There were lots of things we needed to be concerned about. Guards, monsters, Zeus, Hera, us spending the rest of our immortality hung up by our toes being drained of ichor once we got busted…I frowned at her.
“I need to pick some nice quiet soccer mom friends. I’d never have to walk through a dark dungeon with soccer moms. We’d drink wine and talk about our overweight husbands. Then maybe we’d play Monopoly. Or Bunco. Isn’t that what they play?”
Artie closed her eyes. “I swear on everything that’s sacred, Abby, if you don’t shut –” A loud banging noise silenced her. We turned wide frightened eyes on each other and scrambled back into the shadows.
Low voices bounced through the tunnel. “See that she’s properly fed and cared for. The last thing we need to happen is for her to die on us. If that happens we lose our only bargaining chip. We don’t want to anger him.”
I tiptoed forward, straining to hear the other voice. “He’s always angry these days. You’d think with all the tail he’d gotten in Asheville he’d be a little more laid back.”
Chills ran down my spine. Ariadne was here. I could feel it in my bones. And whoever was responsible was here, too. Artie crept toward me. We stayed there waiting for the voices to fade before we walked any further. After a few more minutes of conversation, another loud bang sounded before the room fell silent. It was our cue to move.
We crept closer to the light, stopping once we were close enough to touch the gate. Holding my breath, I peeked in and saw a small dimly lit stone room. A small table with two chairs was set up in the middle. Two goblets sat on top of it and a pack of cards lay scattered across, as if the game had been interrupted and never won. My eyes scanned the rest of the room and fell upon a cell.
Artie stiffened and elbowed me. “Do you see that?” she whispered.
I nodded. My thoughts flittered on Eurydice for a moment. She had been mostly unharmed when we had found her. From the prone figure lying in the cell, I didn’t think we were going to get that lucky with Ariadne. I sent up a prayer and opened the gate as quietly as I could. Only a squeak came from the gate this time, but it was loud enough for me to still and grit my teeth.
We tiptoed into the room, our eyes sweeping back and forth for anyone else. So far, so good. We were alone. Artie rushed over to the cell and crouched on her knees. “Ariadne?”
The figure didn’t move. “Damn,” Artie muttered and turned to me. “Abby, come help me get this cell door open.”
I tiptoed over to her and stared at the heavy padlock. So we were back to wishing for bolt cutters again. I concentrated the weak magic through my body and focused it into my fingers. “Get ready to catch the lock,” I whispered.
Bright gold light shot from my fingers. The lock fell into Artie’s awaiting hands, but the light my magic put off would most likely attract the wrong kind of notice. Soon.
“Grab her, Artie. Quickly.”
Artie rushed into the cell, grabbed the figure and we took off out of the room and back into the sewers like the hounds of hell were after us. In just a couple of moments I had no doubt they would be.
Those few seconds we were inside of that room were blissful because I wasn’t wading knee deep in shit and other unmentionables. Now it was even worse. Artie bitched every five minutes complaining about Ariadne’s weight, and it seemed we somehow had managed to get lost. Not that we could exactly tell. The tunnels were gray stone, and the sludge was th
e same everywhere. But something felt off, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Hello, ladies,” a sultry voice said.
I spun around. There was no one there. Artie’s eyes searched the area. Nothing.
“I am not here, but I know you are. You’ll have some friends joining you soon.”
“Circe?” I asked.
“One of my many names, yes. Now, girls, I hope you’ve been keeping up with your exercise DVDs because in about thirty seconds you’re going to want to run.” Rich laughter rang out. “Do me a favor and drop Ariadne over on the side of the tunnel. We’d hate for our pretty prize to drown in the sewage.”
“No one is dropping anyone, Circe,” Artie said, her voice surprisingly strong.
“You have no idea of the scope of power you’re dealing with.” Her voice sounded bored, like we were barely worth her time.
I sighed. “You’re aware that line is the most overused and exaggerated one on Olympus? Seriously, Circe, it should be in the handbook of Olympus clichés. If one existed anyway.”
The silence that followed my droll statement clued me into the fact I might have overstepped. Here we were in a dungeon carrying someone who quite possibly could be dead, and I decided it would be a good idea to smart off? Artie’s long suffering sigh also might have had something to do with it.
“Very well,” came the clipped tones of Circe. “Stories about you have not been exaggerated, Aphrodite. You just gave credence to the human phrase ‘too stupid to live.’
Well that wasn’t very nice. I looked around waiting for something hellacious to pop up out of the ground like a 1980’s horror movie, but so far the only noise was our wheezing breath as we slogged through the dungeon and Artie’s grunts of exertions as she tried not to drop Ariadne. At Artie’s glare, I declined to respond. I made a zipping noise against my mouth with my fingers and kept walking.