The screams and wails of torment faded away to be replaced by a strange sound. It was like a mixture of the crackle of an open fire and the roar of an opening furnace. They turned down the channel and the green glowing water was slowly replaced by a thick slow churning movement. Olivia looked down and gasped at the sight of the river, which could now barely be called a river at all. Instead of water it was hot molten lava which glowed a bright, white hot, mixture of red and orange with a cracked, perpetually moving, crust of black char.
‘Charon,’ Olivia swallowed thickly, ‘you do know your boat’s made of wood, right?’
‘Relax Olivia’ he replied, ‘the boat cannot be damaged.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes,’ he chuckled, ‘stop worrying about the river and start worrying about what’s at the end of it.’
‘Tartarus.’
‘Exactly,’ he replied soberly. ‘I’ve never heard of any mortal surviving Tartarus.’
‘Thanks for the pep talk,’ she replied dryly.
‘Olivia’ he sighed, ‘I can’t go with you.’
‘It’s okay Charon,’ she frowned, ‘I didn’t expect you to.’
‘It’s not that I won’t, it’s that I can’t…’ he tried to explain.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Tartarus is at the very end of the river; I can’t move beyond its borders. My powers don’t extend beyond the rivers.’
‘It’s okay,’ she assured him.
‘It’s not okay,’ he frowned. ‘I’m worried about you, about all of you.’
‘Stop worrying,’ she told him bluntly, ‘like you just told me, some things you can’t change and this is one of them. Besides,’ she added with a smirk, ‘I’m different remember, the usual effects of the Underworld don’t apply to me.’
‘That’s not what I said and you know it,’ he replied blandly.
‘Well,’ she winked, ‘close enough.’
Charon sighed and rolled his eyes, ‘I now understand why Hades finds you so frustrating.’
She laughed in amusement. ‘Oh lighten up Charon, we’re the ones facing impending death.’
‘I will never understand mortals,’ he shook his head.
‘You don’t need to understand us; you just need to have a sense of humor.’
‘Isn’t that the truth,’ Sam muttered.
‘Er Charon?’ Theo spoke suddenly, his gaze fixed on something ahead of them. ‘When you said Tartarus was at the end of the river, please tell me you meant that the river ends on the banks of Tartarus.’
‘Not exactly,’ Charon admitted as Olivia turned to look.
The roaring was getting louder, almost like a waterfall. Steam rose up obscuring her view.
‘What do you mean not exactly?’ she yelled above the noise.
‘Tartarus is technically separate from Hades.’
‘As in a separate world?’ Theo asked.
‘Yes, technically.’
‘What does he mean yes, technically?’ Olivia looked back to Theo.
‘He means that the end of the river and Tartarus are separated by the Void.’
‘WHAT?’ she shouted, turning back to Charon, ‘AND YOU’RE JUST TELLING US THIS NOW?’
‘You’d better get ready,’ he warned.
‘Ready to what?’ she asked suspiciously.
‘To jump.’
‘TO WHAT?’ her voice went up another octave.
‘Still got that sense of humor?’ Charon asked sourly.
Theo pulled her to her feet and helped her into the backpack, making sure the straps were tight.
‘Oh no’ she shook her head, ‘I did not agree to this,’ she sat back down and crossed her arms. ‘Killing a demon…fine, finding a lost crossroad…check, facing off a God…no problem, JUMPING THE VOID? Not a chance in Hell.’
‘It’s, not a chance in Hades actually, and you don’t have a choice Olivia.’ Charon glanced over the side as they neared the end, ‘there’s only one way into Tartarus and you only get one chance.’
‘It’s okay Livy,’ Theo pulled her to her feet.
‘Are you mad,’ she glanced over the edge, ‘it’s not okay. What about this, can you possibly think is okay?’
She started to tremble in his grip and her voice rose in panic.
Suddenly Charon raised the pole above his head and plunged it down into the river hard. There was a loud grinding as it anchored on the bottom, slowing their approach, until the boat finally ground to a halt hanging over the edge, the bow still sat in the lava and the stern suspended out into the blackness of the Void. Two waterfalls of lava cascaded thunderously down either side of them, split by Charon’s boat, tumbling down into the Void far below until they disappeared from view. Olivia glared over the edge into the blackness and stumbled, a wave of dizziness washing over her.
‘Are you okay Olivia?’ Sam frowned.
‘I may have a slight problem with heights,’ she swallowed.
‘Livy you can do this.’ Theo cupped her chin, ‘don’t look down, look across…’
She glanced across the Void and saw what he was talking about. There was a rocky outcropping not far away, slightly below them. It looked utterly terrifying but it was do-able. They could make it.
‘What about you?’ she turned back to Charon.
‘Don’t worry about me,’ he smiled, ‘it’s the end of the river. I’ll simply return to the beginning.’
The pole scrapped alarmingly along the molten riverbed and the boat suddenly slipped a bit further, starting to tilt into the Void.
‘You need to go now!’ Charon shouted as he tried to hold his grip on the pole.
‘I’ll go first,’ Theo told them. ‘Sam?’
Sam looked at him, ‘don’t worry I’ll make sure she gets to you.’
He nodded, ‘Olivia, do you want me to take the backpack?’
‘No,’ she shook her head trying to suck in a deep calming breath to ease her racing heart, ‘I’ve got it, it’s my responsibility.’
‘Okay,’ he kissed her roughly, ‘you can do this alright?’
She nodded, watching as he turned and leapt across the Void. Her heart stopped for a moment as he hung suspended in the air falling through the blackness. Then he hit the rock and rolled to absorb the impact.
‘Olivia!’ he climbed to his feet and held out his arms to her, ‘you next.’
‘You’d better catch me or I’ll never speak to you again’ she shouted over, as she stepped up onto the edge. With a quick prayer to every God, Goddess and Deity she could think of in the space of two seconds, she braced herself and leapt.
For those dizzying seconds while she felt herself flying through the air, time seemed to stop and all she could hear was her heart thundering in her ear, and then suddenly Theo’s arms wrapped around her and they both tumbled to the ground in a tangle of bodies.
‘You two should get a room,’ a calm voice spoke next to them and when they both looked up Sam was smiling at them in amusement.
‘Did you just translocate across the Void?’ she asked accusingly.
‘Yes.’
‘So you just let me jump when you could have translocated us over here.’
‘It’s always good to face your fears Olivia.’
‘You should start running now Sam,’ she warned dangerously, ‘because I’m about to kill you.’
He stepped back laughing lightly, ‘I’m joking’ he sighed, his face becoming more serious. ‘The truth is I don’t know if I could have taken all three of us. I don’t feel right…’ he shook his head, ‘I didn’t want to risk it.’
‘Fine’ she sulked, slightly mollified, ‘I forgive you then.’ She held out her hand so he could help her up off the floor.
She stood up and brushed the pieces of rock and dust off her jeans as Sam leaned in to help Theo up. She looked up at the boat overhanging the edge and for a second she saw Charon and then the boat shimmered and disappeared com
pletely.
‘Do you think he got back okay?’ she murmured.
‘I hope so,’ Theo stepped close and looked up at the waterfall of lava.
‘We should get moving’ Sam told them, looking over his shoulder nervously. ‘Cronus rules here, we will have to be very careful.’
Theo nodded, taking Olivia’s hand as they picked their way over the uneven rocky ground, towards the dark horizon. There was no vegetation, no trees, just darkness and rock. The air was tinged with heat and the scent of brimstone. Olivia’s dragonflies pulsed gently with blue fire, hovering close to her shoulder nervously, as if to not draw too much attention to themselves.
‘Why don’t you try the Compass again?’ Theo suggested.
Nodding in agreement they paused as she pulled the golden chain from her collar and flipped it open, looking down at it expectantly.
Nothing.
‘Are you shitting me?’ Olivia hissed angrily, ‘after all this and the damn thing still won’t work.’
‘I guess we’ll just have to keep moving,’ Theo took her hand again and they set off across the rough terrain.
‘So Cronus is Hades’ father then?’ Theo asked quietly as they moved.
‘Yes he is,’ Olivia replied softly. ‘Cronus was born from Uranus, the Sky and Gaia, the Earth. He overthrew his father’s rule and took his sister Rhea as his wife.’
‘His sister?’ Theo’s eyes widened in shock.
‘You’ll find it’s very common amongst the ancients’ Sam told him, shrugging casually, ‘believe me the Egyptians and the Romans were just as bad.’
‘So anyway,’ Olivia continued in a quiet voice, ‘Cronus and Rhea took the throne and ruled as king and queen but Cronus learned that he was destined to be deposed by his own sons just as he had in turn usurped his father’s throne. He sired the Gods Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Hades and Poseidon by his sister Rhea and as soon as they were born he devoured them in an attempt to prevent the prophecy from coming true.’
‘Devoured?’ Theo frowned skeptically, ‘you mean he actually ate his own children?’
‘That’s the myth,’ Olivia nodded, ‘and he devoured them not ate.’
‘Is there a difference?’
‘He swallowed them whole so they remained intact and anyway they’re Gods, so they can’t die. Then when the sixth child, Zeus, was born Rhea and Gaia hid him from his father and instead gave Cronus a stone wrapped in baby blankets to swallow.’
‘This is so disturbing,’ Theo shook his head.
‘Anyway, there are many different accounts, a lot of variations but the general consensus is that once he was grown, Zeus either cut open his father’s stomach to free his siblings, or gave him some sort of emetic to force him to expel them by disgorging the contents of his stomach.’
‘That’s disgusting.’
‘So after that Zeus and his brothers and sisters overthrew Cronus and the other Titans and cast them down into Tartarus.’
‘Shush,’ Sam stopped and listened, ‘there’s something going on up ahead.’
Olivia pulled her dragonflies in close, their flames banking down so they were barely visible as they crept forward in the darkness. In the distance a dim glow appeared which grew brighter as they approached. They sneaked up to the edge, hidden behind a wall of rocks, as they peered over into the sooty red and orange glow. A great pit yawned open in front of them, spanning miles and dropped down deep into the heart of Tartarus. Filled with stairs and ladders carved painstakingly out of the rocks, it was a hive of labor and industry. Ragged heavily chained slaves pushed metal carts filled with rocks. Great pulleys heaved up more carts full of rock, forges burned releasing greasy smoke and filling the air with sparks and firebrands. The sound of hammers and anvils rang out through the air.
‘God, it’s like the mines of Moria, are you sure we haven’t dropped into Middle Earth?’ Olivia whispered, but when she turned both Sam and Theo were staring at her blankly. ‘Seriously? Lord of the Rings? The Hobbit? None of this ringing a bell?’ she shook her head in disgust. ‘You two should be ashamed of yourselves, I’m guessing a Frodo reference would be wasted on you both right now.’
‘Sam shook his head slowly, ‘I don’t know where we’re heading but I’m pretty sure we want to avoid that place.’
‘Agreed,’ Theo nodded, casting a look around. ‘I can’t see much but the ground seems to be sloping down and away from here.’
‘Okay let’s head that way then,’ Olivia nudged Theo and they started moving once again.
Slowly the sounds of the fire pit seemed to fade away and the air cooled marginally. The darkness returned and once again her dragonflies brightened and took the lead. Suddenly the ground ahead of them changed color, and from where they were approaching it seemed to transform from a dark sooty black to white stone. They approached cautiously, not knowing whether the surface was solid or not. Stopping at the edge Olivia reached down and ran her fingers over the surface. It was white stone and it was cool and smooth to the touch.
‘It seems stable enough,’ she turned back to the others but as she straightened up the ground suddenly began to tremble.
They all stumbled back a few paces watching dumbfounded as the white stone surface began to rise up from the gravel and rock. It unfolded itself and began to stretch up higher and higher as it rose into the dark sky.
Olivia’s head tilted back and her mouth fell open as she watched it grow and when it finally stopped she found herself staring at a huge figure of a man, easily as tall as the statue of Liberty. He was half naked and completely colorless, as if he were a statue carved in exquisite detail except the sculptor had not bothered to paint him. But he wasn’t a statue, he moved with the same lithe grace and economy of movement as a regular man. He looked down at them and as his milky white eyes locked on hers she sucked in a deep breath. She wasn’t sure how but she knew exactly who he was. Her heart began to hammer in her chest and her blood ran cold.
‘Oh my God,’ she whispered, ‘Prometheus…’
Chapter 23.
Olivia stared open mouthed, mesmerized by the gargantuan Titan in front of her, barely registering Theo pulling her protectively behind him. As he raised his arm the metal embedded within it didn’t just melt and flow down to his hand to coalesce into a knife, but instead burst into bright blue and silver flames which ignited the whole of his arm in glowing blue vines. The knife itself throbbed and glowed with power.
Prometheus’ eyes flicked over to Theo and narrowed in interest. He leaned over and effortlessly scooped him up from the ground. He grabbed one of his legs between his cool stone fingertips and dangled him upside down as if he were a fascinating insect he was about to pick the wings off.
‘Put him down Prometheus,’ Olivia told him calmly.
Prometheus looked down and his eyes widened in surprise. Olivia stood with her bow of fire drawn and aimed directly at him, her gaze narrowed on him with total focus as she regarded him as nothing more than a target. A black and blue bolt of pure Hellfire vibrated against her knuckles just waiting for her to let it fly.
Sensing his moment whilst the Titan’s focus was on Olivia, Sam drew in his strength and flashed into Prometheus’ hand, grasping hold of Theo and translocating them both to the ground. Prometheus started in surprise, glancing at his empty hand and then back at the two men now on the ground, as if he couldn’t quite understand what had happened. Finally, he turned his gaze back to Olivia, studying her intently.
‘It’s you...’
Olivia wasn’t sure what she had expected him to sound like, maybe some kind of thunderous sonic boom, but nothing prepared her for the soft lulling timbre of his voice. It coiled around her like a blanket and held her softly. Her gaze lost some of the sharp focus and she lowered her bow just a fraction, her eyes puzzled. She could feel him she realized with a frown of confusion. Being in his presence was slightly overwhelming as she could sense the vastness of his consciousness. This was a being who h
ad stood from almost the beginning of time, watching worlds spin from chaos. He brought with him a feeling of timelessness, as old and immovable as the Universe itself. It was comforting. This was not the being she had been warned of, she felt no hostility from him, only curiosity and…relief? He was pleased to see her, that much she could understand. She lowered her bow and let the flames peter out taking an involuntary step towards him.
‘Olivia,’ Theo started towards her in concern, catching her arm gently to still her movement.
‘It’s okay Theo,’ she laid her hand on his in reassurance, her gaze moving back to Prometheus as he watched her silently. ‘He won’t hurt me…,’ she whispered.
‘You don’t know that’ he frowned, ‘Hecate said…’
‘Hecate does not know everything,’ Prometheus spoke softly causing them both to stare up at him. ‘She certainly should not presume to know my mind, nor predict my intentions. I was here long before she came into being.’
‘And we are just supposed to believe you?’ Theo asked bluntly.
‘That would be your choice,’ the amusement was reflected in his voice. ‘Believe; do not; it does not concern me, but the female is right I intend her no harm.’
He kneeled down beside them and extended his hand for Olivia to step forward.
‘Olivia,’ Theo warned.
‘It’s okay Theo,’ she smiled softly as she brushed his hand from her arm, ‘I know what I’m doing…trust me.’
Theo pulled in a deep breath, his mouth fixed in resolution as he allowed her to pass. She stepped onto Prometheus’ outstretched palm holding onto his thumb for balance as he lifted her high into the dark sky until she was level with his face.
‘What is your name mortal?’
‘Olivia.’
‘Olivia,’ he replied softly his mouth curving into a smile, ‘I have waited a long time for you.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘You know who I am?’
‘Prometheus,’ Olivia replied, ‘the son of the Titan Lapetus and the Oceanid Clymene.’
‘And do you know why I was cast down deep into Tartarus?’
‘You stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to the mortals, which angered Zeus.’
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 115