I stared at him, aghast. “What are we going to do?”
We couldn’t go back the way we’d come, not with Jake so exhausted. Only his fire would keep the centaurs at bay, and I wasn’t facing them without it. Maybe if he slept? But that still left the problem of our dwindling water supply—and even if we made it back to Elysium, what then? Hephaistos had already given us all the help he could.
“It’s a shame that horn Hephaistos gave us can’t open a gate right here.”
“Yes.” We could already have been to the smithy and back again if we could have blown the horn in Elysium, where Hephaistos had given it to us. But he’d said it could only open the way to the smithy once we were out of the underworld, so we needed a gate first.
I cast my mind back to the map—that oh-so-unreliable map—on the wall of Hades’ library. It had shown four gates to the underworld. They even had poetic names, like the Dawn Gate, or the Gates of Horn and Ivory. There was also one within Hades’ palace—the elevator that he rode up to the cellar of the pub in Berkley’s Bay—though that hadn’t been marked on the map. It probably didn’t have a cool name, either. The Gate of Beer and Spirits? The Gate of Inebriation?
“We could try for a different gate,” Jake said, “rather than going back the way we came.”
“Just what I was thinking,” I said. “I’m trying to remember which one is closest.”
“Probably the Gates of Horn and Ivory,” he said, “but we’d have to go back past the centaurs and all the way through Elysium.”
“Not an ideal option.” I squinted my eyes shut, picturing the map. “What about the Dusk Gate? That was near the Phlegethon, wasn’t it?”
I made vague gesturing motions in the general direction of the orange glow we’d sighted from the top of the pass—or at least, the direction I thought it was. We couldn’t see it anymore from this elevation.
“Closer to Tartarus, I think, but in that direction.”
I wasn’t thrilled about getting too close to Tartarus, but we weren’t in a position to be picky. I mean, it wasn’t as if we had to go into Tartarus, after all. We’d just be passing by. And all of the inmates were trapped in the pits. We wouldn’t be waylaid by angry Titans or cyclopes.
I got to my feet. The sooner we got going, the sooner this would be over, and Syl and Apollo freed from their collars. “Let’s do that, then.”
And then we could find out what had happened to Hades, and why Cerberus had gone haring off in a panic like that. I had that filed under “Problems for Later”, because just thinking about it started little panicked butterflies in my stomach. Hades had been our staunchest ally through this madness. How would we cope without him? Surely the shadow shapers couldn’t have caught him. They didn’t know he was living as the vampire Alberto Alinari in sleepy Berkley’s Bay.
“All right.” Jake clambered wearily to his feet. “Let’s hope we don’t find any more of the locals who want to kill us.”
I shouldered my pack, though all it contained now was a spare knife, a length of light rope, the Helm of Darkness, and half a bottle of water. Oh, and Jake’s little explosive gizmo that he’d given me to crack the Ruby Adept’s safe. That seemed like years ago now, but I kept it with me because it seemed like it should come in handy for something, eventually.
“Hey, it wouldn’t be an adventure if people weren’t trying to kill us.”
He rolled his eyes. “I wanted a date, not an adventure.”
“Should have asked somebody else then.”
That forced a laugh out of him. “True.”
We kept the swamp on our left as we walked, and a healthy distance between us and the beginning of the grasslands. Fortunately, they were at the top of a long slope on our right, and started off with low grasses for a while before growing to full, centaur-concealing height. I was reasonably sure we were safely out of spear range.
Even better, after a couple of hours’ walk, the grasslands receded further until eventually they petered out altogether, replaced by patches of low grass and widening areas of bare, rocky ground. Everything was still grey, but now it was grey desert rather than grey plain. As we continued through the arid landscape the hills, which had been on the far side of the plains, crept closer, and the land began to be marked by dry creek beds and clumps of boulders, as if a band of giants had been playing marbles here. Ahead of us, an orange glow lit the horizon, telling us that we were on the right track to find the Phlegethon, at least.
We stopped to drink on the banks of another creek, though this one had some dark, still water in the bottom of its bed.
Jake eyed the black water as he drank from his water bottle. “How much water do you have left?”
I shook my bottle, judging the splashing sounds. “Maybe a quarter of a bottle. But I’m not filling it up from there.”
“No. I’m not suggesting you do. But I hope we get there soon. It’s starting to warm up.”
He was right. It did seem warmer here. I wiped my sweaty face, wishing for a bucket of ice water, though I couldn’t decide if I’d rather drink it or pour it over my head. “I thought you fireshapers thrived on heat.”
“Actually, we carry so much heat of our own that we’re quite sensitive to high temperatures. You never find any fireshapers living in the tropics.”
“Is that going to be a problem, then?” I gestured at the orange glow ahead.
“I’m not planning on setting up a home there,” he said. “Let’s hope the gate isn’t much further, though. I’m sick of eating dust.”
It was pretty dry out here. We passed bigger and bigger boulders, until they couldn’t really be called boulders anymore but small hills, with steep canyons in between. The orange glow grew stronger, burning away the grey until everything carried a faint rosy hue. It would have been pretty if I hadn’t been so sick of the barren landscape. There were only so many rocks and boulders a girl could take in a day. Both my feet were complaining about all the walking, my left one even more than the right. It was still tingling, marring my usual agility with stumbles on the uneven ground, and I could feel a familiar numbness returning to my lower leg. I bit my lip, and said nothing. Jake had already done all he could; there was no point worrying him further. Best to just get this journey over with.
The dry creek beds, with their puddles of dark water in the bottom, had grown more frequent as we walked. We rounded a rocky outcrop to find the latest one growing wider and deeper as it joined a river with actual water in it that cut straight across our path. Sheer rock walls rose on either side of us. The only way forward was across the river.
Fortunately, there was a bridge, but we both stopped at the sight of it. It seemed such a strange thing to find in this desolate place. It wasn’t wide, but it was built of stone and looked sturdy enough.
“Do you think that’s the Styx?” I gazed down at the dark water. There was no telling how deep it was, and I had no intention of finding out if I could possibly avoid it. But there was just something so odd about that bridge. Who would build one way out in the middle of nowhere like this?
“Could be. It has many tributaries.” He watched the black water as if he expected something to leap out of it at him. “But the underworld is full of rivers and waterways.”
“Not that it matters, I guess. We just walk across the bridge, right?” So why did I feel like an extra in a horror movie?
“Right.” Jake seemed to share my hesitancy, but eventually he moved. “Stay close.”
“Bet you say that to all the girls,” I muttered, but he wasn’t listening, too focused on our bleak surroundings and trying not to fall victim to the usual fate of extras in horror movies.
I fell in behind him, trying to ignore the nerves that were churning in my stomach. It’s just a bridge. How else are you going to get where you need to go? Swim? I glanced down at the inky water as I stepped onto the bridge. I couldn’t see into it, not even an inch. There could have been anything lurking right below the surface. Watching us. I shuddered. No, swim
ming was definitely not an option.
I reached out with my mind, probing. What the hell was that? I stopped in the middle of the bridge and grabbed at Jake’s arm. “Jake! There’s something down there!”
A dark mind beneath our feet. Not human or I couldn’t have seen it, but not like any animal I’d ever felt—and definitely not friendly.
“Where? Oh, shit.” The question answered itself as something enormous heaved itself onto the opposite end of the bridge, blocking our way. “What in the name of the gods is that?”
At first, I thought it was a spider, though a spider as big as Cerberus, covered in black hair like thick ropes. Then I saw the spiked tail that reared up behind its bloated abdomen. Awesome. A giant spider-scorpion cross.
I drew a knife as flames appeared on Jake’s arms. The spider thing hissed. Hissed?
“Are those snakes?” Jake asked in disbelief.
Half a dozen snakes writhed among the thick hair on the monster’s back, apparently a part of it. Delightful.
“All the best monsters have them these days,” I said, uneasily aware of how low Jake’s flames flickered. They were barely visible. “Let me take care of this.”
He gave me a sharp glance and his flames burned a little brighter. “I can handle it. I don’t want you sullying your mind by joining with that thing’s consciousness.”
My spine stiffened at a hissing from behind us. Now I really felt like I was living a B-grade horror movie. I turned, already knowing what I would see. It was that kind of movie.
“Yeah, but can you handle all of those?”
Behind us, the canyon walls had come alive with all of the monster’s friends and relatives, climbing all over each other as they fought to be first to the bridge. There were so many of them I couldn’t see the rock beneath them anymore, just a heaving mass of black hairy spider things, skittering down the canyon walls, their scorpion tails dripping poison. Not all were as big as the horror on the bridge with us, but that was no consolation in our present predicament.
“Shit.” Jake threw fire at the one blocking our way across the bridge. His fireball wasn’t enough to kill it, but it shrieked in pain and hurled itself over the parapet and into the dark water below. Then he turned to face the oncoming horde, trying to push me behind him though his flames were almost out and he was leaning against the parapet, trying not to look as though he were so exhausted he could barely stand up on his own.
“Quit trying to protect me,” I said, refusing to budge. “If it’s a choice between sullying my mind with these monsters or becoming monster snacks, it’s sullying all the way, baby.”
I reached out to the dark minds bearing down on us. They were animal enough for me to work with, though there was something so wrong-feeling about them that I couldn’t help a small shudder as I sank into as many as I could manage.
That wasn’t nearly as many as there were, unfortunately.
I pushed my will into those cold, dark minds, forcing their owners to stop their single-minded pursuit. But so many still rolled toward us in a black, hairy wave. The ones I had stopped clung to the walls or to the ground, like stones in a stream, and the wave simply rolled around and over them, ready to break on the bridge and sweep us away.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t going to work. “Get off the bridge!”
I backed up, shoving Jake along when he didn’t move fast enough. Then I focused my attention on the creatures closest to the bridge, turning them around and massaging them into a living wall of monster, giant stingers waving menacingly over their heads at the oncoming crowd. I was counting on the fact that these things had no fellow-feelings for each other. It was a monster-eat-monster world out here.
Some of the oncoming spider things wavered when they were confronted with the dark menace blocking their way. Others rolled on regardless, pushing and shoving to get across the bridge and make a meal of the intruders. Stingers flashed and snakes hissed, and a high squealing sound erupted as monster met monster.
Sweat rolled down my face as I held my spider wall firm. It took a lot of effort, since their natural inclination was to turn and join the rush to destroy us. I groped behind me with one hand and found Jake’s. “Let’s back it up,” I murmured.
I didn’t dare look away, lest one of them break free of my control while I was distracted. Jake held my shoulders and guided me as I backed off the bridge and up the rock-strewn slope beyond it.
“Now what?” he asked as we paused in the shadow of a huge boulder. If we’d really been in a horror movie, a monster would have leapt on us from the top of it, but fortunately, this encounter wasn’t following the script.
I pushed harder on the minds under my control, planting the suggestion that these others must be destroyed before they could enjoy the reward of eating the soft squishy creatures on the far side of the bridge. Fangs slashed and stingers darted out in renewed frenzy. Some of the spiders at the back of the group pushing to get onto the bridge drifted away, deciding to give up the fight.
*Yes, there’s easier prey elsewhere,* I suggested, pushing the idea into as many minds as I could. Heaven only knew what all these creatures usually ate. Jake and I hadn’t seen another soul since we’d left the centaurs’ grasslands. Maybe they didn’t need to eat. Maybe their only purpose here was to make life literally hell for whoever was unfortunate enough to pass this way. They could have been some hero’s test, or even his punishment. The underworld was strange like that. It didn’t have to make sense like the real world did.
I shut my eyes so I could concentrate better and took a firm grip on Jake’s hand. To my mind’s sight, the spiders’ life forces glowed a sickly green. At least they were alive, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do anything with them. “Now we keep going. Slowly. Gently. Let’s put some room between us and them.”
And so, I walked through Hell, eyes tight shut, battling monsters in my mind. The only real thing in my world was the feel of Jake’s hand in mine, and the sound of his breath at my side. He said nothing, just lent me his strength when I stumbled, guiding me past obstacles and leading me safely over the rough ground. Behind us, more of the green splotches that marked the spiders broke away from the heaving mass at the bridge, heading back to whatever monster business had occupied them before we arrived. It seemed that out of sight was out of mind, and now that we’d disappeared, they couldn’t remember what had been so urgent about getting onto the bridge.
A few of my troops who’d defended the bridge also lost interest. The ones that crossed to our side I gently turned away into the dark recesses beneath the bridge or halted them on the river bank. My head was spinning with the effort by the time I judged we were safely away and I could open my eyes again.
I stopped short at the sight that greeted me. In the distance, a volcano belched smoke into the dark sky. Lava flowed down its side like a bright orange ribbon and wound across a blasted plain toward us. We had arrived at the River of Fire.
9
“Whoa. Is it just me, or is it getting hot around here?”
Jake rolled his eyes. “Funny. So what happened to the spiders?”
“They’ve gone back to doing whatever giant spider monsters do in their spare time.”
“Excellent.”
The river of lava snaked across the plain in our general direction, before dipping into a gully off to our right and out of sight. Way off to our left a wide black river that could only be the Styx also wound its way across the uneven rocky plain. The two rivers appeared to meet at the base of the mountain, though the area where they met was so wreathed in steam that most of the mountain’s foot was hidden. From our vantage point, it was as though we were standing on the base of a wide triangle, with the junction of the rivers and the mountain at its apex.
“Is that where we’re going?”
Jake nodded. “The entry to Tartarus should be around the base of that mountain somewhere. The Dusk Gate will be nearby.”
I regarded the great triangle of land before us doubtfully
. The steam hid our destination from us. “I hope we don’t fry before we get there. Is that the Phlegethon?”
“Yes. We shouldn’t have to get too close, if I remember correctly. Tartarus should be quite some distance from the Phlegethon.”
Except if the River Phlegethon was actually a lava flow, it might move around, depending on eruptions, mightn’t it? But this was the underworld. I reminded myself that the normal laws of geology didn’t apply. The Phlegethon could probably fall straight down out of the sky if it wanted to.
“Not that we want to get too close to Tartarus, either,” I said.
“Nothing down there can hurt us,” he said. “It’s a prison—the inmates are all securely locked away. They won’t be forming a welcoming committee on the doorstep. Relax.”
“I’m relaxed.” I rolled my head on my shoulders and swung my arms to loosen muscles taut from the tension of navigating us safely away from the spiders. “Look at me relaxing! This is better than a weekend at a health spa.”
He grinned, though there were shadows of exhaustion under his eyes. “Are you ready for your massage, madam?”
“I was thinking more of a drink by the pool.”
He took out his water bottle and offered it to me with a bow. “I’m afraid I can’t recommend the pool today. We’ll have to sack the pool boy—the water’s gone black. But I have some lovely natural spring water here, if madam approves?”
I shook his bottle, smiling at his unexpected silliness. It felt even lighter than mine, so I pushed it back at him and took out my own. “Madam thinks you should drink your own natural spring water. You’re probably going to need it. It looks hot out there.” I remembered what he’d told me about fireshapers’ sensitivity to high temperatures. It didn’t come much hotter than molten lava. I sure hoped he was right that we could give the Phlegethon a wide berth.
Still, there was no point worrying about what trouble we might get into. Trouble had proven more than capable of coming and finding us.
Rivers of Hell (Shadows of the Immortals Book 3) Page 9