Chapter 10

Quickly,I drew a dagger from the ether and shoved it into his stomach.

Please work.

The figure opened his mouth as if to scream, and I smacked a hand over his lips, grimacing at the slimy feel. Ew.

I twisted the knife, jerking it upward.

The figure crumpled.

My blade slipped out as he fell, and I looked up, desperately searching for Maximus. He pushed his way past two people, stopping right in front of me.

"He could sense we were different." My heart still pounded in my ears.

"Let's hurry, then." Maximus grabbed my hand again. This time, his grip was almost punishingly tight, but I squeezed back even harder.

We slipped through the crowd, trying to keep the shoving to a minimum. No need to draw attention.

By the time we neared the small group in front of the arch, I was panting. Despite the high ceiling, this place felt insanely claustrophobic. All around, people pushed and jostled, excited for something. Occasionally, I saw flashes of the people beneath the cloaks. All were ghostly, and all had the intense eyes of the man who'd attacked me.

It was a cult. Some kind of weird dark magic death cult.

And their leader was the one I was supposed to convince to give us world-saving info.

Yeah, that'd be easy.

Flames burst to life in the middle of the archway, briefly flaring a bright blue. The energy in the crowd rose, and excited murmurs filtered through.

Maximus's grip on my hand tightened. I held my breath, waiting. The anticipation in the air was impossible to ignore, and even I started to feel a bit excited.

I took it as more evidence that I had an unnatural affinity for this place. No matter how hard I wanted to get rid of the darkness inside me, it was always there.

Just my freaking luck.

The flames flared bright purple, and the crowd surged forward. Maximus and I didn't even have a choice. We were carried through on a wave of bodies, flowing with the crowd toward the purple flames. My heart thundered as we neared, and I struggled to move backward, to have some control of our destination. Maximus pulled back as well, but the crush of bodies was too powerful. They forced us through the flames, which reeked of sulfur and prickled against my skin as we passed.

Thank fates they didn't burn.

We entered a room that was far smaller than the one we'd been in. The ceiling was about thirty feet high, and it was a narrow space, over a hundred feet long. On the far end rose a stone platform. A waterfall poured down from behind it, sparkling with dark magic. The crowd surged toward it, beginning to chant. Their words were unfamiliar, which meant they weren't Greek, since I could now understand it. There were possibly some Greek root words, but this was some dark hell language.

The crowd stopped abruptly in front of the waterfall, leaving about twenty feet between them and the platform with the water pouring down behind it. Maximus and I stood right in the middle of them, pressed together.

Hounds began to howl, baying toward a moon I couldn't see. I looked around, searching for them, but saw only the crowd of ghosts with feverish eyes.

"Where the hell are they?" Maximus murmured.

"No idea."

The waterfall flared with dark magic, catching my attention. I turned toward it, unconsciously leaning forward with the rest of the crowd.

Whatever they were waiting for was about to happen.

A moment later, a tall figure stepped through the waterfall, her dark hair flowing down her back. Two tall dogs stood at her side, each skinny with sleek black fur and red eyes. They stood on the stone stage, staring out at the crowd.

The woman was beautiful in a cruel way, with thin lips and dark eyes. Her dress was a glorious purple sheath of silk, with flowing sleeves trimmed in gold.

Damn, Hecate could dress.

Her magic reeked of sulfur and rotten vegetables, and the smile that she shot the crowd was both satisfied and devious. She definitely liked being worshiped. With the way this crowd was nearly vibrating with excitement, they liked worshipping her.

Pride. That was her thing, according to Mordaca.

Her dark gaze traveled over the worshippers and stopped on Maximus and me. Her eyes widened.

Well, there went our cover.

I'd hoped to observe her for longer, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.

"Intruders." She pursed her lips and tilted her head. "Well, isn't that interesting."

My heart began to thud. If she decided to sic her minions on us, we were in trouble. I tensed, ready to fight.

She looked down at her dogs. "Brutus? Judas? What do you think?"

They woofed. I had no idea what it meant, but she seemed to like it, because she smiled and raised her hands to make a parting-the-watersgesture. The crowd surged back from us, forming a ring with us at the center. There was about twenty feet between me and the nearest cult member, but somehow, this felt even more claustrophobic. Everyone stared at us, their interest palpable.

The dark waterfall shimmered, and twenty transparent blue figures stepped out from beneath the water, flanking Hecate like an army.

My heart leapt into my throat and my skin turned to ice.

Phantoms.

Oh, shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

I wanted to turn and run—anyone in their right mind would turn and run.

Phantoms were literally the worst supernatural creatures out there, and it didn't surprise me a bit that Hecate would have an army of them. The ghostly figures fed on the misery and fear of their victims, forcing them to relive everything terrible in their lives.

Why the hell were they here?

Though I asked the question, I had a sinking feeling that I knew.

It was nearly impossible to fight Phantoms. Del, the FireSoul who was half Phantom, could go up against them when she was in her Phantom form. But they were so incorporeal that I couldn't make contact with them in my human form.

But if they got a grip on me…

I shuddered.

Hecate said nothing, just raised her hands and gestured like a flight attendant pointing down the aisle toward the exit at the back. She looked like an icy cold bitch, and I swallowed hard.

The Phantoms surged forward, a wave of transparent blue figures. They were on us in an instant, their cold hands grasping. A strong grip tightened on my arm, and the touch nearly made my knees buckle. Pain shot through me as my mind exploded with agony.

Images of my sisters dying at the hands of the Titans flashed in my head, making tears spring to my eyes. Thoughts of me succumbing to the darkness within me followed close on its heels.

I would become a slave to the darkness and forsake my sisters, resulting in their deaths. Resulting in the destruction of the Protectorate. The death of Maximus.

Memories of my time with the Rebel Gods surged within me. I'd succumbed to their darkness during my captivity.

I was prone to it.

I could do it again.

I would do it again.

The horrible thoughts tumbled around in my head as the Phantoms reached for me, their hands scrabbling against my limbs.

I sucked in a ragged breath, trying to get control of myself. I couldn't fail like this, a victim to my own worst fears.

Beside me, Maximus struck out.

His hand connected with a Phantom's cheek, and the creature flung backward.

Wait, what?

Maximus had been able to hurt the Phantoms.

Because we were also kind of ghostly?

Maybe.

I'd take it.

As the terrible thoughts threatened to drag me down into despair, I swung my fist toward the nearest monster. My hand connected with its cheek, and the creature stumbled backward.

Hell yeah.

The little victory gave me hope, and funnily enough, that hope was enough to light a fire within me. Horrible images still flowed through my mind, making me shake, but I had enough strength to lash out.

I went wild, kicking and punching. It was like a demon took over my body, fueled by panic and terror. There was nothing worse than being trapped in my own fears, and I'd do anything to get out of it.

The Phantoms began to stumble back, my attack more than they could take. Next to me, Maximus fought off his own demons, and they were surging backward even faster than mine were.

"Enough!" Hecate's voice echoed through the chamber.

The Phantoms stopped, but I didn't. I charged them.

When I came back to my senses, the idea that I'd charged them would sound insane. But I couldn't help it.

I was sick of being afraid. Sick of it.

Sick of my horrible memories, sick of my fear of falling to the darkness, sick of my fear of not being good enough.

So I went nuts, going after the Phantoms like I was going to tear them limb from limb.

"I said, enough!" Hecate's voice thundered through the room, and my limbs froze in place.

I was in mid punch, my arm outstretched. I could even feel the snarl on my face. But I was frozen solid. Though I couldn't even move my eyes, I could just barely make out the image of Hecate staring at me. The Phantoms were frozen all around, some of them running, some of them looking like they wanted to charge me, their hands outstretched and their faces twisted in hungry grimaces.

Bring it! I wanted to shout.

"Come." Hecate's icy voice cracked through the room, and the Phantoms followed the command, drifting back to stand behind her.

My limbs unfroze, and I almost fell over. At the last second, I caught myself, staying on my feet. Panting, I stared at Hecate, hating her with everything in my soul.

Then I turned and went back to Maximus, who looked pale beneath his hood. His jaw was tense and his eyes shadowed. He'd probably just relived his time in the Colosseum, or something even worse. I wanted to reach for him. To comfort him.

It wasn't an option right now. Revealing weakness was the worst thing we could to.

So I stopped next to him, pressing my shoulder to his. It was the most we could manage, and it helped. Warmth spread through me, his touch grounding me. He was my anchor in the storm, and I hoped I was his.

I turned to face Hecate.

"Who are you?" Hecate demanded. "And what are you doing in my domain, uninvited?"

"I don't suppose you'd believe we want to join your cult?" I almost put the word weird in front of cult, but bit it back at the last minute. I'd seen what she was capable of, and I didn't want to mess with her.

"You could only wish to be so lucky as to join my minions."

I glanced around to see how the crowd liked being called minions, but there was just an audible sigh of happiness from this bunch.

Oookay.

Weirdos.

"Who are you?" Her voice cracked like a whip.

I drew back my hood to reveal my face. "I am Rowan Blackwood, the Greek Dragon God."

Her brows rose. "Ah, so you are the one."

I nodded.

"Well, I didn't give you my magic."

No, and I was glad. Only some of the Greek gods had volunteered, and I was having enough of a problem with Hades's magic that I didn't want her dirty stuff as well.

I shrugged. "Fine by me."

She scowled, then seemed to realize she was showing emotion, and smoothed out her features. "I don't think I like you."

I resisted a second shrug, and I definitely didn't say that I didn't like her either.

"And who's the big fellow with you?" she purred.

Maximus drew back his hood, and she stared at him appreciatively.

Ha. She might've wanted him, but he was mine.

"I am Maximus Valerius."

"Ah, gladiator. I followed your exploits in the Colosseum years ago."

Of course she had a thing for enforced blood sports. What a bitch.

He nodded, but said nothing and appeared to be supremely bored. Despite the pain of what we'd just gone through, he was determined to piss her off. Mordaca had said "be tough," and he had no problem with that. I nearly grinned. Her pride would not like that.

"Well, neither of you are weak. Why are you here?"

"We have questions," I said.

"Why would I answer them?"

"Maybe you can't."

"I can do anything."

"Really?" I tried to make my voice skeptical. She clearly wasn't going to give me the info I wanted because I asked nicely. So I had to trick her into it. Or win it from her.

"Of course I can." She scoffed.

"Better than me?"

She looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was.

"Are you challenging me?" she demanded.

I nodded. "Yeah. A competition. Something fair, but difficult. If I win, you give me the info I want. If you win, I'll leave."

"If I win, you'll join my minions."

Oh, hell no. That would not be happening. "What did you have in mind?"

She turned around and swept her arm out. The Phantoms disappeared, and so did the waterfall and platform upon which she stood. Suddenly, she was at my level.

The minions around us gasped and stepped back. Suddenly, there was no one standing between me and Hecate.

The underground cavern expanded, and a massive lake appeared in its place. It had to be the size of four football fields put together, and the water gleamed black. The stench of sulfur was nearly unbearable. I breathed shallowly through my mouth, nearly gagging.

Hecate turned back to me. "A little competition."

I grimaced. "I'm not swimming in that."

"No, you certainly aren't. It's acid, and if you fell in, you'd die."

Oh, fantastic.

"We will, however, race to get across." She swept her hand toward the ground, and two wooden rafts appeared. "You will go alone. The gladiator stays on the shore. The first one to the other side, wins."

I swallowed hard, stepping forward. Maximus' brow was furrowed and his eyes worried. He clearly didn't like this, but Hecate wouldn't budge.

"Fine." I looked at Maximus, who nodded at me.

"You can do this."

"Thanks." I pressed a quick kiss to his lips, not giving a damn that I had an audience of two dozen minions and one seriously bitchy goddess.

I strode toward Hecate, eyeing the shitty little raft with dismay. It looked flimsy as hell.

Hecate's magic surged again, and a long paddle appeared. "Because I'm feeling generous."

"Thanks." I didn't sound thankful though.

She didn't have a paddle, which probably meant she had something up her sleeve.

I stopped at the edge of the water, where it lapped against the shore. Gingerly, I stuck the very tip of my boot in. Just a couple millimeters of the toe. It hissed and sizzled, eating away at the sole.

Shit. I jerked my foot back.

Yeah, she wasn't kidding about this die if you fall in bit.

Hecate grinned evilly, then turned to the dogs, who'd stuck by her side every second. "Brutus, Judas. You may play."

The dog's fiery eyes lit with joy, and they leapt up, skinny limbs flashing, then spun and sped into the water. They barked with joy, splashing around in the sulfurous acid. True hellhounds. They played for a few seconds, then trotted up through the shallows, headed for Hecate's raft.

They reached it and went immediately for the two ropes that I only now noticed, picking them up in their jaws and tugging.

Oh, crap. They were going to pull her across.

I rushed to my raft and grabbed the long paddle. "We're starting now?"

"Fine." Her voice sounded bored, and she clearly thought her victory would be easy.

No way in hell. Even though we were already in hell.

I pushed my raft out onto the shallows, careful not to touch the water. When it was floating, I jumped on carefully, my heart leaping into my throat when the raft wobbled.

Oh, fates. This would be hard.

Gingerly, I put my paddle in the water and pushed myself forward. The raft glided over the stinking surface, which gleamed darkly. The stench made my eyes water, and I stared upward, blinking rapidly.

"Onward!" Hecate's voice sounded, and the dogs gave a joyful yip.

I turned back, spotting her standing on the raft to my left and looking like a queen, her dogs towing her along with big doggy grins on their faces.

I scowled and turned back, pushing my paddle as hard as I could. There had to be an easier way. Perhaps if I could control the water to push me along?

As if she'd heard my thought, Hecate shouted, "Wave!"

What the heck?

I turned to her, spotting her flourishing her hand at the water. As she'd commanded, a wave formed. It was small, but definitely big enough to tip me into the lake.

My skin chilled. Damn it.

I called on Poseidon's gift, feeling it swell inside me. I could feel the water as if it were part of myself, and since it was a stinking acidy mess, I shuddered.

There was no time to be grossed out. I used my power to command the water to flatten. My heart thundered as my magic went to work. The wave was nearly to me by the time it smoothed out. My raft rocked gently, and I crouched, bracing myself.

Sweat poured down my spine as the acidy water lapped at the edges of the raft.

Hecate was pulling into the lead now, her dogs dragging her faster than my oar could manage. I commanded the water to push me, but it barely worked. The raft had such a shallow draft that there was no surface for the water to push upon. I tried to create a current, but even that was nearly impossible in a lake.

Determined, I paddled faster, barely managing to keep up with Hecate. We were only a quarter of the way across when another wave came at me, this one bigger.

I called upon Poseidon's magic, barely managing to flatten the wave in time. My raft rocked, and I nearly went to my knees. All my fight training helped, and I kept paddling.

"So I see that Poseidon gave you his power," she said.

I didn't respond. My muscles ached and my eyes burned from the fumes of the water, but I gave it my all.

A wall of thorny vines grew up in front of me, at least five feet high and twenty feet across.

I hissed. "Not fair!"

"Life's not fair, honey, and this is my race."

I gritted my teeth. If I had to paddle around the wall, I'd lose any chance at winning. It'd just take too damned long.

No way in hell was I going to lose.

Not to this jerk, and not when so much was at stake. I held the paddle in one hand and dug into my potion bag with the other, then pulled out the familiar triangular-shaped disintegration bomb.

I hurled the thing at the wall, not bothering with careful aim. It was so big I'd hit it no matter what.

The potion bomb smashed into the thorny black vines, and the wall began to disintegrate, falling into the water as dust. I paddled right over it, barely keeping up with Hecate.

She glared at me, dark eyes gleaming.

"That was all me," I said, referring to my potion genius.

She scowled, then looked at her dogs. "Faster, Brutus and Judas, faster!"

I dug my paddle into the water, giving it my all. Sweat slicked my hands, but I ignored it and gripped the paddle tighter.

Out of the corner of my left eye, I spotted Hecate waving her hand. Her magic swelled, the stench of rotten vegetables growing.

Ah, shit.

Frantically, my gaze passed over the water. What was she sending at me this time?

The water to my right surged. Another freaking wave?

She was a slow learner, if she thought I couldn't deal with that.

The wave grew.

Then two eyes appeared, peering above the water.

Ah, crap. Not a wave.

My heart jackhammered. The beast's head was two feet wide at least, with huge fangs and beady yellow eyes. It opened its mouth wider as it zipped toward me. I paddled faster, but I was only seventy percent of the way across, if that.

No way I could outrun this beast. And when it caught me, it'd knock me into the acid water.

Fear iced my spine. What the hell was I going to do?