26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lexia

The tunnel goes on forever. It doesn't get any bigger, smaller, taller or shorter. If we weren't going around curves here and there, I'd think we were going around in a circle. Everything looks exactly the same.

"How can we be sure we're going the right way?"

"Did you see a turn that I didn't?" Lumen asks with a smirk.

I give him an easy shove, and he laughs, the sound echoing around us.

Lumen says, "Slate mentioned it takes a while to reach the main doors."

"Doors?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Apparently, there are doors that lead you into the Underworld."

"That seems too normal."

"Seems exactly like something Hades would do, from what I've heard of him," Lumen says.

I can't be sure how long we walk for. My sense of time is awful these days, but eventually we make it to an enormous cavern. The ceilings are five times as tall, but it's just as round. Everything is made of that shiny black rock. On either side are drop-offs. I'm too afraid to go to the edge and see how far down they go, but I have a feeling it's far. Ahead, there is a large, faded blue door. There is no window or door handle. We walk across the raised platform, my curiosity wanting me to look over the edge, but my fear of what I'll see keeps me moving forward.

"How do we get in?" I ask when we stop in front of the door.

Lumen looks the door up and down, tapping his chin. "Slate didn't mention this."

"Great. So, we're just stuck here then?" I ask.

"There must be a way inside," Ves says, scanning the door.

"Of course there is a way inside. Maybe we just have to—" Lumen puts his palm against it and pushes. The door swings open. "And here I thought we'd need a magic spell," he says with a small laugh.

"Seems the simplest answer is the answer when it comes to this God," Vesperon says.

That seems to be the truth, which is trickery in itself. When you see something like this, you overthink it. He keeps things simple, and most would assume it's the opposite.

The moment the door swings open, loud music floats through the air. I know what I'm hearing, but it takes a few seconds for it to register.

Because why in the world would Hades be blasting "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera? But he is, because that's definitely what I hear.

"Are we sure this guy is sane?" I whisper as we move into the room.

It looks like the inside of a gothic cathedral, minus the pews and other religious effects. The ceiling is high and peaked. Columns are on either side. The structure is built from black and blue marble. The only other color coming from the large stained glass windows along each side. The music reverberates all around us. A chill runs over my skin, causing goosebumps.

"No," Lumen says. "Not sure about that at all."

He takes my hand and we walk forward together.

"Hello?" Vesperon calls out. "Is anyone here?"

It seems wrong to raise your voice in a place like this, but the music is already loud, so it isn't the feeling of needing to be quiet. And I'm not sure anyone ten feet away could hear Vesperon's deep voice over the phantom's. Still, he keeps trying.

We make our way to the end and find nothing. There are no doors, no windows we could get through. There isn't a hallway or anything like that. It's just a dead end…

"What is going on?" Lumen mutters, looking up at the ceiling.

I turn to look behind us and gasp at what I see.

Both of them whirl around and though their reaction is silent, it's as tense as mine.

"How did that happen?" I ask slowly.

"Seems Hades isn't as simple-minded as we thought," Lumen says.

The door we came in through is gone. Where it would be is the end of the cathedral, but beyond it is the biggest atrium I've ever seen. There are lush plants, all of which are too colorful to not be poisonous. And the waterfall… my stars, that waterfall is gorgeous . The rock behind it is that same black stone, the water reflecting off it looks black as it pours over the edges, falling into the pool beneath.

My feet are moving before I think about it. I hurry forward, something urging me that way. The smell of flowers and fresh air is wonderful. There's a slight breeze, and I have no idea where it's coming from. It rustles the petals on the bright flowers. I don't know much about flowers, but these don't look like anything you'd find on earth. At least, not where I'm from. Maybe in the jungle.

When I turn toward the waterfall, I find Vesperon and Lumen looking at everything in wonder too. I'm drawn to the dark water, and I carefully go to the edge, crouching to get a better look. Cool air from the moving water brushes across my face, and I have the urge to run my fingers through it to feel the chill.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice comes.

I pause, my hand an inch from the water. I look behind me, noting the cathedral is gone now, and in its place is something resembling the cavern we entered before going through the door. I turn my head more, seeking the person who just spoke.

I nearly fall into the water when I lay eyes on him.

He's taller than Vesperon, and about five times as wide. He looks part Viking, part giant. His arms are thicker than my head, and his legs literally are the size of tree trunks.

His hair is thick and long. It's black but shimmers blue where the light touches it. His beard matches, the tips of it reaching the middle of his torso. Beads and metal rings are placed here and there, along with small braids. The guy is terrifying, but somehow a fashionable mix of gothic and Viking.

"Uh, sorry?" I say, pulling away from the water and standing up.

"Why are you here?" he asks, his voice deep and with that otherworldly echo.

"Uh, well, I—" Something clicks, and instead of answering, I look around for my mates. I don't see them anywhere. I turn to get a full view, and still, they aren't here. What if they—

"They didn't fall in. They're safe," the man says.

I frown, turning toward him. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Why would I lie?"

"Why do people do anything?"

"I am a God, not a person."

"Even more of a reason to not trust you," I say, lifting my chin.

His lip twitches, and then he's smiling. It throws me for a loop because this man does not look like someone who would smile—or be kind at all.

The man, who I can assume is Hades, waves his hand. Like a veil has been lifted, the cavern is gone and the cathedral is back. Only it seems as if I am looking at it through glass. Regardless of that, beyond it are Ves and Lumen, looking at tall flowers that resemble sunflowers, but their petals are weeping and blazing blue.

"You like tricks," I comment.

"I need to be entertained," he says simply. "Now, can you tell me what you are doing here?"

"I'm here because of a prophecy," I say.

"For a prophecy?" he questions, raising a doubtful eyebrow.

"Well, because of a prophecy, I suppose."

"You're here because of a pro—" He stops abruptly, his face falling. He looks like he's seen a ghost, only I have a feeling a ghost wouldn't do that to this man. Meaning, it has to be something much more.

"Sir?" I say carefully, stepping forward.

He keeps his gaze on me. When I'm a few feet from him, he snaps out of it.

"A prophecy?" he questions, his voice much quieter and very raspy.

"Yes. Me and my mates."

He looks at them again, and so quietly I almost don't hear, he says, "There are supposed to be four."

"Yeah, one of them is, uhm… busy."

"Busy?" he barks, whipping his head back toward me. "You can't come here and talk about the prophecy without having everything that is needed." His words are hurried. Frantic. I pissed him off. Great. Pissing of a God wasn't on my bingo list for this year, but neither was anything else that happened.

I shake my head and step back. "I'm sorry, I—"

"If you do not have everything, it will not work. If you are not all here, I will not get her back!" he bellows.

He seems furious, but it isn't quite anger I see in his eyes.

It's fear.

This man is afraid of something.

But what could scare a man like him?

He begins to pace, running his hand through his hair and muttering to himself.

"Is there somewhere we can sit and talk, maybe?" I ask.

Whenever I glance over at Lumen and Ves, I see them in the same spot. I wonder if they're okay. They're still staring at those flowers like they're the most interesting thing they've ever seen. It's odd, actually.

When Hades doesn't answer me, I try again. This is where we are supposed to be. He is the one who is supposed to help us. Without him, we have nothing.

"Sir, can we—"

"Who sent you?" he barks, stopping to face me. "Who told you about the prophecy? Is this a joke? Is someone playing a trick on me? I swear, I'll toss them into the river with my own two hands." He holds them up, each the size of a baseball mitt.

"N-no, this isn't a joke. I swear."

His brow furrows, and he leans closer to me. "Then who sent you?"

"No one, technically. We found the prophecy and we came—like it said to do."

"If you read the prophecy, you would know all four of you need to be here."

The anger rolls off him in waves, but I'm not afraid of him. Odd, because I probably should be. I feel bad for the guy, honestly.

"We got our information from a journal that Vesperon's friend kept about the prophecy. It was mentioned there needed to be four of us but didn't specifically say all four of us had to come here. M y other mate, he was supposed to be with us too, but he kind of disappeared."

"Disappeared?" he shouts. "You said he was busy!"

I flinch away, his voice echoing around us. "I don't really know where he is. We had a fight. He left. He said he would come back and he didn't, and we knew we had to come here, so that's what we did."

I give him the simplest explanation I can, because what else am I going to say?

"No, this will not do. This won't work!" He throws his arms up and paces again. "I'll never get her back unless they are all here. There has to be four. It won't work with only three. That's what I was told."

"If we could just talk—"

"There is no point in talking!" He doesn't stop pacing when he shouts at me this time, just keeps going. "You cannot help me if there aren't four of you."

"But I—"

He waves his hand dismissively and before I can say another word, I'm spinning through the air.