Chapter 6

Chapter Six

CLIO

"Do I have to wear this?"

"Yes."

"But I look ridiculous."

"You look great."

"I can't see anything."

"You'll be fine."

Scowling, Clio stopped walking, and Kassia took a few more steps before turning around. Eryx was another dozen steps ahead, walking backward to watch them and grinning broadly. The street they were following, with towering buildings on all sides, was quiet in the late afternoon light.

"Kass, look at me." Clio held out her arms. "They'll laugh when they see me."

Draping sleeves hung from her arms, the white fabric almost long enough to touch the ground. The sleeves, detached from the rest of the outfit, were tied in place around her upper arms, leaving her shoulders bare. A matching band of wide green fabric was wrapped around her waist and belted in place above layers of swishing skirts.

The worst part was the mask that covered her forehead and dipped low over her eyes, hiding the entire upper part of her face. Who wore a mask to go spell shopping?

"Clio," Kassia said patiently. "This is the traditional dress of a high-born nymph. Bastian sent it for you to wear."

"But it looks?—"

"Mysterious and intimidating. It will tell the Underworlders you're important, you're confident, and you mean business."

"But—"

"And, most importantly, the mask hides half your face, so no one will be able to tell if you're staring at certain spells for a suspiciously long time."

Clio raised and lowered her arms again, uncomfortable with the fabric's weight.

"It also makes you look rich," Eryx called from where he waited down the street. "We want them to think you're loaded."

Clio touched her mask lightly where a delicate tiara, set with rubies, emeralds, and opals, spanned the top. A grand sapphire filled the setting in the middle of her belt, and another large stone glittered at her throat.

"I suppose," she mumbled.

Kassia stepped closer and Clio tipped the mask up to see her friend more clearly.

"You don't have to go," Kassia murmured. "We can turn back anytime."

Clio pulled a smile onto her face and put her shoulders back. "No, it's fine. I just wish I could dress like you instead."

Kassia was also wearing an outfit Bastian had provided. The fine leather was blood red, with accents in black and silver and glittering rubies for decoration. Despite carrying no weapons, she looked like a warrior of flames, crimson from her hair down to her toes.

"Just wait," Eryx said, trotting back to join them. His outfit matched Kassia's almost exactly and showed off his tattooed arms. "Everyone's attention will be on you. No one will be looking at your escorts."

Clio nodded and took a deep breath, the unyielding fabric restricting her midsection. "Let's do this."

"That's the spirit," Eryx replied cheerfully. "Think of it as an adventure."

Kassia shot the male bodyguard a dirty look that Clio could see even with her mask. Despite her complaints, the mask was made of carefully fashioned fabric that appeared opaque from the outside but allowed her to see through it. Shaking her arms to untangle her obscenely long sleeves, she started forward again. The fabric swished around her legs with each step, offering glimpses of her soft green boots—a break from tradition, since nymphs normally went barefoot.

The sun hung low in the west, lighting the scattered clouds with shades of orange and pink. A handful of people—humans, no doubt—hurried on their way, their postures stiff as they watched the darkening shadows.

Clio surreptitiously pressed an arm to her churning stomach. It was okay. It was fine. She could do this. She was just going to look at some spells… in the Underworld.

Overworlders didn't go to the Underworld. Underworlders didn't go to the Overworld. That was the rule. Well, it wasn't so much a rule as it was common sense. A daemon couldn't enter the Underworld or Overworld unless they knew how to get there.

That aside, why would an Overworlder want to go to the Underworld? It was a realm of darkness, violence, and monsters. And here she was, a relatively powerless Overworld nymph, waltzing straight into that hell.

They reached an intersection. Down the wide boulevard to their left, a white tower rose above the other buildings like a gloating king. Its gleaming windows reflected the setting sun, flashing orange like the interior was on fire. The Ra embassy. At least she wasn't going there .

The streets grew more dilapidated, lined with battered cars that hadn't moved in decades and were gradually disintegrating into piles of rust. Half the buildings were abandoned and boarded shut, and they passed a dusty park with a vandalized statue and one cold concrete bench marked with graffiti. Some cities were better than this, she'd heard, while others were worse. A century ago, cities were far different, but even then, she didn't think she would have liked living in one.

"Ah-ha!" Eryx exclaimed. "Here we are."

He stopped in the middle of the narrow street, facing a blank brick wall with a single rusting metal door. The building was two stories with barred windows, no different from the neglected structures on either side of it.

"This? Here?" Clio squinted at the dank, alley-like street, then back at the door. "This is the Hades embassy?"

The Ra embassy was the fanciest building in the city, and she'd expected the most powerful Underworld regime to be just as flashy.

"Not the official one," Eryx said with a sly grin.

He opened the door. Inside was a closet-sized foyer leading to another door, with a keypad on the wall. Eryx punched in a code while Clio tried not to feel even stupider for wearing such a dramatic outfit in a grimy little foyer.

A tinny speaker rang once before a female voice replied. "How may I help you?"

"The envoy from Irida is here," Eryx said.

"Please come in."

The door buzzed loudly and Eryx swung it open. Clio expected a grungy apartment interior, but instead, she was greeted with a clean, utilitarian office. The brightly lit reception area featured several rows of cushioned leather chairs, paintings on the wall, and a broad desk, behind which sat a young woman in a red blouse.

Feeling like a complete fraud, Clio crossed the room in the slow, regal glide she'd practiced for hours yesterday. The receptionist watched, her eyes just a little wide.

"Welcome to the Hades embassy." Daunted or not, the receptionist's tone was professionally neutral. "You must be Clio, the envoy from Irida. We've been expecting you. Before we begin, can I confirm whether you are all capable of ley line travel?"

"Of course," Clio answered in her best impression of a serene, stately tone.

"Excellent." The receptionist peered at the contents of a folder on her desk. "Your guides will be ready shortly."

Right on cue, the door beside the desk swung open. Four daemons in casual clothing walked into the reception area: three men with dark hair and one with silvery hair at odds with his young face. They all stopped to stare at Clio in her fantastical outfit. At least they weren't laughing.

Kassia shifted closer to Clio. "The pale one," she whispered. "He's a Hades reaper. Watch your back."

Clio's gaze darted over the silver-haired man again. A reaper was bad enough. A reaper from the Hades family was even more dangerous. This was just the beginning, though. She'd be surrounded by reapers once she entered their territory.

"My name is Sithon," the Hades reaper said in a low, clipped voice. Clio opened her mouth to reply but he plowed on without pausing. "I will be your guide. We'll be traveling by car to the ley line. Then we will guide you through the line to our destination in the Underworld. From there, it will be an hour to Asphodel."

Clio nodded, trying not to look too nervous.

"The moment you set foot in the Underworld," Sithon continued, "you will be within Hades territory. We in no way guarantee your safety, especially if you stray from your guides. Asphodel is the seat of Hades's rule and the family estate. We have arranged accommodations should you need them, but as per your proposal, your business should conclude within twelve hours, at which point we will return you here to the embassy. Do you have any questions?"

Clio folded her hands in front of her. "Is there anything else we should know about visiting the Underworld?"

"It will be dark."

Wow, helpful.

"Your visit will be limited to Asphodel, and you will return directly to the ley line." Sithon's upper lip curled. "I suggest you focus on your business. As I said, we do not guarantee your safety, so it would be in your best interest to restrain your curiosity."

Clio stared him down from behind her mask, wishing she were taller. He towered over her five-foot frame. "We're ready."

"This way."

Clio, Kassia, and Eryx followed their guides through the building and out a rear door, where a large van with blacked-out windows waited. A heavy panel separated the driver's compartment from the passenger seats, creating a claustrophobic cave on wheels.

The ride was long and uncomfortable, the air stuffy and the silence oppressive. Clio wished she could talk to Kassia to distract herself, but with their Hades guides in earshot, she kept silent and tried not to think about what was coming.

The van finally came to a stop over an hour later. Clio clambered out to find Sithon already waiting, his hand turned palm up and a red-tinged light spell glowing above his palm. The downtown skyscrapers were long gone, replaced by scraggly pine trees and windswept hills.

The soft rush of nearby magic teased Clio's senses. Adjusting her clothes, she turned to look past the van.

There it was, fifty feet away. The ley line.

Light surged up from the earth like an aurora borealis anchored to the ground, thin and insubstantial enough to see the trees on its far side. Greens, blues, and purples shifted in a ceaseless dance, rippling like reaching hands for the sky that would forever be out of reach.

She stared at the ley line, mesmerized. Sithon stepped in front of her, breaking her trance. He held out a thick strip of black fabric.

"You will be blindfolded from this point onward until we reach the outskirts of Asphodel. If you remove the blindfold, you will be killed."

Clio froze, her heart hammering with sudden fear. Eryx no longer appeared confident or amused as he took a blindfold from another guide. Kassia glanced at Clio, her mouth tight.

Clio stared at the blindfold Sithon was holding out. Many ley line locations were closely guarded secrets, but she hadn't realized the reapers would keep their visitors in the dark—literally. If she, Kassia, and Eryx didn't know where the Asphodel ley line was located, they would be completely at the mercy of their hosts, unable to escape if something went wrong.

Kassia was still looking at her, and Clio knew what her friend was silently saying: last chance to turn back.

Clio took the blindfold from Sithon. Slipping the cloth under her mask, she tied it tightly. Pitch blackness closed over her, impenetrable and overwhelming.

She feared the Underworld would be even darker.