“Shhh,” Metis whispered. “We are still at a relatively safe distance now, but you don’t want to be too loud. If the beast hears you, she’ll assume you’re escapees from her care and attack you.”
“Beast?” Shade asked.
“Campe is the dragon who guards the gates to inner Tartarus. Kronos coaxed her into service to prevent the Cyclopes brothers from escaping. She’s the wickedest witch you could ever imagine. She looks like a normal woman as you approach, but before you know it and once you’re close enough to her, she’ll shapeshift into the fiercest dragon you’ve ever seen. Or so I’ve been told.”
I inhaled deeply. “This is going to be slightly more difficult than I’d thought. Just getting here was more arduous than I’d expected.”
“Tell me about it,” Hera added.
“So how do we get past it, I mean her, or whatever?” I asked.
“The only two ways you could get past her are being punished and sent to detention by the Headmaster, or … defeating her,” Metis said.
Shade’s flame kept flickering on and off. We needed to get to a Hurler and fast if we had any chance of defeating this monster. “What happened to the weapons we brought?” I asked. “Not like I would’ve expected you to carry them all down here, but—”
“Oh, I left them right by the pool. All except one sword, one shield, and one spear, which was all I could carry. They’re propped against the wall around the bend.” Metis pointed down the tunnel.
“And where is this Hurler?” I asked.
“This tunnel empties out near a bridge of sorts that spans the River Phlegethon. I’ve heard the flames of the river can reach as high as the bridge itself. The Hurler is on our side of the bridge.”
“Really?” Hera blurted. Her voice carried.
“Shhh,” Metis reiterated.
“That makes sense though,” said Shade. “That way you’d have to get past Campe and cross the Phlegethon to escape Tartarus. No easy task, I’m sure.”
“On the far side of the bridge is where Campe guards the gate that leads to the cells.”
“I remember seeing that on the maps,” Shade said, still trying to get his blue flames to behave.
“What did you do with our food?” Hera asked.
“I ate it long ago.”
I gripped my stomach, which grumbled and ached from not having seen solid food for so long. None of us had. We weren’t in any shape to be fighting a dragon. I wasn’t even sure I had enough energy to shift into one.
What if Metis was indeed leading us into a trap? What if she’d planned this out with Atlas and Kronos? She kept talking about what was right around the bend. I clapped my hands over my temples to quiet the voices.
Nothing about this situation felt right or certain. Metis had been conveniently just close enough to jab me in the back with a spear during the search and rescue mission. What if Hera and Shade hadn’t shown up when they did?
It felt just a bit too convenient that three of my schoolmates were already missing and now the last three of us were conveniently right around the bend from peril? And Metis was the one that pointed out this cave on the map to begin with. And I was sure even Hera couldn’t comb Metis’ mind at that moment without first soaking up some cosmic energy from the Hurler. We definitely needed a Hurler to power up.
I hated the doubt. It ate away at all my senses and fed my neurotic, food and nectar deprived psychosis. “All right,” I said. “The only way we are going to leave here alive is if we defeat all obstacles in our path. Our first objective is to get to the Hurler. There’s no way we can power up and fight without some dust. The second objective is to defeat or otherwise get past this Campe wench. The third objective is to secure the Cyclopes brothers. And our fourth objective is to extract them by Hurler. I am not going out the same way we came in.”
“All right,” Hera said, almost in a whisper. “What’s your plan?”
“Metis, please bring the maps over,” I said.
She spread the scrolls on the floor of the tunnel, Shade illuminating them as best he could. Hera and Metis crouched close on either side of me, causing my breath to shorten and my head to feel light at their closeness. But I forced my focus to return.
“If the Hurler is here,” Metis pointed. “Shade should go first, because once he’s powered up he can become invisible and sneak across the bridge.”
“Alone?” Shade’s eyes widened in the dim light.
“Afraid so.” I said. “She’ll see the rest of us.” I turned to Metis. “That was brilliant. I like the way you think.” At that moment, I knew all my doubts were unfounded.
“Before I touch the Hurler, she’ll see me anyway.” His voice dripped with anxiety.
“Yeah, but then once you disappear, she might think her eyes had deceived her,” I explained. “So just go across and stay where it’ll be easy to get to the gate.”
Shade responded with a shaky voice. “Gotcha. Wait, do I have to hurl somewhere to extract the energy? And then come back? Where would I go?”
“Maybe. That’s one way to do it.” Although it made me nervous to think we would all have to teleport somewhere and then come back in order to power up, but if that’s what we had to do, then so be it.
“Or,” Hera said, “what if you just accept the cosmic energy from it the way we accept energy from something in order to shapeshift?”
“What, and shapeshift into a Hurler?” Shade scoffed.
“Seriously, Shade?”
“No, she’s correct,” I said. “Extract the energy from the Hurler. Now Hera, you need to grab a weapon and go second, because once you’re powered you can communicate through your mind and coordinate us all.”
Hera looked at me and nodded.
“Then I’ll go as quickly as possible because by that point, she will attack you, I mean us.”
“What about me?” Metis asked. In the dim light, her face showed the same vulnerability I’d fallen for and what seemed like genuine concern.
I took a deep breath. “Metis, the problem is that we don’t know what your special powers are yet from getting close to the Throne. I don’t even really know what mine are. You and I will have to improvise and help the team as needed.”
I steeled my nerves as we crept close to the bend in the tunnel. Diffused light spilled onto the floor just ahead of us, evidence that the opening was as near as Metis said it would be. Moving into the lead, I flattened my back against the rough, dank wall and leaned as far as I could around the bend without falling. I saw the edge of the bridge, but not much else.
Shade poked me in the ribs. I waved him off and edged a little farther out. Finally the Hurler came into view. As did Campe.
Her beauty radiated much in the same way as Rhea’s did, except Campe’s hair was flame red and wild with curls. She stood on the far side of the stone bridge as expected, appearing quite harmless. It was a shame she might end up turning into a horrific beast and that we would likely have to take down.
I motioned Shade forward. He patted me on the back and then crept around me. I inched ahead as he took two steps and then ran to the Hurler. Metis placed her hands on my waist and peeked around me.
Shade approached the Hurler. Campe rose from her klismos style lounging bench and took several steps forward. She probably wasn’t accustomed to seeing people approach from this side of the arched, stone bridge that looked to be as long as the MO Prep gymnasium.
Shade’s limbs shook as he accepted the Hurler’s energy. His head flopped backward. The brand on his arm glowed bright yellow. Then his body went stiff and he fell to the ground.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
I gasped before Hera clamped her hand over my mouth. “Sha—” Hera slid her hand around my waist and held tight. Shade didn’t look so good. Had he taken too much?
Campe walked toward the bridge and was about to cross it when Shade disappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief. But Campe’s closeness didn’t bode well for
Hera or me.
“Is everything all right?” Metis asked from behind us.
Hera turned. “Shhh.”
I nodded. I still couldn’t see Shade, which was a good thing, I hoped.
Campe propped her hands on her hips. Her flame-red hair bounced and swung as she looked around. Her chest heaved a sigh beneath the flowing, black chiton dress pinned at her shoulder.
I motioned for Hera to wait for my signal while Campe lingered at the edge of the bridge for a few moments amidst red and orange sparks that began to emanate from and encircle her body. Suddenly, she turned quickly toward the gate as if she expected something. Or heard something.
As Campe sauntered back to her klismos bench, I motioned Hera forward. She glanced toward Metis, then turned and planted a kiss on my forehead. I closed my eyes and savored the feeling of her faint energy. I refused to look at Metis.
Hera crept down the tunnel and prepared herself to run into the opening. With a sudden burst of speed, she sprinted to the Hurler, leaping and grabbing it with both hands. A whimper escaped Hera’s lips before she fell to one knee.
Campe’s head whipped around and she immediately rushed toward the bridge. I knew Campe had seen Hera and this was my chance to go, no matter what.
I ran to Hera, gazing briefly upward into the void. The half-light that surrounded us was boundless, ascending into a ceiling that was darker than black. The distinct aroma of charred embers stung the rear of my throat. Hera looked punch-drunk on the ground. Her eyelids twitched, half-closed. I held her limp body in my arms, my stomach clenched, as I hoped against hope that she hadn’t taken on too much. If any one of us could figure out how to best utilize the power transfer, it was Hera. I even doubted myself.
“No one invades my realm and lives to tell about it!” Campe yelled across the chasm. Her voice sounded as if she were speaking right into my ears. “Identify yourselves or be vanquished.”
I wondered if I should try to buy us some time. Hera still struggled to claw her way back to consciousness, and could scarcely contribute. Is this what happened to Shade?
Put your hands on the damn Hurler! Hera shouted into my mind. I knew then that she was going to be all right, despite her external appearance. But I had a grand thought. Everyone else should be fully powered before I go. I motioned for Metis to come over. Neither one of us knew what the dust had done to us. But we were about to find out.
Metis ran over.
“Siphon the energy out of the Hurler. Now.”
She gazed into my eyes as if to gauge my sincerity. Having satisfactorily seen into my soul, Metis placed her hands onto the post. Her body shook fiercely. Metis let go and stumbled to the wall near the post, barely able to hold herself upright. Luckily, Hera stood just in time.
I tried to reach my hand toward the Hurler, but it refused, almost as if my body knew the agony to come. After a deep breath, I finally edged my hands onto the Hurler. They immediately suctioned to the post. A painful jolt surged through my fingers, up my quivering arms, and radiated throughout my entire torso. My body went rigid as bolts of energy knifed through me. I was unraveling. Pain engulfed me, threatening to rip apart my sanity. My eyes closed and my mouth opened, failing to release the scream that roared up from my core.
But eventually the pain subsided, and when I was able to open my eyes again, Campe stood at the bridge’s edge on the far side of the chasm. Her mouth moved, but I couldn’t understand anything she said. I realized that my hands still held onto the Hurler post and let it go, falling backward. Hera held me through my convulsions.
“She’s changing,” Hera whisper-yelled as she laid me on the ground and braced for battle. I cursed myself for having her go second. She had no inherent weapon or defense as a result of the cosmic dust, save her mind.
I struggled to break through my partial paralysis and roll onto my side. As I barely managed to turn over, the beautiful woman across the bridge transformed.
Campe’s beastly form filled out into something resembling a half-dragon, half-scorpion. More than ten horns sprouted from her morphing head. Her legs grew as big as tree trunks with sharp silver claws at the end of each foot.
Her entire body scaled over and a long, winding, spiked tail snaked out of her backside and slapped the ground. Her arms extended and formed wings that stretched to either side of the bridge. The alkaline smell stung my nostrils. I wiped the perspiration on my forehead from the sudden spike in temperature in the subterranean realm.
I was still unable to fight yet, but tiny power surges sparked within me. Like the ones I’d felt that night when I’d mounted the Sky Throne. The heat of the sun radiated through my skin, as it turned iridescent and yellowish and inky veins snaked across my muscles.
Suddenly, Campe turned and lashed her barbed tail at a spot right next to her. Moments later I heard something crash next to me and heard, “Umph! Ugggh!”
It was Shade, weak from the fall. He’d been thrown all the way across the river. At least he hadn’t reappeared. His invisibility still held strong. “I’m all right. I think. Damn, that hurt.”
I whispered to him, “Get back over there. Hera will direct you.”
“As soon as I can breathe,” he whispered back, crawling closer to me and coughing.
Hera moved in front of me. Her body braced for impact as Campe rose into the air, wings churning powerful gusts toward us.
I struggled to rise to my feet behind Hera, causing her to turn and grip my hand like a vise. Her face paled. “Zeus, I have no weapon,” Hera’s voice quivered.
I registered a quick flash of movement in my peripheral vision. A spear sailed toward Campe striking the beast squarely in the chest. Metis ran out from behind the corner, beating her shield with the sword and yelling, “Come and get me!”
Hera’s head whipped toward Metis. She must’ve thrown her some message mentally because Metis turned toward Hera and shrugged, and then kept clanging on her shield.
Campe hovered in the air watching us, and then shot a stream of fire toward the river. The Phlegethon erupted in flames that licked up above the bridge. Campe landed on the middle of the bridge and turned her cursed glare toward Metis.
Hera spoke to me mentally, Campe’s going to need to recharge her furnace after that blast. We need to attack her now.
Pulling on all of my strength, I ran toward the river’s edge to draw the dragon’s attention away from Metis. Campe turned toward me. Her mouth widened, large enough for me to stand inside. Liquid death dripped from her enormous teeth and I could’ve sworn I saw her grin.
Metis threw her sword at Campe but it missed. Campe retaliated with a thin stream of fire, engulfing Metis’ shield in flames. Metis threw her shield to the ground and tried to retreat back into the cave. But she stumbled and fell backward, striking her head on the Hurler post.
I clapped my hands out of frustration and anger.
Whaboom! Campe startled at the sound of the heavens splitting and the subsequent roll of thunder. I separated my hands. Tiny spikes of pain pushed through my palms. Iridescent strings of energy transferred back and forth between my fingertips. As Campe prepared to attack Hera, the energy mass solidified in my palms. It was then that realized that I could probably heave it toward the she-dragon.
The rotating orb of energy hit Campe in the side of the head. She fell to the ground, her wings smoldering.
“Thank you,” Hera mouthed to me as she ran across the bridge and headed into the tunnel.
Campe rose to her feet, fury glinting in her black eyes. Her pupils tightened as she stepped toward me. I hit her with another ball of energy, causing her to stagger backward. I tried to run for the bridge but she anticipated my move, blocking both the bridge and the tunnel with her wings.
I heard Hera mentally ask from behind Campe on the far side of the bridge, Now what are you going to do?
I’ll hold her attention while you and Shade go find the Cyclopes brothers, I replied.
Campe hissed a stream of fire at me. I dodged and stumbled to the ground. I flung another ball of energy at her, hitting the ridged crown of her head. She staggered again, but I still couldn’t get past her on the bridge. Campe’s scales pulsed against her body, changing colors from red to yellow to bluish-white.
Metis still lay motionless on the ground thirty paces away. I shook my head when I thought I saw Tos standing there and Campe became Hyperion for a brief moment, until my weary eyesight focused.
“Nooo!” I ran to push Metis farther into the cave. I thought for sure Campe would finish her off to break my will. On the run, I launched another ball of energy at the she-dragon’s left flank. But just as I reached Metis, Campe’s barbed tail struck me in the side with the scorpion stinger as big as my arm.
The most horrific sound I’d ever heard tore from my throat. I didn’t even recognize the voice. My entire being felt like the scream I’d made.
Venom entered my body and staggering pain streaked through me. I looked at the gaping wound. Murky yellowish ichor blood swirled at the wound and dripped down my hip.
Hera! I shot to her mentally. I’m hit!
Damn! Hold on, Zeus! She fired back. We can’t find the Cyclopes! There are too many cells down here.
Tiny explosions of pain erupted all over my body as the cosmic dust fought against the poison. Pressure built in the back of my throat and my chest heaved several times before I threw up. Vitality drained from my limbs as another ball of nausea roiled in the pit of my stomach.
Campe’s claws clanked with every step she took closer to me, eyeing me like a meal. I figured I had one last surge of energy left.
I closed my eyes and focused all my strength, feeling power rumble up from my core, across my shoulders, and down through my arms. When I opened my eyes, yellowish-white energy strings swirled around my hands like a violent storm.
I flipped my palms outward. A shaft of energy bolted from my hands toward Campe, lifting her into the air and sending her sailing backward to the edge of the river. She clawed and flapped but couldn’t muster enough strength to keep from plunging into the fiery depths of the Phlegethon. Thunder rolled, quaking throughout the realm.
The Sky Throne Page 26
