Page 83 of A Touch of Chaos

“Come,” he said, guiding her to the side of the eudaimon. Ariadne was already climbing up when a terrible screech filled the air.

Persephone turned to see what looked like a flock of giant metal birds soaring through the air straight for them.

“Ohfuck,” Hades said. “Not again.”

“What do you meannot again?” Persephone demanded.

“Up!” Hades commanded.

“I’m trying!” she snapped, gripping tufts of Galanthis’s fur, but she was already moving, jarring them as she leaptacross the center of the labyrinth toward the mouth of the maze at a speed Persephone hadn’t known she was capable of.

“Grab my hand!” Ariadne shouted. Persephone climbed a little farther and then reached for the detective, but her finger slipped, and she fell. She started to scream but was caught by Hades, who was not far behind.

“I’ve got you,” he said, his voice resonating deep inside her chest, even as her heart raced.

A series of shrill cries chilled her to her core. The birds were gaining on them, the sound of their wings beating, metal against metal, growing louder and louder. It set Persephone’s teeth on edge and was just as terrible as their pursuit.

“What are they?” Persephone yelled over the grind of their wings.

“The Stymphalian birds,” said Hades. “Watch out!”

Suddenly he shoved her into Galanthis’s side as a strange feather-type spear whizzed past them, followed by another. Galanthis dodged them, but each movement rocked Persephone, challenging the hold she had on her fur.

Finally, she was able to climb again, and when she looked up, she found that Ariadne was facing the opposite direction, gun in hand, but she was holding it wrong—and then she threw it, aiming for the bird closest to them. When it hit the bird, it seemed stunned, and then it crashed to the ground, sending up a plume of dust.

When she was within reach, Ariadne offered her hand, and this time, Persephone did not slip as she made the final ascent to Galanthis’s back. Hades followed,and once they were astride, they were consumed by the darkness of the labyrinth.

Ariadne’s thread glistened, a thin rivulet Galanthis followed while the Stymphalian birds shrieked overhead, raining deadly metal on them. Galanthis did her best to evade the feathers, though at times, the arrows passed so close, she could barely react and instead slammed into the labyrinth walls, which seemed to shatter beneath her strength.

“Down!” Hades ordered as his body folded over Persephone’s as he covered her head. A spray of rocks rained down on them. It was followed by the whir of several more arrows and the snap of bronzed beaks as the birds gained on them.

Galanthis covered far more ground than Ariadne and Persephone ever could on their own. Soon they were passing the corpse of the lion and the boar she’d slain, and Persephone felt her heart rise into her throat.

The only thing left was the thicket of thorns, and they would be free. Then Galanthis roared and stumbled, and they were thrown from her back.

Persephone hit the ground and rolled. When she came to a stop, she looked back to see Galanthis trying to rise, but she collapsed. Their eyes held, and then her head arched unnaturally as she was pierced through by another spear-like arrow.

“Galanthis!” Persephone screamed. She got to her feet and started to run to her, but a bronze beak closed around the eudaimon.

“Don’t!” Hades jerked her around in time to see Ariadne’s horrified expression. “We have to go,” he said, ushering her forward.

A sob burst from Persephone’s mouth. She knew he was right, but all she could think was that they’d all beenso close.

Together, they plunged into the thicket of ruined thorns as spears rained down on them, each one hitting in an explosion of dirt and rock. They did not stop running, even when they made it to the cover of the stairs. Persephone took two at a time, her chest aching. All the while, she reached desperately for her magic. She knew they were surfacing from the adamant prison when she could feel her power on the fringes of her awareness.

“Take us home!” she screamed. Her voice grated against her throat, but instead of teleporting, the ground began to shake violently, filling the corridor with a rumble that grew into a loud roar. It made Persephone’s ears ring, and she swayed, unable to stay on her feet with the ground rolling beneath them. Hades caught her around the middle and pulled her back against his chest.

“What is happening?” she asked.

“Theseus,” Hades said just as a deafening crack sounded and the steps split. Overhead, pieces of stone started to fall away. The roof was about to collapse.

“Fuck. Go!”

Hades shoved Persephone, and she stumbled forward as the ceiling gave way. She whirled as the stones came crashing down, finding that a chasm had opened between her and Hades and Ariadne.

“Hades!” she screamed as he caught a large piece of falling rock and tossed it aside. Despite his efforts, Persephone knew they would soon be buried beneath the rubble.

His eyes met hers in the near dark, burning like embers.

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