Page 22 of Eris

They watched the water for a few minutes until the panicky sweat dried on Eris's skin, and she felt steady enough to keep on walking.

"I'm okay if you are," she said.

Enzo adjusted the palladium on his back. "Lead the way,bella. You were the one that saw this place in its prime."

Eris moved through the trees and along the stone paths. "It's hard to see places like this sometimes. The oracle here was quite famous, like at Delphi and Ephesus. I was never game enough to go and see her myself. There was no point because only the Fates could undo what was wrong with me."

Enzo jumped and reached behind him to put a hand on the bag. "It just vibrated! We must be getting close to whatever it wants."

"Aeneas went to see the oracle, so we should try her caves," Eris said, taking his hand and cutting through the lines of people. Enzo didn't try and remove his hand from hers, so she hung on. People were lining up to go inside the cool, dark entrances.

"I have an idea, but you need to stay here," Eris said, letting him go.

"Whatever you say," Enzo replied with a grin.

Eris moved through the people, ignoring the mutters that she was pushing in. She estimated that she got about ten meters from Enzo when her chaos radiated out of her in waves. Children started crying, adults began arguing, and the few site workers left their posts to try and calm people down. Eris made a hurry-up gesture at Enzo, and he cut through the screaming people to get to her.

"Holy shit, I've never seen anything like that," he said with a laugh. They slipped into the eerie stone corridor of the Antro della Sibilla.

Eris took a deep breath. "Back underground again. Let's try and see what the palladium wants and not linger too long."

"You don't like caves either?" Enzo asked.

"I don't like feeling boxed in, and I was always worried I would start an earthquake if I stayed underground too long."

"Then stay close,bella, and we won't have a problem," he replied with a wink.

Eris only shook her head at his flirting but didn't wander far. She wasn't going to tempt her curse to bring all the stones crashing down on them. "What else do you remember from your re-read last night?"

"Aeneas was told by the Sibyl how to get to the Underworld, and there were entrances that led from her caves to it," Enzo replied. "There were water ways that led to Hades."

"Ah, I forgot about the hot springs. We just need to follow our noses, and the sulfur will lead us to them," Eris replied.

The caves slowly became darker, and the few people who had made it inside before the sporadic riot were talking in whispers. It was the kind of place that radiated a presence, an eerie holiness that still remained no matter how long it had been since Apollo's priestesses had served in there.

"The palladium is buzzing like crazy," Enzo said, stopping in front of a roped-off area. "What do you think?"

"Let's follow it. If we come to any cave-ins, we will come back this way and try another," Eris replied. She unclipped the rope. "I'll go first in case there are hazards. I can't let my mortal get hurt, can I?" She stretched out her hand and summoned a ball of white flames to light up the darkness.

"That is the coolest thing I have ever seen," Enzo said, making Eris laugh.

"You haven't seen anything yet. You stick with me, and I'll show you wonders," she teased.

Enzo's body was a warm presence at her back. "I intend to."

The caves were kept in good condition, and Eris could see that humans had reinforced the roof in places. Aeneas's adventures and the ancient writings of the Sibyll herself had inspired humans for centuries. There was no doubt that those searching for evidence of the Trojan prince had scoured any caves they could find in the area.

They turned a corner, and the faint scent of rotting eggs filled Eris's nostrils.

"Yuck. We must be getting close," she said, and they followed the stench.

A few moments later, Enzo said, "I can hear water, and the palladium is humming like crazy again."

Another twenty meters further, and they ducked through an entrance cut into the stone. The cave opened up to a grotto of steam and stalagmites. Eris conjured more flames and sent them darting around the cavern so they could see what was around them.

"This is incredible," Enzo whispered, staring up at the glistening walls. He slid the bag off his shoulders and opened it.

"What are you doing?" Eris asked.

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