Page 5 of What Sleeps Within the Cove

ESTRELLA

I swallowed back my surging nausea, tearing my eyes off the three women standing before me. There was no sign of movement from the exact spot where Rheaghan had disappeared, and all I could do was watch as the basilisks took the rest of the sacrifices below.

“The God is none of your concern,” the one with white eyes spoke, her hair a matching silver that made me miss Imelda.

“I alone determine what does or does not concern me. He is my friend,” I said, stressing the words as I narrowed my glare on the one who’d spoken. That was a warning I would not heed, a reality I could not give into.

“You have far more pressing matters to concern yourself with,” the one with golden eyes said, a smile making her lip twitch up at the corner. The basilisk unwound his body from around me, his scales sliding over the fabric of my clothing until he left me where I stood, making his way to the edge and retreating without taking me. Hisbody was a deep, deep gray, so dark it was nearly black as he slithered along the stone and disappeared over the edge.

“We are the Morrigan,” the one with golden eyes said. “My sisters and I have been sent to serve as your guide through Tartarus and accompany you on what will be the greatest test of your life.”

“We are the harbinger of death,” the white-eyed woman said, earning an eye roll from me.

“What a promising choice to serve as my guide,” I said, moving to pick up the sword I’d dropped in my scuffle with the basilisk.

“Understand this, Child of Fate,” the red-eyed woman said, her gaze flashing with warning as I sheathed my sword and bit my tongue to prevent a smart retort. “Estrella Barlowe will die here. The moment you pass through these gates, you can do so knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that your life has come to an end. There is not a single path in which the Fates let you leave here without knowing the touch of death.”

“Then why would I enter? Knowing I won’t survive?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as the golden-eyed one glanced to her white-eyed sister.

“Better to die free than live on your knees,” she said, holding out a hand. There was knowledge in that eerie stare, her fingers untainted by age and time, the skin smooth. Her stare left me with the distinct feeling that my choice had already been made—long before I’d come to stand in this place. The gate loomed ahead, the doors creaking open ever so slowly behind Cerberus where he stood guard. They parted as the two others turned to look back at the entrance. The red hue of the land within shimmered against the stone of the intricately carved doors, the reliefs of all the Primordials and the worst creatures they’d created carved into them. The spinning razor teeth of the creatures I’d seen in the Void surrounded them, a dark, looming threat that seemed to fill every gap.

The single eye of a cyclops seemed to stare back at me as red light illuminated it, the head of a Gorgon lurking in the shadows beside it. The sea monster Charybdis threatened to swallow them all whole, her gaping mouth opened in a perfect circle to reveal sharp, swordlike teeth. The Primordials were spread through the stone, positioned according to their rank and proximity to the male figure at the top of the archway.

Khaos, the father of everything, stared down at me where I stood. His face was familiar even though the carving lacked the details tomake it recognizable, but the eerie gold of those eyes reminded me of the magic I should not have possessed.

Magic I’d seen in the man from my visions.

It was not lost on me that I had to enter a prison to free myself from Mab. That everything I needed to fight my way to freedom existed within the prison. If Medusa truly was the Queen of Serpents, then she was just as likely to be able to remove the snake from my heart and from Caldris’s as she was to kill me.

Even if the odds were stacked against me, it was a chance. And that was more than I could say for most days of my life.

I took the woman’s hand with my left, letting her wrap her smooth skin around my calluses. She smiled, her sharp teeth forcing me to flinch in her touch as she turned and guided me toward the entrance to the prison. “I am Macha,” the red-eyed woman said, nodding her head to the golden-eyed sister who stepped in front of us and turned to face the three-headed dog. “That is Badb.”

“And I am Nemain,” the white-eyed woman stated, taking my right hand in hers. They led me toward the monster guarding the gates, pulling me along even though my legs had frozen in practical terror. Fenrir was huge, three times the size of a normal dog, but he was nothing compared to Cerberus.

We stepped beneath his head, narrowly avoiding the drool that fell to the stone in a puddle large enough to swim in.

Gross.

“Be a good boy, Cerberus,” Macha said, reaching out to pat one of his legs. He lowered his heads in response, placing the center one just to the side of my head. His inhale drew me forward, until I felt the brush of his teeth against my cheek and neck. He wedged himself into the nook between my shoulder and head, inhaling deeply enough that my skin felt the draw of breath.

One of his other heads lowered to my other side, nudging my hip firmly so that I stumbled away from him. I forced myself to hold still, to keep my hands away from my sword and placate the creature who sniffed me, inhaling my scent into his lungs.

The third head curved around to my back, nuzzling into my hair and following it down the curve of my spine.

“That’s a little rude,” I whispered, turning to glare at it over my shoulder. The creature growled, the rumble coming from his chest in front of me as his long neck tensed and he bared his teeth at me.

“Cerberus needs your scent. If you try to leave Tartarus withoutpermission, he’ll be able to hunt you down and drag your soul back for eternity,” Badb inserted, explaining the trauma of having three enormous dog heads sniffing at me.

I hesitated, pushing back as Macha guided my hand up to linger in front of the center head, squeezing my eyes shut as I tried to fathom the stupidity of attempting to pet such a creature. His growl worsened, the flames in his eyes glowing more brightly the closer my hand came to his snout. Flinching back, I held his stare until he turned to look down the bridge.

Three white blurs raced down the stone path, closing the distance with a speed that seemed impossible as they zipped and zagged around one another to get to us. My heart leapt into my throat at the sight of those red-tipped ears and red eyes, at the white fur I recognized.

The Cwn Annwn didn’t so much as pause as they surrounded Cerberus, growling a warning. Fenrir slid his body between the enormous black dog and me, nuzzling his head into my outstretched hand even though his face didn’t soften in the least.

He and Cerberus stared one another down, the other hounds of the Cwn Annwn waiting for the outcome as I pressed myself into Fenrir’s side. Claiming him as he claimed me. He bared his teeth, his much smaller frame seeming so tiny compared to the might of Cerberus. But the guardian of Tartarus shocked me, his face softening in understanding before he lowered his head. I touched a hand to his snout finally, running my fingers through the length of his black fur before he pulled away with a grimace and his other heads followed.

Fenrir turned to me, nuzzling into my neck as I wrapped my arms around his. Lupa brushed up against my back, pushing against my legs and sandwiching me between the two of them. Ylfa pawed at my foot, demanding attention as I dropped a hand to the top of her head and worked my fingers through her glimmering white fur, finding the red skin beneath and scratching the spot at the back of her neck.

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