Page 39 of Hades

I have no idea how far down the catacombs are, but by the time I reach the bottom of the stairs, my torch is nearly out. Luckily, the entrance to the portal isn’t far from the stairs. My torch is about to flicker out when I notice movement in the dim light. For a moment, I think it’s just the flicker of the flame playing tricks on me, but a noise from the same direction has my curiosity piqued.

“Shit,” I grumble as I look to my left where the portal is, or at least where I think it is. It’s been thousands of years since I’ve been down here. But the day is etched in my mind because it was one of the last times Ash and I were… just brothers.

I opted to head to the portal since time is not something we have on our side. If memory serves me correctly, it’s hidden under a statue that petrified Ash and me as children. As I round the corner, the last embers of my torch flicker and illuminate the statue. I haven’t seen it in thousands of years, but it is still horrifying.

At first glance, it appears to be an Arc, with its wings outstretched. But his face is contorted in pain as he silently screams to the Heavens. His fingers are claws, with razor-sharp points and fangs protruding from his gums. As a child, I never thought I would see something so horrific, but this is exactly what Themis has damned the Blood Angels to.

Looking around the statue’s base, I try to find the entrance, but eons have passed and the small opening that could once fit a ten-year-old boy has been covered up. Bending down, I grip the base of the statue and push. It only moves a few inches, but I can see the sand at the base siphon into the hole beneath.

Retaking position, I push with everything I have. I only get a few inches of movement for my effort because my feet begin to slip on the sand and debris. The torch I had perched on the wall is nearly out, and only the slightest red glow is providing illumination. I don’t need the light to see, my eyes will adjust. I only grabbed it because no matter how old I get, or how many wars I fight, this statue still unnerves me.

Without a second thought about the statue, I position my feet and give it one last shove. The statue base clears the hole it was hiding. The opening isn’t very big, and for a moment, I’m worried I won’t be able to fit. But as the sand around the hole begins to pour into it, its size becomes clear.

Whatever this portal was used for in the past required it to be large. As children, we didn’t have the strength or the wherewithal to push the statue aside. We only knew there was something beneath it worth exploring.

Gazing down into the hole, I’m surprised to see the same churning, inky-black liquid as Hades has in his seeing basin. Within moments, it flickers and glows, illuminating the entire chamber around me. I take a moment to look around the room. The walls are carved in a language even I don’t recognize, and to my horror, several more statues like the one covering the portal are scattered around the room.

Looking down into the murky darkness of the swirling liquid, I want to see a vision of Kennedy, as the basin had shown me. Instead, I see the Phlegethon with its fiery surface and unforgiving shore.

With a deep breath, I don’t waste another moment before jumping into its depths.

~

With an unceremonious thud, I crash into the hard, unforgiving shoreline of the Phlegethon. Rolling onto my back, I let out a groan of discomfort. “Fuck, that hurt.”

Looking around, I try to figure out from where I emerged. There is no swirling, black hole on the charred ground, so it takes me a few minutes of searching to realize I hadn’t emerged, I fell. Glancing up, all I can see are the decaying branches of some long-extinct forest. But as I move and try to reposition myself to exactly where I landed, I can see the shimmer of the portal nestled in the crook of a tree about thirty feet up.

“This shit was a hell of a lot easier when I was ten,” I grumble as I climb up the enormous tree trunk. There would be no point in using it if it didn’t go both ways.

The climb would be a lot easier if I could fly up, but my wings are bound when I enter the Underworld, so it takes me a few minutes to reach the apex where the portal is located.

Again, I stare into its inky depths until it begins to shimmer and swirl, showing me the exact spot I had just come from. I take a moment to cover the gate with a few more branches before jumping to the ground.

Thankfully, it’s only a short walk to The Inferno. I hope Hades is there and ready to go, because whatever Themis is planning can’t be fucking good. My pace quickens as I round the hill and see the blazing red sign of The Inferno with hundreds of demons and demi-gods listening to Hades as he prepares for his invasion of the Heavens.

As I get closer and get a better look at who he’s recruited into this declaration of war, I immediately recognize some since they occupied the same cell block as I did in Treachery.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I whisper to Hades as I step up beside him.

“I needed a ruthless army. One that has no problem destroying every inch of the Heavens to help me get Aradia back,” he snarls, drunk on his power.

“Yeah, well, we have a bigger problem,” I inform him. “And I don’t think storming Themis’ temple is the best course of action anymore.”

HADES

“Themis needs to answerfor what she’s taken from me,” I bark, more for the crowd of unruly demons than for Reaver. They were all damned to an eternity in Treachery, and each was more than willing to give their soul if it meant taking down Justice herself.

The cheer from the riled-up warriors fuels my rage. “It’s time I took my rightful place as the ruler of the Underworld, and Themis is my first conquest!” I shout, earning the clanking of spears and howls of excitement.

“I saw Pestilence,” Reaver says as he turns his back to the horde.

“So?” I snap. “She’s your concern, not mine. Isn’t that why you’re hiding out here?” The question is harsh but accurate. Pestilence has never been my concern, nor should she be.

“I saw her in Themis’ temple, attending a gala Themis is putting on for Aradia. We need to go…like, now.”

His urgency is almost concerning. “Who else was there?”

He shakes his head. “As soon as I saw her, I got the fuck out of there. There’s also something else going on with the Arcs. They’re missing,” he whispers.

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