Chapter 19

To save time, we split up to go shopping for the items Alec suggested. By the time we all returned to the hostel later, we had an hour before the gates to the caves closed. It took us most of that time to gather our equipment, check and double check everything, and drive to the caves. We arrived when the last tour was leaving.

Another twenty minutes before the workers left, and we attempted to pull off the craziest—and perhaps stupidest—stunt yet. I bounced on my toes where we waited behind the shrubs. My eyes darted to the mostly empty parking lot behind us. We were well hidden, and the encroaching darkness aided our cover, but I feared getting caught before we had a chance to follow through with our plan.

And some plan it was. Wild . . . crazy . . . maybe even stupid. But necessary.

I was scared. Of failure, and of the unknown. The chance for success, as small as it may be, kept me moving forward. Regardless, my nerves were a jumbled mess. I jumped at every sound, and watched every movement. I nearly screamed my head off when something brushed against my arm.

“Kris?” Nathan whispered from behind me, and I put a hand to my galloping heart when I realized it had only been him.

I peered over my shoulder, and he gave me a ‘come here’ nod. His hand took mine as he led me behind another shrub, out of ear shot of the others.

I didn’t know what I expected. We hadn’t spoken since our argument earlier. I bit my lip nervously as I stared at his back. Then he turned, and I found myself wrapped up in his arms.

I should have known I had no reason to be nervous. It was Nathan. Sure, I had seen him do some scary stuff, but he was always different with me. He rarely stayed mad at me long.

I melted into him with a contented sigh, and wondered how I hadn’t found myself here hours ago. The answer came quickly—only because I was severely distracted. An impending trip to the underworld could do that. But now, I enjoyed the moment of bliss.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” I mumbled into his shirt. “I shouldn’t have said what I did. I want you with me.”

“I know.” His hand stroked my hair gently. “I shouldn’t have pushed you about Alec. I just worry that . . .”

“I’m not dealing with it?” I finished his thought when he trailed off.

He was right, of course. I wasn’t dealing with Alec’s loss. I couldn’t even say the words—dead or death. Instead, I said ‘it’ or chose words like ‘gone’ or ‘lost.’ Knowing that I could see him just by saying his name certainly wasn’t helping me cope either.

“I’m not,” I told Nathan honestly. “But I will.”

He nodded, and pulled me back into his arms. We stayed there for several moments before he spoke. “Kris, don’t think any less of me for saying this, but . . .” His grip on me tightened, and he exhaled slowly. “I’ve been in a lot of dangerous situations where the outcome could have gone either way, but this is the first time that I can honestly say I have no idea what might happen. I’ve never been more scared than I am right now.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say. I was scared too—terrified actually. But to hear him say that he was too? Unexpected wasn’t a strong enough word.

“If this is it . . . I want you to know how much I love you.”

“Don’t,” I muttered. “Don’t you say goodbye to me.”

His head lowered with a shake. “Right. We’re going to do this.” When he looked up again, all signs of doubt had vanished. In its place was the fierce determination I had come to know and recognize.

Warrior-mode had kicked in.

But a warrior could still kiss his girl. Which he did . . . well. With slow diligence, he gave me perhaps the best kiss of my life. A kiss I never wanted to end. When Jared called to us, alerting us that the entrance was clear, we only gripped each other tighter. We finally eased apart when we were ready, not because the time had come, not because the others were waiting for us, but because we had communicated to each other all that we needed to.

One final gaze into his eyes gave me the push I needed, and we turned toward the cave together.

Dressed head to toe in black, with bags strapped across our shoulders, we approached the entrance as a unified group. Fear was left behind in the shrubs. Determination rolled off of us in waves as we plunged headlong into the biggest unknown any of us would ever know.

The gate at the entrance was simple to breach—even for a minor criminal. For me, one touch with my hand unlocked and pushed it open. Once inside, Nathan turned his flashlight to the panel fixed to the wall. Wires ran out of the top, and snaked far out into the cave. They attached to at least thirty switches.

“What section are we going to?” Nathan called out.

Jared moved to his side, carrying a map of the cave. Together, they referenced the map, then flicked the correct switch. Our destination was so far into the cave that the light they had turned on wasn’t visible from where we stood.

A few more clicks, and lights began turning on in the distance. Enough to light our way to the section of the cave we needed to get to without drawing attention to the fact that the lights were on. The narrow steps to the base of the cave was left in the dark, and we used flashlights to navigate our way.

The boats were tied to the small dock, exactly where we had boarded them for our tour last week. Once we had all climbed in, Bruce took over paddling while I looked between the map and what the lights illuminated around us. Finally, near the end of the line, I saw it.

“There!” I pointed to the flat rock formation that jutted out of the water several yards away. Behind it, the smooth wall of the cave dropped beneath the water’s surface as far as the clear water allowed me to see. I gulped as I wondered how deep it went.

Before we found out, we had to swim to the rock formation. Since the boats were anchored to the cables that ran above us, we were unable to reach the section of the cave we needed to with the boat. Why no one had thought to bring wire cutters baffled me now. It wasn’t a long swim—perhaps fifty yards. Since I was the only one who couldn’t swim, I supposed wire cutters hadn’t been on anyone’s priority list.

We all stripped out of our clothes, revealing the bathing suits we wore underneath. Our clothes went into the water-proof bags we all carried. One by one, the group jumped into the water and began the swim.

“Oh, shit, that’s cold!” Jas shouted when he broke the surface. His arms sliced through the water as he sped toward the rock, passing Kira in a blink.

Nathan sucked in a breath as he lowered himself in. He held onto the side of the boat as he turned for me.

I shook my head. “How about I just teleport?”

“You need to save your energy. Come on. I’ll get you there.”

“You need to save your energy too,” I pointed out. Carrying me through the water would only tire him out more, and I couldn’t have that.

I eyed the rock formation, then him. His eyes narrowed when he realized my intentions. By the time his mouth opened with another argument, it was too late. I jumped to the rock formation, and glanced over my shoulder in time to see Nathan push off the boat with a shake of his head.

While he and the rest of the group cut through the water toward me, I emptied the contents of my bag. I had everything out and ready to go by the time Jas pulled himself onto the rock ledge beside me.

His lips looked a little blue. “Let’s get this thing going,” he shuddered.

I took the chalk, and began to draw the symbols on the wall above the water. By the time I was finished, the rest of the group had joined Jas on the ledge. Their chattering teeth greeted me when I turned away from my drawings.

“Who’s got the non-coated knife?” I inquired. Lillian readily handed it to me, and I met everyone’s eyes one at a time. “Everybody ready?”

Though they weren’t the most enthusiastic bunch, no one protested. I took the blade to my thumb. A hiss slipped between my lips as it pierced my skin, and the blood bubbled to the surface.

“Aperuerit ianuam introibo,” Alec had recited to me in the dream last night. “I believe it loosely translates to ‘open sesame.’”

I chanted those words now as blood dripped from my finger. The clear water at my feet darkened to an unnatural crimson as it churned with my blood. Water from elsewhere in the cave rushed toward us, and lapped against the wall below the symbols. The group took collective steps back from the flood as it collected at our feet, and spiraled into a whirlpool.

The roar of the rushing water spiked my fear. I dreaded what came next.

Nathan’s hand found mine. His voice was drowned out by the rumbling, but I didn’t need to hear him to know what he said. It was time.

I nodded my head at the others. “Go!”

We had discussed this step earlier. I needed to jump into the whirlpool last, otherwise it would close and leave the others behind. Now that they had seen it, I suspected that some of them wouldn’t mind being left behind.

They proved themselves far braver than I already knew, and stepped toward the swirling opening. Jared and Lillian took the leap first, jumping in together, hand in hand. Bruce, Jas, and Kira followed closely behind. The five of them tumbled around the whirlpool like giant goldfish flushed down a toilet. Nathan’s gaze held mine as we stepped forward together.

My feet hit the water, and the current took me. Though I didn’t fear death, the sensation of drowning paralyzed me as we swirled around and around, dropping lower and lower into the churning water. The few times my head broke the surface, I gulped small breaths of air before being submerged again. Nathan’s hand never loosened its grip on mine as we spiraled toward the bottom of the pool.

The water suddenly calmed, and we floated freely, though still submerged at an unknown depth. My body collided with Nathan’s, and I felt him tug me toward the surface . . . or what I hoped was the surface. Already, my lungs burned, and I longed to fill them with oxygen. I pinched my lips together, against the urge to take a satisfying breath.

A pair of legs bumped into me from behind, but I couldn’t determine who they belonged to in the murky water. With a sudden jerk, they were ripped away from me. The current took Nathan next, and yanked his hand out of my grasp. My mouth involuntarily opened, and I choked on a mouthful of water as I was wrenched forward next, legs kicking ahead of me.

I was reminded of a water park ride I had once ridden with Callie—one filled with sudden twists, and turns, and drops. But with no raft, my head submerged under water, and no end in sight, this ride was far from fun.

My feet hit a rock wall, and my mouth opened to cry out from the jolt it sent up my legs. I pushed away from the wall as the current reclaimed me, now tossing me head first down the watery tunnel.

The water in my lungs burned.

Air. I needed air.

A bright light filtered through my eyelids, and I hoped it signaled the end of the journey. My mouth pressed together to stop myself from taking the breath I needed too soon. Then the feeling of free falling through empty space overcame me. My arms and legs flailed as I plummeted through a warm wall of water.

There was a brief relief, and then a splash as I hit water. I reached out for something to grab onto as I kicked my legs beneath me. I broke the surface and sucked in a gulp of air, only to choke on the water that had already filled my lungs.

Arms wrapped around me from behind, stopping me from going under again. My head dropped against Bruce’s shoulder in relief as I sputtered.

“You’re okay,” he assured me. “I’ve got you.”

He tucked me to his side, and pulled me effortlessly through the water with his big arms. I searched for signs of the others over his shoulder. I spotted Nathan and Jared as they each looped an arm around a limp bikini-clad body, and followed us to the nearby bank.

Bruce pushed me up first. Every breath I took resulted in a fit of coughing, and I dropped my head between my knees in an attempt to control it. Behind me, I heard Bruce assist Nathan and Jared.

“Give her to me,” Bruce offered.

I swiveled to look over my shoulder as Bruce hauled Kira’s lifeless body onto the stone bank beside me. Blood covered her face from a deep gash in her forehead. Her eyes were open, but stared blankly into the empty space above her.

My hand clamped over my mouth as Jas appeared at my side. Blood dripped from his chin, from the sizable cut in his lip. His head dropped with a sigh when he realized that she was dead.

“She hit that wall head first,” he offered in explanation.

“We’re missing Lillian,” Nathan coughed. He had pulled himself to the edge of the bank, and turned to look out over the water. Blood oozed from his shoulder, from the scratches that marked his skin.

That damn rock wall had gotten all of us. Kira, unfortunately, had taken a fatal dive into it. Had Lillian suffered the same fate?

I moved around Jas, crawling toward the water’s edge to look for her. The large black pool was calm. Steep rock walls lined the perimeter. There was no waterfall, as I had imagined falling from. No opening above from what I could see.

Where had we come from? Where could Lillian be?

As we all searched, Lillian silently floated to the surface in the middle of the pool. She came up peacefully, far too quietly for someone who needed air after being submerged for so long. Nathan saw her at the same time I did, and jumped into the water after her. Jared followed, and together they pulled her limp body back to us.

Not another, I thought as they hauled her onto the bank.

“Please, don’t let her be dead,” I muttered under my breath.

“She’s not breathing,” Jared declared. He immediately lowered his head, and delivered two short breaths into her. I watched as her chest rose slightly. Then Nathan’s entwined hands compressed the center of her chest, forcing her heart to pump.

It was like reliving my own drowning months ago. Nathan had done this to me then. I had watched it in a dream. I had woken up; I had survived.

“Please, Lillian,” I whispered as Jared and Nathan repeated the cycle. As an afterthought, I added, “Alec, help.”

He was at my side instantly. His head swiveled as he took in the scene around us. “She’ll be okay,” he finally offered.

“How do you know?” I whispered so as not to distract the guys.

“The Collector isn’t here.”

“Collector?”

“He collects all the souls,” Alec explained quickly. “Kira’s is already gone.”

I nodded, and waited. And waited. Two more breaths from Jared . . .

Lillian suddenly coughed, bringing an end to the smoldering silence. She rolled onto her side, fisting handfuls of stone as she struggled to catch her breath.

“Once she’s able, you need to move,” Alec advised.

Then he was gone. I wished he could stay, to walk us through this, but he had already explained to me that he couldn’t. He couldn’t take the passage again. It was up to us to follow his map, and find our own way.

No one wanted to leave Kira, where she lay dead on the hard ground, but we had no choice. We orchestrated a sort of burial, by covering her body under a mound of rocks. Then, once Lillian had her feet under her, and we had all redressed into dry clothes, we left.

The oval cave-like space we had emerged into was surrounded by slick black rock on all sides. The only opening was a small crack in one corner. We slipped into the crevice one by one. Nathan went first, and I followed. After several feet, I was forced to continue on my hands and knees.

It was dark, and tight. Reminiscent of the vision I’d had of my mother. Only I didn’t sense something hunting me now. I felt entirely alone. Only Nathan’s voice from ahead, the occasional graze of Lillian’s hand on my foot, and the grunts of agony that echoed off the walls, let me know I had company.

“I see some light,” Nathan announced. “Almost there.”

“Thank God,” Jared muttered from somewhere behind me.

I heard a pained grunt, followed by a vehemently spoken curse. From the last person I expected to hear it from.

“Bruce, you okay?” I called.

“Just fine,” he returned.

He didn’t sound fine. This tunnel was tight for me. I couldn’t imagine how bad it was for Bruce.

I finally saw the light Nathan had mentioned. A moment later, I emerged from the tunnel with a sigh of relief. Coming to a stand beside Nathan, I saw it.

A thick cloud of fog enveloped us, and spread out in slowly moving, rolling waves. A deep reddish-orange glow far in the distance illuminated the two bodies of water that flowed toward us from the left, while a bright white glow illuminated the three separate rivers that flowed from the right. All five bodies of water met in the middle.

The six of us stood shoulder to shoulder on the bank overlooking the expansive lake. Through the fog, the sails of a ship were visible as it glided across the open water.

“That’s the ferry,” I pointed out.

Alec had told me about this part in detail. He had described the ferry as eerie. With its frayed sails, moss covered hull, and deck filled with the dead, I would have described it as terrifying.

“That’s disturbing,” Jared observed.

“We have to take that across?” Jas mused.

“Would you rather swim?” Nathan grunted.

The distance separating us from the other shore wasn’t swimmable. I couldn’t even see the bank on the other side. I couldn’t teleport us without visualizing it. We were stuck riding the ferry with the other souls arriving to the underworld.

I dug the coin from my bag, which Alec had insisted that we each bring. “Time to pay up.”

The ferry slowed at the dock as we stepped onto it. It creaked and groaned from the weight of all the souls awaiting passage. Around us hovered hundreds of the dead, lost in their own misery. Per Alec’s suggestions, we followed their lead. Heads down, faces blank, slow and sullen steps as we boarded the ferry by means of a creaky wooden ramp.

I followed Nathan, and held my breath as he placed his coin into the waiting hand of Charon—the ferryman. Tall and lanky, and adorned in a long black gown with a hood that obscured most of his face, he was quite intimidating. I held my breath, tensed and ready for battle, as he regarded Nathan.

With a nod, Charon ushered Nathan forward. A set of red eyes swung toward me. I kept my head down as I pressed my coin into Charon’s palm. My fingers brushed his during the transfer, and I flinched from the coolness of his skin. He didn’t seem to notice, and sent me shuffling along after Nathan. We waited near the back of the ferry for the rest of the group to join us.

Jared gave a low whistle. “That went surprisingly well.”

No one responded. We all knew the hardest part was yet to come.

The contrasting orange and white lights grew brighter as the ferry sliced through the water, and we drew closer to the gate to the underworld. Elysian Fields to the right, where the blessed and righteous spent their afterlife, and Tartarus to the left, where the evil were banished for an eternity of torture.

First we had to get past Cerberus, the gigantic three-headed watchdog at the entrance, pass through the Vale of Mourning, and find a way around the judges who awaited all souls inside. And that was all before we found a way to break into the palace from which Hades oversaw it all.

I never thought this was going to be easy. But now, I wondered why I had ever thought it would be possible.