“It was of no matter,” he replied firmly. “I would never let you go alone.”
My chest filled with warmth. He was so brave and strong. And he loved me so much. I laid my hand on his sculpted thigh and twisted around to kiss his cheek.
I nodded silently, not trusting my voice as the Phoenix stood and then took off into the night. Cadmus held fast to me and I gripped the Phoenix’ neck as we flew a wide arc above the river. Flames billowed around us but we didn’t so much as singe a hair. As the Phoenix dropped gracefully to the ground on the other side, it bowed low once more to allow us to dismount.
Before I could even say anything, it was gone again. It returned quickly with Ares and Aphrodite on its back and then made several more trips for the Amazons. After everyone had joined us, the bird screamed into the night and took off. It had disappeared into the darkness before I could even blink.
“Well, that’s that, then,” Aphrodite murmured as she moved to my side. “That bird has come in handy more than once.”
I nodded in agreement. “It certainly has. I just wish that I knew how I summon it. It always just seems to appear when it is needed.”
She stared thoughtfully into the night sky. “I think you are connected to it. And perhaps that is the true nature of your birthmark. Perhaps it senses when you need it and it comes.”
“Perhaps,” I chewed my lip. “But that’s neither here nor there now.”
I glanced around us. This side of the river didn’t look much different from the other side. But the entrance to Tartara loomed ahead of us. I could sense it more than I could actually see it. A bone-numbing cold emanated from that area and I shirked away as I stared into the dark.
It looked like an enormous cave with massive boulders on each side. I could hear wails coming from within and it sent chills up my spine. Near the entrance, there was a huge gray boulder to the left. The feeling of foreboding was almost overwhelming as I examined our situation. The heat from the river Phlegethon warmed my back and calves as I stood silent and still.
And then the breeze came from the south, rustling the hair on my shoulders and bringing with it a horrible, acrid odor…one I had certainly smelled before.
“Dragon,” Cadmus said quietly.
We all peered closer into the night and found that the giant ‘boulder’ in front of the entrance was actually an enormous reptile. It appeared to be sleeping, but it was most certainly a dragon.
Its gray scales glistened in the light of the river and his massive tail, curled around its side, had sharp spikes lining it all the way to the tip. Large black claws curved into the ground, scratching every so often even in its sleep.
“I’m so sick of dragons,” I muttered. “Seriously, just once, could we do something without encountering one?”
“It doesn’t look that way,” Cadmus said, turning to me with a confident grin. “But you’re in luck. I’m a dragon specialist.”
He held his hand out for the Helm of Darkness.
“Aphrodite, may I?” he asked.
“Of course,” she replied quickly, snatching it off and handing it to him. “Just be careful.”
He rolled his eyes and gestured toward the dragon’s back leg. “This one is chained. It will be child’s play. He is used to keeping people in, not keeping people out. He won’t be expecting me.”
“And why would he?” I muttered. “Normal people aren’t clamoring to get into the bowels of hell.”
With one last cocky grin, Cadmus pulled the helmet onto his head and he was gone. I could no longer see him.
We all held our breath as we watched the dragon and we knew the exact moment when he heard Cadmus approach. He lifted his massive head and stared into the night, his breath exhaling from his nose like steam. He looked one way, then the other and then forward in puzzlement. It was almost comical.
And then he lurched to his feet, throwing his head back with a scream. Blood dripped from his neck in thick, black streams. Cadmus had made contact.
The enormous reptile whirled around, screeching loudly as it searched for its attacker. But of course it couldn’t see anything. Cadmus was invisible.
It spun around again, its tail whirling like a whip. It was so heavy that every time it moved, the ground shook around us. It reared up on its hind legs, the heavy chain that confined it rattling loudly before it crashed back to the ground, its eyes rolling wildly.
It was the strangest thing. We could not see Cadmus, we could only see evidence of the unseen battle in the wounds that were appearing on the dragon. A long, thin line of blood appeared on its side. Another wound.
Then it screamed once more, throwing its head this way and that, another gaping hole evident in the side of its neck. Black blood gushed and its giant head dropped to the ground, its massive sides heaving as it attempted to draw in air.
Its attempts were short-lived. It wasn’t long before its chest shuddered to a stop and it stopped breathing.
And I started again. Inhaling deeply, I searched the night for my husband. I didn’t see him and I fought panic. Where was he?
I scanned the darkness again, and he came into focus as he limped up to us, pulling off the helmet. Blood had drenched his clothes, and not the black blood of the dragon. His clothing was drenched with red blood… his own.
I gasped and rushed to him and as I got closer I saw the sharp leathery spike in his shoulder.
“From its tail,” Cadmus explained with his jaw clenched tightly. “The beast got me by accident as it spun around.”
Ares pushed past me and ripped Cadmus’ shirt off, leaning close to examine the wound. My husband’s blood pulsed around the base of the spike and Ares wadded up the ripped shirt and pressed it around the gaping hole.
“We need the witch,” he muttered. “Of all of the times for her to turn traitor…”
“What do you mean?” I asked in alarm. “Just put the helm back on him. He’ll heal.”
Ares shook his head. “Daughter, you know that dragons have their own magic. We need special magic of our own to combat that. And I don’t know any, do you?”
He glowered up at me as he hovered above my husband and I silently shook my head. He knew that I didn’t. My breath exhaled in short pants.
“Then what should we do?”
“I’ll be fine,” Cadmus insisted, but he was grinding his teeth together from the pain. I rushed to him, clutching his arm.
“Don’t die,” I pleaded with him. “Please, don’t die. We’ll figure out something.”