I put out a hand.
“Mother, surely you can see how Hecate was coerced. She is a mother trying to protect her child. You of all people can understand that.”
“Of course I can!” Aphrodite exclaimed indignantly. “If it is the truth. But Hecate has already betrayed us once. Why would she tell us the truth about it now? Anyone who can back up her story is imprisoned somewhere. She wants us on her side, daughter. She will tell us anything. And you are too trusting.”
“I’ve spoken the truth,” Hecate insisted. “I have nothing to gain from lying now.”
“Nothing but gaining my sister’s cooperation,” Ortrera interrupted as she joined the group. “Aphrodite is right. Harmonia is too trusting by half.”
“Thanks,” I replied grumpily. “I am not too trusting. I choose to see good in people, as you should, too. I believe Hecate. I do. And I know that at least one thing is true. Empusa is definitely here in the Underworld. I’ve seen her in my visions. She has Raquel.”
At our daughter’s name, Cadmus opened his weary eyes.
“Where are they, wife? And is she safe with Empusa?”
“Of course she is safe!” Hecate replied quickly. “Empusa would never hurt her. She is probably trying to help.”
“I do think that is correct,” I answered calmly. “Empusa seems to be helping Raquel. She wants us to hurry and find them. She left this with me today.” I showed them the flower. “They are somewhere surrounded by fields of purple flowers. And I could smell the sea in the air.”
“I know of the place,” Hecate broke in excitedly. “There are vast fields of flowers just like these near the oceans of Elyria.”
Cadmus instantly opened his eyes and carefully sat up. Pulling off the wraps that had been placed around him, he stood. “Then we should go.”
He was determined, even though I knew he was still in pain. He was a warrior. He had always been a warrior. And I should have expected no less from him. A near-death experience would never slow him down- especially when his daughter was on the line. He held out his hand, large and strong, and I took it, turning to my parents.
“I know that you might not trust Hecate right now. And that’s understandable. But the fact is that her daughter is with mine—which means that we are traveling to the same place. Mother, can you put your reservations aside for now… for Raquel’s sake?”
Aphrodite sighed. “You know that I will do anything to help you.”
I stared at her for a moment. “And that is exactly my point. You would. And Hecate feels the same for Empusa. You should think on that.”
I turned to Cadmus. “Are you sure that you are up to it? You’re not completely healed. You still have stitches---“
He interrupted me firmly. “I’m ready.” He looked around us curiously, examining our surroundings. I saw his gaze pass over the crumbling building that we were in, the partially decomposed walls and watched as he registered the horrid wailing that came from outside.
“Where are we?” he asked, his forehead wrinkled. “And what is that infernal racket?”
“You don’t want to know,” I muttered, rubbing his arm. “The important thing is that we’re leaving here. And let us hope to never come back.”
“I hate to bring up an unpopular idea,” Ares mentioned, although his face didn’t reflect any hesitation at all. “But since we are already here, I think we should pay a visit to the Dungeon of the Damned on our way out.”
“And why would we do that?” Hecate demanded, her eyes snapping impatiently. “Empusa and Raquel are waiting. We must hurry.”
I quickly filled her in on what Ahmose had told me about Alexi and Eris… and how we thought that we could somehow use Alecto to our advantage. She nodded thoughtfully as I finished.
“That is a very good point. And don’t forget, we have allies here. Uther Pendragon is in Elysia, along with the other ancient chieftains. I’m sure they haven’t forgotten that we helped Arthur put Camelot to rights. And we also have a few heroes scattered about. Achilles comes to mind. I’m sure he would help us and there are more.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “We certainly are not alone. On our way out, let’s speak with Alecto and see where we stand with her. It is possible that once she finds out that Alexi’s soul is in the Keres’ box, she will work with us to bargain with the Keres. They have gotten what they wanted by imprisoning their sisters, the Fates, here. But perhaps they would further help us now.”
“It can’t hurt to talk with Alecto,” Hecate replied. “And we won’t lose much time. It is on our way.”
We separated to pack up and within minutes, we were traveling once again.
Ares tossed the helm of darkness to Cadmus.
“You should wear that- it will heal up your wound. Glad to have you back.”
I couldn’t help but smile. There was a time, long ago, when my father and Cadmus hadn’t gotten along so well. Cadmus had killed Ares’ dragon without knowing who it belonged to and it had caused a huge ruckus in Olympus. As penance, Cadmus had been bound to Ares as a servant for eight years. It had turned out alright, even though it had been rocky at first. Cadmus and I had fallen in love and Ares had grown very fond of him. At that point, Ares’ had granted permission for us to be married and the rest had been history.
I watched him conversing easily with Ares now and it warmed my heart. Family was important to me and I loved that we had such good relationships.
Our journey through Tartara was surprisingly uneventful. It was a frightening place to be sure, dark and shadowed. Misery hovered over our heads the entire way, but that was how it was meant to be. Nice people weren’t relegated here, only the most heinous of souls.
We heard the Dungeon of the Damned long before we saw it. Screeches, wails and moaning echoed for miles down the trail leading up to an enormous stone wall. The wall was covered in moss and consisted of heavy cut stones. It was at least twenty feet high. There were wide wooden doors, but there was no guard on our side. There was no need. No one wanted to get into the Dungeon of the Damned.
We opened the doors and walked directly inside. To our right, there was a strange sort of courtyard filled with torturous looking devices. A screaming prisoner was being drawn and quartered by one of the Keres’ sisters. I recognized her bleeding eyes. Their eyes continually bled from all of the things that they had seen. But this was interesting. It meant that they were here in the Dungeon assisting the Erinyes.