under their weight. The image in front of him flickered away, and all I could see was my handwork.
The darkness within me rejoiced, rising stronger as I tried to squeeze the life from him. It was a heady feeling, all this power and control. Vengeance.
But in the flash of an eye, he dematerialized from within the vines and appeared outside of their grasp, standing on the stair closer to me.
Shock lanced me as I stared at him, my soul still screaming for me to attack him. Destroy him.
“You liked that, didn't you?” he asked.
His words disgusted me. His tone, too. I stumbled backward, not even recognizing myself.
I hadn’t really been helping my friends when I’d attacked him. They weren’t even here. Yet I’d still attacked, pointlessly fueled by rage. Fueled by the darkness.
I was growing weaker. Succumbing even more easily.
I shook my head, frantically trying to clear my thoughts. It only kind of worked. Terrified for my friends, I looked at him. “Where are they?”
“Akamas.”
“How do I know you really have them?”
“Does it matter?”
No. Just the threat was enough. I had to check.
“Hurry, and you might find them alive.”
I spun on my heel and ran, racing up the stairs as my heart pounded wildly in my ears. He’d kidnapped them.
Fear chilled my skin as I raced up into the main temple, nearly plowing into Hades. He gripped my arms and stared down at me, concern creasing his brow. “Are you all right?”
Gasping, I looked back behind me. Chronos had not followed me up, but his threats had.
“Come on.” I grabbed Hades’ hand and pulled him toward the exit. “We’ve got to go.”
“Did you get the location?” he demanded, not moving.
“Yes.” I yanked him hard, glowering. “Now come on, he’s got my friends.”
He followed, hand gripping mine tightly. “Your friends? What do you mean?”
“I mean that he has kidnapped them.” I sprinted down the temple stairs and toward the river. The dark water snaked through the fields. “Call Charon. We need to go to Guild City.”
In the back of my mind, I knew I was being manipulated. But I couldn’t take the risk. What if he really had them?
I searched the sky, hoping to see Beatrix flying among the gray clouds.
I didn’t, of course.
“You’re going to have to explain,” Hades said.
“I will, as soon as you call Charon with the boat.”
He nodded. “He’s already coming. He will be here soon.”
Anxious, I stared out at the water. We needed to get a move on. Finally, I spotted Charon in the distance. He must not have been far away. Satisfied that he was coming, I looked up at Hades and explained what the shadowy figure had told me, finishing with, “Is he really capable of kidnapping my friends?”
Hades frowned. “Presumably. But you say that the figure was Chronos?”
“Yes. Why do you look shocked?”
“I saw him as well, but he did not give me a name.”
I frowned at him. There was more to this than he was saying. “He’s the same voice as the one in the pit beneath your castle.”
“I think you are correct.”
“Did you not know that before?” I asked.
“The voice never had a name until now. It certainly never had a form. I didn’t know if I was listening to the voice of the universe itself, or if it had come from my own imagination.” He shook his head. “For millennia, that was enough to explain it. Then you arrived, and I began to question it. When you fell into the pit, I started to suspect that all was not as it seemed.”
I recalled the power in the voice from the pit—the strength and comfort. It was all Hades had ever known. I couldn’t imagine it. No wonder he’d turned out the way he had, if that was the closest thing he had to a parent.
“Not as it seemed?” I asked.
“Perhaps it is Chronos.”
“Does that change things for you?”
He face hardened slightly. “My goals are the same as they have ever been, if that is what you are asking.”
I scowled at him. “That is what I’m asking.”
Finally, Charon pulled up alongside us, his ragged robes fluttering in the faint wind. He held out a skeletal hand, and Hades gave him two coins, then helped me into the boat. Normally, I might dodge away and try to do it myself, but I was reeling so hard from everything I’d learned that I appreciated the assistance.
Once we were seated, Charon moved to the bow and plunged his stick into the dark water, dragging