I got it,' I told Hecate, breathing deeply in a bid to try to settle my stomach.
My braid whipped over my shoulder as I turned to the front and concentrated on what was before us. We were following the dancing green light along a narrow offshoot of the Styx, and I turned briefly to see the red light in the distance, Minthe's chariot whizzing along after it over a different blue stream of the Styx. The rock around us was uneven to the point of mountainous, and as I looked ahead again, I realized the light was moving lower, forcing us closer to the river. Uneasiness washed over me. Now that my fear of heights was under control, it was actually better to be higher up, as we could see further across the Underworld. The lower we got, the more the rocky slopes obscured our view. Something dark loomed before us and the light swerved towards it, along the glowing river below.
It was a large ridge, and the river was flowing into a cave mouth set low into it.
'Wanna bet either Fonax or Olethros is in there?' called Hecate.
'Bring it on,' I called back, the false bravado not helping my nerves at all.
I couldn't help holding my breath as we entered the darkness of the cave. I was instantly reminded of when I'd been in Tartarus, everything lit by the glow of the flickering river, only this time it was blue instead of red. The bouncing green light ahead of us whizzed along the banks of the Styx, and Morpheus led us after it.
'Any last minute tips on dealing with hell-hounds?' I asked Hecate, my pulse racing.
'Don't get eaten?'
'Thanks.'
My heart skipped a beat as the chariot dipped suddenly, and a new color seeped through the darkness. Purple. Hecate had said the purple river was Acheron, which was woe. 'What happens if we fall in a river?' I asked as mildly as I could.
'The Styx would strip your skin bare in an instant. It's filled with the hatred of every dead soul in Olympus and is toxic as fuck.'
'And the Acheron?'
'You'd become so overwhelmed with sadness you would instantly go mad.'
'Right. Good to know.'
'Just don't fall in the Phlegethon. You don't want to know what happens if you do that.'
I shuddered just thinking about the flaming river.
'Guys,' called Morpheus over his shoulder. The green light was slowing down, drifting toward an island of solid rock between the two flowing rivers. As we and the light got nearer, details began to emerge from the gloom.
There was a gate across the island, barring the entrance to a small one-story building. It was a dirty, tired looking hut, built of worn and ancient stone that had discolored. The roof barely clung to the walls and looked to be made of straw or mud. The gate however... The gate was gleaming. Made of criss-crossed iron bars, it looked like something you'd see outside a fifth avenue apartment block, grand and imposing. The green light bobbed towards it a couple times, then settled a few feet higher than the gate’s peak. The chariot slowed and we all stared.
There were things tied to the iron bars. Hundreds of things, bits of old paper, cups, jewelry, rags, weapons, all sorts of stuff.
'Do you think the green gem is on there somewhere?' I whispered, the absence of the rushing wind now making it eerily silent.
A low rumbling growl met my words.
'If it is, go and look now, before...' Hecate trailed off as a dog twice the height of me emerged from the darkness, stepping out of the iron gate like it was some sort of portal. He looked a bit like a greyhound, if a greyhound was jet black, blessed with too many teeth and had a tail made from fire.
I gulped.
'Olethros,' whispered Hecate.
'Remind me what that means?'
'Destruction.'
'Excellent.'
Olethros barked once, and the flames from his tail streaked across his lithe body, lighting spirals of fire that danced over his sleek fur.
'Why is everything in this fucking hellhole on fire?'
'Go, Persephone,' said Morpheus. 'We must not forget we are in a race.'
'That's easy for you to say,' I muttered, as my vines snaked from my palms, my gaze still fixed on the dog now prowling up and down the length of the gate. 'How the hell do I get past him?'
'We can't help you, Persy.'
'Right.'
I took a big breath, and whipped my vine toward the rocky island, far from the iron gate. Olethros froze, his black eyes fixing on my