Olethros? He looks just as bad!' I exclaimed.
'He's smaller, and not on fire,' she protested.
'He has red eyes and teeth. That's pretty fucking creepy.'
'This is a race, ladies,' called Morpheus, interrupting us. I clenched my jaw, and scanned for anything at all on the ledge that might be hiding a gem. I spotted a large iron ring on the ground, and could just make out what looked like a trapdoor beneath it.
Deciding to deploy the same tactic as before, I asked Morpheus to get us as close to the trapdoor in the ledge as he safely could. Fonax started barking as we approached, and waves of icy fear slammed into me. Hades had said his dogs could instill fear in people, I remembered. But if they were like him, I could block it out with my power. I focused, using my healing magic to create a shield around my head, blocking the visions I knew would come if I didn't protect myself. Confident it was working, I snaked my vines out, then flung one as far from the trapdoor as I could.
Fonax raced after it, and I sent the vine from my right hand to the iron ring on the trapdoor. I held my breath as I jumped the ten feet from the chariot to the ground, and landed hard on one leg, failing to use my vine properly to slow the jump. I cried out as my ankle twisted and I fell. The shout was all Fonax needed to realize I'd tricked him. He spun, turning a hundred and eighty degrees in a heartbeat, and raced toward me. I yanked as hard as I could on the vine on the trapdoor, both trying to open it and pull myself to my feet. It creaked but didn't open, and I stumbled toward it, crying out again when I put weight on my left leg.
'Open! Fucking open!' I forced my power into the green vine, desperately pulling on it as the hound got closer, his gleaming red eyes terrifying.
With a lurch the trapdoor finally gave way, and I threw myself into the dark space without a moment’s hesitation, tugging the door shut behind me with the vine. Nothing down there could be worse than Fonax reaching me. As the trapdoor closed above me it severed the vine that was attached, and I tumbled through the darkness until I landed on something relatively soft.
Panic rose in my chest as I rolled, struggling to right myself. I had no idea what I was on top of and the thought was nauseating.
Dirt. I moved my hands around hesitantly as I came to a stop on my ass, and was pretty sure I was sitting on piles of sandy dirt. I paused as my fingers skimmed something solid. I needed light. Cautiously, I sent a gold vine from my palm, hoping the glow it gave off would be enough to see by.
It was, just. I was in a small, dirt-filled space, the ceiling not much taller than I would be, standing up. I moved the vine down and saw that I had run my hand over a broken doll. As I looked, I saw more bits of junk, half buried in the sand. I immediately began to dig, searching for anything green in the dim golden light.
Another volley of barking began above me, making me jump in surprise, then a fierce scratching sound began. Fonax was trying to get through the trapdoor.
I dug faster, sending my power to my ankle to try to heal it. As soon as the power flowed to my leg, waves of fear crashed into me, flames and screams rushing into my mind. Corpses, the bodies of those I had killed... My hands stilled in the dirt as the scratching got louder, and sweat broke out across my forehead as terror began to claw its way up my chest.
I forced my healing magic back to my head, abandoning healing my ankle. Slowly the screams died away, and my pulse slowed slightly.
Breathing hard, I flexed my shaking hands, trying to block out the frantic scratching and barking. If my healing power could only protect me from the fear or heal my ankle, not both, then I would have to make do with my busted ankle. The fear would cripple me.
I rolled onto my knees, and resumed digging in the dirt, tossing ancient crap out of the way, and seeing nothing green.
The scratching overhead stopped abruptly, and an ominous creak replaced it. I