had once been a god himself. Long, long ago, before he had been killed and his belly used as a prison for all who denied the Olympians. A dark mist swirled beyond the stalactite teeth, revealing nothing of what the creature contained.
The wind whistled from deep within the open mouth, almost as though the dead creature were moaning. Kore supposed that was possible. Nothing was really dead in the Underworld.
Taking a deep breath, she plunged into the darkness. Wind blasted at her shoulders, shoving her back to the entrance, but she lifted an arm and surged forward. Her feet slid at first until she caught herself. Thighs quivering, Kore fought her way into Tartarus.
As suddenly as it began, the wind stilled. In its place, heat burned her skin. All the saliva on her tongue dried up, and she felt her lips crack. There was no moisture in the air here, just the dry heat of a desert.
Lowering her arm, she stared down into a desolate landscape filled with lakes of lava and burning trees. Tears stung her eyes. She stood at the top of a mountain and stared down into a realm of pain and anguish.
Titans were chained to the ground as far as the eye could see. Some of them were as large as mountains, while the others were the same size as Olympians. A few were even as small as human children, but she could see the power rolling off them like the drops of sweat that beaded from their brows.
Fires burned all around them. On the ground. On the sparse plants. Sparks flying in the air and landing on their shoulders. And above their heads, storms rolled. Lightning crackled through the air and struck the ground near one of the smaller Titans. The creature looked almost like a bull, although he was larger than any bull she’d ever seen before, and stood on two feet. He let out a grunt, shaking his massive furred head, and then settling back into his crouch.
Kore’s heart split open for them. They were once the gods of this world, the ones who had created everything she knew and loved. The Olympians had inherited an earth given life by these creatures.
They were to be punished for all eternity. Kore knew she wasn’t allowed to touch them or she would be punished by Zeus himself.
The rules didn’t say she couldn't talk to them, though.
She clambered down the mountain path to the plains where the Titans were chained. Now that she was closer, she could see the chain links were as big as she was for most of the giants.
Would they even agree to help her?
Licking her lips, she approached the closest Titan. His skin was pale as the moonlight and his hair a pitch black that seemed to swallow the light. He wore a crown on his head that depicted the planets and stars circling... himself.
“Coeus?” she asked.
She knew very little about the larger Titan, other than he was the axis upon which the earth spun. Some people thought he was mad because he was one of the few Titans who had tried to escape Tartarus. Obviously, he hadn’t succeeded.
He knelt on one knee, the other leg supporting his thick forearm. Chains looped over his shoulders and neck, clearly weighing him down. And though she couldn’t see where they were hooked, she had a feeling he couldn’t stand up even if the links were unattached.
He glanced up at her, and she saw his eyes were black as the night sky with spots of stars throughout them. “Who are you?”
His snarl boomed through Tartarus like the clap of thunder following a lightning bolt.
She swallowed hard, suddenly wondering if this had been a smart idea. “My name is Kore,” she replied, pressing a hand against her chest. “I’m looking for Rhea.”
“What do you want with Rhea?” He looked her up and down. “An Olympian like yourself has no place in Tartarus.”
“Oh, I’m not an Olympian.” Actually, she supposed she was now that she was married to Hades. Although, she’d never considered herself to be one, even though her mother was Demeter. She was just a nymph. Kore cleared her throat. “I need to speak with my grandmother. Please.”
He arched a delicate brow before nodding to his right. “Keep going that way. It’s hard to miss the Mother.”
The ground burned the soles of her shoes and her feet were already blistering. The pain was so distracting, she turned and started off before she realized how rude