Chapter 10
Damon
We didn't fall for long before we crashed into the staircase descending into Tartarus. If we didn't have an unknown – potentially the Hydra – monster chasing us, I'd say it was a blessing in disguise. Even then, that blessing didn't last long. We raced down the staircase, almost stumbling over ourselves, taking them two, three at a time as the beast we could not see shook the cave. The ceiling was tumbling down on us; it was getting trickier and trickier to dodge the falling debris.
Christian took a rock to the shoulder, and Acheaus used his darkness to dissolve what he could, but ultimately I took a stone to the back too. Ignoring the pain we charge on, wanting to put as much distance between us and whatever monstrosity hunting us. Achaeus controlled the darkness, using it to keep the cave intact, but even he wasn't strong or agile enough to dodge it all. Battered and bruised, we were all determined to succeed.
"It's getting closer!" Christian roared through the deafening noise of the cave.
Walls crumbling, debris smashing all around us, shook my eardrums as the cave's echoes amplified the sounds around us. Christian wasn't wrong; the vibrations ran through the cave, shaking the staircase and cracking it under our feet. I worried that we would be crushed or fall into another unknown cavern at any given moment with no way out.
"Run faster!" Achaeus yelled.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" I snapped back, jumping out of the way just in time to avoid having my head caved in.
The hissing intensified; it made my skin crawl. The sound rattled, making my skin feel like the tounges of a thousand snakes tickled me.
"Can you hear that?" Christian asked, and I felt the worry in his tone.
I heard it, but before I had a chance to analyse it or think of an escape plan, the hissing turned into a roar far mightier than the Chimera. The cave wall burst open, the force throwing us from the cave. Christian thought fast, using his air element to stable us all for long enough for us all to grab the ledge. I glanced down; we were hanging at least one hundred feet above the river Styx.
The ledge wouldn't hold us long; I could feel it breaking apart under our combined weight. The more we struggled to find footing, the worse our situation got. There was nothing to grip onto, no way to try and climb back up. We were left hanging.
"I might be able to use my element to fly you both back into the cave," Christian yelled.
But before he could implement his plan, seven pairs of red glowing eyes appeared from the cave. My heart pounded so violently in my chest that I could hear it in my ears. I had seen illustrations of people's reports of the Hydra. I had heard stories. Yet nothing could prepare me for the sight before me. Several giant serpent heads with razor-sharp spikes down teach of their necks. Fangs so long and sharp they could cut through steel. Its large serpent body coiled below it. It hissed at us, each of its tounges lashing out like whips.
I looked down and weighted up our odds. If we stayed hanging, the Hydra would either tear us apart or use its deadly acid breath to melt the flesh from our bones. Either way, it would be an excruciating way to die, and I didn't fancy either option. Some of its heads focused squarely on us while the others riled back, preparing to strike. We had no choice. We had to take our chances with the lost souls of the dead.
"Jump!" I yelled.
"Are you crazy? The dead will drag us down!" Achaeus panicked.
"Don't let them; fight back as hard as you can," I insisted.
