The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 12

It had only been half an hour, but beads of sweat already lined my forehead. I craved for some wind as a reprieve, but there didn't seem to be any. The atmosphere was stagnant, frozen like a moment in time. The air-conditioned castle was now a long-ago memory, one I should have been more grateful for. The heat seeped into every pore and made every intake of air feel heated. The Underworld was an oven, and I was its baked goods.

I exhaled and let my head fall back against the building. The sky was starting to brighten to its apocalyptic red. A high-rise building protruding into the skyline caught my attention, and I stood straight. Much unlike the other buildings, it had a clean and renovated look about it, stretching proudly into the sky. It looked to be made from bricks, which was much sturdier than anything else in this city. A conversation with Raven popped into my head:

Artemis foresaw the family split coming, so ensured she took her fair share of money before she left. She now owns the tallest building in the city.

A family split, a rebellious demigod and a bit of luck.

I knew what I had to do.

~~~~

Artemis' building may have been the tallest in Sloth City, but it was hardly large in comparison to the multi-million dollar high-rises on Earth. Nevertheless, it showed up the rest of Sloth City, towering over the other buildings like a dictator might over their servants.

I hurried through the incongruous pathways, glad that at least the crowd was thinner on this side of the city, and tried to stick to the shadows.

It was difficult to stay quiet when my surroundings were so horrifying. Discarded trash littered the ground, with every couple of alleyways forming a designated hot spot for the homeless. Whenever I passed someone sleeping on the ground, their stillness made me worry whether they were even alive. I picked up my pace, weaving through the roads and holding my hood low, accompanied by the occasional creaking of nearby buildings.

It didn't take very long to reach the building owned by Artemis, but when I arrived, I wish it had taken longer. My hopes and jaw plummeted at the unfolding scene before me. I'd incorrectly presumed that Hell – like Earth – had its hours of sleep. But nothing about this building suggested people in The Underworld slept at all. Whereas the rest of the city emanated quiet, this building seemed to inhabit its entire population.

People dressed in all sorts of outfits stumbled from the front doors, laughing and wrapping their arms around each other. Every time they pushed the doors open, music flooded outwards, giving me a hint of exactly what type of building this was. Music pulsated so loudly, it shook the dust from the crevices of the brick building. If I didn't know any better, this was Hell's equivalent of a club.

I took a deep breath and fisted my hands.

You can do this, I told myself. You're seventeen years old. Fitting into the club scene should be second nature, right?

Wrong. That was Camilla's domain. Not mine. At the thought of her, a pang of sadness hit me. I needed her spritzy energy with me now more than ever.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I forced myself to move towards the front doors. At the same time I reached the handle, someone from the inside pushed them open and the blast of music was so powerful it smacked me in the face.

I felt the eyes of the leaving guests trace over my body in curiosity. Compared to their sheer black attire, I was an anomaly. I tried not to let their stares get to me and stepped inside, definitely feeling out of place. Before me, bodies moved against each other in a promiscuous display of hedonism. It was difficult to tell where one dancer began and another ended. The entire dance floor was full of entangled limbs, moving swiftly to the pounding music. Some movements were so intimate they made me blush and look away.

The ceiling was covered in jagged mirrors, reflecting light onto all sides of the room. Looking at it for too long sent a wave of dizziness through me, so with some reluctance I looked back towards the crowd.

This time, I was able to focus less on the promiscuity and more so on the overall atmosphere. To many, this club was perhaps their only vehicle for a release. As I watched, enraptured, most dancers had smiles on their faces. It was difficult to find smiles of any kind on the faces of those on the street. For people in Sloth City, this was their very own form of escapism.

Now if only I could find Artemis...

There were so many people I didn't know where to begin. Couches lined the room and on one side, people crowded a bar to drink highly-questionable liquids. I saw the bartender, covered entirely with tattoos, and decided he would be my best bet at knowing where I could find Artemis.

Hesitantly, I pushed my way through the onslaught of human bodies. They pressed me in all directions, but I gritted my teeth and continued onwards, probably earning more stares than I would've liked.

I reached the bar at the same time a line of dark drinks exploded into flames. A shriek escaped my lips, but the atmosphere was too loud for anyone else to hear. The flames died down, revealing a bright pink liquid. I was pretty sure all of the colour had left my face. The recipients passed the drinks around with wicked grins, drinking all of the liquid in one go.

"Drink?" A voice called out, too close for comfort.

I jumped in surprise and turned to see the bartender watching me expectantly.

I shook my head. "I'm looking for Artemis. Where can I find her?"

His gaze lingered on mine, and a knowing smile tugged at his lips. He nodded his head in the direction of a staircase on the side of the room, and then returned to his work.

"Thank you," I called out, but he was already in the midst of lining up another round of drinks.

I battled my way back over to the staircase, possibly earning twice as many bruises as I had before, and breathed a sigh in relief when I gripped its railing. I moved up the staircase quickly, glancing behind me to see if anyone was following me, but all I could see was a sea of crowded bodies.

This building may have been tall, but with the high ceilings, it didn't make for many storeys. The palms of my hands sweated furiously as I inspected the second, third and fourth floors. All of them were much the same. Cave-like walls lit with candles led to wide hallways. I tip-toed quietly down the halls, very aware of how silent it was without the music pounding in my ears, and spied everything from lounge rooms to bedrooms. But apart from the strong similarity to the luxury of the castle, there was no sign of Artemis.

I returned to the staircase and arrived at to the topmost level, very aware of how different this storey was compared to the others. While the other floors appeared to be so unused to the extent that they appeared ghostly, this floor was littered with empty cups and opened wine bottles. A small fire was dying down in its hearth, signalling to me that whoever had been up here, hadn't returned for a while. Its warmth sent a new sheen of sweat across my forehead.

The fire's light cast itself across the lounge suit and down the hall. Unlike the other floors, here many of the doors were closed. I wiped my damp hands against my cloak and set off down the corridor, quietly.

I peeked a glance into the first open doorway, finding a floor-to-ceiling bookcase decked in old-style books. At any other time, I could've spent days perusing its contents. A solitary and rather expensive wooden desk stood proudly in the centre of the room, covered in documents and loose papers.

Something slammed into me in the dark, pushing all of the oxygen from my body, and pressed me chest-first against the far wall. My head ricocheted with the impact and a small scream escaped my lips. My hood fell from my face. Something cold, hard and dangerous pressed up against the back of my neck.