Her Quest

Chapter thirty two

After suiting up in the armoury, Adonis and Penelope met with Hades and Persephone at the entrance of the Underworld.                                                                 “Be brave, child” Persephone told Penelope and had her one hand gently cupped underneath her chin.                                                                                                        “I will, thank you”.                                                                                                               “Adonis, take this for Cerberus” Hades said and handed a silver thermos to Adonis.                                                                                                                                             “You still remember the changing paths of the Tartarus?”.                                                    “I do. Each and every one of them”.                                                                                        “Good. Keep in mind that the pathway will change by the hour”.                                       “Yes, my king”.                                                                                                               

“Penelope, I wish you the best as you journey through to Tartarus. Since Tartarus is in the depths of Hell and falls solely under Tartarus’ control, I will not have any way of knowing if the two of you are safe”.                                                                          “We will both be fine” Penelope said and took in a deep breath.                               Persephone embraced Penelope first and then Adonis.                                                  “Take good care of her, my son”.                                                                                                      “I promise I will” Adonis said and started to walk out into the cold strong winds. Penelope turned and followed suite.


Penelope and Adonis walked side by side through the sand storms and only spoke once they passed the entrance to the Elysian Fields.                                            “What’s in the flask?”.                                                                                                          “Hmm?”.                                                                                                                                       “The flask, for Cerberus”.                                                                                                 “Cerberus doesn’t take well to visitors. He is accustomed to me, but he might become violent upon seeing you. This flask contains his favourite animal’s blood; eagles”.                                                                                                                               “Good thing we are bringing him a treat then” Penelope joked but she received no reaction from Adonis.                                                                                                            “Have you had another vision?”.                                                                                            “No. It’s not something I can control, you know?”.                                                                           “I understand that, I’m just…”.                                                                                              “Anxious to feel complete again?” Penelope suggested and Adonis’s gaze intensified on hers.                                                                                                                      “Exactly, and it all lies in your hands”.                                                                                          “My hands? I don’t think it was me that was opening the locket and freeing your soul. I was seeing the vision in third person”.                                                            Adonis sighed and looked ahead at the dessert.                                                                “Never mind”.                                                                                                                         “What do you mean, never mind? What is it now?”.                                                                     “I won’t explain it to you, the fates will”. Penelope groaned in frustration and continued walking.                                                                                                      

Penelope noticed movement beneath the sand and stopped in her tracks. She shrieked when she saw that the movement was caused by a snake.                                       “It will not harm you. It senses my presence” Adonis said calmly and held Penelope’s hands, dragging her away from the direction in which the snake travelled.                                                                                                                                              “How does that work? You controlling the creatures? When I made my way from the house of Morpheus to Hades’ home, he told me that you had made sure there were no creatures in my way”.