Chapter Twenty-Four
"A hydra?!" Theo shouted.
Charon glared at him, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall opposite of Theo.
"Yeah, a hydra that can hear pretty well." He answered. Theo pursed his lips, but much to our relief, didn't speak again. Malachi cursed under his breath, putting a hand on his hip and running his other through his hair in frustration. Cain wouldn't let go of me, even after we had stood up. He kept his arm around my waist, but this time, it wasn't a possessive gesture-- it was protective.
"Shit," Malachi cursed again, looking around cautiously, "We need to get moving. That doesn't sound like a small hydra."
"It's a full grown male hydra and Charon's right-- It's starving." I answered. Theo scowled at me, folding his arms over his chest.
"How do you know?" He asked dryly. I gave him a droll stare, putting a hand on my hip. I released a small amount of power and my tail came coiling out onto the floor, flicking at the end. Theo didn't say anything now, just looked away with an awkward cough. Malachi frowned, turning to me.
"What do you know about hydras?" He asked.
"Nearly everything," I responded flatly, "Hades made me research them after he fused my body with one. First of all, don't bother going for the tail. They're impervious. Their blood is poisonous, like acid. It eats through your skin. Second of all, we all know the fact that lopping off their heads won't work. Take one, two grow in its place. They have razor sharp claws that make flu shots feel like a pillow fight."
"How did Heracles defeat the hydra then?" Theo asked under his breath. I shrugged, folding my arms over my chest now, tail still swaying across the floor.
"He cut its heads off and before the heads could grow back, he burnt the stump, so it couldn't come back. Actually, it wasn't even his idea. It was his nephew's, Iolaus. Also his lover." I added, making Theo wrinkle his nose. Cain stuck his tongue out at him as a response.
"So, should we just blast fire at each of the heads?" Malachi asked.
"If you can hold still long enough to do it," I admitted with a grimace, "The hydra is really fast and swift. As big as this one is, it can still move quickly. And judging from how that thing roared, it has more than the usual two or four heads. So now you have to watch out big time. If you cut it and its blood gets on you, you'll scream for days." Malachi cursed, but seemed to be thinking about taking the thing on. Charon stood there in silence, glancing between us before his eyes widened as another loud roar tore through the hallways. This one sounded louder and more ferocious, as if there were nearly ten heads all screaming at once.
"Maybe we should start moving." Theo said at last, taking a step closer to Charon, who scowled at him. Malachi nodded.
"We can't fight in this tiny space," He agreed, "It has the advantage of being a serpentine creature and it can move easily through tight spaces-- we can't. Even if we did attack it, the blast from our powers might collapse the hallways. Let's just head in the opposite direction, and move fast, before it catches up." Everyone nodded in agreement to that and started down the hallway. Malachi led the way with Theo and Charon in the middle, Cain and I leading up the rear. Cain and I walked hand in hand, something that warmed me to the core.
"Thanks for that back there, by the way," I said, making Cain look at me curiously, "Healing me, I mean. No offense, but you killed me a good few times and I sort of expected it again." Cain looked pained at that, but he nodded in understanding, giving my hand a squeeze before he leaned in to kiss me on the cheek.
"I won't let you die. And," He paused, chewing his bottom lip, eyes looking straight ahead now, "And I know you don't trust me. That's fine."
"And you don't trust me either." I answered quietly. Cain grimaced, giving my hand another squeeze, turning his head to look at me.
"I love you, though. A lot. And, well, a lot has happened and we know more now than we did then. I'm willing to make this work again. It'll probably take a while to build the trust up again, but we don't have to do it alone." He offered. I stared at him, amazed at his maturity. He was right; we'd changed, we learned things. At the time of our first mistakes, we didn't know what jealousy or cheating or heartbreak even was. We'd never seen it before and Adam and Eve weren't exactly the most talkative parents. In fact, now that I think back on it, Cain and I had always thought their relationship was perfect, but it wasn't. There was a lot of mistrust between Adam and Eve, bitter feelings. Eve had been tricked and Adam had pointed the finger at her when God asked how it had happened.
So this kind of thing was only natural to happen. Without knowledge, people could make mistakes and hurt each other without even knowing how it happened. It could lead the sins that God feared so much. To be honest, I think Eve eating that fruit was probably the best thing that had ever happened. It's just too bad she was punished for it.
"I love you too," I said to Cain at last, watching the relief spread across his face, "And I want to try too, but only if you're trying with me." Cain nodded, smiling at me. It was an actual smile. Not a smirk, not a smug grin, but an actual smile that made my stomach quiver.
"Sounds good to me." He responded. I couldn't resist smiling back, tilting my head in to kiss him. He kissed me back until Theo groaned and we both rolled our eyes, glaring at him as he covered his ears.
"Someone gag me. Why'd we have to get caught with the couple? Can't we split up and hope the hydra gets them?" He complained. Charon gave him a look that was practically comical. A look that wondered how Theo could possibly be related to him. Malachi shook his head, reaching up to cover his ears to ignore Theo, who pouted at being ignored. Cain sighed.
"You're that annoying pain in the ass little brother that the older siblings try to stuff into a well." He responded dryly, making me smirk. Theo stuck his tongue out, marching ahead of Malachi, who rolled his eyes.
"At least I'm not making out with the rest of my siblings."
"Theo, you're Greek, how is that even offensive?"
"Oh, no, now that's offensive. That's like saying all Christians are..." Theo's voice trailed as his brow furrowed in an attempt to think about what followed the rest of his sentence. Charon covered his face with a hand, probably wishing he could melt into a hole in the ground. Cain grimaced and leaned over to me.
"I forgot what Sept saw in him, aside from being pretty, he's brain dead." He muttered under his breath. I stifled a laugh, pretending to cough instead. Not that it tricked Theo, who ignored us by arrogantly striding ahead of us with his head held high.
No, Theo was just having one of his moments, I knew. Theo usually spiraled into a wreck without Sept. Even when they weren't in a relationship before, Theo still managed to cause trouble and act like a spoiled brat if Sept wasn't there to reign it all in. Surprisingly, Theo listened to Sept from time to time. I wasn't sure why. It had to be more than love, but part of me figured I shouldn't ask. Theo was probably trying to distract himself from the fact that Sept wasn't here with him, so he was gonna make the rest of us feel like crap.
Theo logic right there, ladies and gentlemen.
Another terrifying roar tore through the hallways, this time much, much closer. We all abruptly stopped as the ground trembled and shuddered. Cain grabbed me around the waist and pulled me against him on instinct. Theo and Malachi shared looks before turning around. Charon whipped around so fast, I'm surprised he didn't get whiplash. Their eyes widened and we followed it to the end of the hallway.
The hallway trembled, rocks and dirt falling from the ceiling as one head poked in first. A long slender neck made of black and green marbled scales with the head of a dragon. Scaled with pointed ears and spikes that shot down the back of its head and rode its neck all the way to the body. Its giant gold eyes, the size of my fist, blinked eerily with an eyelid that stayed behind before peeling back with the outer lid. Its nostrils flared wetly at the scent of us before it opened its jaws to reveal three rows of giant jagged teeth about half my size.
Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. There was just silence as the creature stared at us before parting its jaws again and roared. It echoed around us and we dropped down, covering our ears against the ear-piercing sound.
The first head shot down the hallway at us.
"Run!" Malachi shouted. Nobody argued with that suggestion. Everyone shot down the hallway, moving fast. The neck was stretching further and further after us, though. I could feel the heat of its breath against my back, making me gasp. Cain grabbed my hand and pulled me up beside him, both of us breathing hard.
"We can't keep running the entire time," I shouted up ahead to Malachi, "It'll just keep chasing us and--" I didn't have a chance to finish as another head came poking in from the other side of the hallway. Malachi skidded to a stop and Theo smashed into him, causing them to topple onto the floor. Charon stopped abruptly, cursing under his breath. Cain and I stopped two, whirling around to face the one that had been chasing us. Malachi and Theo scrambled to their feet, Malachi giving Theo a none-too-kind smack in the shoulder as they faced the new head that was hissing and baring its teeth at them.
"Shit, shit," Malachi cursed, eyeing the second head uneasily, "We can't fight here. The hallways are too cramped, and this thing is way bigger than I anticipated. It's taking up the entire hallway."
"I have an idea," I managed, taking another step back as the hydra stuck out its long, forked tongue toward us, "Send a fire blast into its mouth. That should blow its head back and kill these two."
"And what about the blood?" Theo demanded, jumping back when the other head tried to lick at him.
"If you blast it right, the blood should just sizzle in the fire." I answered. Theo looked tempted to argue, but the hydra head in front of him snarled and opened its jaws again. Cain cursed and held his palm toward the hydra head that stood in our way. I gathered up what I could of my strength and sent a stream of fire exploding out at the hydra. It squealed and shrieked at the heat that intensified as Cain added his own blast of flames. Sweat beaded down my forehead and I hissed at the heat of it all, backing up until my back touched Charon's as he sent a blast both ways, at both the heads.
"Nice idea, dork," Theo shouted at me over the roar of the flames and the hydra squealing and shrieking in pain, "This place feels like a furnace! We're gonna burn up in here if we don't find a way out!" I cursed, clenching my teeth together against the pain in my blood. I could feel the last of my powers struggling to keep the flames going from my palms. I looked around for a moment, then took one hand away, ceasing the flames from it. I held it out to the wall and a door appeared there.
"Get inside," I ordered, "It should open up to the other hallway! Go!" Malachi stopped his fire first, throwing the door open and ducking inside. Theo went next, followed by Charon. They'd managed to fry the head to a stump, but it was already retreating to be replaced with another head. Cain cursed as we dropped our palms, watching the stump reel back to make room for another.
"Come on, hurry up!" Cain shoved me into the room and came in behind me, closing the door just as one of the hydra heads shot in for a bite, only to fly past us. We stumbled into a hallway with my other brothers.
I fell to my knees, breathing hard. I could feel the fever of Recharge flooding through my system.
Recharge was basically the flu for gods and demigods. Severe fever, nausea, vomiting blood (because anything else would just be sooo mortal).
"Abel," Cain said, dropping down beside me, still breathing heavily as he touched my shoulder, "Are you okay?" I started to nod, but I could feel the blood bubbling up into my throat, so I shook my head and pushed him back so he wouldn't get in the way as I vomited a stream of blood onto the floor. My throat roared like a fire and I was already hot and queasy from the smoke and flames outside. Cain put his arm around me as I vomited a little more before sinking back against his arm, breathing hard.
"Shit," Malachi cursed, coming over to look down at me as Cain brushed the hair back from my face, "Now we're down one. Nothing we're doing is helping. For all we know, Prometheus could have let the Titans out." Charon nodded grimly.
"The Labyrinth has no concept of time. To us, it feels like we've been down here for a good six hours, but back in the underworld? It could be more than that. Days, weeks, years even." He admitted. Theo gave him a sour glare.
"Gods, you're a ray of sunshine." He muttered. Charon gave him a blank stare.
"And you're an eternal thorn in my behind. But I'm only telling the truth. We're trapped. Just where they wanted us. We have no way out, no way to contact the outside world." He informed. Theo grimaced at that, hugging himself and looking around the hallway, obviously not liking the idea. Cain helped me onto my feet, but my legs wobbled and I almost fell, if he hadn't of caught me under the arms.
"Abel, you can't walk like this," He told me firmly, "Let me carry you." Normally, I would've told him to go fuck himself, I could walk on my own, but I felt way too sick to even argue, so I just nodded. I got on Cain's back so he could carry me piggyback, my arms around his neck and nose buried in his hair so I could inhale his scent, which eased my nerves a bit, but not by much. I was still nauseous and hot, yet I had chills. My throat felt raw and hoarse, bones aching right down to the marrow. I gave Cain a squeeze.
"I don't feel good." I managed. Cain squeezed my thighs as he carried me down the hallway, our group making its way ahead in hopes of finding something more.
"I know," Cain said quietly, "Just give it some time. Don't stress out. Relax. Let us do the work until you feel better." He made it sound as if I would feel good in a few minutes, hours even, but it didn't work like that and I knew it. Recharge took days, sometimes weeks, to recover from. But I appreciated his attempt to comfort me, so I just gave a short nod before peering up ahead as we moved in a miserable march of silence.
We didn't walk very far when suddenly Malachi made a weird sound, as if he were in pain.
"Malachi?" Theo turned first, then gasped sharply and grabbed at his chest as if he too were in pain and fell to his knees. Charon's eyes flickered, as if he knew what was happening, but he didn't give us a run down because he too was driven to his knees in pain. Cain crumpled under me and I hissed as we fell on the floor together.
A bolt of white hot pain shot through my veins, but as quickly as it was there, it faded and I was left feeling... weird. It felt as if something had been torn out of me and for a moment, I thought it was what little of my powers was left, keeping my legs from transforming. My tail refused to disappear and was just this limp noodle coiled behind me as I laid on the floor, my cheek to the cold stones, a relief to the blinding heat of pain that continued to assail me. Cain was breathing on the floor, clutching at his chest, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to figure out what had happened. Theo and Malachi were leaning against the walls, panting for breath and looking pain. Charon was slumped against the wall now, his eyes squeezed shut.
"What the hell was that?" Theo managed at last, his voice hoarse.
"The bond," Charon breathed past clenched teeth, "The bond that keeps our life forces together. Kill one, kill us all. It was broken."
"Broken," Theo echoed warily, "So what? Kill one of us, it doesn't kill all of us anymore?" Charon shook his head and Theo shrugged carelessly, making Charon pin him with a merciless glare.
"That's not a good thing," He snapped, making Theo scowl in confusion, "It either means Hades has given up on his search for us and is hoping at least one of us returns to take our place or Prometheus figured out a way to unbond us. Which means we're all screwed, except Cain."
"Fuck you," Cain wheezed, slowly sitting up, still gripping at his chest in pain, "I'm fucked too. Literally." He turned to me then, wincing when he saw me on the floor. He scooted over, lifting my head into his lap and stroking the hair back from my face. I sighed in relief at the tenderness beneath his touch.
"I'm sorry I dropped you." He murmured, studying me. I just shook my head, not trusting myself to speak because I didn't want to whimper pathetically. It was already humiliating that I couldn't move on my own.
"Wow," Theo mocked, making Cain snap his head to glare at him, "I never thought I'd hear you apologize, especially to the guy you killed a billion times." Cain curled his lip and started to snap back at him, but I was so tired of hearing my brothers argue. It was all they did, even now with our lives balancing on the line between life and death, they still didn't get along and if I did die down here, I didn't want my final memory to be of them going at each other's throats. So I reached up and put my hand over Cain's, so it rested on my cheek. I breathed a sigh of relief at that and Cain instantly returned to petting me, gazing at me with the same protective love in his eyes that I'd savored during our time in the mortal realm. It made my heart swell.
"What do we do now then," Malachi muttered, easing himself onto his feet and using the wall for support, "We're trapped. For once, I really don't know what to do. I'm open to suggestions that don't involve suicide." Theo pulled himself to his feet, and much to my surprise, Malachi came over and helped him. Theo gave him a dirty look and pulled himself away, straightening his cloak. Malachi just rolled his eyes as Theo cleared his throat, flipping his bangs out of his face, only to have them slide back into place.
"Well, our plan to lure the bastards in didn't work. Our plan to run around and look for some sort of life form that doesn't try to eat us didn't work. We're kind of out of options. We might as well just use the last of our powers to conjure pizzas and the first season of Charmed." He drawled.
"God, I love that show." I groaned. Theo smirked at that. Malachi rolled his eyes, looking at Charon, who actually grimaced comically at our taste in television shows.
"We're supposed to be powerfully demigods and we're talking about spending our last few days of life watching movies about cougars with magic and food that'll make us sick." He muttered, making Charon nod solemnly in agreement. Theo scowled.
"I don't see you two coming up with any bright ideas."
"At least watch something that's in good taste."
"I'm not watching Doctor Who."
"Why? Because your attention span is as short as a squirrel's?"
"Oh my god." I moaned, reaching up a shaky hand to cover my ear and block out their argument. Cain pulled me closer so I could rest my head in the crook of his neck, his arms cradling me tightly as he cast our brothers dirty looks.
"Quit arguing like a couple of tweens. We can't give up. There has to be a way out of here. How did Daedalus get out of here? If he could escape, so can we." He insisted impatiently. Charon frowned, folding his arms over his chest, bringing his knees up as he sat against the wall.
"Daedalus was the creator of the Labyrinth, and even he barely made it out alive."
"But he did make it out."
"He did."
"How?"
"No one knows," Charon admitted, making Cain grimace, "King Minos didn't want anyone to know how the Labyrinth worked, so once the Labyrinth was completed and Daedalus informed the king, he was throw into a tower in the middle of the ocean so that he couldn't tell anyone how the Labyrinth worked. Thus, sealing the secret from the world for eternity."
"But Daedalus escaped from the tower."
"And is probably wandering the Fields of Asphodel or something fun like that." Charon deadpanned, making Cain bark an angry curse. Malachi started to say something, and judging from his expression, it was going to be chiding until we looked up to hear footsteps slapping the stone floor in a hurry. We shared looks and managed to get up, heading to the end of the hall just as someone darted past, but Theo caught him around the waist and threw him on the floor at our feet.
"Blaine?" I asked, bewildered, leaning on Cain for support. The little fae scrambled when he realized we surrounded him. He hissed at us, baring his fangs and bending his fingers so his nails were visible in an attempt to intimidate us.
"A fae?" Malachi asked, confused.
"Cerberus's fae." Cain answered flatly, uninterested in Blaine's presence. But I was curious, so I managed to push Cain's arm off me, taking a step toward Blaine, whose eyes locked on me instantly and he snarled at me.
"Back off!" He barked. I glared at him impatiently, ignoring the fact that Cain was hovering behind me to make sure I wasn't hurt, and that he could break Blaine's neck if he tried.
"Where the hell did you go? Cerberus went looking for you. How did you get here?" I demanded. Blaine gave me a dirty look, giving me a once over and coming to the conclusion that I wasn't a threat, so he stood up straight and folded his arms tightly over his chest, casting my brothers a wary stare as they watched him just as cautiously.
"Where the fuck did you think I went? I saw my chance to run and I took it. I really don't give two shits what happens to you lot." He answered bitterly. Cain glared at him, putting his hands on his hips.
"I'm about two seconds from ripping your head off and sticking it on a spike. What Cerberus sees in you is beyond me." He seethed. Blaine's eyes flared with instant hate at the mention of Cerberus's name, which sent a surprising bolt of pain through me for my brother. Cerberus wasn't the greatest guy in the world, but everyone had flaws. Cerberus was raised by our father's servents, not even Hades himself. Suffice it to say that Cerberus wasn't sure what love was or how to handle it.
But I knew enough from seeing it with everyone else, and feeling it for Cain, that Cerberus was in love with a fae that wanted him dead more than a ten pound cockroach in the fridge.
"A slave is what he sees," Blaine spat venomously, his green eyes piercing us with a hate so profound that I could almost feel the heat of it stifling the room, "I'm not sticking around to see if that dog can find me, nor am I sticking around you. Prometheus will find you and kill you and I want to be out of this Labyrinth by then."
"You know how to get out?" Malachi demanded. Blaine said nothing, but his expression said everything. Cain went for him and Blaine made a run for it, but Malachi picked him up and Blaine shrieked, kicking his legs and thrashing. He was writhing like a child and Malachi looked like he was having difficulties keeping a good hold on him as Blaine fought to escape.
"Get your bloody hands off me, you cockface! I'll rip your innards out and strangle you with them!" He screamed viciously, beating at Malachi's arms with his tiny fists, but Malachi didn't even flinch as he struggled to keep Blaine from slipping away from him. Blaine was seconds away from escaping before Malachi slammed Blaine into the wall, his skull cracking against the stones. Instantly Blaine went limp and Malachi cursed.
"Crap. I didn't mean to knock him unconscious." He muttered, dropping Blaine into a heap on the floor. Cain curled his lip and Theo looked just as disgusted as they took a step forward to glare down at the fae.
"You should've killed him." Theo snorted. Charon gave him a droll stare.
"Yeah, let's kill the only way out of this prison. Was that the half-a-brain you used to pass kindergarten?" He asked. Theo pinned him with a withering stare.
"I really liked it when you kept your mouth shut." He snapped. Charon didn't say anything. He just turned his head away to look down at the fae. Malachi sighed, running a hand through his hair, his other hand on his hip as he looked down at Blaine.
"No, Charon's right," He said, making Theo glare at him and Malachi rolled his eyes, "Not about the kindergarten thing. I meant that if we killed him, we'd have no way out and I don't know about you, but I really don't want to deal with the wrath of Cerberus should we kill his most prized possession. We need to tie him up and wake him so he can lead us out of here."
"How would that even work," I muttered, clutching at my stomach, causing Cain to hurry over and put his arms around me to assist in keeping me standing, "He hates us. And he doesn't care if he has to stay here forever so long as we're out of the way. He won't tell us anything." Malachi frowned at that. Theo scoffed.
"Then we'll cut his hair off." He replied. Cain scowled in confusion.
"What would that do?" He asked. Charon answered for Theo this time.
"Faes value their long hair. It's a symbol of their power and beauty. Cut their hair off and it's like castrating them." He informed, sounding a bit annoyed that Theo even bothered to suggest such a heineous act, but right now, it was our only shot at getting Blaine to lead us out of this Labyrinth, or at least help us get through it to find the rest of our people. Malachi sighed wearily, stooping down and shoving Blaine onto his face so he could pull Blaine's arms behind his back. He took the god restraints and wrapped them around Blaine's wrists tightly before rolling the fae onto his back.
Malachi started to pat his cheek to wake him up while Theo withdrew a dagger from his cloak. Cain frowned at that, tightening his arm around my waist and using his other hand to guide my head against his shoulder.
"Why didn't someone take that from you when you were captured?" He asked dryly. Theo stuck his tongue out.
"I stole it off Rara after she kicked me in the face. I want to use it to slit her throat." He answered, making Cain roll his eyes. There was a low groan and we looked down as Blaine started to come to, blinking slowly. He looked dazed and in pain for a moment before he caught sight of the dagger that glinted dangerously in Theo's hand, his eyes widening. He scrambled, only to realize that his hands were bound behind his back, so he scooted back until he was against the wall, his fangs bared at Theo.
"Blaine..." Malachi started, but Blaine spat at him, hissing.
"You can't kill me," He snarled, "If you do, you'll never find a way out." Theo laughed at that, making Blaine snap his head to glare at him.
"I'm not going to kill you, fae," He mocked, taking a dangerous step toward Blaine, who stiffened and tried to press himself into the wall, "I'm going to give you a nice hair cut." Blaine paled.
"You wouldn't." He seethed past clenched teeth. Theo moved fast, grabbing Blaine up by a handful of his thick dark hair, pulling him onto his knees. He placed the dagger at Blaine's hair, making the fae's eyes flare with enough hate to fuel the entire city of Tokyo.
"Try me," Theo sneered, touching the blade to Blaine's hair and slicing off a couple of strands that made Blaine hiss, "Lead us to our brothers and out of this Labyrinth, and you can keep your pretty hair." Blaine squirmed, trying to get away from the dagger, but Theo only jerked him back, cutting off a couple more strands and Blaine moaned as if he were in pain. Agony flitted across his face and he looked like he was seriously considering just letting us chop off his hair before he squeezed his eyes shut. They snapped back open so he was glaring up at Theo with the same profound hatred he looked at Cerberus with.
"Fine, you fucking douche canoe." He seethed. Theo shrugged and stepped back, but not before backhanding Blaine so hard that he hit the floor. I almost felt the impact of the fae's cheek on the floor, making me grimace. Theo could be extremely cruel, when he wanted to.
He was like a kitten.
A total bitch about 98% of the time, but he was kinda cute when he was sleeping.
"Jesus," Malachi muttered, giving Theo a dirty look, "You didn't have to do that." He went to take Blaine by the arm to help him up, but Blaine whirled on him and bit him hard on the wrist, but Theo bashed him over the head again. Blaine hit the floor, breathing hard, blood running from the corners of his mouth as Malachi shook out his wrist, seething in pain.
"Did to." Theo mocked. Malachi scowled at him, then looked away as he touched his wrist to heal it as Cain left me to tear Blaine to his feet. I frowned, watching an angry dark bruise take its place over the entire left side of Blaine's face, a droplet of blood running down from his busted lip, but the fae didn't even flinch as he glared at us.
He reminded me of an animal, a wild animal. Feral and hateful and dangerous, wild and unpredictable. While part of me felt sorry for him, having been a slave his entire life and being so abused, I was beginning to dislike him. He was a selfish little brat.
But we didn't have time for personal feelings.
We needed to get out of this Labyrinth fast.
Because I was starting to get a bad feeling in my stomach again and so far, I had learned that my gut instinct was always right.