Alek and I rode Calista through the chasms between volcanoes, hardly talking to each other. I placed Alek's silence down to his fatigue and tried to stay out of his space – even though that was somewhat of an impossible task when we were sitting on the same saddle. I sat behind him, trying my hardest to maintain as little body contact as possible.
After last night and then Alek's cold shoulder this morning, I realised something; I was very much acting as the damsel in distress I grew up to hate. In the Underworld I was nothing without Alek's help, or anyone else's, and it had taken me too long of a time to truly acknowledge it.
I'd decided that once Alek got some sleep, I would ask him to teach me how to fight and defend myself. He was in too much of a poor mood at the moment, we'd travelled for so many hours I'd long ago lost the feeling in my backside. And if Alek really did intend on fulfilling his promise in taking me to the North Gate, I didn't want to be useless. I needed to be able to defend myself long enough from whatever darkness loomed in the Underworld for Alek to trust me.
The dead and dry landscape sent a chill through me, the consistent skitter of Calista's hooves kicking rock our only company. Parallel cliff faces on either side of us increased my paranoia – I half expected someone to be watching our approach, or some demon to come charging down its sides.
Calista's glowing red eyes swept over the landscape, and every now and then she'd turn her head just far enough to watch me in her peripheral vision. It made me wonder whether Persephone was also watching us. And if she was watching us, then there was no doubt Hades also would know of our location.
To solve this problem, I suggested to Alek that we blindfold Calista. Not only would it prevent any outside intruders from spying on us, but it would also stop her from keep giving me the stink eye.
Alek disagreed.
His solution to this little problem was to keep moving forwards as quickly as possible. Although Hades no doubt knew by now that I was trying to get to the North Gate, Alek said if we zigzagged on the way there, they'd be less likely to anticipate our next move.
I still thought that blindfolding Calista was the best option. But whatever.
My stomach rumbled in hunger and bit my lip, hoping Alek didn't hear it. His shoulders tightened; which meant he definitely did. He didn't say anything though, he just kept his head straight as he scrutinised our surroundings and grasped the crossbow firmly.
I was about to break our silence and ask how far off we were from Greed City, when Alek brought Calista to a holt.
"We're here," Alek announced, relieved.
I peeked over his shoulder and couldn't contain my surprise. We stood at the rim of a ginormous crater, its length stretching for miles. Curious, I slipped from Calista and landed with a thud after so long seated. The wind was much stronger here and made the fabric of my top ripple in waves as I inched closer to the crater.
My stomach dropped when I realised how deep the crater went. In the end I had to drop to my knees to inch closer to the edge, too scared to risk standing. Nausea made my face pale as I looked over the precarious edge, staring down the sheer drop at what looked to be two hundred metres of gaping, terrifying distance.
The base of the crater was covered in buildings and people the size of ants strolling through the city's streets. In the centre of Greed City was a decadent gold tower. The gold I'd seen in Sloth City had nothing on this expensive display, which glinted softly under the red sky. The building started at the base of the cavern and its top turret reached approximately halfway to the surface. Its beauty seemed to draw me in, and I ignored the sensation to reach for it. I shook myself out of its trance.
"Jeez, I wonder why they call it Greed City," I commented. "I might turn blind if I stare at that building for too long."
Alek scoffed. "That's exactly how Plutus likes it."
I frowned. "Is Plutus the God of Greed?"
He nodded. "Yep. That blinding building in the centre – not that you need help finding it – is his palace."
I gulped, worry forming at the edge of my mind. "If this is Plutus' palace...what does Hades' one look like?"
I didn't think I could imagine anything grander or more ostentatious than this.
He hesitated. "I'm not sure, I've never seen it."
"Why not?"
"Besides the obvious – trying to stay as far away as possible from Hades – there's never been anything for me there. I have heard a rumour though that his castle is surrounded by rivers of souls that have passed into the afterlife."
It felt like someone was tightening a hand around my chest, making me struggle to breathe. If Hades and Persephone had it their way, I'd be in their castle right now and would have already seen whether that rumour was true.
"Anyway," Alek continued, "I don't exactly imagine Hades as a 'people person'. I doubt he has this many people living around him."
I snickered, but a dizzying sensation took over and I retreated from the edge, focusing on the sturdy ground beneath my feet.
"How are we getting down there?" I asked, trying to keep the nerves from sounding in my voice. I glanced over at Alek, who was now holding Calista by her reins.
"There's a slight decline along the rim of the crater," he said, pointing to a spot a few metres from us. To my horror, I saw a pathway about a few metres wide protrude from the rock face and twist around the perimeter of the city, eventually reaching the city's ground in the far-away distance.
The thought of walking down there made me queasy – one wrong slip or fall meant I'd go plunging down to my doom. I tucked a piece of my ruined hair behind my ear, taking a shaky breath.
"You're not scared of heights, are you?" Alek asked, looking at me with suspicion.
"Nope," I answered quickly, trying to appear nonchalant. "Heights should be scared of me." I laughed awkwardly, making Alek stare at me for a few moments in silence.
"You're scared of heights," he concluded, sighing.
I didn't know whether he was disappointed or not, but I couldn't stand the look of pity in his eyes.
I raised my chin, clenching my jaw. "I'm fine. Really."
Then, before I could lose my tenacity, I marched towards the spiralling pathway, feeling Alek's gaze cling to my back. He pulled Calista along behind him, hurrying to catch up with my fast pace.
The faster I could get to the path, the less time there was for my courage to dissipate.
I came to a stop at the very top of the pathway, staring downwards. It wasn't a very steep decline, but it was the threat of the sheer drop looming below that made my stomach curl. I heard the sound of Calista's hooves hitting the ground close behind me and took a deep breath, starting the long descent.
~~~~
Walking downhill was like walking on stilts. There was just something about walking alongside a cliff that turned my legs immobile. I stuck to the wall as closely as possible, struggling with each step, while Alek walked carelessly in the centre of the path, Calista trailing behind him.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who disliked heights. Calista kept on freezing at spontaneous intervals, whipping her head back and forth, at times even rearing back onto her hind legs. It seemed that, no matter how much we disliked each other, we may have had something in common. I was just glad that it was Alek dealing with her, not me.
As we got closer and closer to the base of the crater, my muscles started to relax and I sped up, finally able to indulge in the view.
Greed City reminded me a lot of Sloth City – except here the distribution of wealth appeared to be even more skewed. It was clear from walking along the perimeter that there were some very wealthy families closer towards Plutus' palace, however many homeless on the outskirts. The closest homes were makeshift amalgamations of wood and metal scraps. By the look of their poorly designed roofs, many people were lucky the Underworld didn't have rain or snow.
I was so distracted by the sight of civilisation that I didn't notice when we came to a stop at the end of the pathway. Calista snorted ardently over my shoulder, wetting the right side of my face and bringing me back to reality.
"Argh," I complained, wiping it off with a frown. "That was disgusting."
"That's what you get for suggesting I blindfold her," Alek retorted, a small smile dancing on his lips.
"Yeah, well I still think it's dangerous for Persephone to see where we're going."
I surveyed the people walking up and down the street. It was getting late, so there were few milling about, but every time someone came close to us, they shot us intrigued looks and slowed down their pace.
"Don't worry about the stares," Alek said quietly, so closely I almost jumped. "They don't see a lot of new faces around here...being in the middle of a field of volcanoes and all."
My eyes rounded and I looked at Alek in alarm. "Wait – how is the city supposed to protect itself if a volcano does erupt? This place is literally a bowl of lava waiting to happen."
"Plutus has prepared for that–" he pointed upwards, towards the roof of the cavern, "–by building a titanium plate that covers the roof of the city. It's embedded in the walls and only closes over the cavern when Plutus orders it to. And if a volcano erupts, the plan is that an excavation team will be able to dig their way back out and re-open the cavern."
My jaw dropped. "That's why this city looks so deep underground? Because we were walking down hundreds of years' worth of solidified lava?"
"It's more like thousands, but yes. We're actually standing on the original ground level right now."
"Wow. That's pretty cool, but also kind of scary." I glanced at Alek accusingly. "You lied about us being safe though."
"There's only an explosion every hundred years or so, so there was an almost certain chance we were safe. Besides, we needed to come here to collect more supplies. There's also no way to get to the North Gate that doesn't cross volcanoes. They border the wastelands' entire perimeter."
A young couple decked in black and sporting dark eyeliner strolled past, their gazes zeroed in on us. The man had his arm wrapped tightly around the woman's shoulders, holding her close. As I looked at the woman more carefully, I realised she was looking at us with widened, stressed eyes. It was a look of fear – fear of the person next to her. The male had a snarl affixed to his face. My cheeks heated up and I fisted my hands in rage as gripped her tightly, keeping her all to himself.
His eyes burned into mine and then rolled up and down my body. When his eyes reached mine again, his snarl grew into an insidious and predatorial smile. I flinched as his steps slowed in front of me.
Alek stepped forward and held his crossbow high, blocking me from the man's view.
"Keep walking," he growled.
The man seized up Alek's muscular body and weaponry, and seemed to realise I wasn't worth the fight. He scowled and spat at Alek's feet, then tugged the other woman closer to him and walked away, glaring at us over his shoulder.
Alek remained in front of me for a few more moments, waiting until they were out of our sight. I placed a hand on his forearm. He flinched at my touch, but then seemed to relax.
"That woman..." I said, feeling a wave of sadness overcome me, "she's in trouble."
Alek shook his head, surprising me. "No, she's not. They're both scammers."
"How do you know?"
He turned to face me, the intensity in his eyes scaring me. "The people in Greed City love to deceive others to get what they want. I've seen people like them before; they team up to try to make girls like you feel sympathetic and draw you in. And once that happens, well..." he trailed off and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I can't believe they even tried to take you from me."
The memory of that woman's expression was imprinted on my mind, and I shuddered at the thought of what could have been.
"Come on," Alek coaxed softly, placing a hand on my back to steer me in a different direction. "We need to find somewhere to stay."
"Do you know any places?" I asked. "Any without people like the ones we just saw?"
He nodded; his expression lightening. "I know a man called Jackal who runs a pub. He has a couple apartments above his business, and he owes me a favour or two."
"Is he trustworthy?"
"He's about as trustworthy as people come in Greed City."
"And how trustworthy is that exactly?"
His dark eyes danced. "I see you're learning."
"Yeah, well after that couple I don't know what to expect." I wrapped my arms around my waist, suddenly paranoid that even the old lady hobbling down the street was traitorous.
"Not everyone in the Underworld is a horrible person," Alek said.
My lips quirked up into a smile. "What, like you?" I teased.
He smirked. "Oh no, princess, I am much, much worse."