Chapter 1
The underworld was hot. #WhoFuckingKnew
“My hashtags have returned,” I said, talking out loud for the first time in over an hour. Or what I guessed was an hour since time didn't move the same here, rendering my smartwatch useless. #NotWorthEatingNoodlesForAMonth
Hyperion cleared his throat, looking down at me like I was crazy. At some point he'd torn off a section of shirt and formed a wrap around his forehead to mop up the sweat. Like I said, it was hot here.
“I spent so many years on social media,” I hurried on to tell him, “and hashtags are so important to each post that my brain just automatically forms them at the beginning or end of my thoughts.”
He paused, blinking at me like I was speaking some foreign language he didn’t know.
Which was impossible, since Titans knew all the languages.
“When Cronus died,” I continued, definitely babbling at this point, “I couldn't think of a single hashtag. There was none, nothing. It was super weird.”
I might be slightly losing my mind down here. #HALP
“I—” He tilted his head. “I really don't know how to respond to that, but I'm glad that some of your grief is easing and your brain has returned to … normal.”
#HAHAHA #IHeardThatPause #Fucker #He’sKindaRightThough
“Knowing we’re on the path to Cronus, in the freaking underworld, is actually making me feel a lot more normal. Finding my guy is a purpose that keeps me taking each step forward.”
#UnderworldRescue #WorkSmarterNotHarder #NotLazyJustProficient
The hashtags were making up for lost time, it seemed. Or I was really losing what was left of my tiny sanity. Either way, it felt good to have some normalcy back. Now we just needed to find Cronus and not die from heatstroke in the meantime.
“Why is there a sun under here anyway?” I asked, using the corner of my sleeve to mop the sweat off my face. Not sure why I bothered, since it was immediately replaced with new sweat. I’d be in a bikini right now if I had one handy.
Even worse, I'd lost my hair-tie at some point, and now I had masses of blonde hair all over me. Hair this long and heavy was like living under a ray of sunshine: pretty, but hot as fuck.
“This land below mimics the land above,” Hyperion said conversationally, picking up the pace.
I could have killed him right then and there for moving faster—my legs were already dead. Oh, how I missed Cronus carrying me.
“Sometimes, even if there are massive storms in the human world, that energy will carry down here and we'll get a mild version of the storm.”
I mulled over this for some time, grateful it distracted me from my aching legs.
#WhatTheFuckYoga #UselessStretchyfucker #YouPreparedMeForNothing
Right around the point I thought I was going to die, Hyperion found a small tree that was partly buried under a mound of sand. So far this section of the land was nothing but a barren wasteland, with scrubby shrubs, thick sandy dirt, and the scent of burning ass ripe in the air. This tree did look a little different.
Reaching down, he snapped off a branch, flipping it up immediately like it was going to spill. “Open up,” he said, moving closer to me.
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
He narrowed his in return—we were both kinda cranky at this point, but since he was a Titan with limitless energy and life, I thought I had more reason to be. “So you don't die of dehydration. You are human still, mostly, and even though everything is different down here, you have a mortal body that must be nourished.”
I eyed the branch, seeing a small bead of water forming on the end. With a sigh, I shook my head and did as I was told. Hyperion tilted the end toward me and a very cool, thicker-than-water liquid slid into my mouth. The branch had been short, but I got a decent cupful of whatever it was—like a slightly sweet water but thick as a smoothie. It was hard to explain but amazingly refreshing.
When Hyperion stepped back, swishing a bit of it around his mouth as well, I was surprised by how restored I felt. Even some of the lightheadedness that had been plaguing me all day had vanished.
“Thanks,” I said, pushing my hair back for the four hundredth time. “I didn't realize how thirsty I actually was.”
He planted the branch he broke off in the ground next to the small tree. “Always return what you have borrowed,” he said softly as he straightened.
I shrugged, a hundred percent sure I would not be returning the clothing I'd borrowed from my friends over the years. That was a case of finders—in their closets—keepers. In all honesty, I did believe in honoring the environment, especially in a harsh climate such as this one. This tree was no doubt lifesaving, and it would remain here for the next travelers to pass.
#IAmPartOfAGreatMission #FellowshipOfTheTitanDownHere
We started out again, that fucker of a sun relentlessly beating down on us. I couldn't actually see where it was in the sky—looking up just made everything bright as heck—but the bastard was there.
“It's different,” Hyperion muttered under his breath, looking around like he wasn't exactly sure where we were.
“What's different?” I pushed, looking in the direction he was, seeing more desolate landscape. I mean, nothing had changed in however many hours we'd walked, but clearly for Hyperion it had.
“There used to be a secret portal here, one that would take us to the next level. It could cut weeks off our journey, but … it's not marked on the land like it used to be.”
Well, shit. Weeks off our journey? I needed that. I needed to find Cronus now.
“Does everything else look the same … just the portal is missing?”
His lips thinned; that was never a good sign. “Actually, this entire level is nothing like it used to be. Sure, it gets hotter and acrider the closer you get to the seventh level, but never desolate like this.”
I gasped. “Fuck, what if Thanatos sent us to the wrong part? What if we're completely lost? What if this isn't even the underworld?”
If an ancient as fuck, powerful Titan was ever going to roll his eyes, it seemed that this was the time for it. “We're in the underworld, Maisey,” he said with a shake of his head. “But there was a reason Thanatos feared the Erynomus’ return. It's a leech, a parasite that sucks the life from everything it touches. It's foul and scary, and lacking in any instinct outside of demolishing the energy of every entity it comes into contact with. Clearly, it's already had an effect on the levels, especially these lower levels.”
“So, could it have destroyed the portal? Or moved it?”
Hyperion shook his head. “No, I don't think so. I'm guessing that the land itself has hidden that particular energy from the demon, and it's going to take a little ingenuity to discover it.”
With a sigh, I dropped on my ass, right onto the burning ground. It wasn't too hot actually, but with how boiling the temperature was, I’d expected it to fry my pants right off.
“I'll keep a look out while you find us the portal,” I told Hyperion, leaning back on my arms now that I knew the skin wasn't going to sizzle off. I couldn’t walk anymore, and it definitely felt like naptime.
And there he went again, rolling his eyes. Guess I could be proud of all the things I was teaching these ancient assholes.