Destiny Bewitched (10 page)

She was very much aware
of Geo laughing behind her. She’d give him a piece of her mind when
this was over.

Erebus could’ve outrun
her easily, but he slowed enough that he was always just out of
reach. She growled in frustration. “Bad dog. This isn’t funny.”

He was just a few feet
in front of her, heading toward a high rocky cliff. A dead end.
Perfect. With an evil grin, she pushed her legs faster. His black
furry tail was right under her fingertips.

“Gotcha!” She closed
her fist around his tail.

Erebus dropped the
satchel then leapt toward the cliff, Sam still hanging onto his
tail. The world faded and a bitter cold swept through her. Her
breath caught in her throat. She was surrounded by darkness. She
whipped her head around, looking for any source of light.

“Oh God,” she
whispered.
Where am
I?

She took a tentative
step forward and something crunched under her feet. All she could
picture was human bones.

Then something glowed
in the distance – a faded grayish shape but iridescent against the
black. It floated high off the ground in a ghostly way. It weaved
through air, coming closer and closer. She gulped. Another came
from the right – almost human-like. Then one rose up from the
ground just a few yards away. It’s face was gaunt, it’s eyes
haunted. A spektor?

Her whole body shook.
Oh fuck me!
She’d never been so afraid. The death worm seemed like child’s play
compared to…whatever the hell this was.

Then a pair of red
glowing eyes appeared just in front of her stomach. A low growl
started. Erebus? Something shoved her backward. She stumbled,
tripped, then fell back…in slow motion. She grabbed at the air for
something to hold onto.

A gust of cold hit her
body then she landed, hard, on her butt. It was daytime. She looked
up at the tall cliff and let out a breath of relief.

Something grabbed her
shirt from behind. She gasped as she was pulled to her feet.

A second later, Geo was
staring down at her with a terrifying expression. “Never,” he
grated, “follow him into the shadows.”

She nodded, trying to
calm her pounding heart. “Yeah, I got that.”

He stared at her a
moment and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been worried about
her. Finally, he let her go and seemed to relax. “Good. Are you
okay?”

“Yes. Just a little
shaken.” Had he been there before?

He smirked. “I bet. The
Shadowland is not a place for mortals. Well, living ones
anyway.”

She rolled her eyes. “I
gathered that.”

“Come on.” He picked up
her satchel and handed it to her. “Let’s keep going.”

They started back the
way they came and headed on the path to the gate once more.

“Didn’t you have pets
growing up?” Geo asked after they settled at a steady pace.

“No. Well, my brothers
kept poisonous snakes, but I wouldn’t call them pets. They
collected their venom. I shudder to think what it was for.” She
thought back. “One of them escaped once when I was in high school.
I didn’t sleep for a week. They finally found it dead under the
trailer. I was so relieved.”

He smiled. “I like
hearing your stories. I wish you’d tell me more.”

“Most of them are
unpleasant. I can tell you someone else’s stories. They’re better.
When I studied for a few months with a witch mentor, Selene, I met
three girls. One was part demigod, actually. Her name was Athena
and she –”

“I don’t want their
stories. I want yours.”

She stared down at the
ground. “Well, then, there’s nothing to tell.”

They trudged on in
silence but she couldn’t help feeling like she’d disappointed Geo.
Erebus didn’t return after that so there was nothing to break up
the monotony. She didn’t wear a watch and her cell phone certainly
didn’t have service, but after what felt like a trillion hours, she
finally broke down and asked, “Are we there yet?”

“Does it look like
we’re there yet?” Geo answered wearily.

“No.”

“Then we’re not.”

She sighed. She used to
say the same thing to her sister.

“How did you get to the
Underworld?” he asked, falling back so they were side by side.

“I bought the location
to the door then took a train halfway across the country to get to
it.” It had taken all her courage to step through the hazy shape
and into the new realm.

“What price did you pay
for the location?”

With a sly look and an
eerie voice, she answered, “My soul.”

His eyes widened.

She laughed out loud.
“Oh god! You should see your face!”

He tossed her a dirty
look and she choked back her chuckles.

“A greedy warlock with
a loose tongue gave it to me for fifty bucks.”

“And Gethin let you
in?” He arched a brow in disbelief.

“The creepy dragon?
Yeah.” That was something she’d rather not remember. Gethin, the
red dragon of Wales, was the guardian of the Underworld door.
Dragons were as old as dirt and some of them had gone mad with
boredom. Others played games with political figures like puppets
for their amusement. Gethin was one of the oldest dragons, and the
most dangerous creature she’d ever met. Though he had appeared in
human form, power flowed around him, making her hair rise on end.
With his yellow flickering dragon eyes and creepy Cheshire cat
grin, she’d almost turned back around and gone straight home where
her trailer park looked like
Leave it to Beaver
.

But she’d stood her
ground, though her knees shook. The dragon had laughed then told
her he’d let her through for a price.

“That had to cost you.”
Geo’s voice pulled her from the unsettling memory.

“An unnamed favor of
his choosing,” she mumbled.

“Fuck, woman!”

She startled and looked
up into his seething eyes.

“You might as well have
given your soul!”

She yelled back, “I had
no choice!”

He scowled as they
curved around a rocky bend. She stared at her shoes, caked in dirt
and blood and worm guts and other…things she didn’t care to think
about.

Geo’s arm came across
her chest, grinding her to a halt. She looked up. A gate with two
arched doors the color of the dusty ground blocked their path.
Beyond the gates a small mountain with jagged edges took up the
rest of their view.

“This is it,” he
whispered.

She inhaled a deep
breath then slowly released it.
Come on, Gaia. Now’s the time to come through for
your loyal and worshipful daughter.

Silence.

She pursed her lips.
Well fuck you
too.

With a determined
stride, she headed for the doors. Two sandy stone statues on either
side of the door came to life, placing their spears in her
path.

“Halt,” they said in
unison. They wore Romanesque military uniforms and they each held a
long spear in their hands. Their eyes were stone and unfocused, but
they still blinked every few seconds. They looked less like statues
and more like dead soldiers mummified. “Password is required.”

Password? “Um…one, two,
three, four, five?”

As one they turned
their spears on her. She let out a frightened yelp then Geo pulled
her back before the stone guard shish kabobed her. He pushed her
behind him and addressed the guards.

“We’ve come to watch
the Games.”

“Spectators are by
invitation only. Gamblers may enter with a three thousand
arian
minimum.”

Arian
must be the Underworld
currency and by the look on Geo’s face she guessed they didn’t have
it. Her heart began to sink. What now? She felt the warm brand of
the feather on her chest and her heart kicked back to life. Her
sister was here. And they didn’t have much time.

“Geo –” She peered out
from behind him but he held up a hand to stop her.

“Wait. These aren’t
sentient beings but there’s somebody controlling them. If I focus,
I can force them to let us in.”

He closed his eyes and
she waited behind him, digging her toe in the dirt. Nothing
happened.

“Shit,” he whispered
after a few moments. “They’ve cloaked the whole place. Probably to
keep demons from winning too easily.” He looked left then right,
then gestured to the gate around the mountain. “Maybe we can climb
it.”

“Yeah, right. Like it’s
that easy.” They didn’t have time for this. She stepped in front
and announced, with false bravado, “I’m here as a contestant.”

The guards moved their
spears to clear the path. “Blood oath is required.”

She reached back to
unsheathe her sword when Geo grabbed her upper arm and began
pulling her away.

“What are you doing?
Let me go!”

Ignoring her, he
dragged her around the corner then spun to face her.

“What do you think
you’re doing?” he demanded.

“Getting my sister.”
She rubbed her arm where his fingers had dug into her flesh.

His nostrils flared.
“You’re going to get yourself killed!”

She watched him pace in
front of her, alternating between rubbing his face and his horns.
He mumbled about keeping her safe and something else about
instinct. She’d never seen him so agitated.

“What do you care what
I do?” she asked, crossing her arms. “I said I’d pray to Gaia and I
will but –”

He cut her off with a
sharp glare. “I’m not letting you do this.”

The hell he’s not.
“I don’t see how
you can stop me. Your powers don’t work here.”

He took several steps
toward her, looking, for all the world, like he was going to throw
her over his shoulder.

She took two steps
back. “Now, Geo…” She put her hands out in front, warding him off.
“Just wait…my sister…”

He stopped and sighed
in resignation. “Sign up for doubles.”

Her heart skipped a
beat. “What?”

“I’ll fight with
you.”

“But…I thought…” She
opened her mouth then closed it, unsure of what to say. “Going
home…don’t you want –”

He stabbed his finger
toward her. “You’re still going to contact Gaia when we’re done so
you better stay alive to do it!”

She nodded. “Okay.
Okay.”

He was really going to
do this. He was going to fight with her. Beside her. For her.

Their gazes locked. A
flood of emotion rocked her. Tears sprang in her eyes.

He shifted awkwardly,
gazing at her from under thick brows. So strong and earnest. No one
had ever fought for her.

Before she knew what
she was doing, her feet were carrying her to him and she flung her
arms around his neck. He caught her and pressed his face into her
hair.

“Thank you,” she
whispered and the tears spilled over.

After a moment, he set
her away. “You’re going to do everything I tell you,” he said with
a stern look.

She nodded and wiped
her eyes.

“You’re not going to
take any stupid risks. And you are going to think with your head,
not your heart or by the gods, Samantha, I will toss you over my
shoulder and walk you straight back to the door you came
through.”

“Yes. Okay.” Anything,
so long as he helped her get to Nikki.

His eyes softened and
he wiped a lingering tear from her cheek. “Ah,
matia mou
, what have you done
to me?”

Geo had a bad feeling
about this. The blood oath meant they promised to fight at least
three rounds before they could leave the premises. After they
spilled their blood outside the gate, it opened and they walked
through.

The Underworld Games
arena had been built inside the desert mountain. Walking through
the wide opening and into the long corridor reminded him of the
death worm’s tunnel – something he wished never to experience
again. The lit torches on the walls helped less than he
expected.

Samantha looked
uncertain but didn’t break stride as they followed the roars of a
crowd deeper and deeper into the mountain. A short time later the
corridor opened to a large arena. Big fiery lanterns hung on the
ceiling, keeping the area dimly lit. They couldn’t see much as
spectators stood in the way. Some were walking by, some standing
and all were cheering. It was a tight, crowded space that reeked of
sweat and blood. Smoke lingered from someone’s pipe. Accents and
languages of all kinds drifted among the clanging of swords and
growls of the fight.

A heart-wrenching
scream of pain rose up over the crowd.

“Die fucker!” someone
yelled.

The crowd roared with
delight.

Sam gasped then rushed
ahead, trying to push through the creatures – most much larger than
her.

“Hey!” a man at a desk
to the side yelled at her. “You have to sign in!”

Geo grabbed her wrist.
She tried to pull away, even scratched his fingers to get him to
let go. With a growl, he tightened his grip and dragged her back
the way they came.

“We’ll be right back,”
he told the man scowling at them.

Geo stopped when the
fight was out of sight and turned on Sam.

Her breath quickened
and tears formed in her eyes. She looked back in a panic. “It’s so
violent. My sister…oh God!”

He held her shoulders
and gave her a shake. “Get control of yourself.”

She started to tremble
and her eyes darted around, unfocused.

He grabbed her chin and
forced her to look at him. “Stop this. You need to keep your head
on straight if you want to save her.”

She stilled.

“You said your sister
has no magic yet. They won’t put her in the fights. It’d be a
slaughter and that doesn’t make for good betting. Most likely
they’ve got her locked in a room somewhere waiting for your father
to come for her.”

He paused and she
nodded her understanding.

“Now, you won’t be
helping her if you lose your head. We have to play the game until
we find her. That means you have to take this competition
seriously. They may make us fight this very night. People die here,
Samantha.”