Chapter Six
Roux
“Why are there so many steps?” I groaned as we climbed yet another spiral staircase. We seemed to have been climbing forever, and my limbs were definitely on the cusp of giving up.
“It’s a test,” Erebus said as he led us to the surface.
“Of course it is,” I grumbled. Although a part of me was enjoying the view. It was shameful, but I was totally staring at Erebus’ ass as he climbed the stone stairway in front of me.
“Yes,” he replied, flicking an amused look at me over his shoulder as I ogled his ass. “The more you complain, the more steps you climb.”
“What the actual fuck?” Rafe shouted from the back of the line. “Whose idea was that?”
Erebus huffed a low laugh. “This place is designed to frustrate and confuse intruders, Hound. Were you expecting this to be a walk in the park?”
“No,” Rafe growled. “I’m not an idiot, and don’t call me ‘hound’.”
There was another chuckle from the man in front of me, and it gave me the impression that Erebus liked to provoke those around him.
Perhaps it was a defence mechanism to protect him from whoever had hurt him in the past. I glanced over at Thane and wondered what his relationship had been like with Erebus before and how much it had changed now.
“Can’t you just make this place bend to your will?” Atticus asked, his voice curious.
“Unfortunately, not,” Erebus answered. “I might be Master down here, but this is my prison as much as it is my responsibility.”
“Well, that sucks,” I scoffed as I continued to trudge up the stone steps.
Erebus chuckled. “It does indeed suck.”
We continued to trudge up the never-ending staircase in silence, all of us too scared to mutter anything that might prolong the agony we were all feeling in our thighs.
By the Gods, my legs burnt. I was also pretty sure my feet were numb.
I wondered how many people had given up and whether we would ever reach the top or if we would be doomed to climb these stairs forever.
Erebus stopped abruptly in front of me, and I stumbled into his back.
I grabbed his waist to break my fall, and his hands instantly found mine.
His hands were rough and warm against mine, and he squeezed them gently before letting go.
It was a gesture that was familiar and intimate, something shared between lovers or old friends.
I didn’t know this man, but he touched me with a familiarity that spoke of decades of knowledge.
“Are you alright?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to stop so suddenly, but we’ve reached the top.”
Thank fuck. I peered over his shoulder and saw a large round door made of stone in front of us. There was a small stone ledge between the top of the stairs and the door and two floating flames on either side.
“Please tell me we’ve made it,” Atticus gasped as he heaved in some breaths.
“You do know that you don’t need to breathe anymore,” Thane said matter-of-factly, his golden brows pinched in confusion.
I snorted, because Thane was technically right.
Atticus had been struck down in the forest outside the Mansion of Night, and to save him, Thane had bound Atticus’ life force to his death magic.
It meant Atticus was dead and didn’t need to breathe anymore but the mind had a funny way of clinging to what felt familiar.
I guess Atticus wasn’t quite ready to let go of that little bit of mortality yet.
“Fuck you,” Atticus said, but it lacked any real heat.
“How do we get out?” I asked Erebus as I stared over his shoulder at the massive stone door.
There were no marks or any obvious handles that I could see, but it did look like the door we’d come through.
That one merely opened with a lever, but this one didn’t even look like it opened.
It looked like a solid mass of stone, and I had an inkling the thing was probably several feet thick.
It was definitely designed to keep people in rather than let them out.
“With brute force,” Erebus replied, his red eyes sparking with excitement. It was a little unsettling how much he seemed to be looking forward to opening the door. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”
“How can I help?” I stepped next to him, shoulder to shoulder, and the others stood at our backs.
Their presence was comforting, and knowing that they all came down here for me, knowing the risks and doing it anyway, had my heart clenching with love.
We were a team, a unit, a family, and I was so grateful I had them in my life.
My hope was that I could figure out what linked me to Erebus, and we could help him find a home in the Underworld.
Erebus’ mouth turned down in a grimace, and his lips almost pulled back in a snarl. “Just stay out of my way.”
Or not.
What was this guy’s deal? One minute he’s all nice and warm, and the next he’s a jackass. Maybe it wasn’t his fault? Maybe it’s a result of him spending too much time on his own down here with nothing but shadows and monsters for company?
He had said it himself, that he’d been on his own too long… I’d just have to take his jackassery with a pinch of salt.
Or until it pissed Thane off. That was always a good measure of when someone had crossed the metaphorical line. The guy had the emotional capacity of a cucumber, so if you got a rise out of Thane, you’d definitely pissed him off.
Erebus faced the middle of the door and threw his arms out wide.
The hairs on the back of my arms stood to attention as the power of his magic filled the space.
Holy mother of the Gods, he was powerful.
I could feel his magic tugging at my own, calling it out to play.
I wasn’t going to let it free, though. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.
Besides, Erebus said he could break out of here himself, so he could fucking well do it all on his own.
“I don’t like this guy,” Rayne said as he folded his arms across his broad chest.
“You don’t like anyone,” I muttered as I watched Erebus’ shadows intensify.
The forks of red lightning crackled and popped in the air, echoing around the chamber as the God slammed his power into the stone door.
The floor trembled beneath my feet as he threw his magic at the door, and I was a little impressed with how much power he was hurling at the stone.
It wasn’t opening the door, but it was an incredible display of power, nonetheless.
“I don’t think this is working,” Rafe said, his head cocked to one side as he watched Erebus. “Perhaps we should give him a hand.”
“Oh no, we couldn’t possibly help,” I replied mockingly—and perhaps a little too loud so the jackass would hear me. “Heaven forbid we get in his way.”
“I do like some people,” Rayne said as he looked down at me, his blue eyes bright in the darkness.
He held my gaze, and I lost myself in the emotions I could see swirling in their depths.
Rayne had never been one to speak much, but I could always figure out what he was feeling by looking in his eyes.
Normally, they were a shield to protect his soul.
They were guarded, cold and sometimes appeared empty, but when he looked at me, they spoke volumes.
“Yeah, he likes me,” Magnus said with a chuckle, cutting through my wandering thoughts.
“You can go off a person, you know,” Rafe drawled as he came to stand next to his twin. They shared a look—one of those silent looks that said far too much—and then continued to watch Erebus.
“Anyone want to take a bet on how long this is going to take?” Atticus asked cheerfully. “I reckon he gives it another five minutes and then asks for help.”
“I will take that bet, demon,” Magnus said. “And I will raise you to ten minutes, but he won’t ask for help.”
Erebus hurled another blast of power at the door and yelled in frustration. “Damn it!”
“Perhaps we should figure this one out together?” Thane said as he strode towards the door, his head held high like a regal king. “Or would you prefer to wear yourself out needlessly?”
Erebus slammed his hands into Thane’s chest, throwing him backwards into the stone door and pinning him to it.
I darted forward to jump to Thane’s defence, but he held a hand up to stop me. Why? Why would he do that?
“You’ve got a nerve, Thanatos. If it wasn’t for you and those other meddling Gods, I wouldn’t even be down here.” Erebus’ voice dropped to a menacing whisper. There was something dark and edgy laced through it. Something that had fear gripping me with an unwelcome hand.
“I am sorry,” Thane said softly. “For what we did, and for my part in it, but throwing your power at something immovable isn’t going to help anyone.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Erebus spat. “What great ideas do you have?”
Thane looked at me over Erebus’ shoulder, and dread filled the pit of my stomach. Fuck. Why was he looking this way? Everyone else turned to look at me. Shit. Now they were all staring.
I looked behind me in the hope that perhaps there was some hideous monster creeping up behind me and they were all suddenly fascinated by that instead of me, but nope. There was nothing there but empty space. “What?”
“You can get us out, Roux,” Thane said with a smile. Well, it wasn’t really a smile. Thane wasn’t one for smiling. It was more like a slight curl at the corner of his mouth.
“Me? Fuck off. No, I can’t.” If Erebus, a primordial fucking God, couldn’t do it, what hope did I have?
“You’re a Reaper,” Thane said simply.
“You’re going to have to give me more than that, buddy.” Besides, Thane was a Reaper too. He just didn’t have his scythe; I did.
Thane walked over to me and started fumbling through my pockets. “You must have one.”
“One what?” I cast a glance at the others, and they all stared back at me blankly. Guess they thought that Thane had lost his marbles too.
Thane sank to his knees and patted down the sides of my legs.
I slapped his hands away. “Will you tell me what you’re looking for?”