Changing the Future

Chapter 72

Although it felt like I'd been out for ages, according to my internal clock, I'd only passed out for two and half minutes. Will violently shook my shoulders until I finally opened my eyes. It seemed that passing out had been my restart button, because I no longer trembled like a leaf in the wind, and when I looked down, I could see my hands again.

"Oh, thank the gods," Will said, squeezing my arm so tightly that he'd probably leave a bruise. "For a second I thought..."

"I said I'd be fine," I said, wincing as I shifted my weight onto my arms, feeling pangs of pain in my shoulder blades, where I'd been stabbed multiple times. "I'll admit, I didn't expect that to happen."

I got to my feet, swaying slightly, using the sides of the elevator to keep me upright. Then I realized that ambient music played in the background and scowled. Seriously, even in this hell elevator, there was music?

At least Apollo hadn't picked it out this time.

Once I regained my bearings, I stood by Luke, helping him keep the Doors of Death shut as we continued our ascent for another two and half minutes. Luke's face had turned deathly pale in the dim lighting. Sweat beaded his brow and dripped down the side of his face. The veins in his arms bulged from the amount of force he exerted on the Doors.

"When we get out of here," Luke said, "please tell me what the hell just happened to you. I don't want to hear you in so much pain ever again."

I chewed on my lip, choosing to stay silent while I could make out a faint, "If you like piña coladas," being sung.

There wasn't much conversation for the last few minutes of us returning to the mortal world, the sense of anticipation permeating through the little space we had between us. Even Will, who was by far the calmest person out of the three of us, bounced on the balls of his feet, his fingers outstretched to the sky like he couldn't wait to finally soak in the sun again.

Then a thought crossed the forefront of my mind, shattering my hope that we could just walk out of the elevator unscathed. In order to leave Tartarus, someone had to hold the button for twelve minutes, the amount of time it took the Doors to reach the mortal world. For the Doors to open in the mortal world, someone had to hold that button as well, and that meant even though we would be coming into New York, there would be something nasty guarding the other side.

Once I realized that, I handed Will my bow again and strapped my knives to my waist, taking hold of the Doors long enough for Luke to grab hold of Epithymia once more.

"Be prepared," I warned, eyeing the little screen that read Now Reaching the Mortal World in red lettering.

The doors flew open moments later, and the three of us slowly walked out of the elevator, clutching onto our weapons. We stood back to back, hesitating for a split second before tearing out of the underground tunnel we found ourselves in, the sound of rushing water echoing off the sides of the walls.

I scrunched my nose in disgust as a putrid smell hit me full force. Great, we were in one of the nastier sewers under New York.

"I can't see anything," Luke muttered, the light coming from Epithymia only illuminating a few feet in any direction. "Where are the guards?"

"That would be me," a booming voice said, the figure descending out of an overhead pipe, a gleaming Celestial bronze sword gripped tightly in his hand. With a snap of his fingers, all the emergency lights flicked on, bathing the inside of the sewer in dim orange lighting.

He wore a blood red workout shirt and black basketball shorts, but something told me that he wasn't about to challenge us to a pickup game any time soon. Dark tattoos of different gang signs shimmered and faded on his arms, moving around his coffee brown skin like Maui's in Moana. His dark hair was pulled back into a severe bun, every strand immaculately tied up.