Defying Fate

Chapter 34-p2

No sooner than Hermes had finished his ominous speech than the tunnel opened up, and they saw the expanse of Hades' realm for the first time.

There were gasps from nearly all on board as they gazed down at the enormous cavern which spread out below them. The ceiling must have been several hundred feet high, but it seemed low and brooding over that vast expanse. Dotted at key points along the landscape were huge stone pillars, supporting what could have very well been the crust of the earth.
The borders of the cavern were lost in mist, but it was crisscrossed by four glowing rivers, each a slightly different color. The blue-green one that carried them formed a border around the edge of the cavern, but Odysseus couldn't make out whether it had an end.

Despite the slope of their inlet, the current was slow and steady. It was several more minutes before they splashed into the main body of the river. Up close, it was still difficult to make out what was causing its phosphorescence, but as Odysseus peered into the water, he thought for a moment that he saw a figure near the surface. Indistinct, but human-shaped, just for an instant, it was enough to make him lurch back from the railing, but curiosity pulled him forward again. He stood on his tiptoes, putting his full weight on the railing and leaning out, staring into the water to try to catch another glimpse.

"You didn't hear one word of what Hermes said, did you?" Athena's voice sounded in his ear as her hand came down onto his shoulder. His feet thumped back to the deck, and he realized how far he'd actually been leaning over the rail. Any further and he would have almost certainly fallen in.

"I did hear him," Odysseus protested. "I just... I thought I saw something. In the water."

"Wayward shades," Athena whispered, repeating Hephaestus's warning from that morning. "Get back from the railing."

With gentle pressure, she forced Odysseus back a few steps, and he nearly fell into a rower's bench.

"Careful captain," the man sitting in the bench said, catching Odysseus neatly with one strong arm and returning him to his feet.

"You know its me?" Odysseus squeaked. "How?"

The man shrugged, and smiled good-naturedly. "Hermes explained some things, and Athena explained a few other things." He looked up at Athena and blushed slightly. "She didn't want us to worry that you'd been left behind."

"Besides," the man just behind them spoke up. "You're *you*, captain. And Eurylochus can't keep that stern look on his face when he thinks we aren't looking." He pointed subtly, and Odysseus turned to see Eurylochus making that exact expression toward Diomedes, who was giving some instructions to the man at the tiller.

He turned back to the men in the benches, tears springing to his eyes *again* at the kind expressions on their faces.

"We're going to sort this out," he said. "We're going to get back to normal, somehow. That's why we're on this expedition."

"Just another leg of the journey," the first man said, nodding and Odysseus felt the tears escape and start to fall down his cheeks. He wiped them away with the sleeve of his jacket, and stepped away, trying to pull himself together.

"All I've done since we've set out on this journey is get us more lost. We should have been home by now and now—" Athena put a hand on his shoulder as he babbled, starting to spiral again.. "They don't deserve this, nobody deserves this!" He hesitated and let out a short sad chuckle. "I'm nobody, maybe *I* deserve this. I should have done things differently, I could have— If I had—"

Athena shook his shoulder gently, and signaled with her free hand over her shoulder.

"Things may have gone a different way, had you chosen not to save Asterion, for example." She said softly. "The legends say that Cassandra was killed brutally in my temple that night. I remember enacting revenge..." her expression went distant briefly, then she shook her head and returned to the moment. "Focus on what you can do now, and who you can save. So far, everyone is alive and well. You are under the protection of the gods, and Hades knows we are here with his blessing. If we are careful and take the proper precautions, we will be safe. Just... keep away from the railing."

"Are you going to tie me to the mast?" Odysseus sniffed, but he tried to make it sound good-humored.

Athena's eyes glittered, and she smiled. "Don't tempt me, little one."