Forged Destinies

Friends in Low Places

Ch. 10

Descending a vertical cliff in a semi gaseous state is not something Percy or Zoe will look back on as one of their fondest memories on their all-inclusive vacation to the eternal pit of damnation.

No, maybe a more pleasant one, like the exquisite meal they enjoyed during their romantic night away at the Peaceful Giant Bed and Breakfast.©

Or maybe the visit to the Humane Society of Displaced Hybrid Monster Pets where they adopted a beautiful tabby cat that doubled as a prehistoric saber toothed tiger.

Or... Wait, nevermind.

Despite the challenge, they managed to traverse the cliff without falling to their deaths. And despite Bob, their cat/tiger/mountain-goat, leaping from ledge to ledge the whole way down, they also seemed to have made the effort without being noticed by the small city of monsters crowded near the Doors of Death.

Once at the bottom, the doors were blocked from view. Too many monsters of all shapes and sizes stood between them and their target. Percy leaned down to Bob's head and whispered in his ear. The large saber toothed tiger shrunk down into his more adorable and far less attention grabbing kitty cat form and took the lead in front of them.

Directly in front of them lay a small legion of Dracaena, all hissing back and forth about being at the end of the line and missing all the "good demigod snacks".

Bob took the lead, weaving thru the legs of the Dracaena with ease and without notice.

Percy and Zoe approached more slowly, unsure how well the Death Mist would hide them from unfriendly and hungry eyes. As they neared, Percy stubbed his foot on a rock, kicking it a few feet in front of him. A half dozen slitted yellow eyes snapped around and right at them. They both froze, waiting to begin a fight for their lives.

But the snake women looked right at them, searching for the source of the noise before one shrugged its scaly shoulders, assuming it was probably just a random rock falling somewhere in the general dismal landscape of Tartarus.

They both let out the breaths they were holding, albeit very carefully to avoid drawing more attention. Percy tentatively slipped past the reptilian monsters without being noticed. He saw Bob weaving ahead, apparently oblivious to the fact they couldn't match his pace.

Percy looked back at Zoe nervously and tried to follow his cat's general path of direction. Zoe followed right behind him but moving was painfully slow. They had to stop, wait for a monster to move and then slip by as quickly as they could. More than a few times monsters would pause and turn, looking right at them only to decide it was nothing and turn back around.

"It's working." Zoe whispered so quietly Percy could barely hear it.

"For now," he warned. Something about the events of his entire life told him it would not be this easy. While he prayed the Fates would finally throw him a bone, he had no intention of counting on the old battle axes giving him a break.

He wasn't sure which Fate he'd angered but he must have done something because they appeared to be using the string for his life as toilet paper. That was the only thing that could account for all the shit he had to go through.

But to his surprise, the Death Mist was everything Akhlys had claimed it would be. They were nothing but shadows moving amongst the darkness. Monsters would occasionally sense them but even when looking directly at them, they were invisible.

They had no idea how long they'd been at it but somehow, they found their way to the front of the mass of monsters. The Doors of Death were now less than twenty yards in front of them.