The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 12

The second the door closed, all sound evaporated into thin air. I could no longer hear the guards' approaching footsteps, nor the chiming of their keys. The only sound was that of my heartbeat thumping.

I glanced around and tried to get my bearings. It was incredibly dark, so it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust. Gone were the marble floors and walls. In their place, a staircase lined in stone. It spiralled downwards into the unknown, instilling me with fear. A light flickered somewhere down the staircase, sending wisps of light upwards. For a minute I froze, full of dread and fearing someone was moving in my direction, until I realised it must've been a solitary fire torch.

I took one last backwards glance at the door, knowing – or at least hoping – Raven wouldn't turn me in. But either way I didn't want to stick around to find out. The staircase was just wide enough to fit me comfortably, but I was grateful I wasn't claustrophobic. I moved down the staircase at a fast pace, trailing my hands along the stone wall to steady me.

As I'd guessed, a fire torch at the landing of the staircase greeted me. Its light and shadows threw into distortion a large and sturdy door. Without a moment's hesitation, I thrust a random key from Raven's collection into the lock. My hands shook under the pressure of the adrenaline. After the fourth key attempt, I heard a distinct click echo through the chamber, and I stilled.

This is it, I thought, taking a deep breath.

A part of me was crying out, begging to stay within the comfort of an air-conditioned castle and the abundance of free food. But that part of me was misguided, living in naivety. I wasn't living in a dream. The Underworld was real. Hades was real, and he wanted me. I needed to get out. Now.

I used all of my strength to pull the heavy-duty door towards me. It scraped against the ground, sending a shrill scraping noise through the quiet and causing goose bumps to break out along my arm. At the same time, warm air from the outside smacked into my face and my eyes watered. The warm air filled my lungs and I struggled to breathe, overwhelmed by the sharp change in temperature.

It was eerie seeing The Underworld at five a.m. The red sky was overcome by a pitch black, making it incredibly difficult to see. In the distance, however, I could make out single flames of light emanating from the city. I stepped out from the castle, my footsteps crunching gently against the dry ground. I took a deep breath, double-checked my hood was in place and pulled the door back into place, leaving the fire torch in its stand. The last thing I needed was for any of the guards to spy a wayward girl making her way across the deserted wasteland to the city.

~~~~

I used the quiet of the morning to my advantage, sticking to the shadows of the rundown city and to see what I'd gotten myself into. It was much the same as what I'd seen from the balcony, but in the darkness, it felt much more ominous; like I was being watched.

A few people milled around the street. Some who, perhaps like Raven had been, were on their way to the market to stock up for the week. They rolled their empty carts down the road, their wheels thumping and rumbling across the unsteady ground. Much like myself, they wore cloaks, but whereas theirs had a much more ragged and thin appearance, mine looked like it was formed from the hands of the Gods themselves. This was the first warning sign that I'd walked into the wrong side of town.

The second sign was not knowing whether the feeling of being watched came from the strangers hidden beneath their cloaks or from something much more sinister. I knew I had to make myself scarce.

I found a dark and decrepit alleyway to hide myself in while I thought of a plan. I leaned against the building behind me, which had the texture of sandpaper, and tried to catch my breath.