The ground shook beneath Eva. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Must stay alive. It was the only thought in her head.
“God—!” she gasped, dropping into a fighting stance, ready to dodge at any instant. Her daggers were already in her hands. Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of tattered wings.
She slashed at its paw—it was the only part of the beast within reach. Cerberus growled, and wicked teeth lunged toward her. She threw herself aside. Jaws snapped shut where she had just been.
She scrambled backward—straight into the open maw of another head. She gagged at the stench of rotten, decaying flesh and jerked away. Its teeth gleamed in the darkness, as long as her arms. No place to strike.
Fast. Too fast. Too large. Too dangerous.
Her foot caught on something, and she went down hard, catching herself with both palms on the stone floor.
Evil eyes blazed, fixed on her. Flames spewed from one mouth. She rolled—just in time. A third head loomed over her, black venom dripping, hissing where it struck the stone beside her face.
Three heads. Three enemies. Not one.
Silver lightning streaked toward Cerberus. Alecto charged through the air, wings spread wide. Her scourge cracked down across the middle head, the sound echoing through the chamber. Cerberus staggered back for a moment—then swung a massive paw at her.
A barrier sprang up between them, and the claws struck it in a blinding flash of silver. A silver cord sprung from Alecto’s hand, binding Cerberus’s paws. Alecto backed toward Eva, pulling at it, straining.
Cerberus stopped abruptly with a choking sound, followed by the sharp twang of chains pulled taut. The middle head roared and lunged for Alecto. She did not retreat. Her scourge cracked down. Cerberus’s head slammed against the stone.
This was the moment Eva had been waiting for. A vulnerable target within reach. Eva sprang forward, driving her dagger with the full weight of her body behind it, straight for Cerberus’s blazing eye. Heat seared through her hand the instant metal struck—and the flame went out.
The roar was hideous. Cerberus reared up. Eva went sprawling. Pain flared across her back, and her vision blurred at the edges. Chains snapped.
One head bit down on Alecto’s wing, dragging her down. Another seized her in its jaws. Silver light flared around her. Her scourge clattered to the stone.
Eva sprang to her feet and charged Cerberus. The nose. She raised her dagger overhead and drove it down with all her strength. Cerberus darted back in a blur—she missed. She stumbled, nearly pitching into a burning pit, smoke billowing upward.
Cerberus continued to retreat, Alecto still firmly clasped in its jaws, dragging into the flames beyond. Eva followed.
Alecto clawed at the stone frantically. Her silver shield flickered out. She screamed as the jaws clamped down.
“Eva!”
With no thought for strategy, Eva struck wildly, again and again. Some blows landed. Cerberus dropped Alecto and turned all three heads toward her.
Alecto moaned and dragged herself away from the flames.
Cerberus’s claws grazed Eva. Blood began soaking through her dress. She dodged one snapping head, then another. Fire. Venom. Claws. Teeth. Her breath came ragged. Her ribs throbbed. She could barely stand, much less fight.
“Back!” Alecto yelled. “Bring him back—over the threshold!”
Eva turned and ran for the threshold—where Alecto’s authority held sway. Thundering footsteps and savage growls followed.
Silver light flared around Alecto, her scourge once again in her hand. She stepped past Eva and struck viciously. Eva doubled over, gasping for breath.
One head spat venom at her. She jerked away, barely avoiding it—only to nearly step into the searing flames from another.
Cerberus knocked Alecto down and began dragging her back toward the threshold by one foot. Nausea surged through Eva. She ignored it and advanced.
Cerberus paid her no attention, spinning Alecto away from her and leaving his backside exposed.
Eva stabbed, then stabbed again. Some blows landed against its massive legs. She slashed upward, trying to reach his body. Too high. Cerberus did not even turn to face her. Its serpent-tipped tail lashed against her chest. She went down.
The serpent’s head leered at her, forked tongue flicking. Its gaze pinned her in place. She could not move. Could not think. Then it struck, clamping down on her hand, fangs sinking deep.
Terror seized her. Her arm went numb. Someone screamed. Was it her? Was it Alecto? She could not tell. She writhed in agony. Rib broken. One arm useless.
She clenched her teeth. Squeezed her eyes shut. Cried. Prayed.
The leather pouch had slipped from her pocket. Herbs lay scattered beside her face, glowing faintly in the darkness. Do not take many. The satyr’s words. They make you less.
Less than dying here in Hell? She did not hesitate. She reached out feebly and dragged the pouch toward her. Tilted it. Let the remaining contents spill into her mouth. She did not know how many she swallowed. She did not care.
They tasted like honey in her mouth—but bitter going down. Everything went quiet. Muted.
The moans and screams of the tormented faded. Her vision narrowed. The pain was still there—but it belonged to someone else. Not her. Clarity washed over her.
Alecto’s scourge lay nearby. Three braided lashes studded with sharp fragments of bone, stone, and glass. It was an instrument not of death, but punishment. Eva picked it up. The handle clung to her grip as though it belonged there. As though it recognized her.
Cerberus lashed its tail at her again, but Eva stepped aside and brought the scourge across its leg. It crashed heavily onto the stone. She struck again, tearing a chunk of flesh from its haunch. Cerberus yelped in pain and spun to face her, releasing Alecto.
Everything slowed. Step by step, she backed away. Closer to the threshold. She made no attempt to dodge. No attempt to hide. Terror still coursed beneath the calm. One misstep, and she was dead. All three heads watched her warily. Cerberus lunged. Its face came within reach, jaws beginning to open. Eva leapt, swinging the scourge overhead and bringing it down. Cerberus recoiled.
Her daggers lay on the stone before her. She struck again, then sprang left. Again. Then again. Beyond Cerberus, she caught the silver glow.
Just one more step should do it. The dagger would be within Alecto’s reach.
Cerberus reared back, howling in rage, then spun. The dagger jutted from the base of the tail, blood spurting around the blade.
The serpent tail reared back and fixed Eva with its gaze, hissing. She felt the pull of it—terror, paralysis, something deeper—but it seemed to be happening to someone else.
It struck. She caught it just below the head, inches from her face, and held fast with an iron grip. Silver flame flashed. Cerberus crashed to the stone, the tail wrenching free.
The dagger was within reach now. She dashed to it and tore it free. She seized the tail in one hand and cut with the other. When steel struck bone, she bore down with all her strength, slicing clean through.
The serpent writhed in her grip, spewing venom. It burned her skin. She did not care.
Blood spurted from Cerberus. It howled in agony—growling, barking, and whimpering all at once. Cerberus thrashed, its cries echoing through the infernal halls of Hell. Alecto stepped to Eva’s side and retrieved her scourge.
“Lady Evadne,” she said. Her eyes were dark as the void, but respect still glimmered there. She placed Eva’s other dagger in her hand. But the fight was not over.
Cerberus attacked, more furious than before—if that was even possible. Alecto battered him with her wings and silver lightning.
“Stay to my right!”
Eva obeyed.
Alecto shielded the left and held the middle head at bay. Eva’s clarity held. She slashed, her dagger grazing its throat. Warm blood splashed across her hand.
She aimed for the remaining eye. Cerberus dodged—straight into her other dagger. The flame went out. Cerberus jerked. And she finished the job. Both eyes out.
Alecto’s scourge caught the middle head’s jaw, and she hauled down. Cerberus thrashed wildly, berserk with rage. Alecto was dragged forward, her knees scraping across the stone, the scourge slipping from her grip.
“Now!”
Eva froze, horrified. The herbs were wearing off. Pain came crashing back—along with the numbness in her arm. Terror gripped her heart with icy fingers. Black saliva dripped onto the stone. She hesitated.
Alecto strained against the scourge. “NOW!”
Perry’s face flashed through her mind.
She drove the dagger deep into the open maw. Deeper than she would have thought possible. Her arm brushed against the teeth, snagging her sleeve. Alecto slipped. The jaw began to close. Alecto cried out in desperation, hauling down with all her strength. Eva thrust upward until the blade struck something soft. Something ruptured. Hot blood sprayed in crimson streams. She twisted the dagger and drove it deeper still.
Cerberus convulsed in choking spasms. Eva lost her balance and pitched forward. Alecto caught her and pulled her clear.
Cerberus writhed before her. One paw covered its blinded eyes. One head hung limp. The other let out a ragged scream.
Eva trembled, her whole body shaking uncontrollably as pain wracked her. Burned. Poisoned. She collapsed to the stone.
Alecto knelt beside her. Eva wanted to make another joke about the Kindly Ones, but she could not form the words.
“Rest, Lady Evadne,” Alecto said.
“Please call me Eva,” she muttered.
Alecto pressed a waterskin to Eva’s lips. The gentle flow of life spread through her. The same gentle fingers as before laid the gold-tipped leaves from the River of Life over her injuries.
“I wish you could come with me,” Eva said. “I can’t do this alone.” But she knew. She had seen what the threshold had done to Alecto.
“Come back with me,” Alecto said. “There is a river ahead. Once you cross, there is no return. No one ever has.”
“No. I will still go to Perry.” She rose unsteadily.
Alecto stared at her for a long while, searching her.
“May the King’s favor be with you, Eva.” The words were so soft Eva almost missed them. Then Alecto turned and walked away.
