Page 51 of Wild Hunt
The sky began to darken as we grew closer to the void and the stale air grew windy. I hugged myself against the chill, squinting to see through the sandy debris the wind had kicked up around us.
“Feels like we’re walking into a storm,” I said.
“Maybe that isn’t the way out,” Loki said warily, looking up at the stormy clouds above us.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Hades said, charging past us. “We’re in our own heads, it’s not like there’s any actual danger.”
I watched as he continued, feeling a growing sense of dread. He was probably right, but my instincts said otherwise. Loki shrugged and trudged after him, but Fenrir lingered by my side. His eyes were sentient, even though he didn’t seem fully himself in this form.
Or maybe he was just a different version of himself.
I was still pissed about the preliminaries, so his presence wasn’t as comforting as it once would have been, but I found myself glad he was there. I started walking toward the others and the giant wolf came up alongside me.
The closer we grew, the wilder the wind became to the point where I had to hold my hair back just to keep it out of my face. I tied it back with a small vine, looking up into the looming void. “How are we supposed to get up there?”
“Maybe we’re not,” Loki said, walking to stand under the center of the vortex. His hair whipped around his face and I could tell he was struggling with each step. Hades followed him, and then Fenrir, but nothing happened.
“I’m starting to think this isn’t it,” I admitted, finally following them. The moment I stepped foot below the center of the vortex, it opened wider and a beam of dark red light shot down from the sky all the way to the ground below us. The wind drowned out our startled screams and I started to feel myself lifting off the ground like a UFO abductee. Before I could process what was happening, the light became blinding, washing out everything else around me, and a moment later, I felt a sudden drop.
I landed hard on something that partially broke my fall and the pained groan told me it was Loki. I felt his muscular torso beneath me as I pushed up, accidentally straddling his lap. “Sorry,” I muttered, quickly getting off him.
He sat up slowly, looking a bit disheveled but no worse for the wear. “Don’t mention it. Feels like a wasted opportunity to make a joke about you falling from heaven, though.”
“It’s not,” I said flatly. He offered a hand to help me to my feet, and I was shaken enough to take it.
Looking around, I realized we were in a vast field of withered brown grass and Fenrir was not far off. He leaped to his feet, shaking out his fur. Hades was nowhere to be seen, but I doubted he had gone far.
“Where are we?” I asked, bewildered as I studied a landscape even more barren than the one we’d just been through.
“Definitely not Kansas,” Loki muttered, trudging onward. Before long, we reached the top of a hill and I could spot another structure in the distance. This time, it was two great looming gates that looked like they were made of gold.
“Holy shit,” I breathed, squinting. “I think I see Hades.”
“He’s talking to someone,” Loki said, quickening his pace. I started running and Fenrir galloped along beside me as we headed for the gates.
By the time I got close enough to see Hades clearly, I realized he was talking to someone behind the gates. No, not just talking. Arguing.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, coming to a stop. Through the golden bars, I could see a huge man who had to be seven feet tall at least. He was wearing the strangest armor I’d ever seen, made of leather and fur, and at his side was a broadaxe that looked like a prop in some fantasy game. He looked human, aside from the fact that his skin was a slightly tinted hue of green and his eyes were solid black.
“This asshole won’t fucking tell us where we are,” Hades growled, looking like he was ready to fight the giant as soon as the gates opened.
“Rather rude for a figment of our imagination,” Loki mused.
The guard looked far from amused, but when his eyes met mine, they widened enough for me to realize the irises were a slightly lighter shade of black, after all. “You,” he bellowed in a voice that sounded like a growl. “What is your name?”
“Me?” I croaked as the others turned to watch me. “I’m Kore…”
“She’s nobody,” Hades snapped, gripping the bars. “I’ll ask you one more time. Where the hell are we?”
The guard’s eyes narrowed and his massive hand closed around the handle of his axe. For a moment, I feared he was going to come through the gate just to punish Hades for his assholery and while that would usually be my idea of entertainment, I really wasn’t in the mood.
“You, insolent boy, are in my Lord’s realm and you’d do well to remember that,” he growled, turning to face me once more. He ground the pole of his axe into the earth and the gates slid open. We had to jump back to get out of their path, and as the guard took a step out onto the other side, my heart raced.
I stood back, prepared to call on my power to fight, but when he dropped to one knee, I was left staring in disbelief. “Welcome, your majesty.”
It took me a few seconds to process what he’d just said and it still didn’t make any sense. “Uh. I think there’s been some confusion.”
“She’s no one’s majesty yet,” Hades snapped, glowering at the orc or whatever the hell he was. “I’m the future ruler of the Underworld, so if you want to bow to anyone, bow to me.”
