Underworlds #1: The Battle Begins (6 page)

I
SLAMMED TO THE TOWER FLOOR HARD, ROLLED
once, and grabbed the flying lyre before it tumbled to the ground below. Glancing up, I saw Sydney and Jon clambering out to the roof and throwing themselves at the giant Myrmidon. His legs were massive. It took both of them hanging on to a single knee to bring him down.

But down he went — like an anvil — into the sleeping lump of Argus. He bounced off the blubbery beast … and straight off the side of the tower. Argus woke with a high-pitched squeal and a belch. Great.

“Face me now!” he cried, thundering toward us.

“Oh, come on!” I played the lullaby again. Argus moaned once and shrank away from the stairs. “Guys, let’s go!” I yelled to Sydney and Jon.

“Not ssso fast!” hissed a distant voice. “Myrmidonsss, rise! Finish them!”

I swung around to see a terrifying shape leap up from the base of the tower and land heavily. It was Fenrir, the giant red wolf. It reared high on its hind legs and blasted the air with fire. On its back sat a huge figure — a man of ice, frost, and smoke. Steam curled up from his face, obscuring his features, while also forming horns that twisted as if they were alive.

“Interloperssss!” the figure hissed. “Troublemakerssss! The girl is mine!”

As the four of us backed to the edge of the tower, I knew this was the voice that spoke when Dana was taken. This was who Argus called the Dark Master. The trickster god — Loki!

“I cannot be ssstopped!” the dark figure cried as Fenrir pawed the tower stones, flames dripping from his jaws. “Centuries conssspire to begin this war! Argusss, rise! Myrmidons, attack!”

Argus bolted up and came at us, giant arms snatching, bloodshot eyes filled with rage. At the same time, we heard the Myrmidons thundering up the stairs.

Thud! Thud! THUD!

My mind was a mess, but my fingers knew just what to do. Twanging the deepest string, I commanded the circular stairs below us to collapse. The army of Myrmidons climbing the staircase crashed to the floor in a heap, bringing the top of the tower down with them. Argus stumbled to his knees.

I plucked the strings over and over, and the tower itself shook.

“No!” shouted Loki, dragging Fenrir to the edge of the parapet. “The battle has only begun! You sssshall not ssssurvive!” He raised an icy hand to the distance. An explosion rocked the dark sky, and something from the ground shot upward. With a swirl of fog and a cry of rage, Loki and Fenrir leaped from the tower and vanished into smoke below.

“Look!” Dana yelled. Her eyes were fixed on the far distance. “Owen!”

The dark air cleared for a moment, and we could see beyond the tower walls. There was a faraway land of ice-capped volcanoes and whirling snow. Past that were deserts piled with carved white monuments. Beyond that, a land of hanging gardens and palaces of blue and amber stone.

My heart froze.

The Underworlds.

But there was no time to waste. I twanged the highest string of the lyre. The stairs came coiling back up to the roof, and the four of us raced down, tore through the battered doors, and clambered over the mud-ball bridge.

The Myrmidons didn’t like that. They pulled themselves up and poured from the tower, hurtling their battle-axes hard. W
ump-wump-wump!
The giant blades struck the ground at our heels. We dodged them and kept running. The whole time, I held Dana’s arm tight.

The moment we arrived at the arena —
THUNG!
— the final grain of black sand sank into the bottom of the hourglass.

Hades’ face was dark and somber. “You’ve seen him, then. Loki, the evil trickster god of the North. He stirs up no good and sets the Underworlds at war. Nevertheless, as a beast of my word, I shall honor my bargain. You may take Dana Runson back with you.”

I sighed. “Yes!”

“But the game has changed,” said Hades. “Loki has shattered the rules. This girl should not have been stolen. More than that, he is freeing monsters, allowing them into your world. Just now, in fact …”

“You can’t be serious!” said Jon. “You mean that explosion we saw?”

Hades nodded grimly. “Loki has freed the Cyclopes. No doubt you’ve heard of them.”

Dana squeezed my hand. “Giants,” she said. “One big eye each. Angry all the time. I saw them early this morning.”

Hades snarled coldly. “Turns out those single eyes are good for something. They helped the giants find their way into your world.” He paused. “You must bring them back.”

“What? No!” I cried. “This is over. We’re taking Dana home. You deal with Loki yourself —”

Hades stood to his full height. “I am mighty and I am just! But I am forbidden to walk in your world. Therefore, a second bargain! A simple one. Return the Cyclopes to my Underworld, and Miss Runson may stay with you. That’s my deal. Take it or leave it. Or perhaps I should say, take it or leave
her
.”

“How are we supposed to capture a couple of huge monsters?” Sydney asked.

“You’ll figure it out,” Hades said. “You’re smart kids.”

“Says who?” Jon asked.

Hades turned his dark eyes on Jon. “Oh, you must be the funny one. The comic relief. Well, laugh it up. But, Dana dear, don’t forget your toothbrush on your next visit. If you and your friends fail, you will stay longer next time. And speaking of time …”

Hades turned the hourglass over, and the grains of black sand began to run down from the top. “I have serious work to do. So get out of my house!”

The hooded figures stood in their seats, pointing their bony fingers back toward the river Styx. “Go! Go! GO!”

Thunder boomed. Lightning crashed. We ran from the arena and didn’t stop until we reached the riverbank. A few hazy shapes vanished the instant we got there. Charon’s withered face popped up from the reeds.

“You made it!” he said with a wet laugh. “The ghosts were betting against you, but I won. Come on, then. Nearly quitting time.”

We piled onto the raft, and the black water swelled beneath its planks. When we docked on the far side of the river, Charon tipped his hat. “Shall I keep a tab for you?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” said Dana.

“I reckon you’ll be back,” said Charon.

I knew he was right. We would be back.

As we made our way through the scorched rocks, I couldn’t stop thinking about what we’d seen from the top of the tower. The Underworlds. Could we possibly come through on this bargain? Could we capture some angry, one-eyed giants? Could we find a way to … survive?

Finally, we found the entrance to the boiler room. A minute later, we were in the school basement, and the boiler room door was just a door.

Looking down the hallways, it seemed like forever since we’d been there. It must have felt even longer for Dana. I helped her up the stairs and through the halls to the front of the school. Breathless and afraid, we walked out under the dusky sky.

I paused. “Dana? Can you tell us what it was like?”

She shut her eyes, then opened them. “Dark. Hopeless. Sad. It’s what we saw from the tower. Some places are hot, some freezing. Deserts. Snowstorms. All the different Underworlds. Monsters are gathering everywhere. Norse, Egyptian, Greek. All of them. And Loki’s behind it.”

I looked into her eyes. “But why you? Why did he take you?”

“Something I know?” she said. “Something I saw? My parents suspected that Loki wasn’t just a myth. That he was … active. I heard them talking. They went to Iceland to find out more. Maybe Loki thinks I know something, too.”

“Maybe you do,” said Sydney simply.

Dana gazed into the pinewoods behind school. “I should leave here. Hide. Find my parents and leave you all out of this.”

My heart pounded inside my chest like a drum in a heavy metal band. I took Dana’s arm. “No,” I said. “We’re already in it. And we’ll do what we need to do to keep you here.”

Lightning flashed suddenly over the school, and the first cold raindrops fell. Sydney checked her cell. It was dinnertime.

“First thing in the morning, we find out where the Cyclopes are playing house,” said Jon. “Then we boot them back below.”

I only hoped it would be as simple as that.

But when I breathed in long and slow to calm myself, I smelled smoke.

The battle
was
beginning. It was dark. It was dangerous. It was deadly.

And we were right in the middle of it.

A MAP OF THE UNDERWORLDS

Argus
(Greek Mythology): a beast with 100 eyes

Cerberus
(Greek Mythology): a three-headed dog; prevents the dead from leaving the Underworld

Charon
(Greek Mythology): a ferryman who leads the souls of the dead across the river Styx to the Underworld

Cyclopes
(Greek Mythology): one-eyed giants

Fenrir
(Norse Mythology): a giant, fire-breathing red wolf

Hades
(Greek Mythology): the ruler of the Underworld

Jason
(Greek Mythology): a human hero of many adventures

ARGUS

CERBERUS

FENRIR

Loki
(Norse Mythology): a trickster god

Lyre of Orpheus Lyre of Orpheus
(Greek mythology): a stringed instrument that charms people, animals, and objects into doing things for Orpheus

Myrmidons
(Greek Mythology): skilled warriors

Odin
(Norse Mythology): the chief Norse god

Orpheus
(Greek Mythology): a musician who had traveled to the Underworld to bring his wife back from the dead—but didn’t succeed

River Styx River Styx
(Greek Mythology): a river that divides the land of the living from the land of the dead

Valkyries
(Norse Mythology): women who work for Odin; choose who lives and dies in battle

LYRE OF ORPHEUS

MYRMIDON

VALKYRIE