Dark Descent - [Nyx Fortuna 02] by Marlene Perez

five-minute break,” Talbot finally said. He was careful to check the ground before sitting on a rock, which was shaded by plants taller than our heads.
    “I have a feeling someone doesn’t want visitors,” he said.
    Something splashed on the ground near him. I looked up. The plants over our head were bucket-shaped and filled with a noxious liquid. I knew now why I’d detected the smell of acid.
    “You should get up very slowly,” I told Talbot.
    He grinned. “You’re a slave driver,” he said. His smile faded when he saw my face. “What is it?”
    I pointed up. “Pitcher plants full of acid.”
    “What do you suggest we do?”
    “Run!”
    Talbot moved right before the pitcher plant dumped acid, but it set off a trigger in the other plants. A splash of acid hit the leg of my jeans and ate its way into my skin.
    “Are you okay?” I asked them.
    “I’m fine, but there’s got to be a key to get there,” Naomi said. “Nyx, what about some sort of location spell?”
    “It’s worth a try,” I said. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
    “I think it worked,” Talbot said. “We’re actually getting closer.”
    Naomi tried not to look smug as we walked along.
    Hecate’s forest made it clear she didn’t welcome visitors. The path narrowed again and then forked. The one we chose was laced with enormous, sticky spiderwebs and a treacherous bog before we eventually came to an imposing structure built from shiny stone and the same black and twisted trees we’d seen earlier. It was at least seven stories high and looked like it could withstand Armageddon.
    “Black as Hecate’s heart,” I said.
    Heavy wooden doors opened into a room with gleaming white marble floors and dainty white furniture. The hall was illuminated by torchlight.
    It looked as if we had interrupted a party. Four demons sat at a table playing chess, using the skulls of small birds as the pieces. A female demon with long flowing black hair played the harp while others stood conversing.
    A woman sat at a throne carved of yew, flanked by two large male demons who took turns feeding her grapes from a golden bowl. Three more hounds, these the color of alabaster, sat at her feet.
    “Pretty nice digs for a banished goddess,” I said.
    “You flatter me,” the woman said. She stood, but didn’t approach us. I didn’t waste time with formalities. I was certain she knew who I was. Her next words confirmed it. “Why is a son of Fate in the underworld?”
    “I’m Fortuna’s son,” I corrected. My mother had been the fourth Fate, but she wasn’t anything like her sisters.
    She nodded. “Which is why I allowed you to come this far,” she said. “But my curiosity does not ensure your safe passage.”
    Hecate was beautiful. She was tall and curvy, with a bit of a younger-Sophia-Loren thing going on. She had a Roman nose and a death stare. A fine Roman nose was a thing of beauty, but mortals with their knives and their doctors had almost obliterated the trait in the modern world.
    “Where is she?” I asked.
    “Why have you wandered into my domain, son of Fortuna?” Hecate asked. Her inhuman eyes glinted.
    “You know why.”
    She made a dismissive motion and then her laser gaze focused on Naomi. “You’ve brought me a present.”
    Talbot and I both stepped in front of Naomi and our shoulders collided painfully.
    Hecate snickered like a schoolgirl.
    “Keep her out of it,” I said. “We’re here for Claire.”
    “Claire is here of her own volition,” Hecate replied.
    I snorted. “I don’t believe you.”
    She gave me a stare that would have frightened a smarter man. “I don’t care what you believe. Claire is free to leave whenever she chooses.”
    “I want to see her,” I said.
    Hecate’s head whipped around and her dogs snarled, but I didn’t back down. “You come here and make demands of me?”
    “Please?” Naomi asked. “We just want to see her and make sure she’s okay.”
    That wasn’t what we wanted, but it would