“The one and only.” Seth cursed. “Imagine, an archangel coming down to the Abyss? It would never happen.”
Confused, I blurted, “But I thought that’s what this entire mission was about. Everyone’s freaking out over the Titans being free. Atlas is running around, so clearly he’s free. I don’t get it.”
“Soon,” Icarus piped up. “Very soon you will.”
Chapter Fifteen
We traveled down for a few more hours. Each step I took made me more curious. The walls were dark, but every once in a while I would see a flash of light below us, illuminating enough of the mountain to see things I was sure would never in my existence be blotted from my memory.
Faces of all different shapes, colors, and sizes were carved into the mountain walls. Some were screaming in pain, others looked sad, and many of them looked insane. Teeth were missing, eyes were missing, and at one point it looked like worms were crawling out of one of the faces.
Another light flickered, and I heard screaming. I tucked my body into the cave of Adonis’s form and flinched. The screaming intensified, and then it was as if someone turned on a bright orange light.
The entire inside of the mountain illuminated. I really wished it would have stayed dark. The faces weren’t just carved stone. They were real. And it wasn’t just faces but bodies of people in the walls of the cavern, absolutely paralyzed.
Seth cursed and came up to my other side. “Purgatory.”
“You’re kidding,” I said without thinking.
“Nope.” Seth nodded toward the side of the wall. “Ever wonder what happens to those who defy El? How about those who defy humans? Themselves? The betrayers? The ones who go against everything they were created for?”
I swallowed. “They go to Hell.”
Seth nodded. “Not just any Hell. You see, there really are circles. When you fall, when you choose the Darkness over the Light, you serve time here. For humans it’s easy. They get tossed into the fiery pit, experience the worst torture imaginable, and are in a free fall that lasts for eternity. For our kind…” Seth’s nostrils flared, he shook his head, and kicked the rock beneath his foot, “…for our kind, we’re given Purgatory.”
I looked closely at the wall. One of the faces had red eyes; I noticed the woman next to him had wings.
“Fallen angels?”
Seth nodded. “Angels, vampires, werewolves, demigods, Phantoms, Seekers… really, I could go on, but all you need to know is every scary story ever told to little children is probably present in this room. We aren’t given the same treatment as humans when we die. We’re placed here.”
“Kinda makes you not want to die,” I said breathlessly as I glanced at the beautiful woman with tears running down her cheeks. I watched in horror when a rip tore through one of her wings. Black blood trickled down the her back and maggots consumed her flesh.
“You have no idea…” Seth shook his head. “… how badly I want to stay alive.”
“So bad you’d kill me to succeed?”
“I’d kill every last angel, every last brother I have, in order to save myself from this.”
Adonis tensed beside me. “Selfishness and sin at its finest, Athena.”
“You know nothing, Zar.”
Adonis’s hand clenched mine. Where had I heard that word before? Zar? It was Hebrew. My mind should have worked faster, but the fatigue and stress from the trip was getting to me. Not to mention I hadn’t shared a kiss with Adonis in a few hours. Not that I was in any position to ask him, a Zar, for anything. His betrayal made me stubborn. Seth interrupted me.
“What? You didn’t know?”
Adonis jerked me closer to him. “If you speak of this, I will end you.”
Seth lifted up his hands and smirked. “She should at least get the truth from you, considering.” He gave me a cruel smile and waited.
I stopped walking down the stairs.
Icarus cursed. “Are we really doing this now?”
Adonis looked away from me. “Zar means alien.”
I wasn’t sure what everyone expected me to say. I mean, was I supposed to freak out? Give him a high five? Hug him?
Clearly, Seth wanted a better reaction than me sitting there completely unimpressed. “He’s not one of us.”
“Got it,” I answered. “He’s an alien.”
Seth seemed frustrated as he threw his head back and laughed. “You didn’t think humans were the only chosen creation, did you?”
“That’s enough, Seth.” This from Adonis.
But Seth didn’t stop. “Have you any idea, Athena, how many other races were created? Do you even realize how small of a part you play in this giant drama that El calls life? Do you?” Bitterness seeped out of his every word.
I shook my head.
Icarus grabbed Seth’s arm and pulled him back from me. Seth turned toward the wall and leaned against it, the faces stared at him, trained on him.
“So many races were destroyed in the original Fall,” Icarus whispered. His voice somehow echoed through the mountain. “Adonis is one of the last of his.”