“That’s what worries me.” I scratched my head. “Why go to all this trouble to bring us down here? Why not fight out in the open as usual? Why bring us to Sheol?”
A loud crack was heard, and then Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel were in front of us. Everyone bowed and waited.
Michael spoke first. “If they cannot have the Titans, they want every last Seeker. That is why you are here.” He paced in front of everyone. “This battle will not be what you are used to. Be sharp, but most of all be wise. The Phantoms will promise you everything, if only you will join their side. At this point, they are weak. We have the Titans under control. Thanks to Alexander, we have the Twelve, and at this very moment one of my brothers is talking to some of the Fallen who have yet to choose sides. Without the power of a half-breed, they will not win.”
“It seems to me we’ve played right into their hands then,” I said boldly. “We have every last Seeker and Twelve with us. What happens when one of us is too weak to fight anymore? What happens when the offer is too sweet to resist?”
Michael nodded his head. A smile broke across his face. He turned to face the crowd. “El has decided to again give you a choice.”
I clenched my sword in hand.
“Many of you have been fighting for duty and honor, not love. El desires it all. He wants you to fight not because you merely choose it, but because you cannot help but serve the One who so graciously allowed you to live, despite what you were born into. So, when each of you faces a Phantom who offers you your heart’s desires, El has asked one thing. Choose Him. Choose Him, and it will be as if a blade is fighting a flower. They will not stand a chance, but El will also not stand in your way should you choose to leave.”
Sometimes I hated the way El worked. In a perfect world it made sense. But what if everyone left? What if half the Seekers chose wrong?
“What if, what if, what if…” Gabriel said next to me. My head jerked up. He smirked. “Adonis, you will tire yourself before the battle even starts.”
He placed a large hand on my shoulder. “There will always be what ifs in your life. But, brother, you are asking the wrong question.”
“And what is the right one?”
“Oh, it is the same.” Gabriel chuckled. “You are merely missing the most important part.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Which is?”
“What if El…” Gabriel’s eyes blazed white for an instant then went back to violet. “What if He is who He says He is? What if He does what He says He does? What if His promises are true? What if He is right? What if you are wrong? What if El… That is your question, my brother, and in that question, you also find your answer.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Seth
“Tell me this is a joke.” I looked at the space again and then back at Ares.
He shrugged. “I never joke.”
That I knew, but I was hoping for once I was wrong. I was hoping in vain this would be less complicated than it actually was. It would be different if I had my original powers, but now I felt very much like a fly going into the spider’s web.
“Once you reach the crossroads of Taenarum, you will follow the trail until it forks at the bottom. Go to the right, not the left. The trail to the right will lead you to the River of Souls. Once you cross the River of Souls, you will see the prison where they keep our kind. Athena should be there in captivity. She will be unharmed, for she is of more use to them alive. But you will have to create an enticement as well as a shield, in order to appear not as Seth but someone else entirely. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” I nodded. I had no other option. If I said no, Athena would die, and if she died, a part of me would too. The good part. The part that thirsted for the Light she exuded. I was fearful of what would happen when the Light was snuffed away from me. Succumbing to the Darkness was not an option.
“May El be with you.” Ares gave me a curt nod and walked back toward the shore. I looked down at the cave below me. Large gray rocks trickled at the opening. I lit a torch and began my descent. Bats flew out, nearly knocking my torch to the ground. I hated bats.
Clenching my teeth, I moved forward. Within minutes I was at the crossroads of Taenarum. It was the opening to another cave. I looked to the left. It was the only way that had light, as well as a smell so sweet my feet moved of their own accord toward what I wanted most: to be away from this place, to be in comfort.
I stopped. Remember Ares’s words.
I was supposed to go right.
I looked right.
Hell. It looked exactly like Hell. Fire licked off the sides of the walls, threatening to burn everything and anything in its path.