The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 24

The chase was excruciating. Over the next few hours, the small figures never receded from the horizon, but they didn't come any closer, either. They chased us on horses like Calista – creatures that could sprint for an endless amount of time yet never tire. Every time I was sure Calista had sped up, I'd look behind us and get frustrated at the fact that we couldn't lose the Guard. Alek said by virtue of the horses, Hades had definitely taken the hunt from Aergia to track me down.

When we first took off on Calista, I had to grit my teeth against the pain in my ankle, caused by the jagged up and down motions of a sprinting horse. Now, the pain in my ankle was bearable in contrast to the splintering heat. I was sweating so much that I had to be careful not to stick to Alek's chest.

And the nausea; It came in waves, sending rolls of sickness through me and making me lean over the side of Calista. The heat, amalgamated with the clamminess that made beads of sweat roll down my pale face, no doubt made for a beautiful sight. I was surprised Alek hadn't just pushed me off from Calista by now.

With the landscape never changing, it was impossible to tell exactly how much time had passed, or how far we'd travelled. But soon, my stomach was rumbling angrily over the sound of Calista's heavy hooves clacking against the ground.

I cringed every time my stomach growled noisily, not daring to complain when Alek was the epitome of focus and determination; he stared straight ahead, his gaze unwavering. Every now and then he'd glance behind and scowl at the sight of the pursuing guards.

He leaned back to unzip one of the bags on Calista's saddle, maintaining a firm grip around me, and withdrew a flask of water. My eyes bulged at the sight of it; I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to drink water.

Alek pushed the flask into my hands.

"Thank you," I said hurriedly, unscrewing the cap and pouring it into my mouth slow enough so that I didn't spill any, but fast enough to quench my thirst. I eyed the remaining water hungrily, but knew that even having a sip more would push my nausea over the edge. There was only so much motion I could handle in a day, and I'd crossed that line hours ago.

I handed the bottle back to Alek, who took a gulp for himself and then returned it to its bag.

"Are they ever going to fall back?" I asked anxiously.

He shook his head. "I have a feeling they're going to be chasing us through the night." He looked down at me with a quizzical expression. His lips formed a tight line. "Hades is really putting in a lot of his resources to find you."

"Wow. Lucky me."

He snickered at my sarcasm. "The good news is that when the night comes, which will be very soon, they will lose us in the darkness."

"What about the wraiths?"

"Even if the wraiths come after us, we have something the guards don't."

"What's that?"

He smiled broadly and arrogantly, revealing a set of straight and pearly white teeth. "We have me."

~~~~

Unfortunately, when the darkness fell, we also got lost. I peered my eyes against the darkness, trying to make out any sense of direction – but with no landmarks or clouds in the sky to help orient us, we were completely lost. Without the light we had to walk at a snail's pace to make sure Calista didn't get a hoof caught in the ground and break her ankle. Like I did.

As Alek predicted, the guards were lost, too. They started shouting orders at each other and before I knew it, it sounded like their voices echoed all around us. It was impossible to tell how far they were from us when I had difficulty seeing my own hands. My heart beat loudly in my chest; I hoped it wasn't loud enough for them to hunt us both down.