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“Shadow, please!”
Zoe thrust her hands through the gaps in the vines, desperate to reach Shadow. As the tendrils enveloped the building, only his eyes remained visible in the gloom. They narrowed into a cold glare, before he retreated into the darkness.
“Goodbye, Zoe.”
“No, please!” Zoe tried to force her way through the vines. “I don’t want to lose you…”
The tendrils forced her backwards, until she stumbled to the ground below. She staggered to her feet, only to gasp at the sight of the motel. An impenetrable wall of gnarled vines loomed before her, their tendrils armored with spikes that warned off trespassers. She searched for a gap within the vines, or for a weakness she could exploit. But her heart sank as she realized there was none.
“Shadow! Spooks! Misty, please…” Zoe sank to her knees as she was greeted with silence. “I… I’m sorry.”
Her tears struck the ground below, freezing into droplets of ice as the Arctic winds returned to the Underworld. The earth shivered beneath her, while the life that had once awakened now returned to its slumber. The sun set, bathing the landscape in darkness, until the magic that had once bloomed now faded into the shadows. And Zoe knew it was all her fault.
Zoe drew a startled breath as a slow clap filled the silent landscape. She turned to see Swindleton approach, his face etched into a sneer at her fate.
“Bravo, bravo! That was quite the moving performance, Zoe.” His lips curled into a smile as his tracker emitted a series of shrill beeps. “But I’m afraid I won’t fall for your theatrics. There’s enough energy here to keep the city powered for centuries!”
Zoe turned to him, aghast. “But you can’t!”
“Oh, I think you’ll find I can.” Swindleton chuckled to himself, delighting in Zoe’s misery. “And it will take more than your hysterics, and those vigorous weeds, to stand in my way.”
With a click of his fingers, the workmen and their machines approached. Zoe’s blood turned cold as she eyed the array of gleaming chainsaws and drills warily.
“No!” Zoe turned to Swindleton in horror. “I won’t let you do this.”
“You don’t have a choice.” Swindleton turned to the workmen and clicked his fingers. “Boys?”
Zoe gasped as Gus and the workmen approached like a mob. She yelped in fury as firm hands roughly dragged her away from the motel, and towards the trucks.
“Get off me!” She thrashed beneath their hands as they hauled her into the cargo container of a truck. “Let me go this instant!”
“You could have had it all, Zoe. Everything you ever dreamed of. All you had to do was follow your head.” Swindleton shook his head sadly as Zoe stood within the gloom of the container. “But now you’ll be left with nothing. Take her away, boys!”
Zoe gasped as the truck engine roared to life. With a final sneer, Swindleton slammed the doors of the truck closed, plunging her into darkness. She cried out for help, and pounded against the doors to no avail. But as the revving of the drills filled the air, she knew that she, and the Underworld, were doomed.
22
“Let me out!”
Zoe yelped as the truck swerved around a corner, sending her tumbling into a stack of crates. She pounded on the metal walls once more, but swore in frustration as the revving engine drowned her out. Her heart sank as she acknowledged the hopelessness of her situation. She was all alone, locked in the darkness, and no one was coming to save her.
The roar of the drills drifted through the air, followed by an explosion of rock and debris. Zoe swore under her breath, knowing that Shadow’s defenses could only last for so long. She had to find a way to help him. But as the sounds of the machines grew more distant, she knew that soon, she would be unable to help anyone. Because once the truck drove across the River Lethe, the Underworld, and its inhabitants, would be nothing more than a distant memory.
Zoe searched the container for a way out, for anything that could aid her escape. But as she stumbled over equipment and staggered into crates, she knew it was hopeless. In such darkness, she was unable to see a thing, let alone plan her great escape.
As the truck grew closer to the bridge, Zoe sank to the floor and retrieved her camera from her satchel. She gazed at each of her photos, recalling the magical memories of the Underworld. A picture of Misty’s saloon, that conjured the irresistible aroma of fresh coffee. A snapshot of an exploding jelly trifle, where a puff of blue smoke seemed to delight in the pandemonium that unfolded. A panorama taken from the Throne of the Underworld, capturing the beauty of the landscape. Zoe looked closer at the photo, to see a hazy silhouette rest in the foreground, with eyes that seemed to sparkle with an inner light. Every photo conjured a memory of the Underworld, of her friends, of him. And each one was a reminder of what she was about to lose.
“Perhaps Shadow was right. Perhaps I’m beyond saving.” Zoe choked back a sob as she gazed at each photo. “And soon, I’ll just be another lost soul drifting through life…”
Zoe’s tears fell in the darkness. She wept for the Underworld and its magic, soon to be taken by Chthonic Power Solutions. She wept for Shadow as he returned to his life of solitude. And she wept for the life she was returning to. A life where she would drift between each day, never truly experiencing what it meant to be alive. A life without magic. A life without love. A life without him.
Zoe yelped as something warm and rough brushed her cheeks. Her scream echoed through the trailer, until she peered into the darkness in horror. Something else was in here. And it had licked her.
“Show yourself!” Zoe grimaced as she wiped a trail of slobber from her face. “And keep your tongue away from me!”
Something stirred in the gloom. Zoe braced herself as a fearsome silhouette prowled from the shadows. A giant pair of paws emerged, followed by a muscular body, wrapped in a velvety coat of darkness. Fear crept down Zoe’s spine, while her mind conjured vivid images of whatever nightmarish creature was about to devour her. But as three pairs of doleful eyes peered from the shadows, Zoe sighed with relief, knowing this was no monster, but a rather mischievous mutt.
“Cerberus? What are you doing here?”
