“I do. It’s in the swamplands of Arcadia. The temple of Hermes. They are taking over more and more of the lush paradise though, and there are dangerous swamp creatures meant to keep mortals away from paradise,” Pan says.
“We know Hephaestus’ Stymphalian birds call the swamp home. We have fought them before. I know how to kill them,” I say with more confidence than I feel when it comes to the demon pigeons.
“We barely made it out the last time.” Jayden grimaces. “That acid sucks horribly.”
“I know what I can do now. Before I wasn’t as experienced. I think we’ll be okay,” I say even as my hands shake.
Pan nods and rushes from the room, gathering supplies, but it takes longer than normal because everything is strewn across the space.
“Okay, you should have everything you need to continue on foot.” Pan dusts his hands off.
“Leaving the SUV behind is taking our cover away,” Kira whispers.
“We don’t have a choice. I’m guessing the terrain isn’t meant for vehicles. We need stealth as much as cover, if not more. I don’t think we should paint a giant target on our backs by four-wheeling through swampland.” I sigh.
“Agreed,” Raven says.
“Same,” Jayden agrees.
“Okay, let’s do this.” Dax tightens the straps on the rucksack on his back. “There should be enough cover in the foliage to at least hide us a little.”
“Thanks, Pan. We’ll get the caduceus back so you can heal the wilds.” I pat him on the shoulder.
“Be careful and be vigilant. There’s a reason humans don’t go into the swamps,” he warns again.
“We will, thanks again,” Jayden says and wraps an arm around my shoulders steering me away.
I glance back one more time with a nod before we plunge into the thick foliage. Vibrant purple, blue, and pink flowers give way to puddles and a noxious odor.
“Gods, what is that?” I ask, covering my nose.
Jayden tenses and scans the murky water in front of us before steering me away from it. “That is the smell of death. There’s something living in that bog that we don’t want to encounter.”
“I don’t even want to know how you know what death smells like,” I groan.
“I’m the son of Hades, remember? Death comes with the territory. We’ve all killed things. Even if they just turn to ash in a second.”
The water ripples with movement and I take a step back, calling my sword to me. “What the fuck was that?”
Metal grinds against metal and an ominous clicking of gears snatches my attention from the water. That is a sound I have dreaded since our first mission. My stomach twists as I glare at the top of the spindly trees. A glint of the sun overhead catches on something metal as something launches itself out of the water.
“Run,” I scream, calling my magic to pool in my palm. “Demon pigeons.”
“Shit.” Draven ducks as one aims a razor-sharp beak at his head. “Why would Hephaestus create these damn things? They’re a menace.”
“We need to move. I need open air to kill them the way I did last time.” I scan the marshes but there are spindly trees as far as the eye can see.
A roar sounds and the marsh rumbles below our feet. Water with the consistency of sludge sprays from the bog. A creature that appears to be a cross between an alligator and a hippo with spikes along its back vaults out of the sludge right for us.
“What the fuck is that thing?” Thad ducks the talons of one of the birds as he reaches for his trident on his back.
“Will that work?” I ask. “It’s not a sea creature.”
Thad whips the trident at a bird that dives too close and feathers shoot from its wing with the speed of a torpedo. Dax shoves Kira to the side just in time so the feathers miss her head. The hippo thing climbs from the swamp onto dry ground. It’s even bigger than I originally thought. On all fours, it’s slightly taller than me and the spikes all along its back are longer than my arm.
“That is one ugly beast,” Draven mutters. “How do we kill it?”
“I don’t know. This is your father’s domain. Any ideas?” Blue lightning crackles along my palm but with how wet the marshlands are and the trees blocking the sky, I’m hesitant to use it.
