Hades by Alexandra Adornetto

Author:Alexandra Adornetto
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction > Young Adult
ISBN: 9780312656270
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: 2011-08-30T04:00:00+00:00

18

Portal

“YOU should go back,” I said to Tucker as we trudged through the dingy tunnels. “This was my idea. I shouldn’t drag you into it. Tell Jake I ditched you and you lost sight of me. Asia will back you up.”

Even as I spoke the words I knew it was too late for Tuck to turn back. If he returned to Hotel Ambrosia without me, Jake would unleash his fury on him.

He must have known that too, but all he said was “You’re not goin’ out there alone.”

“I won’t let Jake hurt you,” I told him. “No matter what happens.”

“Let’s not think about that now.”

Tucker set off ahead of me at a swift pace. I had no choice but to follow.

We didn’t have to go much farther than the club district before the terrain started to change dramatically. The air became suddenly sultry and the landscape barren as a desert. It seemed as if all color and life had been sucked away, leaving nothing but an empty gray husk. Fog swirled overhead, blotting out whatever it was that passed for sky down here. We had left the confining tunnels behind, but we were still trapped in a strange dimension that had no beginning or end. The worst part was the ever-present sound; all around us the air was filled with the muffled wailing of lost and wandering souls. I could feel their presence as they moved past us, like a ripple of heat in the already-stifling atmosphere. I couldn’t see them, they were nothing more than a passing shimmer in the air, but I knew they were there and nothing could drown out their preternatural cries. A horrible, suffocating sense of desolation washed over me, as if my soul were being tugged from my body. My heart beat faster and I felt an overwhelming urge to stop. In response Tucker took hold of my hand and picked up his pace.

“I’m tired, Tuck,” I heard myself say.

“Don’t slow down,” he whispered. “This place has that effect on people. We have to keep moving.”

The Wasteland didn’t seem to affect Tucker in the same way. Maybe it was because his time in Hades had lent him immunity. Or maybe it was because I was an angel and could sense the acute despair of every soul around me.

“If we linger too long the Trackers have a much better chance of picking up your scent,” Tucker added.

I’d forgotten all about them. I knew as an angel I gave off the crisp, clean scent of rain that might be camouflaged in the smoky atmosphere of the clubs but would be unmistakable out here in the open.

“Are you going to tell me who the Trackers are?” I was still having problems regulating my breathing. Tuck took one look at my face and shook his head.

“Not right now.”

“Come on,” I urged. Tucker seemed to have assumed a protective role since leaving the hotel that he wasn’t about to relinquish without a fight. “I’ll be better off if I know.

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