~ Chapter Twenty-Three - Part 3 ~

Katalina raised her arm to run her hand through her hair but hissed in pain and dropped her arm. “What obstacles are there?” She questioned in exhaustion after she caught her breath.
“Well, first, there’s Cerberus. You’ll have to find a way to get past him. He never misses a thing,” Hades explained. “Then there’s the river Lethe. Or river of oblivion and forgetfulness,” he clicked his tongue. “Once you get past those, you’ll also have to break the barrier to get out and be able to teleport home.”
Katalina shook her head and grumbled in pain at the dizziness. “I’m not going to be able to teleport if I have to break through the barrier,” she said roughly. “Going through all that will be for nothing if I can’t teleport us out,” she mumbled more.
“Father would kill us if we got involved more than we already are,” Apollo said in agitation.
Hades suddenly smiled widely. “But he can’t prevent a demigod from helping.”
Katalina let a small smile of acknowledgment slip onto her face. “Roman can teleport,” she said softly.
Hades shrugged. “It’s not exactly teleporting. It has the same result, but instead of using light and magic, he uses the shadows and darkness and a bit of magic to move through the world and dimensions.”
Katalina waved him off and let out a soft cry of pain. “Same thing Hades,” she muttered as she leaned her forehead against Jake’s chest. “Do you think you could get the message to him?” She asked without lifting her head. “To meet Jacques and me here,” she pointed to a spot on the map. “In about two days. We should be there by then.”
Hades nodded. “I’ll make sure he’s there and ready to get you and Jacques out,” he promised.
Katalina sighed heavily. “I don’t think Jacques or myself will make it there, though. Jacques needs blood, and my body is torn and broken up. I can barely move without being in immense pain.”
Artemis closed her eyes and summoned Asclepius, the god of healing and Apollo’s son. He appeared in front of them and smiled. “Hello, father,” he said to Apollo. “Auntie.”
Artemis lowered her head a bit in greeting. “I apologize for interrupting your day, but we need your help,” she said quietly.
“Anything for you, Aunt Artemis,” he said with a chin dip.
“We need you to heal Katalina just enough for her to get through Tartarus. Also, ensure that she has enough blood in her system for Jacques and keep herself stable,” Apollo explained.
Asclepius nodded and went to kneel behind Katalina. “Holy shit. What happened to her?” He asked in horror.
Apollo just shook his head at his son. “Can you heal her enough for her to get out of Tartarus with Jacques?”
Asclepius nodded. “Yes. I can do it. I can also make sure she has enough blood for her to help Jacques.”
As Asclepius lightly laid his hand on her back, no one said anything else. He closed his eyes and let himself flow into her body. He went through her body, partially healing the worst of her wounds while ensuring he replaced some of the blood she had lost. When he had finished, he blinked and cleared the slight fog from his mind. “Okay. Her wounds are still there, but I partially healed the worst of her injuries, mainly her back. I also replaced some of the blood that she had lost so she could help Jacques. She should be good to go.”
“Good,” Artemis said. “We can’t keep her too much longer. Zeus will find out and punish us,” she looked at Katalina. “I am so sorry, Lina, but I must send you back.”
Katalina sighed heavily. “I know. It’s okay. I should get back to Jacques. He wasn’t looking too good when I closed my eyes.”
Artemis gently caressed Katalina’s face. “We will be with you every step of the way.”
Katalina nodded and embraced her parents, thankful there was no longer much pain in every inch of her body. “I love you guys,” she whispered.
“We love you too, butterfly,” Jake whispered before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Katalina closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was again in that cave in Tartarus. She looked around and found Jacques leaning against the wall next to her. She shook his shoulder. “Jacques,” Katalina softly said. “I came up with a plan to get us out of here,” she said.
Jacques groaned and fought to open his eyes. “A plan isn’t going to do us much good if we can hardly move,” he grumbled.
Katalina touched his shoulder. “I spoke with Artemis. She had Asclepius heal me just enough for us to get out of here.”
Jacques sighed heavily. “You should go. You can’t carry me through Tartarus,” he said tiredly.
Katalina shook her head. “I’m not leaving you here,” she said firmly. She held her wrist out to him. “Drink,” she ordered.
Jacques tried to push her hand away. “No. I’ll make you weak.”
Katalina looked into his eyes and softly said. “Trust me, Jacques,” she held her wrist out to him again. “Drink.”
Jacques quickly exhaled as he grabbed her wrist. He held it gently yet firmly as he lowered his head to it. Then, before changing his mind, he carefully sank his fangs into her wrist. His instincts kicked in as soon as the first drop of blood hit his tongue. He couldn’t control himself as he took in mouthfuls of her blood, replenishing what Jacques had lost over the couple of weeks he had been in Tartarus.
Jacques gulped down mouthfuls of her blood quickly. Then, he continued to drink until a soft, gentle voice said. “That’s enough, Jacques. Let go.”
Jacques gently pulled his fangs out of her wrist. He licked his lips as he looked into her eyes. “Thank you, little one,” he said lovingly as he tenderly caressed her fave. “I can’t remember the last time anyone did that for me. Especially when I had gone so long without blood,” he looked into her eyes. “I could have killed you,” he whispered.
Katalina shook her head. “I know you would never hurt me, let alone kill me,” she gave him a bright, loving smile. “You love me too much.”
Jacques chuckled as he pulled her into an affectionate hug. “I do love you very much.”
Katalina kissed his cheek as she pulled away. “Are you feeling better now?” She asked in concern.
Jacques nodded. “Much better. Thank you, little one,” he laughed softly. “It seems that you saved my life this time.”
Katalina giggled. “Don’t worry, Jacques. You know I would do anything for you.”
Jacques kissed her forehead. “So now, what is this plan of yours?” He asked as he pulled off his jacket and took off his long-sleeve button-up shirt. He handed his shirt to Katalina before putting his coat back on.
Katalina grinned as she carefully put his shirt on. “Okay. So I’m going to rest just a bit, and then we need to get going. First, we have to get past Cerberus and the river Lethe. Not to mention any creatures that we may come across. Then once we get to the barrier, I need to break it. Or at least a part of it, anyway. Roman will be waiting on the other side and will teleport us home,” she explained as she carefully rested against the wall next to him with her head on his shoulder.
Jacques nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. However,” he said with a raised eyebrow as he looked down at her. “How will we get across Cerberus and the river Lethe?” He questioned.
Katalina bit her lip. “Cerberus is easy. He’s just another dog. I tamed Orthrus and the seven hellhounds. So it shouldn’t be too difficult. As for the river, well, I haven’t thought of anything yet. I’m going to sleep on it. Wake me up in about three hours.”
“You need more rest than that, little one,” Jacques said softly.
Katalina ran a hand through her dirty, bloody hair. “It’s all that we can afford right now. We need to get to Roman in two days. We don’t know what other obstacles we’ll come across. So we need to get going as soon as possible, but I need some rest,” she explained.
“Okay,” Jacques said with a sigh. “Get some rest. I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”
Katalina laid her head on his lap and was instantly asleep.