~ Chapter Twenty-Four - Part 1 ~

Damien was sitting in his office when he felt his world spin around him. He closed his eyes and let himself get pulled to Artemis’s meadow. He blinked against the sun and looked at Artemis, Apollo, and Hades.
“Hello, Damien,” Artemis said in greeting.
Damien frowned. “Is everything okay? Have you heard from Kat?” He questioned with hopeful eyes.
Artemis nodded. “We have spoken with Lina. She’s okay,” she reassured him. “However, she is now in Tartarus.”
“Zeus has been watching us quite closely,” Apollo said quietly. “But we managed to bring Katalina here and partially heal her. We didn’t have a lot of time, but she managed to devise a plan to get her and Jacques out.”
Hades quickly went over the plan. “You must ensure that Roman is ready and in place on time. Katalina will be exhausted from using so much magic and need help as soon as possible.”
Damien nodded. “I’ll make sure that he’s there,” he promised.
“Good luck, Damien,” Artemis said before sending him home.
As soon as his eyes snapped open to reveal his office, he was out of his chair. He rushed to Roman’s room in the pack house and pounded on the door.
Roman yanked the door open. “What the hell, man?” He demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Damien shook his head. “No time. We need to talk,” he pushed past Roman and started pacing the room.
“Sure. Come right in,” Roman muttered as he closed the door. He sat on the edge of his bed and ran a hand through his hair. “What’s going on, Damien?” He questioned.
“Kat’s in Tartarus with Jacques,” Damien said as he continued pacing.
Roman shot to his feet. “What?!” He exclaimed. “Since when?” He questioned.
“Not sure when but she spoke with Amarinthia, Apollo, and Hades. They healed her as much as possible within the short time they had. Kat also came up with a plan to get them out.”
Roman raised an eyebrow in question. “Which would be what exactly?” He asked.
“How long will it take for you to get ready and be at a specific place in Tartarus?” Damien asked him.
“Um, I can be ready within the next hour. But, to get to a certain spot in Tartarus, well, that depends on where I’m supposed to be,” Roman said with a shrug.
Damien pulled out the map from Hades and showed him where he would meet Katalina and Jacques. “That’ll take me about a day, maybe a day, if I have to preserve my energy. Why?”
Damien explained Katalina’s plan to him. Roman just smirked and shook his head. “Even while severely injured, Katalina devised a genius plan.”
Damien let out a chuckle. “Yeah. Her brain is always running. Even in the direst situations.”
Roman had to agree. “Okay. Let me get ready. I’ll make sure I have everything I need to go to Tartarus. Then I’ll leave. Tartarus is tricky. You can teleport out, but you can’t teleport in,” he looked at the map and studied the spot where he was going to be meeting Katalina and Jacques. “The closest entrance to this spot is just past the river Lethe is here,” he pointed to a city in Europe. “I can teleport there and then go on foot the rest of the way.”
“And you can be there in time?” Damien asked in concern.
Roman nodded. “None of the creatures are stupid enough to try anything against me. So it’ll be easier for me to get through Tartarus than Katalina and Jacques.”
Damien scrubbed a hand over his face. “Okay. Thank you for this. I am truly in your debt.”
Roman shook his head. “She’d do the same for me,” he said softly.
Damien gripped his shoulder before leaving him to get ready.

Katalina grumbled in annoyance as Jacques shook her awake. “We have to get going if we want to get to Roman in time,” Jacques said quietly.
Katalina groaned as she sat up. Her body still ached but not as bad as it had been before. “Let’s go then.”
Katalina grumbled some more as she walked to the cave entrance. She frowned as she pulled out the map Tartarus Hades had given her. “It doesn’t look like we have to go far, but with everything that I’m sure will be in our way, I’m sure it’ll take a bit longer.”
Jacques nodded. “Alright. Let’s go,” he clicked his tongue. “I hope you have a plan for the River Lethe. It’s the river of oblivion and forgetfulness.”
Katalina waved a hand in dismissal. “I already have a plan for the river. We have to get to it.”
Katalina put the map in her remaining good pocket and started walking toward Cerberus’s home.
They were about halfway there when they were stopped in their tracks by a pack of hellhounds. It seemed as if the hounds had decided to eat one of their own. Katalina assumed that it had to be the weakest hound of the pack, and they hadn’t been able to find any other food.
“We have to go straight through them,” Katalina mumbled. “There’s no other way around,” she bit her lip before nodding. “Okay,” she whispered as she glanced at Jacques. “I’m going to use magic to make us invisible. I will also shield us to mask our footsteps and breathing so they can’t hear us.”
“That’s quite a bit of magic to be using,” Jacques said in concern. “You’re going to exhaust yourself.”
Katalina sighed heavily. “We have no choice. We’re both too weak to fight against an entire pack of ravenous hellhounds. They’ll tear us apart in seconds. There’s no other way around,” she shook her head. “If we go as quickly as possible, I’ll be fine,” she shook out her hands and rotated her neck before saying. “Try not to make any loud noises. I’ll use less magic if I only mask our smaller sounds.”
Jacques nodded. “Okay. No loud noises, and move quickly.”
Katalina took several deep breaths before whispering a spell to make them invisible. Then she used her magic to put a shield of air around them to block their scents and any sounds they may cause. “Let’s go,” she whispered. “Quick as you can go.”
They took off running. They kept as far away from the hounds as they could. Then, being careful of the rocks and gravel, they rushed past the pack of hounds. They were almost to the end of the trench when Katalina felt her ankle twist at an odd angle and let out a yelp of pain. She hadn’t seen the sharp, jagged rock that sent her ankle bending at that bizarre angle that caused agony to radiate through her leg. Jacques held her arm to keep her steady as they both went reticent.
One of the hounds lifted its head and looked right at them. They didn’t even risk breathing as they stood utterly still. They stayed like that until the hound finally looked away and returned to its meal.