All I had to do was catch up and slaughter the crew, and Rayven would be mine.
Could she see me? Did she know she was minutes from being saved?
“I’m coming, treasure,” I muttered beneath my breath.
A massive stone wall materialized, split in half by a giant archway over the Styx. My muscles coiled, recognizing the entrance to the Lord of Greed’s realm.
“Rayven!” the sound that tore from my lipless maw hardly sounded like myself. It was raw, pained. If the crew hadn’t realized we were on their tail before, they did now.
Mammon’s fiery eyes whipped in my direction, and his flaming wings flexed before he barked orders. The iron boat began to pull ahead, widening the gap between us. A growl rumbled up my throat, and I rowed faster, but it wasn’t enough to close the distance again.
I was so focused on catching up and saving my little treasure that I didn’t notice the massive iron bars dropping from the archway up ahead until they were nearly halfway down. If they closed completely, they would block our entrance into the fifth layer.
There would be no way through with the ferry.
Mammon’s boat picked up more speed, and something jerked in my gut. It didn’t look like they would make it in time. I held my breath, wondering if I would have to jump ship to save Rayven. If Mammon’s boat was destroyed, there was a chance.
They sped closer, the gate dangerously low. I kept rowing as fast as I could, unholy fury fueling every stroke, but the iron boat slipped beneath the bars just before they slammed into the river.
“No!” I dove off the side of the ferry and rushed to the gate, grabbing the bars and trying to lift or bend them. To my surprise—and horror—they didn’t budge. “What kind of magic—”
The question died in my throat when I submerged myself, hoping there was enough room for me to squeeze underneath it, but the bars ran straight to the bed of the river.
I couldn’t get through.
Resurfacing with a roar, I threw my head back, my cloak slapping against the water’s surface. I gripped the iron gate’s girthy bars and tried to bend them again, but to no avail. The gate was several thousand pounds at least—even I, strong as I was, couldn’t budge it.
Through the gaps in the metal, I could see the boat shrinking, Mammon’s sadistic laugh carrying on the air. I set my flaming eyes on him as they disappeared into the distance, my rage palpable as I harnessed my magic to destroy the hurdle keeping me from my queen.
The explosion of blue magic blew straight into the gate, leaving it unfazed, without so much as a scorch. I tried again, reaching deep into my pool of power, but again, it was pointless.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I growled. My magic wasn’t working on this iron monstrosity, probably because it was Mammon’s metal. Iron was stronger than silver.
Panic hooked in my gut.
“My Lord, let me try,” Holga piped from the ferry.
If my magic didn’t work, I didn’t see hers being able to break through the gate, but it was worth a shot. I didn’t have any other ideas, and Mammon’s boat was drifting farther away with every passing second.
A flicker of magic sparked from her fingers, but that failed too.
I slammed my fists against the enormous gate with a snarl, and dust rained from above. Still, nothing seemed to affect it, which only fanned the roiling inferno burning through me.
Mammon had been busy at work over the last five hundred years, fool-proofing this realm, apparently. If there was no way in, there was no way out.
I punched the metal again with an animalistic roar just as a severed hand grabbed hold of my robe.
“Master,” a head with one eye bubbled. “Please, pass Judgement again.Please…”
A torso without arms bobbed toward me, and several other voices whispered, joining the first.
“Lord of Bones… Lord of Souls, please…”
I growled, swiping my claws at the souls to get away from them before climbing back into the boat. The begging whispers ceased the moment I was out of the water, and I ran a blood-soaked hand down my skull, thinking.
How the fuck was I supposed to penetrate the impenetrable?
Magic and strength had failed me. What other option did I have?
