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He joined the troglodytes, who wore matching solemn expressions as they gazed down at the flat expanse beyond the hill.

Far below, a massive river roared and churned as it rushed over jagged rocks. The water looked like … well, water. It didn’t have a strange-coloured hue, at least. It wasn’t made of fire. But the sight of it unsettled Nico nonetheless. Those vicious rapids cut across the dark plains and then …

The river dropped into nothingness.

Nico shivered. ‘There’s no way we can cross that.’

‘No,’ Screech-Bling agreed.

Nico raised an eyebrow. ‘So what are we supposed to do?’

Hiss-Majesty pointed to the drop-off, then made a hand gesture like a plane going into a nosedive. ‘It is the fastest way.’

‘I really hope you’re kidding,’ Nico said.

‘What’s going on?’ Will shuffled up to them, his limp much more pronounced. The sun globe glowed in the crook of his arm. Given the terrible chill in the air, Nico worried about Will in his cargo shorts. Couldn’t that boy have just worn a pair of jeans for once?

But there was no protecting Will from what was in front of them – no hiding the truth or sugarcoating reality.

Will’s eyes traced the course of the river. ‘Is that our shortcut?’

Nico nodded. ‘Afraid so.’

‘I don’t suppose the entrance to Tartarus is on the other side of the river, and there’s a convenient bridge somewhere?’

Nico smiled in spite of himself. ‘Apparently not.’

‘It is the Acheron,’ said Screech-Bling. ‘The River of Pain.’

The name sent a chill down Nico’s back. ‘No.’

‘Yes,’ said Screech-Bling.

‘I meanno, there has to be a better way.’

‘There is not,’ said Hiss-Majesty. ‘And we have looked. This is the best!’

‘Excuse me.’ Will raised his hand. ‘First-time caller, longtime listener. Remind me why the Acheron is so bad?’

Hiss-Majesty faced him. ‘Five rivers run through the Underworld, son of Apollo. You have already seen the Styx, which is merely spicy.’

‘Acid dissolving your bonesspicy,’ Will said. ‘But yeah.’

‘And you know of the Lethe,’ said Screech-Bling. ‘The River of Forgetfulness, where Iapetus became Bob.’

‘And I told you about the Phlegethon,’ Nico added, ‘which I drank from.’

‘Right,’ said Will. ‘The River of Fire.’

‘The fourth is the Cocytus,’ said Screech-Bling, ‘the River of Lamentation, which mostly runs deep in Tartarus.’

‘With luck, we can avoid that one if we’re careful,’ Nico said. ‘But the fifth river, the Acheron …’

Nico gazed down at the raging torrent. He didn’t want to tell Will what those waters could do. Will already looked miserable, though he put on a brave face and didn’t complain. But Nico feared that what they were facing now would break his facade.

Will stood straighter, probably sensing Nico’s hesitation. ‘So it’s the River ofPain. I can deal with pain.’

Screech-Bling adjusted his scorched tricorn hat. ‘If only that’s all it was, Son of Apollo.’ Hiss-Majesty whimpered in agreement. ‘The Acheron is also the River ofPunishment.’