I scowled back at him for good measure. “You listened in? How… considerate of you.”

His fingers clenched the throne as he leaned forward. “This is my home, Wylde. I may do as I wish.” He studied me skeptically, as if trying to decipher the rest of our conversation. I just glared back. I could barely understand what our conversation had been about, so I had little fear he could. Hell, maybe he could explain it to me.

We stared at each other in silence. Something was bothering me about him. I expected him to be grumpy, agitated, even a giant asshole. He was all that, sure, but something was… off. Like he was personally angry with me for something I had done. Or hadn’t done. He’d mentioned keys, and that I didn’t have enough of the golden light. And that his wardens would have taken me here without all this trouble. All this cost.

Maybe those glass blades had been offering hugs.

I suddenly realized I had no shirt and that my coat hung open. It was too late to hide it, so I just glanced down. My chest glowed with the golden light, visible to all. I looked back up at Anubis uncertainly.

He shook his head. I could have sworn I heard him murmur still not enough!

I was just glad that I hadn’t just ruined everything by revealing what my father had shown me.

“Your request was granted, but now it is time to pay,” Anubis snarled in a harsh tone. Even though his mask didn’t show emotion, I was sure he smiled as he abruptly stabbed Virgil in the chest, ripping out his heart in one swift motion. My heart almost erupted from my chest, and Talon and Carl were suddenly gripping their weapons.

Anubis slowly lifted the still beating heart up before him, showing the three of us. Virgil folded to his knees, staring through vacant, pain-filled eyes. Was he still in there? He hadn’t ever showed emotion before, but something about that blank look screamed agony.

“Eat. And welcome to your new home. One of you at least. I have need of a new guide.”

I stared at the Lord of the Dead in horror. “What?”

“Dante has fulfilled his duty. It is time for the next guide to take his place. To learn the map.”

“I don’t care about Dante!” I argued. “I’m talking about Virgil!” I pointed at the dead poet.

“Those who accept the protection of a guide must replace him. In your case, you wisely brought two candidates with you. One of you must pay the price and become my new guide. Dante replaced Virgil, now one of you must replace Dante. The Circle of Life,” he chuckled darkly.

I shook my head slowly, thinking. “One of us must stay and learn the map,” I said.

Anubis grunted. “This is the map,” he said, shaking the heart in his fist. “Take a bite and gain knowledge of the paths of Hell. All paths. All ways.”

I shivered, even imagining eating the proffered fruit of knowledge and the disgusting twist on the apple from the Garden of Eden story. Then I had an idea. “Wait,” I shouted, flinging out my hands as I sensed Talon and Carl readying themselves to take it before I could. They grunted, pressing against my palms as a sign that if my plan didn’t work they were going to go through me to get to that heart.

“Virg— Dante said we could also pay with something other than a life. What is the price?”

Anubis almost shattered the heart in his fist and those indigo sockets of flame for eyes pulsed darker, if at all possible. He pointed at my glowing chest. “You don’t have enough to pay!” he spat angrily.

And I suddenly understood why he had seemed so angry. He had wanted my god juice. But… I didn’t have enough in me. Even seeing the concentration at my heart, it wasn’t enough to slake his thirst. But for him to be angry meant that he hadn’t wanted one of us to replace his guide.

He had wanted that power instead.

But already knowing I didn’t have enough power, he had started off by killing Dante.

My parents had called me the Catalyst. Which meant the precursor. Maybe my time had ended. I had been the Catalyst. For whatever this was. I had kicked off… whatever was coming. I was the glue that held everyone together. The last piece… But by myself, I was just a lone line. I needed my friends – the other two lines – but they needed me, too. To form our triumvirate.

I couldn’t let my friends pay this price. My parents had said that we all needed to watch out for each other. That three legs were strong. I didn’t understand all of it, but I was confident about this. The three of us needed to survive. To keep each other safe. Which meant that whoever remained down here needed to escape. Somehow.

Carl, who had risked his life repeatedly down here to keep me alive and fight back my enemies. Even though he had repeatedly made it sound like Hell would be fun for him. But even as powerful as he was, he didn’t stand a chance of escaping. And he didn’t have the motivation. He would calmly accept his imprisonment, never trying to escape, because he hadn’t understood the subtle messages my parents offered. He would proudly pay the price of his life to keep me safe, and that was that. He might even like it down here, judging from what I had seen.

Talon was physically strong, ruthless in battle, and loyal to a fault. He would pay this price for the young boy who had given him a name. He would pay the price of being my Shadow – my guardian – without blinking. He would be so satisfied with the fact that he had done me a solid, that he would never try to flee – to tarnish his last act of devotion to his friend.

It had to be me. I was the only asshole stupid enough to attempt a prison break. The only one possibly strong enough.

Temples always pay the piper. No one else pays our debts.

I still had my satchel. With the three items my mother had mentioned inside. Anubis hadn’t taken my Horseman Mask away. He’d said he had nullified it, but maybe I could find a way around that. I was clever. Sneaky. And had always found a way to pick up some new magical trick that pulled my ass out of the fire. Whether I knew a way out or not, I was the only one who had even the slightest chance to get back out.

I knew that if I left one of them here, I would never be welcomed back to rescue them, and that even if I could, I would be right back in this same position – with someone needing to replace the guide – either Talon or Carl. Which defeated the purpose, because they would ultimately die. The only way out of this was to become the guide and find my own way out.

And that person had to be me.

Talon and Carl surged forward on either side of me, as if sensing my inner decision, but I suddenly cast a whip of red fire at the heart, snatching it up and yanking it back towards me. Anubis didn’t even flinch in fear, although I heard the teakettle Candy Skulls hiss in outrage behind me, fearing I had attacked their boss.

I caught the ice-cold heart in my fist and took a bite before Talon and Carl could do anything to stop me. Pay the piper… I thought to myself.

Sugary sweetness rolled over my tongue as the flesh disintegrated like cotton candy in my mouth. It tasted like… an apple. I shivered at that thought, swallowing it. And liquid metal roared through my veins as the hammer of knowledge abruptly pounded my mind like it was an anvil. The paths to Hell were seared into my brain with each hammer stroke of my heartbeat.

Talon and Carl faced me, their faces slowly clearing of the smudges to reveal outraged horror.

“I thought it would be you,” Anubis muttered. “Such a foolish mortal. To lose it all to talk to mommy and daddy again. Only to walk into your own prison cell right beside them.” I flinched at that. His icy smile held no humor. “Figuratively speaking, of course. You won’t be talking to them again. Ever.” He shook his head, brushing off his hands. “Don’t you realize how pointless that was? To risk your life to only pay with your life?” He sounded angry. Angry at the situation. Angry that I hadn’t been able to pay him with power – the golden light of a dead God.

“I’ve never claimed to be that bright. But I always pay for my ignorance.” I tried to ignore the constant pounding in my temples.

The fire in his eyes made me frown. As if briefly letting me know he would have given almost anything for Talon or Carl to have taken the heart first. Or just regretting my lack of god juice.

“Time to say goodbye to your friends,” Anubis said coldly.

Talon shook his head at me, tears leaking down his furred cheeks. Both angrier than he had ever been and terrified for me. Perhaps even for himself. I was the only family he had.

Carl studied me with narrowed eyes, as if trying to read my mind, or find a way out of the situation. I smiled sadly at him.

“Brothers, keep my friends safe. Please. It was an honor to know you. To fight beside you.”

I couldn’t let them think of a rescue. I couldn’t voice that I would do my best to be my own rescue. I couldn’t give them false hope like that. It would eat them alive for the rest of their days. And I didn’t want to alert Anubis of my plan, either. I was about to hand over my satchel – someone needed to take care of what my parents had warned about – when they simply disappeared. My hand hadn’t even begun to move yet.

I gasped, rounding on Anubis angrily, ready to demand to know where he had sent them.

“Don’t concern yourself with them. They are home in your world,” he muttered. “I’ll take you to your rooms.” He climbed down the stairs in swift strides, grasped my shoulder before I could open my mouth, and we were suddenly in a world of darkness. We stood on a red stone dripping with blood, almost slippery with it.

But around us was nothingness.

I had the sensation of movement, but there was simply no way to tell.

I grunted, almost gripping my head as the pounding flared hotter for a moment. I closed my eyes and a massive, dauntingly complicated labyrinth was clearly floating in my mind. Paths, levels, stairs, holes, traps, caverns, crisscrossing all over this world.

The map to Hell. I hissed at the pain, but also the magnitude of it.

It was nothing like Botticelli’s illuminated manuscript. That was a toddler’s finger-painting.

The map was so large and complex that my hope of ever finding a way out died by suicide right there. I could never walk that far, and I hadn’t been given a key like Virgil.

It would take years to truly understand the place, let alone map out an escape plan.

And every step I took would be through other prisons, other cells, not even counting trying to sneak past the Candy Skull wardens. It was hopeless.

Anubis grunted, still gripping my shoulder with his obsidian claw. Not hard enough to pierce skin, but not light enough to let me detach myself either. “The pain will fade soon.” He let out a light laugh. “Well, the pain of the map will fade. Your position as guide is somewhat better than the other residents, but I only have one open cell that can contain you at the moment. Until you are called upon, you are much like any other prisoner. Confined to your cell.” I looked up at him and realized how tall he was. His chest was directly in line with my eyes, that regal black jackal head staring straight ahead. Despite no opening in the mouth, his voice was clear, not muffled.

“I had such high hopes for you, Temple. Such high hopes.”

I blinked at him. “I didn’t really know what I was walking into. Maybe if I had been better prepared…” I muttered. “Like telling me those clowns were offering me a free ride.”

He grunted. “You have never known what you are walking into, and are rarely prepared, yet you have always prevailed. I had hoped for the same today…” he trailed off. His tone was kind of like my father used to tell me I’m not mad at you. I’m just disappointed.

I opened my mouth to ask what he was talking about, but he interrupted me.

“I mentioned repayment for being molested on your way to my throne. If I were you, I would consider the advice many give on surviving the first day of a prison sentence.”

I was suddenly standing in a small cavern – relative to the rest of Hell anyway. It was actually quite large, but closed off. It was a cell, not just a random cave. But at least it wasn’t pitch black or anything. Ambient light illuminated most of the cell, only leaving pockets of shadow in the corners. I didn’t question it. If invisible light wanted a certain section to remain dark, so be it.

I spun in a slow circle, shoulders itching from Anubis’ parting comment. I snarled as something shifted in a shadowed corner. Apparently, Anubis’ definition of taking me to my rooms was dumping me into a fight pit.

Because I wasn’t alone.

Find the biggest, scariest bastard in the yard, and pummel him like a lunatic. That was the way to survive your first day of prison. Or at least your best chance. To make an example of the worst of the lot. Or at least someone with a lot of clout.

A hungry, familiar chuckle rumbled across the room and I readied myself for a rematch with one of my oldest friends.