How bad could it be? The question had rolled off my lips so casually. I'd even added a glib shrug of the shoulders to assure Maximus I wasn't the least bit concerned about Vapour's realm. What a silly ignoramus I was. Maybe Maximus had every right to treat me like a kid. All I knew was that I couldn't have stood closer to the man if I was glued onto his back.

In Vapour's corner of the world, the darkness was a comfort. It kept me from seeing things I was sure I didn't want to see, things that were so hideous they would be permanently etched into my eyeballs. The heavy mist that always shrouded the river was gone, evaporated by the heat. We were moving closer to the molten core of the planet, and each step brought us closer to an unbearable, suffocating heat. Maximus had warned me to leave my cloak and hood behind and he'd been right. Sweat glued my shirt and jeans to my skin. My hair felt wet as if I'd just stepped out of a hot shower.

The craggy, sharp silhouettes of the rocks and cliffs surrounding Vapour's realm looked as if at any second they might shoot forward and grab us like jagged claws. But it wasn't so much the bleak, frightening landscape and lack of light that made it so gruesome, it was the grim, desolate feeling that had swept through me with almost my first step into the realm. It felt as if I would never be the same once I left the place, as if I needed to hold on to my own soul or risk losing it to the dreary surroundings. My head, limbs and, indeed, my heart felt heavy with a melancholy the likes of which I'd never experienced before. I'd never been in a place so devoid of hope and light, and I longed to never return to Vapour's realm again.

As the inexplicable depression wracked my body, wringing out any joy or sense that life could ever be good again, I felt in my heart that I'd lost my dad forever. I would have broken into sobs, but I'd convinced Maximus that I could handle the journey into the deepest crevice of the underworld. I didn't want to embarrass myself by crumbling into a tearful mess.

I could see that the ghastly landscape had slowed Maximus's steps some, but he kept his shoulders strong and confident as he hiked cautiously over the serrated black rocks. It was that tenacity that helped lighten some of the burden from my mind. His massive size and fearlessness didn't hurt either. It was why I stuck close enough to him that even in the intensely heated atmosphere, I could feel the heat of courage and determination roll off his body.

Once again, Maximus had taken a chance in helping me. As the others rode off on their horses to return to Cliffmoor, Maximus hung back, making up the excuse that he had to talk to Steemer about something. His mates had looked slightly dumbfounded and not terribly convinced by his excuse.

Maximus reached back for my hand. "Hold on, Rikki. We've reached the narrowest part of the rocks, and let's just say it's a long way down."

I put my hand in his and he held it tightly as we climbed higher up jagged layers of rocks. We reached the summit and stopped to look down at our fate if we were unlucky enough to slip and fall. I gasped and clutched his arm as a wave of dizziness swept over me. We were standing over a cavern that was so deep, we couldn't see the bottom. Fluid green flames shot out from crevices in the pit, sending up plumes of smoke that burned my eyes and throat.

"Are you all right?" Maximus had a hard time talking over the choking smoke.

"Yes." I had to work to sound confident because I was far from all right. And the terrible sinking feeling that had been overwhelming me started to take control of my thoughts. A frightening, irritating voice in my head, a voice I didn't recognize and one I hoped never to hear again told me I should jump. I held tightly to Maximus's arm, but that same voice kept picking at me.

"It's over and your father is dead. You have nothing but a worthless life. You should just jump." The voice sounded like a hoarse whisper howling through my brain like the wind through dead trees.

I released my hold on Maximus, and my feet scooted closer to the edge. I knew it was happening, but I couldn't stop it. Someone or something was coaxing my feet forward, and the thought of jumping seemed less horrifying than the thought of not jumping.

Through the insistent, encouraging voice in my head, I could hear Maximus's deep tone, working hard to break through. But I couldn't stop my feet. I closed my eyes and swayed forward, waiting for that head rush and stomach plummet that came with a long fall. Instead, solid arms grabbed me and swept me away from the ledge.

I cried out in disappointment. "Let me go. I need to jump. It's over. There's nothing for me," I rambled like a madwoman as I hung with my head upside down, draped over Maximus's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

I swung my fists, hitting him squarely on the lower back. My feet kicked at his hard stomach until he managed to secure my legs against him. I saw the sharp, narrow path of rocks roll past as Maximus carried me away from the deep cavern.

Tears flowed now like a river after a snow melt, and I felt nearly sick from the failure. The voice that was tampering with my rational thoughts chided me and told me to go back to finish the job. The black, bottomless hole beckoned me.

"I want to go back. Let me go, you big brute. I need to jump. I have nothing else!" My fists were useless as I pounded his hard, muscular back.

Maximus stopped and yanked me off his shoulder. He sat me down hard on the searing hot ground and crouched down in front of me

"Rikki, come back. You need to fight the voice." He took hold of my face. "You're not going to jump. Ignore the voices. They are Vapour's mind tricks."

"There's nothing. I have nothing to live for," I cried.

"Yes, yes you fucking do." And through the haze of my despair, I felt his mouth cover mine and he kissed me. But it wasn't just two mouths locking together, as he held my face in his hands and he kissed me. The anguish that had taken hold of me, slowly evaporated and I felt a sense of hope as if all was not lost. And I felt something even stronger than hope. The intensity of his kiss and the feelings behind it brought me out of the deep, dark hollowness. My limbs and head and heart all felt lighter.

Maximus slowly lifted his mouth away from mine. He still held onto my face, but some of the worry had seeped out of his muscles and his shoulders relaxed. His intense brown gaze held mine for a long time. "Holy shit, Rikki, I thought I lost you again. Are you with me now?"

I nodded, still weak from whatever had taken hold of me and lightheaded from the kiss. It was a kiss I'd imagined many times, but never in a place or at a time like this. And yet it had been that kiss, Maximus's kiss that lifted me out of utter despair.

Maximus straightened. His size always took my breath away. I stared up at him as he lowered his hand for me to take. His long, thick fingers gripped mine as he helped me to my feet.

With the tip of his finger, he pushed my chin up to look at my face. "Don't scare me like that again, ferryman. O.K.?"

"I won't."