Waiting for them at the end of the valley was a monstrous giant with dozens of arms jutting out from all over his torso. From his shoulders sprang a multitude of heads. Each one of his eyes watched Persephone and Xenia as they drew closer.

“Good day to you,” Persephone said, craning her neck to look up at the giant’s many faces. “What are you called?”

“Cottus,” the giant said, a few of his mouths moving at the same time, so that it sounded like a chorus. “You are not dead. You should not be here.” He looked at Xenia. “Your judgment does not lie here. You should not be here.”

“I hold Hades’ favor,” Persephone said, hooking a finger under her necklace and holding it away from her skin so that Cottus could see it more clearly. “I wish to pass.”

Cottus leaned down and squinted at her. He made a grumbling noise like rocks being crushed. “You may pass,” he said, clearly unhappy. “Not you,” he added when Xenia tried to follow.

“Please, don’t be long,” Xenia said with tears in her eyes. “It isn’t safe.”

Persephone’s gaze softened. “Don’t worry. Nothing can hurt me here.”

Xenia looked stricken, but she bit her lip and said nothing.

Persephone turned from her and walked past Cottus. Behind him was a large wooden platform, attached to a trolley system with a winch. Below the platform was darkness as far as the eye could see, a color so deep it seemed to suck the light into it.

Truth be told, Persephone had no desire to see the heart of Tartarus for herself, but now that she was here, pride demanded that she not falter.

“Do you have a torch?” Persephone asked.

“There are lights beneath,” Cottus said. He pulled on a cord, and far below, she heard the faint ring of a bell.

Persephone stepped onto the platform and tried to smile reassuringly at Xenia. The poor woman was as pale as new milk.

“Hold on,” Cottus said.

There was nothing to hold on to. Persephone opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but then Cottus unhooked a rope, and the platform went plunging into the darkness.

Persephone screamed for the first few feet and then had to conserve the rest of her breath as the platform hurtled downwards at a breakneck pace. She had made a terrible mistake, but there was no way to turn back and no one to hear her cry for help. The air was cold and brutal, blowing the hem of her chiton back into her face. At least there was also no one to see her disheveled state.

When she thought she could bear it no longer, lights appeared from below, and the platform ground to a shuddering halt. Persephone was amazed to find herself still in one piece, although the coiffure that Xenia had created was completely ruined.