by Linsey Hall
When I spotted the enormous house at the end of the road, I grinned. “Twenty bucks that’s the judge’s place.”
“I didn’t take him to be a subtle guy, so I won’t take that bet.”
“Smart move.” He’d have lost.
We walked sedately toward the house, cutting down a side street to walk around to the back.
“Do you see a way in?” I asked. There weren’t many doors, especially not along the side of the house.
“Not yet.” We turned to walk along the back of the house, and I spotted a small door.
A harried-looking shade rushed from the door, an apron tied around her front. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t have to.
I nodded toward her as she passed. “She looks like cooking staff.”
“Kitchen is a good place to do recon. Let’s go in.”
“I like how you think.” I walked toward the door like I knew what I was doing, stepping into a bustling kitchen that smelled of amazing food.
Strangely, though, I wasn’t hungry. Maybe it was the potion that made me seem partially dead, but I had no desire to eat. I shivered, wanting to get back to my normal body as quickly as possible.
No one stopped us, but then, this didn’t seem like the kind of place where people snuck around doing things they shouldn’t. They might not even know what to do with us if they did try to interrogate us.
The judges, however… If they saw us, they’d know. We’d need a way around that.
“Let’s see if we can find the dining room,” I whispered. “If Aeacus is here, I bet he’ll be at the table.”
Maximus nodded, and we strode away from the kitchen. Our disguise as a shade worked well, because no one said a word to us.
The massive hallway that we entered was made entirely of white marble. It was cold and clean, and we followed it to a large room set with a big wooden table.
Bingo.
The room was empty, so I searched for a place to hide.
“There.” Maximus pointed to a darkened alcove on the wall to our right.
We hurried toward it, slipping into the shadows. There was another door in there, which Maximus tested. It led right outside into a pretty courtyard.
“Perfect.” I nodded. “If he arrives, we’ll sneak out that way if we need to.”
“Let’s get comfortable, then.”
I sank down against the wall, careful to keep myself in the shadows of the alcove. Maximus joined me, and despite the potion we’d taken to make ourselves look like shades, I could feel the warmth of him.
I leaned against his shoulder, resting my head and eyes for a moment.
“Hell is better with you in it,” Maximus said.
“That’s because we’re in heaven, dummy.” Kinda, at least. The ancient Greek version of it. It, too, was comfortable to me, in a weird, distant way.
“With you, any place is heaven.”
I stifled a giggle at the ridiculous phrase and looked up at him.
His eyes twinkled with humor. “I know that was over the top, but the sentiment remains.”
“Aw, you say the sweetest things.”
“You should see how men wooed women in my day. A lot of flowery language and then…”
“Boom, you were chattel for life.”
He shrugged lightly. “Not always, but too often. Women didn’t have many rights to speak of then.”
“You prefer modern day?”
“Most definitely.”
I nodded and leaned my head back against his shoulder. “Good.”
I didn’t want some loser who longed for the day when women were back in the kitchens. That was a good life for many women, but only if they got to choose it. Ancient times weren’t great for choice.
Choice.
What an interesting concept.
I hadn’t chosen to be a Dragon God. I hadn’t chosen the Greeks as my patrons. But they were what I’d gotten. And that was life—play the cards you were dealt. And they were good cards. I could make a difference with these cards.
But in some things, we got to choose. For me, that meant choosing Maximus. It was becoming clearer with every day. I hadn’t known him long, but my instincts were dead-on. And my feelings were starting to become pretty insistent.
If I made it out of this whole thing alive, I’d be choosing Maximus. In whatever capacity he’d have me.
Maximus squeezed my hand, as if he knew what I was thinking. I smiled.
A few minutes later, he nudged my shoulder. “They’re arriving.”
I leaned out to look, spotting two figures walking into the room.
Rhadamanthus and Aeacus.
Jackpot.
They each took a seat at the long table, one at either end. I inspected Aeacus’s apparel, looking for any keys hanging around his neck or stuffed into large pockets. There was just one pocket that I could see, and I hoped the key would be in there.
“That’s our cue,” I murmured.
Before I could get up, three tiny figures appeared in front of me. The Menacing Menagerie, and they looked like ghosts.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed.
Helping. Romeo the raccoon grinned toothily at me.
I looked at Poppy and Eloise, who both grinned. “How are you ghostly?”
Took some potion from the purple-haired witch.
I remembered the third bottle of potion that Hedy had set on the table in her workshop after we’d made the batch. I frowned at Romeo. “Stole, you mean.”
No. We didn’t steal. The Cats of Catastrophe stole it for us.
“So you teamed up with some famous cat burglars”—who were actually cats—“and stole some valuable potion?”
To help you.
I sighed. “Thanks. But you need to be careful. I don’t want you getting stuck here.”
He nodded eagerly. Honestly, I was glad to have him on my side. Who knew what kind of help we could need, and these three were pretty clever. It was dangerous, though. Raccoons didn’t usually gain admittance to Elysium. If anyone saw him or Eloise or Poppy, they’d know something was up. At least they’d entered this realm while seeming to be dead, so it shouldn’t alert the gods. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a problem that they hadn’t crossed the Styx with Charon.
I glanced at Maximus. “Let’s get out of here and come up with a plan.”
He nodded, and we slipped out the door into the courtyard. The Menacing Menagerie followed, and we all ducked behind a huge bush. The sun had sunk below the horizon, and the sky was illuminated with a bright pink light.
“How do you want to do this?” Maximus asked.
I looked down at my potion belt and pulled out two tiny vials. I stared at them a moment, debating my options. Then I nodded and looked up at Maximus. “These are invisibility potions.” I looked down at Romeo. “If I give you an invisibility potion, do you think you can sneak the key out of that man’s pocket? The one who was sitting closest to us?”
Romeo nodded eagerly. I picked up some pointers from Muffin.
“Good.” I explained the rest of my plan to Maximus, who nodded, then I handed the invisibility potion to Romeo, who grabbed it with his little paw. “Be careful.”
He nodded.
“Split it between the three of you and take it now. It should last a while. We don’t need anyone seeing you.”
He uncorked it and held it out to Eloise and Poppy. Their hands weren’t as agile as his, so he helped them drink. One by one, they disappeared. Then he took the last swig and saluted me right before he disappeared.
“I can think of no finer army,” Maximus said, a grin in his voice.
I was sure the Menacing Menagerie were eating that up.
“Let’s take ours. We’ll all be able to see each other since we’ve taken the same potion. But it won’t last long.” I uncorked the bottle.
He nodded. “We’ll be quick.”
I took a half swig of the potion, which was two doses for people our size. The thick taste of mud coated my tongue,
and I tried not to gag.
“Ugh, here.” I handed it to Maximus.
“Cheers.” He took it and swallowed.
Ice shivered down my limbs as the potion went to work. A moment later, I could see the Menacing Menagerie. Then Maximus appeared, the potion clearly working on him as well.
We headed around the building toward the kitchen, moving quickly. We cut through the bustling space again, drawing no looks this time. I saw Romeo give the trash bin one longing glance, but he soldiered on. Once we were in the hall that led to the main dining room, we ducked into a small alcove and waited.
I leaned toward Maximus. “Can you conjure two tiny pairs of scissors?”
He and I both had very weird but specific jobs during this heist. He nodded, his magic flaring so lightly that I wouldn’t have sensed it if I hadn’t been waiting for it. He handed me a tiny pair of silver scissors, and I gripped them in my hand. He kept the other pair for himself.
When two pairs of footsteps sounded in the hall, we peered around the edge of the alcove.
Two shades, a man and a woman, each carrying a tray with a large bowl on it. Perfect.
I dug into my potion bag, finding a stunner potion bomb. It was one of the weaker ones, and when ingested, it would cause drowsiness. I unscrewed the little metal cap that kept the liquid locked inside, then looked at Maximus. “Distraction?”
“On it.” He kept his voice whisper low. Then he whistled, sounding just like a bird.
The servers stopped dead in their tracks, eyes wide. They were clearly not used to birds. They looked at each other, confused, and I darted out from the alcove, tipping my potion bomb over each of their big bowls of soup. My steps were silent enough, and my invisibility potion definitely worked, because they didn’t notice me at all.
I was careful to add just a few drops, and when I was done, I ducked back into the alcove.
Breath held, I watched the servers.
The one on the left shrugged. “Strange.”
“Very,” said the other.
Huh, weird. I could understand ancient Greek. I’d been able to read it before, though, so I supposed it made sense.
They continued on their way, moving sedately down the hall, trays carefully balanced. When they entered the main serving room, we followed, moving quickly and quietly behind them.
The five of us stopped near the wall, waiting for them to serve the soup. I stared, breath held, as the two judges sipped at their spoons. The servers turned and went back to the kitchen, but I gave it a couple more minutes. Hopefully the judges wouldn’t go facedown in their dinner. That would definitely alert suspicion.
After a little while, their shoulders sagged, and the hum of their conversation slowed. It was working.
Maximus glanced at me, and I nodded, then gestured to Romeo, Poppy, and Eloise. They sprinted forward on silent feet. Romeo stood on his hind legs, his little arm stretched up toward the loose pocket in the judge’s robes.
Please let the key be there.
Romeo was too short, unable to get his hand all the way into the pocket. Eloise scooted under him, her sturdy badger form lifting him up just high enough that he could reach in.
I held my breath as he dug around, hoping the judge couldn’t feel him. The man twitched once, but didn’t look down. Or worse, move his hand toward his pocket.
When Romeo yanked a big golden key out of the judge’s pocket, I wanted to whoop with victory. Which I didn’t, obviously, because that would be dumb as hell.
The Menacing Menagerie raced back toward us, and I gestured for them to keep going. We’d meet at the bush where we’d hidden earlier.
With the key safely out of the room, it was time for me and Maximus to get to work.
Silently, we approached the judges. I headed for Aeacus, while he took Rhadamanthus. As I passed by the table, I studied the judges. Their eyelids drooped, and they moved their spoons like they were sloths.
Hmmm. Almost too much potion.
Dang.
I picked up the pace, sneaking behind Aeacus. He had grizzled white hair, and I gagged slightly at what I might have to use it for.
No time for that.
Being grossed out would only slow me down. I ignored it and used the tiny scissors to snip off a bit of hair, which I shoved into my pocket. I looked up to see Maximus finish the same job with Rhadamanthus.
Then we got the heck out of there, hurrying back down the hall and through the kitchens.
It was full dark by the time we made it outside, and the Menacing Menagerie were waiting for us.
I crouched behind the bushes and rubbed Romeo’s head. “Well done, guys.”
I gave Eloise and Poppy a quick pet, then took the key from Romeo.
“Smooth move with the scissors,” Maximus said. “Those guys never noticed a thing.”
I grinned. “Hopefully he won’t notice that missing key, either.”
“Let’s go before he does.”
We’re out of here, Romeo said. We’ll be back if we think you need us.
“Thanks, guys. Your timing was impeccable. No way we’d have pulled that off so smoothly without you.”
Romeo grinned and saluted, a little move that was becoming his signature. Poppy and Eloise grinned toothily. Then the three of them disappeared.
“As good as cat burglars, those three,” Maximus said.
“They learned from the best.” The thought of the Cats of Catastrophe made me smile. “Now let’s get to that mountain.”
We set off through the town, moving at a fast jog since no one could see us. Once we were visible again, we’d have to move sedately like everyone else to avoid eliciting suspicion.
When we ran through the square, it was just as busy as it had been, though no one seemed to be enjoying themselves. The old man was still there, but he didn’t look toward us. Instead, he smiled blissfully off into the distance.
We made it through the rest of the town while our invisibility potion still worked. The mountain loomed in the distance, looking creepy as hell with the lightning striking behind it. I wondered if Hades minded the symbol of Zeus’s power being present in his realm. Maybe he didn’t have a choice.
We kept to a quick jog as we ran across the field, away from the village. My skin began to tingle and warm as the invisibility potion disappeared. When it left entirely, I turned back to see how far we were from the village. The settlement was just a few twinkly lights in the distance. No one would see us.
“That feels better.” Maximus shook himself. He was still semitransparent from the death potion that we’d taken, but otherwise, he looked normal.
“No kidding.”
A moment later, my comms charm buzzed to life, and Ana’s voice echoed from it. “Rowan, are you there?”
“I’m here.”
“Awesome. Wasn’t sure if comms would work while you’re in the Underworld. We’re making good progress on the spells that will bind the Titans, but we need an update on your progress.”
“We’re close, I think. Nearly to Hecate’s realm.”
“Good. Because we need you to hurry. Things are getting worse. The dark magic is increasing so much that violence has broken out in the dark magic parts of the world. They were places that were already prone to it, so they’re falling first. But regular places are getting bad, too. The police radios in the human realm are going nuts.”
“Oh no.”
“Yeah. There’ve even been a few deaths in riots that are linked to the growth of dark magic.”
My heart plummeted. Deaths?
Shit. “We’re on it.”
“Great. If you can find them, we’ll be ready to take them out. But be safe, okay?”
“Will do. And you too. Love you.”
“Love you back.”
I cut the comms and picked up the pace, my breath coming fast as I tried to keep up with Maximus. We reached the bottom of the mountain, and I looked upward. The slope was made of slick black stone that appeared slippery. I leaned down to
touch it.
Cold.
Shit. Like really cold.
I shook my hand and looked at Maximus. “Black ice.”
He rubbed his face, a thoughtful expression creasing his brow. “I’ve got something for that.”
His magic flared briefly on the air, a lovely scent of cedar amidst the strangely smoky smell of the icy mountain. Gloves appeared in his hands, then the spikey things that went on the bottom of shoes, and finally two ice picks. He handed a set to me, and I took them gratefully.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
We set about putting on our cold weather gear, strapping the spikes to the bottoms of our shoes and tugging on the gloves.
Then we began to climb. It was awkward at first, and I slipped despite the spikes. Maximus didn’t, of course.
I glanced at him. “Have a lot of practice with this?”
“Some. Did a job in the Alps a few years ago.”
“Cool.” My foot slipped, but I was speedy with the pick, swinging it into the ice. It caught fast, and I pulled myself up.
I became steadier and quicker by the halfway point, finally getting into the swing of things. Pun intended. I grinned.
My heart thundered from exertion and my face warmed. I didn’t dare touch the unnaturally cold ice with my bare skin, no matter how hot I was getting.
“We’re nearing the top,” Maximus said a while later.
Panting, I looked up, spotting the peak. There was a huge gate, locked up tight against interlopers. I couldn’t see the guards, but they were probably there. A few yards away, there was a rock outcropping that would hide us from them.
I pointed to it. “Let’s change back there.”
Maximus nodded, and we climbed up toward it, finding a little nook with a semi-flat surface to stand on. I braced myself against Maximus and reached into my potion belt.
“Wait.” Maximus reached for my hand, stopping it.
I looked up, surprised. “What’s wrong? Don’t want to become the judge?”
Our plan was to use my glamour potion to shift into the forms of the judges and stroll past the guards. That’s what the hairs were for.
“No, that’s fine.” His eyes met mine. The heat in his gaze made me warm. “Just want to look at you one last time before you grow a beard. Maybe steal a kiss.”
