“Get in the cage,” I ordered. Shadow and Fleet Foot were so happy to see their sister that they didn’t even try to escape, but as soon as Swift Wing saw the cage close around her, her razor-sharp claws extended and she kicked the side of the cage over and over.
I covered them with the tarp and then leaned against the cab, woozy from loss of blood. I managed a quick healing spell, which stopped the bleeding, but I’d need the amulets sewn in my jacket to mend the gash in my arm from Swift Wing.
I made it back to my apartment without incident. I parked the rental in the alley behind the store and put a very nasty ward on it.
Talbot was sitting by Naomi’s bedside, reading to her.
“Any change?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Did you get them?”
“Yes,” I said. I had the harpies, but I would need help if I wanted to get out of the underworld alive. I trusted Talbot to have my back, but he had Naomi to worry about.
“That’s good news,” he said. But we both knew it wasn’t, not really. Hecate was going to double-cross us. I might not make it out of the underworld.
“I need to take them back to Hecate tonight.”
“I’m in,” he said.
“You can’t leave Naomi,” I said.
“I’ll stay with her,” the scarred man offered. I hadn’t even noticed he was sitting in a folding chair just beyond the reading lamp’s glow.
“Excuse us a moment,” I said. Talbot and I stepped into the other room.
“We can’t leave her alone with him, Talbot,” I said. “I’ll have to go alone.”
“How are you going to get the harpies through the tunnels on your own?” he said. “We don’t have a choice. We have to trust him.”
“Do you even know his name?”
The scarred man appeared in the doorway. “Everyone calls me Doc.”
I decided to be straight with him. “We’re not sure we can trust you alone with Naomi, but we don’t have many options. But if you even think about hurting her, I’ll take great pleasure in taking you apart piece by piece. And if I can’t manage it, the Fates will.”
“I swear to you I would never harm your cousin,” he said. He met my eyes. There was some emotion in there that I couldn’t define, but it was enough that I believed him.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” I said. “And thank you.”
I thought he said, “It’s the least I can do,” but he said it so softly that I wasn’t sure I’d heard right.
Chapter Sixteen
In the alley behind the store, I made sure the cheap tarp concealing the harpies was still securely fastened and then started the truck.
“God, they stink,” Talbot said as he got in on the passenger side.
“I can’t wait to be rid of them. Shadow tries to take a bite out of me every chance she gets.”
“We have a problem,” Talbot said. “The harpies won’t fit down the tunnels in the cage, and there’s no way we can control them otherwise.”
“We’re not taking them through the tunnels,” I said. “We’re using the altar and Bernie’s going to help us, whether she wants to or not.”
I planned to check in with Bernie anyway. She’d saved our asses in the underworld, but she was one of Hecate’s acolytes. She had some explaining to do.
Hell’s Belles was packed with a bunch of late-night partiers, including drunk House of Zeus mages who downed omelets and strong coffee. They were clearly on the tail end of a bachelor party and wore gaudy T-shirts with WIZARDS DO IT WITH BIGGER WANDS emblazoned on the front. I recognized Sean Danvers and Baxter and gave them a short nod.
“Wonder who is getting married,” Talbot said.
“I’m wondering what House of Zeus mages are doing hanging out with someone from the House of Hades.”
He looked over at the partiers. “I recognize some of those guys. They’d go to a hanging if they thought there was free booze involved.”
“What about Baxter?”
“Baxter? I’ve never seen him at any social event.”
“Maybe he’s the groom,” I commented.
“Who’d marry him?”
“Good question.”
We found seats at the counter. I looked for Bernie’s stocky form, but I didn’t spot her.
Finally, a server came to take our order. I waved the menus away.
“Where’s Bernie?” I asked.
“Downstairs,” he replied shortly.
“Get her for me,” I ordered.
“I’m not going down there,” he replied. That’s when I realized he meant she was in the underworld.
“Why would she be stupid enough to go back? Hecate’s pissed,” I muttered, but the server overheard.
He scowled. “Same reason she was stupid enough to help you.”
“What do you mean?”
He studied us and then seemed to make up his mind about something. “Bernie works for your aunts,” he said in a hushed tone. “They own this building. Hell, they own Bernie, or at least that’s what it seems like to me. She does whatever they tell her to do.”
If Bernie was the Fates’ spy, why hadn’t she told them where Claire was? Another thought struck me. What if Bernie had told them and the Fates had known where Claire was the entire time?
“Then you won’t mind if we use the altar,” I said. “Fates business.”
He shrugged, which was close enough to permission for me.
We carried the cage through the back, ignoring the surprised comments from the graveyard shift. One of the cooks looked like he might stop us, but Talbot’s eyes went silverlight and the guy returned his attention to the grill.
The basement altar was deserted.
“Set it down,” I said. The corner of the cage landed on my finger and I swore.
I tried to repeat what Bernie had chanted, but the entrance remained stubbornly closed. “Open up, damn it!” I kicked the altar and the goblet full of demon blood shifted precariously.
“Blood. I forgot about the blood.” I made a swift cut across my arm and blood dripped into the bowl.
The altar disappeared and we were at the gate. “That’s handy,” Talbot said.
“Why take the long way when you can take the hell express?”
I took the key from around my neck and unlocked the padlock. There was no sign of Hecate’s dogs.
We dragged the harpies’ cage along the same path as before, but it had narrowed since our last visit. The black and twisted trees pressed close to us and the wind whipped through the branches, sounding like someone howling in pain. We were in the underworld, so it was possible it wasn’t just a trick of my imagination.
I set the cage down with a thud, breathing hard. “Let’s take five.”
I spotted a patch of wolfsbane a few feet from the path. I cut a piece off of the tarp and wrapped it around my hand. Wolfsbane was easily absorbed into the skin. One touch of the stuff and I’d be praying for death.
I grabbed a handful and wrapped it in the cloth before putting it in my jacket pocket. My fingers brushed against a piece of paper. Alex’s thank-you note. I’d completely forgotten about it. I’d read it once I was safely out of the underworld.
“What’s that for?” Talbot asked.
“Might come in handy.”
A thick branch flew off and nearly hit me on the head.
Fleet Foot gave a screech of delight.
“Let’s get going. I get the feeling Hecate’s in a bad mood,” I commented.
Talbot said, “You’re always on somebody’s shit list.”
“Soon there won’t be a House left that doesn’t want to kill me,” I admitted cheerfully. “Too bad they can’t.”
“Don’t joke about it.”
“C’mon, Talbot, you know I can’t be killed,” I said. “Even if I want to be.” I had spent the last fifty years yearning for death, but things changed when I came to Minneapolis.
He tugged on the chain we were using to drag the harpies’ cage along the
uneven ground. Shadow started to chirp as soon as she caught sight of Hecate’s castle.
“Someone’s happy to be home,” Talbot commented.
“She just smells rotting flesh,” I said. “Hecate has an endless supply.”
“So it’s just cupboard love,” he replied. “I’m disappointed.”
“These harpies are heavy,” I commented.
“So?”
“They’re well fed. I wonder who has been supplying Jenny with their food?” Rotting human flesh wasn’t impossible to get, but it wasn’t easy, either. Harpies would eat other mammals in the food chain, but it took a hunk of man to keep them happy.
We finally made it to Hecate’s castle, out of breath and sweaty. The cage scraped the polished marble floors as we went, but I didn’t really care.
Hecate was alone in her banquet hall, except for the gargantuan Hroth. Or maybe it was Gar.
Time was different in the underworld, but from the looks of it, we’d interrupted her breakfast. I didn’t want to examine the contents of her coffee mug too closely. I highly doubted that it contained coffee. It was thick and black, but it smelled more like boiled demon’s blood than a cuppa joe.
“I’m surprised you dared to show your face here, son of Fortuna,” she said. “You took something of mine.”
“Naomi is a person, not a thing,” Talbot objected. “If she belongs to anyone, it’s the House of Fates, not to you.”
“You’re not helping,” I hissed. I motioned at him to shut up and fortunately, he did.
“I thought we were pals,” I said to Hecate. “Look, I even brought you a present.”
“That is why you and your friend are still breathing,” she said. “Or, more accurately, since you can’t die, why you aren’t screaming already.”
“But I did bring you the harpies,” I said. I threw off the tarp to reveal three beaming harpies. Their smiles scared me more than their snarls ever had.
“And?”
“And I need a favor.”
“You are in no position to ask a boon.” She tried the lock, but it didn’t give.
She raised her eyebrow.
“I’m not stupid enough to let those things loose when I’m in the room,” I said. “They’ve been hunting me since childhood.” I’d spelled the lock. She’d figure it out eventually, but I hoped to be long gone by then.
Talbot rubbed his cheek, touching the scar he’d received from Swift Wing right before I killed her.
She smiled. “Of course.”
“I kept my part of the bargain.” I didn’t know why I was so surprised she was screwing me over, but surprise didn’t mean I was completely ill prepared. I’d done some research since the last time I’d been to the underworld.
“And I am allowing you to continue to live,” she said. “You may be a little worse for the wear when Hroth is done with you. Consider it a warning not to enter my domain again.”
Hroth smiled at me, clearly pleased with the idea of beating me to a bloody pulp.
I smiled back. I was going to enjoy wiping the floor with his smile. Before I could react, he hit Talbot, hard, on the jaw and Talbot crumbled to the floor. “She didn’t say anything about your friend’s survival.” He jumped on Talbot and began methodically pounding his face until it was bloody. He wasn’t going to stop until I made him.
“You’re going to regret that.” I took out my athame, which I’d concealed with a spell in the inside pocket of my jacket.
Hroth snorted, but he stopped wailing on Talbot. “C’mon, pretty boy.”
Hecate had already lost interest and had walked away. Her back was to us when I made my move.
“The sight of blood usually makes me queasy,” I said conversationally. “But this time, I need yours.” With a quick motion, I slit his throat and grabbed one of Hecate’s breakfast dishes to hold the blood. Demon blood was black and thick like used motor oil, and chunky. I fought the bile that rose in my throat. I needed to finish the spell before Hecate realized what was happening or we wouldn’t make it out of the underworld alive.
Hecate raised her hand to strike, but I blew the wolfsbane into her face. The surprise on her face told me she hadn’t thought anyone would dare use her own poisons against her.
But the poison alone wasn’t enough to stop Hecate for long, which is why I needed Hroth’s blood donation.
“Da Deus fortunae,” I said. I wasn’t completely sure the spell had taken, but I was out of time.
I hauled Talbot to his feet. “Wake up, damn it.”
A few seconds later, he stirred and put a hand to his head. “What happened?”
He looked around and saw Hroth dead at our feet, Hecate still as a statue. “You’ve been busy,” he said wryly.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t have much choice. You didn’t warn me that you had a glass jaw,” I said. “Besides, I needed a little demon blood, and his was as good as any.”
He looked at my hands, which were still stained black with demon blood. “What for?”
“A spell,” I said. “I don’t have time to explain. We’ve got to get Claire and get out of here.”
I took a few precious seconds to sprinkle salt on the doorway. Hecate couldn’t follow us topside, but I didn’t want her minions chasing us, either. It wouldn’t last, but it would buy us some time.
“What else you got in that jacket?” Talbot asked.
I grinned at him, but it faded with his next words.
“What about an antidote for Naomi?”
“We’ll grab a carafe of the wine,” I said. “Maybe that will work.” It was our only shot. We were out of time.
He swayed but managed to stay on his feet.
“Need me to carry you?”
“I can walk on my own,” he said.
“Good,” I said. “But can you run?”
I grabbed the wine and took off. He followed me down the hall. There were demons frozen in place all along our path.
Naomi had given me fairly accurate directions to Claire’s chamber.
At first glance, Claire looked nothing like the sunny blonde in her picture. The golden streaks in her hair had faded without the daylight. It was longer, but a dull beige. Her face was drawn and thin. She wore an acolyte robe that looked like it was almost too heavy for her to wear.
Claire wasn’t alone. There was another girl in the room. She was a few years older than Naomi, but I could see the resemblance. Her hair was brown with red highlights. Her eyes were cat-shaped like Hecate’s, but were golden brown, like amber honey.
Claire looked up calmly. “Wren, get the guards,” she said to the other girl. The name suited her. Her gaze was quick and curious, like a bird’s.
“You’re coming with us,” I said. “Your mommy misses you.”
“I’m not going with you. And Morta doesn’t miss anyone.”
“You can deal with your mommy issues later. She’s going to do something very nasty to someone I care about if I don’t deliver you, so you’re coming whether you want to or not. Besides, I had to kill someone to get you out of here. Don’t make me do it again.”
Talbot hoisted Claire over his shoulder and she started to scream.
I wheeled around and clapped a hand over Wren’s mouth.
“Talbot, can you manage a silencing spell for Claire?”
He looked offended. “I looked it up after the last time with Naomi.” Seconds later, Claire’s muffled noises of outrage had ceased, silenced by Talbot’s magic.
Wren mumbled something through my hand. “Don’t scream,” I said. I took my hand away from her mouth. “What is it?”
“Take me with you,” she begged.
“No way,” I said. “Your mother would raise all sorts of hell.”
“I can help her,” she said. “My sister is going to die unless you take me with you. She has been given the wasting sickness. Or would you rather bring her back to the underworld?”
“You knew Naomi was your sister?”
“The second I laid eyes on he
r,” Wren said. She held out her hand. There were two wrinkly grapes resting in her palm. “This is the only thing that will help Claire and Naomi.”
“The wine won’t work?”
She shook her head.
“There are only two grapes,” I said. “What about you?”
“I won’t need it,” she said.
“We don’t have much time,” Talbot warned, but I still hesitated.
“I don’t need it,” she said. “I convinced Mother I was allergic.” I wanted to know more, but Talbot was right. We were out of time.
“We have to take her,” Talbot said. “Naomi’s life is in danger. If you won’t do it, I will.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” I told him. “Of course we have to bring her along.”
Even when our lives were in danger, I couldn’t help but notice that Naomi’s sister was gorgeous. “Wren, don’t lose those raisins.”
“I will guard them zealously,” she promised.
I set down the wine. I wanted to throw it against the wall but resisted the temptation. I needed both hands free to protect Wren, who had suddenly become precious to me, since she held the lives of my cousins in her hands.
We were almost at the gate when I heard Hecate’s shriek of outrage, and then a stream of extremely specific and violent orders.
Claire cocked her head to listen, a tiny smile on her lips. “She’s going to kill you.”
My cousin was a bitch.
“That spell didn’t last long,” Talbot said. He sounded vexed.
“It did the trick,” I assured him. I twisted the key in the lock, but it wouldn’t give.
“Let me try,” Talbot said. He set Claire down and I grabbed hold of her wrist.
“Naomi said you were shy,” I said to Claire. “You have her fooled, don’t you?”
“Naomi?” I’d finally surprised her.
“She actually seems to miss you,” I replied. “Can’t think why.”
“A loser like you wouldn’t know anything about family, would you?” She sneered.
She’d taken an immediate dislike to me and the feeling was mutual. She didn’t know who I was, though, so I didn’t point out I’d learned all I needed when the Fates killed my mother, their own sister. So much for family.
“We have about five seconds before a whole herd of demons are going to catch up to us,” I said. “So haul your ass, Talbot.”
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