“Hi,” he says, stepping forward and offering her his hand. “I’m Nick.”
She takes his hand between hers and gives him a squeeze. Then, turning to me, she says, “But you are not alone. We had heard—”
“Three huntress come through,” Sillus interrupts. “All three, in Abyssos!”
This time everyone in the party—including me and Nick—shushes him. His eyes widen. We all glare at him. Then he seems to finally get the message and draws his fingers across his mouth like a zipper.
“We were hoping to find you,” the golden maiden says. “We heard you and your sisters had come through a portal. There is news you need to know.”
That sounds ominous.
“Fine,” I say. “But it’s not safe out here. You’re not the only ones who know we’re here. Let’s get my sisters to your cave. Then we can talk.”
“I’m afraid that is impossible.” She shakes her golden head. “The cave is no longer safe.”
“Army find,” Sillus says, his voice quiet for once. “Break everything.”
One look at the golden maiden and I don’t have to ask why. The sad look in her eyes says it all. The monster bosses down here must have found out she and her friends helped me rescue Nick. They got punished. Anger rolls through me. If I ever see that dog-headed freak they call the boss again, he’ll wish I’d never been born.
I don’t like it when people get hurt for helping me.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I should never have—”
“You are not at fault,” she insists. “You did not wield the ax.”
The cave had been an oasis of light in the dark abyss, a home for creatures who never hurt anyone, for the beasts who taught me that not all monsters are bad and that the abyss is worth saving. The image of the Nychtian Army taking an ax to the makeshift shelters and furniture makes my blood boil. I’ll make them pay, for that and so many other things.
“We have another place,” the golden maiden says. “It is not so . . . commodious. But it will serve.”
“Sounds fine.” I give her a grateful smile. “Let’s get my sisters safely there. Then you can tell us your news. “
“Yes,” the golden maiden says, “and you can tell us of yours.”
I study her. She always seems to know everything—or at least more than me. Maybe she already knows about our plans to travel to Olympus to rescue the gorgons. Maybe she knows, but maybe she wants me to tell her just the same.
She’s a cryptic one.
“So, Sillus,” I say as we start walking, draping an arm over the little guy’s shoulder, “how did you get back here? Last I knew, you were running wild in San Francisco.”
He shakes his furry head. “Is long story, huntress. Long story.”
I laugh but then quickly bite my lips as the golden maiden turns to scowl at my outburst.
“I’m sure it is,” I whisper to the little monkey. “You’ll have to tell me when we have time to talk freely.”
My smile fades. As we head back to the cave where Grace, Greer, and Thane are hiding, I wonder what this news is. I hope it’s either good or useful, because we could use some of that.
The golden maiden hadn’t exaggerated about their new location. Smaller, colder, and with only a small magical fire in the corner to chase away the shadows, the new cave smells like mildew and dirty gym socks. There must have been a phoenix living here before they moved in.
But my sisters are here, and it’s safe, and right now that’s my top priority.
Greer looks much better than when I left her—she’d been pale and passed out in Thane’s arms—and Grace seems very relieved that our sister is recovering. I’m sure we’re both wondering just how Thane knew to use hellebore to cure the scratch of a Keres demon. Right now he’s standing sentry over Greer, and I want her rest undisturbed, so I’ll save my questions for later.
I cross the cave to a bench—really just a long, flat rock—where the golden maiden sits, staring into the fire. They’re pretty much without amenities here, and what passes for furniture is whatever pieces of stone suit the job. And it’s all my fault.
There’s no time for guilt. Greer is almost well enough to move on, and we have a big mission ahead of us. And first, we need to hear what news our Abyssian friends have to share.
I sit down next to the golden maiden on the bench. “Is it anything I want to hear?”
She inclines her head as she lays a golden hand on my thigh.
That’s what I was afraid of.
“One of our spies”—she glances pointedly at Sillus—“overheard the boss talking about a mission to Panogia.”
I should have known it was something about the pet-store mash-up who runs things down here. First he kidnaps my guy, and then he busts up my friends’ stuff, not to mention the big battle back home that finally convinced Greer that some things are more important than a snooty tea.
“We already know about that. We faced his army earlier today,” I reply, remembering the crazy scene in Greer’s school gym. It feels like days, not hours, since we got caught between the Nychtian Army from the abyss and the Arms of Olympus. “We took care of them.”
Between the three of us opening a giant sucking portal and Grace autoporting us the hell out of Dodge, we’d come away from the skirmish unhurt. And all the beasties had been sent straight home.
“Not the army,” she explains. “He has sent assassins.”
“No. After us? Why didn’t he just kill me when he had the chance? When I was in his office.”
Zeus’s bounty and the reward of freedom from the monster realm must have gotten to be too great a temptation for boss man. My muscles tense. I should have taken care of that flipper-fisted moron the last time I was here. I might not have made it out of the abyss alive, but he’d be off our backs.
“You are correct.” The golden maiden shakes her head with a quiet squeak. “He did not send assassins after you.”
“Boss no kill huntress,” Sillus adds. “Need huntress. Three.”
Oh, yeah. Can’t forget that.
Sillus is right. Killing us doesn’t make sense for the beastie side of the war. The boss is on the side that wants us to open the door so monsterkind can run free in the streets of the human world. Killing us first would definitely prevent that from happening. They want to wait to kill us after.
My eyes narrow. “Who?”
She hesitates just briefly. “We cannot be certain,” she says, “but he seeks the woman who produced the Key Generation.”
“What does that mean?”
“We believe,” she says, her voice soft, “he means to kill your mother.”
Grace gasps.
I turn my head and find her standing right behind me. I hadn’t even realized she was listening.
“How did they find her?” she asks.
“That I do not know,” the golden maiden replies. “I know only that they have sent several teams to your realm. They believe she holds the key to finding you, to controlling your powers.”
“Why send assassins?” I ask.
“The boss believes that if she is dead”—the golden maiden swallows hard—“your powers will die with her.”
“No,” Grace whispers.
I grab her hand.
“Is that even possible?” I ask.
The golden maiden shrugs. “We do not know. The lore concerning your line, your legacy, has been hidden for so long. I suppose it is conceivable, but we do not have enough information.”
“It doesn’t matter if they will or not,” Grace says, her voice tight with emotion. “If the boss believes it, then our mother is in danger. We can’t let them kill her. Not now that we know for certain she’s still alive. Not now that we can find her.”
I can see the pain in her silver eyes, and it hurts me to see her hurt.
“We won’t,” I promise, even though I don’t know how.
We have to go after the gorgons—they’re being held prisoner, in constant immediate danger—but we have to
protect our mother, not just because they might be able to use her to kill our powers, and not just because she’s our mother and a link in the chain leading all the way back to Medusa, but also because I know what this means to Grace. She is so proud to have found the clues to our mother’s location—that her name is Cassandra Gregory and what her phone number was four years ago—and I know Grace desperately wants to meet her.
And I find myself desperately wanting to make my sisters happy, no matter what.
“We have to protect her,” Grace insists. “I have to. I have to go back.”
I’m surprised by the certainty I see in her determined gaze. The Grace I first met a few weeks ago would be frightened and full of doubts. She was too afraid to stand up to a mean girl at school or ask out the cute boy she liked. The Grace in front of me sits strong and sure of what she has to do. I’m impressed. As the multihued glow of the fire flickers in her eyes, I smile at the transformation.
No doubt our mother will be proud.
We will just have to rescue the gorgons and save our mother at the same time.
“Right,” I say, the plan forming in my mind as I speak. “We can handle things here. You go home and find our mother.”
Grace lights up with a hopeful smile.
Nick steps forward. “I’ll go with her.”
I swing my gaze his way.
His midnight blue eyes confront me, like this is a test. He’s offering to help, but will I let him? Do I trust him? Am I willing to put my sister’s safety in his hands?
I’ve already made my decision.
Without hesitation, I say, “Good idea.”
He gives me a tight nod.
That’s a lot of trust I just gave him. He knows how big that is, especially where my sisters are involved. They are more important to me than anything.
“No, I’ll go,” Thane says. He scowls at Nick. “Gretchen might need you here.”
Clearly he’s not ready to trust Nick quite that much.
“I should be the one to go.” Greer pushes unsteadily to her feet. “The boys will be far more useful down here than I am. Besides, you might need my . . . special skills to find her.”
“Sillus stay,” the little monkey freak says, moving closer to my side. “Help here.”
“Nick and I will be fine,” Grace insists, ignoring Thane’s scowl. “Gretchen will need your muscle,” she tells her brother. “And give me ten minutes online and I’ll be able to find our mother.”
Good, because Thane is keeping secrets. I don’t really want to interrogate him in front of Grace—she loves him and might not like what he has to say—so his staying behind is a double win. It will separate them for a while, and it will keep him in my sights.
I meet Grace’s gaze. “You’re sure? I’m not alone down here, you know.” I nod at the friends filling the cave around us. They might not be able to take on the entire Nychtian Army, but they’re more than adequate backup.
“I know,” Grace says, laying a hand on my shoulder. “I think you need at least one of us down here with you. And I’ll feel better knowing Thane is at your side.”
“Fine,” I say. “If you’re sure.”
“More than ever.” She smiles, and I can’t help but smile in return.
My little sister, all grown up—although maybe she just feels like my littler sister.
“Hey, which one of us is oldest, anyway?” I ask.
She frowns, probably wondering why I’m asking now of all times. “Greer,” she says, “and then me.”
I nearly choke. “I’m the baby?”
“I knew I had to be oldest,” Greer says. “I’m the most responsible.”
I roll my eyes.
“Then make yourself useful by being responsible for divvying up the supplies,” I say, pushing to my feet and getting to work. “We won’t need to keep rations for five. And you two will need some of the weapons back in our world. As soon as Greer is strong enough to continue, we’ll move.”
“I’m strong enough now,” she insists, and proves the truth of her words by hefting two heavy backpacks off the ground and carrying them to a nearby table.
Our super healing powers must be taking care of the poison quickly.
My gut clenches at the thought of my sisters and me splitting up. Both missions are important, though, and I know how Grace feels about finding our mother, so of course she wants to go after her. It’s the best option. Doesn’t mean I like it.
I quickly join Greer at the table of backpacks and start digging through to separate out the things we won’t need anymore. If our initial encounter down here taught me anything, it’s that we need to move light and fast if we’re going to get through the abyss, get into Olympus, and get the gorgons out without launching into all-out war. We don’t have the numbers for that right now. We’ll save the war for later.
As I start pulling things out, Nick steps up next to me at the table and helps.
“I’ll protect her,” he says quietly, “with everything I am.”
I don’t pause in my work. “I know.”
“You’re so sure of me now?” he asks with a smile. “What changed?”
I shrug. “Nothing. Everything.” I flick him a glance. “It just changed.”
He nods and reaches for the six-pack of water bottles in my hand.
“Promise me one thing,” he says.
I keep my eyes on the backpack. “What’s that?”
“That you’ll protect yourself”—he rests his hand over mine—“until I’m back at your side to do it myself.”
I snort—partly because the request is ridiculous, but also because the undertone of feeling in his request is too much. I don’t deal well with emotion. I don’t like the idea of separating from him, either. “In case you hadn’t noticed,” I reply, “I’m pretty good at taking care of myself.”
“I noticed,” he says, without moving his hand. “Promise?”
Something in his tone makes me look up. His midnight blue eyes are steady and intense. I want to make light, but I think we’re long past making jokes about serious situations. In the end, I nod. “Promise.”
CHAPTER 4
GRACE
The creatures around me are beautiful—not like supermodel beautiful or even bouquet-of-flowers beautiful. I try not to gawk at them slack-jawed like a total idiot. I mean, in the past few weeks I’ve seen a lot of weird things I’d never seen before. But these creatures, Gretchen’s friends, are in a class by themselves.
They are unique.
Some of them are beasts I’ve studied in mythology, like the pegasus with its breathtaking wings and the centaur guy with the body of a horse. Others are completely new and surprising. The golden maiden and the twin guards—shiny black stone, like they were carved from the world around us—are especially intriguing.
I don’t want to stare, but I can’t help it.
I force my attention back to Greer.
“Do you need anything before we go?” I ask. “More water? Some food? An emergency blanket?”
She seems so much better now after a few hours of rest, but I can’t get the image of what she looked like immediately after the attack—eyes glazed over and skin inflamed and an angry shade of red—out of my mind. She would have died if Thane hadn’t given her the antidote. That moment terrified me. I was frozen and I didn’t know what to do. Thank goodness Thane was there, that Greer encouraged me to let him come.
We came too close to losing her.
My hands shake a little as I fumble with the backpack zipper.
“I’m perfectly all right, Grace,” she insists. “Truly.”
I watch her, study her, checking for—I don’t know, signs of pain or a bad reaction to the poison or something. She pats me on the arm before grabbing one of the reorganized backpacks and carrying it over to where Gretchen has piled the ones staying here. Except for the disheveled hair and slightly pale skin, she looks fine, though. I hope that means she really is fine.
“She’s stronger t
han she looks,” Thane says.
He’s watching her intently, just like I was doing a second ago.
He’s right. She may not have Gretchen’s physical strength, but inside she’s tough. Bugging her and making her reassure me over and over isn’t very helpful or healing.
“I know,” I reply, turning to lean back against the table.
Thane doesn’t move. He just stands there, staring blankly across the cave. He’s not quite looking at her anymore, like he’s trying to act casual.
After more than half a lifetime together, I can read him too well. I can see beneath the surface. Greer drops a bottle of water, and his eyes are immediately on her as she bends to pick it up. Though he’s trying to hide it, his attention is fully focused on Greer. Something more is going on here than he wants me to know, and considering everything that’s happening, it’s past time he told me. Secrets lead to problems.
I clear my throat. “Can we talk for a sec?”
He looks at me, questioning. I lift my brows in return—I’m serious about this—and he shrugs. I nod my head toward the cave entrance, away from the ears of everyone gathered inside. He throws one last glance at Greer, as if he has to re-assure himself one more time, and then follows me toward the cave entrance.
Total privacy isn’t really an option in this tiny space, but we’re as far from the others as we can get while still being safely inside.
I stop in front of the narrow tunnel that leads back out into the main cavern of the abyss, turn to face him, and cross my arms over my chest. Thane stands perfectly still, unblinking and tense. I don’t need Greer’s power to know he knows exactly what I’m going to ask.
“Tell me,” I say.
He hesitates and then shakes his head.
“What’s going on?” I demand. “You clearly know more about all of this”—I wave my hands at the general circumstances of my life—“than you should. That sword. The hellebore. Tell me.”
“No.”
No? I jerk back, shocked. “Why not?”
He shakes his head again, his stormy eyes darkening to almost black.
“You know everything I know,” I insist. “I have no secrets.”