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  The reporter paused as the graphic disappeared. “Indeed, the professor who led the expedition stated that several birds died from carbon dioxide poisoning as they flew too close to the warm opening of the underground cave. Because of these fatal gases, the team has decided to seal up the opening.”

  The camera cut to an image of men wearing gas masks stacking stones into the doorway.

  That was good news, at least. But was it too little too late?

  I hoped not.

  Archer swung his head to me. “That’s the gate? The one you said was locked up tight from both sides? The one you said Hades himself couldn’t open?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that can’t be good.” He sighed and slid his eyes to the screen. “I guess there is no such thing as an inescapable prison.”

  “It appears that way.”

  “So what does it mean?”

  What did it mean? Was there a breach in the Underworld? A betrayer among the gods? Or was it possible—and this was what I feared most—that with Alecto taken and me here in this realm, our defenses were weakened? Could a mortal have broken through our barriers from this side to call forth the demons of Tartarus?

  For what purpose? Did it have to do with the upcoming eclipse? And what, if anything, had this to do with the five-moon ritual and the women?

  I explained it to Archer as best I could. “That gate, that opening, leads to Avernus. It’s a wide lake with underwater caves that connect to Tartarus.”

  “Where the bad guys go.”

  “Precisely. Men with souls so black, they could never be cleansed. Monsters with insatiable appetites for the flesh of gods and mortals, betrayers of the gods and our laws who could never be trusted again.” I began pacing the room. “The good news is that the waters of Avernus are so tainted, so toxic, that very few who have tried to escape have ever survived the journey.”

  “What’s the bad news?”

  I looked up toward the ceiling, recalling the Stymphalian I had seen the other day. “The bad news is that the ones who can escape are the epitome of your worst nightmare.”

  Archer sat down, tapping his fingers on the table. “Okay, so we know the gate was opened and they are closing it as we speak. How can we know if any damage was done?”

  “I will make contact with the gods through the statue in the Forum Shops. Athena said I could reach Apollo, Dionysus, and Aphrodite there.” I touched the moonstone ring, recalling how Hecate had instructed me to open the clasp to send a signal to the gods. “I will alert them to the situation, and they will take an inventory of the residents of Tartarus. If anyone or anything is missing, we should know about it within minutes.”

  “What can I do?” Archer asked.

  I flicked my eyes from the television screen to the laptop. “Is there any way you can find more video of the excavation in the Google information center? Perhaps I could study it. Perhaps I might see something.”

  “Sure.”

  I frowned, thinking of the meeting with Sam. If I could talk to him, I was certain he would reveal to me all he knew of the drug supplier. “Do you think you’ll have any trouble getting the truth from Sam about the loose juice?”

  Archer flashed his badge. “A pretty boy like that doesn’t want to go to prison. I’ll threaten him with accessory to kidnapping and murder. Shouldn’t be an issue.” He raised an eyebrow as if a thought had occurred to him. “I think after that I’ll pay Tommy a little visit. Drugs are his specialty. If there’s a new supplier in town, he’ll probably know who it is.”

  “And once you find the supplier, we can find Cicely’s killer.”

  “If the killer is getting the juice straight from the tap, then yes.”

  I grabbed the sword and slipped it through my belt loop. It was a snug fit, but it would soon be enchanted. As soon as I was in the presence of a high god, even a representative of that god such as could be spotted all over this hotel, it would conform to my flesh.

  Archer checked his weapon, then secured it in the back of his shorts. He kept his shirt loose over his waistline.

  “So, what do you want to do with Black Beauty over here?” He pointed to Cerberus.

  “He can come with me.”

  Archer looked from me to the dog to the sword. “Don’t you think you’ll be a bit conspicuous?”

  I grabbed some currency from the safe just in case. “Like you said, Archer, this is Vegas.”

  “Yeah, but I still don’t know if they allow dogs in here.”

  “That’s all right. Cerberus has his own talent.” I snapped my fingers, and the hellhound transformed into a stone statue instantly.

  Archer lifted one eyebrow. “That ought to come in handy.”

  I snapped my fingers again, and the beast livened.

  “You ready?” Archer asked.

  “Ready.”

  He handed me my portable telephone. “I programmed my number and the number to the hotel into the phone. You just push this button here.” He showed me how to contact him, and his phone rang. He lifted it to his ear and motioned for me to do the same. He said a few words that I could hear clearly through the speaker.

  “Got it.” I cut the connection and pocketed the phone.

  “I’ll call you when I’m done. We can meet back here.”

  “Agreed.”

  He looked at his watch. “I have a few minutes before my meeting with Sam. You go ahead. I’ll look for the video.”

  I turned to open the door, but he grabbed both my arms and pulled me to him. His gaze was penetrating, serious. I could smell the spearmint on his breath from his toothpaste. For a moment, I thought he might kiss me, and I welcomed the idea.

  “Be careful,” he said.

  I nodded, afraid my voice would betray my body if I spoke. He opened the door for me, and I slipped out, Cerberus at my side.

  Walking down the corridor, Hades’s hound at my side and a sword on my hip, I should have felt completely confident in my mission.

  But I didn’t.

  There was a nagging voice inside my head that said, All hell is about to break loose.

  Chapter 28

  I obtained a map of the area the humans called the Forum Shops before Cerberus and I passed over the threshold. The space was massive. There were miles and miles of shops, eateries, and taverns. I couldn’t help but wonder why humans needed so many treasures. Then I thought of the people living beneath the city and how they had next to nothing. It seemed immoral, unfair, unlawful, even, that some had so much while others had so little. In Olympus, the high gods had opulent palaces filled with every comfort and treasure imaginable, but their subjects wanted for nothing. Food, shelter, and clothing were provided for every soul of the Underworld, Zeus’s realm, and Poseidon’s sea.

  Why didn’t the mortal leaders provide for their people?

  For the most part, people ignored us. They assumed, I imagined, that the dog and I were part of some Las Vegas experience. If a person did eye us a little too closely or a child pointed in our direction, I snapped my fingers and Cerberus stilled himself, and that solved the problem.

  My first stop was at a fountain that surrounded a likeness of Poseidon. The artist hadn’t come close to his height or the length of his beard, but it would do. The sculpture was all white, including the sea god’s trident. I knew I couldn’t reach him through this portal. It wasn’t on the list Athena had provided. But it was the image that counted. I needed one of the three brothers: Hades, Zeus, or Poseidon. And while I noticed a replica of Zeus perched above the fountain on a rock waterfall, he was too far away. I needed the water surrounding the likeness of a god to enchant my dragon-head sword. Poseidon was the optimum choice.

  I stilled Cerberus as I stood before the sea god. There were giant fish statues surrounding him, plus a mermaid or two and, for some unknown reason, Pegasus, who was completely out of place.

  Anyone who knew the flying horse knew he hated water.

  There were lots of people milling about, snapping p
hotographs. Some were toying with their portable laptops and portable telephones. Some were tossing pennies into the fountain as an offering to the gods.

  I sat down on the ledge that surrounded the sculpture, keeping watch all around me. When I felt certain no one was policing the space, I scooted back, flipped my sword behind me, gripped the handle, and dipped it into the water.

  I closed my eyes and beckoned the sea god to bless my blade.

  Trying not to move my lips too much, I said, “Poseidon, ruler of the seas and brother of Hades, my lord and leader of the Underworld, consecrate this sword with the power of the pantheon so that I, Tisiphone, dark daughter of the night, may do the bidding of my kingdom.”

  I felt the rush of the waves before I even opened my eyes. The water bubbled and heated through until my sword surged with the force of the sea and the power of darkness. Two worlds collided at once in my mind’s eye—the night kingdom and the mighty sea—until the energy of the two crashed into the mortal realm. The swirling lights of Vegas flashed before me. Images of my sisters here and in the Underworld. Archer, the missing women, and finally an image so black, so dark, so cruel, it could only be a resident of Tartarus. I saw no features. Just teeth, hair, and eyes. Yellow eyes. Behind it, something even darker. A blob of blackness. Sticky and wet, like tar.

  Then something bit me.

  I stifled a screech and looked down. The dragon that had been fused to my sword blinked her big purple eye at me, then cooed. She lifted her head, licked the blood from my finger until the wound healed, then laid her head back down against the pommel and fell fast asleep. I watched as her body filled with the color of the Aegean Sea. She blew out small puffs of smoke as she breathed.

  “I shall call you Indigo.”

  She fluttered her wing in approval.

  It was done.

  The next order of business was to head toward the talking statues to contact whichever god would come forward.

  When we got there, I was grateful to see that it was out of order. There wasn’t a crowd surrounding the sculpture.

  Still, I made sure we weren’t attracting any attention. Most mortals had their gaze focused on the elaborate shops and beautiful architecture of the space. I had to admit, I found it peaceful walking the Forum Shops. It wasn’t nearly as bright or loud as the casinos or the streets of the city.

  I lifted the latch on the moonstone ring and first aimed it into the eyes of Apollo. A beam of light shot right through them. I shut the ring and waited.

  Nothing happened. Athena had said it might take a while, but I decided to try every other statue anyway.

  After what seemed a millennium, Dionysus was the one to answer. He was my last choice, but I supposed a god was better than no god.

  He fizzled into full form, and the replica vanished. He was holding a glass of red wine in his chubby hand. This did not surprise me, as he was the god of wine and revelry, but I was hoping he would be sober.

  “Tisiphone, my lovely one. How’s tricks?”

  There was a nymph draped over his shoulders. She had her slender fingers curled into what little hair the god had left.

  “Not well, Dionysus. I have news from the mortal realm. I need you to get word to Hades—”

  “Have you caught a show yet? I adore Las Vegas. It was my idea, you know. Build a city in the desert, I said; fill it with wine, women, and song, I said.” He hiccupped.

  “I have no doubt. Dionysus, listen to me—”

  “You look tense. Come, have a drink with me, dark daughter.”

  “Lord, I—”

  “I insist.” He laughed at something the nymph whispered in his ear. Then he pulled her into his lap and tickled her.

  I stepped forward. “Listen to me, you drunk buffoon. This is urgent. I need you to get word to Hades at once!”

  He tilted his head back and cupped his ear, swaying a bit. “What’s that?” A pause. “Oh, a conga line. Be right there!”

  He swayed his drowsy eyes back to me. “Lovely to speak with you, my dear. Please come have a glass of grapes soon.”

  Then he was gone.

  “You useless, wine-soaked, gluttonous pile of hog manure!” I climbed up and kicked the statue. Which served only to injure my toe.

  “Now what?” I asked Cerberus, jumping down from the still stone sculptures.

  The hound simply stared at me, a trail of spittle hanging from his lip to the floor. There was a water fountain near the statues, so I led him over to it and turned it on.

  There were always the Graces, I decided. No one else seemed to be answering my call here, although it would be much more difficult to stand there and speak with them, since they were smack in the center of the palace’s lobby.

  Unless… I scanned the area. It wasn’t very crowded, but most who did pass were speaking on their portable telephones. Perhaps I could call on a Grace and pretend to be speaking into the device. It was worth a shot anyway. I took once last glance at Apollo and Aphrodite’s likenesses.

  They didn’t come.

  I turned to backtrack my way through the Forum Shops, Cerberus close on my heels, when I heard it.

  The distinct call of evil.

  It was right behind me.

  Chapter 29

  “Cerberus,” I said quietly, “mind your mistress.”

  The hound looked at me with fierce eyes, his mouth set in a snarl. He nodded once.

  I turned to see the Stymphalian standing there. His gold eyes were cold, hard. They centered on me.

  Hungry.

  I put my hand on the sword just as a ginger-haired child rushed up to the demon.

  “Look, Mommy! A birdie toy.”

  The child reached out to feed the bird a lick from his ice-cream cone. His mother was too busy scanning the shops to pay attention.

  “No!” I shouted.

  The child stopped dead in his tracks and burst into tears. He dropped his ice-cream cone, and the bird didn’t even blink.

  It just stared at me, stuck its long, jagged tongue out, and licked its bronze beak. Then, slowly, the bird’s eyes fell on the child.

  I stepped forward carefully, not taking my eyes off the bird. “It’s quite sharp is all. I wouldn’t want him to get hurt.” I slid my eyes to the mother. “I’m sure you understand.”

  She picked up her child, glared at me, and said as she passed, “I take it you don’t have children.” She rushed off in a huff.

  You almost didn’t either, woman, I thought.

  I wasn’t sure what to do. There were some shoppers and some shopkeepers wandering around the marketplace.

  In other words, lots of food.

  In a flash, the bird whooshed up to the ceiling, flapping its wings so gracefully, it was almost to be admired.

  If you didn’t know what it was capable of.

  It was now or never. I unsheathed my sword, fired up my fury, and chased the bird, my wings strong, to the top of the building. We circled each other, its eyes growing and glowing with each flap of its wings. Cerberus paced down below, keeping track of both of us.

  “Cerberus, the neck. The neck is the only thing that’s soft.”

  The bird glanced down at the hound. It fired one of its sharp feathers at Cerberus. For a split second, I was worried it would pierce the dog’s throat. But he caught it in his massive jaws and chomped on it. Swallowed it right down.

  “Come on, Indigo, I’m counting on you.” The little dragon awoke and sputtered.

  The bird screeched, a piercing cry that echoed through the space.

  By now, we had drawn a crowd of onlookers who thought this was a new performance debuting at the palace.

  More prey.

  Yet the bird seemed to want only me. I helicoptered around the space, flapping my wings, considering my options.

  Who had sent it here? Or had it simply escaped and sought me out to take revenge on me for banishing it to Tartarus?

  It dove down, near the statue of Dionysus, Apollo, and Aphrodite, releasing droppings on t
he gods’ heads. They sizzled and melted the statues instantly.

  Uh-oh. I had forgotten all about the poison. The bird’s excrement was poisonous.

  It flapped back up and shot a metal feather at me this time. I batted it away with my sword. I watched as it pierced a plaster wall.

  I dove for the bird, sword ready to slice through its crane-like neck, but at the last minute it darted away and fired another feather, which tore into my thigh. I left it there, ignoring the pain, feeling only my fury.

  The crowd gasped. There were so many people. Where had they all come from?

  The bird must have sensed my concern, for it spotted a weak member of the herd and dove for it. A young lady on a cell phone.

  It took off after her, but I was lighter, faster, and I got there first. I scooped her up, then put her back down again. I told her to run, and she did. Behind me, I heard a scream as the bird deposited another dropping, this time on a woman’s hand. It looked to have burned her. I could smell the singed flesh.

  I couldn’t save them all. I had to end this.

  “Hey, you overrated piece of scrap metal! Come after me. Or do you prefer the blood of the weaker species?”

  The bird looked at me, its eyes molten lava. It hovered.

  “What’s wrong? Are you chicken?”

  Stymphalian birds detested being called chickens.

  The bird squawked and blasted me with feather after sharp feather. I managed to smack away one after another with my blade. I heard a window crash, then screams. The humans panicked. The smart ones ran.

  The bird looked around the room, seeming to formulate a plan. I caught the eyes of the hound and nodded.

  I knew what it was doing. If it couldn’t kill me, it would kill someone, anyone.

  After a few tense moments, it zeroed in on its prey.

  A baby in a stroller.