Blue-Blooded Vamp (39 page)

“Rise, child. You were brazen enough to invoke me. Do not lose your nerve now.”

I rose unsteadily to my feet. My knees felt loose and watery, but I forced myself to look directly at her. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t acknowledge my apology, either finding it unnecessary or too pitiful to accept. “Her name is Sophis.”

I frowned. “Who?”

The goddess nodded toward the owl. “You called her Stryx. But her name is Sophis.”

I paused as relief flooded through me. Stryx had been a familiar of Cain’s. Even though I’d accidentally gotten Stryx killed back in New Orleans, when I’d seen this owl, I was convinced Cain had somehow found me. But now that I’d calmed down somewhat, I remembered that many of the sources I’d read about Hekate had mentioned she traveled with an owl to symbolize her wisdom.

“What’s this?” Hekate pointed her staff at the black cloth and the feast I’d laid out.

I paused. Was this a test? “A humble offering.”

She snorted. “Quite humble, yes.” She walked over to the cloth and poked at the items with the staff, as if she wouldn’t lower herself to touching them with her skin. While she prodded my offering, Sophis flew down from
her perch to sniff the food. The goddess waved a hand to give the owl permission to feast. The bird pounced, devouring everything—the cakes, the flagon, the twigs, and even the cloth.

While the disconcerting sound of a binging owl filled the cave, Hekate looked at me. “What else do you have?”

I looked up quickly. “Excuse me?”

“Are you hard of hearing, girl?”

I tilted my head. “No.”

She sighed like I’d disappointed her. “If you seek entrance to Irkalla, you’re going to have to do better than cake and cheap wine.”

I paused. “I… I’m sorry, but I thought those were the items you required.”

“For simple requests, yes.” She shrugged. “A breech birth or perhaps a simple blessing of crops.” Her gaze bore into me. “But you seek entrance to Irkalla. Therefore, I’ll require a more valuable offering.”

Ah
, I thought.
Here we go. Gods and their demands for blood
. “Where do you want it?”

“Excuse me?”

“My blood. That’s what you want, right?”

She threw back her head and laughed. “Child, I have no need for blood. What I need is gold.”

I frowned. “You want me to… bribe you?”

She pursed her lips. “If you want to be tacky about it. I prefer to call it a tithe.” She held up a finger. “But not just any gold. Only items of true value will appease me.”

Sophis finished her feast and hopped over to the corner to rest. I felt those red eyes on me and knew that despite the relaxed pose, the owl would tear me apart with one word from her mistress.

I racked my brain, trying to remember all the information
I’d read in Tristan’s dossier of the goddess. I knew she liked dogs, yew trees, and honey. She was best summoned in liminal spaces or crossroads with three spokes. Her symbols were torches, cauldrons, rings, and… crowns.

“Wait!” I grabbed my knapsack and dug around until I found the item I was looking for. When my hand curled around the cold metal, I let out a little whoop. I held Persephone’s crown high. “Here you go.”

I held the crown out to her. She merely looked at it. After a moment, my triumph faded and was replaced by confusion.

“You dare offer me a crown worn by Lilim?” she said, referring to the fact the crown had belonged to all the Alpha Dominae of the vampire race. As the goddess of mages, she was obviously offended to be offered an item from a being who worshipped Lilith.

I dropped my hand. “Shit—I mean, sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

Her eyes lowered to my chest. “Your necklaces have been consecrated by those loyal to me. I will take those.”

My heart clenched. I looked down at the priestess of the Blood Moon amulet Maisie had given me. Her own matching necklace was hidden under my shirt. Mine I didn’t mind handing over, but Maisie’s? I had so little left of my sister; I couldn’t imagine surrendering it. I glanced up at the goddess, prepared to pretend I hadn’t heard her use of the plural.

“You may have it,” I said, removing my amulet.

“The other as well.”

Still playing dumb, I started to remove the amulet Zen had made for me. Hekate arched a brow.

“Do not insult me, child.”

My stomach clenched. Of course she knew about Maisie’s necklace.

“How badly do you want to access Irkalla, Mixed-Blood?”

I looked behind me, where the long corridor stretched back to where everyone waited. I didn’t want to part with anything of Maisie’s, but I wasn’t willing to let my sentimentality ruin our chance at gaining access to Irkalla.

I turned toward Hekate again. “If I give you both, do you swear you will open the gate to Irkalla and permit me and my friends to enter?”

Sophis screeched in the corner. The sound made the hair on my arms stand on end. Hekate’s eyes narrowed. “Did you just demand I do your bidding?”

With every second of delay, it became more difficult to keep my impatience at bay. “Look, I’m sorry if I offended you, but this amulet means a lot to me. I need to know that giving it to you will appease you enough to fulfill my request. Otherwise, I won’t part with it.”

She smiled. Only instead of looking friendly or reassuring, it was creepy. Someone really needed to talk to Hekate about her people skills. “I will allow you and your friends to enter the realm of the dead if you give me both necklaces.” I opened my mouth, but she held up a hand. “You will also agree to pet Cerberus on the belly when you see her at the Adamantine Gate.”

My mouth dropped open. “Sorry, did you just ask me to pet the three-headed hell beast that guards the entrance to the underworld?” I knew I was treading in dangerous waters, but I couldn’t help myself.

The goddess narrowed her eyes. “Are you mocking me, Mixed-Blood?”

I waved a hand. “Never mind. Fine. I accept your terms.”

She held out a hand for the amulets. My fingers found the chain of Maisie’s necklace. I looked down at the
Hekatian symbols and ran a finger over the moonstone. I slowly raised it to my lips. “I’m sorry, sister.”

I pulled off the necklace. The instant it left my skin, I felt hollow. I knew the tests ahead would be worse, harder to handle emotionally. But the guilt weighing on me then felt like an anvil on my shoulders. I knew it was just a necklace. A stupid hunk of gold and stone, a symbol. The love I had for my sister still existed whether I wore her symbol or not. But I had a real sense that Hekate—for all her might and power—didn’t deserve to own it.

Still, what choice did I have?

I handed it over. The goddess took both necklaces with a smile. I braced myself to watch her put them on, but instead she put it between her teeth and bit down. I wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or offended she thought I’d give her a fake bauble. Satisfied I hadn’t, she slid them around her neck and looked down to admire them. “Do you really want to do this?”

I knew she wasn’t asking about the exchange. She was asking if I was sure about entering Irkalla. I blew out a big breath. “Yes.”

She looked up, met my eyes. “Once I open the gate, you will proceed through four more. I warn you, your journey will not be easy. Sacrifices larger than these”—she fingered the necklaces—“will be required.”

I raised my chin. “I’m ready.”

She tilted her head. “Are you? We shall see.” With that cryptic remark, she turned. “Sophis, open the portal.”

The owl rose, shook itself. Spittle flew from its beak and where the drops landed they sizzled like acid. It stilled, raised its head, and sang.

The sound wasn’t unpleasant. Sort of a melodic hooting. I frowned at it, wondering what this had to do with opening
the gates to Irkalla. But then, just behind Hekate, where the three torches still burned, the air started to shimmer. Instead of turning to watch, the goddess kept her eyes on me. I focused on the opening portal, but I felt her gaze weighing me. What did she see—a heroine or a fool?

Regardless, once the portal had fully opened, she stepped aside and held out a hand. “A word of advice before you go.” I dragged my eyes from the portal to look at her. “Your enemies will know the instant you cross this threshold.”

My stomach clenched. “Asclepius?”

She nodded. “And he’s inviting an unwelcome guest to the party.”

Ice chilled my skin. “Cain?” I whispered.
Godsdammit!
“Where is Asclepius’s entrance?”

“I can’t tell you that, but Cain will have to go through the same gates you do. You will have to stay on the move or he will catch up with you.”

My heart thumped like a drum of war.

“Remember, Mixed-Blood,” Hekate continued, “if he succeeds in kidnapping Lilith, the dark races are doomed.”

I swallowed hard. “I understand.”

“Gods speed.”

I nodded and blew out a breath. She’d said if I moved fast enough I could stay ahead of Cain. That meant I didn’t have time to panic or to worry. The time had come to grab fate by the throat. “Will it stay open? So we can get back out?”

“Your optimism is charming.” She smiled ruefully. “But, yes, it will remain open until you leave or…” She trailed off, waving a hand.

I appreciated her not vocalizing the “you die.”

“Sophis will guide you to the first gate.”

“Got it. Thanks.” I turned and yelled over my shoulder, “We’re in!”

When I turned back around, Hekate was gone. But before I had a chance to regret not asking her more questions, Sophis zoomed through the portal. I didn’t have time to wait for the others, although I could hear their boots pounding against stone. I didn’t want to chance losing the owl’s trail and get lost in the underworld.

“And so it begins,” I breathed. I stepped through the threshold from the mortal realm into the Infernal Lands.

P
assing through the portal into Irkalla felt a lot like jumping from a hot tub into an arctic ocean. Goose bumps exploded on my skin and my teeth chattered. My eyelashes clung together from the frost. I rubbed at my eyes with a shaking hand and tried to keep a visual on Sophis.

The owl flew ahead, a pale blur in the dense gray air. I squinted and saw the silhouette of something large and dark in the distance.

I stumbled forward. The fog created a buffer that insulated me from sound. In fact, the only thing I could hear was my harsh breaths and my boots crunching on the ground. I looked down and realized I wasn’t stepping on rocks but millions of bones. The grisly sight was all the encouragement I needed to pick up the pace.

I broke into a jog. Soon, the fog dispersed and gave way to a riverbank. A black metal bridge spanned the silver waters. The closer I got to the river, the more I felt it tugging at me, like it had its own gravitational force. My eyes teared and a deep sense of melancholy filled me. Each step
took a Herculean effort. I realized then where I was: Acheron, the river of woe.

As I pushed myself across the bridge, I noticed a boat bobbing in the water. A bent and gnarled male in tattered gray robes stood on the prow—Charon? He caught me looking and nodded as if to say,
I’ve been expecting you
. Then he threw back his head and cackled.

Spider legs crawled up my spine. I pulled my eyes from him and focused on reaching the end of the bridge. I had to get away from the river before its depressing energy wore me down.

At the end of the bridge, the bone ground cover started again. On either side of the makeshift pathway, skeletal trees contorted over the path to form an archway of sorts. At the end of this tunnel, the red sky opened up above. And just beyond, the Adamantine Gate loomed like a sentinel.

Based on the myths I’d heard about the infamous gate into the underworld, I’d expected it to be forged from black metal with deadly spikes and perhaps a few bloodstains. However, this towering structure was actually… pretty. Large columns rose high above me and were made from a clear crystal or perhaps diamonds. The light was dull and flat so there was no spectacular prismatic show. Instead, the clear panes of the columns reflected back like mirrors. My face refracted back at me from a million angles.

Sophis landed on top of the gate and screeched. A trio of low growls responded.

Cerberus.

The dog was as large as a grizzly, and its three heads bore three sets of razor-sharp teeth. Six pairs of black eyes promised despair. Three long tongues lolled out of three gaping maws. Its one butt slammed onto a pile of skulls at the base of the gate’s columns.

My mouth went dry. Giguhl had told me once that Cerberus was a bitch—literally and metaphorically. “Good girl,” I said, my voice shaking. She stood and bared her teeth. Hackles stiffened on her back like porcupine quills. Her snake tail rattled ominously. “Easy.”

I moved forward with halting steps. My hands were extended in front of me in what I hoped was a calming gesture. The three muzzles sniffed the air. The beast moved forward for more. Three cold noses dripping with snot snuffled my palms. I held my breath and prayed that the hell beast would find my scent acceptable, but not appetizing.

The heads pulled away with a snort. I braced myself for the mauling I expected. Instead, Cerberus lumbered to the ground and, with a sigh, exposed her belly to me.