“We’ll never make it,” Carter shouted back.
“I know.” Lazarus heaved his half-destroyed shield over them, leaving himself completely unprotected. “But you have to try.”
Pierce knew the big man was right on both counts. “Felice. Let’s go.”
But before either of them could move, a loud report—the sound of gunfire—cut through the thrashing of the bird attack. Pierce cursed under his breath. As impossible as it seemed, things were about to get even worse.
39
A commotion echoed across the treetops, filling the bottom of the sinkhole with the noise of flapping wings. Gallo scanned the sky, trying to locate the disturbance, but there were too many trees in the way. The sound seemed to be coming from somewhere directly ahead, near what she guessed to be the center of the abyss.
Another noise, a low murmur of wariness and discontent, rippled through the Cerberus team. Rohn silenced them all with a withering glance. “Keep rowing,” he snarled.
They had been exploring the marsh for nearly an hour, using a small fleet of three-person inflatable rafts. Gallo occupied the center seat of one, bracketed by two guards. Dourado was in another, while Kenner and Rohn rode together in a third.
The boats were probably unnecessary since the water was shallow enough to walk through. But they granted some protection from possible attacks by amphibious and aquatic creatures, which might be lurking beneath the surface. That was the reasoning at least. Gallo doubted the inflatables would shield them from the poisonous breath of the salamanders, but thus far the strategy had worked. Aside from the buzzing of insects, they had seen no evidence of animal life since the attack on the shore. At least, not until the noise of not-quite-distant-enough wings was heard.
And now that’s where we’re headed, Gallo thought. The only upside to it all was that every deadly animal encounter brought them one step closer to the failure of Kenner’s plan.
The salamander creature, which she knew must be some kind of chthonic chimera related to the Hydra, was evidence enough that Kenner was on the right track, but the outcome of that initial attack indicated how ill-prepared the Cerberus team was. Hercules had been hard-pressed to defeat such beasts, and he had been nearly invincible.
As they rounded a copse of cypress trees, Gallo glimpsed movement in the sky. A strange rippling cloud hovered above a point several hundred yards away. After a few seconds, something changed, and the cloud became almost transparent, dotted with black specks. Then it solidified again. It reminded her of a fish shoal changing direction in unison. Or a flock of birds.
Dourado gave an uneasy laugh. “Angry birds.”
“No kidding,” Gallo muttered.
Kenner peered through a pair of binoculars for a moment then lowered them. He flashed a grin in Gallo’s direction. “Stymphalian birds, Augustina. That’s what those are. Think about it. The birds originally belonged to Ares. Hippolyte was the daughter of Ares.”
“I think you’re missing the point, Liam.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “We have guns.”
Gallo eyed the swirling mass in the distance. “But do you have enough bullets?”
Kenner made a hurt expression. “Give me some credit for knowing the source material. The sound of the shots will drive them off. That’s how Herakles defeated them.”
Gallo was not quite so optimistic about the strategy’s chances of success, but offered no further comment. If the birds did attack, it might present a chance for escape. She glanced over at Dourado and mouthed the words, ‘Be ready.’
Dourado just stared back at her, looking miserable.
Oh, Cintia, I’m so sorry. I bet you’re wishing you’d stayed at your computer.
“There!” Kenner’s hand shot out, pointing at something on the near horizon. “The city of the Amazons!”
Despite everything else that was happening, Gallo experienced a fleeting excitement. Mutant creatures from mythology were one thing, but this…this was something else. Her entire professional career, more than half of her life, had been spent pursuing the connection between ancient myths and actual history. Here before her lay the physical evidence of that connection, and in a place the academic world least expected it. It was a singular moment in her life, an unparalleled discovery.
And I won’t be able to tell a soul.
For the first time since accepting Pierce’s invitation, she understood just how much she would have to sacrifice to be part of the Herculean Society.
Probably doesn’t matter. I doubt any of us are getting out of here alive.
“They’re coming,” Rohn said, in a flat voice.
Gallo turned her gaze back to the sky and saw what looked like a dark finger reaching out from the cloud of birds, stretching toward them. In just a few seconds, the leading edge of the finger was close enough for her to see flapping wings, and then the birds themselves.