They stared at each other long seconds, and that emptiness in his chest grew because he sensed even though he’d gone out on a limb here, she wasn’t going to help him. If she didn’t tell him where to find the Orb, he didn’t know where he’d go next.
“I didn’t intend to bring you here,” he said, hoping to make her understand. “I just needed to know where the Orb is. When those hellhounds showed up at your house, I knew you wouldn’t be safe there anymore. That’s why I brought you here. Not because I wanted to hurt you. No one can find you unless you let them. Not Hades, not Zeus, not any of the gods.”
“Do you think his soul can really be saved?” she asked in a quiet voice. “You and I both know what the darkness can do. What if you find him, only he’s not the brother you remember?”
That emptiness opened so wide that for a second Orpheus feared it would swallow him whole. He’d already thought of that but dismissed it. His brother was the real hero, not him. It had only been three months. Gryphon was strong enough to survive in the Underworld for three months. He had to be.
“True heroism can’t be turned. Not by any darkness.”
“I hope you remember that.”
His brow lowered. She looked back down at her hands and took a deep breath before he could ask what that meant. “The warlock is in Greece. Gathering witches to bring into his fold. He channeled the power of the Orb in an induction ceremony. I felt it as late as yesterday. I’m not sure what he has planned, but from what I know about warlocks, they draw strength from—”
“From the witches they suck into their coven.” Orpheus pushed off the bed. Of course, it made sense. Apophis needed new witches to regain his strength. Which meant right now he would be at his weakest, before he’d had time to train and mold and draw from their growing powers. “Where in Greece?”
“In the hills outside the city of Corinth.” She rattled off coordinates.
Excitement and the first inkling of hope filtered through his chest. “Corinth was where Medea fled after she killed Jason’s children. It makes sense the warlock would go there in the hopes of harnessing that evil energy. Thank you.”
“Orpheus. Wait.”
With one hand on the doorknob, he paused. She climbed off the massive bed, a slight, frail creature who seemed nothing like her mother or father. But he sensed there was strength in her yet untapped. And he wondered when she’d see it for herself.
She crossed to the bureau, pulled open the top drawer. She extracted the skirt she’d worn earlier and reached into the pocket. Then she crossed to stand in front of him and held out her open palm. “You might need these.”
Two golden coins lay cradled in her palm. “Oboloi. How do you—?”
“My mother. Just in case Hades ever tried to pull me down to Tartarus. Take them. You’ll need them to get past Charon.”
The ferryman who carried souls across the River Styx to the Fields of Asphodel, where they would await judgment. Yeah, he would need them if he had any chance of getting past the first obstacle in the Underworld. Surprise mixed with gratitude. He took the coins, slid them into his pocket. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Prove me wrong. Knowing a soul can survive the darkness of the Underworld will be thanks enough.”
“I won’t forget you,” he said as he left the room.
“Then you’d be the first,” she whispered.
Chapter 18
Isadora covered her mouth and yawned as she approached the bedroom Nick had directed her toward. She and the others had stayed up late into the night discussing not only Orpheus and this situation with the Sirens, but war strategy with Nick and what the Argonauts could do for the colony now that it had been relocated here to Montana. Atalanta’s daemons had recently struck a village high in the Rockies—both human and Misos residents decimated—and there were increasing reports all over the Pacific Northwest about strange killings and even stranger creature sightings. The Argonauts, along with Nick and his men, were trying to track down what daemons they could and destroy them before more lives were lost. And they all agreed they needed to get a handle on the violence before a new otherworldly power decided to take advantage of Atalanta’s absence and make the daemons their own. Or before Atalanta returned herself.
That last thought was foremost in Isadora’s mind. She didn’t for a second doubt that Atalanta was plotting her way out of the Underworld right this minute.
“You shouldn’t be up this late.”
Demetrius’s concerned voice cut through Isadora’s thoughts and she smiled at her mate as he pushed the bedroom door open and let her pass, careful, she noticed, not to touch her. He was always careful not to touch her. At least when others could see. “I’m fine. Besides, you know as well as I do that Nick won’t come to Argolea. That means I have to catch him when I can. And at least tonight he seemed agreeable.”