“I don’t know, my lord. Perhaps the river. We had no warning. They escaped through a crack in the rocks just before Typhaon arrived, hindering our pursuit. A few tried to follow, but the sunlight…”
Son of a fucking bitch. Hades barely resisted the urge to backhand the kobalos across the room. One more reason to despise his brother Zeus. The King of the Gods had banished the monster Typhaon to the bowels of the earth, and the beast had discovered Hades’s therillium supply. It guarded the ore now, making it nearly impossible for the kobaloi to mine. Typhaon was a problem Hades was constantly trying to work around, but Hades adapted because it was imperative the therillium supply not be found. If any of the other gods—especially Zeus—got their hands on it, Hades would no longer be the only god who possessed the power of invisibility.
He started down the steps. Both Orcus and the kobalos backed up quickly, eyes wide with fear.
“You”—Hades pointed at the kobalos—“seal the holes, do you hear me? And you find out where she came from. If anyone else discovers our mine I will hold you personally responsible, and I will torture you until you are begging for death. And you.” He rounded on Orcus. Orcus’s eyes flew even wider. “Send hellhounds. I want Maelea dead. Her and that fucking Argonaut who helped her. You find them and you kill them, or I’ll make his”—he nodded toward the kobalos—“torture seem like nothing.”
Both creatures nodded quickly and stared up with enormous, frightened eyes.
“Go!” Hades bellowed.
They scurried off like rats.
Alone, he pressed his fingers against his temples, drew two calming breaths. He was juggling too many balls, trying to keep too many from stealing his power, from taking what was rightfully his. His wife would be pissed when she returned from Olympus and discovered he’d killed her precious child, but Hades didn’t give a fuck. Aside from his own bitter need for revenge, there was more at stake here than just one mere mortal’s life. Atalanta, the bitch, was still scheming for a way to get the Orb and control the human realm. And if she somehow found his therillium mines because of Maelea or that miserable Argonaut, she might just have a chance.
His hounds would pick up Maelea’s scent and kill her. With one problem solved, he needed to stop worrying about the stain and focus on the Orb. Once he had that, everyone would bow to him, even the monster Typhaon.
He crossed to the window. An acrid burst of hot air swept across his face and he breathed in the misery floating on the wind. Somehow, Atalanta planned to use the Argonaut who’d been freed from the Underworld to get her that Orb. Since the Orb now resided in Argolea, that plan made sense, especially since Atalanta couldn’t cross into that realm—no Olympian god could.
But Hades could.
A plan began to form in his mind, and his anger slowly dissipated one agonizing moan at a time. He knew just who in Argolea he could use.
***
“You bastard,” Maelea sputtered as Gryphon hauled her through the woods next to him.
“I’ve heard that before.” He didn’t loosen his hold on her arm, all but dragging her as he skirted the cliff and headed down the hillside in the direction of the valley.
Dusk was rushing in fast, and that fact only made Maelea more determined to get away. She wasn’t spending the night with him. Not after what had happened in those tunnels. “That’s because you are one. We had a deal.”
“The deal changed.”
She tried to wrench her elbow from his grip, only he held her too tightly. “I didn’t agree to this.”
He jerked her to a stop. Glared down with those dead, light blue eyes. Eyes, she noticed out here in the daylight, that were more piercing than they’d been in the tunnels. And much more unfriendly. “Get this through your head, female. I don’t care if you agreed or not. You’re not leaving me. Not until I’m done with you.”
He yanked her forward again. And as she struggled to keep up with his long legs, her mind spun. What if he really was crazy, just as those females had said? She’d seen the way he twitched and looked around as if he were hearing things. It didn’t matter that he’d saved her life back there in the caves. He’d nearly gotten her killed too. If she stayed with him, only bad things would happen. She felt it in her gut.
And the darkness inside her…it was too attracted to him. Too tempted by him. She had to get away.
Escape plans tumbled through her mind as he dragged her around pine trees and over downed logs. The forest grew darker with every step they took, and her arm ached where he held her bicep with a death grip. She couldn’t break free until he loosened his grasp. But when he did…
“Where are you taking me?” she asked when she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Into that town. We need wheels.”
She nearly choked. “I have no money. I know you have no money. How do you plan to find wheels?”
“That’s not something you need to know.”