last assuaged, his head was clearer than usual, the beast quiet. Baden was able to replay the damning words he’d overheard Katarina say to Aleksander.
I’ll put my life in harm’s way and seduce Baden...if you prove the coin’s existence.
The man had killed her dogs; she hated him with the heat of a thousand suns. Would she truly free him, simply to become a queen of the underworld? Not a chance. So she must have had a very good reason for making such a promise.
A sudden suspicion drifted through his mind. Had she hoped to find the coin for Baden?
Yes. Absolutely. No question. He cursed his quick temper, cursed his paranoia. He owed her an apology. Not that words would be enough to fix the problems he’d caused.
As he shut off the water, the bands began to broil his biceps. A soft red glow filled the stall. He hurriedly reached for a towel...only to dematerialize without it. He reappeared in Hades’s throne room, wet and naked, weaponless.
The scent of smoke and the sounds of distant, discordant screams registered as he performed a quick scan. No one stood within striking distance, but the guards lined up against the far wall leered at him. He glared, daring them to say a word.
“For the sake of my eyes, dress,” Hades commanded, drawing his attention. He materialized atop his ghoulish throne, his body encased in a three-piece suit.
Baden held out his arms, all feast your eyes, asshole. “Someone should have told me it was business-formal Friday.”
“Pippin!”
The old, robed man stepped from a puff of black smoke. “Yes, sire.”
“It’s makeover Monday. Give Baden a new look.”
“Yes, sire.” Pippin chiseled a pebble from the edge of his tablet.
Hades. Flames. Ashes.
Those ashes adhered to Baden’s skin, as if glued, swiftly morphing into black leather pants with a multitude of zippers and a cotton T-shirt. Both were a perfect fit.
Baden wanted one of those tablets.
“Much better.” Hades drummed his nails against the arms of the throne. “Update me on your search for the coin.”
“Aleksander has proven more stubborn than I anticipated.”
“And the other tasks on your list?”
“Nearly completed.”
“Then you’ll be pleased to know I have a new job for you.”
One of Destruction’s memories fought its way to the forefront of his mind. His mother, the dark-haired beauty who’d feasted on his liver, sat upon a throne. That throne. Hades’s. She cringed at his approach, her sharp claws digging into the arms as she fought to rise—but she couldn’t. He held her in place with a power she couldn’t overcome. Shadows, all his beautiful shadows, swirled around her, hissing at her.
“—listening to me?” Hades snapped.
The male had suffered greatly at her hands, and he’d killed her for it. Killed his own mother. Mercilessly.
There was no line he would not cross when betrayed.
Focus! “I’m listening, yes.” Now.
“I want this artifact in my possession by the end of the day.” He clapped his hands and Pippin placed a new stone on his palm.
Flames. Ash. Baden breathed deeply, inhaling every particle. The artifact—a necklace—was known as the cœur de la terre. Two hundred carats of mystical blue coral. Exquisite, or so women claimed, but mostly desired for its supernatural properties. With it, a male or female of any race, even human, could live and breathe underwater with the Mers.
The current owner: Poseidon’s mistress, a delicate-looking forest nymph.
“Just one minor issue with this mission. Hardly bears mentioning,” Hades said with a wave. “If you succeed, the water king will lose his favorite concubine, and he’ll send assassins to kill you.”
Wonderful. “He won’t be the first or the last. I’ll handle him.”
Hades glanced at his manservant. “See, Pippin. I’m not being needlessly cruel. Baden welcomes the challenge.”
“Yes, sire.”
To Baden, Hades said, “Handle the water king, but don’t kill him. If the concubine has to die, she has to die. And remember, what you do, you do for the greater good.”
The greater good. Victory. The protection of his friends...of Katarina.
“I’ll acquire the necklace.” The qualification—by the end of the day—allowed him to launch a strike against Lucifer first. He was already in the underworld, so why not?
“Stop. I know that look,” Hades said with a frown. “What are you planning? Tell me true.”
The answer left him, pulled out by the power of the king’s command.
Hades thought for a moment, nodded. “Very well. I’ll even aid you. Pippin, if you please...”
Another piece of the tablet provided a map of the nine underworld realms and the ability to flash anywhere within them. The only location forbidden to him