Hecate's Spell (Monsters and Gargoyles #7) - Lacey Carter Andersen Page 0,14

is wrong with me? If he can’t use my powers for his amusement, he no longer has a purpose for me. He’s told me should that day ever come, that he’ll lock me away with the titans in a dark, bleak eternity I can never escape from.

The thought of that dark place with the titans fills my nightmares.

“Come on,” Andros says gruffly, grabbing my arm roughly and dragging me down the hall. But his thumbs rub my skin softly, reassuring me even if it’s the only way he can.

The main doctor in the Underworld isn’t known for helping people. But he sure as hell knows how to hurt us.

I’m in trouble. Serious trouble. Unless I get lucky.

6

Blaise

Okay, so I’d been around almost forever, but I have some rules my mama had drilled into me from the time I was born until...well, until she turned away from me the day I was exiled. And one of those rules is to knock at a lady’s door, monster or not. So I lift my hand and rap lightly on the door, trying not to scare the woman inside.

Well, woman...monster...I’m not sure, but I like to look on the positive side of things.

A second later, I hear the lock on the door get turned and the door opens up, casting firelight out into the dark night. For a moment, there’s only the shadow of the woman, and my stomach clenches as I wonder if I made a mistake, but then my eyes adjust, and I see a remarkably beautiful woman with long brown hair and a gown that’s green and brown and woven. I can easily imagine that this woman is a queen of the swamps and blends in when she moves through it.

“Uh, hi, I’m Blaise.”

She lifts a brow. “You have one minute to tell me why you're here before Furry eats you alive.”

Furry? I don’t know who the hell she’s talking about, so I snap into action and respond, “My friend and I are trying to save someone that Hades has prisoner in the Underworld, and we heard you have a map that shows how to get in.” My rambling words stop, and I stare at her, wondering what the hell she’s going to do.

“So...you want to do something to piss off Hades?”

Slowly, I nod, hoping that whatever the hell Furry is, it isn’t about to eat me.

“Well…” She flashes a smile. “Come on in. I’ll do anything to make that asshole’s life harder.” She opens the door wider, then looks behind her. “Don’t hurt him, Furry, he’s a friend.”

My heart sinks, and I slowly turn around. A snake lifts its head from the waters. A snake that could easily eat me in one bite. It stretches its neck out longer and longer until it towers over me and the house. I swear, I shrink back. Another mutant reptile? I hate this damn place. It must be something in the air, because my legs are shaking and my blood feels like ice through my veins.

“Watch out!” I hear Orion shout.

He’s in front of me with his sword in an instant.

“Whoa! Whoa!” I say as the snake hisses and flashes its fangs. “They’re friends. She’s letting us in, and the snake, Furry, isn’t going to hurt us. Right, Furry?” I coo the last part, unable to help the way my voice shakes.

“Have you lost your damn mind? She’s just letting us in... A snake called Furry?”

I put a hand on Orion’s shoulder. “Trust me, okay? Put the sword away before you get us both killed!”

For one minute I think he’s going to ignore me and leap onto the snake, but then ever so slowly, he resheaths his sword and turns back to the woman in the doorway. Their eyes meet, and tension sings between them. I wonder what it must be like for a monster and monster hunter to meet. And I have the unsettling thought that I wouldn’t blame her for having that snake attack us right now, after the many monsters Orion has killed over the years.

Instead, she lifts a brow. “A gargoyle who’s working to piss off the gods? I thought your kind loved your handshake deals with those assholes.”

“I’m not a gargoyle anymore. I’m more an avenging angel,” he says, and I realize how true those words are as he speaks.

She studies him for a long moment, then gestures for him to come in. He does, and I follow quickly behind, eyeing the damn giant snake. She closes the