Warrior Queen - Karpov Kinrade Page 0,10
on Hermes and the others before he left. There’s not much time—”
“Wait,” I interrupt, his earlier words finally clarifying in my panicked brain. “Clay’s already gone?” Has my timeline to save Earth just been escalated? I have to reach the Underworld before him at all costs, but how can I do that if he has a head start?
“He left this morning, at dawn,” Alfio says. “Took most of his army with him, my lady. He’s heading to the Underworld with a right proper invasion. Hades is dead, and Persephone won’t even know what’s coming.”
But I still have a chance. Traveling with a full army should slow Clay down considerably. I’ll help Persephone somehow, but first, my men. I tighten my lips grimly. “If he’s gone, who’s in charge of the execution?”
“He left that to Aphrodite,” Alfio explains. He cranes his stiff neck in the direction of an upper story window where I see lights flickering behind the shutters. “Even now, she’s getting ready, my lady, and her litter has been waiting for over two hours. She’s not been satisfied with any of her gowns.”
Trust Aphrodite to use even this occasion as a party. How did I ever like her YouTube channel? Now, I’m definitely not a fan. Still, her desire to be fashionably late works in my favor. My mind whirls with the beginnings of a plan. “Right. So, keep her here, Alfio. Appeal to her vanity.” That won’t be hard to do. “When she comes down, tell her she looks better in a different color or something. Do whatever you’ve got to, but buy us as much time as you can, okay?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“First, I need a distraction. We’ve got to get out of here unnoticed.” I can’t risk Cerberus being seen. Not yet. I need him for the shock value.
Alfio draws his white brows together in a line. “We?”
I lean back over the wall and give a soft whistle.
Three pairs of pointed ears and then eyes rise over the wall behind me.
“Whoa, there.” Alfio steps back, surprised.
Cerberus startles me with a low growl and the fur on the back of his neck begins to lift.
“Cerb, shush,” I hiss, glancing around.
Thankfully, the soldiers are too sloshed to notice. Three of them have wandered off, leaving only two that I can see.
As the growls continue, I turn back to Cerberus. All six eyes are glued on Alfio, and each mouth has peeled back to showcase a set of massive teeth.
“Alfio’s a friend,” I rush to assure. “Keep quiet. It’s the soldiers we have to worry about here, not Alfio.” All three sets of ears flatten in disagreement, so I appeal to Alfio. “Tell him you’re with me.”
Alfio clears his throat. “Don’t think ‘twill do any good.”
I frown as the lips twitch and lift even higher. It’s almost like Cerberus has some personal grudge going on. I frown. “You might be right. He doesn’t seem to like you for some reason.”
“Can’t imagine why,” the old man mutters.
A soldier’s shrill whistle interrupts us and I dive behind the tree, glaring at Cerberus to duck and stay quiet. As each head obediently lowers behind the wall, I drop a leg onto his shoulder for balance. The heads are still growling, but so low I can only feel it through my bones.
“Hey, old man, you done pissing?” the soldier calls. “We need more wine.”
“Right, right.” Alfio coughs and replies in a feeble voice, “Almost done.”
“Well, hurry up,” the man snorts. “And bring a bigger jug this time.”
Alfio gives me a slight bow and then shuffles back towards the soldiers. “There’s jugs aplenty but I can’t lift them,” he says as he draws closer to the men. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you where they are. It’s a red wine, fit for the gods. Hades brought it himself.”
“Now, that’s more like it,” the men laugh, clapping Alfio on the back. “They’re dead, they don’t need it anymore.”
“Jason, you should stay,” one of the men says to the beefiest of the bunch. “We’ll be right back.”
“Hell no, I’m going. What’s to guard? We’re at the top of the hill and there’s a company of men on the road. We’ll be back before anyone notices. Not that anyone’s gonna come up here anyway, not with our little friends up there.” He grins at the pikes lining the walls.
I clench my fists.
The men keep talking as Alfio slowly leads them through a side door, leaving me a wide path to freedom.
“Let’s go, Cerb,” I say, dropping into