Aida’s stomach twisted. “So the balance is already breaking?”
Sophie exhaled. “It’s holding. Barely. But once Effie is free, we’ll finally be able to work alongside her to seek justice. If we jump in before then, we start a war. If you do it first, we can control what happens next. That’s why we need you. Mortals aren’t bound by our laws. You’re our best chance at getting Effie back without setting everything on fire.”
“How will we go up against these gods?” Despite the aegis, Aida’s despair pricked at her. “We’re not superheroes. None of us are particularly strong or athletic. This is madness.”
Sophie laid a hand on Aida’s shoulder. “Genuine power arises not from your physical strength but in your thought, soul, and intent.”
Aida huffed. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way?”
She gave Aida a small smile. “Something like that.”
Vulcan went to a wall near one of his workbenches and waved his hand. A sleek drawer slipped open, and he retrieved something from inside. “You might not be warriors,” he conceded, “but you have qualities just as vital. Technological skills, intellect, resilience, historical knowledge, human resourcefulness—they are your true arsenal. And with this—” he handed Aida a compact, ornately engraved metal orb, about three inches in diameter, pulsing with soft golden light “—you’ll have a piece of divine craftsmanship to aid you. This will shield you when you unlock Euphrosyne’s bonds. Throw it on the floor in front ofyou. It won’t last forever, so your actions must be swift and sure. Once you free her, she’ll make sure you can get out of the catacombs.”
The device was warm to the touch, a comforting weight in Aida’s hand. As she watched, the orb’s engravings—a pattern of Greek keys—began to disappear. It slowly lost its light and became inert, a simple metal ball. She looked at the god, unsure, but he only nodded. Aida slipped the ball into her pocket.
“How do we unlock her from the chair?” Yumi asked.
“With this.” Vulcan produced a small golden key from another drawer and handed it to Aida.
“Before we even get there, we have to find her. Felix tells us the place is bigger than Disneyland! He is trying to find us better maps. The ones they give out only extend to the areas where tourists are allowed on the first floor, so that’s not helpful. Twelve miles of passages and four floors. And what about the misery?” Just the thought of going down there in the dark and wandering around, potentially lost, was enough to make Aida feel sick.
“Worry not.” Sophie’s voice was calming. “Your aegis will protect you from the worst of Oizys’s gloom. But give me your hands.” She reached out to Aida.
Aida let the goddess take her hands and a warmth surged through her.
“There. Now tell me. What is a smell that makes you happy, or nostalgic. Something you revel in that brings you joy?”
Aida was confused. It was the strangest question, but the answer immediately came to her. “When I was very young, I used to visit my grandparents in the middle of nowhere in Idaho. They lived on a cliff above the Snake River. There were Russian olive trees in their backyard. That smell... I haven’t smelled it in years, but oh!”
Sophie let go of her hands. “Then my guess is that’s how your nose will lead you to Effie.”
Aida raised an eyebrow. “I’ll smell her?”
Aggie laughed. “Effie smells divine! What a brilliant idea, sister.”
“Everything about her brings joy to the people around her. I just helped you home in on it a little. But the aegis may not work the same way in the catacombs,” the goddess warned. “It will dull the misery and keep you from falling into despair, but it may not alert you that a god is near in the same way it does above ground.”
“Great.” Aida let out a sigh of frustration. “You also said that the catacombs aren’t structurally sound. What do we do if our path is blocked?”
Vulcan grunted. “Try and find another path.”
Sophie nodded in agreement. “There’s only so much help we can give you without directly interfering. To do more might only backfire and bring you harm.”
“When will you go to the catacombs?” Aggie asked.
“I need to be sure about the security system. That will take me a couple of days. It sounds like we’ll need to find a few things for our spelunkers,” Yumi said.
“One more thing,” Vulcan said. “You won’t have much luck with your phones down there. The catacombs are ancient, layered with old magic and misery that interferes with technology. Even I can’t cut through that.”
Aida cursed under her breath. “Great. We’re going in without a lifeline.”
Silence hung between them for a moment, the gravity of what lay ahead sinking in. Yumi crossed her arms, her lips pressed into a tight line. The idea of wandering through the dark ancient tunnels with no way to call for help left a pit in Aida’s stomach.
She tried to laugh it off. “Guess we’ve got to be our own backup this time.”
“I’ll take you home,” Sophie said. “Get some rest. You’ll need it.”
Before Aida could ask another question, the goddess laid a handon her shoulder, and in a blink, she found herself in Yumi’s living room. Yumi collapsed on the couch behind her. The goddess was nowhere to be seen.
