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“Maybe that was dumb of me,” Fyr admitted. “Alec survived a bunch of horrible shi—stuff. George excelled in school and turned his childhood love of animals into a successful career.”

Fyr rubbed his forehead. “I feel like such an idiot talking to you,” he admitted to George. “I was taken partway through first grade. I never went back to school, and I feel like a bleeding moron most of the time.”

“I hope that’s not the criteria for idiocy,” Clive remarked. When Fyr looked at him, Clive added, “I’ve never attended a school, and I’ll remind you that you can do anything you want. You want to go to school? Go. You want to prepare first? Hire a private tutor. Or, like me, you can learn from life, from people, from books. You have options.”

Fyr nodded slowly, considering, before holding up a hand. “Sorry. I got off track. My point was that Coco stayed near home, near Auntie. She never had to go out and prove her mettle. I thought—and it’s probably stupid—but I thought if she went on her own adventure, if she had to survive her own dangerous situations, she’d give her younger self a break. Maybe being in the thick of it would make her realize that it isn’t black and white. She did everything she could to protect Alec. Some things are just out of our hands.”

“That sounds smart to me,” Vlad murmured. He turned to Benvair. “I can tell you that this was Coco’s decision. Sam went to her the night before we flew out. She explained what was going on and the danger involved. Then she left it up to Coco to decide. Sam didn’t know if Coco was coming until your granddaughter stepped onto the plane.

“It’s a good group,” Vlad added. “Individually, they are strong and I think they’ll work well together.” He glanced at Clive. “Unfortunately, we need to take our leave now. The sun will be rising quite soon. You should go in and speak with Nikolaos, the barman, about rooms to let.”

Vlad stood and inclined his head to Clive. “We need to go.”

Clive remembered himself and masked the fear he was feeling about once more being out of it while Sam continued her journey below. “Please excuse us.”

He paused by Fyr. “The first thing my wife will want to know when she sees you is who is taking care of Fergus.”

“Dave,” Fyr assured him. “He’s watching both Alice and Fergus for me.”

Clive nodded, patting Fyr’s shoulder, and then both vampires disappeared just as the first rays of light crested the horizon.

Chapter 14

IF IT’S NOT ONE THING, IT’S TWO OTHERS

“We could eat while we’re waiting for Stheno,” I suggested quietly.

Coco and Bracken went into their packs, and we all ate our Artemis cakes. I stowed the grape leaves, hoping the next time I pulled them out, they’d hold a fresh cake. I reached for my baggie of meat sticks and passed those around.

With the scent of meat sticks in the air, Mio sat up and sniffed.

“Would you like some?” I held up three. He was a big guy.

He crossed the cave and took them from me, savoring each bite. When he finished, he stared at the bag in my lap.

“These are for the rest of our journey, but you can have more if you’d like.” I held up three more and he snatched them out of my hand. I was pretty sure I was about to lose all my meat sticks.

When he finished and glared at me again, Stheno snorted and stood. “Leave her alone. She’s already shared with you.”

He blew hot breath out his nose and stomped into the back of the cave.

Stheno rolled her copper eyes and went into her satchel for her cake and canteen. “While you were sleeping, I asked where he thought we’d find the old bitch. He said what I’ve said. The Furies work for Hades. They’ll be where he is, which he thinks is across the Asphodel Fields.”

She finished her canteen, corked it, pulled the cork back out, and drank again. Unlike my claws, which retracted, Stheno’s long, bronze claws were always there, but she was remarkably adept at doing everyday things with them.

“We have to get through all these damn tunnels first and then we should hopefully hit Asphodel.” She secured her bag and stood. “Mio, where’s the latrine?”

“Oh, God, yes,” Coco murmured. “I have to pee so bad.”

Stheno returned a few moments later. She pointed into the shadowy corner and an adjoining cave. “It’s in there. It’s been spelled. Waste disappears after you go.”

Coco hopped up and sprinted.

“That’s a new nightmare unlocked,” I muttered. “Do we need to worry about ending up in the Underworld’s sewer now?”

Bracken shook his head on a grin. “Let’s sincerely hope not.”

It took a little while for everyone to get ready to venture out again. With each passing minute, Mio became more and more visibly angry. By the time we were moving toward the cave entrance, Mio was snorting and stamping, his gaze filled with fury.