He turned the corner, entering the dining hall, and found the bodies of soldiers and servants slumped over furniture and splayed on the floor.
Finally--an answer from the Amazons he'd imprisoned. The bags of poison had been decoys. They'd already turned their blood to poison--for others.
He'd been tricked, distracted by one ploy while another brewed. What he'd done, they'd wanted him to do.
And now, he sensed another presence. Someone he'd warned away.
"Rathbone," he shouted. He stormed through the Great Room and past the exquisitely painted arched doors that led into his throne room.
The dark-haired male reclined on the throne, one leg crossed over the other in a lazy, relaxed pose. There was only one outward sign of his impatience--he drummed his fingers against the chair's arms.
"Look at you," Rathbone said. "Alive and well. And practically shirtless. Determined to set maiden hearts aflutter, are we?"
"What are you doing here?" Lazarus demanded.
"Protecting your people in your absence. You're welcome." The king of the underworld waved to the far wall. "Behold."
He turned to see the Amazons suspended in the air.
"They escaped and attempted a coup." Rathbone grinned without humor. "Their queen has plans for you. An enslavement masked as a wedding."
His grip on the daggers tightened. She thinks to enslave me? She dies!
"They'll receive prime spots in my Garden of Perpetual Horror by the end of the day." He would not thank Rathbone. The words would be an admission he'd needed help. He hadn't. He could have reclaimed the palace on his own, no problem.
Amazonian fear left an acrid scent in the air. The females collectively fought Rathbone's hold...and failed.
"Excellent. I'll be going, then." Rathbone stood. "But I'm afraid I must hear your decision. The war no longer brews. The first battle between father and son has been waged. A sneak attack. One of Hades's homes was destroyed, everyone inside it captured or killed."
A loss always stung, but a loss at the start of a war devastated. Motivation among the troops plummeted.
Begin the way you hope to end. Words his mother had once spoken to him. She'd referred to his romantic relationships, offering her only child a bit of advice to help him in the years to come.
Never align with the losing side. Their losses become yours. Words his father had spoken.
Then and there, Lucifer should have earned Lazarus's support. But...
"Very well," he said. "I'll fight for Hades." For Cameo. Only parted from her a few hours, and I yearn for her as I would a missing limb. "My time frame hasn't changed, however. I'll use my month to get my own house in order." To get his woman back. Until he had his night with her, he would be useless.
"You are needed now."
"So? The war might have started, but it won't be ending anytime soon. Put your best player in at the end to ensure victory."
The male pursed his lips, but nodded. "I should probably warn you. Hera escaped Tartarus. The Greek queen is now free."
Every muscle in his body tensed. Outside Tartarus, Hera was fair game. Vengeance...finally within reach...
Reveal nothing. "Former queen," he said with a shockingly even tone.
"Will you hunt her?" Rathbone asked.
"You know I cannot leave the spirit realms." The words were grated. The bastard taunts me!
Rathbone's head canted to the side. "You are Lazarus, only son of the Monster, yes?"
"Yes," Lazarus snapped.
"Then I know no such thing." Smiling, Rathbone vanished.
*
People suffered tragedies every day. They cried, sobbed and one day, they woke up and their hurt had mysteriously diminished. Cameo had suffered for centuries, her pain constant. But now, without Lazarus, she suffered worse.
She'd been home only two days, and already she missed him as she would miss a limb. And she should know! During her incarceration, the Hunters hacked off her hands and feet to stop her from fighting back.
Half of the day she longed to forget Lazarus--and hated herself for it. She'd lamented the horror of losing her memory for so long, she'd lost sight of the peace she could gain without it.
The only reason Misery had allowed her to keep her precious...hated...beloved...really hated memories--was to ensure she never, ever felt any peace at all.
Did it matter, though? The other half of the day Cameo longed to return to the warrior, anyway.
For a night. Only a night.
One night with him had to be better than a thousand nights without him, right?
Every time she considered going back, the demon threatened to take her memory, despite the vision she'd had.
Can't lose my memory of Lazarus. The way he'd smiled at her had warmed her...the way he'd teased her had soothed her...both were precious to her. And their goodbye kiss...it had set her ablaze, changing the very fabric of her being.
I'm Lazarus's woman.
She needed a distraction and, remembering Lazarus's treatment at Juliette the Eradicator's hands, she knew just what to do.
She texted her friend Gwen, the Harpy consort of Sabin, keeper of Doubt. When the reply came in, a tendril of anticipation swept through her. She packed a bag and strapped on her favorite weapons.
As she strode into the hall, cheers and laughter drifted from the dining room downstairs.
Once Urban and Ever had been reunited with their frantic parents--and worries and tempers had calmed--everyone who wasn't in the underworld helping Hades had celebrated. There'd been feasts, bad karaoke and far too much drinking. Ambrosia wine for adults, juice boxes for kids.
Like every celebration in the past, Cameo had watched from a distance, not wanting to ruin everyone's happy buzz.
Now she headed for Viola's room. Every great warrior should
have a sidekick, someone to guard her back, and the goddess would be hers.
"Pandora's box is in play. I repeat. Pandora's box is in play." Torin's voice boomed from strategically placed speakers in the ceiling. "This is not a drill. Danika painted a new scene, and Keeley was finally able to use the artifacts to get inside the office, where the box was being kept. Key word. Was."
The cheers from downstairs ceased abruptly. Cameo froze, her mind spinning.
Danika was the All-seeing Eye, able to peer into the heavens and hell, as well as the past and the future. She painted the things she saw.
Keeley treated Danika's paintings liked maps and used them in conjunction with three other artifacts. The Cage of Compulsion, the Cloak of Invisibility, and of course, the Paring Rod.
Questions shouted from different areas of the house. "Do we have the box?"
"Where is the box now?"
"Is the Morning Star still inside?"
"The box is not in our possession, no," Torin said, and his words were met with groans. "It's been moved or taken. The women are searching, and they will find it. Do not come knocking on my door to repeat your questions. My answers won't change. I've told you everything I know."
As murmurs rose from the kitchen, Cameo's heart thundered. Who had the box? Would it be opened? Were she and her loved ones destined to die?
A sense of urgency assailed her, her biggest regret suddenly clear. If her days were numbered, she wanted her night with Lazarus, wanted the pleasure he'd promised her.
Pleasure she couldn't experience if she were killed.
When immortals possessed by Pandora's demons passed away, their spirits ended up inside a prison realm. Baden, former keeper of Distrust, and Pandora, former owner of the box, had escaped the place only by becoming enslaved to Hades. No, thank you.
Wondering what could have been...fantasizing about but never feeling Lazarus against her...inside her...that would be the true misery.
Cameo had rolled the dice on her future and left Lazarus behind, hoping he would find a way into the mortal world. A mistake, she realized now. A mistake she could rectify.
New plan. Find and fight Juliette, return to Lazarus.
She launched into motion, skirting past a chamber filled with prowling, growling hellhounds. Baden had wed a woman who trained the horse-size hounds.