Not a real vision. Just the product of too many horror movies with Andie.
She closed her eyes. This time something flashed behind her lids, in the dark part of her mind that always felt open. Just a glimpse of a leathery wing, claws, and an eye so red all the vessels must have burst.
She stepped back and sucked in cool air through her nostrils. That was a Fury?
Calypso had better be goddamn fast with those chains, or Cassandra’s insides really would end up splattered on the walls.
Comforting heat curled into Cassandra’s fingers and soothed her stomach. Anger followed so quickly behind fear these days. She made a fist and gripped the heat like a handful of sand, ready to throw it into a bloodied eye.
Anything that kills me, kills itself.
“Thanatos,” Cassandra said hotly. “What else have you used those chains for?”
“All manner of underworld beasts. A couple of Furies, a Gorgon.” He leafed through a book she hadn’t noticed him pick up. “A volleyball player from UCLA.”
“What?”
“Relax. It was voluntary. All very Fifty Shades.” He looked up and nodded at Calypso. “Once I read the incantation, the path opens. So. Who do you want? Any preferences? Now’s the time to make requests.”
“Requests for what?” Cassandra asked.
“Which Fury, of course. There are lots of them, but some are shinier than others. I thought you, Princess of Troy, might want Alecto. She was ecstatic about your city falling and your brother dying.”
“Alecto?” Cassandra’s brain reached into her past but found no memory. Back then she’d been a doomed prophetess. Nowhere near as involved with the gods’ machinations as she was now. Ah, simpler times.
“Alecto of the Unceasing Anger.”
“That’s what they call her?”
Calypso rattled her chains. “Perhaps one of the lesser Furies might be better.”
Thanatos clapped his book closed.
“I hate to tell you this,” he said, “but we won’t get much lesser. When you’ve got the killer of the gods and the god of death putting out the call, who do you think is going to answer?”
Calypso let her chains droop and cocked her brow at him.
“We could always try to color the request,” she said. “Put out the right bait.”
Cassandra looked from the nymph to the god. “What do you mean, put out the right bait?”
“Well, you wouldn’t try to catch a shark with ice cream,” said Calypso, “any more than you’d try to catch a butterfly with a leg of goat.”
Thanatos looked at Calypso like she’d broken his favorite toy. He’d been holding that bit back. For what? His own amusement? Or was he really trying to get one of them killed?
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, considering what he is.
“So.” She passed Thanatos with a look and spoke to Calypso. “How do we put out ice cream? I think the ice cream–loving breed of Fury is the kind we’re looking for.”
Calypso transferred the chains to one hand so she could secure her braids, and the dirt on her fingers tinged the white braid brown. It made her look tired already, and they hadn’t even started. But if Calypso wasn’t strong enough for the job, it was Cassandra’s fault, because of the damage she’d done to her dragging her out of Olympus.
“Unfortunately, Thanatos is right,” Calypso said. “With the two of you calling, we can’t hold out much hope for a minor Fury. More likely it will be one of the Erinyes who shows up. The original Erinyes. And that means Alecto, Megaera, or Tisiphone.
“Knowing you as I do, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Alecto of the Unceasing Anger. But with Thanatos by your side, it might be Tisiphone, the Avenger of Murder.”
“Death isn’t murder,” Thanatos mumbled.
“The one you want,” Calypso continued, “is Megaera. Mild compared to the other two. They call her the Jealous One.”
The Jealous One. That didn’t sound so bad.
“She tends to show up in times of infidelity, or lust.”
“What do you mean, ‘lust’?” Cassandra eyed Thanatos, who chuckled.
“Who’s the one sabotaging you now?” he asked. “But come on. It’s not like I’m bad to look at.”
Cassandra crossed her arms. There was no denying that. He was incredibly easy to look at. Beautiful, and terrible, like they all were.
Except Aidan.
Her eyes moved across his chest, over his shoulders and up to his amused expression. He was so dark and cold. He didn’t have any of the warmth that Aidan had. Aidan’s smile was dashing and open. Thanatos had a secret smirk.