Sin City Goddess (31 page)

And that’s when I remembered exactly how to annihilate an escaped mortal from Tartarus.

“Let’s make it even more interesting, Gacy. One hand, Five-Card Stud. Winner takes all.”

Archer made a funny sound and shot me a look like
Are you nuts?
as he dealt the cards.

Gacy rocked back on his big, red, flappy shoes. “I do like your style, Fury. Agreed.”

The eclipse was coming, which meant there was not a minute to spare. We needed to be at the exact spot where the gods would pick us up, all of us, by 6:00 p.m. I was leaving no one behind.

Gacy stepped forward to the first female and ordered me to do the same. I did.

He picked up the first card, eyes on me, still holding the smaller knife. He positioned the machete to curve toward the neck of the woman.

I picked up my card. Ace.

Gacy tucked the card back in the pocket, and I did the same. He moved to the next girl and put the machete at her throat. He picked up the card, and I did the same. Eight. Ace-8.

“I want to see both hands, Fury.”

I tucked the card back into the pocket of the dress and showed him my hands.

He moved to the next female, the machete poised, and I moved in tandem.

My card was a five.

That number again.

But this time, something clicked.

I kept my eyes trained on Gacy, because he was watching me closely.

But there were other senses I could use that were undetectable.

He slid over to the next female, and I mimicked his movements.

The next card was also an eight. Ace-8-5-8.

We moved on to the last female.

The card I took out of that pocket was an ace.

Gacy leaned between the gap of the last two women and cackled. “You feeling lucky, Fury?”

I held my muscles steady, my face blank. “I think I may have you beat.”

Two pair. Aces and eights.

Be aware of dead man’s hand.

That’s what Hickok meant.

“Shall we look again before we place our bets?” Gacy asked, wiggling his painted eyebrows.

Right then and there, I decided to rally for a law to ban all clowns from Olympus.

I said, “If you insist.” It would give me a chance to be absolutely sure.

We went through backward this time, checking the cards. Gacy’s eyes were still trained on me, and mine on him over the females’ shoulders.

The sky was blackening; the eclipse was almost here.

When I got to the middle card, the five, the scent was unmistakable. Night-blooming jasmine.

Off in the distance, there was a deafening clap of thunder and the low growl of a giant hound.

The noise, or maybe the growl, broke Gacy’s concentration. His eyes flicked away, and he slackened the blade in his hand for a split second.

But that was all I needed.

I wailed, and Alecto shot straight up into the air, kicked Gacy in the head, and knocked him off balance. He dropped the smaller blade and swung the machete at her feet, roaring. But she was already in flight.

He advanced on me then, swinging, and I ducked, just as Cerberus sank his teeth into Gacy’s leg.

The clown swung the blade at the hound, grazing his right ear.

I didn’t give him a second chance. “Gacy!”

He twisted his face toward me and charged, even with the dog still attached to his leg.

He swung the machete with both hands, but he was off balance and missed.

I didn’t. I yanked the knives from my wings with both hands and plunged them into his eyes.

The effect was instant. Gacy’s face froze into a painted grimace as his soul poured from his eyes in liquidy black smoke over the Las Vegas desert.

Just as the moon eclipsed the sun, the clown suit evaporated into dust.

We had five minutes to catch our ride.

Chapter 57

Archer got busy cutting the ties from the women and removing their blindfolds. He spent some time calming them down and assuring them that they were out of harm’s way. I watched for a moment as he ushered them to the car, lifting the bag containing Indigo out of the backseat.

I gathered Rumour and Alex.

“We need to hurry,” I said. I explained about the plan for Thor and Zeus to crack the sky and carry us home. “But we must be at the coordinates specified.”

Alex and Rumour shrugged out of their dresses and kicked them aside.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Then I heard a car start up.

I spun around to see Archer trotting back to us, Indigo and the canvas bag in his hand. “I thought you might need your sword.”

I clutched my hands to my head. “No!”

He stopped short. “What?”

Then he heard the tires squeal. Archer turned to meet the dust with his face as the car made a doughnut formation and sped off toward the horizon.

I tried to run after the car, thought about flying after it, but my power was draining. I didn’t know how much I needed to get home.

“We need to get to our coordinates, Archer!” I yelled.

“Shit! I told them to wait! They said they wanted the air conditioner on!” He dropped the bag and chased the car, but it was too late.

They were gone.

Alex walked over to him and punched him in the gut.

Archer doubled over. “Ow! Jesus Christ, why are you two so violent?”

Rumour said, “Because they’re shape-shifters. They were actually raised by wolves. Tisi is the pack leader.”

Archer looked at me, stunned.

I rolled my eyes. “That is not true. Knock it off, Rumour.”

She grinned wickedly.

Alex said, “We can take his car.” She pointed to the other car in the desert.

“The stink-mobile? No freaking way,” said Rumour.

“I’m really sorry, ladies,” Archer said.

“Shut up, mortal,” Alex said.

“Yeah, shut up,” said Rumour.

“
All
of you shut up! I need to think,” I said.

The moon was slowly sliding away from the sun.

Archer was unzipping his bag. He glanced at his watch. “Three minutes.”

I looked at the moonstone ring. This was supposed to be a tracking device. Athena had given it to me as such, before Hecate had enchanted it to receive messages. Maybe, just maybe, they would come to us.

“Everyone gather round. Alex, I’ll need you to lock hands with me and expand your wings, and I’ll do the same. Rumour and Archer can stand in the center.”

“Don’t order me around,” my sister said.

“Just do it, Alex, or I’ll leave you here to mortalize.”

She rolled her eyes.

I turned to Hades’s hound just as a violent bolt of lightning cracked the sky, followed by thunder that shook the ground. Thor and Zeus were close. I could feel it.

“Cerberus. Can you find your way home? Or do you want to come with us?”

The hound backed up a bit and sat down.

“Very well.”

Archer stood up, holding the three orange sticks. He handed me Indigo, I snapped, and the small dragon opened her eyes.

“We’re going home,” I told her. She blinked and cooed.

Archer said. “These may work. They flame up and shoot into the sky. Lost travelers use them all the time here.”

I nodded. “Great. Fire them off.”

I watched as Archer sent the flares off into the darkened desert sky, feeling just a little sad. Would I ever see him again? There were laws in place to prevent the gods from mingling too often with mortals. I broke them harmlessly at times. But playing poker wasn’t considered a serious offense. Interworld dating was. It had caused us nothing but trouble in the past, so the Fates had decided it was best to outlaw it altogether.

Archer jogged back to me. He smiled and embraced me. “You did it, Sassy.”

“We did it, Lawman.” I kissed him. Alex cleared her throat and glared at me. “Can you give us the game play, Coach?”

I sighed. She could be so rude. “All right, everyone. At the next lightning bolt, we all lock hands and focus on home.”

Archer and Rumour stood centered.

My sister and I expanded our wings and clasped hands around them.

The light of the sun was nearly at full force.

I heard Thor’s thunder boom first. I scanned the sky.

Rumour pointed. “There!”

I opened the ring and fired it at Zeus’s lightning bolt.

The beam from my ring curled around the electric bolt, forming a connection from the ground to the sky.

The sky tore open, and the hands of the gods reached down and collected us.

Chapter 58

I hadn’t seen Archer in two weeks, but today was the day, and I was giddy as a woodland nymph. Today was the hearing on our case. The Fates had been studying everything that had transpired, and they were to rule on Charon’s involvement in Lamia’s and Gacy’s escape, how Archer and I had handled the mission, and my proposal for better communication between the realms.

I was brushing my hair when I noticed Megaera behind me.

“Meg. What are you doing here?”

She eyed me suspiciously. “The question is, what are
you
doing?”

I was about to apply lipstick. I stopped and narrowed my eyes at her through the mirror. “I don’t know what you mean.”

I grabbed a blouse that was hanging from the shower rack.

“I think you do,” Meg said, a twang in her tone.

Alex popped in then. “I think she’s in love with him.” She crossed her arms.

I glared at her as I buttoned my shirt.

“Are you wearing perfume, Tisi?” Alex asked, sniffing the air.

I brushed her aside to get to my sink where the lotion sat. I dabbed it on my hands and elbows.

“And lipstick,” Meg said in a little girl’s voice.

Alex puckered her lips in the mirror. “Oh, Archer, kiss me like you mean it.” She pretended to swoon.

“I saved your ass, and this is the thanks I get?” I said to my little sister.

Alex rolled her eyes. “Please. If it wasn’t for me reserving my strength and building my power by channeling home, we would all be dead.”

I felt my fury flutter, but I wouldn’t let them get to me. Not today of all days.

“And if it wasn’t for the two of you pretending to be mortals with the minds of lost sheep, none of us would have been in that mess to begin with,” I said.

“Hey, I didn’t get abducted,” Meg said.

“No, but you were foolish enough to drink that juice,” I said to my older sister. “And really, Meg? Clyde?”

Steam whistled from Megaera’s ears. “I told you—that was a rumor you-know-who started.”

I sighed. “This bathroom is not big enough for the three of us.” I turned and walked out, leaving my sisters in the dark.

They followed me out.

“Don’t be so serious, Tisiphone. We’re only teasing you because we’re happy for you,” Meg said.

“That’s right. It’s about time you got some action. It’ll dry up if you don’t use it,” Alex said.

I gave her a disgusted look. “You are vulgar.”

I grabbed my sword and slipped it into a proper sheath. Indigo was out feeding.

“It’s true,” she said.

“That’s what I heard,” said Meg.

I opened the door and stepped out. Then I turned to my sisters. “Do not embarrass me. I mean it.” I shot them each a stern look.

Alex stuck her tongue out at me, and Meg crossed her eyes.

I threw up my hands. “You act like children. The both of you.”

My sisters snickered, and the three of us headed off into the dark night toward the courtroom of the Fates.

It took about an hour for the Fates to relay their verdicts. I learned that the escape was made possible through a combination of events: the black soul of Jason Helm and his ever-increasing knowledge of and faith in the dark arts, the unearthing of the gate via the humans, and, of course, the greedy, greased palm of Charon. It was the perfect storm.

The ferryman was found guilty of bribery, treason, and murder, since his actions had led to the deaths of Cicely Barnes, and Jason Helm, despicable as he was. His punishment for his crimes was banishment to a locked box in Tartarus.

I couldn’t have been more thrilled.

Athena was given a chance to speak to my proposal. She informed the court that she was working on an interworld communication system. “Much like the mortals’ Internet.”

A technology I would welcome.