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Sophis landed on top of the gate and screeched. A trio of low growls responded.
Cerberus.
The dog was as large as a grizzly, and its three heads bore three sets of razor-sharp teeth. Six pairs of black eyes promised despair. Three long tongues lolled out of three gaping maws. Its one butt slammed onto a pile of skulls at the base of the gate’s columns.
My mouth went dry. Giguhl had told me once that Cerberus was a bitch—literally and metaphorically. “Good girl,” I said, my voice shaking. She stood and bared her teeth. Hackles stiffened on her back like porcupine quills. Her snake tail rattled ominously. “Easy.”
I moved forward with halting steps. My hands were extended in front of me in what I hoped was a calming gesture. The three muzzles sniffed the air. The beast moved forward for more. Three cold noses dripping with snot snuffled my palms. I held my breath and prayed that the hell beast would find my scent acceptable, but not appetizing.
The heads pulled away with a snort. I braced myself for the mauling I expected. Instead, Cerberus lumbered to the ground and, with a sigh, exposed her belly to me.
My heart slowed to a mildly panicked pace. Hekate wasn’t kidding when she told me I’d have to rub Cerberus’s belly. Only the goddess hadn’t mentioned the three rows of grayish green teats. I threw up a little in my mouth. But Hekate made me promise to do this if I wanted to gain entrance to Irkalla. Plus, I figured the hell beast wouldn’t take too kindly to rejection.
I took a deep breath and knelt next to the dog. Her three faces watched me expectantly and her legs lolled back like a whore at a gangbang. I decided to just suck it up and get the petting over with. As quickly as I could, I ran my hands over Cerberus’s stomach.
Never had I been so close to vomiting as when I touched the cold, clammy teats of the hell beast.
Luckily, the whole thing was over quickly. I wiped my palms on my jeans and stood. The sets of obsidians eyes shot me bitch-please looks at my lackluster petting skills. I crossed my arms. “You want more?” I nodded toward Charon across the way. “Ask Ichabod Crane over there to help you.”
The dog sniffed and padded on its lion’s paws toward the gate. It stood there expectantly, as if to say, Be gone with you.
“That’s it?” I said. “I just walk through?”
The three heads yipped back in the affirmative. I glanced through the columns, trying to see what waited for me on the other side. But I couldn’t see past the reflections from the mirrored surface. From what Valva had told us, just beyond these gates was the Hekatian Fields. The closest thing to allied territory I’d find down in the underworld.
I took a deep breath. Raised my foot to take the first step—
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
I froze and turned to look over my shoulder. Charon stood right behind me. I hadn’t heard him approach and finding him so close unnerved me. Well, that and the gruesome face peeking out from the folds on his hood. He looked like the love child of Iggy Pop and Marty Feldman, complete with bulging eyes and heroin cheekbones.
I stepped back, careful not to cross the invisible plane created by the columns. “Why?”
“You have to pay the toll.”
I frowned. “Hekate didn’t mention a toll.”
He shrugged and pointed a gnarled finger back across the bridge. Adam, Tristan, and the others all stood on the other side. They were yelling and jumping up and down, but I couldn’t hear them. “Your friends cannot enter unless you pay the toll.”
I sighed. “How much?”
“Not how much—what.”
I crossed my arms. His deadly halitosis made brevity a necessity. “Okay, what do you want?”
“Answer a question.”
I huffed out a breath. “I don’t have time for pop quizzes!”
“Take it or leave them behind.”
I narrowed my eyes at the ferryman of the underworld. “Fine, but this better not be a trick.”
“What is your goal?”
“That’s it? That’s the question?”
He nodded.
“If I tell you my goal, you’ll let them in?”
“No, if you answer wisely, I’ll let them in.”
I hesitated. On the surface, it was a simple question. But too much rested on the outcome of my answer to throw out a flippant response. My first instinct was to claim revenge against Cain. It’s what had driven me and brought me to this specific moment. But was that really my ultimate goal? Once Cain was dead, what did I want? Happiness seemed too trite. What was happiness anyway? I’d never heard a convincing definition. And peace sounded too much like an answer a pageant contestant would give.
“I’m waiting,” Charon prodded. His taunting tone set my teeth on edge.
“Give me a minute.”
What I really wanted was to stop struggling all the time. For as long as I could remember, I’d been at war with myself. On one side of the battlefield was my vampire side—the vicious, bloodthirsty, selfish Sabina. On the other side was her opponent, the more thoughtful, contemplative mage Sabina. Every decision I made ever since I’d opened myself up to my magical roots required debate. It was exhausting. It prevented me from fully accepting love as well as offering it. So, maybe, in the end, my ultimate goal was to find the sweet spot between those two. Maybe then I’d finally be happy.
That might be the actual answer, but would it appease Charon? Only one way to find out. Letting out a here-goes-nothing breath, I looked the ferryman right in the eye. “My ultimate goal is to find balance.”
A hush fell over the clearing. Even Cerberus seemed to hold her breath as we waited for Charon’s verdict. Finally, he said, “Interesting.”
“Interesting as in it’s the right answer or interesting as in I’m shit out of luck?”
His lips spread into a creepy smile that revealed crooked, gray teeth. “There was no right answer, Mixed-Blood. There is only your answer.”
With that cryptic remark, he disappeared. The air popped and I blinked at the empty space where he’d stood. The sound of running feet reached me and I looked up to see Adam and the others barreling across the bridge.
“Thank the gods.” Seeing those friendly faces acted like a balm on my frayed nerves.
Adam tackled me with a hard hug. “I thought—” He swallowed hard.
Behind him, I saw Nyx try to grab Tristan’s hand, but he shrugged her off. His gaze rose up, taking in the Adamantine Gate. Nyx shied away, shooting hurt glances at my father. Horus and Calyx stood behind all of them, their weapons drawn in case of attack.
