Cerberus stepped in front of the grate, blocking out pretty much all the light. He reminded me of one of the Wild Things. Roaring his terrible roar and gnashing his terrible teeth.
"Nice boy," I said, soothingly.
Rumbling growls became ear-splitting barks. This was, however, a step up from the first time that I'd met Cerberus in my Sophie form. Back then he'd tried to snap me in two. I felt about as cuddly toward him.
I flapped one hand at him from the safety of my side of the barrier. "Quiet," I hissed.
He stepped closer to me and sniffed with two of his three heads. Then, amazingly, he shut up. He turned six black-as-pitch eyes on me and waited, heads bobbing expectantly.
Awwww. He was kind of cute in a stinky, knobby, death beast way.
I wasn't sure what he wanted. But I did know he was my best shot at help right now. Did I dare trust him to leave me intact? I had very limited options. I could either try and crawl my way back up and out of the Underworld with no guarantee that there was a way out on the other end or I could risk trying to get Cerberus' help and hope that he didn't tear me apart like a chew toy this time.
Desperate times. "Help me get out of here, dog."
Seeing as he was a primal killer and not a reasonably intelligent orangutan, he sat there.
I stuck my fingers through the grate and waggled them at him, indicating he should come closer. I also called my light with a palmy glow, in case he turned on me.
His fur felt rough and matted as he nudged my hand. His muscles made lumpy ridges under his skin, which rippled as he opened one of his massive mouths and let out a stream of the foulest stench I'd ever smelled. Rotting eggs were minty mouthwash in comparison. It was like a thousand years of compressed decay.
I tried not to gag, failed, plugged my nose, and tugged him close until two of his snouts touched the grate. "Arrr. Arrr." I mimed biting the metal bars of the grate and tugging backward.
He got the picture pretty quickly, i.e. not at all. Ten minutes later, I was slumped in a dejected ball. "Come on, you dumb mutt."
More waiting on his part.
Okay, he was a dog. A scary one, but still. What did dogs respond to? I had no treats. Hand motions had done nothing. Maybe he just needed a simple command? I sat up and channelled every once of commanding that I could muster. "Cerberus, move grate."
The magic words. Go figure.
I hurried to cover my nose and mouth as his jaws opened again, which helped somewhat with the smell, but still made my eyes water. Cerberus bit down on the bars, and with an effortless flick of his heads, flung the grate out of the way.
I crawled into the Underworld and collapsed. The last time I'd been here, it had been night. I thought it would always be night, but now that I had my Persephone memories, I knew that Hades enjoyed sunlit days during which to strut his god's doucheyness, as much as he liked moonlit nights.
Worked for me, since the sunshine recharged my power. I looked up, a hand automatically shielding my eyes. Then I realized it wasn't that bright. Weird. Even though the sun was yellow and the sky was blue, there was no vibrancy or richness to them. More the faintest suggestion of color than the actual thing.
Color or not, this sun recharged me just fine. After a few minutes, I felt good to go. All I wanted was to find Kai and Theo—if they were here—locate the way to Demeter's temple, and get on with stopping Zeus and Hades.
But where might be the most likely place to find my boys? I looked to Cerberus who settled his heads on his paws, his eyes lowering sleepily. Nope. I wasn't finished with the mutt just yet. "Cerberus, play game."
He didn't exactly thump his tail in joy. Instead, he let two of his heads go to sleep.
I stood up and wiped some salty soil from my eyes. The dress, which had originally been a very nice shade of deep blue, was now streaked with muck. Well, Felicia shouldn't have stuck me in a dirt tunnel if she expected it to stay clean.
I approached Cerberus cautiously. I couldn't remember if I was supposed to make eye contact or not.
Hannah would have known.
No. Not going there.
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My Life From Hell (The Blooming Goddess #3)
किशोर उपन्यासSave herself. Save the world. Humanity may be screwed. To say that Sophie Bloom is at the top of her game with one only week until Spring Equinox and the final showdown with Zeus and Hades would be, well, lying. The Goddess of Spring feels more l...
