Page 81 of Hades' Shadow
I grin. He has great taste.
The two heads nudge each other, snarling and snapping at each other while the other barks at Adrian and Raven as they move closer to the gates.
“Jayden, they need to get through the gates,” I yell at him, flicking my whip out at Cerberus again and taking off running.
“Beth, that’s not a good idea,” Jayden yells back at me, but I wave him off as the rumbling of huge paws fills the space again.
I dodge as the middle head lunges for me. The head on the left knocks into it, throwing it off course.
The right head whines as I round another stalagmite. I don’t stop to hide this time and the rock explodes all around me.
“Fuck,” I scream.
Searing pain explodes in my shoulder and the coppery scent of my blood fills the air.
All three dog heads turn to me now as I pull a jagged piece of rock from my shoulder. The head on the left whines, and his eyes fill with shame as the middle head sniffs the air with a growl.
“Beth,” Jayden shouts and races to me.
“I’m okay. It just hurts like a bitch.” I breathe out through the pain. “Are they inside the gates?”
“Fuck no, B. I’m not fucking leaving you,” Raven shouts.
“Motherfucker.” I shake my head, keeping my hand over the wound on my shoulder. “Go, I’ll be behind you. I made friends with Lefty. He won’t let the others hurt me too badly.”
“Fuck you. I think I have an idea,” Raven growls.
“Oh gods, Raven has an idea,” I say with a flinch.
“Wasn’t Cerberus one of the trials of Heracles?” Raven comes into view in front of me.
Jayden crouches in front of me, looking at my wound.
“It doesn’t look too bad. Can you move your fingers?” he asks.
I flex my fingers. They move fine but I flinch at the pain.
“It hurts like a bitch, but I think I’ll be okay.” I nod and roll my shoulders back.
“I need a stick,” Raven announces.
“What are you talking about?” I shake my head.
“I need a stick or a ball or something,” Raven says, crouching down and searching through her bag.
At the word ball, all three of Cerberus heads turn in her direction and their tongues loll out of their mouths and drip saliva onto the rocky ground.
“I think that’s probably the wrong word to use, Raven,” I say, eyeing Cerberus.
His three heads are all looking for the ball that doesn’t exist.
“Yeah,” Jayden says warily. “They like the B word.”
“It’s in the trials of Heracles. He had to get past Cerberus so he threw a stick,” Raven says with an eyeroll.
“Okay, so you plan to find something in the underworld to act as a toy so they go after it?” I ask, nodding.
It makes sense. He is a dog even if he is a terrifying giant dog.
