Milo touched her shoulder and said, “Be careful and watch your step. The rock is slippery and treacherous. Some of the crevices drop for miles. Just move as fast as you can.”
Alexa eased herself slowly down the steps. Lance following close behind her was a comfort.
“I’ll catch you if you fall,” he said. “I might have to bite you, but I’ll save you. Promise.”
Alexa reached out and ruffled his head. “Thanks, Lance.”
They moved down in silence. The air was cold and smelled of winter snow. They were in a giant cave in the bowels of the mountain. She could hear the roar of water rushing and hitting rock. There were rapids or a waterfall nearby—
A boom sounded above them as the door to the kitchen was broken down. Then she heard angry shouts and the slap of feet on slippery rock.
“Hurry!” Milo took her hand in his and pulled her dangerously down the slippery steps.
The stairs suddenly ended on a ledge overlooking the most enormous cavern she’d ever seen. The inky river directly below them flowed towards a waterfall to her left.
Alexa leaned over the ledge. It was a fifty-foot drop. She’d never made such an ambitious jump before.
Something whipped past her cheek, cut her skin, and imbedded itself into the stone wall. Milo held it in the air for her to see. It was a metal star.
“Elder stars,” said Milo, and then he growled. “Dipped in demon poison. Duck!”
Alexa flattened herself on the ledge as a volley of elder stars shot past them. The cavern walls echoed with shouts, and she turned towards the noise.
“Kill them! Kill the demons!” shouted Elder Nicholas. “Don’t let them get into the water!”
An elder star bounced in front of her, and another sliced through her hair as it hissed overhead.
“I think that’s our cue to leave, people,” said Lance. He readied himself for a jump.
Milo pulled Alexa to her feet. “Come on!”
She leaned over the edge, stared down into the icy black waters of the Blátindur River, saw Lance and Milo hurl themselves over the ledge, and jumped.
Her eyes were open the entire way down.
CHAPTER 25
LANCE’S PLAN WORKED LIKE A CHARM. They arrived in Horizon and were immediately escorted to the pools by Lance’s friend, John. John was a Golden Retriever, and much to her surprise and delight, he was also a close friend of Jim, the oracle. John secretly ushered them past the red dunes of Operations to the pool that had been arranged for their departure.
Alexa joined the others on the platform of the pool. She was excited that she might still be able to get her soul and her memories back, but she was hurt and a little confused that she had been branded a traitor by the Legion. Metatron wanted her dead, plain and simple. But for now there was nothing she could do about it. She had to get proof of her innocence.
With only Jim and John as witnesses, they jumped into the pools and were gone in under fifteen minutes.
“A new record,” Lance said before he disappeared in a flash of brilliant light.
They emerged in Central Park West in Manhattan. The winter air was cold, but it was like a hot bath compared with Iceland. Lance sported a matching midnight-blue collar and leash, which Alexa gladly agreed to hold. They didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention by walking in Manhattan with a large untethered dog.
Night had fallen, and Alexa looked out at the brilliant lights of the city that surrounded them. She felt at home with the familiar smells of car fumes, concrete, and wet snow. The noises of the city surrounding the park were a far cry from the silent and cold of Hesteyri.
Milo had been silent since they left Horizon. And while young women stopped to admire his bright hair and startling looks, Milo never noticed them. If he knew the effect he had on mortal women, he didn’t show it.
She’d caught him watching her a few times, but he never said a word. He looked as if he was focused on something else. Although he kept his distance from her, he stayed close enough to hear and contribute to their conversation. It wasn’t that he was shutting her out, but it was more that he was isolating himself. He was clearly battling some internal torment.
“Tell me again why the Elders’ Guild thought it was a good idea to hide the Helm of Darkness in a museum,” asked Alexa.
Her boots squished in the gray-brown slush. “Isn’t that a little obvious? Ancient artifacts and museums usually go together. They must have been the first places Hades searched.”
“Even if he did search the museums, he would never have found it,” said Milo. “Not when it was disguised and labelled as something else. It’s pretty clever, really.”
Alexa wasn’t so sure.
The brownstone Romanesque architecture of the American Museum of Natural History loomed before them like a giant gray dinosaur. A series of stone steps led to a colossal, arched entrance that stood between four stone columns. A bronze sculpture of a man on horseback stood on a raised platform just in front of the entrance. Statues of an American Indian and an African American stood beside it. A giant banner hung from the entrance: MUMMIES, January to April.
“How do we get in?” asked Alexa. “We can’t just walk in the front doors without paying, especially not with a dog. No offense, Lance.”
“None taken,” said the Scout. “There’s an exit door on 77th, but we can open it from the outside. It’ll be less crowded. We can sneak in and hide before they set up the alarms for the night. There are four security guards on rotation, but that shouldn’t be a problem. It’s nearing closing time, so we better hurry.”
“How do you know all that?” asked Alexa.
A pedestrian looked at her strangely because she appeared to be talking to a dog, but she glared at him until he looked away.
Lance cocked his head to the side. “It’s not my first break-in here.”
Milo looked at the dog. “Show me.”
Lance wagged his tail. “Come on. This way.”
They followed the Scout to the corner of 77th and went north along the west side of the museum. The soft yellow light of the street lamps almost made the scene romantic. A few mortals gave strange looks at the big white dog that trotted happily beside them, but most people just ignored them.
They hurried along the sidewalk. Mature trees and an iron fence lined the west side of the museum. Lance’s secret entrance was under an arched staircase that descended from an upper level. They waited next to the doors for a group of museum visitors to exit, and then they slipped inside.
They stood in a grand hallway with polished floors. Alexa could see countless other corridors, rooms, and halls. A massive canoe decorated with Native American designs hung from the ceiling. The place was deserted, and the sound of their footsteps echoed around them.
“Security will be along soon to lock the doors,” said Lance.
Alexa saw a sign for the bathrooms. “What about the bathrooms? We could hide in there?”
“No,” said Lance. “They check those. There’s always someone lurking in the bathrooms. But I have the perfect place. This way.”
The big white dog hurried across the slippery floors. Alexa was worried that they would have to try again the next day if security caught them. They didn’t have that much time. Luckily, there was no one in sight.
Lance leapt towards a single door and scratched it with his front paw. “Here. In here. Quickly.”
Alexa pulled on the door, and it swung open. She stared at the assortment of buckets, mops, boxes, and window and floor cleaners that were stacked inside. It was a broom closet, and it was too small for two people and a dog. They could never fit—
Milo grabbed her by the elbow and pushed her in. He crushed her with his body as he and Lance squeezed in beside her. It smelled of disinfectant, old mops, rotting fruit, and wet dog.
She was aware that her breasts brushed up against Milo’s chest, but she didn’t dare look at him. She tried to shift over, but she couldn’t. They were way too close. She felt the stu
bble on his cheeks, and a strand of his hair brushed her face. The last time she was this close to someone, it had been with Erik, and they’d been locked together in a passionate embrace. If she turned her head now, she would brush his lips with hers.
Milo shifted close enough that his thigh grazed hers, and she could feel the heat of him. It wasn’t the same heat that she’d felt from Erik. This was a softer heat, like from the warmth of a wool blanket on a cold night. She’d never been this close to another angel before, touching close. It wasn’t uncomfortable. It was soothing. He smelled of leather, musk, and something else she couldn’t place. It was a nice smell.
When she finally looked up, Milo was staring at a spot on her shoulder. He frowned, but she didn’t look away. He looked like he was in hell. He was clearly uncomfortable being so close to someone of the opposite sex.
Alexa relaxed and tried to act normal. She had the feeling Milo was embarrassed as well.
“Was this really the only place we could hide?” she said quietly, careful not to brush her face against Milo’s. God forbid she accidentally kissed him.
“I know it’s a little tight,” said Lance.
“A little? This cupboard could barely fit one person, let alone three.”
“Two persons,” said Lance. “I’m a dog.”
“You know what I mean.”
She heard Lance sigh. “I know. But I promise it won’t be for long. Sit tight.”
Alexa glared at a spot on the wall and tried not to touch Milo.
“This is ridiculous.” Alexa shifted her weight and bumped her knees against Milo’s. As he tried to move back, their foreheads collided.
“Ouch!” she cried. “Is your forehead made of metal or something?”
Milo was bewildered. “Sorry. This is just as awkward for me as it is for you.”
“I seriously doubt that,” said Alexa.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Can you two please shut up?” hissed Lance. “If security doesn’t hear you, I’m pretty sure you’ll wake up the mummies with all this racket.”
He paused, waiting for them to collect themselves. “Just try and relax. Meditate. I don’t care. Just do it silently.”
Alexa didn’t know how much time had passed when she felt the first cramp in her lower back. She groaned before she could stop herself.
“Am I hurting you?” Milo’s voice sounded low and intimate, and his chin grazed her cheek as he shifted awkwardly against her.
“No,” said Alexa, “there’s something poking against my back. I think it’s the handle of a mop or a broom.”
“If I could move, I would,” Milo whispered.
He opened his mouth again as if he intended to ask her a question, but then he seemed to think better of it and looked away.
Alexa pulled her hand back. “It’s fine. We’ve all been in tight situations before. This is nothing, right? I’m sure it’s not for much longer.”
She was silent for a moment and then said, “Milo…”
“Yes,” he said. He looked sad, and it made her forget what she wanted to say.
“Nothing,” she breathed. It was hard to stay mad at someone who looked like a sad Golden Retriever puppy.
Before she knew what she was doing, Alexa leaned into Milo. She flinched back, appalled at herself. She realized that a part of her wanted to press her face into his chest, to feel how strong and hard he was. She also realized how lonely she was. She missed being touched by anyone, a friend or a lover.
Alexa couldn’t bear it anymore. “How much longer do we have to stay in here—?”
The door swung open, and a man in a light-gray uniform looked in.
“What the hell are you doing in there?”
Milo hit him on the side of the head and his eyes rolled back. He caught him before he hit the floor. Alexa and Lance squeezed out and watched as Milo put the unconscious man into the broom closet and shut the door behind him.
“Come on,” said Lance as he stretched out his limbs. “Time to go.”
CHAPTER 26
LANCE POINTED OUT THE SECURITY cameras’ lines of sight, and the three of them crept along the dimly lit museum hallways, moving in the shadows and against the walls. The soft glow of ceiling lights weirdly elongated their shadows on the smooth granite floors. Alexa had to be careful not to put all her weight into each step. She didn’t possess the stealth of Milo and Lance, both of whom seemed to glide and never really touch the floor at all.
At the far end of the long hallway, stairs led to the upper floors. She wondered if she’d ever been here before. Maybe on a school trip? But nothing looked familiar.
Alexa was glad to have her own personal space again, but she felt cold and even more lonely than before. She glanced at Milo when he wasn’t looking. He’d been concerned for her, but it was clear that he had his own problems, and they were eating him up inside.
Milo glanced at a wall map and said, “Third floor. This way.”
Alexa still had little idea where they were going. Milo had told her next to nothing about the whereabouts of the Helm of Darkness, only that it was hidden here inside this museum.
Alexa and Lance hurried after Milo as he dashed into another hall. Three skeletons, a crouching chimpanzee, a slightly stooped Neanderthal, and an upright Homo sapiens depicted human evolution in the entrance, and a big interactive map depicted the development of modern humans in Africa. The hall was packed with artifacts, and in the center of the room an ape-like couple stood together in a glass case. Most of the exhibition passed her in a blur of blues, browns, and whites. The silence was eerie. They reached the end of the hall and bounded up some steps onto the third-floor gallery.
As soon as Alexa stepped onto the third floor, she perceived a pulsing like the steady beating of a heart. Then she smelled sulfur and burnt hair—the smell of the supernatural. It was not the normal smell of ancient artifacts. It was as if an entity that didn’t belong in this world was screaming for attention. Come find me! Come use me!
Whatever it was, it was close.
Milo and Lance must have felt it too, for they hurried towards it. Alexa followed behind and they all moved under the sign at the entrance that read: THE MARGARET MEAD HALL OF PACIFIC PEOPLES.
They passed by walls of photos, indigenous objects, and a curious walking stick—objects from the different groups of pacific peoples. A large color-coded map of Oceania showed the different cultural groups, and a diorama depicted village scenes with intricate carvings, rugs, spears, war clubs, and giant carved human figures.
And still the pulsing increased.
Alexa, Milo, and Lance ran without speaking. Their angel senses pulled them towards the exact same location.
They stopped in front of a glass case containing five colorful wooden masks hanging from a thin metal wire. They were embellished with leather and had intricate carvings along the edges. At first glance, they all looked the same, but as she studied them Alexa realized that one of them was different.
There, on the far right, was the Helm of Darkness.
The other four masks were made of wood, but the helmet was made of rough metal. Its rounded crown was reinforced with strips of steel and rivets, and it had two openings for the eyes, a nasal guard, and a row of sharp metal teeth.
Alexa could see a flowing script of demonic symbols engraved into the metal. She would have recognized it anywhere. The supernatural energy it generated was unmistakable. The other masks all had strange dark marks on the side that faced the helmet. They had slowly burned in its demonic energy.
“I’m no expert, but the helm doesn’t exactly fit with the rest of these masks,” Alexa took a tentative step forward. “Why would the museum place it with these? They don’t even look the same?”
“The Elders’ Guild put an illusion spell on it,” said Milo. “The spell hides the helmet’s true identity from mortal eyes. They probably think it’s a Mayan mask or something like it. They can’t see through the veil like we can.”
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Lance sniffed the glass. “I had no idea the Elders’ Guild dabbled in magic,” he said. “But this thing stinks like rotten fruit.”
“They do fiddle in the dark arts from time to time,” answered Milo. “But they probably had help from one of the dark witches.”
He moved around to the back of the glass case. “It’s locked. I’m going to have to cut it open. Watch out.”
He pulled out one of his spirit sabers, and Alexa and Lance stepped back. Milo gave a powerful swing and sliced through the glass cabinet as if it were butter. The compartment came apart slowly, but then it fell to the floor and shattered with a thundering crash.
“Well, if the security didn’t hear us before,” said Lance, “that should do it.”
But Alexa wasn’t listening. She couldn’t take her eyes off the helm. It seemed to be looking at her. And then she heard it speak inside her head.
If you want to defeat Hades, you must put me on. Take me…Take me, Alexa…
Alexa knew there was something terribly important she was supposed to be doing, but she couldn’t remember what it was, or why she had cared. All she wanted was the helm.
She stepped in front of the display and reached out—
“Don’t touch it!” howled Milo. His eyes were as troubled as she’d ever seen them.
“You mustn’t touch the helm with your bare hands. Ever.”
Alexa stared at her hands, shocked at what she had been about to do. It was as though the helm had taken over her mind for just a few seconds. It terrified her.
“Didn’t you hear it? It told me to take it. It knew my name—”
“You heard it speak?” Lance leapt to his feet and padded away, keeping a cautious distance from the helm.
Alexa frowned. Milo and Lance were looking at her as if she were dangerous.
“Yes…like a voice inside my head that wasn’t my own. Why did I hear it and not you? What does that mean? And stop staring at me like I might spaz out or something.”
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