She ran the hand-crank sifter as I put the flour and other ingredients through. I knew the recipe by heart despite rarely making it, and I didn’t need to double-check anything. I went through the motions as we put the cake together, which allowed my mind to circle around the problem in front of me.

We knew Hera had something to do with the virus. And we knew that Merlin was also tied to her, but he was missing, apparently. There were more pieces missing than just Merlin, though. The problem was, I didn’t have a clue as to what they could be. I tried not to think about the problem directly and instead just let my mind wander to see if I could stumble on the answer.

Unfortunately for me, letting my mind wander also allowed it to go to my mother’s death, to holding her, pulling her from the rubble. Was she in the underworld now with Hades?

Was Orpheus right about bringing her back with a simple flower?

Death. Hades. Virus. Zeus. Hera. Merlin. Everything was there, I just had to figure out how they mixed together, and then I’d know what was in the oven baking, so to speak. I stopped mixing the batter midstir, seeing the recipe in my mind begin to come together.

“Hades . . . he’ll know what’s going on; he’s the one who is benefiting from all these people dying.” I blurted the words out as I dumped the batter into a pan. Not only that, but maybe . . . maybe I could find my mom. God, I was afraid to hope for that, afraid to consider that possibility in case I failed. “Hermes, go tell Zeus I will talk to Hades after all.” Hades would know something with all the souls coming his way, and maybe he’d even know how to stop it.

“You got it.” He zipped away in a flash of light, and I slumped into a chair.

“But why would Hades want to stop the dead coming to him?” I asked myself softly. Why indeed? It made logical sense that the dead going to Hades would potentially benefit him, seeing that he ruled the underworld.

“Who are you talking about now, sis?” Tad jumped up so he could sit on the counter next to me. His green eyes were bright and clear of the hatred Theseus had put into them, but they were red rimmed from tears. From grief.

I took his hand and squeezed it gently. “Why would Hades want people to stop dying in droves? How am I going to convince him to help me?” I glanced up at him. “I doubt my siren abilities will work on him.”

Tad scrunched up his face in thought. “I don’t know. I’ll come with you, if you want.” He looked at me and then hurried to spit out the rest. “I think you can do it on your own. I just want you to know I’m here. If you need me.”

Sweeter words couldn’t have fallen from his lips. I took his other hand. “Thanks. But . . . I’m good. I’ll need backup soon enough, but no point in getting us all sent to hell.” I winked at him, and his mouth dropped.

“You said ‘hell.’”

“That I did.” I laughed, but it ended on something that was more of a sob. Hermes shot through the kitchen, sliding to a stop in midair.

His eyes were wide, and his sneakers were lit up with a faint red glow like he was literally on fire. “You aren’t going to believe this,” he panted. “Hades has imprisoned Zeus. The gods are flocking to Hera. If we don’t get Zeus out quick, she’s won. You’ve got to get to Hades, and fast.”

The world seemed to tilt, and I clutched the table for support. This was not how it was supposed to go. “So I guess that means Hades was working with Hera all along. What do you want to bet he’s behind the virus too?” The words slipped out of me, and I saw Yaya from the corner of my eye. She jerked, like I’d slapped her, confirmation that I was right. So there it was—Hades was behind the Aegrus virus. It made a twisted sort of sense, seeing as there would be power in the dead for him. He was, after all, the lord of the underworld. The more people he had in his thrall, the stronger he would be.

I pushed to my feet. “Hermes. Can you find Merlin?”

He closed his eyes, and from underneath the lids his eyes moved as if he were seeing things only he could see. “The hospital on Whidbey Island. The Aegrus ward.”

Where Merlin and I had first met. I stood up and looked at my friends around me. Dahlia and Sandy stood beside one another, monsters like me and beautiful in more aspects than the view the world saw. “I need to keep Hercules and the Hydra off me until I get back from dealing with Hades. Think you two can distract them if they show up before the two days he gave me?”

Dahlia gave me a slow, wicked grin. “Think Hercules could fend off a vampire bite?”

Sandy rolled her shoulders. “We’ll draw them away from the city, maybe toward the valley?” She glanced at Remo, and he nodded.

“Out of the city would be best. Take them all the way to my compound if you can. We can hold them there. It will give the vampire council something to deal with.”

I looked at Tad and Yaya. “Tad, I need you to go with me to Dad. We need him to know that we know he’s a Super Duper and we need his help.”

Tad’s face was serious. “You think he can help?”

“I think if Mom was telling me the truth, our dad is a warlock in his own right. We need him to start turning people, because right now that is all we can do to help them. Start with those at Merlin’s and then move outward from there.”

There was a knock on the door, and we all froze. Everyone we knew was here. I made my way to the entrance and listened only for a split second before I flung it open. My dad stood there, his face lined with grief, his black hair sporting more than a few new strands of gray, his green eyes rimmed in red.