CHAPTER 167

"Scavengers," Lily said. "Looking for an easy meal when someone crosses over."

"This part of the Underworld seems a little more dangerous than over by the house," he told her.

"The house has a Cerberus watching it. This place? Not so much. Actually, I don't know that we want to run across another Cerberus. It may not be very happy to accept the condition this one is in."

Cerberus looked back at the two of them and grunted in the affirmative, or so Mike thought. They continued onward for another hour when he patted Lily on the leg and looked over his shoulder.

"Can you grab a sandwich out of my bag?" he asked. He heard her rustle through his backpack and then went quiet.

"This isn't a sandwich, it's a whole fucking meal." She handed it forward and he took it. It was essentially a BLT on a long hoagie roll, with some type of aioli that Sofia had whipped up this morning. "She made five more of these for you!"

"She didn't want me going hungry. Want some?"

"No. You're gonna need your strength when you inevitably fuck the faerie queen."

"You really think it will come down to fucking her?" He pulled off a piece of his sandwich and held it back for her. There was a moment of hesitation before she took it from him and he heard her chew on it.

"Honestly? I fully expect her to betray you somehow, then you'll seduce her with that big dick of yours. Probably fuck her in the ass in the hopes of dislodging the massive stick that's up there."

He laughed, which caused him to cough a bite of sandwich into his sinuses. This triggered a coughing fit, and Lily smacked him on the back, which allowed him to swallow the offending bite. He finished his sandwich and had Lily hand him a water bottle, which he promptly drained. The scenery was going from urban to jungle now, and they were walking along the side of a river that was cold enough that chunks of ice were caught in its current. From the side of his eyes, he thought he saw people clinging to the chunks, but when he looked directly, they were gone.

"Seriously though, is there a plan? If she betrays you, I mean." There was absolutely no humor in Lily's tone now.

"If she betrays me, she still has to let me return home. She can't harm me directly, that much I know. It's likely she will try to do something regarding Cecilia's capture, but I'm not sure what." He sighed in frustration. "Honestly, the only trick I have up my sleeve is that I can challenge her to a duel, but she has to accept. If we agree on the outcome of the duel, she gets to pick the weapons that are allowed, and I get to pick the location. I debated having Tink build me a giant faerie trap, but that could be seen as outside interference. So the duel is out."

"Maybe you'll get lucky and she'll choose genitals as the weapon of choice." Lily ran her hands along the front of his pants again. "Then you could pick somewhere romantic, show her that thing you do with your lightning..."

He grabbed her hand and moved it off his crotch. "Sorry," he told her. "Got told by a trusted source that I'll be banging a faerie queen later, so I need to have some gas in the tank."

She laughed, pinched his stomach, then leaned her head against his shoulder. He thought he heard her sigh, and he couldn't help but smile.

Beth was busy washing her dinner dishes while looking out the back window. Mike had been gone a few hours already, but she felt like it had been far longer.

Shortly after he left, she had gone out front to see if the sundial would turn for her. On the one hand, she was relieved when it didn't. That meant that Mike was still alive. On the other hand, it also meant that she would be unable to activate the home's defenses if he became trapped in the Underworld, and she wouldn't put it past the queen to find a way to trap him there until the house was overrun by the society, angry gods, or whatever was waiting to pounce on the place.

The others were having a semi-quiet meal in the dining room. Tink was discussing some interior improvements with Reggie, and Sofia sat between Yuki and Quetzalli, the three of them going over some artbooks from the Library. Kisa had stopped in briefly to grab her meal to go, and Beth suspected she was up on the roof.

Dana was out back with some redesigned drones, trying to get in some last-minute adjustments before the sun went down. Undoubtedly she would take her place across from the mysterious door once night fell. Beth wasn't certain what Dana had discovered, if anything, but had heard her talking to the rats a lot of nights in hushed tones. At first, she had wondered if they were helping her make progress, but it turned out that Dana rambled when she had an audience. Her inner monologue would float down the hallway for troubled sleepers to hear, and most of it had been a mess of alchemy, astrology, and Dana's personal thoughts on both.

A small drone whizzed around the yard, then chased a pair of fairies. Cerulea and Olivia left sparkling trails behind as they dashed out of the way, then took turns riding the thing as if it were a bucking bronco. Beth wondered if they would be able to stay on it for eight seconds when she heard the doorbell ring.