Magical fire, my a.s.s.

I felt like one of those Yogis running across a bed of hot coals on bare feet, only I didn't have the luxury of being able to transcend my body and get my mind away from all the pain that fire can so lovingly wreak on delicate human skin.

"Ow!" I yelped as my foot found purchase on the last step of the stairway. I made a grab for the wrought-iron railing that encircled the winding staircase, but yanked my hand back when I realized it was superheated from being so near the fire.

"Yikes," I said under my breath, still feeling the bite of the iron rail and knowing it would probably leave a scar on my palm.

I pushed my body up the stairway, feeling the cool air from above as it hit my face and neck, offering me a bit of freedom from the heat. I reached a landing that I thought was the top of the stairs but was really only the bottom of another hearth. When I looked up again, I saw that the winding stairway actually continued upward, farther than I could see.

"Mistress Calliope!"

Sitting in the corner of a small room filled with large, rickety spindles-the Sewing Room, presumably-was Jarvis, a large, b.l.o.o.d.y gash streaked across his handsome cheek. He was tied to one of the decrepit spindles by a long length of that same nylon string my father had bound Monsieur D to the palm tree with. Jarvis and Monsieur D were both magically adept, I realized now, so the string must've possessed some kind of antimagical property.

Jarvis gave me a big, toothy grin. He looked very very happy to see me. happy to see me.

"I decided that no one would ever come for me. That I would be bound here for the rest of my natural existence," he said, the giddiness he felt at seeing me-or just another friendly living being-evident in the tone of his voice.

"It's good to see you, too," I said, feeling a little choked up as I knelt down and gave the faun a hug. "Thank you for saving my life," I whispered in his ear.

I swear to G.o.d he blushed.

"How do I get you out of this mess?" I said, my fingers fumbling with the string. He shook his head.

"I can only be released by the magician that created the spell," he offered sadly.

"Screw that," I said, reaching for the string and snapping it in two. "I'm Death, and I can kill anything. Even a spell."

Jarvis looked at me, wide-eyed.

"You did it, didn't you? You completed the tasks!"

I nodded.

"I always knew you could do it!" he said, tears in his eyes.

Jarvis believed believed in me-and he was in me-and he was proud proud of me, too. Would wonders ever cease? of me, too. Would wonders ever cease?

I grabbed his arm, helping the faun to stand, but I could see he was still sore from his struggle with the detective. I doubted he would be able to keep a very fast pace.

"Can you walk?" I asked, and he nodded, a determined look on his face. Suddenly, he saw the cup in my hand and gasped.

"You brought the Cup of Jamshid here? Are you out of your mind?" he nearly screeched at me.

"What?" I said, not understanding why why he was getting all freaked-out about the stupid cup. he was getting all freaked-out about the stupid cup.

"You want to let the cup fall into the detective's hands? Do you know what that would mean?"

I shook my head. I loved Jarvis, but he really could could be a bit tedious at times. I just hoped I wasn't going to get another supernatural history lesson. be a bit tedious at times. I just hoped I wasn't going to get another supernatural history lesson.

"The Cup of Jamshid grants eternal life . . . ?" he said, doing that teacher thing where you make the cla.s.s answer a question, expecting your students to chime in with the "because" part. I decided to humor him-after all, he had saved my life.

"And because it has the power over life and death, it would be a totally bad bad idea for some bad guy to control it," I said in a monotone. Jarvis looked surprised, but he nodded his head happily at what I was saying. idea for some bad guy to control it," I said in a monotone. Jarvis looked surprised, but he nodded his head happily at what I was saying.

As much as the whole question-answer game was just superfun superfun, I'd really started to worry about Clio and the rest of my family. We were gonna have to say hasta la vista to the Sewing Room and get our a.s.ses in gear if we were gonna do any people-rescuing.

"Let's get out of here," I said, taking Jarvis's hand and guiding him back to the hearth. Together, we stepped inside and started to climb.

The next landing we pa.s.sed belonged to another empty room-this one a well-appointed, feminine-looking bedroom. The next two didn't grab our interest either-more bedrooms. It wasn't until we reached the fourth, and seemingly final, landing that we hit pay dirt.

"I think this is it," I whispered in Jarvis's ear as we had reached the topmost part of one of the turrets.

It was a grand, sweeping s.p.a.ce with windows that looked out into the darkness of the surrounding night. It would have been a romantic place with all the stone and candles and beautiful views-as long as you were able to ignore the chains embedded into walls and the prisoners pinioned into them.

"Father!" I cried as I saw him, his body leaning forward, chains wrapped around his arms and torso and legs. He looked terrible, but when he heard my voice, he lifted his head up and blinked at me.

I handed Jarvis the cup and ran over to my father, holding him up so the pressure from the chains was lessened.

"Father, are you okay?"

He nodded, a small smile of mirth playing in the corners of his mouth. I guess he was right. It was kind of a dumb dumb question. question.

"Jarvis and I are here to rescue you," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I doubted seeing Jarvis and me, and realizing we we were the "rescue party," really made him feel much better. were the "rescue party," really made him feel much better.

"Thank you, Calliope," my father said, his voice low and booming even though he must've been exhausted. "We have to free the others, too." He indicated with his head to where the rest of the Executives from the company lay chained to the walls, trapped in the same predicament.

As I counted the men and women chained here and there, I realized something funny: There weren't enough of them. I counted again, and still I got the same number. Someone was missing.

Someone really important.

"Where's Thalia?" I said, my voice scared.

"Why, I'm right here, Callie," a cold voice said behind me.

twenty-nine.

My father's eyes were sad, sadder than I'd ever seen them before. It didn't take me long to understand-I wasn't a complete dummy. I took a step back from him and turned around.

"Thalia," I breathed, my eyes having a hard time accepting what I was seeing. My older sister, Thalia, tall and beautiful but with a cruel look etched on her fine-boned face, stood beside Jarvis, her hand grasping him painfully by the scruff of the neck. In her other hand, she held Clio in much the same way. I breathed, my eyes having a hard time accepting what I was seeing. My older sister, Thalia, tall and beautiful but with a cruel look etched on her fine-boned face, stood beside Jarvis, her hand grasping him painfully by the scruff of the neck. In her other hand, she held Clio in much the same way.

"Look who I found wandering in my castle," Thalia said, her voice like ice.

"Your castle?" I whispered.

She gave me a wicked smile, and Jarvis cringed.

"Of course it's my castle. Who else would it belong to? I am am Vritra's new wife, after all." Vritra's new wife, after all."

I was aghast.

"You married that slimy serpent?"

She didn't take the bait; she only squeezed Clio's neck harder, making her gasp with pain. I was incredulous. I couldn't believe Thalia'd done something so stupid stupid-and was being such a b.i.t.c.h about it to boot.

"Leave them alone!" I said. "They're just a kid and a faun."

I got two nasty looks from Jarvis and Clio, but I didn't care. It was the truth, and if the truth would set them free, then screw them both.

"I'll let them go, if that's what you want, Callie," Thalia said as she marched over to one of the windows. Clio whimpered, and Jarvis closed his eyes.

"Wait!" I screamed. "Just wait a minute . . ."

She turned back around, still clutching her prey, her hands like talons. It was becoming very hard to reconcile this monstrous woman with the girl who had once been my sister.

"Tell me something, Thalia. Why did you do it?" This seemed to please my older sister-just like it did anytime anytime anyone asked a supervillain in the movies to explain their dastardly plans. She slackened her grip on Jarvis's neck and licked her lips, eager to impart the details of her perfect crime to me. anyone asked a supervillain in the movies to explain their dastardly plans. She slackened her grip on Jarvis's neck and licked her lips, eager to impart the details of her perfect crime to me.

"Calliope, you must know by now that you're the one with the birthright birthright-you, the one who doesn't even care care about the business. I slaved for Dad, I gave my lifeblood to that company, and the only thing they ever about the business. I slaved for Dad, I gave my lifeblood to that company, and the only thing they ever gave gave me was the Vice Presidency of Asia. me was the Vice Presidency of Asia. Asia . . . ? Come on! Asia . . . ? Come on! What the h.e.l.l was that? What the h.e.l.l was that? Nothing! Nothing!"

"Asia's nice," I mumbled.

"Shut up, Callie. I'm talking right now."

I did as she said.

"Of course, it is is the reason I met Vritra, so maybe you're right, Callie: Asia the reason I met Vritra, so maybe you're right, Callie: Asia is is nice." nice."

I swallowed hard, trying to think of anything to keep her talking.

"And you two planed the whole thing together together?" I said.

She nodded.

"Of course! And what a brilliant plan it was. We would kidnap the top echelon of Death, Inc., send the Board into an uproar, and then like magic I would appear-sadly, the only one to have escaped from the kidnapper's clutches. The Board would grant me the interim Presidency of Death, Inc., since I was the highest-level Executive left. Then unbeknownst to everyone else, Vritra and I would find the Cup of Jamshid, dispose of any other contenders for the position, and have the market cornered on Death. And no matter what the Board did, we'd we'd have all the control!" have all the control!"

I stared at her. It really was was a brilliant coproduction between two seriously twisted minds. a brilliant coproduction between two seriously twisted minds.

"That's terrible, Thalia, and really mean-spirited," I said. "How could you do it?"

"No, the question is: How could you you come back and stick your nose into something that doesn't concern you? I would've laughed if anyone had even come back and stick your nose into something that doesn't concern you? I would've laughed if anyone had even suggested suggested that you would actually that you would actually try try to attempt those stupid tasks." to attempt those stupid tasks."

"Hey! I completed those tasks, you b.i.t.c.h!"

I saw the shift in her thinking right there and then. The idea idea that I might actually that I might actually be be Death had never even entered her brain. I could see her mind start working in overtime, rea.s.sessing the situation as quickly as it could-which, knowing Thalia, was pretty d.a.m.n quick. Death had never even entered her brain. I could see her mind start working in overtime, rea.s.sessing the situation as quickly as it could-which, knowing Thalia, was pretty d.a.m.n quick.

I knew I had only one chance to stop her before my modelicious-looking sister from h.e.l.l could think of something truly terrible to do to me.

"I'm sorry, Thalia. You're my sister, and I guess even though you're actually a horrible, evil creature underneath it all . . . I still love you. So, it kind of sucks to have to do this to you."

I raised my hand and pointed my index finger at her chest.

"Do it, Callie!" Clio screamed.

"Die," I whispered.

Now, I knew that Thalia was still immortal because she was part of my bloodline, but if I could set her on fire in an exact repeat of what happened with the Devil, then I would have the advantage.

I almost cried when Thalia's body erupted in flame.

"You b.i.t.c.h!" she shrieked as she dropped Jarvis and Clio, her body engulfed in a raging inferno.

The moment I saw that Clio and Jarvis were out of harm's way, I rushed Thalia, hitting her right in the stomach, the force of our collision sending us flying out the window, each of us clutching on to the other like a pair of tandem skydivers.

We hit the ground hard, both of us getting the air knocked out of our lungs.

"d.a.m.n, that hurt," I wheezed. But it didn't hurt half half as bad as the kick to the head that Thalia gave me as she was clambering to her feet. as bad as the kick to the head that Thalia gave me as she was clambering to her feet.

"You stupid b.i.t.c.h!" she screamed as she made another run for my head. This time I saw it coming and was able to roll out of the way, but not before I caught sight of her mangled face and hair. She wasn't regenerating as quickly as the Devil-and she wasn't in the middle of a shape-shift, either-so the damage was pretty bad. Her eyebrows and eyelashes were gone, and her nose was just a smidgen melted-looking. Her hair was black with soot and scorched almost to her scalp.

Yep, my evil sister looks like c.r.a.p.

As she raced for me again, her fists balled and her teeth bared, I decided that I really didn't want to deal with her anymore. I was tired of her bad att.i.tude and her evil-looking, lashless eyes.

"Gopi!" I screamed, hoping that there were at least a few of the ladies still in existence. "Gopi! This is Vritra's wife! She's bad bad!"

Thalia just stared at me, disbelieving.

"Are you insane? We killed all those Gopi-"

The first Gopi attacked from behind, slamming herself into Thalia, so that the two ended up in a heap on the ground.

"Well, I resurrected them," I said as I watched three more Gopi pile onto my sister. I had experienced a Gopi attack firsthand, so I decided that it would be just fine just fine to leave Thalia in their capable-if half-dead-hands. to leave Thalia in their capable-if half-dead-hands.

Like I'd been saying, I had bigger fish to fry.

"Vritra!" I screamed. I screamed. "Show yourself!" "Show yourself!"

Sidestepping dismembered Gopi body parts, and what was left of the goop men, I felt just like Indra when he called out the nasty demon the last time I was here: totally insane. totally insane.

You didn't goad goad the bad guy like that unless you had a plan, and I was the bad guy like that unless you had a plan, and I was not not in possession of anything even in possession of anything even resembling resembling a plan. a plan.

When I reached the castle moat, I stopped and screamed again: "VRITRA, SHOW YOURSELF!"

There was a low rumbling sound, and then Detective Davenport came striding out of the castle's drawbridge dragging Indra on a piece of chain behind him like a dog.