“Through Hercules and the Hydra,” I said. I already knew that. I knew I’d have to face them, and when I faced them, Hera would show up. But I didn’t want to leave Remo. I knew all too well what it was like to be lying in quarantine with no one there to comfort you. No one to hold you as you died.

“HERMES!” I yelled his name, and seconds later he zipped through the window, skidding to a stop in midair.

“What’s up?”

“Get Dahlia, bring her here, and if not her, then get Tad. Or someone. Remo needs someone here with him.” I clutched Remo’s hand, and he shook his head.

“No, you need them all with you . . .”

“No, I don’t.” I wanted to smack him. Hermes was already gone, off to gather whomever he could. The night sky was dark, and Dahlia would still be up. No doubt she and Tad would come together. That would keep them out of harm’s way at least.

I bent over Remo. “I can do this, but only if I know there is someone here with you.”

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. “Shit, I remember being human all too well now, and it sucks being so weak.”

I bent and kissed him on the lips, a tear slipping down over my cheek. “Hang on, please hang on.”

“Only for you,” he breathed back, and then he was asleep. I pulled a blanket up over him and took a step back and then another. Once more I escaped the hospital room that held nothing but death in it. Only now it wasn’t my death I ran from but Remo’s.

“You’ve got a plan?” Ernie asked as he flew by my side.

“Yes, but it’s not solid. It may not work.”

“Oh, that’s not what I want to hear,” he said.

I didn’t disagree. I burst out of the hospital and ran for the water. I stripped out of my clothes and tossed the leather jacket to Ernie. “Hang on to that for me.” I took two more big running strides and then leapt off the rocks that overlooked the edge of a cliff. I dove into the water, shifting as I fell so I emerged on the water’s surface in my snake form. I already knew I couldn’t wait on the ferry, if it was even running this late at night, which I doubted. I swam hard for the other side of the sound, my eyes on the lights of Seattle. I didn’t know where to find Angel and Hercules, but I knew what would get their attention. And for Remo I would do everything I could to bring that attention down on me.

The water sluiced around me, and a coast guard boat swept up beside me. Poseidon waved. “Heard you’re taking on Hera. I can’t say I’m rooting for you, but . . . get her, Drakaina.”

I bobbed my head, glad he wasn’t attacking me this time at least. I emerged from the ocean and made my way up over the loose sand and rocks and onto the docks. Screams erupted all around as I slithered forward. Sure, I wasn’t moving as fast as if I had a vehicle, but I wasn’t really all that worried. What I wanted was attention, lots and lots of attention. The first major intersection I came to, I slithered out into the center of it and coiled up in the middle, completely blocking traffic. Was it the best idea I’d ever had? Probably not, but then again, it was the only idea I had, and all that mattered was that I saved Remo. No matter what I had to do.

Humans hurried out of their cars while I stayed silent and still, waiting. Cameras clicked, and I saw more than one person using their phone to take a video of me. I held still, wondering how long it was going to take to get Hercules and the Hydra to show up.

Ernie was there suddenly, puffing hard. “Snake, shit, you can really move when you want to. So now what? We wait?”

I nodded, and he flew up to sit on the top of my head. A cherub on top. A cherry on top. I shivered, and my skin rippled down the entire length of my body, casting sparkles of light and color every which way. I sat there, waiting, and I could feel the time slipping by. I could feel Remo’s death beckoning him and could almost hear Hades’s laughter. I wanted to cry with the frustration of it. Twenty minutes passed, and I knew they weren’t coming. I let myself shift down into my human form. The people around me rushed forward, and I cringed, waiting for them to hit me. Except they didn’t. One woman wrapped her coat around me. “Oh, my dear, you must be freezing.”

Another person, a man, held open the door of his car. “Here, it’s warm in here.”

“Why are you being nice to me?” I whispered, shock and uncertainty making me hesitant to take what they offered.

“Because you are looking out for us. You’re like our . . . our very own Jedi facing down Darth Vader,” a young man said from the left of me.

I looked at him. “Seriously?”

“Okay, well, we could call you our very own Batman, but he isn’t supernatural. Just a billionaire with nice toys.”

I cleared my throat. “Thank you, all of you.”

I held a hand up to Ernie, and he dropped not only my jacket but the rest of my clothes down to me. “Thought you might need everything.”

He had a good point. I quickly dressed. “Thank you, all of you, but I have to go.”

“Where? Maybe one of us could give you a ride?” the young guy said, and while I wanted to believe he was helping me only because he saw a pretty woman, I had a feeling it was more than that. He wanted to be a part of whatever was going on. Whatever he saw as an adventure, and he had no idea how dangerous it was.

“No, I have to go alone. I don’t want you to get hurt.” It was only then I saw how few people there actually were. For a main intersection, the place was downright deserted. In a city of over six hundred thousand people, we should have been swarmed with cars backed up, people shouting and yelling, police and ambulance sirens. Yet there was a total of a dozen cars, and maybe twice that many people. I tightened my jaw. This was the virus running rampant—it was clearing the streets of life.