Free Herculean (Cerberus Group Book 1) by Jeremy Robinson, Sean Ellis

upon it, spread out to show its extraordinary size, was what appeared at first glance to be a bearskin rug—perhaps from a Kodiak grizzly—head and all. On closer inspection, the tawny gold fur, along with the shaggy mane surrounding the fiercely snarling head, showed it to actually be the pelt of an enormous lion.
    Pierce gasp in astonishment. “The Nemean Lion.”
    Fiona grinned as Pierce began to recount how Hercules, after strangling the Lion, had used its own claws, which were sharper than any sword, to cut through its skin, since no blade could penetrate it.
    She drifted away and began looking at the other display tables. Some contained what might have been trophies from other Herculean conquests—swords, armor, teeth and claws from enormous beasts—while others contained items that were more utilitarian, with no explicit link to the myth. Fiona was drawn to one of the latter: a small chest, about one foot square and six-inches deep. It was covered in a reflective substance that showed no sign of corrosion or oxidation. Although she was no expert, Fiona thought it must be gold. Yet that was not what had drawn her eye. Something had been stamped into the soft metal, creating a raised relief. Fiona reached out a cautious finger and traced the shape.
    Letters.
    Greek letters.
     

     
    “Uncle George, this isn’t right.”
    Pierce moved to join her, shining his light directly on the small chest. “Heracleia,” he said, translating the ancient Greek script. “It’s in Greek,” he said, proud that she had noticed the aberration. “The Greeks didn’t develop their alphabet until the eighth century BC. The Phaistos Disc was uncovered in the ruins of a palace that was destroyed centuries before the Greeks started using this alphabet.”
    He tested the lid, which refused to open, then tilted the chest up to reveal a thin line of some opaque material holding the cover in place. “Beeswax. Whatever’s in here has probably been perfectly preserved for thousands of years.”
    She watched as he exerted a little more pressure, breaking the wax seal. The lid popped open with a faint sucking noise, revealing what looked like a stack of dingy old papers covered with Greek script.
    “Papyrus leaves,” Pierce said, shaking his head as the mystery grew.
    “You seem frustrated, Doctor Pierce. Perhaps you don’t know Hercules as well as you think you do.”
    Fiona whirled in the direction of the familiar but unexpected voice, and found Liam Kenner standing just inside the entrance to the room. He wore the same smug smile that Fiona remembered from their earlier encounter.
    Before she or Pierce could say a word to challenge him, a faint rasping noise signaled the arrival of yet another unexpected guest on the magnetic elevator.
    Fiona did not recognize the man that stepped out of the small room. He was tall, broadly built and so ugly that for a moment, she wondered if he was some humanoid monster out of mythology. But this wasn’t a bull-man standing before them. It was just a man. She could tell because he was pointing a gun at them.

 
     
    8
     
    Note to self , Pierce thought. Next time, bring a gun .
    But a gun was only as good as the person holding it. His experience with firearms was mostly limited to plinking beer cans off a fence post with about fifty percent accuracy. The guy standing next to Kenner looked like someone who not only knew how to use his gun, but had every intention of doing so.
    Pierce’s gaze flickered around the room, looking for something he might be able to use as a weapon, calculating the distance to the nearest exit passage. He and Fiona might be able to make a mad dash out of the room, but escaping into the uncharted Labyrinth created its own set of problems. He brought his stare back to Kenner.
    “What are you doing here, Liam?” Pierce tried to inject a note of righteous indignation into his voice. It was not difficult. He was angry, though mostly it was self-directed. He had badly