Golden Girl

~14~

Kinzie moved incredibly fast, but not impossibly fast that Aurelia wouldn't be able to react. The sword Kinzie pulled out of thin air was parried by Ferrum Temoris. The amazon attempted to  kick Frank's chest but Aurelia pushed her away from the group of four, holding her sword in a defensive position as she stared at Kinzie.

Kinzie glared back as it got louder around them. A dozen more girls in black flooded up the staircase, swords in hand, and surrounded the small group.

"First rule: Males don't speak without permission," Kinzie snarled. "Second Rule, trespassing on our territory is punishable by death. You'll meet Queen Hylla, all right. She'll be the one deciding your fate."

Aurelia's eyes shifted to Percy. "Stupid, idiot." Her sword transformed back into her necklace and she held out the jewelry for Kinzie. "Let them take your weapons, guys."

Kinzie snatched the necklace and continued to study the daughter of Pavor. "Who are you?"

"Aurelia Juliana Ramirez-Arellano." Kinzie's narrowed eyes widened. "Lovely to meet you."

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After the confiscation of their weapons (or Aurelia basically handing her necklace to Kinzie) the Amazons marched them down so many flights of stairs, Aurelia gave up on counting. Throughout the entire duration, Kinzie kept looking at the daughter of Pavor, studying her face as if to try to find some similarities between Aurelia and Hylla.

She seemed to be finding a lot.

Finally they emerged in a cavern so big it could accommodate ten high schools, sports fields and all. Stark fluorescent lights glowed along the rock ceiling. Conveyor belts wound through the room like waterslides, carrying boxes in every direction. Aisles of metal shelves stretched out forever, stacked high with crates of merchandise. Cranes hummed and robotic arms whirred, folding cardboard boxes, packing shipments, and taking things on and off the belts. Some of the shelves were so tall they were only accessible by ladders and catwalks, which ran across the ceiling like theater scaffolding.

All the work was being done by computers and robots. The only humans Aurelia could see were some black-suited security women patrolling the catwalks, and some men in orange jumpsuits, like prison uniforms, driving forklifts through the aisles, delivering more pallets of boxes. The men wore iron collars around their necks.

Hazel was outraged. "You keep slaves?"

"The men?" Kinzie snorted. "They're not slaves. They just know their place."

"As they should," Aurelia agreed, sending a glance at Percy. Like how you should have stayed silent like I told you, and I wouldn't have had to defend you and reveal Ferrum Temoris.

Kinzie gave a small hum of approval. "Now, move."

They continued to walk and Aurelia's feet were starting to ache. She thought they must be getting close to the end of the warehouse but Kinzie just opened another set of double doors leading into another cavern, just as big as the first.

"The Underworld isn't this big," Hazel complained. Aurelia gave her a blank stare and Hazel got embarrassed.

Kinzie smiled smugly. "You admire our base of operations? Yes, our distribution system is worldwide. It took many years and most of our fortune to build. Now, finally, we're turning a profit. The mortals don't realize they are funding the Amazon kingdom. Soon, we'll be richer than any mortal nation. Then—when the weak mortals depend on us for everything—the revolution will begin!"