by Amy Sumida
“Give or take.” Ted grinned. “How's it going Gel?”
“Good, it's...” her voice faded away as her gaze landed on Odin. “Who in Hell is this fucking gorgeous hunk of a man?”
Gello sashayed over to Odin and ran a long, pointed, red nail down his shirt.
“Oh, my; what big muscles you have,” she purred. Then she looked back at Az. “Did you bring me a present, sweetie? Your mamma raised you right; you always bring a gift when you visit someone's home.”
The men—including Odin—were cracking up, while I was grimacing. Gello was the epitome of lush female appeal, with a personality that was eager to use every curve to her advantage. Now that I knew who her mother was—the original wanton woman—it all made wicked sense.
“Gello, we've already met,” Odin rumbled.
Gello went still and then slowly turned back to face Odin. She narrowed her eyes and stared into his.
“By all that's unholy!” She finally exclaimed. “It's the fucking King of Asgard!”
Odin laughed. “I shaved my beard.”
“J-man Christ!” Gello shook her head in amazement. “You've been hiding all of that under a beard? Hair hid that?” She waved her nail at his face. “Odin, growing that thing was a bad idea; don't you ever cover up that glorious mug again.”
“Thank you,” Odin said sincerely as he claimed Gello's hand and kissed it. “That's the loveliest thing a demoness has ever said to me.”
“I'm sure it is,” a woman said from the doorway. “And it's the absolute truth; you have a striking face.”
We all turned to see a lady who looked nearly identical to Gello, except her skin was fair instead of tan, and her eyes were a soft brown instead of green. She had on a more modest dress than Gello's skin-tight red one, but her curves were still apparent. It was obvious that they were related, though they looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.
“Lilith,” Azrael said as he went to hug the woman. “How are you?”
“I'm good, darling,” she purred in a tone similar to her daughter's. “And I'm excited to see the rest of the Riders with you. Hello, boys.”
“Lady Lilith,” the Horsemen said as one as they bowed to her.
“Always so gallant,” Lilith noted with pleasure. “And you are Odin, I presume.”
“It's nice to meet you,” Odin said. “This is our wife, Vervain.”
“I've heard a lot about you, Godhunter.” Lilith cocked her head at me. “You're exactly what I expected.”
“Well, that's new,” I said with surprise. “Normally I get; 'I thought you'd be taller.'”
“From idiot men, I assume,” Lilith said with a smile. “I knew you'd be someone less obvious; a petite woman with powerful magic. I wholeheartedly approve.”
“Thank you.” I smiled back at her. “Have you met my husband, Trevor?”
“No; it's a pleasure, Wolf Prince,” Lilith said. “But let's not be savages; come inside, everyone.”
We filed through a grand foyer, past its spiraling staircase, and through a hallway lined in fine art. Lilith led us into a sitting room done in pink and cream; a room so soft and feminine that all of us looked out of place in it; especially Gello and her mother.
After we were seated on the beautiful but uncomfortable furniture, Gello went to make some tea. As soon as she left, Lilith focused on Azrael.
“What has my husband done now?” She asked.
“I don't know for certain that he's done anything, Lilith,” Azrael said gently. “We're trying to discover whether he had anything to do with the Virtues' attack on me. I don't think he did, but my opinion is in the minority.”
“Why come to me?” She asked.
“We've just been to Makhon,” Azrael said. “We heard that you had a fight with Samael and left. I'm sorry to ask, but was that argument about me or my father?”
Lilith took a deep breath and released it with a scowl. “The argument was personal, and not about you or your family.”
“Are you all right?” Azrael immediately asked. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
Lilith's expression softened. “No, sweetie, but thank you. It's a matter between husband and wife, and we are the only ones who can work through it.”
“My apologies, Lady Lilith,” Odin said. “We didn't mean to pry into your marital affairs.”
Lilith flinched at the word “affair,” and I tried not to show my own reaction. Samael had been cheating on his wife; I was sure of it. I didn't know why, nor was it any of my business, but after meeting Lilith, it was a bit shocking. Shocking enough to make me wonder.
“I once thought Arach was cheating on me,” I blurted.
Lilith gaped at me. “What?”
“Oh, sorry; the mention of marital issues reminded me of my own,” I said. “My faerie husband was sneaking around the castle with this leanan-sidhe woman, and I was certain he was having an affair with her.”
“You never told us about that,” Azrael said. Then he looked at my other husbands. “Did she?”
“No; she didn't,” Odin said sternly.
“Because I was mistaken,” I said it to them, but it was really for Lilith's benefit. “I had misinterpreted every touch and look. The leanan-sidhe was designing a nursery for our sons, and was a overly excited about it. She's a hugger.”
“Did you confront your husband?” Lilith asked.
“I did.” I nodded. “And he denied it.”
“They always do, sweetie,” she said sadly.
“But he also explained what I'd seen and introduced me to the woman,” I went on. “They showed me the nursery, and damn if she wasn't as affectionate with me as she'd been with him. I was wrong to doubt him. I should have trusted in what I knew to be true; that Arach loves me too much to risk our marriage on a silly affair. Luckily, he also loves me enough to forgive me.”
Lilith frowned.
“That's a very interesting story, Vervain,” Gello said as she wheeled in a tea cart. Yes; an honest-to-gods tea cart. “There's a good lesson in it; to not overreact without knowing all of the facts. And to give people you love a chance to defend themselves before you... say... leave an entire territory.”
Gello cast a weighted look her mother's way before she began to fill the tea cups. Lilith glowered at her daughter.
“One lump or two?” Gello asked her mother. “How many was it that you gave Dad before you walked out?”
“Your father is literally a winged snake!” Lilith shouted.
“So are you!” Gello shouted back. “Except you also drink blood.”
“Just give me the damn tea, Gello,” Lilith snapped. “Two lumps.”
Gello calmly handed her mother a cup of tea, but after she turned back to the tea cart, she winked at me gleefully.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“As lovely as the tea party in Hell was, now we're back to square one,” Ted declared as we had breakfast together the next morning.
We were down in the dining hall again, and some of the Intare were wandering in to have their morning meal as well. Luke had texted Azrael the night before and reported precisely what we'd already learned; that Samael was too involved in his separation from Lilith to embark on such a complicated plot to hurt Az.
“We're out of leads,” Sam said. “So, now what?”
“We go fishing,” Ira said.
We all stared at Ira in confusion.
“For leads,” he clarified. “All we need is bait.”
Ira looked pointedly at Azrael.
“You want to put my husband on a metaphorical hook and toss him into a river of suspects?” I lifted a brow at Ira.
“Pretty much.” Ira shrugged his model-slim shoulders. “We head down to the Human Realm and do what we normally do. Nothing that will look suspicious; just business as usual. Azrael's enemy will most likely attack, and we can capture him or her for questioning... instead of calling in a cleaner.”
Ira grimaced at Azrael, and Azrael rolled his pale blue eyes.
“Hold on; wouldn't 'business as usual' for you guys mean bar-hopping until you couldn't walk?” I asked.
“We're angels,” Ted huffed. “We burn off human alcohol in seconds.”
I stared at him.
“But yes; the rest of that statement is accurate,” Ted admitted.
“So, you want to take Az clubbing.” Trevor smirked. “I just happen to know a great place.”
“That's actually perfect,” I said. “We can watch over them.”
“And no angel will be allowed in without making an oath,” Ira pointed out. “Which means that they'll never attack Az there. Not to mention, the odds would not be in their favor.”
“Ira's right,” Az agreed. “We need to make it as alluring as possible; a back alley bar with minimal customers. Do you guys ever go to places like that?”
The three other Horsemen looked at each other and then laughed uproariously.
“I'll take that as a yes,” Az said drolly.
I was about to respond when my phone chimed. I looked down and saw a name that made me blink.
“It's Amy,” I whispered.
“Amaterasu?” Trevor asked.
“Do you know another Amy?” I asked him.
“Well, there was this author I met once...” Trevor let the sentence hang as I glowered at him. “Come on; you deserved that.”
“You're a big furry ass,” I declared and then ignored Trevor to read the text. “Amy says that she needs my help. Another god is leading her followers into an unnatural death.”
“Unnatural death?” The Antichrist asked. “That sounds awful. Are you guys talking about the Japanese Goddess of the Sun?”
“Yeah; we helped her out not too long ago,” Trevor said. “She worked with my father.”
“Right; the Yakuza Gods.” Ira nodded. “Az told us about that.”
“What kind of help does she need now, Vervain?” Sam asked with an interested gleam in his brown eyes. “Please tell me it involves ninjas! Ninjas are awesome.”
“I don't know what she needs,” I said as I texted back. “I'm asking for more details now.”
My phone chimed again.
“She said she needs help discovering who is leading her people into Aokigahara,” I said. “Whatever that is.”
“It's the forest at the base of Mount Fuji,” Odin said. “Japanese people go there to commit suicide.”
“The Suicide Forest?” I asked. “I've actually heard of that place.”
“Of course you have; zere vas movie made,” Kirill teased me.
Lesya was playing with Zariel again; upstairs, under Samantha's watchful eye. So, I wasn't worried about the subject matter. I was worried about the possibility of heading into a haunted forest, though.
“That place is supposed to be evil,” I whispered.
The Antichrist started laughing.
“Shut up.” Az tossed his napkin at Ted. “She was a witch before all of this changed her; she can't help how she was raised.”
“Sorry,” Ted mumbled.
“What's so funny about it?” I growled. “Of all people, you angels should know that every action has energy, and energy leaves traces behind. If bad things happen over and over in one place, that place soaks up the negativity; especially when that place has living organisms to give feed the energy. A forest can become evil.”
“She's right,” Ira said solemnly. “We've been off duty too long. We've forgotten that evil is real; not just myths that humans make up.”
“I haven't forgotten,” Ted said. “But evil must be directed; an evil place—like this forest—can't physically harm anything. It's a repository for bad feelings, and so it oozes those emotions. If there's enough energy stored up, it may even be able to project images of what occurred to affect it. It can confuse and even manipulate, but it cannot physically touch you. To do that, it would need a mind and soul to direct it.”
“Fair enough,” I conceded. “But to the weak-minded or unwary, hallucinations can be enough to cause harm. If you're already suicidal and you're bombarded by evil emotions, you're as good as dead.”
“Also true,” Ted agreed. “But there is no reason for us to be afraid of a forest.”
My phone chimed again. Amy was getting worried by my lack of response.
“What do I tell her?” I asked them.
“Tell her that we'll see her soon,” Azrael said.
“All of us?” I looked around the table.
“All of us,” Ted agreed. “I can hardly sit it out after arguing over the harmlessness of the place.”
“Plus; we can use it as an opportunity to wave around our bait,” Ira said. “Kill two birds with one stone.”
“Perhaps ve should refrain from using ze vord 'kill' for now,” Kirill suggested.
Chapter Thirty
I asked Amy to send us a picture of the place where she wanted to meet. Visual in mind, we all traced to the forest of Aokigahara. It was a thickly wooded area of creaking trees, chilly breezes, and crisp scents. Every forest I'd been in had a smell of life and death to it; living plants and rich soil tempered by the decomposition of fallen leaves, branches, and dead animals. I had expected Aokigahara to shift a little more towards the decomp end of the spectrum than the living. But it didn't, nor did it have the unsettling feeling that I'd been expecting. It was actually a very peaceful place.
“Welcome,” Amy greeted us.
The Japanese Goddess was dressed in jeans, a sweater, and a windbreaker. She looked completely normal and still outrageously beautiful. Her thick, black hair was pulled back sleekly from her pale forehead, and her rounded cheeks were flushed from the cool air. She looked like a twenty-year old out for a hike in the woods.
“Hey, Amy,” I went to shake her hand.
“Thank you for coming,” she said with a nod. “This is my granddaughter by marriage; Konohanasakuya-hime. She's Ninigi's wife.”
The other woman had a little more rose to her cheeks than Amy, and her hair fell in a braid past her knees. She wore a simple cotton dress; something way too light for the weather, but she didn't seem bothered by the chill.
“Please call me, Sakuya,” she said. “I am the Goddess of Mount Fuji, and this is my forest.”
We exchanged greetings and introductions, and both women were surprised to meet the Horsemen.
“You have brought serious warriors to assist us,” Amaterasu said with approval. “I appreciate that, but if I needed soldiers, I wouldn't have called you. I need wits and a new perspective.”
“We're not just pretty faces.” Ted smirked. “We'll help figure out how best to deal with your problem.”
“What exactly is your problem?” I asked as I glanced at a sign nailed to a tree on my left; it was written in Kanji.
“The sign reads; 'Your life is a precious gift from your parents,'” Sakuya said; answering my look instead of my question. “The human police have posted numerous signs, such as this one, to discourage people from killing themselves. They don't understand that sometimes death is a blessing.”
“Blessed death,” I whispered with a frown; there was that feeling again—the feeling that something was off.
“Yes.” She nodded. “And I am here to give my people the peace that life cannot bring them. I look after the lost ones, Godhunter. My forest is meant to be a sanctuary or a way out, not a curse.”
“I can feel that,” Azrael said. “Compassion rules here, though there is a darkness as well.”
“That darkness is new,” Sakuya said. “And we shall discuss it in a moment.”
“Darkness or not, don't you think that life should be encouraged?” Azrael asked.
“We know that there is more than one single existence,” Sakuya said. “Death can be a relief; entry into a heaven where the soul can be free, or a chance to start again. Either way, it is not an ending.”
“I don't know how I feel about that,” I murmured. “But if you approve of the suicides happening here, why have you called us in?”
&nb
sp; “My people have been led here,” Amy said. “Yakuza males with no reason to take their own lives. Someone is tricking them; compelling them to journey here and commit suicide.”
“And it is hurting my forest,” Sakuya murmured as she looked around sadly. “The taint is sinking into the earth. I can even feel evil lurking in the air.”
“The darkness I noted,” Azrael murmured.
“Yes,” Sakuya agreed. “Will you help us discover who is behind this?”
“What evidence have you collected; beyond the deaths of Yakuza members?” Sam asked. “Couldn't it simply be murder?”
“I know every murder committed by my people; they are sacrifices to me,” Amy declared. “And when one of my people die, I go to claim their soul. I went to claim the souls of the men who supposedly committed suicide here, but they had already been taken.”
“What?” Azrael asked in shock. “Someone took a soul bound to you?”
“Yes, Death Angel,” Amy said grimly. “Now, you understand why I asked you here. I am at a loss. I have no idea how another god could claim one of my souls.”
“There are a few ways around the bond between god and human,” Odin murmured as he went pensive. “If another god were to get a human to renounce their deity—even on their death bed—the bond would be severed.”
“I felt no severance,” Amy said. “And after the first death, I was especially focused on my connections.”
“A spell could be cast to dampen the pull of an afterlife, but the human would have to participate,” Odin went on. “And it would be far easier for them to simply renounce their god.”
“Anything else?” I asked.
“I know of only one other way.” Odin looked at Azrael. “A reaper has the power to carry a soul wherever he or she wishes.”
“Just as I once did for Sabine,” Azrael whispered.
“Well, we know it's not Azrael,” I said. “So, that narrows it down. How many reaper gods could there possibly be?”