by Cara Wylde
“I don’t think...”
At this point, there was no way Valentina was going to listen to him, so he gave up with a sigh. As she opened the book and started chanting and drawing sigils in the air, he poofed himself on a pillow, crossed his legs under him, and decided that since Jupiter wasn’t around at the moment, he might as well act as her guardian.
“Maybe you should listen to your friends, for once,” said Ravenna. Now that Jupiter was nowhere in the vicinity, she’d regained her strength, even though her voice still sounded weak because of the cloak. “Would it kill you to take some advice from time to time?”
Valentina cringed at the slight pain in her ribs. “Oh great, you’re back.” Ignoring her, she waved her hand over the King of Swords card. Nothing happened.
“Kali is a cruel goddess. Remember how you’re cursed thanks to another cruel goddess?”
“I am cursed because I was a sad, pathetic Conti witch in another life. So sad that I couldn’t even use my powers right.”
“You’re playing with fire...”
Her left side hurt so bad this time that Valentina doubled over. She grunted and waved Magny off when he showed concern.
“It’ll pass, don’t worry.”
“Ravenna again? What does she want?”
“Tell him,” Ravenna hissed, “and you’ll see he agrees with me this time.”
“Oh, for Goddess...”
“Tell him!”
Just when Valentina expected a new wave of pain to hit her, Ravenna’s voice vanished. She straightened her back and looked around. Magny was on his pillow and the door was closed. No god in sight, so why had Ravenna disappeared so suddenly?
“Weird.” She shrugged and went back to her work.
“Val...” Magny said in a trembling voice.
“Quiet. I’m trying to focus.”
“No, Val... Behind you.”
With a sigh, she turned on her heels to see what had gotten Magny’s hobgoblin briefs in a bunch. She gasped, stumbled backwards, slipped, and fell on her back. A woman was standing before her. A woman with dark blue skin, four arms instead of two, wild black hair, and a murderous sneer on her bright red lips. Val scurried toward the bed, heart beating like crazy in her chest. Magny poofed himself on her shoulder and hid underneath her hood, holding on to her hair and left ear for dear life. Val was in so much shock that she didn’t even feel the pain.
“Who are you?” she choked out.
The blue goddess let out a shrill laugh. “You know who I am, Keeper of the Spades.” She advanced, trapping Valentina between herself and the bed. “You see, I don’t like it when things don’t go my way. I don’t like it when someone says no to me. And today, Keeper, you convinced someone to say that dreaded word right to my face.”
What was she talking about? Valentina was too paralyzed to think. Magny whispered in her ear: “Kali. Nergal. He refused the job.”
“Oh crap,” was all Val managed to say before Kali reached out with all four hands, grabbed her by the shoulders and the sides of her face, and pulled her through the shimmering portal that opened above them.
The hotel room was empty. Valentina’s tarot cards were scattered on the floor, the King of Swords and his Queen yelling and gesticulating wildly. But there was no one there to hear them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
They swirled through time and space, Valentina fighting for her life, struggling to breathe as Kali’s hands wrapped around her throat. The blue goddess laughed in her face. Something was holding her back, though. She should have been able to snap Valentina’s throat like a farmer’s wife snapped a chicken’s throat to cook it for dinner. Kali furrowed her dark brows. Why was the witch so hard to kill? She couldn’t possibly be that powerful! No one was strong enough to defeat the mighty Kali when rage took over and vengeance poured through her veins.
“What is this?” She pulled away and eyed Valentina’s black cloak. “Who gave you this?”
Val’s hands flew to her own throat. She coughed violently. As they floated aimlessly through Kali’s portal, Magny had taken hold of a fistful of her hair, pulling at it roughly. If he let go, he would be lost. Even though it hurt, losing Magny like this was the last thing she needed.
Kali reached forward, grabbed the cloak with two hands, and pulled it off Valentina. It waved and danced in the rough wind of the timeless, spaceless portal, and when Kali let go of it, a hole opened under her feet, and the black cloak flew through it. Valentina barely had time to see it fall onto the pavement. Magny followed suit. He hated abandoning Valentina, but figured this was his only chance to escape the weird vortex Kali had sucked them in, and go find Nergal and Jupiter. He was of no use to her here and now, hanging by a strand of her long hair. He landed on the pavement, on top of the cloak, the hole closing above his head.
“Just you and me now, witch.”
Valentina squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed her temples. Without Death’s magic cloak, it was happening again. The vortex only made it worse. Various beings flashed before her eyes. Souls Kali had consumed, humans she had tortured, witches she had kidnapped in the past to make them give her what she wanted.
“Stop,” Val whispered.
“What? You don’t like my little trick? I can turn this place into a nice, comfy room, of course. It’s in my power. Would you like it to become a villa on the beach? A beautiful, luxurious house outside of time and space?”
“There is time here...” She shook her head. “I don’t know how, but there is.”
Kali went pale. The dark blue in her cheeks faded a notch.
“How do you know that?” she hissed.
Valentina dragged in a breath and opened her eyes. She looked the goddess right into her dark orbs. Kali’s eyes were similar to Nergal’s, but deeper and more menacing.
“Because I can see. Flashes from the past. There is time and space here. So, where are we? Don’t try to trick me into believing we’re nowhere.”
Kali squinted at her. “You’re no ordinary witch. There’s something about you. How come you can see the past?”
Valentina did her best to control the flashes. The cloak was gone, her tarot cards were gone... She was on her own. Kali was strong, but that didn’t mean she was going to give up easily.
“I can see the future, too.”
“How?”
“Tell me where we are, and I might just tell you my secret.”
Kali threw her head back and laughed out loud.
“I don’t actually care, witch. I’m bored of this game.” She lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat again. When Valentina didn’t fight her, she grinned knowingly. “It hurts you. Seeing the past and the future... It tortures you more than I can hope to torture you myself.”
“What do you want?” Val choked out. “You want Nergal to kill your lover? It’s not going to happen. He doesn’t get to start a new life without any bad karma. He will suffer for everything he’s done in this life.”
Kali squeezed tighter, and Valentina was almost grateful. The flashes stopped, which probably meant that her consciousness was shutting down. Better to pass out than to suffer another minute of extreme nausea.
“It’s none of your business!” Kali shook her violently. “You don’t get to decide what he deserves and what he doesn’t deserve.”
“And you do?”
“I love him. He is mine. We’re meant to be together.”
For a second, Val thought she saw longing in Kali’s black, demon eyes. How could a cruel, merciless creature like her be capable of love?
“You don’t know what love is,” she whispered. “You also chose the wrong man to love.”
“No, I chose the right man. My soul mate... He’s just like me. For centuries I have looked for him, roamed the Earth and all the twelve dimensions. I found him, finally, and nothing and no one will stand in my way. You won’t stand in my way. Tell me, witch. How did you turn Nergal, the God of War and Pestilence,
into such a big fat wimp? Did you put a spell on him? Did you curse him? I used to like him. Now, he’s a pathetic, sorry excuse of a...”
“He never wanted to help you, Kali! The fact that he refused you proves exactly the contrary! Do you want to know what I did?” She smiled, knowing it will piss her off even more. “I gave him the strength and courage to say no to you. I believed in him. And, oh... a man is capable of so much when the right woman believes in him!”
Kali cocked an eyebrow. She let go of Valentina and floated a few inches back.
“Thank you.”
Valentina’s eyes went wide. “For what?”
“For giving me what I needed. A solution.” She grabbed Val’s shoulder and yanked her through a hole that opened for a few seconds to their right. “You two make a lovely couple.”
“Oh! Fuck me...”
When they landed in Nergal’s room, Valentina knew what was going to happen, scene by scene and word for word. And not because she could see in the future, but because she’d just made the stupidest mistake of her life. She would have done anything to take her words back. Now, Kali was going to threaten her life and make Nergal do her bidding. She’d just given her the only weapon she could effectively use against Death – herself.
One hand around Valentina’s throat and another one in her rich hair pulling her head back, and Kali still had two more hands to gesticulate widely. Nergal had been at his kitchen counter, nursing a glass of whiskey. When they dropped on the floor, out of nowhere, he jumped to his feet, knocking the glass down. Glass shattered everywhere as he turned his hands into fists and scowled at Kali.
“Let go of her.”
“I will,” Kali laughed. “I promise you I will, but not just yet. First, go do your job, like a good hired assassin, and you’ll get her in return.”
“Let her go,” he said in a lower, more threatening tone.
“Seeing how you didn’t want my money, I had to find something or someone you did want. This is just a tradeoff, Nergal. I hope you won’t hate me. We can still be friends after all this is over.”
“Don’t do it,” Valentina said. She kept her eyes closed and tried to move as little as possible. She could already feel bile rise in her throat. “We’ll figure this out, but don’t do it. Don’t clear that scumbag’s karma.”
Kali pulled her hair and whispered in her ear. “You’re not figuring anything out, witch. This is it. This is the only deal you and your lover boy get. And don’t talk like that about my soul mate. Scumbag? It’s really unbecoming for you. I thought you were classier. And more understanding of the matters of the heart.”
“You don’t have a heart.”
“I do.” The goddess chuckled. “That’s why I’m giving you and Nergal a second chance.”
“Don’t do it!”
Nergal took a deep breath and released it slowly through parted lips, letting it take away some of the tension in his shoulders. It didn’t look like he had a choice. If he refused again, Kali was more than capable of killing Valentina before his eyes. She wouldn’t make it quick, either. She would probably tear her limb to limb, soaking all her four arms into her blood. He couldn’t let that happen. Where was Valentina’s cloak anyway? He would have given anything to be able to look into her eyes and let her know it would all be all right.
“Well? Are you going to finish the job?” Kali prompted. “I know you’ve been following him for days. You know where to find him.”
Nergal ran a hand through his hair. A few blond strands came loose and fell on his forehead. He needed time to think. What were his options here? He could jump on Megaera, drive to the outskirts and eliminate Kali’s lover. He could also draw his gun, aim it at the goddess and shoot her between the eyes. He could be faster than her, and yes, his bullets killed gods too. But that would have led to meddling with the laws of the Universe even more. She was a terrifying goddess. To clear her karma would have meant to grant her forgiveness for everything she’d done, for every human sacrifice she’d demanded of her worshipers. No, it wasn’t his place. This cruel aspect of Kali had another fate, and he couldn’t intervene. Granted that if he did clear her Ordinary lover’s karma, that was still an intervention on his part. Not as drastic as killing Kali, though.
“All right, I’ll do it. There’s no need to hurt Valentina. Just let her go. She won’t do anything. Not without my cloak.”
“Oh!” Realization dawned on her. “That was your cloak! Well, I’m sorry. We dropped it on the way here.” She smirked. Still, she released Valentina and pushed her toward the couch. “You know patience is not exactly my middle name, Nergal. How about you get on with it?”
He closed the distance between them and stuck his finger in her face. “If I come back and see that you so much as touched a single hair on her head...”
“What will you do? Shoot me?”
He growled deep in his chest. For the first time in his eternal life he felt helpless. Pathetic. He’d lost control of the situation, and now a young woman he truly cared about was suffering because of him. What sort of death god was he? If Valentina hadn’t been there, between them, he would have punched Kali in that blue face of hers and sent her reeling through at least three dimensions. They would have fought like gods fought in ancient times, burning cities to the ground, raising ocean waves toward the sky, bathing the world in guts and blood. He took a step back and cursed under his breath. Where was Jupiter when he needed him? Wasn’t he supposed to look after Valentina? And where was that bloody hobgoblin? They had both failed her, and now he was this close to failing her took. Turning on his heels, he went to retrieve his bag from under the bed. The gun he always kept hidden under his leather jacket was a good, fine weapon, but it was for emergencies only. If he wanted to do this right, then he needed his sniper rifle. He threw the bag over his shoulder and headed to the door.
“I’ll be back, Valentina. Hang in there.”
Val nodded. She couldn’t believe Nergal had called her by her name two times in the span of a few minutes. It sounded so strange to her ears. Her name rolling off his lips in such a warm, yet serious manner. She had rather gotten used to sweetpea, but she wasn’t about to admit it. Not even to herself. She figured he didn’t want Kali to know just how close they had become.
“This shouldn’t take long,” Kali said in a cheerful tone. “Care for a drink?”
Val heard her walk to the kitchen counter. She shook her head. She was already feeling very sick. Alcohol was the last thing her stomach needed.
“Suit yourself.” The goddess made herself a cocktail as she hummed a tune.
“What is that? What are you singing?”
“Oh, it’s just one of my mantras. My favorite.”
Valentina’s eyebrows shot up, which looked very strange with her eyes closed.
“You’re singing your own mantras? Wow! Talk about self-absorbed...”
“This one is special.” Kali came to sit next to Valentina. She sipped her cocktail and hummed in approval. “My soul mate, the one you like to call a scumbag... He was singing it when I found him. It was his call to me. He wanted me in his life, he asked for my blessing of the incredible work he does here. He knew, deep down, that we are soul mates, and he called to me. He invoked me with this mantra and since then, these words are all that’s playing in my head. Over and over. I will not rest until I have him by my side in his next life as a god. A god who is worthy of my love.”
“What are the words?”
“Are you kidding me? I can’t tell you! Only the chosen ones can speak them out loud.”
“What do they mean, then?”
Kali shrugged, looking very pleased with herself. It was too bad the witch insisted on keeping her eyes closed. She would have loved to have a normal conversation with her. Well, it was true that ship had probably sailed when she’d kidnapped her.
“Something along the lines: I bow my head to the Divine Mother, Kali.”
“Okay, I need
a drink now,” Valentina sighed. “You have to be the most narcissistic goddess I’ve ever heard of.”
“Oh, don’t get your pink panties in a twist, sweetie. If you yielded the power I yield, you’d sing praises to yourself too.”
Nonetheless, Kali got up and went to fix Val a drink.
“I don’t wear pink panties.”
“And the next thing you’re going to tell me is that you’re not a virgin,” the goddess laughed.
Val blushed. “Maybe I’m not...”
Kali pushed the glass into her hand. She leaned forward, tipped Val’s chin up with a long, sharp fingernail, and brushed her hair off her temple with another hand.
“I saw something,” she whispered mysteriously.
“What?” Valentina moved away. She could feel Kali’s breath on her face. Something raw... Something that smelled like fresh meat and blood. “When?” She took a sip of her cocktail and cringed at the bitter taste. On the bright side, it helped with the nausea.
“I could tell you exactly what if you let me see again. Open your eyes.”
“I can’t. The reason why I can see the past and the future... It’s because my time sensor is off. If I open my eyes, then the flashes will start, and I might just throw up on you.” She gave her a sweet, fake smile.
“Oh, a second won’t hurt you. You can take one second, can’t you?”
“What did you see?” Curiosity was starting to gnaw at her. What if Kali was trying to trick her again? But to what end? “I won’t open my eyes if it’s not worth it.”