by Cara Wylde
Valentina huffed and pushed him away. “No, I don’t know what you mean. The fate of the Earth actually is at stake.”
Nergal rolled his eyes. Oh, she could be stubborn! Was it weird that was one of the things he loved most about her?
“Anyway, you have nothing to worry about,” she continued. “You told me his name. I still don’t know where he is. You’re fine. If we knock on his cabin door and he wants to knock your teeth out, I’ll tell him it wasn’t your fault and I rather like your smile the way it is. No gaps.” She gave him a sneaky grin as she grabbed a pillow off the bed and set it on the floor. “It has just occurred to me... Loki, I can use that trick your taught me in London to find all the other Ash Gods. I mean, why not? It worked with Veles. And I’m pretty sure it will work now with Hades. I just... I need to remember where I saw them that first time, when I took the Test.”
“Bingo!” As she sat on the pillow cross-legged, Loki sat down in front of her. “You’re doing it now?”
“Yes. You have to guide me.” She gave him the tarot deck. “Just like last time, sans the whole hanging upside-down ridiculousness.”
“It had a very clear purpose.”
“I’m not in my head anymore.” She straightened her back, closed her eyes, and rested her hands on her knees. “I’ve done it before, I can do it again. Hit me.”
Loki shrugged and threw the cards in the air. Instinctively, Valentina caught them in a string of green energy that crackled between her open palms and made the cards float before her, at chest level.
“You know the drill,” he said. “Focus on the cards, blah blah blah, remember where you saw the Hermit the first time, blah blah... where were you? What could you see, feel, smell? Blah blah blah.”
Valentina furrowed her brows. “Okay, shut up. You’re just annoying me.”
Loki laughed and stood up to give her the space she needed. He was proud of her. Maybe he should tell her. But not now. Later. When he’d met her about a month ago, in London, she was so innocent and lost, she didn’t even believe she had it in her to restore the burned cards of the Major Arcana, let alone save the Suits, battle the smoke monsters, and go on a world-wide hunt to find and collect the gods who could bring the Tarot back to life. It was as if she was someone else now. Even though some quirks did remind him of the Valentina he knew, she was now a much stronger woman. Determined, aware of her powers, willing to learn more, ready to take on her enemies. And she knew what she wanted, too. Not just in terms of saving the world, but when it came to her own needs and desires. Oh, she also knew how to get it! A smirk spread over his lips as his mind wandered off to the night before, to her lips around his... He growled deep in his chest, which drew Jove’s attention. This was not the time to think about that. Nergal threw him a curious glance, and Loki cursed him silently. He could bet the other guys were thinking about the same things as he was. They were just hiding it better. He settled on the couch, as far from Jupiter as possible, and watched Valentina project herself.
In order to find the Hermit, she had to bring herself into a state of altered consciousness. She re-imagined every detail she could remember. The night was dark, the wind was howling, and a heavy fog had fallen over the woods. The only light came from a small cabin, in the distance. She had no idea where on the globe this place was, nor whether it was in the third dimension, but it was enough to get a feel of it. Breathing in and out, she relaxed her body while still keeping the cards floating between her palms. Soon, her ears were buzzing and her whole being was vibrating, her etheric body preparing itself for the imminent separation. With a mental grunt, she pushed herself out of her physical body, and when she opened her eyes, she was floating a few inches above the ground. She looked down at her hands and saw they were transparent. She laughed and swirled in the air, then turned to her gods.
“One of you should time me once. I think I’m getting better at this.”
“It did take you forever the first time,” Loki said.
“Well, Veles wasn’t easy to find.”
At the sound of his name, the silver-haired god stood up and stepped closer to her. She smiled up at him and reached out to touch his chest. Her hand went through and came out on the other side.
“Roles reversed. How does it feel?”
“Empty.”
She laughed. “Empty? How come?”
He thought for a second. “It’s like opening a gift on Christmas day and finding the box empty. That’s how it feels. You reach out, I anticipate your touch, and then nothing.”
“Awww...”
“Keeper, weren’t you supposed to do something?” Magnus reprimanded.
“Oh, right!” She launched herself through the balcony door, then stuck her head back in. “Oy, don’t touch my physical body while I’m gone. I’ll know. Also, you might just bring me back at the wrong time.”
Jove crossed his arms over his bulky chest, which became even bulkier with his every word.
“And what would that wrong time you speak of mean?”
“You know, finding Hades and...” The meaning of his question dawned on her. “Oh, shut up! I said I’d never do anything with any of you until you’re all there. I mean, all of you that I know so far. Nevermind. I’m out of here.”
She disappeared out the balcony, leaving them with her material form juggling the tarot cards. Not that there was much to see... The green energy crackled softly as it kept the cards in the air, her chest was rising and falling with her every breath, and her eyes were moving frantically behind her closed lids. One day, when she’d be an even more experienced witch, she might try being in two places at the same time, but not like this – passive in her physical body and active in her etheric form. Active in both. She’d read about witches who could do that but had never met one personally.
Instead of ending up above the city of Munich, she found herself floating above a dense forest, in plain daylight.
“This has to be it.”
“At least he doesn’t live in a dimension where it’s night and it rains all the time,” Ravenna laughed. “I was getting worried for a second there...”
“That’s ridiculous! There’s no such dimension.”
“How would you know?”
“Okay, I don’t. I’m just assuming. Anyway, how do you know we’re in another dimension now? It all looks normal to me.”
“Call it intuition. I’ve been feeling the energy of the High Priestess, lately.”
Valentina willed her etheric form to descend, and she felt the branches and leaves going through her body as she floated lower and lower, until she reached the ground. The rich crowns of the tall trees barely allowed any sunlight to penetrate, so it was dark down there. So dark that one could almost believe it was late evening, not early noon.
“See? I was half right,” Ravenna insisted.
Val ignored her. The forest was so dense that she couldn’t see a thing in the distance, beyond the trees. From above, she couldn’t have possibly seen the cabin, either, but it seemed just as impossible from where she stood now. She started wandering aimlessly, listening to the birds chirp and the rodents squirm through fallen leaves and branches. The place looked wild, as if no one had set foot there in centuries. Nature had taken over, and she felt almost inadequate. At least she was a mere ghost, which made her feel slightly better. She didn’t want to disturb the perfect ecosystem that nature had created here, in the middle of nowhere, away from all humans. Not just Ordinaries, but humans like her, too.
“There!”
“Where?” Valentina looked around frantically.
“Well, if I had my own body, I’d be able to point a finger,” Ravenna said sarcastically.
“And that would be rude.”
“To your right.”
Val followed Ravenna’s lead and soon reached a clearing. The cabin she was looking for was right across, between two mighty trees. The voice in her head was being helpful again. She guessed she could get u
sed to it.
“By the way,” Ravenna said conversationally as Valentina floated to one of the windows. “I’ve been meaning to ask... What do you think about the possibility of me getting... err... you know... like... a body?”
“What?!” She said that out loud. A bird flapped her wings nearby, as if annoyed at Valentina for breaking the silence. “What?” She asked again mentally. “A body? Like... where am I supposed to get a body for you? You’re aware that’s not how the world works, right? If you want a human body, you must be born into one. The only other option is to hijack some unsuspecting human. Like the Walk-Ins did to my coven. Like you did to me.”
“I didn’t... hijack you. You reabsorbed my body in our mother’s womb, remember? Well, sorry you couldn’t get rid of me too.”
“I never wanted to... Oh, forget it! We’re not having this conversation now.”
There was no one inside the cabin, so Valentina went to explore around. There was a small garden behind the house – full of blooming flowers, but no vegetable in sight. She supposed Hades didn’t need human nourishment?
“Will you think about it? You said you’d never do anything to make me disappear forever. You promised.”
Valentina sighed. She had, hadn’t she? Before the past-life regression session, she’d promised Ravenna that she wouldn’t do anything that would hurt her or make her vanish into nothingness. But she did want her Higher Self back. And if her Higher Self returned, then she would kick Ravenna out. Right? Because that was how the world worked.
“I don’t know what to tell you. I know what I promised, but it had nothing to do with getting you a body.”
“I see no other way...”
After a moment’s hesitation, she finally said: “Okay. I’ll think about it. I’ll... ask the guys. With so many gods of the Underworld in my harem, one of them is bound to come up with a solution.”
“Harem? You have a harem now?”
Val blushed. “Well, what would you call it?”
“Err... I don’t know. Too many men for one girl?”
“A harem, then.”
The garden was empty, so Valentina went back around to check the clearing again. Apparently, no one was home. What was she supposed to do now? Wait? Figure out where she was so she could return in her physical form with her Ash Gods in tow? Ravenna was right, though. This did seem to be another dimension. She couldn’t imagine such a quiet, serene place anywhere on Earth, in the third dimension. Would it be wrong if she went inside uninvited?
Back in the hotel room, she bit the inside of her cheek. Loki, Veles, Nergal, Jove, and Magny were watching her intently. She furrowed her brows. Nothing was happening, and she felt like she was in danger of losing the connection. She willed her etheric form to forget about common courtesy and go snoop through the Hermit’s things.
She was inside the cabin, but it was just as austere as she remembered. A few pots and plates on a small kitchen table... Okay, so he did eat! A bucket of water in a corner, and an old lamp hanging by the door. There was a wooden bed against the wall, barely big enough for one person, and another table in the middle of the room. One chair. On second thought, why would a Hermit need more than one chair, anyway? He wasn’t in the business of receiving guests.
“There are no personal belongings here,” Valentina cried in frustration.
“Check under the bed?”
“Good idea...”
She was getting ready to sink through the dirt floor so she could take a peek when the door opened, almost startling her back into her physical body. She closed her eyes, counted to five, and reopened them when she had her etheric form under control.
“What are you doing here?”
He was standing before her, and he didn’t look pleased. She gulped. He was dressed poorly, in old, rough clothes and a brown mantle that fell to his ankles. His boots looked like they had seen better days. But if one ignored the package... Well, the contents were nothing to complain about! Long, dark hair tied into a low ponytail, with soft strands falling around his young, handsome face. Deep, silver eyes, thin, perfect lips, and the promise of a strong, lean body underneath all those rags...
“You look nothing like I expected,” she murmured, dazed.
He cocked an eyebrow. “What did you expect?”
“Hades, the God of the Underworld...” She shrugged. “I don’t know. You look so... young.”
He removed his mantle and hung it on the wall. “Young is the last thing I am. How do you know my name?”
“You’re in trouble now,” Ravenna chuckled.
Valentina looked away. “Simple deduction. I... We’ve met before.”
“If by that you mean that you’ve spied on me before, then yes.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked her in the eyes. “You shouldn’t be here.”
He didn’t believe her. She could feel it. And she couldn’t look away from those silver orbs of his! She’d never been a good liar.
“Yet I am. I need you.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
A smile was tugging at the corner of his lips, and he suppressed it. He’d known this day would come. Well, not day, per se, since he wasn’t in the habit of keeping track of human time. Alas... He’d known this moment would come, the moment when the Keeper of the Spades would show up at his door, or directly in his house, in this case, and ask him the impossible.
“The answer is no.”
“What? Why? You haven’t even heard my request.”
“I don’t need to hear anything. One look at you, and I know. I know all there is to know about you and your mission. About your... Ash Gods.”
Why had it seemed like his voice had caught on those last words?
“You’re one of them,” she tried.
“That’s my choice, and I choose to say no.”
“Ugh! You’re so...” She took a deep breath. Showing frustration wasn’t going to get her what she wanted. “You have free will. I know, and I respect that. I will never ask you to do something you don’t want to do. I’m here for another reason.”
He chuckled, and it almost sounded like he was amused.
“So, you don’t want me to jump into one of your tarot cards?”
“Of course I do! You’re the Hermit, and I intend to restore all the cards of the Trionfi Chiari. But... that’s not the point. If you don’t want to help me with that, fine. I will find another aspect of yours.”
“Oh, you can try. You’ll see they’re not as lenient as I am. If you break into their homes, I doubt they’ll keep you in one piece for a light chat.”
Back in the hotel room, Valentina shuddered. Jove shot up to his feet and started pacing the floor. He couldn’t know what was happening, but he didn’t like it.
She was silent for a moment, not knowing how to reply to that. She hadn’t expected him to be dressed the way he was dressed, but she had to admit that she had expected Hades, the God of the Underworld, to be cruel. Almost sadistic. So, why was she so surprised? She’d imagined he’d be dressed in steel and leather, like in those movies she’d seen, where Hades was depicted as some goth King of Hell. It would have fitted his personality better, that was for sure.
Pretending she wasn’t there anymore, he walked toward the stove, put a pot of water on, and proceeded to light the fire. Once it was lit, he reached out for a jar of herbs.
“I don’t have all day, Keeper. Why are you here?”
She wanted to tell him about her time sensor, but something stopped her. She could tell him about Ravenna and how she needed to get her Higher Self back. He would have said no to both, though. It didn’t matter what she wanted. The answer would remain no.
“Where is... here?”
He dropped a teaspoon of herbs into the water.
“You know I’m not going to answer that.”
“Are we in the third dimension?”
“Does it look like the third dimension to you?”
/>
She grinned. “Well, that’s an answer, too.”
He threw her an annoyed look. “I’m losing my patience, Keeper.”
“How come? You’re the Hermit. I thought you’re supposed to be the most patient of them all.”
He put the jar back on the shelf and wiped his hands on his already quite dirty pants.
“Here, why don’t I show you the door?”
Valentina furrowed her brows. She wasn’t getting anywhere. Not like this. Before he grabbed her by the arm, she launched herself through the ceiling and up toward the sky. No god was kicking her out. Not even Hades! And she didn’t need him to show her the door when there was a perfectly good ceiling to fly through.
“What now? You’re going back empty handed, you realize that...”
“I’m not going anywhere empty handed,” Valentina whispered through gritted teeth. “There must be something here, a clue...”
“It’s just a forest. And look! Mountains! We’re in the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing here! He’s probably the only fool who lives in this dimension, whatever dimension it is.”
“Then we’ll travel to the third dimension, right to this spot.” She floated down and positioned herself right above his cabin.
“And how are you going to do that?”
Valentina squeezed her eyes shut. Back in the hotel room, the green energy between her palms was starting to fade and half of the tarot cards fell to the floor.
“By focusing really, really hard. By... sheer... willpower.”
Just as Ravenna rolled her eyes, Val zapped herself through space, time, and dimensions. Next thing she knew, she was floating above someone’s front yard, and there was a dog, a huge Caucasian Shepherd, that was barking his lungs out below her. He couldn’t see her, but he sure as hell could sense her. A young, sturdy woman came out of the house and yelled at the dog in a foreign language. But it did sound familiar enough...
“Russian! I think this is Russian.”
“There are so many Slavic languages,” Ravenna pointed out. “How can you be sure?”