by Amy Sumida
“I had wanted you willing, Vervain,” the Narcissus in front of me said. “But if you don't start behaving, I will make you behave as I did with all the others. I will turn you into a fucking puppet, or even a puppet for fucking.” He laughed gaily.
He grabbed something out of thin air and showed me the lock of twinkling hair he'd taken from me. I went still as soon as I recognized it. I hadn't even considered what Narcissus could magically do with all those locks of hair he'd taken. I should have known better; a kelpie had once used my hair to enchant me. Gods didn't usually bother with tools for their magic, but a personal effect—a lock of hair or even a fingernail clipping—could be used to control that person. It was a universal magical truth. This really could end up being a repeat of my time in Duat.
“That's better.” Narcissus tossed the hair into the air and it disappeared. “Now, try to relax and enjoy yourself.”
The Narcissus before me began to maneuver his member into my mouth as the other two settled into place behind me. But then suddenly, the two Narcissuses between my legs weren't there anymore and the one before me jerked back in shock.
“How did you—” Before he even finished his question, something flared above me in a shimmering, multicolored gleam and Narcissus—the real Narcissus—dropped to the floor in two pieces; cleanly decapitated.
The table and the thing in my mouth crumpled away like old toast. I fell to my knees and gaped at the corpse gushing blood across the floor. I only had a second to look back over my shoulder before the entire territory started to fall apart.
Rainbow eyes met mine steadily.
Chapter Forty-Three
I sat in the fragrant grass of a serene meadow—in my own clothes—gaping at Qaus as my magic returned to me in shimmering waves. I took a deep, relieved breath as they all settled into place and my nine-pointed star glowed brightly in my chest. Around us stood the Fates, already glowing with the return of their magic. Qaus reached down—a kind expression on his face—and helped me to my feet.
“Are you all right, Vervain?” He asked.
“Am I...” I gaped at him and then declared, “Reading rainbows, Qaus! How did you do that? Narcissus said he wasn't going to let you return.”
Qaus laughed before he explained, “I left a little glimmer of my magic in Narcissus' palace and followed it back in. He was so confident in his mirror magic that he didn't bother to ward his territory.”
“But how you were able to get through the mirror without losing your magic?” I asked. “Or at all.”
The Fates gathered closer; they were curious too.
“Rainbows don't cast a reflection,” Qaus said simply.
“Excuse me?” I blinked at him.
“I have weather magic,” he explained. “But it's governed under the Rainbow which happened to be the only thing that could pass through Narcissus' mirrors without impediment. Rainbows are a specific set of reflections and refractions within water droplets that appear on the surface of an invisible cone.”
“Oh, great; he's talking science,” I huffed.
“Okay; I'll make it simple and relevant to this situation instead of going on about the particulars of it.” Qaus laughed again. “Mirrors can't reflect rainbows.”
“Shit,” I whispered, completely forgetting to use my creative curses.
“Narcissus couldn't take my magic, even if he tried.” Qaus smirked at me. “It simply could not latch onto my rainbows.”
“Is that how you managed to alter the mirror-curse to pull me in?” I lifted a brow at him.
“That's not something I'm willing to share,” he threw my words back at me with a smirk.
“Fair enough.” I held a hand out to him. “I'm not going to bother asking you why you did it. I'm just going to say thank you.”
“This doesn't make us friends, Godhunter.” Qaus grinned devilishly as he shook my hand. “It makes us even. I put you in that insane pervert's clutches, and I couldn't, in good conscience, leave you there.” He glanced down at my belly. “Especially not when you're with child.”
“As you like,” I said. “But I have to admit that I'm glad I listened to Silenus.” And then I blinked. “Holy cannolis; the prophecy!” I glanced at the Fates and found all three of them smiling smugly. “Qaus needed to live so he could free me.”
The Fates nodded.
“But conversely”—I held up a finger—“he was the one who put this into motion. So, I wouldn't have wound up here if I'd killed him.”
“No?” Clotho asked. “You don't think that some other god would have figured out a way to get you into that mirror?”
“Narcissus was fated to be freed,” Lachesis said. “In one way or another.”
“And I was fated to free the Godhunter?” Qaus asked in surprise.
“And us, God of Rainbows,” Atropos added. “You haven't just freed the Godhunter today; you've rescued an Olympian and the Moirai. That means you've earned the goodwill of the entire Greek Pantheon. And that's no small thing.”
“That may have occurred to me.” Qaus winked at Atropos. But then he went serious and looked back at me. “But I want nothing in return. As I said, Vervain; we're even. Keep your word and don't hunt me, and I shall stay out of your way in return.”
“I'm totally good with that.”
Chapter Forty-Four
We said goodbye to Qaus and went our separate ways at Cephissus' tracing pavilion. With Narcissus' death, the territory had reverted to his father. Cephissus didn't come out to confront us and that was wise of him. I hadn't gotten my beating heart, but if Cephissus had stood in the way of me returning to my loved ones, I would have. I was in no mood for a river god's bullshit.
I stepped out of Pride Palace's tracing room to the sound of arguing.
“How can you not have a spell for this? Your bedroom is full of spellbooks,” Azrael demanded.
“You're the one going to Angel High,” Odin snapped. “Why don't you check the library there?”
“I will!”
“Good!”
“Good!”
“Enough!” Trevor shouted. “This isn't helping. Our wife is missing—most likely taken by that mad mirror man—and you're fighting instead of coming up with a way to get her back!”
“I may have a suggestion,” I said as I stepped into the room.
Everyone—which included my husbands, my boyfriend, the Intare, and the entire God Squad—stared at me in shock.
“All you need is rainbow magic,” I said as I opened my arms.
My men rushed over to surround me, and I hugged them tightly, letting their love wash away the trauma I'd been through. Still worth it. I'd do anything to keep this. My body relaxed against them as I sighed; home again. Insanity crept back into the shadows of my mind.
Then came the explanations. I told them all about my adventures in Mirrorland and how Qaus had saved the Moirai and me. Astonishment abounded over that, along with sage nods over the prophecy. But what hit me the hardest was Morpheus' silent tears for his aunt. I hugged him but didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. Nemesis had been killed in the line of duty. It was a tragedy without reason, despite what the Moirai had said about it needing to happen. I couldn't tell Morpheus about fate; he wouldn't want to hear it. I knew I wouldn't if I were him.
“But what about Disani and Gish?” Finn asked in his slight, Irish lilt. “Do we have to worry about them riling up more gods?”
“I don't know,” I said softly. “Probably. Qaus said we weren't friends, just even, which I take to mean that he may still rejoin them.”
“And what happens if Qaus pulls another stunt like this one?” Hades asked. “Will you be able to kill a man who saved your life?”
“As he said; we're even.” I shrugged. “I won't like it, but I'll do what I have to. Although, I don't think that will be an issue. Qaus said that as long as I didn't try to kill him, he'd stay out of my way.”
“It sounds as if we have to worry about the other two more than Qaus,” Th
or concluded. “But at least we know who to watch for.”
“Death and rainbows,” I said and smirked. “What a combination. Although, Gish is technically a god of war.”
“Qaus' rainbow was deadly enough to deal with Narcissus,” Azrael pointed out.
“I can't argue that,” I agreed.
Odin was particularly fascinated by Qaus' magic and went on about rainbows, reflections, and refracted light until I shook my head and gave up. I needed some sleep; in my own bed without the threat of abduction looming over me. But first, I went to Fallon's suite where Sam was watching the girls. There was a lot of female shrieking while I hugged my daughter, and then it calmed enough for me to bid the ladies goodnight. I carried Lesya to bed with an honor guard of my men surrounding us.
It was Lesya's bedtime, not mine, but I was so tired that Kirill had to take her up to her room while I crawled into my bed. The men took up posts around me; talking softly while I fell asleep. I didn't mind; the sound of their voices helped me feel safe enough to doze off. I didn't even dream; I was too tired for that. I just slipped into blessed darkness and stayed there until morning.
Chapter Forty-Five
I took the next few days to relax. Olympus reeled in the aftermath of the death of two more Olympians—Hera had already been given the boot so she didn't count—and I was told that there would be nominations for replacements made by the current Olympians and then they'd vote on who to elect. I was abstaining from the vote; I just didn't feel as if I knew enough Greeks to make a fair contribution to the proceedings.
Besides, I had to get to Faerie for a birthday party.
The members of the God Squad, including my sons Vidar and Vali who were kind of honorary members, were coming to Faerie with me and my husbands and Toby. Oh, and Thrud. We were all pleasantly shocked when Thor showed up with his daughter. It was a large group that showed up at the End of the Road, and Arach had to bring several carriages to accommodate us. But he didn't seem to mind.
“A Thaisce,” Arach murmured as he hugged me tightly. “By the flames, I've missed you.”
Arach didn't have to go without me often. Usually, I would jump back to nearly the exact time I'd left him. I didn't often need to let the times between the realms catch up so I could travel with others. It was even rarer that it took longer than a week. This time, it had nearly been three.
“I've missed you too,” I whispered in his ear and just held him for a little while.
I had missed him. Terribly. Love is not finite or even quantifiable. In my life, it seemed as if the more I gave, the more I had to give. And Arach got a lot of love from me. We'd had a rough start, but my dragon had become precious and irreplaceable. During this crazy crap with Narcissus, Arach's counsel and strength would have been invaluable to me. But I didn't want to worry him and there had been no war for him to fight. I'd even decided not to tell him about all of that until after our sons' birthday. I didn't want to ruin his fun.
“Mother.”
Speaking of my sons, they had to get their hugs from me before they'd greet our guests. That was just their way. I reluctantly released Arach and hugged my boys together. Not that I hadn't missed the Twins; I'd missed them nearly as much as Arach. But I had been enjoying being held as opposed to doing the holding. However, once they were in my arms, and I was inhaling the precious scents of Brevyn's sunshine and citrus and Rian's sugar and smoke, my heart filled to near bursting. I kissed them on the cheeks.
“Mommy!” Lesya cried from her father's arms. “I want to see my brothers!”
“Hello, Lesya!” Brevyn called from my embrace.
“Hey, Sis,” Rian added (He learned that one from me).
“Brevyn! Rian!” Lesya bounced until Kirill let her down and then she came running over to hug the boys. “You guys got bigger.”
“You did too,” Brevyn's blue eyes were a shade lighter than Lesya's but you could see the resemblance in their faces.
It always lightened my heart and amazed me a little to see my children together. Perhaps it's egotistical to enjoy seeing myself in them, but there's the truth of it. I loved seeing pieces of me in my babies, but I loved seeing their fathers in them even more. Rian looked more like Arach than Brevyn did, especially with his crimson hair, but that was due mostly to the way the Twins had been split in the womb. I wasn't sure how much of Arach Brevyn had gotten, it was possible that it was none at all. But that didn't matter to Arach; Brevyn was his son as far as he was concerned.
“Hey there, Brothers,” Vali said as he came up with Vidar.
I smiled even brighter as I stood. Vidar had only a few bits of Odin in his face, he was mostly Sabine, but Vali was more his father's son. It was ironic really, because Vali had felt as if he were second best to Vidar. After I had died—back when I was Sabine and married to Odin—Odin had mourned greatly, and he subconsciously favored Vidar because he looked so much like me. Vali had suffered for that; enough that Odin had made amends. They were better now, but I wondered if Vali knew how much like Odin he was; not just in looks but also in personality. I made a mental note to tell him.
Vidar picked up Brevyn and hugged him tightly as Vali took Rian, and then they traded with a laugh. It didn't stop there; the boys were passed back to the waiting crowd, and Arach and I waited with Lesya, my grown sons, and Kirill for everyone to get their fill of my Twins. I appreciated that they included Rian in their exuberance despite the fact that it was really Brevyn who they were wanting to see. But then it was hard to ignore Rian.
“Do you know who I am?” The steely voice swiveled my head in its direction.
I'd forgotten about Thrud.
“Hello, Sister,” Brevyn said solemnly.
Thrud's stern expression cracked. “Ull?”
“My name's Brevyn now,” my son said gently. “I'm different, but I still remember you.”
A tear dripped down Thrud's cheek as she held her arms out to Brevyn. Thor passed Brevyn over to her, and she hugged him tightly.
“It's okay, Thrud,” Brevyn said. “I wanted this. I'm happy now.”
I gaped at my son. I knew he remembered a lot of things, but I hadn't known that he remembered how he had wanted a new life. Something inside me shivered. I was glad that he had his memories but at the same time, I felt as if he shouldn't. A new life should come with a fresh, blank slate. Otherwise, what was the point?
“I love you, Brother,” Thrud said as she finally let Brevyn go. “I'm happy for you.”
Brevyn kissed Thrud's cheek before he got passed along to the next person. Rian and Lesya had watched the exchange along with the rest of us. Brevyn caught his brother's eye and nodded so Rian just shrugged and let it go. But Lesya was still frowning.
“Hello, Lesya.” Arach bent to greet my daughter and distract her. “Will you give your Uncle Arach a hug?”
Lesya launched herself at Arach and giggled as he lifted her up to hug her and swing her about. Lesya loved Arach; her Dragon Uncle. Every time I brought her to Faerie she got so excited. I think she particularly liked how he could blow fire from his mouth, just like Mommy.
“Uncle Arach, I have a birthday soon too,” Lesya said with a serious expression.
“Do you?” Arach asked her and glanced at me with a grin. “And when is that?”
“June 19th,” she said promptly.
Funny how children can never remember their bedtimes but have no problem with their birthdays.
“And is there something special you've been wanting?” Arach knew exactly what his line was.
Kirill and I both groaned. Lesya had been going on about a tea set for months. I knew it was coming, and then I'd have to get firm with her; something I didn't want to do on this trip.
“I want to be a dragon-lion like Mommy,” Lesya said gravely. “Can you change me with faerie magic?”
We all went still. I glanced at Kirill in shock, but he just shrugged with a smile that seemed to say; she's your daughter. I scrambled for a way to tell Lesya that she couldn't be like
me, but Arach beat me to it.
“I would never do that,” Arach said with just as much seriousness as she had shown. “You are the only you, Lesya. I don't want you any way other than as you are, and you shouldn't want that either. You were born to be a lion princess and help your mother lead the Intare. You will be even better suited to it than she is because you are pure, my darling. Please, stay as you are.”
Lesya beamed up at Arach, and I gave him a grateful look that may have been a little watery.
“Okay, Uncle,” Lesya gave in. “Then, I'd like a tea set.”
I laughed, too amused to reprimand her.
Kirill did it for me, taking Lesya back from Arach to say, “Enough vith tea set, Kotyonok. You have chance to ask faerie king for present and zat is vhat you ask for?” He tsked. “Vhat a ruined opportunity.”