In the Nyx of Time

by Amy Sumida

  “That's right,” Re said smugly.

  “Holy cannolis!” I exclaimed.

  “Yes.” Re grinned. “I am amazing and delicious.”

  “I need some time to think about it,” I said.

  “What?” Re looked at me as if I'd lost my mind.

  “It's a big decision,” I said. “Living forever; that's a mighty long time.”

  “Yes; that's the point,” Re said.

  “It's a significant change for her, Re,” Teharon said gently. “Give her some time.”

  “Yes, so we can get back to the crazy Aztec,” Horus tried again. “If I'd known you'd be bringing your couple issues here, I wouldn't have invited you.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  “You will watch your tone with her and remember to whom you speak,” Re snapped.

  “Yes, Grandfather,” Horus said respectfully. “My apologies. But this is very important.”

  “As is my marriage,” Re said. “But I understand. Go on; you want to catch Huitzilopochtli at this rally.”

  “Not catch,” Thor said, “kill. And we have to find a way to do it without drawing human attention.”

  “You think that you can kill a god in broad daylight and no one will notice?” I asked in surprise.

  “He'll most likely be invisible,” Thor said. “And so will we.”

  “You can make yourselves invisible?” I asked with a look of amazement at my fiance.

  “It comes in handy for a lot of things,” Re said with a sensual smile.

  “I swear to... I just swear; if you spy on me when you're invisible, I will unman you—in a very old-school way.”

  “Old school?” Re asked.

  “With a pair of scissors,” I said.

  Re winced. “That's a bit extreme.”

  “It's a threat; they're supposed to leave an impression,” I pointed out.

  “Color me impressed,” Re muttered. “And I had no intentions of spying on you; I was implying that we could have sex in public without anyone knowing.”

  “Oh.” I blinked and then blushed. “But I can't turn myself invisible.”

  “You don't have to be.” Re grinned mischievously. “You just need to wear some loose clothing.”

  I thought about it and said, “I can't imagine how that could happen without me looking obscene and crazy.”

  “But I would make sure that you didn't care,” he promised.

  “Nope; not happening.”

  Pan started scribbling again while Re pouted.

  “Anyway,” Horus drew out the word. “How do we catch the Aztec and how do... we...” Horus began to smile at me. “I knew there was a reason I wanted you to join us. It must have been my subconscious at work.”

  “She's not bound by our magic,” Thor said. “Yes; I thought that was your reasoning.”

  “No!” Re's voice cracked out like a whip. “You said that you'd protect her. You can't do that if she's to be the assassin.”

  “I'm going to be an assassin?” I asked with wide eyes.

  “No, La-la; you're not.” Re stood. “We're leaving.”

  “Re, please just hear us out,” Thor said. “Sit down; give us five minutes.”

  “Five minutes,” Re huffed as he sat.

  “Vervain can cast a spell onto a weapon that one of us can use against Huitzilopochtli,” Thor said. “The human magic will literally give us the edge we need to kill him.”

  “All right; that's acceptable,” Re agreed grudgingly.

  “Why does my magic have more power than yours?” I asked.

  “It's not that it has more power,” Brahma said. “It's that it's the source of our power. We accepted offerings of energy through blood and that created a pact with humans. We look a certain way and have certain abilities because human belief has altered us.”

  “You take their blood, and they get the right to change your appearance?” I asked.

  “Among other things.” Brahma nodded. “But my point is; the magic we possess came from humans. We then changed it into god magic; this magic—although, different in each individual god—is the same at its roots. When a god tries to kill another god, the magic inside them rebels. It's like trying to commit suicide; it can be done, but it's difficult.”

  “Unless you're insane,” Thor said with a grimace. “Then it gets easier.”

  “But I'm different?” I asked.

  “You are the source, and you're also a witch,” Brahma said. You are the mountaintop that replenishes our streams; you can simply cut us off without issue.”

  “Just speak plainly,” I huffed. “You're saying that I can kill gods easier than all of you?”

  “Yes.” Brahma made a disgusted face.

  “You ruined his poetry,” Pan whispered to me.

  “Oh; sorry,” I mumbled.

  “It's fine.” Brahma sighed. “There's not as much appreciation for eloquence these days.”

  “I'd appreciate it more if we weren't talking about killing a man,” I said.

  “A god,” Thor corrected. “We're talking about killing a god, and that's where I believe you can help us. Can you cast a death spell on a weapon, Vervain? Like a hammer, for instance?”

  “I've never cast something so dark,” I said softly. “But I know the spells; I believe I can find one that's suitable.”

  “That would be much appreciated,” Thor said.”

  “If that's all, I'd like to take my fiance somewhere more private since she's nixed the public idea,” Re said.

  I rolled my eyes at Re and said to Thor, “I'll collect what I need and have Re contact you when I'm ready.”

  “The rally is in two days.” Thor gave me a hopeful look. “Can you complete it by then?”

  “I believe so,” I agreed.

  “Wonderful!” Thor stood and came over to me. “Welcome to the team, Vervain.”

  I stood and shook Thor's hand. “This isn't a team; it's a god squad,” I said with a grin.

  “The God Squad!” Pan declared. “I love it! We finally have a name.”

  “Why did I invite her?” Horus sighed.

  “Because you're a brilliant man,” I said dryly.

  “Oh, yes; that's it.” Horus drawled.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Are you certain that you want to do this?” Re asked as he watched me gather ingredients in my magic room.

  “I'm just casting a spell, Re,” I said.

  “I know.” He reached down to scratch Nick.

  My gray tabby had been following Re around ever since we'd arrived at my house in Hawaii. Cats are attracted to magic, and Re was oozing the stuff.

  “I'll stand on the side at the rally; completely out of the way,” I went on.

  “I don't like this,” Re murmured. “It feels...” He grimaced and sighed. “It scares me, La-la.”

  “I know you're worried.” I put my bag down to hug Re. “But it's going to be fine. Hey, why don't you see what kind of wine I have in my kitchen?”

  “I know a brush-off when I hear one.” Re grimaced. “All right; I'll get out of your way.”

  Re kissed my cheek and headed toward the kitchen; Nick trailing after him.

  Finally! I thought I'd never catch you alone.

  I froze and then searched the room for the source of the voice.

  I can't believe I have to do this all over again, the voice sounded annoyed. Come on, V; hasn't anything come back to you yet?

  “Who are you?” I whispered.

  I'm in your head, it said. So, you can talk to me with your thoughts and not freak out the Sun God.

  All right, I thought. Who are you?

  I'm Alaric, the Consciousness of the Void.

  The Void?

  It's the place where Atlantean and human souls go after death. Never mind; that's not important now.

  Atlantean?

  Right; I forgot that Aion changed your history before you learned anything about the Gods, Alaric mused. Okay, real fast; the Gods come from Atlantis. They are an ad
vanced race; both magically and technologically. They used their knowledge to trick humans into believing that they were gods.

  “Atlantis?” I forgot and whispered aloud. “No fucking way.”

  Yes; let's move on, Alaric said impatiently. Your past was changed and that altered your present; yours and a lot of other people's. All of this knowledge you're receiving about people you don't know is your memories trying to surface. You must concentrate on those memories, Vervain. Your old life is slipping away. This is the third time Aion has changed your past, and every attempt has pushed your true path further away.

  Who's Aion? I don't remember him.

  Cause you've only seen him in your altered timelines, Alaric huffed. He's Zeus' son, and just like his father, he's a supreme dick. He wants revenge on you for something you did to Zeus. So, he teamed up with Nyx and changed history. Nyx mainly wants Hades to suffer, so in every new timeline, she has killed Persephone, but Aion is after you. He wants you to lose all of your husbands and your magic. Then, you won't be able to hurt his father.

  Did you just say husbands; as in plural?

  Of course, that's what you focus on, he huffed. But yes; husbands, plural, and Re is only your fiance.

  But we are meant to be together? I pressed.

  Of course, you are; that's why you connected so quickly.

  And why we experienced love so suddenly.

  Yes, he confirmed.

  How do I know that you're not tricking me? You could be anything or anyone; I could even be losing my mind and talking to myself. I glanced at my spellbooks; wondering if there was a spell to regain sanity.

  Fine. We don't have a lot of time, but I understand. Talk to Hades; tell him that Nyx murdered Persephone and see what he says. He doesn't know it yet, but if you point him in Nyx's direction, he can find proof. Will that be enough to prove my intentions as well?

  I suppose. But I don't know Hades.

  Your man does; ask Re to take you to the Greek Underworld. Tell him about me, if you like. He may feel better once your instant affection is explained.

  “All right, I will,” I said out loud.

  “You will what?” Re walked in at the perfect time.

  I'm still here if you need me.

  Thanks.

  “This is going to sound crazy,” I said.

  “In light of everything that's happened lately, I'm not sure that it will,” Re countered. “What's wrong?”

  “A voice just started talking to me.”

  “A voice?” Re's expression went serious. “What kind of voice?”

  “A male one.” I shrugged. “He says that he's the Consciousness of the Void. Have you ever heard of the Void?”

  “The Void,” Re whispered. “That sounds familiar.”

  Tell him what it is.

  “This voice—he calls himself Alaric—he says that the Void is the place where souls go.”

  And come from.

  “And come from,” I repeated.

  The place where human souls were supposed to go before the Gods started misdirecting them.

  “It's where human souls were meant to go,” I said. “If not for God intervention.”

  Re gaped at me, blinked, and then recovered. “Is he speaking to you now?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what else does he have to say?”

  “That the reason I know so much about Gods, and the reason we have this connection is that a god named...”

  Aion, Alaric supplied the name. He's a god of time.

  “Aion, a god of time, changed my past and altered our present,” I said. “He says that Aion is Zeus' son, and I did something to Zeus that prompted Aion to persecute me.”

  “And in this other life, we were together?” Re asked.

  Other time.

  “Alaric says it's another time, but yes; we're engaged then too.”

  Not going to tell him about your husbands? Alaric's tone was amused.

  I don't think that's necessary, I said.

  “You're right; this does sound crazy,” Re said. “But it explains all of the other insanity.”

  “He offered me proof,” I added.

  “What proof?”

  “Persephone's murderer,” I whispered. “He says that it's a goddess named Nyx; that she teamed up with Aion. Aion wants to hurt me, but Nyx wants to hurt Hades.”

  “Killing Persephone is the surest way to hurt Hades,” Re murmured. “We need to tell him, but not until we confirm it.”

  “Alaric said that Hades could confirm it,” I said.

  “We can't count on him to.” Re shook his head. “We need to go to Hades with absolute certainty; especially if it's Nyx.”

  “Why? Who's Nyx?”

  “She's a Greek Primordial; a god who holds a primeval magic. In her case, it's the Night,” Re explained. “She's powerful, but that's not as big of an issue as her status. As a Primordial, she's given a lot of respect. Hades will be loathed to go against her unless he knows for certain that Nyx is the murderer.”

  “So, how do we prove it?” I asked.

  “I think that may be where your God Squad will come in handy.” Re smirked. “Finish gathering your spell components; we can talk to Thor about this when I take you back to Bilskinir.”

  “All right.” I went back to gathering my tools.

  This is our last shot, Vervain, Alaric said grimly. If you don't kill Aion before this timeline settles itself, there will be no way to right this. And if Aion goes back further and changes history again, your memories will be lost forever.

  Part of me wondered if that would be a bad thing. I looked at Re and knew that I could be happy with him. Only him. What would I do with multiple husbands? Frankly, it sounded like a lot of head and heartaches.

  You say that now, but your tune will change when you meet them. Re was one of the last lovers you took; your husbands have a far stronger connection to you.

  Stronger than this? I glanced over at Re.

  V, you ain't seen nothing yet.

  Now, I'm really scared.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “You want me to believe that the reason you know so much about the Gods is that you were friends with us in another life?” Thor asked with a raised brow.

  “Another time,” I corrected.

  “You have to admit that her knowledge of us is uncanny,” Re said. “Look at this painting she did of you.” Re pulled up a picture he'd taken of the Thor painting on his phone. “She even painted that piece of stone embedded in your forehead, Thor.” Re magnified the picture and handed the phone to Thor.

  Thor's expression went from skeptical to amazed. “How did you...?” He slid his fingers beneath the fall of hair on his forehead. “You could have read about that in the Prose Edda.”

  Tell him that he got it in a bar brawl when he was dressed as a woman, Al urged.

  I gaped at Thor and then chuckled. “How did dressing in drag end with you having a chunk of rock in your head?”

  Thor's eyes went wide as Re laughed.

  “See? This being—Alaric— knows about us,” Re said.

  “That doesn't mean we can trust him,” Thor grumbled. “And it was a joke, by the way; the drag thing. I'm very funny.”

  “I'm sure you are,” I said. “But that's why Alaric gave us the information on Persephone's murderer; he wants to prove that we can trust him.”

  “What does he expect us to do; walk into Tartarus and ask Nyx is she killed Persephone?” Thor huffed.

  “That's not half bad,” Re mused. “We confront Nyx to her face, and then we can judge her reaction.”

  “And what if she has no reaction?” Thor asked. “Nyx could claim innocence and still be guilty; Gods are good at dissembling.”

  Tell him that I will supply you with information that will startle Nyx if she doesn't reveal her guilt immediately.

  “Alaric says that he can give us more information; things that will get a reaction from her,” I offered.

  “I don't know if we
should tell Hades about this or just confront Nyx alone,” Thor mused.

  “As I said to Vervain; I believe it would be better if we went to Hades with proof and not just accusations,” Re said.

  “My thoughts exactly, but we have to go through Hades' territory to get to Nyx; she lives in Tartarus,” Thor said.

  “And you're friends with Hades; you have the ward chant, right?” Re pointed out. “We don't have to tell Hades that we're there; the Underworld is a big place.”

  “And have you ever walked through Tartarus?” Thor shot back. “It's not a pleasant stroll.”

  “No,” Re admitted. “But I've walked through Aaru.”

  “Fair enough,” Thor conceded. “Perhaps we can get Pan to lead us. I don't know where Nyx lives in Tartarus, and it's not a place I want to get lost in.”

  If Pan doesn't know the way to Nyx's home, I can lead you, Alaric offered.

  “Alaric knows the way,” I relayed the message.

  Thor sighed deeply. “All right, but first, we take care of Huitzilopochtli. Are you ready to enchant my hammer?”

  My lips twitched, and then Re and I started laughing.

  “What's so funny?” Thor growled.

  “It sounded a little like a poorly phrased seduction,” Re said.

  Thor rolled his eyes. “Everything sounds like sex to you, Re, and now, it seems as if you've infected Vervain.”

  “By injection.” Re nodded with a serious expression.

  “I've brought the spell components,” I said as I ignored my fiance. “Where's the weapon?”

  “Right there.” Thor pointed to a long, oak table at the other end of the library.

  There was a massive silver object there. I would never have called it a hammer. It had a T shape, with wide heads at both of the top ends, and then a leather-wrapped handle. I could feel its magic from twenty feet away. There was a reason why Thor's hammer was nearly as revered as he was.

  “I'll need an open area to cast a circle in,” I said.

  “Yes!” Pan exclaimed from the doorway. “I arrived just in the nick of time to see human magic performed.”

  “I normally do this alone.” I frowned at Pan.

  “Aw, come on,” Pan whined as he strode in. “I love human magic; it's so dramatic.”