Goddess in the Middle

by Stephanie Julian

  Amity nodded as Remy felt the noose tighten a little more.

  “Batting a thousand. Okay.” Sal slapped his hands together in front of him, the sharp sound stinging Remy’s sensitive ears. “Now, the only piece of the puzzle I’m missing is, where’s the second lucani I smell? And why the hell do you want to avoid the lucani den so badly I can practically taste it in the air?”

  Yep. He was so screwed. Rom was gonna kill him if another demon didn’t get to him first.

  He let his gaze connect with Amity’s, saw the worry in her eyes. Worry about how he was going to react.

  Okay, he could handle this. No need to panic. He just needed to get the lay of the land.

  And if Amity trusted this man, then maybe he could too. He and Rom had been on their own for so long, Remy had almost forgotten that not everyone was out to kill them.

  Remy walked over to the salbinelli and held out his hand. “Remus Leone.”

  He watched the guy’s gaze narrow for a brief second before he took hold of Remy’s hand and shook. Then Sal started to shake his head, his expression turning serious. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re alive. And Romulus? Has he survived, as well?”

  Remy froze, though his heart started to bang inside his chest like it was exploding. Shit. He knew who they were.

  “Now, son, don’t pass out on me. But I think you might want to sit down.”

  “Sal?” Amity’s tone held a question as she looked between Remy and the salbinelli, who ignored her, keeping his gaze locked to Remy’s.

  “I know some people who’ve been looking for you both for a very long time.”

  Slowly withdrawing his hand, Remy fought against the urge to run. To hide. That’s what they always did when someone got too close. But… he didn’t want to run this time.

  “Maybe we haven’t wanted to be found.”

  Sal nodded, his expression softening just the slightest bit. “I can understand that.”

  “Then you also understand why the fewer people who know we’re here, the better.”

  “Have you considered,” Sal stared up at him, totally not intimidated by their height difference, “that maybe there are people here who could help you?”

  “People who try to help us tend to end up dead.” The edge in Remy’s tone could’ve cut glass.

  Kari drew in a sharp gasp and Sal actually dropped his gaze for a second. Amity just stared at him with those warm, dark eyes.

  “Your families.” Sal’s now laser-sharp gaze returned to his. “We thought—”

  Remy sliced his hand in front of Sal, cutting him off. Definitely not going there. “All I’m saying is, we’ve had our reasons for being… for not wanting to spend a lot of time in one place.” There, that sounded somewhat diplomatic.

  Sal’s gaze narrowed. “And yet, here you are, throwing down with Charun’s minions.”

  “That was personal.”

  Sal nodded. “Yeah, I’m beginning to get the picture.”

  Remy was sure he was. Time to change the subject. “So, you’re here to help Amity with the Charun problem.”

  For a few seconds, Remy wasn’t sure Sal was going to let him get away with the change of subject. Then the little salbinelli released a harsh breath and waved at the couch.

  “Why don’t we get comfortable and see what’s what.”

  It took only seconds for everyone to find a seat. He and Amity went back to the couch. Kari and Sal took the plush chairs directly opposite.

  “All right, so tell me what happened tonight.” Sal’s hooves hung several inches off the floor, momentarily distracting Remy with a sudden bout of absurdity that made him almost burst out laughing.

  He was sitting in a room with a salbinelli and two goddesses. Of course, he was a lucani stregone, a werewolf witch who shouldn’t exist.

  There had to be a joke in there involving a bar.

  As Amity recounted the events of the previous night, Remy forced himself to listen for anything she hadn’t mentioned before, something they might have missed or that didn’t seem important before.

  Nothing. All he got for the effort was the start of a tension headache, which Amity would probably insist on healing when she realized he was trying to hide it.

  “So he sent Thufltha for Amity.” Sal pulled a cigar out his shirt pocket and stuck it in his mouth, though he didn’t light it up, just gnawed on the end as he stared at Remy. “And you and your cousin killed it. Gotta say, kid, Charun’s not gonna be real thrilled about that. I can’t honestly remember the last time he lost one of his Named.”

  “Yeah, well, this one had it coming.”

  Sal nodded, his gaze narrowing for a second. “I’m sure it did, kid. I’m sure it did. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about the tukhulkha moonlighting. The Mal have been contracting them for centuries, bribing the demons with whatever they wanted. But I’ve never heard of one so high up the ranks allowing the Mal to pull its strings.”

  “Maybe the Mal held something over the demon’s head.” Remy shrugged. “I don’t really care. We killed it. We’re moving on.”

  “To the Mal.”

  Sal didn’t bother to make it a question so Remy didn’t bother to answer. The salbinelli was doing just fine coming to conclusions of his own.

  “Maybe you wanna rethink that strategy, at least for the time being.” Sal’s mouth twisted in a rueful expression. “There’ve been some developments…”

  When Sal didn’t continue, Remy pressed. “What kind of developments? Something that has to do with the Mal?”

  Sal nodded. “And the lucani.”

  Shit. That was… Shit. Sal shook his head and Rom knew whatever was going on, it wasn’t going to be anything he or Rom wanted to hear.

  “Why don’t we wait for your cousin to get back to talk about that angle.” Sal let his gaze slide to Amity. “Right now, let’s figure out what we’re going to do to keep Amity safe.”

  Remy thought the answer to that was pretty straightforward. He and Rom would stay until Charun decided to leave Amity alone.

  Even if it means putting off your pursuit of the Mal? And alerting the lucani to your presence? And what if Charun doesn’t stop? How long do we stay? How long will she let us stay?

  “What do you suggest?”

  Sal shrugged. “That’s the tricky part.”

  “I’m not giving up my powers.”

  It was the first time Amity had spoken in several minutes and Remy swore he saw Sal’s jaw tighten just a little.

  “No one’s saying that’s even on the table.” Sal shook his head. “I’ve never suggested that and I never will. But Charun’s changing the rules.”

  “This is no game.” Kari piped in, her tone razor-sharp and utterly serious. “Tessa nearly died. Lucy…” Kari exchanged a glance with Amity and didn’t continue her thought. “We need to stop Charun. For good this time.”

  Amity shook her head. “And how do you propose we do that? We can’t kill him. The gate to Aitás will fall without him. We need to talk to him, find out why he’s doing this.”

  “You can’t reason with Charun, sister. The man’s brain just isn’t wired for rational thought.”

  “But there’s got to be a reason he wants out. After all this time, why now?”

  Kari shook her head, her pretty face screwing up into a frown but not detracting at all from her beauty.

  And yet, Kari raised no arousal at all in Remy, even though the goddesses were practically identical.

  How weird was that?

  “Who cares?” Kari said. “Seriously, Amity. It doesn’t matter. If Charun achieves his goal, who’s to say he’ll stop at goddesses. Will he go after everyone else? This entire plane could become Aitás if that happens.”

  “But maybe if we find out what he wants,” Amity said, “we can give it to him and he’ll stop.”

  Kari wore a dumbfounded expression. “Since when did you take on Tessa’s eternal optimism?”

  Remy felt like he was at a tennis match, watching t
he ball bounce between the sisters. He noticed that Sal hadn’t stuck his nose in, either.

  “And when did you become such a cynic?”

  “I always have been.” Kari shrugged. “I just hide it well. Charun’s not going to stop after a few therapy sessions. We’ve got to find a way to block him from finding us. Or we need to kill his demons before they attack again.”

  Now that was a plan Remy could get behind. Except Amity’s horrified expression said more than words ever could. “How can you even suggest such a thing?”

  “He tried to take you, sister. I would kill Charun just for thinking about it.”

  “And I love that you care for me so much. But that’s not the answer.”

  Kari huffed. “So what are you going to do while you wait for Charun to track you down?”

  “I can’t go into hiding. Not now. I have two patients who I will not leave right now.”

  Kari’s huff showed exactly how she felt about that. “You know I admire your dedication, sister, but if they ever discovered what you are… Do you think they would treat you with the same compassion you treat them?”

  “That doesn’t matter because they won’t ever find out. The eteri believe only what they want to believe. We are an impossibility, so therefore we don’t exist.”

  “And yet you continue to treat them like precious commodities, possibly at the expense of your own life.”

  Amity opened her mouth to answer, but Remy beat her to the punch. “It won’t come to that. Rom and I are staying.”

  He hadn’t realized he was going to speak until the words fell out of his mouth.

  And he meant every one of them.

  ***

  Amity blinked, her eyes flashing bright as she tried not to smile too widely.

  She hadn’t wanted to appear clingy and ask Remy and Rom to stay for any extended period of time. But it had been lurking in the back of her mind, taunting her.

  “Are you sure Rom will agree? I don’t want to—”

  Remy shook his head, his expression a tiny bit rueful. “Lady, trust me, he’ll agree. If he were here, he’d have said the same thing.”

  “Well, look at that. The pretty lucani’s brave, too. And there are two…”

  Kari’s tone was light and teasing, and more than a little interested. And Amity refused to admit she felt any jealousy when Remy smiled at Kari.

  “Okay, so the wolf boys are going to stay with you for protection from the demons.” Sal leaned back into the chair, his hooves hanging even farther from the floor than before. “But that doesn’t solve the underlying problem. What do we do about Charun?”

  “Maybe it’s time to speak to him on our terms.”

  Remy turned back to her as he worked that statement through his brain. She saw the effort it took for him to bite back the immediate response he wanted to make.

  But he did bite it back before he asked, “And how do you propose do that?”

  “By setting up a meeting.”

  As three voices told her in various and creative ways how that wasn’t going to happen, Amity let them wear themselves down before she continued. “I understand why you’re all against this. I do. But I also think someone needs to speak to Charun, find out what he hopes to accomplish. Maybe if I can get him to talk, we can figure out how to give him what he wants without having him leave Aitás.”

  Kari rolled her eyes. “Amity, seriously. Have you totally lost all common sense? If you talk to him for any length of time, he’ll be able to pinpoint your location and send more demons. Yes, your lucani stopped the first one but what happens if the next isn’t as easy to kill?”

  “We’re stronger than we look, Lady Kari.”

  The growl in Remy’s voice made Amity’s thighs quiver.

  “I’m sure you are, son,” Sal broke in before Kari could open her mouth again. “But what if Charun sends two next time? Or three? What if Thufltha told another demon or Charun where to find you and they’re already on their way?”

  “Then it won’t matter, will it?” Amity shook her head, frustration starting to make her angry. And it took an awful lot to make her lose her temper. “I’m not saying I’m going to be stupid about this. I’ll take each and every precaution to make sure he can’t track me. But I want to try this.”

  Kari looked ready to tear her hair out. Sal shook his head. Remy… Remy looked at her with a slight smile.

  “Then we’ll set it up,” he said.

  Her smile felt so wide, she thought her lips might split.

  At least Remy trusted her.

  “Well, then.” Sal sighed. “I think I have an idea. It might take a little while, though.”

  “That’s fine, Sal. I’d like to put it off for a few days, anyway. I have patients to attend on Monday. Later next week will be great.”

  Sal continued to shake his head, not looking at all happy.

  “You want to tell me a little more about this plan?” Remy asked. “You’re not instilling much confidence here.”

  Sal gave him a look that made Remy want to crawl under the table with his tail between his legs. “How’d you like to visit dreamland?”

  ***

  Rom scented two other signatures the second he walked in the door, but since Remy sat on the chair in front of the television flipping through channels, he didn’t go ballistic immediately.

  He figured he’d let Remy explain then chew out his ass for allowing anyone in the house.

  Remy looked up and nodded at him. “Don’t freak. Yes, there’re two people here. There’s an explanation.”

  “It better be a goddamn good one.”

  “One is Amity’s sister.”

  He paused. “Wait. That means…”

  “Yes, she’s a goddess. Akhuvitr, Goddess of Healing.”

  Okay. He could deal with that one. “Who’s the other?”

  “That would be me.”

  Rom turned toward the voice, did a double take then stood a little straighter, waiting for the salbinelli to speak first. An old memory had popped into his head, something his mother had taught him. His mother had always had a deep and abiding respect for the elder races, the Fata.

  “Huh. I see someone’s had some training in the old ways.” The salbinelli walked over to him, hand out. Rom took it immediately. “Salvatorus. Nice to meet you.”

  “Romulus Cangelosi. It’s my honor. My mother was—she had a great respect for the Fata.”

  Sal’s gaze narrowed but didn’t point out Rom’s clumsy attempt to hide something. “Nice to know, but there’s no need to stand on ceremony with me. I’m Sal. And you and Remy are cousins, yes?”

  Rom stiffened. “Yes, sir.”

  “Now, son, no need to be worried. I’m not about to out you and Remy. Besides, we both want the same thing… to keep Amity safe.”

  “And how are we supposed to do that exactly?”

  Sal’s grin made Rom feel like he should run for cover.

  And when Sal had finished explaining the plan to Rom, which Remy had apparently already heard, all Rom could do was shake his head.

  “So you want us to accompany Amity into her dream where she can speak to Charun so he can tell her all his troubles and hopefully not want to consume her powers anymore.”

  Sal shrugged. “Basically. Yeah.”

  Rom was struck speechless. But not for long. “And you actually think this is a good idea?”

  Sal shook his head. “What I think doesn’t matter. You’re forgetting she’s a goddess, son. She gets to call the shots. Besides, if the prophecy’s right, aren’t you two supposed to be the most powerful lucani ever born?”

  Rom felt everything go still around him, felt Remy’s shock reverberate through him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Anyone else might’ve flinched from the menace in Rom’s tone.

  Sal held his gaze steady. “Yeah, you do. Trust me, Romulus. You don’t want to fuck with Fate. She knows where you live and she will hunt you down.”

  “Is t
hat a threat?” Rom’s skin felt like it was burning from the inside out.

  “No, it’s a warning.” Sal’s gaze softened. “Look, I’m not trying to piss you off or frighten you. I’m trying to bring you up to speed in the easiest possible way. I understand why your parents ran. Knowing your sons are part of a cryptic prophecy is not usually cause for celebration. And yet, here you both are. The two wolves whose hands hold the red fire and whose hearts hold the strength of the Goddess Yet-to-Be.”

  The words triggered the memory so clearly.

  Rom had been sixteen to Remy’s twelve. Their dads had taken them aside, out of hearing of their mothers and their siblings. Rom had known, by the looks on their faces, it wasn’t anything good.

  And after they’d heard what their fathers had had to say, they’d both wished they’d never known.

  The two wolves who hold the red flame will fight with the strength of the Goddess Yet-to-Be in their hearts and bring the past forward until the balance is no longer and the Rasenna face the future without light.

  The Rasenna, they knew, were the Etruscans. The Goddess Yet-to-Be… no clue.

  The red flame, now that one they knew. Both he and Remy had been able to conjure the red flame as children. But with no one to teach them how to use it, they’d lost the ability as they’d gotten older. They’d never missed it.

  And Rom knew their dads had secretly believed maybe that voided the prophecy. No red fire, no dire consequences, right?

  Nothing would ever be that simple.

  Rom’s gaze narrowed down to watch Sal’s response. “Do you know what the prophecy means?”

  To Rom’s complete shock, Sal nodded. “Some of it, yeah. Some I’ve got a pretty good idea about. The rest… don’t have a clue. But I do know where you might start to find some answers.”

  Rom sighed, knowing where they were headed. “The den. You want us to talk to the king.”

  “Yeah, you need to talk to the king. No way to get around that one. But I think you might want to send Remy to deal with the king alone the first time.”